First of all, good win against a solid team! I was impressed with the aggressive demeanor this team showed on both sides of the ball tonight. The offensive line, in particular, came out with a mean streak like they had something to prove. Having said that, there were several areas where this team could improve as we head toward conference play.
Bray was inconsistent. Up until the last drive of the first half, he wasn't playing well despite what the deep balls would lead you to believe. Looked like he was second-guessing himself and he had a few random throws where he missed his man by ten yards. In the second half, he settled down and played an excellent game.
Hunter dropped too many passes. This will fix itself, I think, as Hunter gets more gametime reps. He also came down with the Neal virus where he was trying to make too many moves after the catch, rather than just running forward. He cost himself one sure first down this way.
The secondary had an inconsistent game. I loved the four interceptions, but I didn't love the number of times NCST receivers were left all alone. It seemed like Glennon picked on Byron Moore for stretches of the first half, before our pass rush asserted its will.
Either Lane needs to start, or Neal needs to learn to run up the middle. Far, far too many plays bounced outside when there was more to be had going up the gut. The line played their tails off tonight, but in some ways Neal wasted their effort by running to the edge so often. Having said that, I loved the way Lane played. Physical north-south running will move the chains, score points and win SEC football games.
Where was Rivera? Against a team with preoccupied safeties and weak linebackers, I thought Mychal would leave an imprint on the game. Instead, he was almost invisible. I hope he becomes a larger part of the offense as the season goes on.
This was a great win, though, and I'm happy. Glennon is possibly the best QB we will face all year. We passed that test, and now I'm interested in seeing how we fare against a team who can run the ball.
Bray was inconsistent. Up until the last drive of the first half, he wasn't playing well despite what the deep balls would lead you to believe. Looked like he was second-guessing himself and he had a few random throws where he missed his man by ten yards. In the second half, he settled down and played an excellent game.
Hunter dropped too many passes. This will fix itself, I think, as Hunter gets more gametime reps. He also came down with the Neal virus where he was trying to make too many moves after the catch, rather than just running forward. He cost himself one sure first down this way.
The secondary had an inconsistent game. I loved the four interceptions, but I didn't love the number of times NCST receivers were left all alone. It seemed like Glennon picked on Byron Moore for stretches of the first half, before our pass rush asserted its will.
Either Lane needs to start, or Neal needs to learn to run up the middle. Far, far too many plays bounced outside when there was more to be had going up the gut. The line played their tails off tonight, but in some ways Neal wasted their effort by running to the edge so often. Having said that, I loved the way Lane played. Physical north-south running will move the chains, score points and win SEC football games.
Where was Rivera? Against a team with preoccupied safeties and weak linebackers, I thought Mychal would leave an imprint on the game. Instead, he was almost invisible. I hope he becomes a larger part of the offense as the season goes on.
This was a great win, though, and I'm happy. Glennon is possibly the best QB we will face all year. We passed that test, and now I'm interested in seeing how we fare against a team who can run the ball.
