.
Mostly it’s a question of talent. Did we beat the teams we were more talented than? With the exception of Idaho State we did. Did we beat any more talented teams? Yes, Tulsa, and Weber may have been more talented.
We finished again behind teams that finished ahead of us in 2019, with everyone playing a lot of returning players. except we squeezed in ahead of Weber.
Until we can win in the trenches our offense is going to look disjointed and limited.
This was a transitional year at QB, and they were inconsistent, unsurprisingly.

Wow , we play these guys in second game next season.

I don’t necessarily agree the coaching staff was “inconsistent” or “vacillating” with the quarterbacks.
Rodrigues had the bulk of the snaps until he had a concussion. From the outside we don’t know the full situation from a medical point of view, or whether they would have made the change to Hastings absent the medical question; once they went to Hastings they stuck with him.
I don’t think Tompkins was ever viewed as a contender to be an every down quarterback, and I don’t think using him was a negative.
They certainly didn’t vacillate between quarterbacks like Sac does, apparently as an art form. Maybe they should have.

Biggest disappointment with the offense is the inability to block run plays, as seen on Gilliam's no gain runs, or when the defender in the backfield simultaneous to Hutton about to get the exchange from Tompkins. It must be a challenge for the offensive coordinator when you can’t throw deep or block running plays. Guess he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Understandable that they started slow because of their long layoff.

The defense was pathetic until the game was decided. Good defense in garbage time.

Haven’t stopped a drive without points yet.

I’m not critical of either the coaches nor Rodrigues for his taking chances, it was a big game and he played his heart out. But he can’t play like he’s Tompkins or Borisch or O’Hara, he’s too slight.

if coaches don’t see an injury on the horizon when you have a 6’ 170lb quarterback running it shows a lack of imagination

I think Sacs getting better results from two quarterbacks than either would give them alone. Dunniway is second in the conference in passing efficiency.
What makes the QB position one in which you’re not supposed to platoon? By having two guys with different skill sets, you increase the challenge the defense faces and you’re that much more resilient to injury. I like the way sac changes quarterbacks within a possession, gives them opportunities to talk things over with the QB, and match each guys skills to the situation. Whichever guy they have out there is probably the worst one for us.

If they had a position called “running QB” who would be all conference, Borisch or Tompkins? Disregard all passing stats.

So far TT has not shown he can get the ball to anyone beyond the line of scrimmage consistently enough to be an every down quarterback. I guess but don’t know that is true in practice as well. He’s still best used as a quarterback because otherwise he pretty much duplicates Larison at running back or receiver.
I think next season we’re going to see open competition for the quarterback job, maybe with new names.
But the QB position isn’t our only area on offense where we aren’t as good as the competition when we’re playing the top teams in our conference. I think our offensive line is an area that needs improvement, and where we don’t have underclassmen ready to take over.
It’s an old story so we overlook it but in big games we get physically beat. Always have through the years, and we expect the QB to compensate for that. It never quite works out.

The time Marsh and Dunning raised the issue was our first drive which ended in a touchdown pass to Harrell.
The next drive in the red zone Tompkins was used for the entire drive, included his long run, settled for a field goal from the 12.
So no missed opportunity

Maybe next year it’s someone else, one of our taller young guys perhaps, so I think they should play whoever they think is the best at this moment. If we were in development mode we’d be playing younger players generally, which we’re not.
I too felt better after watching the game again. We were in the game through three quarters, against a very good team.

O line not that depleted, Lamson was back but at the left guard spot he lost in 2019 to Ford. Banks is at right tackle, as the one reserve now starting.
I’m not sure it’s easier to pass block than run block for these guys. Traditionally the teams with really heavy linemen are more designed for pass offenses and lighter quicker linemen are more suited for run blocking. Slostang told us in the spring that Polys tackles were too short for a passing team and ours are 6’3, 6’4” like their “too short” guys were. Running gives the smaller quicker guys a chance to be aggressors.

Gilliam had 2.2 yards per carry at half time.

I think in this game we got away from the play mix we have to use. We don’t have a QB who we’re going to be able to just live off his arm. In the spring and in the Tulsa game our play mix was weighted in favor of runs. They didn’t work at first against Tulsa but did at the end of the game. We’ve got to be able to run between the tackles to some extent, we have running backs in Gilliam and Larison who excel in it, now we have to commit to it. If we can’t do it successfully we won’t win anyway. That’s the kind of team we have.

He also got burned often. I think he was the guy that allowed a simple toss for a TD to the front corner of the end zone Lots of times DBs get tackles after allowing a catch. That makes sense sometimes but in the end zone not so much.

Budgett. He was subbed out but, maybe just a normal rotation, maybe for reasons Marsh said.. Was back later. I don’t think Harlson played

What would a definitive QB look like? Someone who doesn’t get blamed when the offense gains 2 yards a carry until the fog comes in? Someone who isn’t responsible for defensive backs playing off players in the end zone so a TD is a simple pass and catch? Someone who generates a pass rush? Or just maybe a better version of Eric Barriere who can overcome all those flaws? Jake couldn’t do it in a few tries.

For some, education is a distraction from the college experience.

I know, that’s why I said both Harrell and Vaughn are gone next year and we need some of the young guys to shine.
They’ve recruited tall wide receivers they just haven’t played due to the players in front of them. But those are big shoes to fill. Anyone know what Granfor’s injury is or was?