Week 2: UC Davis (0-1) @ South Dakota State (0-1) Agree. Our defense gave us a chance even though they got pushed around hard at the LOS. The Jacks RB's rarely met any resistance at the LOS and so our LB's and DB's were making the majority of the tackles. I'm not surprised by this given how big and good the Jacks' OL is.
Gilliam gave our offense a chance almost single handily with his ability to keep going after contact. He didn't get a lot of running room. The Jacks have a swarming defense that's impressive.
Hastings was hit and miss. He missed too many open receivers where the pass didn't really even give them a chance to make a play on the ball. I get nervous when he rolls out because he seems to get tunnel vision and forces the ball into coverage and throws behind the receiver to often. I don't think he is seeing the field well. Of course, Cal and SDSU had tough defenses but the plays were there a few times and the passes were not on target. Hopefully, he'll get better with each game.
We have to be able to make some big plays against top tier competition and we simply have not done enough of that in our first two game. Too many "close but no cigar" plays.
Special teams are a concern at this point. Gomez recovering the onside kick was nice though.