Since I only got to watch part of the game on my ipad mini, I watched it again this morning on tv. What I took away besides the obvious negatives in the first half, was the talent we have on this team. We have speed, on both sides, we had a lot of guys around the ball showing aggressiveness, d-backs did not give 10-15 yard cushions, our o-line pass blocks very good (had trouble making holes in SEC d-line, but still adequate), we have two QBs that have great arm strength (no more wounded ducks). We have some great freshman that came ready to play. Our guys were hitting hard and making solid tackles. Our coaching staff made great adjustments on offense and defense to give this team a chance. didn't stick to vanilla. I'm not going to make predictions cause I don't want to jinx us...but I feel very good, and very proud of our RAGIN CAJUNS!!! Disappointed for them to come up a little short after playing so hard, but they can really hold their heads up high!
I took away nothing but 50 positives from the game. We played a team rich in talent and played extremely well. Our new defense is going to be outstanding. Even with some of our own brain dead fans not understanding it, we stuck with it, and I see serious benefits coming from it for the remainder of the season. We dealt our future opponents more things to prepare for than I've seen in a decade on offense. Every player impressed me. I like both QBs and what they so uniquely bring to the table. Used intelligently, I could care less which one we call the starter. I still believe against everyone remaining on the schedule, ball distribution is the key. But from what Nixon has in his skill set, I can handle a 2 QB system. It may be one of the first times I see such an advantage in the uniquely different styles to believe we can pull off a 2 QB system for the season. It keeps both active and ready to roll.
And for anyone going negative, save it. We climbed right back up into Kentucky's face and made a serious game of it. We have 11 games and a bowl ahead of us. Going negative on last night is unacceptable.
If there is really anything to be negative about, it's spotting that team 21-0 making fundamental mistakes, BUT the coaches made adjustments that were just right for a ripe comeback. I can't remember the last time I have seen such effective adjustments like that from a Cajun football team. When we started to click, it was game on.
Last night, we saw the talent and capability that this football team has. There is no reason to believe that we can't compete against the big boys let alone the conference that we are in. Kentucky was not much better than us as a whole, and this is supposed to be "their year." If we take care of business for the rest of the season and limit the careless, fundamental mistakes; we will be a team to reckon with.
Exactly. And Kentucky didn't back off or start playing to manage a lead. They tried to put their foot on our neck and we grabbed that foot, flipped them and started pounding them.
I've been an outspoken critic of our defenses under Hud and our lack of preparation to play good programs at the start of the year. Last night was Hud's best ever for opening the season. And there were reasons to go soft zone and not actually start Haack. We will do well going forward from our preparation and adjustments implemented from last night. I have a new found respect for Hud (and I already respected him highly).
Also should be shouted from the roof: Dominick Tovell is a stud!
Do you mean the injuries we had from preseason that affected our depth, or some sustained last night? I might have been worried about a let down against NW ST if we had won last night. But I can't see how we'd do anything but try to make our opening home game a massive show of force. I hope it's a nice weather day.
Lots of good observations, especially from J1M. I'll add that what struck me most was toward the end of the game we seemed to be the stronger, more physically dominant team. We all know Kentucky is not a top tier SEC program, but they still have pretty good talent . Of course it's only one game and time will tell, but I see a team that could be Hud's best yet when it's all said and done.
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