Good afternoon to all our 12th Monarchs out there in Monarch Nation! We are coming off a disappointing 27-7 loss at Marshall. Congratulations to Coach Holliday; he has an outstanding football team. They have won 17 of their last 19 games, so that is a very good football team. As disappointed as we are with the loss, after last week we challenged the players to come into this game and play with a lot of pride and passion to be physical. They responded in that regard.
We were hurt in this game with our inability to move the ball consistently on offense and by our turnovers. The field position in this game, for the second week in a row, was another major factor. Our average drive started on our 23 yardline, whereas Marshall’s started at their 40. We started just two drives on the plus-side of the field, and Marshall started six drives on the plus-side of the 50 yardline.
On special teams, I was excited that we had two game-changing plays. On the opening kickoff, Shadow Williams stripped the ball, and Marvin Branch recovered it. That was a great way to start the game, but unfortunately the offense went four-and-out and we couldn’t convert. We really needed to get points there. Then in the second quarter, Anthony Wilson and the guys who weren’t supposed to block the punt actually managed to block it on the backside after Marshall miscounted the protection. That gave us the ball on their 45 yardline, so both of our plus-side of the field starts came from big special teams plays. We didn’t convert there either, as we went three-and-out and were forced to punt. We did not punt the ball well in this game, which is the first time Satchel Ziffer has not punted well. He only averaged 34 yards and had three punts that were less than 30 yards. We only averaged 12 yards on kickoff returns as well, and their kicker was very good, only allowing us to return two kicks.
Defensively, we had 75 plays and held them to 324 yards, which was a very good sign. They only had one big drive in this game, and we really made them work for it. Two of their other touchdown drives were short and came after a bad punt and when Bentley got blindsided and fumbled the ball on the 10 yardline. So from that standpoint, I thought we did a good job in not allowing the big plays or the long drives. They had 14 drives, and six of them our defense forced a three-and-out. Our run defense was outstanding. They had 40 carries for 112 yards total, which is a 2.8 yard average. They converted nine of 20 third and fourth downs, but our back-to-the-wall defense did very well considering how many drives they started in our territory.
Offensively, we had 80 plays for 285 yards. We had a late touchdown in the fourth quarter. Right now, we have the leading rusher in Conference USA, but I don’t feel like we are taking advantage of that from the standpoint that we are not being efficient in the pass game. As well as Ray played in this game, he still had a big turnover when there was five minutes left in the second quarter, and we were driving down the field. He hit a crease and fumbled, and I felt like we could have had a 14-7 game if not for that fumble. My point here is that it’s not all on the quarterback. We can’t turn the ball over like that. We clearly need to improve in throwing it and catching it. We had missed throws Saturday, five drops and five balls that were tipped. We had the sack that caused a fumble and a lot of pressures, so it is just all areas that need work right now.
I was very encouraged by our first two drives in the fourth quarter, which were both still against their starters. We had 34 plays for 168 yards in the fourth quarter, so as I said to our entire team, we can be efficient just like we were the first game of the season.
This week with the bye, normally what we would do is give the players a lot of time off, but we need to practice to get better as a football team. We are going to scrimmage hard Wednesday and Thursday in the stadium with the uniforms on and actually play simulated games. Of the 53 guys that played Saturday, 33 of them are first and second year players, so they need more work. Then, we will give the players the weekend off. As young as we are, we have a lot of guys that haven’t been home since the first of July, and they need a little break right now. We will pick back up Monday for an extra day of prep before we play Charlotte.
The big focal point of practice this week is third downs on both sides of the ball. We are only converting on 36 percent on offense, which is eighth in Conference USA. We are allowing 48 percent, which is 12th in Conference USA. So, both sides of the ball are critical on third down. I’ve always said that time of possession has nothing to do with the game; it’s the amount of plays you run and what you do on third down. If you convert on third down, you are going to get three more plays. If you stop them on third down, you are going to get off the field. The turnovers are a huge issue, as we had one in the first three weeks and eight in the last two weeks.
Run defense is something we did very well with on Saturday, but we are still 12th in the league. Stopping the run, especially on third down, is something we need to work really hard in practice on this week. The kicking game and punt reps for Satchel Ziffer are also critical because we are doing three different kinds of punts right now. We will also work on punt blocking because we are becoming a punt block team. It is a big week ahead for us to improve, and that is the goal.
Q: The receivers haven’t been getting a lot of separation. How do you fix that?
A: It’s something we have to work at and practice. Even if a few guys are out, the ones that we have right now need to step up and perform at a higher level. They need practice at the position, and that is why we are going to do two simulated games this week. Whether we’re without Roberts or Washington or not, the next guy in has to step up. They all see it and know they need to play better. The plan is for everyone to rally around the quarterback and play better.
Q: Do you like the changes you made on the offensive line after the Appalachian State game?
A: We are still not playing at the physical level that we need to. That is clear to everybody, including the guys on the offensive line. It is challenging to be physical when you’re banged up. Butler, Fisher, and Mewbourne are all battling injuries, but as an offensive lineman, you usually are playing with something that doesn’t feel good. Those guys know that, and they know they are playing in front of a young quarterback who is trying to gain some confidence. They need to practice just like everybody else. There is no standing on the sideline right now for anyone.
Q: With so much to work on, is this the ideal time for a bye week?
A: Yes, compliments to Bruce Stewart for finding a way to get the bye week somewhere in the middle of the schedule, which I’ve always felt is best. These guys have been going at it hard for nine weeks. We get the bye and then come back and play seven games, so this is a great week to have a bye. We would love to go into a bye week off a win, but after three really physical games this will still help our guys heal up. Three days is a long stretch during the season for a football player to not put the pads on, and then they get another three days over the weekend. This should really help us heal up.