After having had a night's sleep to let the excitement of the win to wear off ever so slightly, here are a few thoughts and observations I had on the game.
1. Darren McFadden is without doubt the real deal. If he had been able to play on Arkansas' last drive, I don't think we are able to stop them. He was tearing off 10+ yard runs at will in the fourth quarter. As long as he stays healthy the Heisman should be his to lose. Should be. Instead, it will go to the most popular player on the most hyped team (e.g. John David Booty). USC will then be destroyed by LSU in the national championship game, demonstrating why SEC football is head and shoulders above other conferences.
2. John Parker Wilson and Matt Caddell wrote their names in crimson flame last night. Just after the game winning pass, I turned to my fiancee and said, "If there's still a Youtube in twenty years, I'll still be watching this game on it." Truly one for the ages. Wish I had the money to preorder the Daniel Moore painting.
3. The defense played well early, but ran out of gas late. However, after the two quick scores to start the second half, followed by two quick offensive possessions ended by turnovers, they ended up having been on the field a LONG time by the fourth quarter. We knew depth would be an issue coming into the season, so it wasn't a surprise to see them struggling. They came up big when they had to, though, on the final Arkansas possession that mattered. Hopefully in future games the offense won't put them in such a hole.
4. The running game was not very effective overall, and that was a little worrying. However, it seemed like Arkansas came into the game determined not to let Grant beat them, and even after Wilson threw the ball all over them in the first quarter, they continued to stack the line and play to stop Grant. I wasn't very impressed with Nutt's coaching last night. Other than changing from man to zone pass defense, his gameplan seemed to be to wait until our defense got tired and McFadden could take over. Maybe not a bad plan as it played out, but if Wilson had handled that snap in the third quarter, the game probably never gets out of hand the way it did.
5. Our coaching, on the other hand, was impressive, especially towards the end. I could recount it, but we all know what happened. In short, Arkansas was Sabanated.
I will say that it was nice to see our coaches actually coaching when things went wrong, instead of standing around with a look on their face that seemed to say, "Boy, I sure hope Alabama wins!"
Bring on the Dawgs! Roll Tide!
1. Darren McFadden is without doubt the real deal. If he had been able to play on Arkansas' last drive, I don't think we are able to stop them. He was tearing off 10+ yard runs at will in the fourth quarter. As long as he stays healthy the Heisman should be his to lose. Should be. Instead, it will go to the most popular player on the most hyped team (e.g. John David Booty). USC will then be destroyed by LSU in the national championship game, demonstrating why SEC football is head and shoulders above other conferences.
2. John Parker Wilson and Matt Caddell wrote their names in crimson flame last night. Just after the game winning pass, I turned to my fiancee and said, "If there's still a Youtube in twenty years, I'll still be watching this game on it." Truly one for the ages. Wish I had the money to preorder the Daniel Moore painting.
3. The defense played well early, but ran out of gas late. However, after the two quick scores to start the second half, followed by two quick offensive possessions ended by turnovers, they ended up having been on the field a LONG time by the fourth quarter. We knew depth would be an issue coming into the season, so it wasn't a surprise to see them struggling. They came up big when they had to, though, on the final Arkansas possession that mattered. Hopefully in future games the offense won't put them in such a hole.
4. The running game was not very effective overall, and that was a little worrying. However, it seemed like Arkansas came into the game determined not to let Grant beat them, and even after Wilson threw the ball all over them in the first quarter, they continued to stack the line and play to stop Grant. I wasn't very impressed with Nutt's coaching last night. Other than changing from man to zone pass defense, his gameplan seemed to be to wait until our defense got tired and McFadden could take over. Maybe not a bad plan as it played out, but if Wilson had handled that snap in the third quarter, the game probably never gets out of hand the way it did.
5. Our coaching, on the other hand, was impressive, especially towards the end. I could recount it, but we all know what happened. In short, Arkansas was Sabanated.
I will say that it was nice to see our coaches actually coaching when things went wrong, instead of standing around with a look on their face that seemed to say, "Boy, I sure hope Alabama wins!"
Bring on the Dawgs! Roll Tide!
