Illinois State Game

DetroitFlyer · #1 07-10-2012, 01:57 PM

http://mvfcfan.blogspot.com/

"Illinois State could have a prime opportunity to knock off MAC member Eastern Michigan to start the season 2-0."

Well, at least one blogger is penciling in the game with our Flyers as an automatic win. Not any mention of the Flyers at all, just a thought that ISU may beat FBS Eastern Michigan to start the season 2-0.

If there ever was a time for the Football Flyers to step up and win a big game early in the season, this is it. Walk out of Illinois with a "W" and this could be a very special season!

Kind of reminds me of playing at Fordham for their homecoming game. You know, that team you pencil in as an automatic win to keep the homecoming crowd happy? Glad that Kevin Hoyng and company had a different idea that day and defeated Fordham. I was there to see that amazing victory and I sure hope to seen another one in Illinois this fall!

jmitch · #2 07-10-2012, 02:27 PM

not going to miss this opportunity. Let 'em underestimate us. Go on and look ahead to Eastern Michigan...

UD62 · #3 07-10-2012, 06:14 PM

Unless we have improved our defensive secondary, and solved the QB questions, we could be in for a long day. Coming off a 6-5 season, starting off with ISU is a big step up. hopefully we are up to the task.

jmitch · #4 07-10-2012, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by UD62

Unless we have improved our defensive secondary, and solved the QB questions, we could be in for a long day. Coming off a 6-5 season, starting off with ISU is a big step up. hopefully we are up to the task.

There is no doubt it will be a tough task. But with our coaching staff, it being the 1st game of the season, and EMU lurking the following week...I wouldn't be surprised by a Flyer win.

Scout86 · #5 07-12-2012, 07:28 PM

All comes down to Bardo's arm, I'm confident the defense will be healthy enough to stop the run, not sure about the pass.

UACFlyer · #6 07-12-2012, 07:47 PM

....and have to eat these words. But, I fear that ISU is going to show us the difference between FCS scholarship and non-scholarship football.

Go Flyers!

UD62 · #7 07-13-2012, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by UACFlyer

....and have to eat these words. But, I fear that ISU is going to show us the difference between FCS scholarship and non-scholarship football.

Go Flyers!

I tend to agree, at present we are a so-so pioneer league team. Stranger things have happened but this could be ISU a bunch and UD not so much.

proudpapa · #8 07-16-2012, 08:09 AM

I hope that the ISU team is overlooking the Flyers... that may be the little bit that we will need to get over the talent gap. Stranger things have happened and that's why they play the games. I think that it should be noted that ISU just had two RB's transfer in, one from Oklahoma and one from Colorado St. That should show a little bit of the talent that they possess.

I agree with what most have stated. We will go as far as Bardo's arm is accurate. His legs will do the job in the running game. I know that he has been working with his receivers a little over the summer. The receivers will have to become more consistent because I believe teams will put eight or nine in the box and make Bardo beat them with his arm.

I liked what I saw of the defensive side of the ball personnel wise. I am a bit concerned with the DB's. They seem to get beat deep at times and that plagued us last year in many games. Sorry to mention it, but as a former defensive back, that drives me crazy.

Here's to ISU looking past us and taking us lightly. We are getting closer to this first kickoff and we will know much more of what we have to look forward to.

chriscage · #9 07-18-2012, 11:52 PM

We'll never know how good the Flyers and the PFL are unless we play "up". I understand that the Ivy and Patriot leagues are not full scholly, but are generally rated higher than the PFL. In recent years we upset a decent Fordham team and barely lost to Yale.

Now we will have in Illinois State, a real test against a full scholly FCS program. I am sure of one thing...we WILL be competitive.

Next year we'll finally face Youngstown. Hopefully that will become a series...and a future rivalry between the only two FCS schools in Ohio!

DetroitFlyer · #10 07-19-2012, 08:39 AM

defeated ISU a few years ago.... I would be confident in a Flyer victory if Kevin Hoyng or Steve Valentino were our QB's. Throw a Rob Florian in and we would go down. Winning games against any good team requires top notch, and I mean PFL player of the week type of performance from the QB. Frankly, Bardo looked terrible in the Spring game. He looked exactly the same to me as he did as he struggled all last season. The kid has talent, but he needs to be able to execute at the highest of levels in a game. I think our running game will be solid again, our receivers seem to be looking great, so IF Will can pull it together and complete passes, we will win this game. If, however, he throws a bunch of too balls, (too high, too low, etc.), we will go down big. We need sustained drives, first downs, and points to keep their offense on the bench and our defense rested and ready to make big plays. The coaches have all the confidence in the world in Bardo and given his size and athletic ability, he can be a special QB at Dayton. Here is to hoping that ISU is his breakout game, that he is PFL player of the week, and we pull out a victory!

PIONEER 8 · #11 07-19-2012, 09:26 AM

Not much to add to the discussion but I agree that our success will hinge upon the play of the QB and on our defense. Our running game and receivers should be very solid assuming everyone is healthy (I know that #5 is coming off of ankle surgery and I have heard that a couple of receivers have some health issues as well). The keys will be the ability of our defense to hold up against a bigger oponent and our QB to deliver the ball quickly and accurately. If those things come together we should be able to hang in and it will come down to who makes the fewer mistakes.

Gem City · #12 07-20-2012, 11:37 AM

Some thoughts on the Illinois State game...

I love the confidence boys, but I think our Flyers are going to take this one on the chin. Honestly, UD is facing a tall task in trying to keep this game competitive. I'm not saying UD can't compete with scholarship FCS teams. I believe UD can and will in the future, but I don't look for this particular game to be competitive.

After looking at Illinois State's roster, in a word, they are loaded. It would appear that they return a ton of talent and will have returning senior starters at most of the key positions. QB senior Matt Brown passed for 2,187 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. Returning running back Darrelynn Dunn averaged 5.4 yards per carry. They return WR's Tyrone Walker and Lechein Neblett who combined for over 1000 yards receiving. Most of the defense looks to be intact from last season including three starting seniors at LB Austin Davis (three year starter) Evan Frierson (transfer from Ilinios) and Mike Zimmer (three year starter). They had two running back tranfers in from BCS programs (Oklahoma and Colorado St.) over the summer and last seasons backup was a Wisconsin transfer. As a matter of fact, they have 12 BCS transfers on the roster. (West Virginia, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, Buffalo, Colorado St., Oklahoma etc.) Uh yeah, I think there is quite a bit of a talent gap. Keep in mind Illinois State will challenge for the MVC championship and I'm sure they have national title aspirations this year.

UD on the other hand is coming off one of their worst seasons in the programs history. We were a mediocre PFL team. If we had Valentino or Hoying, we might be able to keep it close, but they aren't on the roster anymore and our offense hasn't shown any signs of improvement. The last few years, UD has had a few really talented skill position players that have truly carried us. The bottom line is we just don't have those guys right now.

DetroitFlyer · #13 07-20-2012, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by Gem City

Some thoughts on the Illinois State game...

I love the confidence boys, but I think our Flyers are going to take this one on the chin. Honestly, UD is facing a tall task in trying to keep this game competitive. I'm not saying UD can't compete with scholarship FCS teams. I believe UD can and will in the future, but I don't look for this particular game to be competitive.

After looking at Illinois State's roster, in a word, they are loaded. It would appear that they return a ton of talent and will have returning senior starters at most of the key positions. QB senior Matt Brown passed for 2,187 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. Returning running back Darrelynn Dunn averaged 5.4 yards per carry. They return WR's Tyrone Walker and Lechein Neblett who combined for over 1000 yards receiving. Most of the defense looks to be intact from last season including starting senior LB Austin Davis (three year starter) Evan Frierson (transfer from Ilinios) and Mike Zimmer (three year starter). They had two running back's tranfer in from BCS programs (Oklahoma and Colorado St.) over the summer and last season's backup was a Wisconsin transfer. As a matter of fact, they have 12 BCS transfers on the roster. (West Virginia, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, Buffalo, Colorado, Oklahoma etc.) Uh yeah, I think there is quite a bit of a talent gap. Keep in mind Illinois State will challenge for the MVC championship and I'm sure they have national title aspirations this year.

UD on the other hand is coming off one of their worst seasons in the programs history. We were a mediocre PFL team. If we had Valentino or Hoying, we might be able to keep it close, but they aren't on the roster anymore and our offense hasn't shown any signs of improvement. The last few years, UD has had a few really talented skill position players that have truly carried us. The bottom line is we just don't have those guys right now.

hard to "argue" with the logic. On paper, we should lose. But, IF our offense can move the ball, (execute), gain first downs, and even out the time of possession, we can win. If we have a day of three and outs, we are going to lose big. An athletic QB that can scramble AND complete passes is very hard to stop. A defense can do everything right, but a timely scramble by the QB can still pick up 15 yards. It is amazing how much this can demoralize a defense. I personally saw Kevin Hoyng do it to Albany in the Gridiron Classic and at Fordham. Of course Kevin could complete passes as well as scramble which made him very hard to defend. Trust me, picking up a 3rd and 9 on a QB scramble multiple times will win you games. I am not of the thought that our defense is going to shut ISU down for 4 quarters. We can slow them down, but our best defense will be to keep them on the sideline. I am concerned that we do not currently have the All-American type of players on either side of the ball. Guys like the three playing in Europe were very special and I'm not certain we have that level of talent anymore. Hopefully, we have some guys step up this season, starting with ISU. A tall challenge? Certainly. Can we win? Yes.

DetroitFlyer · #14 07-20-2012, 01:18 PM

Another thing to keep in mind is that ISU knows very little about UD Football. In fact, I'm not cetain that we know much about UD, 2012 Football. Lot's of coaching changes and no Dave W. for the first time in eons.... Who knows what the Flyers may pull out of the hat in Illinois? The talent gap is really not that large. Being the underdog, the unknown quantity, and playing well can lead to a W.

Gem City · #15 07-20-2012, 01:40 PM

I just hope UD can preserve the streak of games played without being shutout. I think it dates back to 1974. The question is can UD get a late field goal to prevent the end of the streak.

jmitch · #16 07-20-2012, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Gem City

I just hope UD can preserve the streak of games played without being shutout. I think it dates back to 1974. The question is can UD get a late field goal to prevent the end of the streak.

I'm not worried.

UACFlyer · #17 07-20-2012, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by jmitch

I'm not worried.

Stuff like this is hard to call. I had the misfortune of attending the Yale-UD game in 2000......a game, it was thought, UD had a chance to win. That 8-3 UD team was crushed by Yale...42-6, or something like that. And had YU not been merciful it would been much worse than that.

The 2004 Yale team that UD came close to beating was a poor YU team.

You just don't know. But, "playing up" is the right way to go, for sure.

Gem City · #18 07-20-2012, 02:49 PM

If I'm not mistaken, UD was down 42-0 in the 4th quarter when the Flyers got a late touchdown on a broken play. The streak should have ended that year. Yale did go on to win the Ivy League championship that year.

proudpapa · #19 07-20-2012, 04:29 PM

I know that the offensive production wasn't what we would like to see last year. I think that we need to take a step back and realize that Will was a freshman quarterback. His accuracy was bad at times and we didn't move the ball that well consistently. I think there is a lot of responsibility to spread around for those inconsistencies.

You have seen what the other teams are running to get their quarterback into the passing game. You see what kind of plays they are calling to keep the completion percentage up. How many times did we see an opposing qb get the ball, turn and fire it to an outside receiver at or behind the line of scrimmage? These plays build confidence and open up the running game, not to mention passing statistics. We do not run such plays. I'm not saying it is wrong, I am saying those plays and the statistics that go with them are not part of our game planning.

Our receivers dropped a lot of balls that were thrown well. We have all heard about the "too balls". Some of that is the receiver's fault. Some not.

How many times did Will take us down and put us in a position to win or take the lead and it was given right back by the defense. I watched us get manhandled by San Diego in the first half, down 24-0. Will methodically brought us back to take the lead 28-24 only to watch San Diego march down and score the winning touchdown. The whole team showed their moxy that game but just came up short.

Last year was a total team effort that just came up short at the end of some games. The only game we were really out of was the Drake game.

I do think that you are going to see some of the talent start to show at the skill positions. Harris is an great back and could have played FBS ball. Bardo, I think is on the verge of a big year. I may eat those words in the end, but I would rather say I told you so.

Remember, freshman quarterback, started at the beginning of the year. He didn't get a chance to come in and gain experience gradually. He was thrust into it. At times he looked great. Most of the time he looked like a freshman to me. Hopefully we put him in a position to succeed for years to come.

Go Flyers! Beat the RedBirds.

UACFlyer · #20 07-20-2012, 04:37 PM

Bardo is the only QB listed on the roster. Does that mean his backup(s) will be incoming freshmen?

DetroitFlyer · #21 07-20-2012, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by UACFlyer

Bardo is the only QB listed on the roster. Does that mean his backup(s) will be incoming freshmen?

In the Spring game, Luke Johnson and Jake Voigt were the back-up QB's. Luke is from Milford, MI and Jake is from some place called Solon, OH....

Luke actually played for both teams in the Spring game.

I do not think that Luke or Jake are ready to step in just yet, but you neve know.... If Will is not effective, I will not be surprised to see one of these guys get a shot.

DetroitFlyer · #22 07-20-2012, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by proudpapa

I know that the offensive production wasn't what we would like to see last year. I think that we need to take a step back and realize that Will was a freshman quarterback. His accuracy was bad at times and we didn't move the ball that well consistently. I think there is a lot of responsibility to spread around for those inconsistencies.

You have seen what the other teams are running to get their quarterback into the passing game. You see what kind of plays they are calling to keep the completion percentage up. How many times did we see an opposing qb get the ball, turn and fire it to an outside receiver at or behind the line of scrimmage? These plays build confidence and open up the running game, not to mention passing statistics. We do not run such plays. I'm not saying it is wrong, I am saying those plays and the statistics that go with them are not part of our game planning.

Our receivers dropped a lot of balls that were thrown well. We have all heard about the "too balls". Some of that is the receiver's fault. Some not.

How many times did Will take us down and put us in a position to win or take the lead and it was given right back by the defense. I watched us get manhandled by San Diego in the first half, down 24-0. Will methodically brought us back to take the lead 28-24 only to watch San Diego march down and score the winning touchdown. The whole team showed their moxy that game but just came up short.

Last year was a total team effort that just came up short at the end of some games. The only game we were really out of was the Drake game.

I do think that you are going to see some of the talent start to show at the skill positions. Harris is an great back and could have played FBS ball. Bardo, I think is on the verge of a big year. I may eat those words in the end, but I would rather say I told you so.

Remember, freshman quarterback, started at the beginning of the year. He didn't get a chance to come in and gain experience gradually. He was thrust into it. At times he looked great. Most of the time he looked like a freshman to me. Hopefully we put him in a position to succeed for years to come.

Go Flyers! Beat the RedBirds.

last years woes were not all Will's fault. Our defense was certainly not up to Flyer standards. Our receivers certainly dropped some balls, and perhaps some of the route running was not exactly right.... Another year of seasoning should help! I believe that Bardo could be an All American and really open some eyes this year. He has all of the tools, things just have to come together.

UACFlyer · #23 07-20-2012, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitFlyer

In the Spring game, Luke Johnson and Jake Voigt were the back-up QB's. Luke is from Milford, MI and Jake is from some place called Solon, OH....

Luke actually played for both teams in the Spring game.

I do not think that Luke or Jake are ready to step in just yet, but you neve know.... If Will is not effective, I will not be surprised to see one of these guys get a shot.

I was thinking of the injury issue, rather than effectiveness.

Do we have any freshmen QBs coming in?

MichiganFlyer60 · #24 07-21-2012, 03:01 PM

If Football talk is heating up that means the season is around the corner. Good stuff. My two cents is that none of the players were happy with last year. My sense is that the QB's are all working out and will push each other (and better yet) support each other as they near ISU. The underclassman from last year who played have things to prove and the underclassman who waited their turn will rise to the occasion this coming season. From the stands and the radio I think we all saw and heard all of the details that have been discussed in this string. The team, players and coaches never really found their rhythm and we lacked big plays and key individual efforts when we needed them.

I am confident that this year will be better and the Flyer young men will rebound.

From what I saw in the Spring Game their shoud have been some questions that still needed to be answered in the upcoming camp.

hope everyone is enjoying the summer

Scout86 · #25 07-23-2012, 08:33 PM

FYI, Illinois State 's stadium is undergoing construction and only 1/2 the stadium is available for games.....if your planning on going to the opener you may want to pre-order your tickets.

jmitch · #26 07-25-2012, 07:44 PM

Got our four tix today. UD fans are going to be in Section F. We are in Row 9.

Scout86 · #27 07-26-2012, 07:51 PM

Ours are in section E but I doubt very much if the visitors section will be packed

proudpapa · #28 07-27-2012, 02:21 PM

Anyone know where the players tickets are?

jmitch · #29 07-27-2012, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by proudpapa

Anyone know where the players tickets are?

Don't know for sure, but we asked to be placed in the UD section and we were placed in Section F. Section F is also defined as the visitors section on the stadium seating map. Since we were given row 9, I would guess that the player's tickets are Section F, Rows 1-8. But again, this is all speculation.

Scout86 · #30 07-28-2012, 02:08 PM

I'll try to call ISU on Monday to find out

Scout86 · #31 07-28-2012, 02:10 PM

I was also told by a relatives daughter who goes to school there that you don't need to worry about tickets as they never sell out? Now maybe with 1/2 the stadium being renovated?

DetroitFlyer · #32 08-02-2012, 09:53 AM

E-12.

DetroitFlyer · #33 08-03-2012, 09:17 AM

Mini Editorial:

I do not want to read about little ole "non-scholarship" Dayton playing big, bad, "fully funded" ISU. I simply do not care how our players are funding their education. So we have players on academic and need based scholarships and ISU has players on athletic scholarships. Big whoop. For me that does not matter one iota. I want to read about match-ups, I want to read about how we are going to win the game, I want to read about how we are opening up against a top 20 team, etc. The YEARS of Dayton trying to play up the "non-athletic scholarship" status of our players is OVER! Let's put on the pads and go out and win in Illinois and not worry about the type of scholarships our players have!

DetroitFlyer · #34 08-17-2012, 08:14 AM

http://mvfcfan.blogspot.com/2012/08/...to-week-1.html

"I'm obviously getting very anxious about football season, its still 14 days away and I'm holding myself back from writing game previews for these games. Anyway, by the end of week 1, the Missouri Valley Football Conference may have only three wins under its' belt. The projected wins are no-brainers; WIU, ISU(red), and NDSU all face bottom-tier conference teams and should have no problem with their respective opponents. This first week should be a good start for Western Illinois; they need some confidence, and the Butler game might just be what the doctor ordered. I pity-da-fool who thinks Dayton or Robert Morris have any chance at W's in week one."

After we win this game, I just might have to leave a comment on his blog....

PIONEER 8 · #35 08-17-2012, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitFlyer

http://mvfcfan.blogspot.com/2012/08/...to-week-1.html

"I'm obviously getting very anxious about football season, its still 14 days away and I'm holding myself back from writing game previews for these games. Anyway, by the end of week 1, the Missouri Valley Football Conference may have only three wins under its' belt. The projected wins are no-brainers; WIU, ISU(red), and NDSU all face bottom-tier conference teams and should have no problem with their respective opponents. This first week should be a good start for Western Illinois; they need some confidence, and the Butler game might just be what the doctor ordered. I pity-da-fool who thinks Dayton or Robert Morris have any chance at W's in week one."

After we win this game, I just might have to leave a comment on his blog....

I hope we all get the chance to comment but it is going to come down to our QB play and whether or not our defense can hold up to them for the entire game. If Harris is healthy I think the running game will be ok but based on last year and what I saw this spring we still have a ways to go in other areas. If this was our 2010 team I would be chomping at the bit to show them what the Flyers are all about but I also know that our 2011 squad would not have one and we need to be far better this season to compete in this game and in the league. FYI, I was watching the Browns/Packers game last night and the Packers had a rookie kick returner from Illinois State that looked pretty good.

goflyers001 · #36 08-17-2012, 02:34 PM

In case anyone would like to know, the team is staying at the Marriot - Bloomington / Normal, address is 201 Broadway Street, Normal, IL, telephone is 309 862 9000. Room rate is $99 and up. The hotel is about 5 blocks from the ISU campus.

Scout86 · #37 08-18-2012, 09:14 PM

We didn't get home in time to make the scrimmage, how did they look? I will be at the media day tomorrow, would like to meet some of the writers and introduce myself.....how can we do this?

DetroitFlyer · #38 08-19-2012, 08:17 AM

I will be serving up pop behind the counter. Wearing my red UD Football polo. Team looked good. Defense maybe a bit better than offense.

jmitch · #39 08-19-2012, 09:41 AM

The whole Mitch famiily will be there as well. Smitch will be with the kids serving drinks. I'll be running around doing all the hard work...

PIONEER 8 · #40 08-20-2012, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by Scout86

We didn't get home in time to make the scrimmage, how did they look? I will be at the media day tomorrow, would like to meet some of the writers and introduce myself.....how can we do this?

I thought the offense looked a little sloppy but that may be expected pre-season. The running game looked better than the passing game which is consistent with our strengths coming into the season and may be a good sign for our offensive line play. I also thought the receivers looked pretty good but the QB play was a little spotty. One thing that surprised me was that I thought the 3rd line QB (#17) throws the best ball (quicker release, more velocity and more accurate) but I suspect that his knowledge of the offense is a little behind the other two or he would be seeing a little more time. Defense looked better than the offense except for giving up a few big runs. Kicking game was a little hard to judge since it was not really live but the two punters who came in later seemed to kick a little better than the first punter. Also tried a 42 yard field goal that came up just a little short.

Scout86 · #41 08-20-2012, 12:49 PM

I remember a few games last year that the field goal kicker shanked a few that ending up costing us.

DetroitFlyer · #42 08-30-2012, 08:18 AM

Dayton:

http://daytonflyers.com.ismmedia.com...0For%20Web.pdf

I did not see anything shocking on the depth chart. Glad to see Ross Smith on the chart. I have really been looking forward to seeing what he can do.... Our roster just seems to brim with talent AND depth, something that has not always been true. Hopefully, we can use that depth to stay fresh and wear ISU down a bit. I am really looking forward to this game. Most have us getting hammered, but I am really expecting to come out of Normal, IL with a big "W" next to our record. Yes, I am going to pick the Flyers to win on the PFL board contest. (And yes, I will be the only one).

ISU:

http://www.goredbirds.com/sports/m-f...082912aaa.html

Interesting to note that a number of UD players actually played football in high school with players currently on the ISU roster. Also interesting is that two Mid-West schools, only 5.5 hours away from each other, have never played. Both have been playing football for over 100 years! UD is now in season 105!

DetroitFlyer · #43 08-30-2012, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by PIONEER 8

I thought the offense looked a little sloppy but that may be expected pre-season. The running game looked better than the passing game which is consistent with our strengths coming into the season and may be a good sign for our offensive line play. I also thought the receivers looked pretty good but the QB play was a little spotty. One thing that surprised me was that I thought the 3rd line QB (#17) throws the best ball (quicker release, more velocity and more accurate) but I suspect that his knowledge of the offense is a little behind the other two or he would be seeing a little more time. Defense looked better than the offense except for giving up a few big runs. Kicking game was a little hard to judge since it was not really live but the two punters who came in later seemed to kick a little better than the first punter. Also tried a 42 yard field goal that came up just a little short.

has looked good every time I have seen him. He played for both teams in the Spring game so the coaches know they have a great QB in waiting. If Bardo stumbles, it will be a tough call IMHO as to who goes in next, (in spite of what the depth chart currently indicates). I like Jake as well. He is a playmaker that can spark an offense.

DetroitFlyer · #44 08-30-2012, 09:02 AM

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/view...php?f=8&t=3625

Not much respect from the Redbird fans.... They remember losing an opener to Drake a few years back....

By the way, I am normally of the John R school of "wearing red and being loud", but since ISU is primarily red, I will be going in the blue direction Saturday. After all, I want the refs to know who is yelling at them.... just kidding.... Well maybe not....

UDBrian · #45 08-30-2012, 09:30 AM

It isn't unusual for a home team to play poorly in their home opener against a team seen as inferior, especially when they have a much bigger game the following week.

The biggest problem is the experience they return. Even if we can jump on them it may be difficult to keep them rattled. Looking forward to Larry getting excited a lot during this game.

PIONEER 8 · #46 08-30-2012, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitFlyer

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/view...php?f=8&t=3625

Not much respect from the Redbird fans.... They remember losing an opener to Drake a few years back....

By the way, I am normally of the John R school of "wearing red and being loud", but since ISU is primarily red, I will be going in the blue direction Saturday. After all, I want the refs to know who is yelling at them.... just kidding.... Well maybe not....

Nerver heard us called "Notre Dame-wannabees" before

Scout86 · #47 08-30-2012, 11:42 AM

We have at least 11 people from our side coming to the game, I expect maybe I'll get to meet some of you guys in the Marriott lobby over coffee Saturday morning

Gem City · #48 08-30-2012, 12:37 PM

Back in the day, ND students would joke that Dayton was a fall back school for Notre Dame students. Don't fret, we're in good company. They said the same thing about Boston College.

On to football, this is a tall order for our Flyers. ISU thinks they have a national championship contender and the national media seems to agree. They are ranked 19 and 20th in the two FCS polls.

Good luck to our Flyers. I'm hoping the weather plays a factor and keeps the scoring down. Maybe we'll have a chance late to pull off the upset.

PIONEER 8 · #49 08-30-2012, 01:50 PM

I agree that it is a tall order but if we want to be a playoff team next year and the years after we need to go up against some playoff caliber teams to get a feel for it. As I said on one of the other threads the Patriot League (non-scholarship unitl this season) has won its opening round game each of the last two years and Colgate made it all the way to the championship game in 2003. All of that says nothing about how we will do in this game but it does indicate that the gap between scholarhip and non-scholarship teams is not that wide if the latter is good.

DetroitFlyer · #50 08-30-2012, 02:14 PM

No big deal. Heck, JU is playing at number 3 Georgia Southern to open their season. When we defeated Fordham two years in a row, it is thought that they had somewhere in the range of 55 athletic scholarship equivalency players on their roster. The max in FCS is 63. This is why it was not too difficult for Fordham to move to 63 athletic scholarships as compared to the rest of the Patriot League. If you look at the ISU roster, about the only position that jumps out at you as being bigger than our Flyers is the offensive line. At the FCS level, most of these big guys are not as athletic as our defensive linemen and since we have good depth there, we might wear them out a bit. Still, this was the one area where I saw UD players absolutely spent, (defensive line), after the second Fordham game at Welcome. The big offensive lineman made our guys work much harder, but ultimately we got the job done. Now if the game had gone into overtime it might have been a different story. In 2012, we match up OK with any FCS team. I think that ISU, in spite of what they might say, will take our Flyers lightly. They will be surprised at just how talented and well coached the 2012 Flyers will be on Saturday. I don't know what tricks Rick has up his sleeves, but I have little doubt that he has a plan to handle those jumbo linemen. We will be OK, we will be in this game, and at the end we will have a great chance to win.

DetroitFlyer · #51 08-30-2012, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by Gem City

Back in the day, ND students would joke that Dayton was a fall back school for Notre Dame students. Don't fret, we're in good company. They said the same thing about Boston College.

On to football, this is a tall order for our Flyers. ISU thinks they have a national championship contender and the national media seems to agree. They are ranked 19 and 20th in the two FCS polls.

Good luck to our Flyers. I'm hoping the weather plays a factor and keeps the scoring down. Maybe we'll have a chance late to pull off the upset.

I tell anyone who will listen that my son thought about applying to Notre Dame in case he did not get into Dayton. He did go and visit Notre Dame and commented to me that the campus seemed very similar to Dayton.... Of course my son is a freshman Flyer! On a side note, we did recently have a football player transfer from Dayton to Notre Dame. His name was Bobby Burger. He was a defensive lineman for us and a very, very good one at that. At Notre Dame, he made the team as a walk-on at tight end. He earned an athletic scholarship the next season or two and had a good career for the Irish. His dad played football at Notre Dame and it was his dream to play there as well. So there you have it, not only can our players be competitive in the world of FCS, some have the talent to play FBS level football. Trust me, there is not a staff in the land better at identifying FBS/FCS level talent that has fallen through the cracks and bringing them to Dayton. Also interesting to me is how teams,(can you say ISU), tout their FBS transfers.... The handful we have had at UD rarely end up being impact players.... Kind of also indicates that recruiting and developing players to reach their maximum potential is part of the UD DNA.

Gem City · #52 08-30-2012, 02:59 PM

UD is coming off a 6-5 season from last year. (One of the worst seasons in our 1-AA or FCS history) Are we an improved football team? On paper I would say we should be, yes. We really should be a much better team especially if Bardo takes a step forward this season. I think we can and should challenge for the league title. Having said that, we haven't closed the gap enough to beat a top 25 FCS team on the road.

ISU finished the season in the top 25 last season. I'd say they are also much improved over last year. They return almost all of their key personnel and they have a plethora of experience on both sides of the ball. We had one common opponent last year; Morehead State. Morehead lost by 31 points last year. We beat Morehead by 3 points in a game that could have gone either way. Bottom line, we haven't improved enough to close the 31 point gap.

I would also argue that there is a huge difference between a mediocre Patriot League team and the better teams in the Missouri Valley. It's almost like arguing that you can compete in the SEC because you beat a couple of good MAC teams. It's a different world. The best team in the Patriot League is a middle of the road team in the Missouri Valley. Let's also keep in mind we beat those Fordham teams with arguably the best quarterback in UD football history. If we had Hoying or Valentino, I would agree that we'd have a chance. Hopefully, I am wrong and Bardo takes a major step forward Saturday.

If we can keep this game within two touchdowns, it will be a huge success and personally I'll be very happy.

PS. Without question, UD does an amazing job of developing talent. No question that player development has been the key to UD's success over the years.

proudpapa · #53 08-30-2012, 06:39 PM

I do really think we will see the talent gap this weekend. I have said it all along. What I hope to see is the "Heart Gap". I think that our players will not lay down and just let ISU roll over them because they have a bevy of talented players. I think that the coaching staff gets the most out of their players and these guys truly do not want to let each other down. "Esprit de Corp" is what our team has lots of and I hope that it can pull us a little closer to that talent gap.

For those that didn't get a chance to read the above link here it is..

Since 1993, when the NCAA rules changed to allow FBS transfers immediate eligibility at the FCS level, Illinois State has had 80 players transfer from FBS schools. ISU's FBS transfers on this year's roster include: Josh Aladenoye (Oklahoma), Brian Athey (West Virginia), Marlion Barnett (Washington), Jermaine Barton (Miami), Dominic Clarke (Ohio State), Milton Colbert (Michigan State), Phil Dudley (Ball State), Evan Frierson (Illinois), Shelby Harris (Wisconsin), Mike Liedtke (Western Michigan), Matt Meyers (Iowa), Jonathon Miller (Oklahoma), Nate Palmer (Illinois), Adam Pittser (Wyoming), Adam Rebholz (Illinois), Albert Sparks (Buffalo), Ezra Thompson (Colorado State) and Anthony Williams (Illinois).

At one point the kid from Oklahoma was listed as a starting running back at Oklahoma. He is second string at ISU.

I hope we can come out and shock the world.

DetroitFlyer · #54 08-30-2012, 08:30 PM

Have a little faith, the 2012 Flyers step up Saturday and win this game. By the way, all those FBS transfers failed at FBS.... They are more than likely back where they belong.

Alberto Strasse · #55 08-31-2012, 10:03 AM

This looks like a blow-out game for ISU. UD's program appears to be in relative disrepair.

comebackkids0708 · #56 08-31-2012, 10:22 AM

Love all the negative talk on that ISU board. Will it be an uphill climb for the Flyers? Of course, like many of you have pointed out. Does it mean they won't be up for it? Absolutely not. If there's one thing I've learned about being around Dayton football for many years, it doesn't matter who or when or where they play, they're going to play. Sure the outcome isn't always in the Flyers favor BUT I've seen it happen as like many of you. First game of the year, possible rain/flood, ISU way to cocky...all these could factor in to UD's advantage. Although I'm hoping it doesn't rain, Bardo is his best when he can "make plays" and rain takes that away IMHO. Look if UD wins Saturday it shouldn't be a "miracle", upset, yes. DF said it already but those FBS transfers are right back where they belong. Anyone who understands college football recruiting, ECSPECIALLY in the midwest, knows that those big schools take ALOT of guys, knowing that 5-10% won't make it all 4 years BUT the last thing they want to do is pass on a guy and let him go to another school and hurt them 3 years later, so what happens is they take some albeit talented athletes, within 2 years or less the kid realizes if he wants to play significantly before his Sr season he should probably transfer, so them having that many, while it is something to note, means nothing. Side note...UD has turned down FBS transfers in recent years.

Anyway back to the game. Very excited for another year to begin and think this is a great way to start it, win or lose, you know our guys will play their a** off. Mental mistakes, as always, has to be limited if not non-existent. ISU will make their mistakes, 1) it's first game of the year 2) they are over looking UD...ingredients for mental lapses. Lets just hope it's more than us and we can capitalize.

Food for thought...

In 2004 our Flyers went 7-3, following year went 9-1. In 2006 they went 4-6, folloing year went 11-1. Differnt teams, sure. My point is Flyer football pride and history can go a long way after a season that fell below UD standard.

DetroitFlyer · #57 08-31-2012, 11:10 AM

Welcome back. Glad you weighed in!

Flyer Gramps · #58 08-31-2012, 02:52 PM

It appears that CBS.com will carry the ISU/UD game.

Appears that 10 bucks will get one month of ISU stuff.

Also appears that Duquesne will do the same when UD gets there next week.

Further appears that another choice is 15 bucks for a month of CBS stuff.

So will somebody tell me that what appears to me is true & I should go for 15 bucks to watch the Flyers first two games?

Scout86 · #59 08-31-2012, 09:52 PM

Here at the hotel in Normal, raining outside and the team is pumped!

DetroitFlyer · #60 08-31-2012, 11:14 PM

Watching the forecast.... We are getting drenched tomorrow....

DetroitFlyer · #61 09-01-2012, 09:52 AM

Having breakfast with Proud Papa and his family! Also met another UD family. Kind of a mini pep rally at breakfast this morning. Even the rain looks like it might be letting up a bit....

proudpapa · #62 09-01-2012, 11:21 AM

Had a great breakfast with DetroitFlyer and Brannon Dunn's parents. Looking forward to getting this season kicked off. Let's start it off with a big win!
Posted via Mobile Device

DetroitFlyer · #63 09-01-2012, 11:29 AM

10:30 AM Central time. A little sun, LOTS of wind and clouds....

DetroitFlyer · #64 09-01-2012, 01:35 PM

Seats on the 30 yard line in a sea of ISU fans.... Rain stopped. Team looks good and is fired up in warmups.

DetroitFlyer · #65 09-01-2012, 02:49 PM

Not making plays on either side of the ball....

UDBrian · #66 09-01-2012, 02:56 PM

Great comments and coverage from larry and Coach. Coach expressing his surprise that they are blitzing so much

San Diego Flyer · #67 09-01-2012, 03:00 PM

Not a bad UD punt return.

Shut up a lot of home fans.

7-21 with a couple left.

UDBrian · #68 09-01-2012, 03:01 PM

Great call by larry and coach on the punt return. Let's hope they have a few more reasons to get excited

DetroitFlyer · #69 09-01-2012, 03:14 PM

Two homer pass interference calls. Can't beat the zebras....

DetroitFlyer · #70 09-01-2012, 03:24 PM

If we are going to come back, the offense needs to step up. We cannot keep sending their offense out on the field period. We need first downs and sustained drives. To do that we must make plays. They ate too fast for delayed runs. We must pound it between the tackles, throw good balls and make catches. We did virtually none of that in the first half.

Flyer Gramps · #71 09-01-2012, 03:34 PM

Watching now & then on cbs.com; not sure it was good value. Weather & other issues in reception. It is two plays ahead of WHIO.

Rather vanilla UD football...UD 40 yds, ISU-278 yds

Bardo still has tech problems 24 yds on 10/24; 2 muffs by Johnson
Harris fumbled hand-off(team rushing is 16 yds)
Gary Hunter not playing smart until his punt return for only TD. Thank God because he saves the shutout record sitting at 1976 season.

Pfleger is getting picked upon a lot. No where to hide Matt, cinch up & play the ball better!

Funny play. After first ISU TD they kicked off to Gary Hunter who caught the ball with one foot out of bounds on the 3 yd line. Illegal proceedure called on ISU & ball placed at 30 yd line (25 + 5). never saw that nor does it seem fair for ISU??????

San Diego Flyer · #72 09-01-2012, 03:34 PM

ISU defense is as good as we will see all year. I can't be too hard on our guys because adrenaline can only take us so far. This disparity in first downs (1-20) won't change with simply more effort. We're playing hard, but they are playing with greater skill numbers and on top of that, short fields.

With their greater numbers, they can name the score by the fourth quarter. Our pursuit was wearing down by the halftime horn.

UDDoug · #73 09-01-2012, 03:40 PM

ISU could win by 70 if they wanted to.
Posted via Mobile Device

San Diego Flyer · #74 09-01-2012, 03:42 PM

First 5 minutes of the second half sets the tone. We miss the first down and they again start with a short field from our 38. Fatigue is going to be a big issue.

DetroitFlyer · #75 09-01-2012, 03:46 PM

Well, we started the half exactly opposite to what I wrote above. Now down 35-7 with negative yards rushing....

UDBrian · #76 09-01-2012, 03:47 PM

Larry said that they have an athletic 300 pound offensive line. How many scholarships does Illinois State give? Are they full scholarship or partial?

San Diego Flyer · #77 09-01-2012, 03:50 PM

I just hope we don't incur any severe injuries. That would be a real kick in the teeth. Other than that, Coach will have plenty of film to work with this week.

DetroitFlyer · #78 09-01-2012, 03:54 PM

63 FCS max

San Diego Flyer · #79 09-01-2012, 04:08 PM

Just salvaged a bit of self-respect. 14-42. Nice 75 yard drive in only 7 plays.

Ha! We just scored more points than Miami got against tOSU!!

chriscage · #80 09-01-2012, 04:15 PM

Shared PFL/MVC commish Patty V. is at the game. Wonder who she is rooting for?

San Diego Flyer · #81 09-01-2012, 04:43 PM

Please, no rants about "lack of effort", "lack of heart". This game is all about numbers of skill players, and roster depth. We simply found out how far "playing up" can be on a given Saturday. It's happened all over the country in football on this Saturday.

The really big game is next week. Duquesne is not in a league with ISU. That game will tell us a LOT more about where we are headed this season.

Flyer Gramps · #82 09-01-2012, 05:21 PM

This wasn't the best season to step up the schedule with ISU. Yes, they are bigger, just as fast & with a 4-year starting QB. We are an avg. PFL team playing valiant but just undermanned.

Matt Brown was 22/34 for 192 yds & 3-TD's
Will Bardo was 7/21 for 96 yds & 1-TD
The UD Top Offensive Performer on GameTracker was Gary Hunter with 2 carries for (-5) yds & 1 recption for 42 yds!!!

ISU broadcasters praised UD punt coverage team, then they blocked our next punt.

We are still not shutout since 1976, but this offense will test that record a few times. Duq. next week is no ISU so the passing & catching best improve or it will be longer season than expected. Harris has knee issue so probably will be playing carefully. not good for running game!

Surprised to see #41 freshman Ryan Schwenke playing most of 4th qtr at Flyer Back. They really needed some bodies on D late so he is not a red shirt. Any other frosh playing?
.

DetroitFlyer · #83 09-01-2012, 05:28 PM

In short, the offense was offensive. Agree with FG that previous Flyer teams might have won.

UD62 · #84 09-01-2012, 05:41 PM

Game was clearly a mismatch. Next week will be far more telling. Gut feeling is we are in for a long year, but could be wrong on that. One nice thing about the league getting an auto bid is that we can schedule games against teams like ISU and it will not hurt our post season chances one bit(except for possible injuries).

UDDoug · #85 09-01-2012, 05:54 PM

I don't think any Dayton Pioneer League team would win on the road against a legit top 20 FCS team without the FCS team playing horribly. The gap in size and depth is too much to overcome. The Pioneer just isn't in that class.
Posted via Mobile Device

UACFlyer · #86 09-01-2012, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by UDDoug

I don't think any Dayton Pioneer League team would win on the road against a legit top 20 FCS team without the FCS team playing horribly. The gap in size and depth is too much to overcome. The Pioneer just isn't in that class.
Posted via Mobile Device

Each step in college FB is pretty big. Sure, there are always surprises. But, generally when you step up and out of your class it's pretty apparent. I'd rather see UD step sideways rather than up...and never down.

I was at UMass' introduction to FBS football. They played UConn and lost 37-0....which could have been much worse. What is siginificant, I think, is that UMass has for a long time been one of the bettter FCS teams, while UConn is, at best, an average FBS team. About the same can be said for the Villanova-Temple match-up, i.e., good FCS vs ave-at-best FBS, a blow-out nonetheless.

UMass' total yards gained was 59...they never advanced the ball past their own 38 yard line. UMass will get there; but it will take quite a few years.....I'll be pulling for them. But the talent gap they have to erase is a large one. So is the gap between scholarship and non-scholarship FCS football.

The best of a lower step can compete and even beat the worst of the step above. But even the best of the lower step will rarely compete against an average team from the step above....just opinion.

And when you witness such match-ups there is a single word to best describe the difference at all all positions....speed.

chriscage · #87 09-01-2012, 08:38 PM

An all D-1 schedule is what many of us pleaded for.

Yeah, it hurts to suffer a convincing loss, but it's part of the painful process of building a stronger program.

Sure beats a loss to Urbana!

Flyer Gramps · #88 09-01-2012, 08:51 PM

Something may be happening right before our monitors. I do believe that 4 true freshman played in today's game!

Now, a whole slew of red-shirt freshman played on offense & defense. But rare that true freshmen play at UD. In fact in 2006, my first season following the Flyers, only Scott Horcher played & that was after a senior DB went down early in the season. Most never made the travel team.

Ryan Schwenke 1-solo tackle, [Solon, OH]
Robert Delaney 1-solo, [Chicago, IL]
Nate Sudnick 4- assists, [Chicago, IL]
Miles Ashelman 1-solo, 3-ast. [Toledo, OH]

Very interesting. All play defense. Two are from Chicago, IL.

Scout86 · #89 09-01-2012, 08:55 PM

We still have a quarterback problem, under thrown balls and weak passes. Defense has issues on the corners.....hopefully they make adjustments

proudpapa · #90 09-02-2012, 02:25 AM

I will steal an old post of mine. What did the opposing team do to establish their passing game. They took the snap and fired the ball outside at least 25 times. Easy to set the pass completion record with that type of play calling. IMHO we do not set our qb's up for success the way other teams do. Talked to several after the game and to a man they said they did not have the time to run their patterns. It didn't help that my boy dropped a bunch of balls either. #37 was what I thought he would be. We put some good licks on them but many times were looking for the big hit and didn't wrap up. They had a lot of yards after absorbing some big hits. We were just dominated by a more talented/deep team. Looks like we could be in for it next year too because YSU put it on Pitt.

I'm not ready to throw the towel in and either will our kids. They will play a better game at Duquesne. I don't think this team qb'ed by Hoying or Valentino would have been any closer than 21. They cannot play every position. Even the great ones need a little time to make plays.

Let's put one on the Dukes!
Posted via Mobile Device

Scout86 · #91 09-02-2012, 07:01 AM

Looks like drake had a major team violation of some sort.....I think around 22 players have been suspended for 2 games.

UD62 · #92 09-02-2012, 10:30 AM

We weren't the lone Rangers yesterday, J'ville lost 58-zip to Ga. southern and Robert Morris lost to the defending FCS champions ND State, 52-0. Duquesne got hammered by ODU 57-23. Next week will be far more telling about our Flyers.

San Diego Flyer · #93 09-02-2012, 11:23 AM

What goes around, comes around. FCS member Savannah State lost to
Oklahoma State 84-0. But they were only down 35-0 with 3 quarters to play!

DetroitFlyer · #94 09-02-2012, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by proudpapa

I will steal an old post of mine. What did the opposing team do to establish their passing game. They took the snap and fired the ball outside at least 25 times. Easy to set the pass completion record with that type of play calling. IMHO we do not set our qb's up for success the way other teams do. Talked to several after the game and to a man they said they did not have the time to run their patterns. It didn't help that my boy dropped a bunch of balls either. #37 was what I thought he would be. We put some good licks on them but many times were looking for the big hit and didn't wrap up. They had a lot of yards after absorbing some big hits. We were just dominated by a more talented/deep team. Looks like we could be in for it next year too because YSU put it on Pitt.

I'm not ready to throw the towel in and either will our kids. They will play a better game at Duquesne. I don't think this team qb'ed by Hoying or Valentino would have been any closer than 21. They cannot play every position. Even the great ones need a little time to make plays.

Let's put one on the Dukes!
Posted via Mobile Device

KH and SV could make time. Will does not seem to be able to throw on the run. With KH and SV, they could scramble and still make an accurate pass. Will seems to thow his to the turf. You cannot under estimate the value of a scrambling QB that can pass. It is just amazing what that can open up for an offense.

PittsburghFlyer · #95 09-02-2012, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by Flyer Gramps

Something may be happening right before our monitors. I do believe that 4 true freshman played in today's game!

Now, a whole slew of red-shirt freshman played on offense & defense. But rare that true freshmen play at UD. In fact in 2006, my first season following the Flyers, only Scott Horcher played & that was after a senior DB went down early in the season. Most never made the travel team.

Ryan Schwenke 1-solo tackle, [Solon, OH]
Robert Delaney 1-solo, [Chicago, IL]
Nate Sudnick 4- assists, [Chicago, IL]
Miles Ashelman 1-solo, 3-ast. [Toledo, OH]

Very interesting. All play defense. Two are from Chicago, IL.

Gramps, Just to clarify, Delaney is our long snapper. He did a heckuva job by the way. Good snaps and hustled under coverage. Schwenke did play in the 4th Quarter of the game at the flyer position. The two other young men you mentioned did not travel. The two other freshmen that did travel did not play. All the participation information is on our football website.

Flyer Gramps · #96 09-02-2012, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by PittsburghFlyer

Gramps, Just to clarify, Delaney is our long snapper. He did a heckuva job by the way. Good snaps and hustled under coverage. Schwenke did play in the 4th Quarter of the game at the flyer position. The two other young men you mentioned did not travel. The two other freshmen that did travel did not play. All the participation information is on our football website.

Thanks Steeler. Here's the ISU website stats I used before the UD bus got home:

Illinois State (Sep 01, 2012 at Normal, Ill.)
## Dayton Solo Ast Total Sacks-Yds TFL-Yds FF FR-Yds Int-Yds BrUp Blks QBH
42 MONNIER, Colin 5 7 12 - 2.0-6 - - - - - -
24 SEBETIC, Kyle 7 3 10 - - - - - 2 - -
15 SAVAGE, Howard 6 4 10 - - - - - 1 - -
20 JANASEK, Joe 1 8 9 - - - - - - - 1
19 SWARD, Sean 4 3 7 - 1.0-2 1 - - - - -
38 KRAFFT, Clay 3 2 5 - - - - - - - -
22 WESTON, Nick 3 2 5 - - - - - - - -
26 WELSH, Ben 2 3 5 - - - - - - - -
97 ASHELMAN, Miles 1 3 4 - - - - - - - -
95 SUDNICK, Nate 0 4 4 - - - - - - - -
16 BIANCO, Matt 2 1 3 - - - 1-0 - - - -
66 DeBOER, Phil 2 1 3 - - - - - - - 1
90 MORN, Dave 1 2 3 - - - - - - - 1
34 ALBER, Austen 2 0 2 - - - - - - - 1
58 KACZKOWSKI, Vic 1 1 2 - - - - - - - -
47 DOWD, Pat 1 1 2 - - - - - - - -
23 KACSOR, Connor 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
27 ELIAS, Zach 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
51 DELANEY, Robert 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
41 SCHWENKE, Ryan 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
25 YINGER, Mitch 1 0 1 - - - - - 1 - -
57 DUNN, Brannon 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
21 PFLEGER, Matt 1 0 1 - - - - - - - -
9 VOIGT, Jake 0 1 1 - - - - - - - -

Totals 48 46 94 0.0-0 3.0-8 1 1-

The UD stats show that #94 Weber had 4-assists & #96 Sadler had 1-solo & 3-assists. They do not show #97 Ashelman or #95 Sudnick as playing. Amazing. Do we have a 'lockout" of stat-men & these are volunteers at work or what? I suppose blame a computer?

Glad to hear that the Flyer Defender is being used. Seems that it was not popular defense last year.

Nice job Delaney - long snapper! I just told my barber on Thursday to work with his 10-year old son who wants to play center to work on long snapping because it sure is a way for some to have a position on teams, even pros!

Don't know what I'll do in future about these stats. Darn frustrating! Darn I'm angry!

DetroitFlyer · #97 09-03-2012, 10:22 AM

From my point of view, we were not mis-matched; we just did not play well. The offense was very poor. Trying to run east/west against a fast, swarming and athletic defense was a complete mystery to me. We seemed to lose yards every time. North/south usually yielded positive yards. A third and 6 is much better than a third and sixteen…. The defense was on the field the entire game. There were actually a number of great defensive plays, but when you give a good team opportunity after opportunity, eventually you are going to make a mistake(s). One huge mistake was not trusting in our CB’s to have the speed to keep up with their receivers. I think the ISU QB may have thrown for 200 yards without ever throwing over the line of scrimmage. He just threw to the wide receivers behind the line and let them rumble for 8, 10 or more yards. We were playing 10 yards off of them, which made it look silly easy for them. I could have accepted maybe one series like that, but there were several before we woke up. I did not see a single play when they tried to go deep where they beat us badly; the coverage was actually pretty good. The two interference calls looked like complete homerism to me…. We got hammered in this game for all the same reasons that we got hammered at USD in 2006. If your offense can do nothing and your defense is not absolutely fantastic, you are going to get hammered. I had the exact same feeling watching both games. It is not that we were mis-matched, it is not that they were bigger, stronger, faster; it is that we played poorly. I am so disappointed in the offense. I was hoping for a massive improvement from last season, and frankly it looked the same. Poor passing accuracy, dropped passes, and for this game, no running. I do not have an answer going forward. Without HIGH level QB play, we are going to struggle to get to .500 again. I did not see that from the #1 and #2 guys Saturday. Maybe it is time to give #17 a chance. We need playmakers on offense and we did not have any on Saturday. It is not going to get much easier against Duquesne, Robert Morris, San Diego, Drake, Jacksonville, etc. Did you notice that Butler almost took down Western Illinois and Marist destroyed Bryant? If we do not figure out how to get back to a Tino / Hoyng level at QB, it is going to be a long season.

UACFlyer · #98 09-03-2012, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitFlyer

From my point of view, we were not mis-matched; we just did not play well. The offense was very poor. Trying to run east/west against a fast, swarming and athletic defense was a complete mystery to me. We seemed to lose yards every time. North/south usually yielded positive yards. A third and 6 is much better than a third and sixteen…. The defense was on the field the entire game. There were actually a number of great defensive plays, but when you give a good team opportunity after opportunity, eventually you are going to make a mistake(s). One huge mistake was not trusting in our CB’s to have the speed to keep up with their receivers. I think the ISU QB may have thrown for 200 yards without ever throwing over the line of scrimmage. He just threw to the wide receivers behind the line and let them rumble for 8, 10 or more yards. We were playing 10 yards off of them, which made it look silly easy for them. I could have accepted maybe one series like that, but there were several before we woke up. I did not see a single play when they tried to go deep where they beat us badly; the coverage was actually pretty good. The two interference calls looked like complete homerism to me…. We got hammered in this game for all the same reasons that we got hammered at USD in 2006. If your offense can do nothing and your defense is not absolutely fantastic, you are going to get hammered. I had the exact same feeling watching both games. It is not that we were mis-matched, it is not that they were bigger, stronger, faster; it is that we played poorly. I am so disappointed in the offense. I was hoping for a massive improvement from last season, and frankly it looked the same. Poor passing accuracy, dropped passes, and for this game, no running. I do not have an answer going forward. Without HIGH level QB play, we are going to struggle to get to .500 again. I did not see that from the #1 and #2 guys Saturday. Maybe it is time to give #17 a chance. We need playmakers on offense and we did not have any on Saturday. It is not going to get much easier against Duquesne, Robert Morris, San Diego, Drake, Jacksonville, etc. Did you notice that Butler almost took down Western Illinois and Marist destroyed Bryant? If we do not figure out how to get back to a Tino / Hoyng level at QB, it is going to be a long season.

DF, often the reason why a team plays poorly is because the opponent is "bigger", "stronger", "faster" and has depth.

UDBrian · #99 09-03-2012, 10:48 AM

Larry H and Coach Kelly made no bones about the fact that they were bigger, stronger, faster. They said that UD players were often in the right place but just couldn't make the play

UD62 · #**100** 09-03-2012, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by UACFlyer

DF, often the reason why a team plays poorly is because the opponent is "bigger", "stronger", "faster" and has depth.

Agree, Df is fixated on the premiss that we can and should be able to compete at the upper level of the FCS. In my view we will get hammered almost all the time playing against teams like ISU. saying we didn't play well is slap at the players that were out there getting their butts kicked by, as you say, a bigger, stronger and faster team. As was stated by the announcers, we were often in position but simply couldn't make the play. For a guy who assured us that we would win, it sounds like excuses to support his assumptions.