Mixed Feelings

On the one hand, the game went much better than I originally expected. When you go into a game expecting a 61-3 drubbing and instead see your team lose 31-21, with plenty of opportunities to stay in the game, you have to feel a little happy.

Then you remember why your team lost. You remember the fumble on 3 yard line and how suddenly Missouri seized control of the game. You remember your quarterback - the same one that was excellent for his first two years - suddenly throwing as if his receivers were 20 feet tall, or as if he's just completely lost his nerve. You remember your coach... oh, where to begin. Should we start with the three timeouts in the first quarter? The bizarre on-sides kick at the end that was too clever by half? The fact that, outside of the running game, it looks like our offense still has no rhythm after a month of games and practice? Or the fact that our offense apparently does not have a hurry-up two minute game plan? How about opting to run the "pistol" outside of our own end zone, nearly leading to a safety? Or just plain ignoring that, as clever as a spread-option half-shotgun based offense was five years ago, people are starting to figure it out? Heck, we seem to have a decent running game - how about throwing a Wildcat in there once in a while, hmm?

I still say that our defense, at least by Nevada standards, wasn't half bad last night. They got some stops, they picked up a turnover, and, except for a big play or two, they did a pretty decent job of keeping the ball in front of them, which is really all we can ask. We know going into every season that our offense has to score points in order for us to win games and, I'm sorry to say, that's not changing anytime soon. We just can't recruit the kind of defense talent necessary to regularly keep opponents under 20. Even Boise State has troubles on that front and they have a captive recruiting market and double our budget.

Special teams really is shaping up to be a surprising bright spot. Considering how Ault spent the first couple of seasons staffing the special teams unit with walk-ons, along with the predictable woes that resulted, I can't complain there. If our offense can simply hold on to the ball, make some big plays from time to time, and reliably score more than 20, we might actually win a game or two this year. Maybe.

Meanwhile... Oregon is doing everything it can to make Boise State's victory over it look really good. Idaho is surprisingly decent this year, netting a solid win on the road against a decent MAC team. Nevada-Southern, meanwhile, is copying from our turnover-prone playbook. Honestly, Nevada-UNLV has the potential to turn into one of the ugliest games of football ever recorded. Could be fun, in a "car crash on I-80 in winter kills 30" sort of way.