Week 8, Homecoming: EWU @ Sac State

[Green Cookie Monster]

Defense and FG kicker lost the game. I thought the backup QB's did a great job. Two dropped int's didn't help. Diniz should have made that 43yd kick, no excuses.

The '11 campaign is now over, what a buzz kill for a once promising season. How is it that a fourth year HC in Cheney with vastly inferior funding can be such a better program and HC? I am not sold on Sperbeck, he has made some good improvements but I am like some on here who feel that after five years he hasn't proven himself. Does Wanless give Sperbeck a contract extension?

 

[jj2319]

Yeah, no playoffs this year. Period. I know some may disagree, but looking at the Sperbeck era, I see zero quality wins. Zero. He never won a single meaningful game during his time at Sac - I defy anyone to show me a quality win where someghing significant was hanging in the outcome.

The win over OSU wasn't a meaningful game or a meaningful win - again I am talking about winning a game where a season record or postseason possibility hinges on it. But I see numerous questionable losses. Going back to the 2008 season ending loss at Idaho State, where we just blew a huge lead, Sperbeck has consistently lost important games in the most "chokerisk" ways (see also the loss to the dungpile last year where the season hung in the outcome as well as recruiting, bragging rights, etc). In fact, looking at the conference wins (last year at NAU, UM this year), I see him only winning games big where the other team comes in cocky, unprepared and flat. (See also UC Dungpile win in 2008, they came in cocky and unprepared and Tony Washington ripped em up). Last night, season/playoffs hanging in the outcome, homecoming game, defending national champion, = big time choke. We can all "blame" Diniz, but was Diniz standing around the end zone with his thumb up his ass like our dbs?

I am also going to retract what I said earlier, this team has regressed under Sperbeck. No way this team wins out, and even if they do, I don't give him an extension. He hasn't proven spit. Season's over. Other than big talk of improvements, stupid excuses and a complacent/bordering on arrogant attitude, I haven't seen any tangible reason to keep this guy.

 

[clawman]

I sympathize with your frustrations after a very good game. I do not know the history of your coaching staff but have to wonder if you all would be saying the same things if either one of the FG's were made?
Remember coaches only draw up and call the plays, it is up to the players to make plays. Your team played a great game and it is too bad that one team had to loose.
Thank you to all of the very hospitable fans I encountered. Class act one and all.

 

[Phantom Hornet]

I know this was a tough loss and extremely disappointing, to say Sperbeck has no quality wins is ridiculous and short-sided in terms of history...Before Sperbeck we had lost to Davis something like 10 times in a row, never beat Montana, and had never beat a 1A school.

To call for the coaches head after an overtime loss to the defending national champions in which our starting QB was a late scratch and our kicker once again let the team down is mind boggling to me.

Everyone take a step back and take a deep breath, realize the depths this program was in just a few years ago. Not letting Sperbeck off the hook, because this season will be a disappointment with no playoffs despite some big wins, but I think perspective might be needed.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

To call for the coaches head after an overtime loss to the defending national champions in which our starting QB was a late scratch and our kicker once again let the team down is mind boggling to me.

To be clear, while I certainly vented about the coaching staff, I never mentioned replacing them. I agree that the wins over OSU and Montana are historic and are enough to keep things intact. While there have been several ridiculous and disappointing losses, the program still appears to be on the upswing. I'd give Sperbeck at least 2 more seasons before I considered pulling the plug. If they aren't a playoff team by then, even he would probably be ok with his firing.

 

[Phantom Hornet]

To call for the coaches head after an overtime loss to the defending national champions in which our starting QB was a late scratch and our kicker once again let the team down is mind boggling to me.

To be clear, while I certainly vented about the coaching staff, I never mentioned replacing them. I agree that the wins over OSU and Montana are historic and are enough to keep things intact. While there have been several ridiculous and disappointing losses, the program still appears to be on the upswing. I'd give Sperbeck at least 2 more seasons before I considered pulling the plug. If they aren't a playoff team by then, even he would probably be ok with his firing.

Totally agree with you

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

As pist as I was last night, especially w/ Sperbeck not challenging some official rulings, I don't think he should be fired. On Aztecmesa (SDSU board) which I'm participate in as well, some were stupid enough to question weather Coach Long was a "good enough leader" for the rising Aztecs. He is in his first year as HC, spent the past two as DC. Those who questioned him did so because SDSU was beaten decisively by Michigan. Good leadership should not be evaluated based on the performance of a single game. A coach's leadership should be evaluated based on how he leads his team after defeat.

Last night, I saw two evenly matched teams play against each other. The hornets played with heart and determination, so did the eagles. Yes, I wholly believe that Sac St should have won. If coach Sperbeck leads the team to victory in their remaining games, then he is a good leader. Playoffs will help the program more than anything else, but winning seasons are stepping stones.

I've been following hornet football for three seasons now. From what I've followed so far, Sperbeck is doing a decent job. I'd like for him to question the officials more often.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

I never said fire him, I inquired about options and commitment. Why we recruit 3 ft tall DB's is the HC's call. It's ok to accept mediocrity, we are Sac State. A .500 campaign is ok.

 

[HornetHope]

I never said fire him, I inquired about options and commitment. Why we recruit 3 ft tall DB's is the HC's call. It's ok to accept mediocrity, we are Sac State. A .500 campaign is ok.

I said it, and stand by it. However, I guess GCM is right. We should be happy with mediocrity. In light of that, we should be ecstatic with last nights performance. "hey we took them to overtime, right" Or "we never aspire to higher than a 4th place finish in conference". Here is a great new moniker"Who cares if we win, as long as we aren't embarrassed by the final score."

At this point, I have no plans on bringing my family to attend any more games this year, if half a job is good enough, I can find better ways to spend my money.

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

I never said fire him, I inquired about options and commitment. Why we recruit 3 ft tall DB's is the HC's call. It's ok to accept mediocrity, we are Sac State. A .500 campaign is ok.

Mediocrity at this point is still ok. BUT, it will be the last time that it is ok. If he is into his 5th year as HC, then that means that he has his own full class(es) of recruits playing for him. Post-season play was expected this season, but it might have been aiming too high. Maybe. Either way, mediocrity after this season won't cut it. Winning records are and will be expected. By that, I mean post-season play.

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

I never said fire him, I inquired about options and commitment. Why we recruit 3 ft tall DB's is the HC's call. It's ok to accept mediocrity, we are Sac State. A .500 campaign is ok.

At this point, I have no plans on bringing my family to attend any more games this year, if half a job is good enough, I can find better ways to spend my money.

Fans, especially alumni, must stand by their teams and get involved. Do you always run away when the going gets tough? With fans with this attitude, expect for the hornet teams to reciprocate that attitude on the field or court.

 

[BLEEDGREEN]

What a choke job. A 28-13 lead in the 4th and they lose?


And how sick is EVERYBODY on getting beat in games such as these because your CB gives up a foot in total reach to the oppositions WR? I understand that the Hornets don't get the cream of the crop when it comes to recruits. But are you telling me that you can't find some capable DB's over 5'7" ??? And why don't you utilize the few you've got to matchup with a WR 6'3" and over?? I rarely ever see opposing teams try to cover Brandyn Reed or Chase DeAdder with a smallish 5'7" (or under) DB. Why are the Hornets so insistent on doing so? I just don't get it. Furthermore, if I had a nickel for every time a Hornet DB fails to even glimpse back for the ball once it's in the air, I could single-handedly pay for full renovation to Hornet Stadium.

I know that the kicking game and smallish CB's have been vented about many a time in this forum, but I can't help it. I'm sick of seeing this program lose the same ways seemingly all the time.

The Hornets had NO business losing this game to EWU tonight. None. Every time I start thinking that Marshall Sperbeck is changing the culture within this program, $%#! like what we just witnessed happens.

Stop playing not to lose (like you did against Oregon State). Stop allowing the opposition to take advantage of smurf CB's. And most of all, recruit some d@mn kickers and make sure the ones you land are developed and not thrown into the mix their freshman season!!! While this is the FCS, it is still D1 football. There's no excuse being in a position where you can't even attempt or consistently count on FG's under 40 yards.

Sorry for the rant. But I'm really pissed off right about now, as I'm sure most of you are.

Buckeye I totally agree with you on the kicking situation, I believe the hornets, who to me play like the current raiders team, need to take the Al Davis approach and recruit an outstanding kicker. I'm sure one who can at least put it through the uprights from 35 yards out is not that difficult to find as long as we are willing to give him a scholarship. This would turn the hornets into an automatic playoff contender, we should be able to score at least 9 points a game by field goal if needed and take unneeded stress off of the offense.

From what I have seen the DB play has greatly improved from last year and at times can seem inconsistent, but has kept this team in so many games. I believe there is only one starting CB under 6'0 and although #7 started this season off a bit rocky, played his butt off last night. I didn't see the other corner #32 out there tonight and I haven't seen anything on him but I assume he is injured and that was a big blow because he usually clamps what ever side of the field he is on. With that being said I think we were playing with a back up CB in a big game situation, but that doesn't mean defense lost the game there were a pair of oppurtunities in which our team could have put it away, but they both resulted in missed field goals. (sperbeck please find us a janikowski) lol

 

[Kadeezy]

Well, one thing's for sure after last night's collapse... We won't see this sweet sight (a packed Hornet side of the stadium) until the Davis game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrW6Sz21nIU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[BLEEDGREEN]

Side note: Sperbeck has done a wonderful job with the program, I believe he made an error with the time out but that did not lose the game

 

[Green Laser]

We played very well last night considering that we were without so many starters especially at the skill positions including our starting QB. I was concerned going in when I heard that Deadder was out and Reed was less than 100%, at game time when it was announced that Fleming was out I thought it was going to get pretty ugly. Hats off to Coach Sperbeck and the coaches for putting together a game plan using two young QBs that had never taken a snap for the Hornets and have them play a very effective and entertaining game. I thought that both Edwards and Safron did an exceptional job, we are lucky to have them. I am sure that their experience last night under fire will prove valuable to us down the road. We had our chances to stop Eastern's final drives but made some defensive mistakes down the stretch that doomed us. Bo Levi Mitchell certainly showed when the money was on the table why he is the best QB in the BSC, took the Eagles to the FCS Championship and will most likely be playing on Sundays next season. Our kicking game needs a lot of improvement although I doubt that we can do anything about it this late in the season. You would expect a D1 kicker to be pretty consistent from at least 40 yards and that's just not happening. Diniz looks like he has the leg in warm ups but for whatever reason just can't produce in the games, we are leaving a lot of points on the field. There are several local HS kickers (Charlie Vu at Grant for one) that might be worth a look. It looked like Eastern had a little better luck containing Bryan Hilliard last night than they did with the speed of Sam McCowan, maybe we should have gone to McCowan a little earlier and more often. I was disappointed with the loss but I really expect us to win the last four games! Of the four Portland looks the most dangerous but they have quite a few injuries also. Go Hornets!

 

[Kadeezy]

They completely keyed on the run whenever Safron was in. They had no idea what to expect going in, but in the second half, they knew Safron = Run, Edwards = Pass.

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

They completely keyed on the run whenever Safron was in. They had no idea what to expect going in, but in the second half, they knew Safron = Run, Edwards = Pass.

This. I saw that pattern before the end of the 1st 1/4. It didn't take a DC to figured that out. All in all the youngsters took care of the job, as much as they could. Also, it let me know that the coaching staff is doing a helluva job developing the future hornet starters.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

In perspective....EWU lost to Washington in waning last seconds. This team can play, injured or not.

I saw two very evenly matched teams play a kickass game of football. The QB duo more than impressed me. No fumble, no turnover and usually that happens when you have so many new faces, especially Safron who had never taken a collegiate snap. I thought the entire team played very inspired and exciting football. The players gave it their all and that as fans is all we can expect.

Sperbeck has lead the program for half a decade and our overall record during that time is 23-29. Decent, but not the mark of a consistently winning program.

What needs to be done to break down the door?

Having another 6-5 season is acceptable given the preseason prognostications?

Maybe I am being an ass and not singing along?

I saw a lot of little things yesterday that cost us the game. Dropped two game ending gimme INT's, a FG attempt in perfect conditions wide right, Muggsy Bogues trying to defend Manute Bol and getting slammed every attempt and not delivering the knockout punch as a team.

As somebody posted, I don't really care about making the playoffs now, we wouldn't win with a crippled kicking game and it would be very expensive to travel. I just want to see a better record than last year.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Another thing I forgot about until just now was the terrible play calling during the final possession of OT. You've got 4 plays to score a TD from the 10 and you completely waste one with a trick play (reverse pass with Norisse) ??

If that play works, everybody is laughing at the boldness of it, but it is a ridiculous call in that situation IMO. How badly do you think the Hornets would like to have that play back and another shot from the 4?

I honestly couldn't believe they even attempted that play. With the game on the line, you don't allow a non-QB a pass attempt. More times than not, the player usually forces the ball into coverage. In this case, Norisse was smart and didn't do that, but you still don't want a non-QB making decisions with the ball. That type of trick play should never be run late in the 4th or during OT.

 

[GoldenEagleHornet]

For what it's worth, I'm a huge college football fan. My fall Saturdays are spent in front to the idiot box watching cfb from 9am to 10pm. Sac St vs. EWU was the most exciting game I watched yesterday.