D
Derek Young
Guest
OFFENSE
We’ll keep it a bit shorter this week since Nelson and I watched from our couches. But it obviously was a pretty disturbing performance.
The offensive line didn’t play well and there was a starter or two that got benched for poor performance on more than one occasion. They were not effective and they even struggled in pass protection.
I actually thought they had better success in some instances as run blockers. On more than one occasion, it sure seemed like there were opportunities for guys like Alex Barnes and Dalvin Warmack to get much more yardage than they did. So, they aren’t lighting the world as an offensive line, but the opportunities that have been there are not being taken advantage of by any of the ball-carriers.
Skylar Thompson wasn’t sharp. His pass to Isaiah Zuber should have been a touchdown but he under-threw it. That same drive he threw touchdowns to Blaise Gammon and Zach Reuter that were dropped. They threw three touchdowns on one drive but missed out on each one. That was probably the story of the game. They couldn’t capitalize on the few chances they did have.
Alex Delton was also inserted into the lineup. And even his fresh legs against a second half defense weren’t enough to tip the scales. His play against a team that had gone conservative and was running out the clock wasn’t any better than the product we had seen up until the point he entered the game. He also mis-fired on a touchdown pass as well, much like Skylar did.
Neither quarterback had an answer. Neither was the focal point of the problem, either.
No wideout stepped up outside of Isaiah Zuber, who is quietly producing a fantastic season. However, he’s getting a ton of targets because he’s been the one option that they can trust thus far.
DEFENSE
As a defense, they didn’t rush the passer nearly well enough, especially the defensive ends. Though the defensive ends have played well enough thus far this season, today wasn’t a performance that they will hang their hat on, to say the least. Reggie Walker has surely taken a step back since his first game and teams are dedicating more attention towards Wyatt Hubert because he’s the only one they perceive as a threat.
However, the defensive tackles were probably better today, both against the run and pass. It still wasn’t good enough but it was a step in the right direction.
A.J. Parker certainly had his struggles today and most of it came from the nickel spot. Something Chris Nelson and I have always pointed out is how much better he performs as a boundary corner in comparison to the nickel. But he was put at nickel today when Walter Neil was injured and his performance level dropped significantly.
Eli Walker flashed against the run again and was not nearly the liability against the pass as I thought he was so kudos to him for proving me wrong in that respect. However, that doesn’t mean it was great as they got picked apart, still.
K-State’s third down defense is still shaky, to put it nicely.
They held the Mountaineers to 35 but it should have been worse if we’re being honest. WVU was sleepwalking early and was winding down the play clock all the way to zero half-way through the third quarter. Will Grier came out after one drive in the fourth quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Andrew Hicks had some great punts today. Blake Lynch was two for three on his field goal attempts. It was a steady performance by them today. However, the punt coverage had some holes in it and Duke Shelley made an error by catching the ball on a kick return and letting it take him out of bounds just short of the 15-yard line.
PERSONNEL
Wyatt Hubert got the start in place of Kyle Ball at defensive end, again. Elijah Sullivan did dress and started at linebacker. We saw much less Sam Sizelove because of that so it appears as if Sullivan is getting healthier and healthier, actually. Jordan Mittie still started at defensive tackle and played a lot.
Josh Rivas was inserted into the lineup a few times for Abdul Beecham and it seemed to be due to performance.
Walter Neil and Kevion McGee both left the game injured. Some of the answers were to place A.J. Parker at the nickel and make Darreyl Patterson the boundary corner but that didn’t seem to be a very good answer for the defense. They also used Jonathan Durham at the nickel.
Alex Delton entered the game at the end of the third quarter as well, when the game was in doubt, trailing 35-3.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was ugly. It could have been uglier. And this was with WVU not playing well and K-State being +3 in the turnover margin. It’s time to go back to the drawing board.
We’ll keep it a bit shorter this week since Nelson and I watched from our couches. But it obviously was a pretty disturbing performance.
The offensive line didn’t play well and there was a starter or two that got benched for poor performance on more than one occasion. They were not effective and they even struggled in pass protection.
I actually thought they had better success in some instances as run blockers. On more than one occasion, it sure seemed like there were opportunities for guys like Alex Barnes and Dalvin Warmack to get much more yardage than they did. So, they aren’t lighting the world as an offensive line, but the opportunities that have been there are not being taken advantage of by any of the ball-carriers.
Skylar Thompson wasn’t sharp. His pass to Isaiah Zuber should have been a touchdown but he under-threw it. That same drive he threw touchdowns to Blaise Gammon and Zach Reuter that were dropped. They threw three touchdowns on one drive but missed out on each one. That was probably the story of the game. They couldn’t capitalize on the few chances they did have.
Alex Delton was also inserted into the lineup. And even his fresh legs against a second half defense weren’t enough to tip the scales. His play against a team that had gone conservative and was running out the clock wasn’t any better than the product we had seen up until the point he entered the game. He also mis-fired on a touchdown pass as well, much like Skylar did.
Neither quarterback had an answer. Neither was the focal point of the problem, either.
No wideout stepped up outside of Isaiah Zuber, who is quietly producing a fantastic season. However, he’s getting a ton of targets because he’s been the one option that they can trust thus far.
DEFENSE
As a defense, they didn’t rush the passer nearly well enough, especially the defensive ends. Though the defensive ends have played well enough thus far this season, today wasn’t a performance that they will hang their hat on, to say the least. Reggie Walker has surely taken a step back since his first game and teams are dedicating more attention towards Wyatt Hubert because he’s the only one they perceive as a threat.
However, the defensive tackles were probably better today, both against the run and pass. It still wasn’t good enough but it was a step in the right direction.
A.J. Parker certainly had his struggles today and most of it came from the nickel spot. Something Chris Nelson and I have always pointed out is how much better he performs as a boundary corner in comparison to the nickel. But he was put at nickel today when Walter Neil was injured and his performance level dropped significantly.
Eli Walker flashed against the run again and was not nearly the liability against the pass as I thought he was so kudos to him for proving me wrong in that respect. However, that doesn’t mean it was great as they got picked apart, still.
K-State’s third down defense is still shaky, to put it nicely.
They held the Mountaineers to 35 but it should have been worse if we’re being honest. WVU was sleepwalking early and was winding down the play clock all the way to zero half-way through the third quarter. Will Grier came out after one drive in the fourth quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Andrew Hicks had some great punts today. Blake Lynch was two for three on his field goal attempts. It was a steady performance by them today. However, the punt coverage had some holes in it and Duke Shelley made an error by catching the ball on a kick return and letting it take him out of bounds just short of the 15-yard line.
PERSONNEL
Wyatt Hubert got the start in place of Kyle Ball at defensive end, again. Elijah Sullivan did dress and started at linebacker. We saw much less Sam Sizelove because of that so it appears as if Sullivan is getting healthier and healthier, actually. Jordan Mittie still started at defensive tackle and played a lot.
Josh Rivas was inserted into the lineup a few times for Abdul Beecham and it seemed to be due to performance.
Walter Neil and Kevion McGee both left the game injured. Some of the answers were to place A.J. Parker at the nickel and make Darreyl Patterson the boundary corner but that didn’t seem to be a very good answer for the defense. They also used Jonathan Durham at the nickel.
Alex Delton entered the game at the end of the third quarter as well, when the game was in doubt, trailing 35-3.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was ugly. It could have been uglier. And this was with WVU not playing well and K-State being +3 in the turnover margin. It’s time to go back to the drawing board.
