Week 4: Griz @ Hornets

[OldGreen67]

You might want to be careful with that, GCM. You just left the door open for the world's biggest Volek fan.

:mrgreen:

If he would have had a decent staff he would have been much better.

Hhhmmmm!!! I am pretty sure the Head Coach interviews and pretty much picks his on staff. So wouldn't not having a decent staff fall on him?

 

[OldGreen67]

Issues I have seen from the past 3 games are all correctable mistakes. We will be fine on Saturday. My only concern was with the lack of effort at the end of the BBQ State game. Seemed that we had a few players going through the motions once the outcome was decided. I am sure Coach S and his staff will have that corrected for the home game.

Did anyone at the begining of this season think we would be 3-0 at this point? I truly thought we would be 1-2 or 2-1 with a loss to OSU and maybe SUU, but a win at BBQ state. It's brutal playing road games at the FCS level, since fan support on the road is pretty much non existant, now do that 3 straight weeks....tough task...our schedule was brutal...but we are going to be home and the tide will be turned a bit.

Have Faith...go ahead and drink the Kool-Aide...this isn't Jonestown my brother :thumb:

 

[Kadeezy]

Either way, I'm getting hammered before I go into the game. Don't expect any enlightening analysis from me. That way, I win no matter what!

My fiance is the best, she comes to Hornet games, lets me drink to excess (to heal the pain), then drives me home and makes me a grilled cheese... What a woman...

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

Don't give up so soon. Look at UNLV. A televised thrashing at the hands of Wisconsin. Then, stomped-on by Wash St. UNLV didn't give up. They beat Hawai'i 40-20 at home. After two humiliating road loses they turned things around at home. Sac St can do the same!

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

Any thoughts about this game? I watched the EWU-UM game this past weekend and UM is beatable…but not if the Hornets continue to play the way they have the last two weeks. I’ll try to have my game outlook up no later than tomorrow evening.

Sac rights the ship and wins a close one, 31 - 24. This game is a must win and the team will approach it as such. I think the crappy playcalling and lack of heart will be remedied.

OH, I agree with you. Lose this and things could get real ugly. ISU and PSU are definitely not slouches this year. I watched some PSU clips on BSTV and NIgel Burton has PSU heading in the right direction.

REALLY!? PDX is no slouch!? C'mon they've only beaten two teams! One is a DII football team, SOU. The other is NAU, who struggles in-and-out! You're way over compensating them for only playing two games!

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

GCM you are simply being too extreme. The program is in MUCH better shape than it was where Moosh left it. :nod: Please give me some of what you were smoking when you posted that absurd comment. :mrgreen:

Also I don’t think anyone should feel bad about getting excited about this year’s team. We opened the season up with a win over a Pac-12 program so there was plenty of reason for the excitement. The team just needs to regain their composure and execute. There is plenty of time to recover, everyone just needs to take a deep breath and calm the fvck down.

:+1:

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

Issues I have seen from the past 3 games are all correctable mistakes. We will be fine on Saturday. My only concern was with the lack of effort at the end of the BBQ State game. Seemed that we had a few players going through the motions once the outcome was decided. I am sure Coach S and his staff will have that corrected for the home game.

Did anyone at the begining of this season think we would be 3-0 at this point? I truly thought we would be 1-2 or 2-1 with a loss to OSU and maybe SUU, but a win at BBQ state. It's brutal playing road games at the FCS level, since fan support on the road is pretty much non existant, now do that 3 straight weeks....tough task...our schedule was brutal...but we are going to be home and the tide will be turned a bit.

Have Faith...go ahead and drink the Kool-Aide...this isn't Jonestown my brother :thumb:

:+1:

 

[DrMike]

considering the killer schedule ,being 1-2 at this point isn't reason to jump ship. losing the last two so decisively after the big win over a Pac-12 is discouraging...BUT....there's eight games to go, and the playoffs are not out of reach. beat montana and you both have 2 losses; EWU already has 3. can weber keep it going? portland? Southern Utah has some challenges left, as does Poly. so, the playoff berth is NOT out of the question.

lose saturday and face a trip to Bozeman? that's not a good place to be. then you're playing for a winning record, which would be very disappointing considering expectations.

as for me..i'm off to Honolulu tomorrow morning to catch the Ags play Hawaii. maybe that UNLV hangover will still be in place. maybe not. hard to beat a trip to paradise!

 

[SDHornet]

REALLY!? PDX is no slouch!? C'mon they've only beaten two teams! One is a DII football team, SOU. The other is NAU, who struggles in-and-out! You're way over compensating them for only playing two games!

PSU led the BSC in rushing last season. They also played A TON of underclassmen on the defensive side of the ball last season. With most of their offense returning this season, if they can find a defense PSU will turn some heads. :twocents:

 

[SDHornet]

considering the killer schedule ,being 1-2 at this point isn't reason to jump ship. losing the last two so decisively after the big win over a Pac-12 is discouraging...BUT....there's eight games to go, and the playoffs are not out of reach. beat montana and you both have 2 losses; EWU already has 3. can weber keep it going? portland? Southern Utah has some challenges left, as does Poly. so, the playoff berth is NOT out of the question.

lose saturday and face a trip to Bozeman? that's not a good place to be. then you're playing for a winning record, which would be very disappointing considering expectations.

as for me..i'm off to Honolulu tomorrow morning to catch the Ags play Hawaii. maybe that UNLV hangover will still be in place. maybe not. hard to beat a trip to paradise!

CP scheduled themselves out of it (2 FBS and a non D-1 game) and another loss to an FCS opponent will end their season. (Assuming they lose to NIU.)

Hawaii will no doubt be pissed seeing as they got pwned by UNLV last week. Should be a tough game for you guys, but hey at least you have a reason to go to Hawaii. :thumb:

 

[SDHornet]

Week 4: Montana @ Sac State

After opening the season with 3 road trips, the Hornets will finally have the opportunity to play in the friendly confines of Hornet Stadium. Unfortunately the Hornets are coming into this week fresh off of back to back horrific performances to face a program they have never beaten. This is a tall order to fill but the Hornets should be amped for this game.

Offense
Montana runs the option-read in a spread shotgun formation. They also run this in the hurry-up so it is a very up tempo style of play. They have a stout OL but it’s not near as big as the OL’s the Hornets saw in both Utah games. UM has some talented RB’s and their QB (Johnson) is a quick and shifty one. Having watched the EWU-UM game, I feel that at this point in the season Johnson is more dangerous with his legs than his arm. I wasn’t impressed with his passing game as he struggled to make accurate throws on the run and made poor decisions downfield. Most of the passes last week were WR bubble screens and mostly short and near lateral throws. The one time he threw down field he threw into triple coverage for an INT. UM does have some great talent at WR but they did not stretch the field very well last week. UM’s statistical leaders:

• • Johnson, QB: 55 of 94 for 500 yards, 4 TD’s, 2 INT’s, 22 carries for 160 yards
  • Nguyen, RB: 24 carries for 151 yards, 5 recs for 33 yards
  • Canada, RB: 28 carries for 109 yards, 1 TD, 3 rec for 11 yards
  • Sabrano, WR: 9 recs for 157 yards, 2 TD’s
  • Moutra, WR: 6 recs for 66 yards
  • Gratton, WR: 7 recs for 66 yards
  • Hardy, TE: 7 recs for 38 yards
  • OL: Allowed 1 sack
  • Avg TOP: 25:03

The Hornet defense will need to find a way to contain the option-read. This means making open field tackles and making sure that everyone knows their assignment and sticks to it. UM is a run first offense so I expect to see a lot of blitzing by the Hornets. This defense has struggled but they have shown that they can string together some stops so this unit will need to find a way to play a whole game. If this defense can force some 3rd and longs, they will be in great shape. The defense will have to be wary of the hurry-up and they will need to keep their heads and hearts in the game and maintain their focus if they want to slow down the fast paced UM attack.

Defense
I believe UM runs a base 4-3 but they did run some deferent looks to defend EWU’s spread attack last week. Their front 7 is stout and I think they are better than the front 7 of WSU. A heavy run attack will get stuffed so Sperbeck will need to develop a different approach than a week ago. The UM defense has some very talented LB’s, but I believe they might be missing one due to injury this week. Their secondary is led by CB Trumaine Johnson. UM’s defensive statistical leaders:

• • McSurdy, LB: 42 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, 1 sack
  • Johnson, CB: 17 tackles, 2.5 TFL’s
  • Roots, CB: 15 tackles, 2 TFL’s
  • Waldhauser, DT: 18 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, 1.5 sack
  • Tripp, LB: 18 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s
  • McCord, LB: 18 tackles, 1 INT
  • Shaw, LB: 19 tackles, 0.5 TFL’s
  • Tully, DB: 14 tackles
  • Kanongata, LB: 17 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, 1 sack, 1 INT
  • Hughes, DL: 15 tackles, 2 TFL’s, 1 sack

An all run attack will get the Hornets nowhere this week so Sperbeck will have to trust the passing game to open some things up. I think this UM defense is the most vulnerable through the air. They did a good job at stopping BLM and EWU last week; however BLM missed a lot of open receivers and didn’t help his cause with poor decision making. A lot of that was cause by the UM pressure so the OL is going to have to make sure they do a good job at picking up the blitzes and giving Fleming time. If the Hornets can establish a passing game to balance out the offensive attack, they will have a chance at knocking of this team.

Special Teams
UM’s kicker McKnight missed 2 FG’s last week so that could be an issue again this week. I’m hoping the UM coaches play Nguyen at PR (or RB) as he has had his hanging onto the ball in the past. Last week UM used Sambrano to return punts. UM’s season stats:

• • McKnight, K: 1/3 FG’s, 7/7 PAT’s
  • Wren, P: 14 punts for 615 yards (43.9 ypp), 9 Inside 20
  • Sambrano, KR/PR: 14 kr’s for 345 yards (24.6 ypr), 1 TD, 3 pr’s for 29 yards (9.7 ypr)
  • Kick Coverage: Allowed 11 returns for 262 yards (23.8 ypr)
  • Punt Coverage: Allowed 10 returns for 108 yards (10.8 ypr)

Intangibles
UM committed 7 penalties for 53 yards last week so they do make some mistakes that can slow themselves down. UM has forced 9 fumbles (only recovered 2) so the ball control for the Hornets is a must.

Hornetsports preview:
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=9858

This will be another tough game for the Hornets in a long line of tough games this season. Both sides of the ball will need to get things going if there is any hope in getting that elusive win over UM. Given that this is a home game and the Hornets should be completely amped to play in front of a friendly crowd, there should not be any issues with players giving up and not giving it their all. If this team quits again this week, it’s going to be a very long season. Unlike all the downtrodden Hornet fans drinking haterade this week, I’m sticking with the homer pick here and going with a Hornet win.

Go Hornets!

 

[The Green Hornet]

I worry most about what you stated in your 2nd sentence SDH in your analysis: we've NEVER beaten Montana! Their tradition of always beating us makes it very difficult to overcome and they don't want to be the Montana team that let it happen. If we can fill the home side of the stadium I think that will help cuz they will bring a bunch on their side. Still, I doubt the Hornets can pull it off, but I'll be there as usual.

 

[OldHornet]

Unlike all the downtrodden Hornet fans drinking haterade this week, I’m sticking with the homer pick here and going with a Hornet win.

I don't think there is hatred but I do think there is a tremendous amount of frustration. A team that beats Oregon St should not lose to SUU then get hammered by Weber. For once this program was getting the attention it sorely needed, but because of poor preperation, poor execution and lack of heart we're right back where we started. Now to have any hope of attaining the playoffs (what we all would deam as a successful season) we need to finish out 7-1. As tough as the BSC is I have a hard time seeing that as realistic, especially for a team that looked so bad the last two weeks.

There is no doubt things are better than when Moosh was the HC - but I'm not looking for better, I'm LOOKING FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! To date Sperbeck has not shown he can come close to delivering a BSC title. I'm sure there are some of you that are happy with progress, and Sperbeck has delivered more stability and leadership. But that's not enough for me, I'm not interested in just being competitive. If they're going to keep score and hand out trophy's why not win and collect the hardware?

If Sperbeck can't do then keep looking, but let's not settle for improvement!

 

[Kadeezy]

Look people... If we finish the season 7-4, I'd bet that we would make the playoffs. We would have 7 DI wins, including an FBS win on the road against a Pac-12 school. The only thing that would worry me with this scenario would be an east coast bias... If villanova went 7-4 with a win over OSU, they'd be a shoe-in...

It's still crazy early, but if we want to make the playoffs, at a minimum, we must do the following...

9/3/2011 at Oregon State - W
9/10/2011 at Southern Utah - L
9/17/2011 at Weber State - L
9/24/2011 MONTANA - L
10/1/2011 at Montana State - L
10/8/2011 at Northern Colorado - W
10/22/2011 EASTERN WASHINGTON - W
10/29/2011 NORTHERN ARIZONA - W
11/5/2011 at Portland State - W
11/12/2011 IDAHO STATE - W
11/19/2011 UC DAVIS - W

7-4 (5-3 BSC)

The above scenario is just the most likely results considering our oppenents and who might be favored in each game. Anything can happen in the BSC... I think we could very well beat UM... I also think losing to EWU at home or PSU on the road could happen as well. Plus the CC is unpredictable, but at least will be at home.

I think we MUST beat UM or MSU to give ourselve a little room for the rest of the season... If we lose both of those games, we have to win out to have a shot at the playoffs...

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Unlike all the downtrodden Hornet fans drinking haterade this week, I’m sticking with the homer pick here and going with a Hornet win.

I don't think there is hatred but I do think there is a tremendous amount of frustration. A team that beats Oregon St should not lose to SUU then get hammered by Weber. For once this program was getting the attention it sorely needed, but because of poor preperation, poor execution and lack of heart we're right back where we started. Now to have any hope of attaining the playoffs (what we all would deam as a successful season) we need to finish out 7-1. As tough as the BSC is I have a hard time seeing that as realistic, especially for a team that looked so bad the last two weeks.

There is no doubt things are better than when Moosh was the HC - but I'm not looking for better, I'm LOOKING FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! To date Sperbeck has not shown he can come close to delivering a BSC title. I'm sure there are some of you that are happy with progress, and Sperbeck has delivered more stability and leadership. But that's not enough for me, I'm not interested in just being competitive. If they're going to keep score and hand out trophy's why not win and collect the hardware?

If Sperbeck can't do then keep looking, but let's not settle for improvement!

:+1:

 

[Kadeezy]

We're going to win this weekend and all this hub bub will have been for nothing. If you told me at the beginning of the year we'd be 2-2 through the first four games with victories over Oregon State and Montana, we'd all take that in heartbeat.

 

[OldHornet]

We're going to win this weekend and all this hub bub will have been for nothing. If you told me at the beginning of the year we'd be 2-2 through the first four games with victories over Oregon State and Montana, we'd all take that in heartbeat.

I REALLY hope you're right!!!

 

[Kadeezy]

We're going to win this weekend and all this hub bub will have been for nothing. If you told me at the beginning of the year we'd be 2-2 through the first four games with victories over Oregon State and Montana, we'd all take that in heartbeat.

I REALLY hope you're right!!!

If I'm not, I may kill a drifter.

:dead:

 

[ChiCity]

I have several questions from last weeks game. The announcers were talking about Doverspike having an injured toe which slowed his mobility, and therefore caused pressure from his side on Flemming. Do we have an update on his health? Another question is where is Devonte Martin? He started at OSU and I haven't heard of him since. And the third one: is Flemming healthy? He was so sharp at OSU and I've not seen that since, even though he had some yards in the second half of the Weber game. We've got a boatload of talented receivers that are just taking up space the last couple of games. That in itself is a real shame. Hope we get those guys involved and that Marshall opens up like he did the first game...

 

[SDHornet]

No idea on Doverspike, but Martin played at WSU (I remember because he had a holding call that negated a decent run). Regarding Fleming, he looked ok at the end of the first half of the WSU game. He was actually allowed to throw the ball during the final desperation drive right before the end of the half. If he is hurt, he didn’t look it to me. If he is hurt such that it limits the play calling, he should be taken out. My question is what is Odiase’s condition? I think we are Shaw-less for a few more weeks.

I also agree with OH’s post above, and with K. I think 7-4 gets us into the playoffs. But I don’t think we can run the table if we drop the next two. PSU and even ISU are no slouches and EWU still has boat loads of talent so even though they are winless, I don’t expect them to stay that way for long. This conference is a meat grinder plain and simple.