Why's every so damn down???

[evilpoke]

I'm checking out the boards, and everyone is all pissy because they didn't win by more.

Time for a reality check.

Virginia, Duke and Temple all LOST to I-AA teams, while Iowa, Indiana, Marshall, Kansas State, Central Florida, SMU won by 8 points or less. I remember Colorado, New Mexico and San Diego State losing to I-AA teams in the past few years too.

You wouldn't classify any of those teams as good - but no one is classifying the Pokes as good either - and NO ONE can tell me the score was indicative of how the game went. This wasn't NO DAK St., where it took a last minute field goal for the win.

I didn't see one area of play where the Pokes didn't improve or were just as good (or bad) as last year. 246 yards rushing? Decent passing attack? +4 in turnovers? Great!

Are there issues? Hell yeah - but finishing games and executing in the red zone are things that practice and a boot in the butt can help. (I'm not holding my breath on the special teams). Coach Dave has only had this team for 8 months or so, but no one can deny the positive influence he's had on the team's performance.

I saw a lot more good things out there than bad. Honestly, the most disappointing thing about yesterday was only 18,000 in the stands.

Let's hope the Pokes represent against Texas, stay healthy, and learn a lot about playing against a top-echelon team before moving on to the rest of the season.

[Wyokie]

Add Hawaii to the list. They barely got past Central Arkansas, 25-20, in a game they should've lost!

[MrTitleist]

The gap between FCS and FBS is narrowing. The top-mid of the FCS is playing the bottom-mid FBS much closer, and even beating them. Northern Iowa was beating Iowa in the 2nd half, I believe. Hawaii was losing at one point. North Dakota St. two years ago beat the MAC champion Central Michigan, as well as Ball St that season. The score of this game wasn't as close as it appeared. Plus, Weber's a top 10 FCS team.

[Stuck]

I agree with you completely, evilpoke. As far as the team looking like they were a little relaxed towards the end of the game, I found this quote from a DC interview which made me feel a little better:
"We gave up that one late scoring drive, but you are not going to take any chances. I told Marty (English) to let them milk it down the field, we don’t care. We’re still in position and the bottom line is the W. No one will look back and say, ‘What was the score of every game?”

The Good :
1) Our offense overall was 100% better than last year and enjoyable to watch.
2) Both quarterbacks played very well! I was quite impressed with ACS's composure in the pocket and at times he was out there directing his team mates like a true veteran.
3) I was also concerned about our untested running backs, but they quickly put that concern to rest.
4) We actually threw timing routes, where last year the ball was never thrown until the receiver was visually open, and that is too late.

The not-so-good :
1) I'm a little concerned about our slow developing run plays and how a more physical defensive line will handle that.
2) Our defensive backs let a few big plays get by them, but I must say, the Weber state receiver with the long hair hanging out of his helmet had incredible hands and the throws were very accurate.
3) Our special teams kick return coverage was a little weak at times.
4) I always thought extra points should be automatic. Guess not!

The most disappointing aspect of the game was the weak attendance numbers, but I must admit, there was a lot of noise generated at times!