Week 2: UC Davis (0-1) @ South Dakota State (0-1) After watching the game on Tuesday, I have the folllowimgs thoughts/observations:
The O-line did a very good job of protecting Hastings. Run blocking was not so great - but this was a very stingy run defense the Ags were going against.
Gilliam continues to be the best overall and most consistent weapon the Aggies have. His pass catching and runs after catch were quite impressive. Even when there was no where to go on rushes, he consistently made defenders miss. There were several jock straps left on the field from his spin moves.
Kicking game still needs to step up. Not sure if blocked extra point was kicked too low or if defender punched through. The missed field goal wasn’t egregious IMO as it was 43 yards and it hit the upright (with plenty of distance to spare). I did notice that there were a couple of snaps/holds that weren’t very clean. Lola like they have switched to Reich for punting. Punting was ok - really miss those sky scrapers of Whelan.
Rex Conners is a player. Super good at ball hawking and quick/powerful downhill tackling. Looks like he is playing some sort of river position which seems perfect for his skills.
Hastings was ok. He seems to be playing just good enough to keep others on the bench. I noted about 11-12 inaccurate throws, 3 dropped passes, and 2 opportunities for a passing TD that were off target. Larison was open for a TD and he threw behind him instead of throwing him more open. There was another TD opportunity with Davis. Other than the 68 yard TD to Larison (more than half of that a run) the longest reception was 25 to Castles (Gilliam a 25 reception but mostly run). Still not stretching the field and very inconsistent long ball accuracy. This facet needs to get better. There was also a pick on a penalty that negates it. Still need development in vision and looking off defenders.
Overall a good team effort and good defense. But if you don’t get the win it still goes on the L column. Getting “over the hump” still somewhat of a plague.