What Happened at SFA?

[CatMom]

What happened? A Meltdown? Not really. I have advocated before that they do not have a running game and if you can shut down Moses in a form, keep mistakes to a minimum and your team score some points, you get the game.

I back it up by us having won 4 years running, home or in Nac. Even with a not so hot D (as we have had in recent years,) shut him down and go for it. Did I think we would win yesterday? No...Why? Our O Line. However, I also was hoping that Hawkins would come out and show people why he should have been playing all along, instead of riding the pine. He had a crap start against UH...please, it was UH. He had a crap start yesterday too, but not all his fault, yet came out with the W...121 yds rushing, a rushing TD, 194 yds passing with 2 TDs.

We have been playing with a banged up O line and our freshman QB couldn't move the O... they refused to bring Hawk in until they got desperate, which probably cost us the season.

Back to SFA.... in 4 games Moses has passed cricles around TXST, but they have had no major running game in all this time. What are they going to do next year? Fall off the radar?
2007
SFA - run 0 pass 508
TXST run 447 pass 191
FINAL TXST 52-29
2008
SFA run 35 pass 328
TXST run 249 pass 429
FINAL TXST 62-21
2009
SFA run 151 pass 265
TXST run 52 pass 324
FINAL TXST 28-7
this was our year without a running game
2010
SFA run 111 pass 335
TXST run 195 pass 194
FINAL TXST 27-24

Did our O line play better with Hawk in? Did our RB's find holes they couldn't all season prior? Did our receivers run crisper routes? or did Hawkins just perform how he would have all along and the team had more confidence with him in there? Or was it that there was no way in hell they were going down to SFA? I don't know what the answers are.

[FWJack]

Still pissed about yesterday...probably will be for a while. I don't know exactly what happened, my opinion is the perfect combination of events for TXST:

First, I take nothing away from TXST, they executed when they needed to. However, they hardly shut down Moses as CatMom suggested. Moses threw for 335 yds, 3 TD's and 0 INTS. (Yeah, thats a shut down if I've ever seeen one).

Second, SFA did have a run game. We gained over 100 yds on the ground. This is a good rushing day for SFA.

While TXST executed extremely well, SFA shut it down up 24-0 in the 4th QTR. Good Bobcat execution and a timely punt return for a TD and a SFA fumble cost SFA this game.

Even after TXST returned the punt for a TD to make it 24-21 SFA Moses took SFA down the field and had them in Bobcat territory. A running back fumbled, Not on Moses! Even after the next Bobcat score to put them up 27-24 Moses moved SFA from there own 17 to the Bobcat 30, this all with 1:01 on the clock. Thats pretty good QB play if you ask me.

Still, I make no excuses, a loss is a loss. I also think this proves SFA should not be a top 5 team. A top 5 team puts teams away. SFA needs to learn to not to let up on the gas pedal, especially agains a TXST team that seems to have our number, not just Moses'.

[CatMom]

FW,

I was trying to make more of a WTF about TXST than anything.

As far as the shut-down - we did enough to win this game, as we have the past 3 years. The yards have always been there but the points haven't. That's my point. Hawkins, who rode the bench till yesterday, got 2 passing TDs with only 194 yds. So, getting 3 with over 300 yds is nothing to write home about because with those numbers you should. Come on, in 2007 SFA had 508 yds passing and managed only 3 passing TDs. There's the point. Keep the passing in check and the rest takes care of itself. We consider 111 rushing yards a bad day and our rushing attack has been at that level this year and it sucks (to us).

If you want, I can quote the overall yardage the past 4 years. SFA (Moses) has us by over 300 yds in the passing game but we win the ground battle by nearly 700...and all 4 games.

But really, my initial question is, WTF is up with our team? Was it because Hawk should have been out there all year or was it just that it was SFA? After what I "heard" during this past week (on our forums and from others) I'm not sure.

[FWJack]

I will still disagree with you on the rushing thing. Whats bad for your offense is good for ours and so on. Conflict of styles.

As far as your question. Certainly a combination of both. Not all on SFA, but not all about Hawkins (though he did have a good game). Hawkins certainly had something to prove. I know I would if I were in his position!

I thought TXST has underachieved all year, and I was worried about this game coming into it.

[FCS Update]

Karma?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

[BCatSymph]

Still pissed about yesterday...probably will be for a while. I don't know exactly what happened, my opinion is the perfect combination of events for TXST:

First, I take nothing away from TXST, they executed when they needed to. However, they hardly shut down Moses as CatMom suggested. Moses threw for 335 yds, 3 TD's and 0 INTS. (Yeah, thats a shut down if I've ever seeen one).

Second, SFA did have a run game. We gained over 100 yds on the ground. This is a good rushing day for SFA.

While TXST executed extremely well, SFA shut it down up 24-0 in the 4th QTR. Good Bobcat execution and a timely punt return for a TD and a SFA fumble cost SFA this game.

Even after TXST returned the punt for a TD to make it 24-21 SFA Moses took SFA down the field and had them in Bobcat territory. A running back fumbled, Not on Moses! Even after the next Bobcat score to put them up 27-24 Moses moved SFA from there own 17 to the Bobcat 30, this all with 1:01 on the clock. Thats pretty good QB play if you ask me.

Still, I make no excuses, a loss is a loss. I also think this proves SFA should not be a top 5 team. A top 5 team puts teams away. SFA needs to learn to not to let up on the gas pedal, especially agains a TXST team that seems to have our number, not just Moses'.

That was 335 yards for Moses on 55 attempts! With that kind of high power O, I'd expect a 50% completion rate to rack up 300 yards on us or any defense. However, Moses completed 38 passes (69%) averaging just under 9 yards a pass. Against him, I think that tells stories about what kind of throwing was happening. JM had 14 passes for 10+ yards but ZERO over 20 yards. There were no lucky toss ups like I saw against UCA (some of those throws should have been picked off by a DB with an eye for the football).

I think the defense held a 70% passer with over 50 attempts to just an average performance yesterday. I'd say the same if we played someone else, or if it was someone else playing SFA yesterday. Had Moses picked up 335 and 3TDs on say 35 attempts, I'd give more credence to not having held/shut him down. Those last ~50 yards of his came against prevent. We were more than willing to give up yards so long as it came down to a stop in a less than comfortable FG position. 5-10 yards less and you'd have seen a desperation attempt for the endzone instead of a chance to tie.

SFA came out of the gates ready on offense and defense. Seems only our D showed up for the first half. Something snapped, I don't know what it was, but I think when it happened it left SFA in a WTF mode they couldn't recover from. You could tell by the KTSW stream that the first 3 quarters were pretty loud from the SFA faithful, then suddenly it was this little pocket of fans cheering each time TxSt did something positive.

[clenz]

That was 335 yards for Moses on 55 attempts! With that kind of high power O, I'd expect a 50% completion rate to rack up 300 yards on us or any defense. However, Moses completed 38 passes (69%) averaging just under 9 yards a pass. Against him, I think that tells stories about what kind of throwing was happening. JM had 14 passes for 10+ yards but ZERO over 20 yards. There were no lucky toss ups like I saw against UCA (some of those throws should have been picked off by a DB with an eye for the football).

Same story against UNI, but we gave them the game.

He was 37-55 times for 356 yards...or 6.4 per attempt and 9.6 per completion.

The way to beat SFA is to limit the YAC. The longest pass in the air SFA threw against UNI was like 14 or 16 yards. Cut the YAC, and SFA goes down.

[FWJack]

Your right, that does tell the story about what type of passing was going on. If you know anything about this type of offense, than that wouldn't surprise you. That is SFA's offense. Clenz is right, stop the YAC and you can stop SFA. Thats no secret either, same with most short pass offenses. Problem is, its easier said than done. So far only TXST, on the FCS level has beaten SFA.

TXST wasn't great defensivley either. They had some timely stops, returned a punt for a TD and recovered a fumble the very next possesion.

You won congrats!

[webfan]

Must have been a great game to watch.

[UCABEAR]

Must have been meltdown city! I was shocked to hear the final score! Reminds me of the UCA/Valdosta game where the Bears led by 35 at half and lost 42 to 35! You could see it happening, but could do nothing to stop it!

[AxeEmJacks]

I was at the game and it was like an awful car crash. You couldn't look away but there was so much mayhem. Apparently the defense forgot there was a 4th quarter. Ball security was pitiful. This was too ridiculous to even fathom and in the manner it happened. People actually left at the beginning of the 4th because the game was so boring. I'm sure they were none to pleased when they checked the final score later. Horrible feeling afterward.

[Thumper 76]

Oh snap you just got Montana-ad(?) or SDSU-ed however you want to put it.