Sac State vs. UNC (No, not that one...)

[SDHornet]

Not drinking Kool-Aid...Been watching hornet football for 25 years and have never been one for excuses. I just know that I've seen stuff like this happen for years all around football. So much bad stuff has happened to this program over the last decade that when the team actually wins, I'm going to enjoy it. Especially with the way the team came out in the first half.

It's obvious Sperbeck told the coaches to back off and kill the clock, and it became a slippery slope for the D. The longer they were on the field, the more tired they became.

You also have the curmudgeony Cookie Monster agreeing with you...point for me.

:lol: And I haven't been watching Hornet football nearly that long...hell I'm not even 25 years old yet. I think the most unsettling point, and this is one that SHA pointed out, is that this game was ever so reminiscent of that 2003 Causeway. Taking the lead late in the game only to go to a prevent defense that ended in a catastrophic way, the only difference being this UNC game was a win for the Hornets.

 

[Phantom Hornet]

Not drinking Kool-Aid...Been watching hornet football for 25 years and have never been one for excuses. I just know that I've seen stuff like this happen for years all around football. So much bad stuff has happened to this program over the last decade that when the team actually wins, I'm going to enjoy it. Especially with the way the team came out in the first half.

It's obvious Sperbeck told the coaches to back off and kill the clock, and it became a slippery slope for the D. The longer they were on the field, the more tired they became.

You also have the curmudgeony Cookie Monster agreeing with you...point for me.

:lol: And I haven't been watching Hornet football nearly that long...hell I'm not even 25 years old yet. I think the most unsettling point, and this is one that SHA pointed out, is that this game was ever so reminiscent of that 2003 Causeway. Taking the lead late in the game only to go to a prevent defense that ended in a catastrophic way, the only difference being this UNC game was a win for the Hornets.

Lol...I'm actually only in my 30's. Been coming to games since a wee lad with my pops back when Hornet field held 3k.

It was definitely concerning today.The thing that makes me feel somewhat better was that it was all self inflicted

 

[jj2319]

As unimpressive as the entire D was is as unimpressive as MBT was. Does anyone still want him to start over Smith? This game likely marks Biaz's last.

 

[newfan]

I agree with HHD and others, they won. Next season we'll look back at these games and say those three, four, five games were ugly but we won. That said, I've seen enough of "The Sperbeck Tortoise" move.

 

[superhornet]

Are you guys saying we played prevent for the entire second half?

As if the Navy game didn't just about prove that all the prevent defense does is prevent you from winning. My Middies were lucky they got that safety near the end the way they were letting ND receivers all of a sudden get free....

 

[Phantom Hornet]

Are you guys saying we played prevent for the entire second half?

As if the Navy game didn't just about prove that all the prevent defense does is prevent you from winning. My Middies were lucky they got that safety near the end the way they were letting ND receivers all of a sudden get free....

Basically. They scored, and then we drove right down the field to make it 38-7 and might as well stopped playing right there. They just threw little short screens and slants to drive down the field

 

[Phantom Hornet]

Look at how Montana won today against arguably one of the worst teams in Big Sky history...A last minute field goal 12-10. I'd much rather have what happened to Sac today.

 

[SDHornet]

Recap

It was a tale of two halves in Greeley as the Hornets came out firing on all cylinders in the first half last week. The O-line dominated the line of scrimmage, almost everything the offense did worked, and the defense contained the UNC shotgun option read and intercepted their spread passing attack twice. The Hornets capitalized on the UNC turnovers and jumped to a 31-0 halftime lead. Then everyone hoped on the plane and headed back to Sac. Unfortunately there was a 2nd half still to play and UNC’s hurry up spread attack was able to get going. Fortunately it was too little to late (but not by much) and the Hornets got the win 38-35. The Hornet offense managed 1 TD scoring drive early in the 3rd that turned out to be the difference while the defense held on for dear life.

Special teams:
I’ll start here as I think this area proved to be the difference in the game. Diniz drilled an early FG to get things started. The punt and kick-off coverage was solid all game long, and the on-side recover “hands” team probably saved this game for the Hornets. The only misfire by the special teams was a missed FG (1st of the season) by Diniz in the second half. Fortunately this misfire didn’t come back to haunt them.

Offense:
The offensive line had a tremendous game in the first half. They were blowing UNC defenders off the ball on run plays, opening holes, and gave time for MBT to throw the ball. They also have a great showing on the lone scoring drive in the early 3rd quarter. After that the Hornets took the petal off the accelerator and cruised the rest of the way.

Defense:
The defense played an inspired and motivated first half. They contained the UNC offense and forced a couple of turnovers that the offense capitalized on. They shut out UNC for half of the game and looked to be in complete control. The second half was another story. Thinking back, it seemed as they were caught off guard by the hurry up offense UNC was running and just looked to sleepwalk through the second half. Fortunately the defense held on for just long enough and kept this one in the win column for the Hornets.

At the end of the day the Hornets got the win which is all that matters. This team showed signs of dominance, control, and poise early on. The next step will be to maintain this level of play for 60 minutes.
GO HORNETS!

 

[superhornet]

SD,

Was that missed FG a bad snap, a leaky line, or a kicker goof? Was it a hash kick that would have been good had we centered the ball the down before?

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

According to the broadcast, the ball went right over the tip of the goalpost...so it became a subjective call...everything on the snap looked good. The ball was on the hash I believe...

 

[superhornet]

According to the broadcast, the ball went right over the tip of the goalpost...so it became a subjective call...everything on the snap looked good. The ball was on the hash I believe...

I've always been a proponent of centering the ball. A perfect example is Nate Kaeding, who is notorious for going straight wide from the hash, yet his San Diego coaches have never figured that out.

Subjective call? There was a recent last-play doink FG off the crossbar in either the San Joaquin Athletic Association or the Tri-City Athletic League (I forget the teams, but they were both from Stockton, I believe) that the officials ruled no-good, though replays showed that it WAS in fact good. CIF refused to reverse it. The one-point final spread may have affected the playoff picture. Cr@zy scene with BOTH teams celebrating....

 

[SDHornet]

SD,

Was that missed FG a bad snap, a leaky line, or a kicker goof? Was it a hash kick that would have been good had we centered the ball the down before?

I wish I had an answer, but with quality feed I was getting I couldn't see that type of detail. The missed FG looked to be from the same spot as the made FG earlier in the game. Diniz is a solid kicker and I don't think it really matters where the ball is spotted for him. It was just a miss, these things happen.