Week 3: Sac State vs. Northern Colorado

[SDHornet]

The 2:00 start was brutal, I don't know how the guys on the field did it. I lasted a half in the stands before the heat got to me. I'm sure it played a part in the sloppiness, as well as the low attendance.

I also saw 5-star recruit Eddie Vanderdoes at the game, can I start the rumors that he has changed his mind on USC and is coming to Sac?

I heard 7,400 for the game. Fvcking pathetic. :thumbdown:

It was 95 degrees, an odd 2pm kick and against Northern Colorado. I mean, Northern Colorado who went 0-11 last year.
But still I agree.

No excuse following a win over a Pac-12 opponent. Too hot, too cold, give me a fvcking break. Maybe we should build a "dome" so that excuse is eliminated. :roll:

 

[Phantom Hornet]

The 2:00 start was brutal, I don't know how the guys on the field did it. I lasted a half in the stands before the heat got to me. I'm sure it played a part in the sloppiness, as well as the low attendance.

I also saw 5-star recruit Eddie Vanderdoes at the game, can I start the rumors that he has changed his mind on USC and is coming to Sac?

I heard 7,400 for the game. Fvcking pathetic. :thumbdown:

It was 95 degrees, an odd 2pm kick and against Northern Colorado. I mean, Northern Colorado who went 0-11 last year.
But still I agree.

No excuse following a win over a Pac-12 opponent. Too hot, too cold, give me a fvcking break. Maybe we should build a "dome" so that excuse is eliminated. :roll:

Well, agree to disagree. I was there and it was unbearable. Bad decision to have it at 2:00 on a 95 degree day. This isn't LSU, Michigan, USC or even Montana. You need to do everything you can to get butts in the seats by making it appealing to the community, and having the game early against a crap opponent on a day when its hard to sit in the sun for 5 minutes let alone 3 hours on metal bleachers is going to result in nobody showing. It is what it is.

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

The 2:00 start was brutal, I don't know how the guys on the field did it. I lasted a half in the stands before the heat got to me. I'm sure it played a part in the sloppiness, as well as the low attendance.

I also saw 5-star recruit Eddie Vanderdoes at the game, can I start the rumors that he has changed his mind on USC and is coming to Sac?

I heard 7,400 for the game. Fvcking pathetic. :thumbdown:

It was 95 degrees, an odd 2pm kick and against Northern Colorado. I mean, Northern Colorado who went 0-11 last year.
But still I agree.

No excuse following a win over a Pac-12 opponent. Too hot, too cold, give me a fvcking break. Maybe we should build a "dome" so that excuse is eliminated. :roll:

Come on you know how people are in the valley about the heat. (I'm not saying I disagree with you).

 

[SDHornet]

I agree abou the poor start time. Bad decision all around. Disagree about the seats. Enough beers or hard A in the tailgate would wipe away any physical and emotional feelings for the first half.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Well, agree to disagree. I was there and it was unbearable. Bad decision to have it at 2:00 on a 95 degree day. This isn't LSU, Michigan, USC or even Montana. You need to do everything you can to get butts in the seats by making it appealing to the community, and having the game early against a crap opponent on a day when its hard to sit in the sun for 5 minutes let alone 3 hours on metal bleachers is going to result in nobody showing. It is what it is.

I agree.

I was intent on going until I saw the weather report last night forecasting near triple digits. I thought about sucking it up and bearing the heat in an effort to support the team, but, alas, decided to wait until next week against North Dakota and a 6:05pm start time. Plus, I knew I'd be able to watch the game on Big Sky TV.

Yes, I know ... I'm a bad fan. But I WILL be out there next Saturday.

 

[VespidaeII]

Y'all need to spend some time south of the Mason Dixon line, where its hotter than Hades and your sitting in a pool of sweat, and nobody leaves at half time. The play? Not so hot.

 

[SJHornet]

Y'all need to spend some time south of the Mason Dixon line, where its hotter than Hades and your sitting in a pool of sweat, and nobody leaves at half time. The play? Not so hot.

No thanks

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Y'all need to spend some time south of the Mason Dixon line, where its hotter than Hades and your sitting in a pool of sweat, and nobody leaves at half time. The play? Not so hot.

No thanks

+1

There's a reason why California is one of the most populated states in the US. .... because most don't want to spend any time south of the Mason Dixon line, let alone live there.

 

[VespidaeII]

Sure, there is a reason Buckeye, but it is not your stated reason. There has been a steady migration out of the state over last decade due to housing crisis and economy but is offset by children of immigrants staying. My point was simply that the heat doesn't keep southerners home, but than it is a religion down there. For Californians, it is an entertainment option. I was at the game today and was disappointed with the now-shows and to see the student section empty out and exit the gates at half time.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

I wouldnt want to be the AD at Miami, talk about apathetic attendance.

 

[SDHornet]

Sure, there is a reason Buckeye, but it is not your stated reason. There has been a steady migration out of the state over last decade due to housing crisis and economy but is offset by children of immigrants staying. My point was simply that the heat doesn't keep southerners home, but than it is a religion down there. For Californians, it is an entertainment option. I was at the game today and was disappointed with the now-shows and to see the student section empty out and exit the gates at half time.

:roll: :lol:

 

[SDHornet]

Recap/Thoughts

The Hornets didn’t have a good game, but the game was still won the home opener with a final score of 28-17 to remain undefeated against Northern Colorado. The Hornets improve to 2-1 and wrapped up out of conference play. The Hornets were pretty inconsistent throughout much of the game but the defense was able to maintain control and keep a lid on things. It was not a pretty performance compared to the previous two games and the massive amounts of penalties by both teams didn’t help matters either.

Offense
The Hornets capitalized on an early UNC turnover and jumped out to an early lead with a 40 yard strike from (#12) Garret Safron to (#13) Morris Norrise. Unfortunately things did not look so pretty the rest of the half and Safron went on to have a subpar day as he did not throw the ball well for much of it. Safron struggled even with the short passes early and the offense could not find its stride. The offensive line was outplayed for much of the first half but the offense did muster one other scoring drive in the first half which was kept alive in large part to untimely UNC penalties. The Hornets also missed out on a great opportunity at the end of the first half to increase the lead as Safron threw a good ball to (#81) Blake Robertson. It would have been a tough acrobatic catch had Robertson came down with it and the Hornets would have had all the momentum heading into the second half.

The second half went differently. The OL found its motivation and (#8) Ezekiel Graham was able to put together a good game coming just a few years short of a 100 yarder. Safron also looked a little better and had some good throws, one of which went for a TD strike to over the middle to (#2) DeAndre Carter.

I didn’t like the way the Hornets took their foot off the gas in both play calling and physical play. After the opening TD, a lot of low risk “play not to lose” type of plays were called for most of the game. The offense did not have that killer instinct it displayed during the first 2 games and it clearly showed.

Game Stats:

• • Passing: 177 yds (5.9 ypc), 2 TD’s
  • Rushing: 164 yds (4.1 ypr), 2 TD’s
  • Total Offense: 341 yds, 4 TD’s
  • Time of Possession: 30:33
  • Turnovers: 2 (1 INT, 1 Fum on a punt return)
  • Penalties: 9 for 82 yds
  • (#12) Safron: 16 of 30 for 177 yds, 2 TD’s, 1 INT, 5 carries for 17 yds
  • (#8) Graham: 21 carries for 98 yds, 1 TD
  • (#13) Norrise: 4 recs for 61 yds, 1 TD
  • (#24) McCowan: 6 carries for 35yds, 1 TD, 2 recs for 13 yds
  • (#81) Robertson: 3 rec for 21 yds
  • (#21) Ellis: 8 carries for 16 yds
  • (#80) Broadnax: 3 recs for 15 yds
  • (#2) Carter: 2 recs for 19 yds, 1 TD
  • (#17) Knowles: 1 rec for 45 yds
  • (#10) Dotson: 1 rec for 3 yds

The offense is going to have a lot of work to do heading into next week. I was very unimpressed with the throws by Safron and the receivers this game. There were just too many tips (mainly due to throws that were off target) and too many drops when Safron did throw a good ball. The offensive line needs to be aggressive for the entire game. The OL was able to open up some running room in the second half and this unit will need to keep its intensity level up for an entire game. This team cannot afford to take its foot off the pedal.

Defense
The Hornet defense did their job this week. They limited what UNC was able to do early on and even minimized the fumble by Carter to a field goal. The defensive line was outplayed early on by the UNC offensive line but the defense got stops when it needed to. The defense also forced turnovers which made a big difference in the game. On the first play the defense forced a fumble that the Hornets immediately converted into 7 points and also made 3 INT’s. The last INT was the game sealer and happened on a UNC drive late in the 4th quarter.

The Hornets did get some pressure on UNC but it wasn’t consistent and it probably should have been better. There were also a few missed tackles that gave up some extra yardage. Overall the secondary had good coverage and (#1) Osagie Odiase made quite a few plays. UNC did get some yardage late in the game but this Hornet defense only allowed 1 TD and secured the win even though they were on the field for much of the 4th quarter.

Game Stats:

• • Passing Allowed: 327 yds (5.9 ypc)
  • Rushing Allowed: 72 yds (4.4 ypr), 1 TD
  • Total Offense Allowed: 399 yds, 1 TD
  • Opponent Tim of Possession: 29:27
  • Turnovers Forced: 4 (3 INT’s, 1 Fum)
  • Opponents Penalties: 11 for 117 yds
  • (#1) Odiase: 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 3 BU’s
  • (#6) McMahon: 10 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, 1 BU
  • (#11) Badger: 10 tackles
  • (#91) Davis: 8 tackles
  • (#3) Dijon Washington: 7 tackles
  • (#31) Williams: 5 tackles
  • (#7/#14) Armstrong/ (#48) Fernandez/ (#44) Sankey: 4 tackles
  • (#29) Beale: 3 tackles, 1 INT
  • (#92) Kelley/ (#62) Lawrence: 2 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s
  • (#51) White: 2 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
  • (#94) Eskew: 2 tackles
  • (#97) Castro: 1 tackle, 1 TFL, 1 sack
  • (#98) Faimalo: 1 tackle, 1 TFL
  • (#90) Cowger/ (#35) Totty/ (#56) Sannadan: 1 tackle

The defense did what it needed to do but will still need to clean some things up heading into next week. The pass rush will need to find more consistency and there are still quite a few missed tackles that could lead to big plays by opponents. The defense also needs to clean up on some of the untimely penalties. There were a couple instances where penalties extended a UNC drive. The officiating was questionable and the infractions may not have been worth of a flag, but this is just something the Hornets need to clean up.

Special Teams
This was by far the worst part of the game for the Hornets. Carter had an inexcusable fumble on a punt return that negated all the early momentum the Hornets had. The sad part of it was the fumble came on the end of a good return and Carter just needs to know when not to try and make something out of nothing. On the other side of the punting, the punt coverage allowed a 74 yard return for a TD by the ever dangerous (#16) Dominic Gunn of UNC. This was in large part due to a short, low punt by (#57) Smith Heath who had a total shankfest of a day. In fact his day was so bad that he was benched in favor of (#45) Justin Weldon who went on to have a tremendous day.

The kick coverage had a good day. The coverage did an excellent job of containing Gunn and UNC was not able to get big returns. (#53) Brad Cornish also got a shot at kickoff duty and had some longer kicks than (#52) Edward Ruhnke. Conversely the Hornets did not have a good game returning the ball. A lot of UNC kickoffs were caught a couple of yards into the endzone, and Carter was unable to reach the 25 yard line on a most, if not all of them. It got to the point where Carter was pulled from his kickoff returning duties. Lastly the field goal unit was perfect and did not allow a blocked PAT.

Game Stats:

• • (#58) Castaneda: 0 FG’s, 4/4 PAT’s
  • (#45) Justin Weldon: 4 punts for a 52.8 ypp avg., 2 I-20
  • (#57) Heath: 3 punts for a 32.0 ypp avg.
  • (#53) Cornish: 3 kickoffs for a 63.3 ypk avg.
  • (#52) Ruhnke: 2 kickoffs for a 60.0 ypk avg.
  • (#2) Carter: 2 kr for 44 yds (22.0 ypr, long of 23 yds), 1 pr for 19 yds
  • (#24) McCowan: 1 kr for 18 yds
  • Kick Coverage: Allowed 77 yds on 5 returns (15.4 ypr)
  • Punt Coverage: Allowed 87 yds on 4 returns (21.8 ypr), 1 TD

The special teams have been pretty decent for the first two weeks of the season but completely fell apart in this game. Heath had a terrible game which was reminiscent to a lot of his games last season. Weldon should be the starting punter unless he screws up and gives reason to go back to Heath, but if Weldon is consistent going forward then we have probably seen the last of Heath. The punt coverage will need to get it together as it simply cannot allow easy points on returns. Also the kickoff return game will have to get it together. If a returner is going to take it out of the endzone, he better be able to at least get to the 25 yard line, otherwise it is a better play to take the touchback.

Injuries
I think the Hornets got through this one relatively injury free. Safron did not take any big hits and the players on both sides of the line looked to be in good shape. Kudos to Parker for rotating in a lot of defensive players to keep them fresh. There has seemed to be a merry-go-round of players at both the defensive line and in the secondary. The announcers did say that Bloomfield is out for the season with his punctured lung. Can anyone confirm this? This is a loss but not a huge one; it mostly means one less body to rotate at the DE spot.

Well the Hornets had an off day but still pulled out the win. The Hornets are going to have to get it together as a tough North Dakota team comes to Hornet Stadium next week for the beginning of Big Sky play. Let’s hope the Hornets use this win in the home opener as a momentum and confidence booster heading into next week.

Go Hornets!

Hornetsports Recap: http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=10632

SSS Recap: http://sacstatesports.com/2012/09/15/sac-state-28-northern-colorado-17/

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Sure, there is a reason Buckeye, but it is not your stated reason. There has been a steady migration out of the state over last decade due to housing crisis and economy but is offset by children of immigrants staying. My point was simply that the heat doesn't keep southerners home, but than it is a religion down there. For Californians, it is an entertainment option. I was at the game today and was disappointed with the now-shows and to see the student section empty out and exit the gates at half time.

:roll: :lol:

Your roll of the eyes is correct. Somebody's seriously reaching. Gimme a break.

People may be leaving because Cali because it is one of the most expensive states to live in and also due to the state of the economy. However, nobody leaves because of the weather. Nobody wants to live in the South. They're there because they have no choice. Most people that have a choice and the means don't choose to live there. I'm certain there are some people born and raised there that love it. But that's not the norm.

And the heat doesn't keep Southerners home because most can't afford AC anyway and there is nothing else to do.

 

[Swagstatehornet]

Bloomfield is out for the season. Confirmed, collapsed lung. D-Line has a couple injuries from my understanding and well as the offensive line. 2-3 guys are out for the season on the offensive side of the line.

 

[SDHornet]

Bloomfield is out for the season. Confirmed, collapsed lung. D-Line has a couple injuries from my understanding and well as the offensive line. 2-3 guys are out for the season on the offensive side of the line.

Sounds like Bloomfield can request a medical redshirt and come back for next season. What about those other injuries you mention? Was this going into the season or did this happen in the UNC game. I don't recall any Hornets getting carted off, and I also noticed a lot of DL being rotated in and out. :?:

 

[Swagstatehornet]

Bloomfield is out for the season. Confirmed, collapsed lung. D-Line has a couple injuries from my understanding and well as the offensive line. 2-3 guys are out for the season on the offensive side of the line.

Sounds like Bloomfield can request a medical redshirt and come back for next season. What about those other injuries you mention? Was this going into the season or did this happen in the UNC game. I don't recall any Hornets getting carted off, and I also noticed a lot of DL being rotated in and out. :?:

Going into the season.

 

[SDHornet]

Back to the attendance issue, SJSU followed up last weeks home opener against the farm extension attendance of 7,462 with drawing only 7,189 for their game against Colorado State yesterday. I don't know whether to think that our 7,108 against UNC isn't as bad as it could be or whether SJSU's is going to struggle mightily at being financially viable in the FBS?

 

[SDHornet]

Bloomfield is out for the season. Confirmed, collapsed lung. D-Line has a couple injuries from my understanding and well as the offensive line. 2-3 guys are out for the season on the offensive side of the line.

Sounds like Bloomfield can request a medical redshirt and come back for next season. What about those other injuries you mention? Was this going into the season or did this happen in the UNC game. I don't recall any Hornets getting carted off, and I also noticed a lot of DL being rotated in and out. :?:

Going into the season.

Who did we lose?

 

[Swagstatehornet]

Derek Stickney and Dan Stornaiuolo both at the Offensive Line position.

 

[VespidaeII]

Rather than rollyour eyes, you could read USC's April 2012 "Generational Projections of the California Population by Nativity and Year of Immigrant Arrival" that speaks to the arrival of immigrants to California in the late 1980s and 1990s that buttressed the state's generation despite the later exodus of those for economic reasons. The immigrants' children are less likely to leave California. That is a good thing, among many, from keeping a higher number of taxpayers in the state.

As for the Miami Hurricane picture, yes, only 300 showed up against HBC Bethune Cookman. I would argue that for those who live or know Florida well, they do not recognize Miami as part of the traditional South. Nor Orlando or anything below for that matter. Look at other ACC schools considered "Southern", like FSU, Va Tech, or Clemson and those fans show up in heat, cold, or rain. Check out their game day average attendances.

Buckeye, glad we agree that people have been leaving due to economic duress. But, as for leading off a sentence with "nobody" shows ignorance further compounded with the dig about poverty. There is plenty of evidence that demonstrates a reverse migration from California to Texas and other regions of the Sun Belt, sure economics drives some of it but the attraction is also the quality of life. Though ancedotal, I know families that have gone to the Southeast because they appreciated the lifestyle and the weather, 9 months out of the year.

My only original point, and forgive me if not conveyed well, is that generally speaking, weather does not deter fans in the South from attending football games. I only wish we had more zeal to show up, especially after a big win like against CU, and not opt to stay home because it is "too hot."