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Week 4 - #11 Sac State at Texas A&M Commerce

SDHornet

SDHornet

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Week 4 - #11 Sac State at Texas A&M Commerce

The Hornets (1-2) hit the road again to face the Texas A&M University - Commerce Lions (0-3) of the Southland Conference. The Lions are still finding their footing in FCS as they are in year 3 of their D1 saga. The Lions, under second year Head Coach Clint Dolezel, look much improved from a season ago. While TAMU-C is still looking for their first win of the season, they have come close a few times this season. The Lions opened the season with a 14-45 loss at San Diego State in which the Lions had a lead at halftime. The Lions then made a second half comeback at the other side of the Causeway in week 2, and had the ball late in the game with a chance to drive for a tie before throwing a pick six and ultimately falling 22-36. Last week, the Lions lost a back and forth game in overtime at home to Grambling, 28-35.

Offensively, the Lions run a typical read option offense in 11 or 12 personnel and have a 50-50 run-pass split. Quarterback Ron Peace (47/89, 621 yds, 3 TD, 6 INT, 20 car, 11 yds) has a strong arm with questionable decision making and stares down his receivers. He is more than capable of hitting an open receiver down the field. Peace has spread the ball around as 8 players have at least 5 catches on the year. The leading targets are wide receivers Tyler Daniels (8 rec, 142 yds) and Brooks Rigney (8 rec, 110 yds, 1 TD). The Lion running backs are a capable group. BK Jackson (26 car, 175 yds,2 TD, 3 rec, 24 yds) is capable of grinding out short yardage situations and has breakaway speed in open space. The Lions also have some heavier running backs that they like to pound the ball with. Up front, the Lion offensive line is very sizable and is best at pushing straight ahead in the running game. The Lion front has given up 6 sacks on the year.

Defensively, TAMU-C has some good athleticism in their 4-2 defense but have struggled to keep opponents off of the scoreboard. Linebacker Brandon Tucker Jr (33 tak, 3.5 TFL) leads the Lion defense in tackles and tackles-for-loss while defensive tackle Leon Young (8 tak, 2 TFL, 2 sac) leads the defense in sacks. 3 players have an interception on the year.

On special teams the TAMU-C kicker, Andy Gallegos (0/1 FG, 0/1 PAT), has had his lone field goal attempt blocked. Kicker Luke Jackson (4/4 PAT) has taken over the extra point duties last week. Punter Mitchell McGarry (17 pnt, 38.3 ypp) has had a busy season and has placed 6 punts inside the 20. The Lions kickoff coverage is allowing 24.4 yards per return.

Position Advantage
  • Quarterback: Hornets. Either Carson Conklin or Kaiden Bennett should outperform Ron Peace.
  • Running Backs: Hornets. Elijah Tau-Tolliver is finding his groove but BK Jackson has big play potential. Slight edge to ETT here.
  • Wide Receivers: Hornets. The trio of Jared Gipson, Danny Scudero, and Anderson Grover is more well rounded than Tyler Daniel, Brooks Rigney, and Dayan Bilbo.
  • Tight Ends: Lions. Coleman Kunts and Sean Sallis have comparable numbers. Sallis has similar production on half as many catches and has caught a touchdown pass.
  • Offensive Line: Hornets. The Hornet line has more athleticism than the slightly larger Lion front and the Hornets protect the quarterback better.
  • Defensive Line: Hornets. The Lions have good size up front, but the Hornet line has proven to be a better unit in every aspect so far this season.
  • Linebackers: Hornets. The emergence of Nakian Jackson alongside proven leader Will Leota is a tough combo to beat. Brandon Tucker Jr and Kyree Anderson are a solid tandem, but the Hornets have an edge in this one.
  • Defensive Backs: Lions. The Hornet secondary made strides in the right direction last week, however the Lion secondary is giving up less yards on average through the air.
  • Punters: Hornets. Cal McGough is out kicking Mitchell McGarry on punt average and hasn’t had a touchback yet.
  • Kickers: Hornets. Zach Schreiner is the better kicker by default.
  • Kick Returners: Lions. Nick Johnson has been more consistent than any Hornet returner not named Michael Johnson.
The Hornets are more talented across the board than the Lions and should win this game if they play with sound fundamentals and discipline. Taking care of the football is a must as the Lions are talented enough to steal this game if the Hornets let them hang around. The Hornets look to be on the right track and I think they will follow suit this week with another dominating win.

Stingers Up!

TAMU-C at Causeway foe Highlights:
 
Interesting notes from the two-deep...

  • Scudero is starter.
  • Borders over Burnett, still.
  • Smith Jr. not on two-deep.
  • Where is Makai Cope? Nothing much from Nicholson this year so far either.
  • No OR on QBs... Conklin is the starter, Bennett is backup.
  • Mullican is now starter over Houston at DB, this was easy to see on tape.
 
Kadeezy said:
Interesting notes from the two-deep...

  • Scudero is starter.
  • Borders over Burnett, still.
  • Smith Jr. not on two-deep.
  • Where is Makai Cope? Nothing much from Nicholson this year so far either.
  • No OR on QBs... Conklin is the starter, Bennett is backup.
  • Mullican is now starter over Houston at DB, this was easy to see on tape.
Click to expand...

If Scudero is not 100% I hope he doesn't play.

Makai didn't play last week after playing the previous two -- Nicholson played last week after missing the Fresno State game. Gandy being back has taken some potential snaps away, and obviously Ontario has moved up the WR depth chart a bit. I think Coach Colmon has one of the deepest receiving rooms in the country - I don't envy his job one bit trying to find snaps and targets for these guys. Sawyer has earned some offensive snaps too with his stellar special teams player over the years, and if Danny doesn't play, he's our next fastest guy up.

I think I would be safe in saying that Carson has the keys at this stage. I think this will be a tight game, but if we are able to put some points up and the defense can stop them, I wouldn't be shocked if we saw some Jordan Barton run

Mullican started last week, so its a retroactive change on the two deep.
 
Hornetsports preview. Expect the broadcast quality to be pretty rough, the Lions are still transitioning to D1 and the media quality is no different.
 
Just saw the most Montana thing ever. They are down big to WCU, 1:56 left in the half, questionable personal foul for late hit, they march. Catamount coach argues, another 15 yard penalty! Griz suddenly in red zone and score. Wow.
 
Kadeezy: I wholeheartedly support a running QB in the red zone. Particularly at the 6- or 7-yard line, the triple option out of a standard I Formation is an automatic touchdown so long as the O-Line does it's job, particularly if you pull the play-side guard. I've seen it work zillions of times.

Throwing from the one, on the other hand, is about the stupidest play in football, right up there alongside the receiver screen. There's literally no way for a receiver to get open barring a huge coverage gaffe. Close to that in terms of stupidity is either running out of the gun/Pistol or pulling the ball into the backfield to give the ball to a back who doesn't even move until the ball is in his gut. It's way too easy for the defense to get penetration before the back hits the line. About the only way I can see that working is to resurrect the Notre Dame Box, which provides a ready-made wall for a back to run behind just outside the unbalanced line. I still like QB Sneak out of a Jumbo formation at the one best, though....
 
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