This season's journey to the postseason and Frisco, Texas has 12 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 make progress. Following each game this will be the only place to find the thoughts about it. As great as the destination can be, enjoy the weekly pit stops along the way!
There are several different points that could serve as the starting line for this season.
How great Cam Miller was
The up and down showing by the defense
That we got to witness two possible Heisman votees
Or, that contrary to much of the conversation, Cole Payton was a non-factor
I'll get into all those things beyond just the bullet points but the start needs to be about the finish.
Down 11 points with less than eight minutes remaining in the game it was like the 2023 coaching staff was still in full control. I really don't want to crap on those guys because they added to the trophy case (and may be significant members of future staffs) but against a Colorado defense that was not exactly suffocating, the Bison plodded along like it was the first drive of the game.
11 plays, 75 yards - quality
5:38 off the clock to do it, unacceptable at that point in the contest.
Especially with as dialed-in as Cam Miller was (18 of 22 for 277 yards).
That should have merited more trust by Jake Landry and Polasek with the game on the line.
Of course it was just the first game of the season so there's nothing but room for adjustments to the approach but the most high profile game of the season didn't have to come down to a 53-yard hail mary attempt.
Even if you subtract the 49 yard completion to Tyler Terhark as time expired Miller averaged nearly 13.5 yards per. Yes, it would have been nice to get more than a single touchdown through the air to go with the production but his two rushing scores off-set that blemish. Even though he wasn't allowed to finish the game with style it was a statement to the scouts and the subdivision that he might be on the verge of an Easton Stick-level senior season.
That could be the main reason why Cole Payton was nearly a milk carton man
Two passes, that both were completed, and four runs. Not exactly Taysom Hill 2.0 through one game. Optimistically the coaches were just resolved to go with the hot hand, until crunch time, but it also may have been a devised smokescreen. Only time will provide us the answer. Of course it is just one game so no hard and fast conclusions should be drawn - but that can too easily be used to excuse anything of a negative sort that happened. Let's just call it a sticking point for the moment and hope that the hype comes to fruition as soon as next week Saturday!
The last two points are linked
Sanders and Travis Hunter performed like future first round picks who want to be invited to New York for the trophy presentation. That can't be overlooked when considering the 500 yards of offense and four scores that went against the Bison. Admittedly, I had no idea who Jimmy Horn was before kickoff but his seven grabs for just under 200 yards was also a message to the college football world that the Buffaloes offense is not a one-trick operation.
So while it's never desirable to see guys running free for 40, 50 & 60 yard chunks, they deserve as much credit as their is blame for members of the defense being out of position to prevent the gashes.
So now we're in the slightly-longer-than-normal wait for game two as Eddie George is set to come to Fargo. Not to put the cart in front of the Herd but that game is going to be a much different experience and should provide opportunity to show things that weren't in Boulder. Even if it finishes as a 60-0 trouncing the feelings of the opener should linger at least until the rematch with Grand Forks.
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