The Bodda Getta

Did you see the kickoff that split the uprights? Man alive that guy has a HUGE leg. Almost every kickoff was out of the endzone before it touched the ground. That is insane.

Tre Mason? The real deal. But he needed a smack in the back of the head for jumping in front of Bray on that one kickoff.

Special Teams were pretty amazing today in all aspects. Boulware has really got them playing well early in the season. That onside kick was a thing of beauty.

Blake and Stallworth both had special days. Trotter did a great job today, as well.

The interior DL was way below average.

The running game was anemic, at best. This one is on the OL which has to come together and get more push.

Offensive play calling was a bit confounding. I can understand wanting to establish the run, but doing so to your detriment is maddening. The passing attack was there all day long and it could have been exploited to blow the game wide open much earlier and put this one away.

The defensive backs did an excellent job.

Bates did a horrible job in tackling today. At one point he had a play stopped cold in the backfield but instead of wrapping up, he PUSHED the guy... PUSHED. That cannot be considered as acceptable.

Run defense, on the whole, was horrible. The front 7 got no consistent push up the middle. AU needs someone that will push the pile.

I'd like to see Holland being more active pre-snap. Watch tape from Bynes last year and notice the difference. He was constantly checking everyone was in the right position, had the right assignments, and were pumped up. Holland? He lined himself up, but from the view we had on TV, he didn't do much else.

AU may have the best group of DE's in the SEC. Ford was a monster.

The defense has to learn how to get off of the field. USU had 4 drives that were 6-8 minutes each. That's unacceptable.

USU has some of the most patient running backs I have seen. They did an amazing job of waiting for holes to open up and darting through them.

The USU freshman QB is going to be special. He did an amazing job of making good reads in the option game, he "felt" backside pressure and reacted accordingly, and he made good decisions in the passing game and showed a lot of poise and patience.

The USU defense did an amazing job of pursuit against the run. Hats off to them.

The USU WRs have great hands and do a great job of catching quick passes in traffic.

Some of the least informative commentary since the last Lou Holtz segment.

Overall score...

AU: C-
USU: A

In the end, AU got a win and pulled one out. I was proud of them for not giving up and scoring twice in 90 seconds. There will be a LOT of teaching points for the coaches, and I think it was a wake-up call for this young team. I can't wait for the MSU game!