THE UPSIDE DOWNSIDE RETURNS

KYLE ALLEN

There is not a QB controversy. Instead there is a veteran sophomore QB very much coming in to his own, backed up by a freshman phenom who will see his day in the limelight eventually too. Allen went 10 of 13 for 126 yards and 3 TD with 0 picks. He also had a nifty little scamper after a QB throwback play, some fun trickeration that netted him 4th on the team in receiving yards last night.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The best receiver on this team is a freshman. That is just the bee's knees. More importantly, in that same receiver Texas A&M's kick and punt return teams have a weapon like none in recent memory. Christian Kirk has made every punt exciting, and the combination of him and Speedy Noil make kick returns potentially lethal at any moment. You know what? Let's just fully jinx it by pointing out that Taylor Bertolet went a perfect 5/5 tonight on PATs, too.

DON'T WANT NO SCRUBS

The final score is not what we were hoping for, but Kevin Sumlin used the large lead to get extensive time for his 2nd, 3rd, 4th, walk-on, and raffle-winner teams. By the end of the 4th quarter passes were being thrown and caught by total strangers. A touchdown saving defensive play was made by the 12th Man. Sure, the "quality of win" may have taken a slight hit, but with a team this thin it was worth it to get them some game time experience.

WITH AN ARM BEHIND OUR BACKS THOUGH

Yes, we got a lot of scrub time in. We also let Ball State score more than Arizona State.

BALL SACKS

We got one. They got four. Yes Ball State stuck to a run game designed to expose the gaps available in our defensive scheme, thus  minimizing sack opportunities. Still, after manhandling Arizona State this number is more than a little disappointing. Hopefully Nevada will not be so fortunate.

STILL #1 IN OUR HEARTS

After suffering an ankle injury while helping A&M to victory against Arizona State, punter, human, and Heisman candidate Drew Kaser suited up but did not play against Ball State. Why even play the game without your best players on the field? GBH would like to wish our virtuoso punter a swift recovery and a great season. You're my boy, Drew.