Interesting defensive note from Saturday

[MSUDC11]

Prior to Fitzgerald’s interception with 8:09 left in the game:

8 defensive possessions, 128 rushing yards allowed, 14 points allowed. Snell was sitting at 89 yards on 19 carries.

After Fitz’s INT:

3 possessions, 101 rushing yards allowed, 14 points allowed. Snell carried the ball six times for 76 yards and two TD’s.

The dam broke after Fitz threw the pick. The defense held out as well as you could’ve asked for three and a half quarters. The offense did absolutely nothing to help them out. Three of the four TD drives went for less than 48 yards for them.

Just frustrating when you break it down. If our offense had just performed OK we probably win this game by at least a touchdown.

 

[bulldognation]

So you're saying that was the turning point. If Fitz doesn't throw that pick and we go on to score, it's a tie game and we're still in it. But that didn't happen and UK goes on to score on the very next play to make it a 21-7 game.

If you'd ask me, the turning point was after we came out at half time and barely managed a first down on our opening possession. False start and we net 8 yards on our first possession coming out of the locker room. EIGHT YARDS. Kentucky then goes on and marches 92 yards to break the tie.

I don't know what kind of motivational speech or 'adjustments' Moorhead gave the team in the locker room, but it was completely ineffective.

It felt like Croom all over again.

 

[WilCoDawg]

I noticed this happen and was afraid of them continuing to score afterwards which they did.
That had to deflate the team and appears to have done just that.

 

[Seinfeld]

Only change I'd make is that if our offense had just performed OK, I think we break their backs early and win by 14-17 pts minimum. Kentucky is built to run, and if we had been able to go up by 14 pts by the middle of the 2nd quarter, I think it forces them to do some things that they really didn't want to do.

As luck would have it, we had a golden opportunity to do exactly what I described above in the 2nd qtr, but we blew it. After going up 7-0 from our 8-minute drive, our defense forced Kentucky to punt after 5 plays, and Kentucky's exhausted D had to march right back onto the field. What did we do to wear them down? Toss two incomplete passes while mixing in a 5-yd rush before Tucker Day booms a 21 yarder to give Kentucky the ball right back.

So that was the turning point, right? Nope, following Day's monstrous kick to give Kentucky the ball near midfield, our defense forces another 3 and out. After that, we pick up a false start, toss an incomplete pass, and then punt the ball right back to Kentucky after failing to pick up a single first down aGAIN.

I'll say again... our defense did not lose this game. Not even close. We could have won this game 31-14 while holding Snell to < 100 yards if our offense had even gotten off the bus Saturday night.

 

[expireddog]

Good post!

Did this weekend suck? Absolutely!!

But this was a one score game going into the 4th.

Our defense will be fine. The reason everybody is so hot and bothered is because Moorhead was the supposed offensive guru and we looked like dog crap Saturday night.

This one hurts so bad because we are better than Kentucky. A team we beat 45-7 last year and I believe the team thought they just had to get off the bus and we would win.

Kentucky is one dimensional. We’ll be fine and we’re about to take our frustration out on enemy number 1.

Hail State!!!

 

[Lawdawg.sixpack]

I go back to the end of the 2nd quarter, immediately after we scored our TD.

We hold them to one first down, and they punt from their own 28 (after a Sweat sack). 45 yard UK punt, we take over on our own 29 with about 5:00 til half. If we drive and score points, we also get the ball after the half, probably ballgame. Instead...

Incomplete pass, Fitz run for 5, incomplete pass. QUICK 3 and out. 21 yard punt. UK ball at their own 45 with 4:00 til half. The sad thing is that this wasn't even the drive they score on. They go 3 and out and pin us deep. But so do we, and we couple it with a 36 yard punt, giving them the ball back again with 2:15 left til half.

 

[Lawdawg.sixpack]

^^^.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I hate to keep hammering ol' Fitz, but when you say that drive started with an incomplete pass, you left out that Fitz overthrew a wide-*** open Mixon on the sideline. I didn't see this for myself, but Matt Wyatt said Osirus Mitchell was also wide open in the middle of the field on that play for a sure 6. (I noticed Wyatt being quite the Homer during that broadcast, though, so maybe Mitchell wasn't as open as he made it sound).

I thought we were going to throw deep on the first play, because we had just put together a long drive for a TD and Moorhead prefers to score fast. Plus, why not mix up right there and try to get up by 2 scores? The plays were open...