[msqueri]

10. One of my game balls will be controversial given the egregious breakdown in discipline and sportsmanship shown in the kick that led to disqualification, but football is about making plays and Bailey just makes them so much more than others on our team. He is now 31st in the nation in sacks after being 74th last year. At the moment he has the most sacks per game we've had in the last decade, right around where Casey Toohill, Henry Anderson, and Solomon Thomas were at their peak and over a two year span getting to the QB like nothing we've seen since the Trent Murphy #PartyInTheBackfield days (nowhere close to that level of course). Bailey is also now fourth in the nation in fumbles forced per game (though one of the two yesterday may have been generous). PFF grades Bailey as the #3 edge player in America. Quite simply our best player. He was one of a somewhat modest seven players who showed up multiple times with positive contributions in the box score (Bernadel, Edwards, Bailey, Cooper, Phillips, Rose, Asiain), even more modest when considering that Cooper and Asiain did all their damage in garbage time. I do want to give some credit to the garbage time, however. Cooper being a whirling dervish when the game was out of hand is better than the alternative, to the cliche about coaches learning a lot about their team by seeing who is hustling in the fourth quarter of blowouts (but also disappointing Cooper did nothing before that). Asiain is one of several defensive freshmen who got in for late season playing time now that their redshirts are preserved, and he didn't just get his feet wet but made red zone and third down plays. In the same vein as running back having a young core that is appealing for the future one could perhaps say the same thing about DL (though it's been a bummer to see Staples undermine his effectiveness so much recently with bad hands to the face penalties). Outside of garbage time, Edwards and Bernadel were winning players yesterday, with five positive box score plays each (Edwards getting into the backfield and helping a notable amount in general in run defense and Bernadel as usual one of our better run defenders), and it was nice to see Tafiti with another turnover that hopefully continues to build confidence. There are a lot of players PFF think graded poorly and many who graded disastrously. Since it is so many guys I remain thinking that our focus needs to be on guys who can make plays, which is why I'm not going to disavow unsportsmanlike (at least in that moment) Bailey when he's the only guy making opponents sweat.

11. Special teams feels like it's kind of falling apart to be honest. Kick coverage was especially harmful in this one, giving up a 45 yard return on the opening kickoff, one to the 30 on the next one, and then the devastating 91 yard one to erase the momentum of a touchdown. We don't do enough on offense to allow Kenney to be a weapon. In the punting game, which we do have to rely on because of offensive shortcomings, we are not achieving big net advantages; in this one Flintoft had net punts of 43 to the 30 (solid but in that situation, flipping the field near the end of the first half in a game that wasn't out of control yet, it would have been nice for more), 33 to the 42 (very bad), and 36 to the 49 (also very bad). Notably, Flintoft had three punts out of bounds. Not sure if that was a game plan in light of opponent or something he was trying to do situationally or what, but we left some field position on the table. I've been a Flintoft fan/apologist much of the last two years but #80 in net punting on the season is not going to cut it. In the return game, Bachmeier had a 26 yard return to the 30, ad 25 yard return to the 31, and a zero yard punt return. I think he's ok.

12. Game balls: Daniels, Bailey, Bachmeier, Byham

13. The bye provides an opportunity for a reset and gut check to show some pride and end the season on a better note. Frankly we've seen enough to know who we are. This team is straight garbage, possibly the worst team in the history of the school. The team can maybe avoid those indictments if it can win enough that people won't have occasion to dredge up the worst historical comparisons. We probably can't avoid comparisons to our recent crappiness but if we can find a way to win another game (realistically the San Jose State game is the remaining opportunity) at least we can slot into the unbroken stretch of awful three win seasons. That kind of feels like a best case this year, a season that provides no sense of forward momentum for the program but at least isn't a historically inept dumpster fire in the win/loss column. At this point I am not sure if that's even in the best interest of the program. We are in the terrible situation we were late in the Shaw era of wondering if abject failure might be for the best to shock decision-makers into action. Because make no mistake that action - fundamental changes - is needed. I will hate it for fans and players and everybody if we sulk our way to the off-season with more games getting blown out and not belonging on the field and looking like we've given up, but maybe that will jostle us into reality.

[msqueri]

10. One of my game balls will be controversial given the egregious breakdown in discipline and sportsmanship shown in the kick that led to disqualification, but football is about making plays and Bailey just makes them so much more than others on our team. He is now 31st in the nation in sacks after being 74th last year. At the moment he has the most sacks per game we've had in the last decade, right around where Casey Toohill, Henry Anderson, and Solomon Thomas were at their peak and over a two year span getting to the QB like nothing we've seen since the Trent Murphy #PartyInTheBackfield days (nowhere close to that level of course). Bailey is also now fourth in the nation in fumbles forced per game (though one of the two yesterday may have been generous). PFF grades Bailey as the #3 edge player in America. Quite simply our best player. He was one of a somewhat modest seven players who showed up multiple times with positive contributions in the box score (Bernadel, Edwards, Bailey, Cooper, Phillips, Rose, Asiain), even more modest when considering that Cooper and Asiain did all their damage in garbage time. I do want to give some credit to the garbage time, however. Cooper being a whirling dervish when the game was out of hand is better than the alternative, to the cliche about coaches learning a lot about their team by seeing who is hustling in the fourth quarter of blowouts (but also disappointing Cooper did nothing before that). Asiain is one of several defensive freshmen who got in for late season playing time now that their redshirts are preserved, and he didn't just get his feet wet but made red zone and third down plays. In the same vein as running back having a young core that is appealing for the future one could perhaps say the same thing about DL (though it's been a bummer to see Staples undermine his effectiveness so much recently with bad hands to the face penalties). Outside of garbage time, Edwards and Bernadel were winning players yesterday, with five positive box score plays each (Edwards getting into the backfield and helping a notable amount in general in run defense and Bernadel as usual one of our better run defenders), and it was nice to see Tafiti with another turnover that hopefully continues to build confidence. There are a lot of players PFF think graded poorly and many who graded disastrously. Since it is so many guys I remain thinking that our focus needs to be on guys who can make plays, which is why I'm not going to disavow unsportsmanlike (at least in that moment) Bailey when he's the only guy making opponents sweat.

11. Special teams feels like it's kind of falling apart to be honest. Kick coverage was especially harmful in this one, giving up a 45 yard return on the opening kickoff, one to the 30 on the next one, and then the devastating 91 yard one to erase the momentum of a touchdown. We don't do enough on offense to allow Kenney to be a weapon. In the punting game, which we do have to rely on because of offensive shortcomings, we are not achieving big net advantages; in this one Flintoft had net punts of 43 to the 30 (solid but in that situation, flipping the field near the end of the first half in a game that wasn't out of control yet, it would have been nice for more), 33 to the 42 (very bad), and 36 to the 49 (also very bad). Notably, Flintoft had three punts out of bounds. Not sure if that was a game plan in light of opponent or something he was trying to do situationally or what, but we left some field position on the table. I've been a Flintoft fan/apologist much of the last two years but #80 in net punting on the season is not going to cut it. In the return game, Bachmeier had a 26 yard return to the 30, ad 25 yard return to the 31, and a zero yard punt return. I think he's ok.

12. Game balls: Daniels, Bailey, Bachmeier, Byham

13. The bye provides an opportunity for a reset and gut check to show some pride and end the season on a better note. Frankly we've seen enough to know who we are. This team is straight garbage, possibly the worst team in the history of the school. The team can maybe avoid those indictments if it can win enough that people won't have occasion to dredge up the worst historical comparisons. We probably can't avoid comparisons to our recent crappiness but if we can find a way to win another game (realistically the San Jose State game is the remaining opportunity) at least we can slot into the unbroken stretch of awful three win seasons. That kind of feels like a best case this year, a season that provides no sense of forward momentum for the program but at least isn't a historically inept dumpster fire in the win/loss column. At this point I am not sure if that's even in the best interest of the program. We are in the terrible situation we were late in the Shaw era of wondering if abject failure might be for the best to shock decision-makers into action. Because make no mistake that action - fundamental changes - is needed. I will hate it for fans and players and everybody if we sulk our way to the off-season with more games getting blown out and not belonging on the field and looking like we've given up, but maybe that will jostle us into reality.