Only option is a pooch kick though. Pretty sure we wouldn't attempt a FG there

I didn't even see any aggie receivers near the area

OK, great field position with tons of time. NOW don't turn it over

I kinda am actually. We have the ball, need to rest up the D because we're gonna depend on them for the stop, we have way more timeouts than UND, might as well burn clock

Interception UND

PICK!!!!

Good pressure on the QB too for once

It's been like this in the whole Hawkins era, nothing new.

Playcalling has been unconventional but has it ever been actually great? The whole offense seems to be based on big plays bailing out the ones that go nowhere

I'm sure it will be on the highli...oh

Got the stop though, that's improvement.

Missed tackle on the QB and he gets the first to kill an otherwise good defensive stand.

I don't care if we're smaller and slower. I mean I do but I understand. But I do care a lot about sloppiness. If we're going to trumpet the massive experience of our coaching staff and how smart and hardworking our players are -- and we definitely do, and I do believe both those things are generally true -- then we need to actually show it through excellent performance.

PREECE TD

GIANT pass to CC after the fake.

We need to be in this mode the whole game to stand a chance against high scoring teams

Was there the slightest doubt what was going to happen as soon as Jake went under center? I know the coaching staff loves the little trickery and wrinkles but there was nothing subtle about that. Sure, it isn't a bad 4th and 1 play when you're Army and all of your plays start like that, but the element of surprise is lost when we do it.

Also, that RB got like 10 extra yards because our guys couldn't bring him down

False start penalty negates a failed 4th and 1 that may have also been a fumble

Just a roller coaster of mediocrity there

UND player was wrapped up, breaks free, and gets a TD.

Doesn't matter if our recruiting has improved (convo from earlier) if the players can't actually execute.

Special Teams just put them in a bad position

Offense looks a little better, ok. Defense needs to figure stuff out and I'm not confident they will...

I agree recruiting is better than it has been on paper. Maybe I'm just jaded from watching years of FCS teams outrinning our guys. At any rate, it doesn't hurt to assume the worst when prepping for games.

In regards to last season, we didn't get to playoffs because of the defense, that's for sure. We got there because we could put up points and when we were in a tight spot you could just chuck it in the general direction of Keelan and he'd make the play. I'm hyperbolizing but you get the drift, we had specific tools that really worked and could compensate for weaknesses

What's always been going on. Offense is leaving the D out to dry and the Hawks are just way faster and better at execution than us

Urgh.

If we expect to go into every game with a tossup in terms of athleticism and/or a speed/size disadvantage -- which we have to assume we will -- then the focus should be on execution. And yet literally that seems to be the lowest on the priority list (I'm also including the poor tackling from the Montana game, not just penalties).

I said two seasons ago that I was concerned that Hawkins really focused on the low-hanging fruit when rebuilding the program by switching to the spread and getting a good QB. A TON of the problems that plagued the Gould years are still there and this year we don't have the offensive firepower to overcome it.

Great as I was writing this we just had an RB avoid like 7 of our guys for like 25 yards