Lehigh won this game on defense, as our "D" has made big strides from last week and playmakers are starting to emerge. Unfortunately, on offense and special teams the same mistakes continue to plague our squad, making this a game into the 4th quarter when it shouldn't have been.
21 of these 28 points were a result of turnovers by the Hoyas, who really have to start worrying about their turnover-itis in a big way. On the plus side, Lehigh made these turnovers pay off for us.
I'm continuing to be frustrated by this offense. I really am perplexed by the inability to get sustained drives going and a short passing game. There were many 3rd downs that resulted in Threatt getting flushed out of the pocket and frequently getting sacked. The big difference with this team and the great Higgins and Lembo teams were the ability to pick up that big 3rd-and-8 reception to keep a drive alive. So far this year, we haven't been doing this with any sort of consistency.
Not only that, if I'm Marques Thompson, I've just come off a 2 TD, 130+ yard effort, but at least 20 extra yards were reversed by bad holding penalties on the line. Thompson is a lock for a game ball, but seeing 1st downs negating by bad holding calls are something that maybe won't kill us against Georgetown, but absolutely will against Holy Cross, Colgate, or that school in Easton.
But this game belongs to the defense. There were some sustained drives, but they got crucial turnovers and got big hits on defense, and the development of that unit is really great to see after the Harvard game.
No more griping. I've been starving for a win, and I'm going to enjoy this. Remember that old ad -- I think it was a Nike commercial -- that always ended... "and, Al Del Greco?" I think for my wrapups I'm going to end them, "... and, Frank Trovato". It seems like every week he makes big momentum-changing returns, and this was no exception. (Of course, two were reversed by asinine clipping penalties.. but I said I was going to enjoy this...) Trovato is coming to play every week, and I'm liking it.
There's lots to work on. But, I'm celebrating this win.
Finally, a win. I'm going to celebrate a great defensive effort, Yuengling beer-can chicken, anyone? And.... Frank Trovato.
21 of these 28 points were a result of turnovers by the Hoyas, who really have to start worrying about their turnover-itis in a big way. On the plus side, Lehigh made these turnovers pay off for us.
I'm continuing to be frustrated by this offense. I really am perplexed by the inability to get sustained drives going and a short passing game. There were many 3rd downs that resulted in Threatt getting flushed out of the pocket and frequently getting sacked. The big difference with this team and the great Higgins and Lembo teams were the ability to pick up that big 3rd-and-8 reception to keep a drive alive. So far this year, we haven't been doing this with any sort of consistency.
Not only that, if I'm Marques Thompson, I've just come off a 2 TD, 130+ yard effort, but at least 20 extra yards were reversed by bad holding penalties on the line. Thompson is a lock for a game ball, but seeing 1st downs negating by bad holding calls are something that maybe won't kill us against Georgetown, but absolutely will against Holy Cross, Colgate, or that school in Easton.
But this game belongs to the defense. There were some sustained drives, but they got crucial turnovers and got big hits on defense, and the development of that unit is really great to see after the Harvard game.
No more griping. I've been starving for a win, and I'm going to enjoy this. Remember that old ad -- I think it was a Nike commercial -- that always ended... "and, Al Del Greco?" I think for my wrapups I'm going to end them, "... and, Frank Trovato". It seems like every week he makes big momentum-changing returns, and this was no exception. (Of course, two were reversed by asinine clipping penalties.. but I said I was going to enjoy this...) Trovato is coming to play every week, and I'm liking it.
There's lots to work on. But, I'm celebrating this win.
Finally, a win. I'm going to celebrate a great defensive effort, Yuengling beer-can chicken, anyone? And.... Frank Trovato.
Comments
Not to rain your parade, but to draw this conclusion is just S-T-U-P-I-D. It much more likely that the three points was due to GU's anemic offense than LU's stellar defense. GU's offense is not even in the same class as Harvard's. Let's see how they do against Yale next week before jumping to any conclusions.
The offense remains incredibly conservative. Threatt has not progressed satisfactorily as a QB. Too many sacks - holding the ball too long. He needs to watch the Colgate tape over and over to remind himself of how he needs to play. Coen has got to get over his stubborness to pound the ball.
As for offense, Threatt or the "O" coordinator have a tendency to go for the "home run ball" after trying to pound the ball on first and second down. I heard a lot of long home-run ball incompletions this game rather than trying to hit the guy at the chains on 3rd-and-8. Maybe it's a function of getting in 3rd-and-long, I don't know.
Bottom line, I'll take a 28-3 win any day.
Like the others said, a win is always nice, but far too many mistakes have been made all year long to expect these guys to beat the heavyweights in the league.