In honor of all those Dos Eqis commercials, it was an interesting game. For the details go here. But the box score does not really tell the story. Yes, we lost but we saw some flashes of greatness from Akeem Ayers, the Pistol, and, of course, the kicking game was perfect. But we looked like a team with some timing issues with the QB and WRs and playing its first game of the year. A couple of crucial penalties (12 men on the field wiping out a great 4th down goal line stand for KSU's first touchdown) also killed us.
Look at the positives. Ayers was dominant at times. The biggest worry before the game, the O-line, looked good . We showed we could power run which has been missing the last couple years. Josh Smith showed some speed on a couple players. Kevin Prince showed leadership skills in a game he was off. The defense looked good through most of the first half when we were not in our base package.
Of course, there are reasons why we lost. More after the jump.
We looked worn out at the end on D. And Prince and the WRs did not mesh. There were drops and some bad passes. But there is good reason to listen to Wooden's advice: Don't get too high after wins or too low after losses. Prince and the WRs will be better next week after a full week of practice. The Defense did look good at times. No moral victories here but no need to panic either.
Fire away Bruins.