The journey to Texas has 11 pre-scheduled stops with only one break between now & late November. There will be twists, turns & trouble along the route but through it all the Herd will progress. Following each game that progress will be analyzed. As great as the destination is, enjoy the weekly pit stops along the way!
A week removed from the team falling asleep at the wheel they were back on course at a much more typical time. Unfortunately they weren't able to bury slow starts in the desert while they were down South and today was the worst one so far.
It's easy to point to the interception that ended NDSU's first possession as a reason for the dreary beginning to the game but taking chances every so often will lead to such outcomes from time to time. I would rather the coaches have enough trust in Miller to let him make the attempts than to constantly have him playing tentatively and only doing what's safe. He far exceeded his previous high for pass attempts this season so perhaps he is earning the freedom, either way, each week will differ based on the game plan & opponent.
Don't fret all you who don't want dynamic passing offense, the old staple is as rock-solid as ever. With the Human Rhino executing 20 more punishing runs en route to 146 yards and two more scores the focal point of the offense is becoming more and more evident but with four other runners totaling at least 30 yards it's far from a one-man show!
It stands to reason that they could be even more effective if the passing game were more productive - just 120 yards through the air. Zach Mathis was the leading beneficiary of that while Joe Stoffel's 2 for 28 was a decent debut. Until they get to the point of averaging at least 200 a game through the air, defenses will key on the carriers. While that hasn't been an issue so far, an off-day or injury or success by the opposing defense could lead to a wreck.
17 first-half points allowed could also be classified as a slow start, I wouldn't argue with anyone taking a stance on either side of that. What is indisputable is that the defense finished like their hair was on fire!
In case you missed it, two fumble recoveries - both generated by Dawson Weber, two INTs, two sacks, three PBUs & five TFLs. We've all seen many great individual defensive efforts but the way that they collectively ran over the Coyotes was something to behold! In doing all that they limited to them to a measly 265 total yards and only one of 10 third downs being converted. The expectation was that they would be a bulldozer this season even more than usual but as if on cue to some publicized concern about the unit they put together a showcase!
Luke Weerts in particular seemed to respond to coach Entz's comments about needing to be shown that one guy should have the middle linebacker job as he took one of the passes & got one of the sacks. He'll need to replicate the same sorts of successes, even if they don't yield the same stats, to lockdown the job for SDSU & beyond. Fortunately for him and the rest of the team they get two more should-win games to continue refining what they do and how they do it.
The coach preaches going 1-0 at every opportunity and they succeeded in doing so again. While there are things that can be improved, the final result still matters most and NDSU left no doubt that they were superior! Can't get so into the weeds that that is overlooked.
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