“It was unbelievable to play the first game of the season with the place filled up. Having the crowd loud and behind you is something special. I don’t think there has been a first game here in a while that has been sold out. It was a lot of fun and a good way to start the season.”
--Todd Reesing on the opening day crowd
From Row 46
- Daymond Patterson for Heisman. Hopefully, I'm the first one to get that in print.
- Seriously, when I saw #28 in the first open practice, he seemed to be on a different level and I came away thinking the kid could make an immediate impact. Of course, I also thought he was Eric Tyler.
- Kerry Meier had 9 catches for 62 yards. I'm not sure that is correct. I really thought he had 22 catches on that one drive in the first quarter.
- During my postgame comments, I was thinking that Jeremiah Hatch did get the start and Matt Darton came in later. The real media reports that Darton actually started.
- Even with the missed extra point, the offensive line play has secured the #1 spot on areas to be concerned about. They seemed to improve in pass protection throughout the game despite the heavy blitzing; however, 128 yards in rushing is not where we want to be.
- I think that Angus Quigley has got to be part of the first-half rotation next week. While the O-line is still developing, we need his drive-through-the-tackler power on the field. There's no reason to keep running Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford into a wall. I'd spread that over the three ball carriers until we sort out the run blocking. We know it takes a physical toll over the season for each back and we want fresh ball carriers in November. Besides, he earned it on the field (led all rushers with 47 yds) and I don't believe the blocking was any different than what it was for Jocques Crawford or Jake Sharp.
- Quigley critics will say that his technique is poor -- he doesn't keep his pads low. Okay, maybe ... I really don't care if he gets the yards. Plus, when he gets past the LBs, he makes it a point to punish the opponent DBs.
- The offensive tackles obviously struggled, but I liked what I saw from the defensive tackles. Particularly enjoyed the pressure that Jamal Greene put on FIU's QB on the fourth and short in the first half. The FIU O-lineman could only hold onto the jersey as Greene bulled into the backfield to harrass the QB (no holding call).
- It may not be bad if Maxwell Onyegbule is used only as a pass rush specialist. It worked with Brandon Perkins.
- It seemed like we did have some more speed from the edge on the d-line. The jury's still out though.
- The style of this defense always catches me off guard. They really control the game and smother the opposition. I always compare that to the 2005 defense which really created more chaos. Both results are very effective, just interesting to once again note the difference.
- I saw absolutely no drop off on the defensive side of the ball. More confidence and possibly a stronger d-line overall.
- The Breeze starts off the year with nine catches and three TDs. Not too bad, but I'm surprised the yardage total was so low (55 yards)
- This is a fan's perspective, but FIU did seem better to me this year over last. Easy to say with the scoreboard improvement, but they've got some talent out there. Just not quite a cohesive unit yet on both sides of the ball. I'll be surprised if they don't pick up multiple wins in the Sun Belt.
- I know this is a cliche, but I'm pretty sure Alonso Rojas outkicked the coverage on that FIU TD return. That's a good problem to have. He can really boot it and it is possible that we can improve our field position advantage over last year.
- A 47-yard field goal by Rojas? Bonus.
- The kick return team seemed to struggle, but the FIU kickoffs were a little awkward.
- Todd Reesing saw a lot of pressure early. He's got a great ability to stay cool and at times excel in those situations. He was throwing a little high last night, which I'm sure he would like to avoid.
- The offense seemed to lose focus late in the third quarter as usual during these types of mismatch games. It really does seem to mirror the crowd attention span. As the crowd exits, so does the offensive intensity.
- Seems like I've been to Memorial for a lot of record-breaking attendance games, but it was impressive that we notched 52,112. I'll give the fans a win on that one. A little bit late arriving, but maybe we can blame K-10 construction for that issue. Let's talk about completing the north bowl.
DJ Goodwin
Reader Comments (2)
I completely agree on the crowd. It was SRO on the top row of the family fun bowl. Felt like an airline gate where the flight to Cancun had been oversold!
Don't forget to get the game report from both Barnes correspondents, there's the young intern and then there's the grizzled veteran beat reporter. The veteran seemed a little skeptical on the offensive line.