A few thoughts on Saturday’s game…
First off, the atmosphere was really amazing. That’s what Campbell, and more so Pollard, have been working towards. JTS has become a real hornet’s nest when ISU is an underdog at night. We have a legit home field advantage. This game wasn’t like OSU in 2011 where the crowd was in “is this really happening?” mode. I think that a lot of us thought that ISU had a good shot at an upset, but the way it went down was surprising. Crowd was really good, even though it was short of a sellout (maybe slightly disappointing). But, it’s hard to match the pure joy of a Cyclone upset like this from the fans. I don’t know if it comes across on TV, but it is palpable in the stadium and IMO pretty unique in CFB. This game didn’t have the fluky aspect of OU last year (long TDs on screen passes) or TCU (turnovers in the red zone) although I don’t think that this WV team was nearly as good as OU was last year…closer to TCU. Uniforms were good although I wouldn’t want them wearing that combo regularly…just bringing them out for special night games is good with me.
Overall, the gameplan was great. They kind of did the same thing they did against OSU…except Grier does not have the mobility that Cornelius did. A lot of the sacks we got against Grier, someone like Murray from OU would have stepped out of, but it was the perfect plan against WV. Their WRs, who WV fans were touting as the best in the conference were nowhere close and they didn’t have the running game that OU or OSU have. Offensively, Montgomery made all the difference. He moved the chains and Purdy didn’t have the dropoff that some expected even after the shaky start.
QB: Purdy started slow making some poor reads. That was to be expected I guess. But he turned it up and made some really nice throws and runs. I still think that he’s going to get hurt taking hits like that, but you can’t complain about 11 carries. We’re just going to have to ride it out and if he gets dinged, we should have Kempt ready to go by the next game.
RB: I think that was Montgomery’s best game. He was lethal on the jump cut and made some WV players look dumb. The staff did a good job spelling him with Nwangwu. Didn’t see much of Croney or Lang, but Nwangwu was running well and I don’t have any issue with them going with the hotter hand. It was nice to see Warren out there in pass pro and as a lead blocker. I think at some point, he’s going to go out for a pass and break one. I really thought if Montgomery played, we’d win and he more than played, he dominated.
WR: They flat out couldn’t guard Butler. I thought that was his best game too. Didn’t have the long, tackle-shedding TD run or the highlight grab, but he was consistent and a constant threat. Drew quite a few PI calls and made some good catches. Milton was good across the middle, Jones had a great TD catch, Eaton had a couple of catches including the 2pt conversion. Not a lot from the other guys, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities when they were bleeding the clock in the 2nd half.
TE: Kolar is a future stud. Nice TD run and the grab over the middle in the red zone was great. When they get Allen back, that will make 2 really solid receiving threats. Soehner was good again as a blocker and Seonbuchner was solid again.
OL: Just continuing to improve. They had their issues for sure, but they are light years better than Game 1. We haven’t heard anything from Meeker lately, which is a good thing. Knipfel is probably their best OL. Newell had some trouble with LB blitzes, but I watched him move Bigelow out of the hole on a couple of occasions and he’s a top 10 (if not top 5) B12 interior DL. IMO Newell is going to be one of our best 2 OLs as soon as next year. Olsen was solid and JGJ did a decent job although he got Purdy hit a few times.
DL: What can you say about the DL? Johnson played a great game. I thought when Lima was out that they would really struggle, but he held his own. Backups Robertson and Lee did well enough to keep Johnson fresh. I really hope that Lima comes back soon, which on top of his extremely solid play would allow Lee to keep the RS. New RS rule is really helping us here. Bailey is just a wrecking ball. He was beating guys all night and he just mucks up the offensive play. Uwazarike is solid out there. Spencer Benton had a heck of a game. He would be a 3 year starter under past coaches. As it is, he’s able to go 100% and the drop off isn’t noticeable when Bailey is out. Then when Bailey is back in, he’s fresher.
LB: Just a solid game from these guys minus a couple of WV runs. Harvey is another wrecking ball out there. Spears shows flashes, but he’s not all over the field like he was last year. Then again, he doesn’t need to be. Rose had another solid game. I really like how Hummel plays even though he doesn’t have the speed of Spears.
CB: Young got the start, which is a good sign for the future. I thought he played that TD catch by Sills as well as he could. You just didn’t hear much from Peavy, which is good. Johnson saw a lot of snaps and I think that we’ll see him starting next year opposite Young.
S: I thought it was a good move putting Payne in to replace White. White has made some nice plays this year, but I think that Payne does everything that White does better. It would not surprise me if this change was permanent. Eisworth is a flat out missile…blitzing and run support, he’s really, really good. Lewis was solid as always and I think that he’s best more up front than deep where his lack of speed can be exposed at times.
K/P: Dunn had a good game even if his average doesn’t show it. He’s become much more consistent. Assalley really struggled. I guess we should have expected it at some point. We’ll see how he rebounds, but if that is the worst part of the game, we’re doing OK.
First off, the atmosphere was really amazing. That’s what Campbell, and more so Pollard, have been working towards. JTS has become a real hornet’s nest when ISU is an underdog at night. We have a legit home field advantage. This game wasn’t like OSU in 2011 where the crowd was in “is this really happening?” mode. I think that a lot of us thought that ISU had a good shot at an upset, but the way it went down was surprising. Crowd was really good, even though it was short of a sellout (maybe slightly disappointing). But, it’s hard to match the pure joy of a Cyclone upset like this from the fans. I don’t know if it comes across on TV, but it is palpable in the stadium and IMO pretty unique in CFB. This game didn’t have the fluky aspect of OU last year (long TDs on screen passes) or TCU (turnovers in the red zone) although I don’t think that this WV team was nearly as good as OU was last year…closer to TCU. Uniforms were good although I wouldn’t want them wearing that combo regularly…just bringing them out for special night games is good with me.
Overall, the gameplan was great. They kind of did the same thing they did against OSU…except Grier does not have the mobility that Cornelius did. A lot of the sacks we got against Grier, someone like Murray from OU would have stepped out of, but it was the perfect plan against WV. Their WRs, who WV fans were touting as the best in the conference were nowhere close and they didn’t have the running game that OU or OSU have. Offensively, Montgomery made all the difference. He moved the chains and Purdy didn’t have the dropoff that some expected even after the shaky start.
QB: Purdy started slow making some poor reads. That was to be expected I guess. But he turned it up and made some really nice throws and runs. I still think that he’s going to get hurt taking hits like that, but you can’t complain about 11 carries. We’re just going to have to ride it out and if he gets dinged, we should have Kempt ready to go by the next game.
RB: I think that was Montgomery’s best game. He was lethal on the jump cut and made some WV players look dumb. The staff did a good job spelling him with Nwangwu. Didn’t see much of Croney or Lang, but Nwangwu was running well and I don’t have any issue with them going with the hotter hand. It was nice to see Warren out there in pass pro and as a lead blocker. I think at some point, he’s going to go out for a pass and break one. I really thought if Montgomery played, we’d win and he more than played, he dominated.
WR: They flat out couldn’t guard Butler. I thought that was his best game too. Didn’t have the long, tackle-shedding TD run or the highlight grab, but he was consistent and a constant threat. Drew quite a few PI calls and made some good catches. Milton was good across the middle, Jones had a great TD catch, Eaton had a couple of catches including the 2pt conversion. Not a lot from the other guys, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities when they were bleeding the clock in the 2nd half.
TE: Kolar is a future stud. Nice TD run and the grab over the middle in the red zone was great. When they get Allen back, that will make 2 really solid receiving threats. Soehner was good again as a blocker and Seonbuchner was solid again.
OL: Just continuing to improve. They had their issues for sure, but they are light years better than Game 1. We haven’t heard anything from Meeker lately, which is a good thing. Knipfel is probably their best OL. Newell had some trouble with LB blitzes, but I watched him move Bigelow out of the hole on a couple of occasions and he’s a top 10 (if not top 5) B12 interior DL. IMO Newell is going to be one of our best 2 OLs as soon as next year. Olsen was solid and JGJ did a decent job although he got Purdy hit a few times.
DL: What can you say about the DL? Johnson played a great game. I thought when Lima was out that they would really struggle, but he held his own. Backups Robertson and Lee did well enough to keep Johnson fresh. I really hope that Lima comes back soon, which on top of his extremely solid play would allow Lee to keep the RS. New RS rule is really helping us here. Bailey is just a wrecking ball. He was beating guys all night and he just mucks up the offensive play. Uwazarike is solid out there. Spencer Benton had a heck of a game. He would be a 3 year starter under past coaches. As it is, he’s able to go 100% and the drop off isn’t noticeable when Bailey is out. Then when Bailey is back in, he’s fresher.
LB: Just a solid game from these guys minus a couple of WV runs. Harvey is another wrecking ball out there. Spears shows flashes, but he’s not all over the field like he was last year. Then again, he doesn’t need to be. Rose had another solid game. I really like how Hummel plays even though he doesn’t have the speed of Spears.
CB: Young got the start, which is a good sign for the future. I thought he played that TD catch by Sills as well as he could. You just didn’t hear much from Peavy, which is good. Johnson saw a lot of snaps and I think that we’ll see him starting next year opposite Young.
S: I thought it was a good move putting Payne in to replace White. White has made some nice plays this year, but I think that Payne does everything that White does better. It would not surprise me if this change was permanent. Eisworth is a flat out missile…blitzing and run support, he’s really, really good. Lewis was solid as always and I think that he’s best more up front than deep where his lack of speed can be exposed at times.
K/P: Dunn had a good game even if his average doesn’t show it. He’s become much more consistent. Assalley really struggled. I guess we should have expected it at some point. We’ll see how he rebounds, but if that is the worst part of the game, we’re doing OK.
