-
Hi Guest,
We've updated the site to combine all the forums that were part of the Big Sky Fans Network into one location. This will make it easier to navigate and participate in all the discussions for each school without having to have multiple accounts, etc. We are still working out some tweaks but please let us know if you notice anything.
With the migration, in some circumstances, your username could have been merged with one of your other usernames from the other forums. If this is the case, you can request to change your username in your account details page of your profile. -
Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!
-
Guest, do want an ad free experience on BigSkyFans.com among other benefits? Upgrade your account today!
Simply click your profile name > account upgrades > BigSky Club > choose between the year long subscription (two free months) or month to month
Thanks for the continued support. Cheers!
Week 2 - #8/8 Sac State at Fresno State
- Thread starter SDHornet
- Start date
HornetHope
Active member
man we need Conk in the game!
HornetHope
Active member
Nice drive by Conklin
30-46 Hornet loss. An abysmal opening quarter put the Hornets well behind early on, but the Hornets found their composure and put together a respectable showing the rest of the way. However, Fresno State was just too overwhelming for the Hornets.
As expected, the Hornet secondary got torched and they kicked things off with a big blown coverage to gift the Bulldogs an easy score on the first play from scrimmage. That big play set the tone for the secondary for the remainder of the evening as they gave up 358 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. The secondary did manage an interception in the 2nd quarter by a good play on the ball by Eian Moore (6 tak, 1 INT) while Will Leaota (8 tak, 1 INT) had another interception in the 3rd quarter. Up front the Hornet defense played the run well. The Bulldogs didn’t surpass 100 yard rushing until late in the game, and finished with 155 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
The Hornet offense sputtered early on, but came alive in the 2nd quarter. Kaiden Bennett (5/13, 135 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) came back into the game and found Jared Gipson (5 rec, 138 yds, 1 TD) for a 78 yard catch and run. Unfortunately, KB made an awful play in the redzone that resulted in an interception at the end of the 1st half and was benched for the rest of the game. Carson Conklin (20/37, 219 yds, 3 TD) had a solid showing off the bench. Conklin led the Hornets for an opening drive touchdown to open up the 2nd half, made some good throws and overall had an impressive showing against a strong defense. On the ground, the Hornets found some success as Elijah Tau-Tolliver (14 car, 74 yds, 3 rec, 10 yds) had a solid game. Unfortunately, the Hornets weren’t able to convert on a few short yardage scenarios and the running game was largely negated due to the deficit the Hornets were chasing. The Hornets totaled 115 yards on the ground.
Special teams had their worst game in a long time. Cal McGough (45.4 ypp) dropped 4 of 7 punts inside the 20 and the punt coverage pounced/forced and recovered a fumble on a punt return…but they gave up a big return for a touchdown which will always overshadow the good.
Here are my takeaways from the game
No need to over analyze this game as the Hornets were facing another FBS opponent. After the first 2 weeks, the Hornet offense looks more than capable of moving and putting up points, but need to take care of the football. Defensively, the Hornets need to find answers in the secondary while the defensive line has looked strong and the linebackers look more than capable of having a presence. Now the Hornets will look to put it all together in the home opener next week.
Stingers up!
As expected, the Hornet secondary got torched and they kicked things off with a big blown coverage to gift the Bulldogs an easy score on the first play from scrimmage. That big play set the tone for the secondary for the remainder of the evening as they gave up 358 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. The secondary did manage an interception in the 2nd quarter by a good play on the ball by Eian Moore (6 tak, 1 INT) while Will Leaota (8 tak, 1 INT) had another interception in the 3rd quarter. Up front the Hornet defense played the run well. The Bulldogs didn’t surpass 100 yard rushing until late in the game, and finished with 155 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
The Hornet offense sputtered early on, but came alive in the 2nd quarter. Kaiden Bennett (5/13, 135 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) came back into the game and found Jared Gipson (5 rec, 138 yds, 1 TD) for a 78 yard catch and run. Unfortunately, KB made an awful play in the redzone that resulted in an interception at the end of the 1st half and was benched for the rest of the game. Carson Conklin (20/37, 219 yds, 3 TD) had a solid showing off the bench. Conklin led the Hornets for an opening drive touchdown to open up the 2nd half, made some good throws and overall had an impressive showing against a strong defense. On the ground, the Hornets found some success as Elijah Tau-Tolliver (14 car, 74 yds, 3 rec, 10 yds) had a solid game. Unfortunately, the Hornets weren’t able to convert on a few short yardage scenarios and the running game was largely negated due to the deficit the Hornets were chasing. The Hornets totaled 115 yards on the ground.
Special teams had their worst game in a long time. Cal McGough (45.4 ypp) dropped 4 of 7 punts inside the 20 and the punt coverage pounced/forced and recovered a fumble on a punt return…but they gave up a big return for a touchdown which will always overshadow the good.
Here are my takeaways from the game
- This was shaping up to be a 50 point blowout, but the Hornets weathered Fresno State's early barrage and were able to climb back into the game and salvage a respectable showing. Good on this team for not folding up the tent and mailing it in after the 1st quarter.
- Turnovers are killing this team. The Hornets put the ball on the ground too much and KB makes too many poor throws. ETT put the ball on the ground in the redzone, which was negated by Leota’s interception, which was negated by KBs awful cross body throw for a pick. A score at the end of the 1st half in that sequence would have made the 2nd half much more interesting.
- Red zone offense needs to be better. Hornets went ⅗ in the redzone with those 2 misses being turnovers. See above. Also only cashing in that muffed punt for a field goal instead of a touchdown was a missed opportunity.
- Hornet offense needs to figure out how to convert on 3rd down. A lot of low percentage down and distance situations last night, going away from the running game (due to falling behind by multiple scores) had a lot to do with that.
- The Hornet offense putting up 30 points and 469 total yards on a pretty stout Fresno State defense is a strong indication of good things to come. No need to doom over the opening losses.
- Even though KB was benched, he did bring a spark to this team and was a big part in the Hornets climbing back into this game. The errant passes needed to stop, but I think we all know that they won’t. The versatility his talent brings to the offense can’t be denied.
- Conklin finally performed well against a good defense. He looked shaky early on but had a good performance in the 2nd half. Some of his stats came late in the game and his evening was punctuated with a touchdown pass to Anderson Grover (2 rec, 66 yds, 1 TD). Conklin also made good decisions and was able to avoid some sacks and throw the ball away a few times.
- Hornet offensive line held their own. They didn’t give up any sacks and were able to get a push on the rush. I thought they would have their struggles with the Bulldog front but this group continues to impress.
- Hornet secondary got beat badly yet again, not sure if there is reason to think this will ever change. On a positive note for the defense, a lot of open tackles were made by the secondary.
- The Hornet defensive line and linebackers did well against the rush. I thought the Hornet front would get pushed around by the Bulldog offensive line but their run game didn’t stack until garbage time.
- Hornets suffered another major injury as Kaleb Higgins was carted off with an air cast on his leg. Injuries are starting to stack up and we’re only 2 weeks into the season.
No need to over analyze this game as the Hornets were facing another FBS opponent. After the first 2 weeks, the Hornet offense looks more than capable of moving and putting up points, but need to take care of the football. Defensively, the Hornets need to find answers in the secondary while the defensive line has looked strong and the linebackers look more than capable of having a presence. Now the Hornets will look to put it all together in the home opener next week.
Stingers up!
HornetFootballFan
Active member
I’ve lost my confidence in KB. His head is not in the game. His decision making has been poor.
I’d start Conklin and I’d sprinkle in KB in scenarios where I need possible QB keeper and or a roll out pass less than 20 yds.
Beyond that he just throws his best bullet, his lack of finesse w the ball doesn’t give him those over the shoulder sideline throws to WR’s.
Yes. Conklin might be a bit insecure when instead of being a 2 QB program he names KB starter and only plays Conklin after KB starts melting mentally w bad choices. His body language shows defeat slumping shoulders, the weak trot to sidelines. Compare that to his best performance vs Stanford.
Go watch that game again compare.
The team showed resilience! Agree many would have given up after the Q1 mistakes. Happy to see that!
We need to get mentally healthy with BIG showcase next week against FCS. Confidence is key.
I missed portion of game but once I saw Conklin in game it appeared he throwing better quality passes. However our receivers dropped several catchable balls. He has hitting them in the hands even in tight coverage.
If he can get those guys catching those we will be solid w Conklin at QB!
Other than keeping in KB too long. I was more satisfied with OC Bobby F with play calling this game.
The FBS with larger rosters have the depth that we lack for player injuries. Hoping we can get healthy and beat up some FCS to stay in the Top 10.
KB had a nice dime to Grover along the sideline for 30 yards on the drive at the end of the 2nd quarter that culminated with an ETT fumble in the redzone. We've seen him make throws like that before. It's the frozen ropes down the middle of the field that he can't make. Truth be told his arm looked fine last night, it was the awful decision to throw across the field in the redzone that did him in and his penchant to play hero ball instead of just taking what the defense is giving him. I still believe this team will see plenty of wins with KB taking the snap so long as he is healthy, but it's not likely he cleans up these mental lapses at this point.
The issue with Conklin at the helm is that it is a totally different playbook than when KB is in. It felt like a time warp back to the early 2000s with ace formation sets from under center and basic shotgun sets. The read option is off the table when Conklin is in. He's still developing and I think he will be a damn good quarterback here, but the offensive philosophy noticeably changes when he is in. The playbook will grow as his development progresses, but I'm not sure if the read option plays will be viable until he proves he can be an occasional running/scrambling threat.
I think our offense would be pretty scary if we saw the situational quarterback use on a play by play basis as KB and Conklin compliment each other quite well. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that Coach Fresques wants to utilize such an approach. Damn shame.
The issue with Conklin at the helm is that it is a totally different playbook than when KB is in. It felt like a time warp back to the early 2000s with ace formation sets from under center and basic shotgun sets. The read option is off the table when Conklin is in. He's still developing and I think he will be a damn good quarterback here, but the offensive philosophy noticeably changes when he is in. The playbook will grow as his development progresses, but I'm not sure if the read option plays will be viable until he proves he can be an occasional running/scrambling threat.
I think our offense would be pretty scary if we saw the situational quarterback use on a play by play basis as KB and Conklin compliment each other quite well. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that Coach Fresques wants to utilize such an approach. Damn shame.
OldSchoolHornet
Active member
SD...your analysis is pretty darn easy to agree with. I just want to add/reiterate that our deficiencies...other than depth...can all be fixed and won't be nearly as glaring once we start playing FCS teams.
I'm still hopeful for this team doing some special things.
I'm still hopeful for this team doing some special things.
Kadeezy
Active member
We're scoring some decent points against good FBS defenses, It's time to run wild on some FCS foes and get right...
HornetFootballFan
Active member
Great Input…. Do you think a Pistol Formation might be better for Conklin?
Super Hornet 2.0
Active member
I'm not a fan of the Pistol at all, but if Conklin responds to it, I'll just deal with it. The much bigger issue is the repeated second-half disappearance of an outstanding running game every stinking week. THAT has got to be fixed above all else....
I'm not sure. If Conklin isn't going to keep it frequent enough on read option plays to keep a defense honest then it would be better for the running game. But if this offense is going to be more pass happy with Conklin slinging it all over the field then maybe shotgun would be better. I guess it depends on the identity the offense will have with him in full time.
Agreed and I share this same optimism. Loads of talent on this roster, no reason to doom after 2 FBS losses.
