All or Nothing
Pass or Fail
Right or Wrong
Good or Bad
Get it?
👍
To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna
Second round games have become old hat at the Dome, with many of them unfolding similarly to how the latest one did.
If TaMerik Williams wasn't 'the guy' before today's game, he is now. NDSU has a storied tradition of running backs but not since John Crockett have they had a guy capable to taking over a game. Williams has a different style of running but the end result was the same.
That doesn't take anything away from the others. Quincy Patterson & Kobe Johnson both factored in well as variable options. It could get even better if Hunter Luepke & Dom Gonnella are able to factor in as they have previously. With the way that QP was used the coaches may be setting up for bigger & better wrinkles in later games.
But having a go-to guy adds a different dimension to the offense
Add the shutdown defense that showed up once again to the run-heavy approach and it really was every bit of an old-fashioned whoopin'. In true complimentary football fashion, the O helped the D by possessing the ball for an entire quarter more than the Dogs. So the defense was limited in their opportunities to rack up impact plays - 3 sacks, no turnovers. When it comes down to it, if that's the price for a win such as today's was, you won't hear much complaining as they rest on the laurels of a 7 point outing (until they get back to work Sunday)!
It wasn't all sunshine inside though
The team needed to run the ball as well as they did because the receiver group was as thin today as it's been in quite some time. Ideally, not having Watson would have lead to a big day by Phoenix Sproles, but he wasn't able to build on his senior day success. The challenge only increased when Noah Gindorff went out with a lower-leg injury that could sideline him the rest of the way. Josh Babicz is more than capable of being a pass-catching threat but In the time that remained they weren't able to get him more than a goose-egg, so going back to the drawing board about passing wouldn't be the worst idea.
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