What a buzzkill after a tremendous start!
Up 14-7 and at the doorstep they run the dive to Koontz after running it the play before. The way Tau-Tolliver had been going to that point — IDK how he doesn’t get the ball on 4th down. That was one of many key, momentum shifting plays in the game.
Also, as others have pointed out, Kaiden Bennett missed on open throws that most of us believe Conklin makes. Because he’s able to throw with touch. That’s a skill Kaiden just doesn’t seem to possess. He’s a one-pitch pitcher, so-to-speak. Nothing but line drive fastballs. We saw the difference immediately when Carson came into the game and threw a picture perfect corner route to Scudero.
IIRC we saw the same thing last season when Bennett left a game due to injury and Conklin replaced him. But for whatever reasons the coaches still seem to believe that Bennett is the better fit. Kaiden must be showing more in practice than we are seeing in games. IDK. Either that, or this staff just prefers to play the upperclassman.
All I know is this fan has a lot more confidence in Carson Conklin running the offense and slinging the football than I do in Kaiden Bennett. Reading through this thread, it doesn’t appear that I’m alone.
One positive callout on the offensive side of the ball was the o-line and Tau-Tolliver. The line was kicking the Spartans @$$ the first half and Tau-Tolliver was running through them. Let’s hope that continues the rest of the season!
Defensive was a mixed bag. On one hand they made some big plays. The early interception by Kenion III was nice, as was the jarring hit by Puloka that forced a turnover. I thought the Will Leota ejection was a tough call that could have gone either way. It was a tough, aggressive hit regardless. Sometimes those things just work against you, and tonight it did.
The inability to slow Nash was certainly disheartening. Coach Thompson needs to get the secondary figured out. Tonight looked a bit like Hornet secondaries of old.
All in all it was a tough lump to swallow to start the new season. Hopefully they rebound next week down in Fresno. Here’s hoping the Wolverines beat up and soften FSU quite a bit on Saturday.
