Cats roll over Ball State, 45-14, in uninspiring rout

[lou v]

Cats roll over Ball State, 45-14, in uninspiring rout

The Wildcats jumped out to a 21-0 lead but then hit a lull as they pasted overmatched Ball State on Saturday at a subdued Ryan Field.

www.on3.com

 

[TheC]

The bar has been raised. We won by 31 and we're still not satisfied.

 

[Enduro]

Agreed - I would say - Cats took care of business, got starters some rest, no major injuries, still plenty to clean-up. Fine game, never in doubt - would like less bend and more stops from the D, but lots of the key starters still out - hope they get back soon. Nice to be able to be unimpressed by a 31 point win.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Offense looked pretty good. I can quibble, and Aidan had one of his worst games, but I can’t complain about the offense overall.

defense left… a good bit to be desired. Turner, Walters, and Fussell are needed back badly, all of their replacements (except maybe Desfearnandes) looked abused at times. The d line continues to be intensely bad in the pass rush, but that is what it is.

Still, probably a like C+ performance. C- if you’re a tough grader. I bet Brawny lets em have it.

an no injuries! Got nervous about Fitz, but no new injuries today, that’s very big

 

[JustGary]

Offense looked pretty good. I can quibble, and Aidan had one of his worst games, but I can’t complain about the offense overall.

defense left… a good bit to be desired. Turner, Walters, and Fussell are needed back badly, all of their replacements (except maybe Desfearnandes) looked abused at times. The d line continues to be intensely bad in the pass rush, but that is what it is.

Still, probably a like C+ performance. C- if you’re a tough grader. I bet Brawny lets em have it.

an no injuries! Got nervous about Fitz, but no new injuries today, that’s very big

I heard Braun’s message was for them to celebrate the win and be ready to get back to work in 24 hours. I think the staff is reserving criticism until after they review the tapes.

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

Offense looked pretty good. I can quibble, and Aidan had one of his worst games, but I can’t complain about the offense overall.

defense left… a good bit to be desired. Turner, Walters, and Fussell are needed back badly, all of their replacements (except maybe Desfearnandes) looked abused at times. The d line continues to be intensely bad in the pass rush, but that is what it is.

Still, probably a like C+ performance. C- if you’re a tough grader. I bet Brawny lets em have it.

an no injuries! Got nervous about Fitz, but no new injuries today, that’s very big

My biggest concern on O: muted rushing attack after Himon's 40+ yard run on the first drive. We have 3 legit p4 RBs, the ground game has to do better

Tell me why you think this wasn't a great game for Chiles? I thought he played near flawless, other than a couple of errant/harmless throws

 

[Deeringfish]

My biggest concern on O: muted rushing attack after Himon's 40+ yard run on the first drive. We have 3 legit p4 RBs, the ground game has to do better

Tell me why you think this wasn't a great game for Chiles? I thought he played near flawless, other than a couple of errant/harmless throws

Over a 70% completion ratio and no Int's. Can't complain about that too much.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I heard Braun’s message was for them to celebrate the win and be ready to get back to work in 24 hours. I think the staff is reserving criticism until after they review the tapes.

Brawn was very critical at halftime of the second quarter, intimated both before and after halftime that he got into them and was generally please with the response, and reiterated that the second quarter was bad and wasn’t up to standard. He also reiterated that the team’s culture is to be very hungry to work and constantly improve, which is why he insists the celebrate before returning to work. He has built a good culture that isn’t satisfied with sub-standard play and is healthy and hungry to a high standatd

 

[AdamOnFirst]

My biggest concern on O: muted rushing attack after Himon's 40+ yard run on the first drive. We have 3 legit p4 RBs, the ground game has to do better

Tell me why you think this wasn't a great game for Chiles? I thought he played near flawless, other than a couple of errant/harmless throws

Put the ball on the ground twice and threw his first interceptable ball of the year

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

Brawn was very critical at halftime of the second quarter, intimated both before and after halftime that he got into them and was generally please with the response, and reiterated that the second quarter was bad and wasn’t up to standard. He also reiterated that the team’s culture is to be very hungry to work and constantly improve, which is why he insists the celebrate before returning to work. He has built a good culture that isn’t satisfied with sub-standard play and is healthy and hungry to a high standatd

This is good. The ceiling is much higher than I expected for this team, in part because the teams on the schedule are much less scary than they were in July.

I'll still sit here and be relieved if they reach six wins, but they should strive for more

 

[Purple Pete]

This is good. The ceiling is much higher than I expected for this team, in part because the teams on the schedule are much less scary than they were in July.

I'll still sit here and be relieved if they reach six wins, but they should strive for more

Perhaps they are less scary because we are very good as well. I will be unhappy if we have more than one more loss and looking to up the ante.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

This is good. The ceiling is much higher than I expected for this team, in part because the teams on the schedule are much less scary than they were in July.

I'll still sit here and be relieved if they reach six wins, but they should strive for more

SP+ already has us ranked as a top 20 offense, which is a shockingly fast turnaround. I’ve joked/commented for years that a Northwestern with even a mediocre offense, like 50th, would be a serious problem for everybody else. To already have a genuinely very good offense in one year… incredible turnaround. A revolution.

 

[JustGary]

SP+ already has us ranked as a top 20 offense, which is a shockingly fast turnaround. I’ve joked/commented for years that a Northwestern with even a mediocre offense, like 50th, would be a serious problem for everybody else. To already have a genuinely very good offense in one year… incredible turnaround. A revolution.

What is most interesting about the change in offensive performance is it's the people we had last year with just two key additions. It really opens my eyes to how poorly we have been coached on offense. If we can recruit showing players what we do, see the 24 team expansion, and continue picking up key portal players, we may be challenging for CFP on a regular basis. I know there is a lot of ifs, but we now have everything in place to see a quantum leap from where we have been for decades.

 

[Deeringfish]

What is most interesting about the change in offensive performance is it's the people we had last year with just two key additions. It really opens my eyes to how poorly we have been coached on offense. If we can recruit showing players what we do, see the 24 team expansion, and continue picking up key portal players, we may be challenging for CFP on a regular basis. I know there is a lot of ifs, but we now have everything in place to see a quantum leap from where we have been for decades.

By many accounts last years O Line was better than this years.
Also Today, On3 put The Cats in their projection to make the playoffs this season. They made a really funny comment about Coach Kelly.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

What is most interesting about the change in offensive performance is it's the people we had last year with just two key additions. It really opens my eyes to how poorly we have been coached on offense. If we can recruit showing players what we do, see the 24 team expansion, and continue picking up key portal players, we may be challenging for CFP on a regular basis. I know there is a lot of ifs, but we now have everything in place to see a quantum leap from where we have been for decades.

TO BE FAIR one of those additions was a quarterback, who has radically changed our production at such a key position, BUT your point still largely stands, especially because Chiles play itself has been intensely elevated from his past performance, with improved coaching and and improved system undoubtedly playing a big part.

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

What is most interesting about the change in offensive performance is it's the people we had last year with just two key additions. It really opens my eyes to how poorly we have been coached on offense. If we can recruit showing players what we do, see the 24 team expansion, and continue picking up key portal players, we may be challenging for CFP on a regular basis. I know there is a lot of ifs, but we now have everything in place to see a quantum leap from where we have been for decades.

Joe Himon is the poster child. 6 TDs and 380 yards from scrimmage in 27 touches.

I'm sure he worked hard over the winter to get better, but it's mostly the system getting him the ball in space