Get. That. Fucking. W. I'm so proud of this team from top to bottom coming out with a win there. Had a really fun game watch party and woke up in my #15 jersey on my couch with my pup, no other way I want to spend a Saturday night in September. I'm going to go stream of consciousness on this game review at 6am MST.
Initial thoughts are that the coaches on both sides had an incredible game plan and the players didn't quite execute it at times, but they did when it mattered. I'm going to give extra credit to the defense, holy guacamole they played out of their minds. So many crucial stops when it mattered. That 4th down stop in the 3rd where Eich came flying over the top forcing Hartman to Styles and Ransom was epic.
On offense, we were just right there so many times, score could have been much higher. But we executed when it mattered. The first thing I'll say is thank the higher beings that we decided to bring the counter run with pulling linemen back! That play works so damn well and Henderson's big run was a testament to it. Fryar and M Jones pulling was poetry in motion (also huge credit to MH Jr on his block). Run that play more often please Hendo is a monster and damn he has wheels, so what we can to create opportunities for that man.
The biggest thing I'm stoked about is that we mostly only rushed the front 4 and got enough pressure (with good coverage) to force bad throws against a really good QB. If we can replicate that, sky is the limit for this team.
Eich and Chambers dominated per the usual, but massive shout out to the secondary. Only negative is Simon, he's lost out there...if we put in another LB, it needs to be Hicks. The defense was overall seriously dominant in all phases though. In particular, Davison (#1) was outright out to cause problems and he did, there will be an individual post in his thread for that performance...man he has been a spark for our defense. He'll get a few penalties, but the aggression is worth it imo, though he needs to be a bit smarter on when to use itWe also just shut down Estime and that was a fantastic scheme to get that done, good job Knowles and company.
McCord has top-notch game recognition and really displayed it on that 3rd down throw to X Johnson in the 4th...you can say that is an easy throw, but most QBs would have been sacked not anticipating the blitz and throwing to where it came from. I get the "game manager" comments, but he's just smart with live situations and doesn't force it when it's not needed, that's a description of a great QB. McCord is legit guys.
Stover is so damn important to this offense and the team...him coming back is just unreal, heart and soul of the team on top his athletic ability. Some NFL team is going to be really lucky to pick him.
Bullshit penalty on Fryar for him giving that DE the business at the end of the 3rd, it's called football. He finished the block like he should. Costly "penalty" that shouldn't have been called. I give the refs a solid D-minus on this game.
Hats off to ND and Freeman though, they played really well and I think they'll have a really good season. That was a classic Midwestern sloberknocker that I think we all will appreciate even if the media wanted the points. I think both sides can be proud of their performance and in etching a piece of college football history in that game.
That was about as epic of a finish to a game that is possible. So glad we escaped with a win.
