[MV72018]

Good has triumphed over evil, and so if we don't win another game this season I will have this marvelous memory to hold on to. 

McKee looked like he was in a mental zone.  It was so excellent that I have a hard time believing he will do this every game.  But if he does, then this season is going to be a fun one.

I was prepared for a terrible defense.  But this defense forced 4 punts, had an INT, held them to field goals twice.  That is 7 stops compared to 3 touchdowns.  Much better than I expected.  The defense was the model of "bend but don't break" which always worries me...unless it works, which it did 70% of the time.

This game had the feel, by the third quarter, that the SC willpower was beginning to ebb.  We shook their confidence.  Not quite as thoroughly as the "what's your deal" game but I dearly wanted us to go for 2 on our last touchdown.

And Shaw's playcalling was great. 

This certainly puts a different spin on the "nattering nabobs of negativism" to quote Spiro Agnew.  And I nattered a little too much myself.  Of course, perhaps it is as simple as  KSU being much better than people thought and USC being much worse.  But our team genuinely looked completely different than the prior week, they looked more poised, more professional, more crisp, and more enthused.

Game 2 doesn't "put a different spin on the 'nattering nabobs of negativism'" in the least. The first game was replete with poor play-calling, stupid penalties, disorganization, wasted TOs, lousy O line play, and switching QBs back and forth, when McKee was obviously by far the most talented one out there. Against USC Shaw was much more imaginative in his play-calling, we had few penalties, McKee was truly excellent (he and West are not even remotely comparable), and the D played much better. When, happily, the negative aspects of Game 1 are corrected and we do much better, that's not a reflection on the critics, it's a tribute to Shaw's finally getting his act together, belatedly choosing McKee, and having the team much better prepared and organized than it was the week before.

[MV72018]

Good has triumphed over evil, and so if we don't win another game this season I will have this marvelous memory to hold on to. 

McKee looked like he was in a mental zone.  It was so excellent that I have a hard time believing he will do this every game.  But if he does, then this season is going to be a fun one.

I was prepared for a terrible defense.  But this defense forced 4 punts, had an INT, held them to field goals twice.  That is 7 stops compared to 3 touchdowns.  Much better than I expected.  The defense was the model of "bend but don't break" which always worries me...unless it works, which it did 70% of the time.

This game had the feel, by the third quarter, that the SC willpower was beginning to ebb.  We shook their confidence.  Not quite as thoroughly as the "what's your deal" game but I dearly wanted us to go for 2 on our last touchdown.

And Shaw's playcalling was great. 

This certainly puts a different spin on the "nattering nabobs of negativism" to quote Spiro Agnew.  And I nattered a little too much myself.  Of course, perhaps it is as simple as  KSU being much better than people thought and USC being much worse.  But our team genuinely looked completely different than the prior week, they looked more poised, more professional, more crisp, and more enthused.

Game 2 doesn't "put a different spin on the 'nattering nabobs of negativism'" in the least. The first game was replete with poor play-calling, stupid penalties, disorganization, wasted TOs, lousy O line play, and switching QBs back and forth, when McKee was obviously by far the most talented one out there. Against USC Shaw was much more imaginative in his play-calling, we had few penalties, McKee was truly excellent (he and West are not even remotely comparable), and the D played much better. When, happily, the negative aspects of Game 1 are corrected and we do much better, that's not a reflection on the critics, it's a tribute to Shaw's finally getting his act together, belatedly choosing McKee, and having the team much better prepared and organized than it was the week before.