All or Nothing
Pass or Fail
Right or Wrong
Good or Bad
Get it?
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Now go and strike...devote to destruction all that they have.
East Tennessee was put to the litmus test and was found wanting but make no mistake, this will not be the last time these teams face each other several rounds into the playoff.
As far as today's game went, it was precisely the sort of performance that the brand has built itself upon - play defense, run the ball. It's the sort of recipe that a certain other coach would love to be able to execute as effectively but not going to go down that rabbit-hole right now. TD Williams continues to buck the trend of underwhelming transfer players with his fourth-straight two-score day. He is the team's feature back yet was reserved for less than a third of the total carries, which could be taken as saving his legs for the Dukes return. They came up a play or two short of another 300 yard day on the ground in total so keep feeding the Rams! With only two possessions totaling 54 yards in the first quarter that is an easy place to point as the difference in the statistic.
As for Code Green, it was a statistically dismal day with only two sacks and the Michael Tutsie interception in the third quarter. A classic case of stats being misleading because holding a quality opponent to just three points & 165 yards is excellent! More to the point, it was the only time all season that East Tennessee was held under 300 yards - excellence! Does that really need elaboration, I think not.
But it wasn't all sunshine in the Dome
Once again playing without Christian Watson & Noah Gindorff the passing game left a lot to be desired. After a shaky start Cam Miller settled in with a well-managed afternoon but the lack of a passing threat can't be dismissed. The most glaring line for his targets goes to Phoenix Sproles who finished with the same amount of impact as Watson. Even with adjusted coverage his way that can't happen. One wrinkle that they surely should have up their sleeve is Patterson passing while lined up in one of the sets that they've shown during the last two games. That's one easy option to add some more explosiveness and lighten up the defense's focus on stopping NDSU's rushing.
It was such a bread & butter day at the Dome that that just about covers it.
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