Vinson Davis III continues to produce. That looks to have been a really good portal pickup from Charleston Southern by Hill. Two more years of eligibility after this one.
Think Cox and Elliott were both in boots. Gonna be really tough to beat YSU if those two miss. Offense looked good today though
Was there any mention of how long Cox is expected to be out?
I sent in feedback to the athletics department about the last two broadcasts and would encourage everyone else to do the same. Please be civil, these are kids after all, but they are in desperate need of guidance and support from those more experienced.
@salukiworld I’ll take my chances on a bigger stronger running back, with speed getting the bulk of carry’s.
@salukiworld I’ll take my chances on a bigger stronger running back, with speed getting the bulk of carry’s.
Even if the stats tell you completely otherwise?
Beautiful evening at Saluki Stadium but a bit hot until the sun finally went down. If there were over 10,000 fans there I don't know how to count - actually looked to me like fewer than at the Austin Pee game .. doesn't really matter.
We're going to have to play better at Youngstown if we wanna beat them. Our pass defense was poor today, even after they lost their first string quarterback. A number of times they had 3rd and very long and had long completions to guys that were wide open - like no D players within 10 yards of them. Even their second string quarterback was killing us but we did put a little better pressure on him in the second-half with a lot more blitzing.
Cox didn't play at all, Hartrup only got a couple of balls, Elliot evidently rolled an ankle and didn't play second-half, Lester finally got some carries, but they just absolutely crushed our offensive line in the second-half so he had no chance. We had -12 yards rushing second-half. Baker missed a couple of TDs when we had wide open guys on the sideline but the pass was too close to the sideline, forcing the receiver out of bounds. We also had a lot of penalties 2nd half. Our punter averaged 31 yards - not good.
Their QB had a massive turnover in the 4th, which was a big help. They also spotted us 14 points to start. After that, we were pretty even. They actually had more 1st downs and more passing yards - 65% completions - but only 31 yards rushing.
The game felt closer than the score, but despite not playing our best, we won. WOOHOO!
YSU next Saturday at 5PM.
We have some injury issues, both prior to MSU and during the game. RB Ro Elliott hurt his toe late in the 1st half and was in a boot in the 2nd half. WR D'Ante Cox hurt his knee at SEMO and will be out a few weeks (speculation on duration). RB Benefield hurt his groin yesterday. LB Mark Davis got his bell rung in the 1st half and was held out the rest of the game in what I am guessing is concussion protocol. LB Burrola hurt his hip and was held out for a while but got back in on the last defensive series. There are more, but these are the ones that I know of that happened in the last 2 games to several of our key players.
Hopefully the Ro and Benefield injuries are minor, but Baker and this receiving corp should be able to make up for the loss, I think. I guess we’d rely on Strong, and maybe Lester gets more action.
An unsatisfying win if there ever was one. Somehow we were able to hold our lead and win the game, but this was a bit of a nail biter, despite the score. Really puzzled about the targeting. It was 100% the right call and if a player leads with his head and tries to use it as a battering ram it is not only dangerous to the opponent, but also the perp. That this was his second targeting call in 4 games makes me wonder if this kid has a problem. Enthusiasm is one thing, recklessness quite another. I would hope the player has learned his lesson. He is a good defender,but if there was a 3rd incidence, he would never play another down for me again. Since I am ranting...god that broadcast left a lot to be desired (as many have mentioned). And I thought SIU was supposed to have a very good Radio and TV department, or do they not have anything to do with these ESPN games?
It feels good that we can complain about a 13 point victory and a 4-0, 1-0 start. We certainly have areas that need improvement on both sides of the ball, but the fact that we are able to win games against good teams not playing our best is a good sign.
I still don't know that we've put together a complete game (Austin Peay being the closest). Defense got a bit exposed this week, but we were also playing with some pretty young guys in the secondary for long stretches. We gave up too many big plays on 2nd/3rd and longs. On quite a few occasions it just looked like blown assignments (guys were wide open). Hopefully we are able to get that corrected this week.
Offense started off hot, but it felt like we took our foot off the gas. Baker was solid, but he was off on some throws that could have gone for bigger gains. Our run game in the second half was non-existent, that can't happen (injuries certainly didn't help).
Penalties sustained some of their drives and killed some of ours (9 for 66yds), too many we have to clean that up. Special teams was mediocre (missed an XP, but hit two FGs. Shanked a punt).
Overall happy we got the win...on to Youngstown!
