Collapse in Carbondale

All or Nothing

Pass or Fail

Right or Wrong

Good or Bad

Pass or Punt

Get it?

👍

The touchdown before the half and the 65 yard run by Jalen Bussey before the end of the game do qualify as positives but that's not enough to avoid the cricket.

Everything else.

Credit to Southern Illinois because they not only snapped the winning-streak but also successfully executed an avalache on the champs.

A tradition that's longer than the dynasty is that the offensive line imposes their will on the defense. There wasn't a time today when it seemed like they were winning their individual battles or opening holes for Kobe "Beef" Johnson or the other ball carriers. As much as any part of the losing effort that can't be overlooked.

Had to go back to September of 2016 to find the last time that the defense surrendered that many points. That one was against #8 Eastern Washington and it went to overtime, so short of a shoot-out it's been more than a half-decade since the opponent was as successful putting up points. To put it simple, the defense needs to figure out who they really are between today's performance and last Sunday's. Will they get it figured out? History all but guarantees that, but the future doesn't absolve the abysmal afternoon that just finished.

And then there's the quarterback.

He has the arm strength necessary to make every throw. He's shown that much through the first two weeks. Some of the good throws that he's made have ended as incompletions because the receivers couldn't come down with the ball. Make no mistake though, there is plenty of room for improvement by him. Some of it will come as he continues to gain familiarity with the receivers and the tight-ends. That only won't fix every limitation that has been displayed so far. Coach Roehl will have earned his salary when he's able to get the passing game going like it has in the past. In a round-about way it goes to show how much of a phenom Trey Lance was, that he stepped in from game 1 against Butler and only had one hiccup - October's showcase.

Coach Entz said right after the game that only two players on the roster had been a part of a loss before today. 2 out of 106 players on the roster. It's the nugget to end all nuggets. Whats more, if today proves to be the catalyst for another run to Frisco then we'll all be okay with it. So even though there is more scrutinizing that could be justifiably done, I'm finishing on that note!