POST GAME THOUGHTS-AGGIES RUN OVER MIZZOU 35-14

We went on the road in a trap game and won by 21 points in an 11 am game. We should be pretty dang happy right now but not so happy that we get complacent. I don't particularly care how good or bad Mizzou is—in reality, we struggled against a Colorado team that has proven to be pretty dang bad. Regardless of how good or bad the opponent is every game gives us an opportunity to learn about our team.

That’s the big challenge with this season, right? We knew what the expectations were coming into this year and we’ve struggled to meet them on both sides of the ball. But as the year has gone at least we’re really starting to figure out what we’re good at and what we’re bad at. And this game was a great laboratory for further exploration. Let’s break it down

OFFENSE

It was a bit surprising to see a starting 5 of Johnson, Green, Foster, Robinson, and Fatheree come out when the amended line of Green, Trainor, Foster, Robinson, and Fatheree played so well last week. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps that 1st group is better at run blocking (as evidenced by us running against a stout Miss. St. front 7) and the second is better at pass blocking. But either way, the offensive line played pretty well today, churning out 42 carries for 283 yards. Zack was only sacked once, so all in all a decent day for the OL.

Zach had a good game. Not a great game, but a good game. He finished 13/25 for 148 with 2 TDs and 1 INT. His struggles throwing that easy swing pass are strange and HAVE to be cleaned up given the identity of this offense, but he also had some beautiful passes including a 21-yard strike on 3rd and 17 to Ainias and at least 3 passes that should have been caught by either Wydermyer or Lane. Good game, not great. But good is good enough.

Spiller and Achane combined for 36 carries for 292 yards. Here’s the issue..about 200 of those came in the first half and then 90 in the second. That’s not necessarily a bad thing...I mean 90 combined rushing yards in a half is pretty good....but the tale of this game is jumping out to a 28-7 lead in the first half (a very dangerous lead if you ask friends who are fans of other regional teams) and then only winning 35-14. We left at least 10 if not 17 points on the field.

DEFENSE

Run defense played well. Gave up 71 yards in the first half and 27 in the second. Pass defense struggled, despite two interceptions, giving up 73 in the first half and then 157 in the second. Again that doesn't seem like that big of a deal but we know who we are now and we struggle against teams that are gonna spread us out and give us eye candy...and we’ve got a few of those left on the schedule.

Jaylon Jones struggled a bit today and I hate that for him because I know he’s talented. He lost contain on a few edge plays got a couple of pass interferences...it seemed like they picked on him. I think he really misses having Myles Jones on the other side of the field. Or maybe he doesn't. I don't know, but I’m confident he can get it figured out.

Front 4 played well today...wasn't quite as disruptive as they were against Bama, but locked in 2 sacks and 4 TFLs. Let’s end on a happy note: Edgerrin Cooper is going to be a dadgum star. He knifed through the defense for a big tackle for loss late in the game. Just a beautiful play.

OVERALL

Good day, not a great one. We covered the spread in a big way, went on the road, and won by 21 points. But we left points on the field and gave them points and yards that we shouldn't have given them. That’s ok for an 11 am game coming off of an emotional victory at Kyle Field.

Time to get back to College Station and clean stuff up. One more game until the Bye and then the frantic race to the finish begins.

BTHO south carolina