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Random Thoughts on the SDSU Game

By on Sep 6, 2009, 6:25am PDT 6

Bumped. I will not be able to chime in with extended thoughts until later this evening. 66 seems to have captured a good portion of my notes. So bumping this up to get the morning/afternoon convo going. Of course you have extended thoughts, fire them up in the fanposts. GO BRUINS. -N

I'm not sure that there are any big "take aways" from this game -- obviously SDSU is regrouping and rebuilding and not a touchstone for where we stand, today. But, I do think this game helps us see where we will be, soon. To me, the future looks very bright.

  • For me, the biggest take away is that I now see what a UCLA Norm Chow offense can look like. And, I really like it. Throwing the ball down field, throwing to a lot of receivers, keeping the D off balance. Balanced attack -- 38 runs and 31 passes. A running game. And, a running game that gains yards up the middle. With an O line and the right kids at the skill positions, we will move the ball. Bless NC for his patience last year. I think he saw the potential at UCLA and was willing to go through the rebuilding process. We are still in it. Think about what we will be when we have a team full of CRN/NC recruits.
  • We are a young team and will make young team mistakes. Not hard to see and we all seem to agree that we will have our young moments (which correspond, in many ways to the gray moments some of us Geezers have). But, to me the key is not to look at the mistakes but rather to see what we do after making them, and I think we pulled things together and responded well.
  • Our young kids played very well. Very well indeed. It's been documented, no need to focus on it, but several kids getting their first playing time looked  good. I love our depth at the skill positions -- our running backs and receivers have great potential. It looks like we will be running deeper rotations at those positions. If the coaches can get the players to buy into "fewer touches" for the greater good and egos don't get in the way, we will give the staff a lot of combinations to throw against the other team. We have speed, finesse and power on our bench -- just pick the right tool for the right job and get it done. More after the jump.
  • The O line looked much better. How much better is yet to be seen. Tenn will be a good test. But, there seemed to be a real difference in attitude. They seemed "tougher".
  • We are bigger and stronger. Everyone has been saying that -- and it shows on the field. And, I think it shows in attitude.
  • Wonder why we are playing Brehaut and Thigpen instead of giving them a Red Shirt year? I think it is because CRN and his staff are so confident in our recruiting ability that they are not worrying about treating these kids as precious rare assets to be adored but not used. This isn't the china you got when you got married -- the stuff that sits in the closet. This is the everyday stuff you use and enjoy. There's more out there should you need it. 
  • I would love to see the D come out, the first time it is on the field, and dominate. For all that is said about how it is one of the best units in the country, it is not sufficiently consistent to hold that label, right now. There is so much there that I really cannot understand the slow starts. That said, during 9 out of 15 possessions SDSU did not get a first down.
  • In the second half, we were able to play field position football -- much of the game was played, on both sides of the ball, inside SDSU's 50 yard line, and at that point we started to dominate.

    • This will be an interesting year. We look better. But so do other Pac 10 schools. Cal was expected to be strong and looked very strong. Washington looked good -- Locker is the real deal. 
    Was it only two years ago I went into every fall Saturday with my eyes half shut -- wanting to see the game but not really wanting to see it? Now I can't wait. Thank you CRN, coaches and players. You are bringing us back to where we belong.

    This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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