[scorecard]

I'm going to try to look for a silver lining here, which is hard because this week we were on the wrong end of the last minute drive that failed. 

So far this year we seem to be playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.  In some games, we've played to protect a lead, rather than to put down the hammer.  We seem almost content to play the close game, knowing that we usually manage to pull those out.  But that's the risk of playing this way, and the 2 turnovers in the second half made us play from behind which we aren't well built to do. 

The coaching has seemed tight.  Substitutions have been sparse, almost like they are so scared of losing that they won't put the younger guys in the game, but this is wearing down our defense at ends of games.  (I think the loss of Henry Anderson hurts more than outsiders realize for this reason.)  It seems like we've been holding back parts of the offensive playbook, maybe to avoid showing our hand to teams like Oregon and UCLA. 

I'm hoping that having this loss means that we play loose from here on out.  The season's not over, and as goofy as it sounds after a loss like this, we still control our destiny in the Pac-12.  If we want to be a national title contender, it was always going to have to go through Oregon, who looks like the best team in the country to me.  Maybe we can be that loose team again like last year with the swarming D that had something to prove, and the O that was just plucky enough to get it done. 

[scorecard]

I'm going to try to look for a silver lining here, which is hard because this week we were on the wrong end of the last minute drive that failed. 

So far this year we seem to be playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.  In some games, we've played to protect a lead, rather than to put down the hammer.  We seem almost content to play the close game, knowing that we usually manage to pull those out.  But that's the risk of playing this way, and the 2 turnovers in the second half made us play from behind which we aren't well built to do. 

The coaching has seemed tight.  Substitutions have been sparse, almost like they are so scared of losing that they won't put the younger guys in the game, but this is wearing down our defense at ends of games.  (I think the loss of Henry Anderson hurts more than outsiders realize for this reason.)  It seems like we've been holding back parts of the offensive playbook, maybe to avoid showing our hand to teams like Oregon and UCLA. 

I'm hoping that having this loss means that we play loose from here on out.  The season's not over, and as goofy as it sounds after a loss like this, we still control our destiny in the Pac-12.  If we want to be a national title contender, it was always going to have to go through Oregon, who looks like the best team in the country to me.  Maybe we can be that loose team again like last year with the swarming D that had something to prove, and the O that was just plucky enough to get it done.