I am going to talk about specific plays that, if any of them go our way, I (we) feel completely different this morning. Afterward, if this hasn't gotten too long, I will talk about specific things and players that stood out to me.
1. Late 1st, MSU up 7-6. The sack on Rogers and the fumble that was ultimately recovered by #5 (Griffin?) for MSU. Otis Reese is going for the scoop and score, and I am not criticizing it at all. Great hustle play by their WR. We scoop and score there, or just recover the fumble, we take momentum. What ended up happening was they punted and we got the ball on our own 40. This leads to play 2.
2. Early 2nd, MSU up 7-6. After a couple of completions, (Dart had a great game, BTW) MSU sends the house on 1st down. Dart drifts back and lofts a pass right on the money to a wide-open Mingo, who dropped the ball. If Mingo catches the ball it is most likely a TD. Instead, we end up having to kick a FG to go up 9-7.
3. Late 2nd, Ole Miss up 16-7. MSU has a 3rd and 3 at the OM 25. Less than 25 seconds until half and MSU has no timeouts. MSU QB Rogers steps up in pocket and dumps off to RB Johnson, who is hit by 2 OM defenders (Brown and Reese) short of the line to gain, but bounces off and gets the 1st down. If we wrap up there, MSU has to decide whether to run the kick team on or rush to try and get the 1st down. either way, they most likely don't score a TD three plays later, which is play 4.
4. Later 2nd, Still 16-7 OM. MSU has the ball 3rd and 10 from the 19. We get pressure, Rogers steps up and hits a WR for a TD right in front of two OM defenders. What were they doing? I am not sure. Looks like we just watched him catch it at the 2 and walk in. Instead of it being 16-10 at worst at the half, it is 16-14. We dominated the half for the most part and are up only 2 points.
5. This is 2 plays actually.
A. Late 3rd, 16-14 OM. OM has 3rd and 1 from the MSU 5. MSU lines up in 0 shade and 2 techs to stop A and B gap run. They are playing 0 coverage and 8 in the box. We run right into A gap. The unblocked LB, #14 Watson, stops Judkins for a yard loss.
B. 4th and 2. We brought the heavy package in. Pegues lines up at HB. I am not sure what happened here, other than someone didn't do what they were supposed to do. Heath, who was lined up wide, didn't do anything. Pegues went past the 1st down line and turned around. Dart, after faking to Judkins, looked as if someone wasn't where they were supposed to be. At any rate, we get nothing after the fumble. Honestly, I liked going for it there. A TD there probably puts it away. MSU was daring us to run to the edge, and we didn't do it. If I was the play caller, Judkins would have touched the ball there.
6. Middle 4th, 17-16 MSU. 3rd and 7 from OM 22. Rogers throws a lollipop TD pass to #5. We blew a coverage. Miles Battle was obviously expecting help over the top. 2 things. 1. If we are playing Cover 2, Battle has to squeeze the field and force the WR more to the middle of the field. He did not do that. 2. The safety and CB have to communicate. I think the safety that did not help was Young. Hold them to a FG try there and who knows?
7. Middle 4th, 24-16 MSU. 1st and 10 OM. The Inadvertent whistle play. I thought the ball was borderline, could have been called a forward pass or a lateral. Whatever the call on the field is should stand. That is not the argument. The ADMITTED inadvertent whistle should have killed the play. The officials botched this. As usual, it went against us. One point I want to add: Why didn't Mingo jump on the ball as a precaution? I always taught our kids, both offense and defense, beginning in junior high, to jump on 50/50 balls like that. We just stood there, #44 for MSU did not.
8. Late 4th 24-22 MSU. We just scored and are going for 2. 1;25 left. We still have all 3 timeouts. The officials, IMHO, botched the 25-second clock reset for the 2-point play, resulting in us having to use a timeout. They stood over the ball and allowed MSU to substitute the big guys into the game. The officials should have reset the 25-second clock, period. When we come out after the timeout, MSU went to more LB-type players, so we took the 2nd timeout. Most teams have at least 2 plays they like for 2 points (I always went into a game with 3). I am sure the TD to Pegues in the 1st half was probably one of them. Anyway, to limit words here, It was game-changing that we had to use 2 timeouts there. The play we ran was there. CLK had his arms up signaling TD before the play. If Dart holds the ball a split second longer, it is a walk-in. Credit to their guy for making a play.
Shout outs:
Cruz - The FG Kicker has been nothing short of spectacular this season.
Dart - 30-38 for 250 yards. Had at least 5 dropped. His best game of the season.
Brown - 14 Tackles. Forced the fumble at the goal line to give us a shot.
Pegues - Was a force inside and made the big TD catch on Offense.
Reese - 11 tackles and an INT.
Team Defense - Played well enough to win. Forced 3 fumbles and an INT.
Bottom Line:
We got beat because we lost the battle at the offensive LOS. MSU played 0 shade/3 tech with 0 coverage to shut down our inside run game. They gave up the outside game and gambled that we wouldn't consistently take it. They were right. We lost too many 1 on 1's inside and couldn't make the big play to take the top off the defense.
Special teams hidden yards killed us. They had a much better night punting the ball, returning punts, catching punts, etc. We started numerous drives deep in our own territory due to not catching the punt.
We found ourselves in 3rd and long way too much. As a result, we were 4-17 on 3rd down. MSU sold out to stop the inside running game, and we didn't make them pay for that.
Personal notes
I was not at the game last night, but I was there in 1998 when Tuberville/Auburn circus played out. I remember how "woe is us" I felt after that game. Last night, I felt more...anger... at how we got to this point than any time I can remember in my Ole Miss life. It didn't have to be this way. We were way better than our last 2 opponents, but we lost to both due to our own self-inflicted actions, starting with and primarily at the top.
I have come to dread the MSU game more than anything. Their fans... some of which are relatives...man... This year,... last night... was a great opportunity to separate from them, but we figured out a way to keep them around. We have to make that game more of a formality and less of a be-all to end-all. We have to start winning this game 8 times out of 10.
Last night was a setback, now we have to make a comeback. We are on the cusp of Big boy land. We have to figure out who is going to lead us, use our NIL war chest to bring in talent, and move forward. I have a lot more to say about the way forward, but not now.
Thank you to everyone who read this every week and sent words of appreciation and encouragement. That is all.
1. Late 1st, MSU up 7-6. The sack on Rogers and the fumble that was ultimately recovered by #5 (Griffin?) for MSU. Otis Reese is going for the scoop and score, and I am not criticizing it at all. Great hustle play by their WR. We scoop and score there, or just recover the fumble, we take momentum. What ended up happening was they punted and we got the ball on our own 40. This leads to play 2.
2. Early 2nd, MSU up 7-6. After a couple of completions, (Dart had a great game, BTW) MSU sends the house on 1st down. Dart drifts back and lofts a pass right on the money to a wide-open Mingo, who dropped the ball. If Mingo catches the ball it is most likely a TD. Instead, we end up having to kick a FG to go up 9-7.
3. Late 2nd, Ole Miss up 16-7. MSU has a 3rd and 3 at the OM 25. Less than 25 seconds until half and MSU has no timeouts. MSU QB Rogers steps up in pocket and dumps off to RB Johnson, who is hit by 2 OM defenders (Brown and Reese) short of the line to gain, but bounces off and gets the 1st down. If we wrap up there, MSU has to decide whether to run the kick team on or rush to try and get the 1st down. either way, they most likely don't score a TD three plays later, which is play 4.
4. Later 2nd, Still 16-7 OM. MSU has the ball 3rd and 10 from the 19. We get pressure, Rogers steps up and hits a WR for a TD right in front of two OM defenders. What were they doing? I am not sure. Looks like we just watched him catch it at the 2 and walk in. Instead of it being 16-10 at worst at the half, it is 16-14. We dominated the half for the most part and are up only 2 points.
5. This is 2 plays actually.
A. Late 3rd, 16-14 OM. OM has 3rd and 1 from the MSU 5. MSU lines up in 0 shade and 2 techs to stop A and B gap run. They are playing 0 coverage and 8 in the box. We run right into A gap. The unblocked LB, #14 Watson, stops Judkins for a yard loss.
B. 4th and 2. We brought the heavy package in. Pegues lines up at HB. I am not sure what happened here, other than someone didn't do what they were supposed to do. Heath, who was lined up wide, didn't do anything. Pegues went past the 1st down line and turned around. Dart, after faking to Judkins, looked as if someone wasn't where they were supposed to be. At any rate, we get nothing after the fumble. Honestly, I liked going for it there. A TD there probably puts it away. MSU was daring us to run to the edge, and we didn't do it. If I was the play caller, Judkins would have touched the ball there.
6. Middle 4th, 17-16 MSU. 3rd and 7 from OM 22. Rogers throws a lollipop TD pass to #5. We blew a coverage. Miles Battle was obviously expecting help over the top. 2 things. 1. If we are playing Cover 2, Battle has to squeeze the field and force the WR more to the middle of the field. He did not do that. 2. The safety and CB have to communicate. I think the safety that did not help was Young. Hold them to a FG try there and who knows?
7. Middle 4th, 24-16 MSU. 1st and 10 OM. The Inadvertent whistle play. I thought the ball was borderline, could have been called a forward pass or a lateral. Whatever the call on the field is should stand. That is not the argument. The ADMITTED inadvertent whistle should have killed the play. The officials botched this. As usual, it went against us. One point I want to add: Why didn't Mingo jump on the ball as a precaution? I always taught our kids, both offense and defense, beginning in junior high, to jump on 50/50 balls like that. We just stood there, #44 for MSU did not.
8. Late 4th 24-22 MSU. We just scored and are going for 2. 1;25 left. We still have all 3 timeouts. The officials, IMHO, botched the 25-second clock reset for the 2-point play, resulting in us having to use a timeout. They stood over the ball and allowed MSU to substitute the big guys into the game. The officials should have reset the 25-second clock, period. When we come out after the timeout, MSU went to more LB-type players, so we took the 2nd timeout. Most teams have at least 2 plays they like for 2 points (I always went into a game with 3). I am sure the TD to Pegues in the 1st half was probably one of them. Anyway, to limit words here, It was game-changing that we had to use 2 timeouts there. The play we ran was there. CLK had his arms up signaling TD before the play. If Dart holds the ball a split second longer, it is a walk-in. Credit to their guy for making a play.
Shout outs:
Cruz - The FG Kicker has been nothing short of spectacular this season.
Dart - 30-38 for 250 yards. Had at least 5 dropped. His best game of the season.
Brown - 14 Tackles. Forced the fumble at the goal line to give us a shot.
Pegues - Was a force inside and made the big TD catch on Offense.
Reese - 11 tackles and an INT.
Team Defense - Played well enough to win. Forced 3 fumbles and an INT.
Bottom Line:
We got beat because we lost the battle at the offensive LOS. MSU played 0 shade/3 tech with 0 coverage to shut down our inside run game. They gave up the outside game and gambled that we wouldn't consistently take it. They were right. We lost too many 1 on 1's inside and couldn't make the big play to take the top off the defense.
Special teams hidden yards killed us. They had a much better night punting the ball, returning punts, catching punts, etc. We started numerous drives deep in our own territory due to not catching the punt.
We found ourselves in 3rd and long way too much. As a result, we were 4-17 on 3rd down. MSU sold out to stop the inside running game, and we didn't make them pay for that.
Personal notes
I was not at the game last night, but I was there in 1998 when Tuberville/Auburn circus played out. I remember how "woe is us" I felt after that game. Last night, I felt more...anger... at how we got to this point than any time I can remember in my Ole Miss life. It didn't have to be this way. We were way better than our last 2 opponents, but we lost to both due to our own self-inflicted actions, starting with and primarily at the top.
I have come to dread the MSU game more than anything. Their fans... some of which are relatives...man... This year,... last night... was a great opportunity to separate from them, but we figured out a way to keep them around. We have to make that game more of a formality and less of a be-all to end-all. We have to start winning this game 8 times out of 10.
Last night was a setback, now we have to make a comeback. We are on the cusp of Big boy land. We have to figure out who is going to lead us, use our NIL war chest to bring in talent, and move forward. I have a lot more to say about the way forward, but not now.
Thank you to everyone who read this every week and sent words of appreciation and encouragement. That is all.
