NMSU analysis

[CougPatrol]

Well, for starters, the offense was as advertised. Not only are the WRs electric, but they all catch the ball really well. Great technique. So much depth, and as I said a few weeks ago, with Fisher rounding into form, his speed causes problems.

Gordon erased any questions as to why he won the job. He looked great. Head and shoulders above Gubrud.

Boghi is incredible. No analysis needed. The best running back we’ve had since Harrison, and could be one of the best all time by the time he leaves Pullman. Depth behind him is a major concern. Markoff is a tough kid, but he’s a 4 yard fullback.

The offensive line looked generally good, but there were some breakdowns. I’m not worried, as I think they’ll improve as the season goes on.

And for the defense....let me start by giving some credit to NMSU. I had read that they have an elite RB tandem, and those kids didn’t disappoint. Huntley is explosive, and their other back give them a thunder and lightning combo. Some good speed at WR too. Tough schedule with games at Alabama, at Ole Miss, Fresno State, but I expect them to score some points this season.

Our defensive line looked mediocre last night. The interior looked lost, and I don’t know whether to attribute that to talent or assignment. NMSU had 3-4 plays up the gut that could have gone to the house had the right cut been made.

Linebacking didn’t look great, but I think they were surprised by NMSUs speed early. A bit lost in coverage, and many over pursuing plays with bad angles. Greenhorn stuff. The Woods injury is a huge concern.

Secondary. Not enough to go on yesterday. Played pretty well, but NMSU did most of their work within 20 yards of the LOS.

Was a great game, with more of the same expected next week. Will be interesting to watch Houston at Oklahoma tonight.

 

[GrayOnGray]

I'm a Gordon fan. Really glad he won the job, but I don't know just how much credit to give him when our receivers were consistently so wide open. NM secondary wasn't a lot of competition.

 

[kougkurt]

I'm a Gordon fan. Really glad he won the job, but I don't know just how much credit to give him when our receivers were consistently so wide open. NM secondary wasn't a lot of competition.

Did Bazil play?

 

[M-I-Coug]

Well, for starters, the offense was as advertised. Not only are the WRs electric, but they all catch the ball really well. Great technique. So much depth, and as I said a few weeks ago, with Fisher rounding into form, his speed causes problems.

Gordon erased any questions as to why he won the job. He looked great. Head and shoulders above Gubrud.

Boghi is incredible. No analysis needed. The best running back we’ve had since Harrison, and could be one of the best all time by the time he leaves Pullman. Depth behind him is a major concern. Markoff is a tough kid, but he’s a 4 yard fullback.

The offensive line looked generally good, but there were some breakdowns. I’m not worried, as I think they’ll improve as the season goes on.

And for the defense....let me start by giving some credit to NMSU. I had read that they have an elite RB tandem, and those kids didn’t disappoint. Huntley is explosive, and their other back give them a thunder and lightning combo. Some good speed at WR too. Tough schedule with games at Alabama, at Ole Miss, Fresno State, but I expect them to score some points this season.

Our defensive line looked mediocre last night. The interior looked lost, and I don’t know whether to attribute that to talent or assignment. NMSU had 3-4 plays up the gut that could have gone to the house had the right cut been made.

Linebacking didn’t look great, but I think they were surprised by NMSUs speed early. A bit lost in coverage, and many over pursuing plays with bad angles. Greenhorn stuff. The Woods injury is a huge concern.

Secondary. Not enough to go on yesterday. Played pretty well, but NMSU did most of their work within 20 yards of the LOS.

Was a great game, with more of the same expected next week. Will be interesting to watch Houston at Oklahoma tonight.

Great post. Just wanted to add that the Houston at Oklahoma game is today, (Sunday) at 4:30pm on ABC.

 

[Coug90]

I'm a Gordon fan. Really glad he won the job, but I don't know just how much credit to give him when our receivers were consistently so wide open. NM secondary wasn't a lot of competition.

He was getting the ball out, making reads so quickly and putting the ball in perfect spots. The one miss he had in the first half was a drop. That would have been impressive to watch if he was playing against air.

One thing I worry about with him is his quick release while a weapon for him, sometimes he holds the ball till the last second before flinging it and he got absolutely crushed 3 or 4 times. Over the course of a season you take that many hits exposed, you are gonna be lucky to make it through the season.

 

[CougPatrol]

Great post. Just wanted to add that the Houston at Oklahoma game is today, (Sunday) at 4:30pm on ABC.

Isn’t that what I posted?

 

[KingTrump]

Did Bazil play?

I didn't see him. The only true freshman I saw play was Travion Brown and Nicholas Sheetz. Brown had 4 tackles, and Sheetz had at least 1 along the DL.

 

[M-I-Coug]

Isn’t that what I posted?

Yes, but I added the TV network and kickoff time, so people don't have to look it up.

 

[triscuit one]

Nice write up.

Gordon started out hot, but cooled off a bit in the second half. If my memory is correct he did the same thing in the C&G game.

Markoff seemed tentative running the ball and wanted to dance it to the outside. He not fast or athetlic enough to do that even against NMSU. Would rather he try and make a hole. Hoping the transfer just needs more time adapting to Leach's air raid and will end up a capable back up.

Even though the defense looked bad at times they kept NMSU to only 7 points. The 2nd and 3rd string played with a lot of energy.

 

[random soul]

Borghi was brilliant between the tackles last night. His inside vision is better than anything we've had from a Leach back, and that's a serious weapon when the defense is stretched out so far horizontally

 

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

Gordon started out hot, but cooled off a bit in the second half. If my memory is correct he did the same thing in the C&G Game

Sigh...........

Up 48-7 3rd Qtr Stats

7-of-12 95yds & a TD Pass

 

[CATabulous]

I was impressed by the Cougars performance on Saturday. I’m a UK fan living in the heart of SEC country and have followed Coach Leach’s career since his lone season in Lexington, KY. Unlike many in this area who turn their noses up at PAC-12 football, I thoroughly enjoy watching the games especially WSU. This year’s road schedule for the Cougs will be challenging, but I don’t think impossible. I hope you guys finally breakthrough and win the PAC this year. All the best!

 

[95coug]

Well, for starters, the offense was as advertised. Not only are the WRs electric, but they all catch the ball really well. Great technique. So much depth, and as I said a few weeks ago, with Fisher rounding into form, his speed causes problems.

Gordon erased any questions as to why he won the job. He looked great. Head and shoulders above Gubrud.

Boghi is incredible. No analysis needed. The best running back we’ve had since Harrison, and could be one of the best all time by the time he leaves Pullman. Depth behind him is a major concern. Markoff is a tough kid, but he’s a 4 yard fullback.

The offensive line looked generally good, but there were some breakdowns. I’m not worried, as I think they’ll improve as the season goes on.

And for the defense....let me start by giving some credit to NMSU. I had read that they have an elite RB tandem, and those kids didn’t disappoint. Huntley is explosive, and their other back give them a thunder and lightning combo. Some good speed at WR too. Tough schedule with games at Alabama, at Ole Miss, Fresno State, but I expect them to score some points this season.

Our defensive line looked mediocre last night. The interior looked lost, and I don’t know whether to attribute that to talent or assignment. NMSU had 3-4 plays up the gut that could have gone to the house had the right cut been made.

Linebacking didn’t look great, but I think they were surprised by NMSUs speed early. A bit lost in coverage, and many over pursuing plays with bad angles. Greenhorn stuff. The Woods injury is a huge concern.

Secondary. Not enough to go on yesterday. Played pretty well, but NMSU did most of their work within 20 yards of the LOS.

Was a great game, with more of the same expected next week. Will be interesting to watch Houston at Oklahoma tonight.

Hard to draw a lot of conclusions from this game. NMSU was pretty severely overmatched at most positions. I’m not even going to mention receivers, I think we could have scored on every drive running streaks if we wanted to.

O line looked good, minus a couple breakdowns, but I don’t the NMSU’s D line presented much challenge. I’m still concerned about our run blocking. Borghi hit 100, but that’s with a 50+ carry, and he did a lot of it on his own.

Markoff needs to run straight ahead. Angling off the tackle makes him much easier to take down, and he doesn’t have the speed to get to the edge.

Gordon looked sharp, but that’s easy when all your receivers are open and you’re not getting pressured.

Bigger concerns are on D. We didn’t get much pressure, and gave up running lanes. Granted, NMSU’s OL is their strength, if they have one, but we should have worn them down. They also found some open receiving routes underneath the secondary pretty consistently, even on 3rd downs. Seemed like there was some confusion in our DBs about coverage assignments. There were also time when nobody picked up the RB out of the backfield, which is ironic considering our guys practice against an offense that uses the RB like a receiver.

I don’t expect the competition to be any tougher next weekend, but I hope to see some things tightened up - a lot. As good as they looked Saturday, the same performance isn’t going to be enough in the conference season. With similar defensive performances, most of our conference opponents will have little difficulty scoring, and we’ll be in shootouts every week.

 

[Coug1990]

Hard to draw a lot of conclusions from this game. NMSU was pretty severely overmatched at most positions. I’m not even going to mention receivers, I think we could have scored on every drive running streaks if we wanted to.

O line looked good, minus a couple breakdowns, but I don’t the NMSU’s D line presented much challenge. I’m still concerned about our run blocking. Borghi hit 100, but that’s with a 50+ carry, and he did a lot of it on his own.

Markoff needs to run straight ahead. Angling off the tackle makes him much easier to take down, and he doesn’t have the speed to get to the edge.

Gordon looked sharp, but that’s easy when all your receivers are open and you’re not getting pressured.

Bigger concerns are on D. We didn’t get much pressure, and gave up running lanes. Granted, NMSU’s OL is their strength, if they have one, but we should have worn them down. They also found some open receiving routes underneath the secondary pretty consistently, even on 3rd downs. Seemed like there was some confusion in our DBs about coverage assignments. There were also time when nobody picked up the RB out of the backfield, which is ironic considering our guys practice against an offense that uses the RB like a receiver.

I don’t expect the competition to be any tougher next weekend, but I hope to see some things tightened up - a lot. As good as they looked Saturday, the same performance isn’t going to be enough in the conference season. With similar defensive performances, most of our conference opponents will have little difficulty scoring, and we’ll be in shootouts every week.

Curious. What did you expect defensively in this game? What did you expect from the almost entirely rebuilt secondary their first time out? Before the game, how many points, and yards did you expect the defense to give up? How many sacks, and interceptions did you expect the team to have?

 

[PINGDUDE4]

Hard to draw a lot of conclusions from this game. NMSU was pretty severely overmatched at most positions. I’m not even going to mention receivers, I think we could have scored on every drive running streaks if we wanted to.

O line looked good, minus a couple breakdowns, but I don’t the NMSU’s D line presented much challenge. I’m still concerned about our run blocking. Borghi hit 100, but that’s with a 50+ carry, and he did a lot of it on his own.

Markoff needs to run straight ahead. Angling off the tackle makes him much easier to take down, and he doesn’t have the speed to get to the edge.

Gordon looked sharp, but that’s easy when all your receivers are open and you’re not getting pressured.

Bigger concerns are on D. We didn’t get much pressure, and gave up running lanes. Granted, NMSU’s OL is their strength, if they have one, but we should have worn them down. They also found some open receiving routes underneath the secondary pretty consistently, even on 3rd downs. Seemed like there was some confusion in our DBs about coverage assignments. There were also time when nobody picked up the RB out of the backfield, which is ironic considering our guys practice against an offense that uses the RB like a receiver.

I don’t expect the competition to be any tougher next weekend, but I hope to see some things tightened up - a lot. As good as they looked Saturday, the same performance isn’t going to be enough in the conference season. With similar defensive performances, most of our conference opponents will have little difficulty scoring, and we’ll be in shootouts every week.

"NMSU’s OL is their strength, if they have one, but we should have worn them down. "


Is that not exactly what happened ?

NMSU scored their only TD in the 1st Q . After the Ist Q that their drives were turnovers or a mess.

 

[Coug1990]

"NMSU’s OL is their strength, if they have one, but we should have worn them down. "


Is that not exactly what happened ?

NMSU scored their only TD in the 1st Q . After the Ist Q that their drives were turnovers or a mess.

This is why I asked 95 those questions. This is NMSU's drives after they scored.
Punt
Punt
Punt
End of Half
Punt
Interception
Punt
Interception
Fumble
Punt

From approximately the 9 minute mark of the first quarter to the 4 minute mark of the fourth quarter (when WSU emptied the bench), NMSU gained approximately 120 yards.

Defensively, after the slow start, they dominated the game.

 

[CougPatrol]

Just wait. NMSU is gonnna drop 28 on Alabama this weekend.

 

[random soul]

Just wait. NMSU is gonnna drop 28 on Alabama this weekend.

I'd pay to see that, just to watch Saban have a stroke on the field