The journey to Texas has 11 pre-scheduled stops with only one break between now & late November. There will be twists, turns & trouble along the route but through it all the Herd will progress. Following each game that progress will be analyzed. As great as the destination is, enjoy the weekly pit stops along the way!
This one stings and that's just as one who is nothing but a viewer. To have put hours, days, weeks & months of thought into one event and then come up short the way that the team did would make for agony.
Some of the reasons why are obvious but perhaps a bit of the talk about the latest game will include thoughts that aren't as top-of-mind.
Obvious point #1: It stinks like a pig farm during July heat that they got to celebrate at the Dome again. Yes it comes with the trophy but even if the outcome didn't include that physical item they would be the worst team to lose to on the schedule. For those of you would protest with the university from further North, they aren't the primary rival anymore. But for it to be a rivalry worthy of mention alongside Alabama/Auburn, Michigan/Ohio St., Texas/Oklahoma, etc. each team has to win and there have to be these sorts of games that people will talk about for years to come. If it was only about the Rock and the school's proximity to one another the ceiling of the feud would be stunted. I wish it weren't so but it takes these sorts of outcomes to form the thing into one that's known across the college football landscape. Since the aspiration is to get into the higher level of competition it could prove to be beneficial in the long run.
But you may be asking what about the actual game?
The way it ended was equally as wrenching as the start was enjoyable. Three possessions, three touchdowns in nine & a half minutes of ball control. It really seemed like the home team was going to flatten the Bunnies like so much roadkill. Then Cole Payton got his first meaningful pass attempt & everything changed. It's easy to second-guess the play call as it looked very much like the one to the Human Rhino that torched SDSU but they were not fooled a second time.
Some credit must be rendered to the Jacks because following that play they managed to limit NDSU to less than 10 total minutes of possession the rest of the game. They out-Bisoned the Bison, plain & simple. The only one who might be able to explain why the second half unfolded the way that it did is Tyler Roehl, but even he may still be scratching his head over the course of events.
Four punts & a turnover on downs is as stark a u-turn as they could make after being in position to add to their 21-7 lead. It's a baffling deflation after a single mistake. I hope that with as much experience as he has the OC isn't that easily shaken from the game plan. I don't know how else to spin it though because there's no amount of adjustments that SDSU could make to so-completely swing the game in their favor. Not with the way that Miller, DJ Hart & Luepke were taking them apart. Zach Mathis also put together a good game down the field as he continues to show that he's up for the task of the Christian Watson role.
Perhaps the interception forced them so far into the shell of just trying to ride-out the win that there just wasn't time to get out of it. Playing not to lose so often leads to losing. It doesn't help that both of the Jacks leading rushers were not far from each out-running the Bison's total output, a modest 132 yards. Out-bisoned the Bison.
That could lead to questions about the defense but bringing down the elusive Mark Gronowski three times is a good mark. Who knows how much better they might have been had the ToP been even 30/30 as opposed to 35/25. Overall today just wasn't a display of complimentary football.
So now, in all likelihood, the road back to Texas will run through Brookings. Doesn't mean that one of their four remaining opponents can't catch them in a trap or that a playoff team won't get them again but those are not likely outcomes so prepare for an unfamiliar situation come the second season.
Now with two weeks to stew on it we will wait to see what changes are made, what lessons are learned and how the team handles the stretch run to selection Sunday. The outcome certainly eliminated any malaise that may have set in about the team & season. That's all for now.