Cal Poly Game Thread

[trueblue]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Not sure how anyone can place the blame for the loss on TOB?? The int for touchdown was a ball that should have been caught according to Imming and Merriam- "right through his hands." The fumble in the endzone- poor play call IMO- poor execution by the line and back on blitz pick up. Why not try to run the ball on the first couple of plays and just try to get a first down. No first down- put it on the D to get us to OT. The last int was on him, but what do you expect from a guy playing for the first time at this level. Even at that point they knew we had to throw the ball and only had to play pass defense. Fact of the matter is we had more mistakes than we have had so far- two 15 yard penalties that helped them move the ball (gain field position) and numerous drops from the WR's, in addition to the turnovers.

[Nidaros]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Oh I suppose there is enough blame to go around to everyone for losing. Even TV of the Argus and WNAX are probably not faultless, who knows. We just have to move on. The game film is of interest to the team and they will no doubt use it this week in figuring out what they did wrong. TOB says he is ready so lets get behind him. Lets hope Crawford career is not over. It does not look good though.

[filbert]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Not sure why there is the note of anger/desperation in some post-game posts. Forgive me if I don't participate this time in the usual ritual of fan bipolar behavior.

If you lose your starting quarterback in the first half on the road against a decent opponent, you've got a big problem. In addition to turning to a guy the coaches think is less capable of running the offense than the starter, the entire team's confidence takes a short-term hit when you lose a starting quarterback. That's just human nature--it happens.

I'm disappointed that our running game wasn't as effective as it has been, and that our receiving corps couldn't handle some of O'Brien's passes. But that will get better, too. The play call for the O'Brien pass deep in our end can be questioned, but then the rushing game wasn't really clicking against Cal Poly, so I think even criticism there has to have an asterisk beside it.

If you want to say "we should have won the game anyway" then you're welcome to that opinion. Games are won by the teams that take advantage of the opportunities that arise during the game. Cal Poly manufactured their opportunities and took advantage of SDSU mistakes, the Jacks didn't, and didn't. If that one interception play had gone the other way, the game might have ended 21-14 Jacks rather than 21-14 CP and this year's team would have been the greatest Jackrabbit football team in history, or whatever.

Woulda, shoulda, coulda. We lost.

It's not like we were blown out or anything. The fact that we could still have won the game if even a couple of plays had gone the other way is to me an encouraging sign. O'Brien will be a much better QB next week, and a better one the week after, and the week after that. Against CP he looked very much like a talented freshman with lots of potential. Our defense is still pretty good. We're still on top of the conference, going into the next two games which are very winnable before what I hope is a Hobo Day showdown against UNI.

We lost. It sucks. But it happens. Going undefeated in a season is hard. We are still in a good place. It could be better, but I'd still rather be where we are than where NDSU is right now.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Filbert: We lost. It sucks. But it happens. Going undefeated in a season is hard. We are still in a good place. It could be better, but I'd still rather be where we are than where NDSU is right now.

RR: And I'd much rather be 3-1 than 1-3 as Jacks have been most FCS season starts.

[sfjacksfan99]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

I'm glad I was bombed when I found out the result of the game last night. To lose in that manner is so disappointing.

I recall a few years ago a young quarterback coming in for a veteran named Andy Kardoes when he got hurt (2005 i believe). That young qb was named Ryan Berry. He started a couple of games and showed a ton of potential, but made some dumb mistakes. I felt he was better than Kardoes at that time and wanted him to stay the starter, but that didn't happen. This situation reminds me of that, except it doesn't sound like RC's coming back, which makes a guy sick to think of.

The difference between the 2005 team and this team is the defense. The defense that year gave up a bunch of points. After last night, NOW I BELIEVE. That triple option crap with their talent is the toughest thing Jacks teams have attempted to stop in the past. This defense is the anchor of this team. The offense needs to learn to run the ball effectively against any opponent and don't put the game in the hands of TOB.

The playoffs are still possible, but they can only lose one more game outside of the Gophers, who what I watched of yesterday can be scored on left and right by a good high school team. It starts next week. Mo. State is way better than the team that got manhandled last year at CAS. Lock 'em down defense!

[Nidaros]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Ditto's with mod comments.(filbert and Rabidrabbit). All makes good sense to me. Gee think about Indiana State, that really got to be tough to take especially if you are a real long time alum and fan such as myself.

If you look at SDSU records, I don't think we ever had a loss streak of 30 games or more, and I really dont know what our consective loss record is maybe 8 or 9 games at the most. Of course on the other hand we dont have 8 National Championship banners hanging for us to worship either and thats fine as far as I am concerned. Winning is important but there is no guarentee that it will always happen. Time for our guys to re-group and I trust that they do exactly that. Crawford like everyone else came to SDSU to play football, but I am sure he feels the education he received at SDSU at little or no cost is of value too.

[sfjacksfan99]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

It didn't feel to me that the playbook was scaled back for TOB. I don't really remember Crawford slinging it downfield at all. Most (all?) of his long passes were slants or short passes where the WR broke a tackle. I like TOB. If Craw is out, I think we'll be fine. He just needs game experience and reps with the first team.

Agreed. The longest pass (in the air) that RC threw was an awful pass against Indiana State and it was picked off.

The pieces of the game I listened to and then read off here, there were a lot of missed opportunities that should have never led to the airmailed INT TOB threw to end the game (the turnover that was his fault). The Jacks receivers caught absolutely everything thrown at them the first three games which was evident in RC's 70% completion percentage. They dropped drive killing passes numerous times and they can't have a TE that is being looked at by the NFL let a ball go through his hands that goes for a pick 6. The last two weeks they have had some real bonehead penalties moving the opponent down the field. That crap needs to quit. The Bison had a huge gain very late in their game yesterday down to the 8 yard line that got moved back to midfield because of a bonehead personal foul. They could have/should have won that game without that penalty.

I know the Jacks have a we're gong to kick your @$$ defense on every down and a lot of it comes from intensity, but a guy's still got to be mentally in the game.

[RabbitinTea]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

One thing that we're overlooking is that our O-Line isn't playing like a squad that has multiple NFL prospects. We're not imposing our will against anyone right now. Like someone said earlier, we should be a run-heavy team. We haven't been able to run it like I think we should so far this season. Also, to reiterate what someone said...TOB is going to need a little more time. He won't be making many plays with his feet like Craw did and the O-line needs to give him some time.

One final thing that I've observed over the years. I can remember the first game for a few pretty decent QBs. Rennerfelt looked awful and was an excellent QB (under-rated by most), Feldheim looked absolutely terrible, Kardoes and Berry also appeared below average in their first couple of starts. I think TOB looked better than all of them, considering the tipped pass, then the fumble which was kind of out of his control. This doesn't mean he will actually BE better than those guys, just a point of reference. As a side note, I think Nelson may have been the only one who didn't look a little shaky.

Just my .02

[Jacks-02]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Haven't seen any mention of it on here, but did Jake Steffen get injured last night? It looked like he took a shot to the knee in the second half and then Thompson played most of the rest of the way.

Precaution or injury?

[NorCalJack]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Well it was probably good to get TOB plenty of reps in this game. Eventually the game will slow down for him and he will play better because of it.

The receivers also had to make an adjustment during the game. Crawford does not sling the ball and has good touch. That is why he was completing 70% of his passes. The receivers are not use to the ball being delivered by TOB. The ball is thrown harder and get there a little faster. I think that is why the ball went through the TE's hands for the INT.

A week of practice will be good for the passing game. I just hope they have enough to win on the road next week.

[Jackfan2000]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

O'Brien is only a freshman who showed some bright many spots last night.
Things to remember:
-- First INT was not his fault
-- O-Line and RB protection were terrible on the fumble, he barely got 2 steps down before getting smothered by 5 guys. It was almost as if there was no protestion.
-- Last INT was maybe forced a little but give him a break, he was trying to make something happen
-- Berry threw 4 INT's in last years first game- he turned out fine.
-- O'Brien has not been working with the starting WR's

This one game in the end should not hurt us for the playoffs. Let's hope that 1) O'Brien gets some good experience while Crawford is out 2) And pray that crawford can finish his career strong when he gets back

Lastly, too many stupid penalties last night.We will bounce back!

[1bunnies]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Haven't seen any mention of it on here, but did Jake Steffen get injured last night? It looked like he took a shot to the knee in the second half and then Thompson played most of the rest of the way.

Precaution or injury?

Yes, Jake was injured in the game last night also. The word I have heard is that both his injury and Ryan's are very serious. Hopefully not, but their seasons may be over. I feel bad for Ryan after battling through last season injury and earning the starting QB spot. Good luck and speedy recoveries to both.

[SUPERFAN]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

Jake Steffen is getting an MRI today to check on his knee injury. Right now we can only hope for the best for him and Crawford. The team has to rally. 1-0 every week.

[GBGBGJ]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

It was scaled back like last year. There's a reason why O'Brien averaged 4.5 a completion. The pass plays were for him to hike the ball and than quick sling it to the flats or to hit a WR on a quick slant. Plays where he didn't have to make reads, just hike it, sling it and hope the receiver can break it.

All in all, he did what he was asked to and had good touch on his balls. He was put into a tough situation for a redshirt freshman. The game was our defense vs. their defense and Cal Poly's defense ended up winning.

A lot of season left, but this game would have been huge for giving us breathing room to get into the playoffs. We can only afford two losses now, probably to UofM and UNI. SDSU football has come along way, and now it needs to take the next step and win the big games. I know the coaches and players expect it and won't be satisfied with anything less than the playoffs this year.

Why is the UNI game already a loss in some peoples mind? If we cant beat them at CAS on Hobo Day how do we expect to beat them in the playoffs at their place or on a neutral field? And if we cant beat them then, what does it matter if we make the playoffs or not? I know it would help in recruiting and in future years, but I think we have the talent to win the whole thing this year. Our starting defense has given up ONE OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN IN FOUR GAMES. That is remarkable. We have one of the best running backs in the FCS and TOB will get much, much better. He doesnt have a whole lot of chemistry with the receivers so once he develops that it will make a world of difference. Also, is the reason there were so many dropped balls because of the velocity difference between TOB and Craw?

[JackJD]

Re: Cal Poly Game Thread

GBGBGJ -- relax, it's a message board. Personally, I think we'll beat UNI and I bet the entire team and coaching staff will say the same after we put away Missouri State and NDSU (1-0 each weekend!).