Not This Time Central Michigan!
Offense in mid-season form. Inexperience takes its toll in the defensive backfield. A preview of the Arizona State "Fighting Transfer Portals" and some extra thoughts no one asked for.
If the opener against Central Michigan left you feeling a little uneasy (Especially after witnessing the fast starts from around the Big 12 conference), you are not alone…
As much as the Pokes wish they could count themselves among the group of teams that dominated lesser opponents in Week 1, a 22-7 let down in the 4th quarter makes the final score not one to write home about. Admittedly, the fourth quarter left much to be desired, but the loyal and true who watched the game saw plenty to be optimistic about in the first three quarters. Let's get into it.
Spencer Sanders, Casey Dunn, and the Offense Overhaul
Last season, every time QB Spencer Sanders and company took the field, it seemed that the offense spent more time trying not to lose games than it did trying to win them. They valued time of possession and long, methodical drives that either ended in points or a punt that left the opponent staring down a long field between them and an endzone that might as well have been in Siberia if Malcolm Rodriguez (shown below) had anything to say about it.
If you expected to see the same game-managing offense that you grew accustomed to in 2022, then you were sorely mistaken. The first drive of the season spanned 75 yards, ended in a touchdown, and lasted a grand total of 1 minute and 32 seconds of game time!
However, this must not have been fast enough for Offensive Coordinator Casey Dunn because he spent the rest of the first three quarters trying to break this impressive number, which they achieved multiple times. Altogether, 4 of the Cowboys 9 touchdown drives lasted less than a minute and a half on their way to 531 total yards of offense.
Sanders threw for a career high 406 yards passing, ran for 57 yards, and accounted for 6 touchdowns (4 passing and 2 rushing). A stat line that would earn him 3 (Albeit meaningless) awards:
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose National Player of the Week (an award name that could use a little work-shopping, but no one asked me).
The depth at the wide receiver position was on full display. Brennen Presley, John Paul Richardson, and Braydon Johnson had at least 70 yards receiving a piece, four different players caught a touchdown pass, and in total eight receivers saw meaningful playing time. This embarrassment of riches almost made the absence of projected starter Jaden Bray (injured) go completely unnoticed.
The lack of a go-to guy at receiver will make the offense difficult for opposing teams to game plan against. If defenses focus on taking away a particular receiver, Sanders will have no problem finding another target and taking what the defense gives him.
Defensive Woes
Some will be quick to write off the many of the 44 Central Michigan points as given up by bench players in meaningless playing time that was not going to affect the outcome of the game.
As much as the fan base wishes that were true, the game film tells a different story.
Many of the costly mistakes that led to scores or long gains came from players that Defensive Coordinator Derek Mason will need to rely on as the season progresses. On several occasions, Central Michigan players would find themselves wide open, leaving linebackers and safeties looking around trying to figure out where the communication broke down.
Here are a couple clips of mistakes that led to easy touchdowns:
Initial judgment would pin the missed assignment on number 1, starting linebacker Xavier Benson.
Runningback coming out of the backfield is most likely the responsibility of number 11 linebacker Lamont Bishop, who is listed as the first linebacker off the bench. Late recognition of the wheel route and a bad angle put Bishop well behind the play.
Sloppy tackling from number 3 CB Cam Smith
And possibly worst of all, the Central Michigan receivers made corners Korie Black (6’ 0” 185 lbs) and Jabaar Muhammed (5’ 10” 180 lbs) look small. This clip is a Chippewa touchdown simply due to size advantage.
As a starting cornerback, Black will see much more talented receivers than this.
Time and time again the wide receivers found holes in the zone defense, leading to easy, quick completions, rendering the strong pass rush attack useless. The defensive back field will be outmanned, less experienced, and smaller than most wide receiving crews in the conference. These are things that do not get fixed overnight. The defensive backs are young. They will make their fair share of mistakes. The hope for Coach Gundy and his staff is that the offense can make up for those mistakes and that the newcomers will be able to learn and adapt on the fly.
The Gameplan Writes Itself
The Central Michigan coaching staff looked at the menacing defensive line
and then looked at the inexperience in the defensive backfield and came to the same conclusion that a dad coaching his son’s flag football team would come to:
We cannot expect to run the ball effectively.
We cannot expect the offensive line to hold off the pass rush all night.
We can nickel and dime our way down the field, throwing short, quick-hitting routes, getting the ball out of the hands of the quarterback before the pass rush can touch him.
And it largely worked. Not enough for the Chippewas to win the game, but enough to expose weaknesses and allow a less talented team to play a closer game than they should have.
The Big 12 offensive coordinators will be ready to attack every week. If this is not addressed, the Pokes will find themselves in close games against teams that should not be able to compete with them.
All the opposing quarterback has to do is be patient, take the 5 to 7 yard completions, and wait for the opportunity to take advantage of a young defensive back in a mismatch or blowing a coverage to spring a big play.
It might not seem like much, but until the defense can prove they can stop plays like this:
opponents will continue to put up big numbers.
Week 2 Arizona State Preview
The Sun Devils roster saw serious turnover in the offseason. The list of players transferring in and out is astoundingly long.
To summarize, ASU lost its top 3 leading rushers and top 4 leading receivers from a year ago. They lost starting quarterback Jaydon Daniels to the SEC (LSU) and gained a starting quarterback from the SEC in Emory Jones (Florida). They also signed Xazavian Valladay (“X” for short) from Wyoming.
Head Coach Herm Edwards is a familiar face to many. The fifth year head coach has had an illustrious career, both playing and coaching in the NFL, and is now tasked with bringing relevancy to a program muddling in mediocrity.
Coach Edwards’ team finished first in the PAC-12 Conference in opposing yards per game (327.7 yds/game). They will no doubt be hanging their hat on that side of the ball again this year.
Offensive transfers #5 QB Emory Jones and #1 RB X Valladay are the cornerstones of the offensive attack. Jones is a dual threat quarterback that is more than capable of making plays with his legs.
Valladay leads the nation in career rushing yards. Once again, the Pokes defensive line will have a chance to prove that they are one of the most talented crews in the country if they can step up to the challenge of containing Valladay and forcing Jones to be one dimensional and try to beat them through the air.
They have a talented receiving trio in #82 Andre Johnson, #80 Messiah Swinson, and #2 Elijhah Badger that will likely give the defense all it can handle.
*picture for spelling sanity check
In week one, the Sun Devils hosted Northern Arizona University and beat them handily, 40 - 3.
Overall, this week will serve as a great benchmark to see what the Cowboys look like against legitimate Power 5 conference athletes. Expect to see a lot of points on the board. The defense will not be perfect, but they should be able to do enough to keep the game under control wire to wire.
Gundy should collect another home victory on Saturday. Which is important because you can’t win ‘em all if you don't win the first two.
Go Pokes.
A Couple Things
Here’s some tid-bits while you wait for saturday.
Freshman Talent
A key takeaway from the season opener is the flashes of young greatness from young guys. #30 Sophomore Collin Oliver looked to be in mid-season form:
But Oliver is nearly a household name at this point.
Redshirt Freshman #5 Kendal Daniels led the team in tackles (11) and recorded the game’s only interception:
But the two players that should really excite Cowboy nation about the future are true Freshmen #1 Braylin Presley (brother of #80 Brennan Presley) and #0 Ollie Gordon. Both showed off impressive moves in the opener but I can only find Gordons:
Here are some high school highlights of Braylin. Just imagine him in Americas Brightest Orange and be on the look out for number 1 in the future. Hopefully we haven’t seen the last of him in 2022.
Big Night for Coach Gundy
Although the 2022 season opener will no doubt be the second most memorable Central Michigan game of Coach Gundy’s career, he will definitely look back more fondly on this game.
Father-Son Bonding
Second string quarterback Gunner Gundy fulfilled his lifelong dream of playing quarterback for the Cowboys in a drive that consisted of three run plays and ended in a punt. Although, he is not going to show it, this had to be a special moment for Mike to see his son, sporting the same jersey he himself wore in the late 80’s, quarterbacking his team.
Milestone Win Total
The Thursday night victory is number 150 for Coach Gundy. He joins a short list of four coaches that have achieved this feat at their current school. Athletic Director Chad Weiburg presented Gundy with a commemorative football to mark the occasion.
Broadcaster Gaffs
These two goobers almost made up for the fact that I could not make it to the Thursday night game in Stillwater.
The broadcasters were not on the same page for last Thursday’s game and it made for some amusing moments.
Gaff #1
Moments before an OSU kickoff, the pair had just wrapped up a segment discussing how QB Spencer Sanders is a four year starter and the experience should give him a major boost.
The camera zooms in on a students jiggling car keys, as is a right of passage for OSU students at kick off.
*Slightly paraphrased*
Announcer 1: “I guess you could say its a big key to spend a lot of time in college football?”
It is quiet for a second as announcer 2, completely oblivious to the pun, tries to quickly figure out why his partner just brought up a segment that had clearly ended. Then Announcer 2 says “Yeah, it’s helpful.”
(Found at 0:12:00 in the video below)
Gaff #2
The pair of announcers is also assigned to the OU vs. UTEP game on Saturday, so during an advertisement for the the game announcer 1 says:
“What are you doing Saturday?”
Announcer 2 once again takes a couple seconds to process why his partner asked him about his weekend plans when he knows that they are supposed to work a game together. A confused announcer 2 says:
“Are you asking me?”
Announcer 1: “Yeah.”
Announcer 2: “You and I are hanging out in Norman”
Announcer 1 plays off the awkwardness and then quickly gets into the rest of the ad read before things get more off the rails.
(Found at 2:15:55 in the video below)
Gaff #3
Lastly but not leastly (leastly?),
*Paraphrased because I cannot find it in the video*
Announcer 1: “Coach Gundy revealed in a press conference this week that he is a bit of a cinephile--”
Announcer 2: *interupting* “He did WHAT?”
Announcer 1: “It means he likes movies.”
Announcer 2: “Oh.”
Not sure if anyone else found these moments from the broadcast amusing but I wanted to share, because they made my night.
Great write up! I look forward to next weeks!
Well written Craig! Loved the bit about the announcers.
As a fellow loyal and true poke lover, I do not expect us to play well or look good in august or September. Gundy never has us looking good early in the season, but he wins games. Since 2005, he has lost only 12 games in August and September. Not surprised or worries about the defense. But they will be ready for Waco, I promise you that!