This win was so big for this team, for so many reasons. It wasn't big because Texas Tech is a great team (they'll go 7-5 at least), but it was big for many, many reasons:
1) This team absorbed Tech's best shot, and just kept punching back. Did any of the rest of you guys "know" that we were going to blow the game when Tech mounted their comeback? I sure did. A McCarney or Chizik team would have NEVER recovered from that rally. I think the entire stadium got that "here we go again" feeling in the pit of their stomach when that punt snap went wild, and then when Tech quickly got the game knotted up. This team, and maybe more importantly, this fanbase learned something tonight: a Paul Rhoads team is going to fight, and they aren't going to just unravel after a few good quarters. Unless they're playing Iowa.
2) Austen Arnaud. This guy has been absolutely crucified by our fan base, and went out there with a sore shoulder and played a near perfect game. Great touch on his deep balls, and made some clutch throws (TD to Franklin comes to mind). He played up to his ability, and it really energized our entire offense. This guy is our ******* quarterback. He threw more TDs in the first half than Tiller has in his career, which includes 3 starts. Can we please quit acting like there's a QB controversy?
3) Penalties. They were still really bad in the first half, but in the 2nd half, when we needed to move the ball, our guys played more disciplined ball then we've seen all year in this regard. The only one I can remember was on the drive that lead to Hammerschmidt's TD, where Alvarez got a false start taking us from 1st and goal on the 5 to 1st and goal on the 10. This still needs to be addressed, but appeared to be getting a little better, at least from a timeliness aspect.
4) Collin Franklin and Darius Reynolds. These guys are play makers, and we need to be getting the ball in their hands more often, plain and simple. Arnaud has some chemistry with both of them, and we need to play into that.
5) Offensive line. FINALLY some run blocking. That's what we were looking for. KO played a lot better, it seemed, and quit down on his penalties, as well as moving men like an animal. We weren't consistent enough (that 3rd and short where Woody got blown up was baaaaad), but some serious improvement.
6) Shontrelle Johnson. FINALLY, a highly touted player that lives up to the expectations. Let's just hope he doesn't get Mike Wagner syndrome.
7) Jeff Woody. He's more effective out of the Pistol, than the standard shotgun, but again, great change of pace. With him and SJ, we have a great 1-2 punch for a long time.
8) A-Rob. Missed ya buddy! Glad to see this man back with a vengeance!
9) Bend-but-don't-break broke a little too much last night. Our pressure on the QB was a lot better, but there were some terrible errors by our D-backs. LJ got freaking abused on that final TD by Tech. Just burned. That said, 3rd straight game with an INT for AJ Klein (wished he'd have kept going to keep that pick 6 streak alive though), and our defense nutted up and got some really, really important stops in the 2nd half, after taking a haymaker from the TTU offense. The stop that allowed us to go up by 14 again was one of the most important plays of the game.
10) Jeremy ******* Reeves. This kid is all heart, and a lot of ability. Looking forward to the rest of his Cyclone career. Players make plays, and this guy is no exception.
We stood toe to toe with a solid South opponent, scored a butt ton of points, and took an absolute haymaker from them. We held on to win the game, and I think it gave our team a ton of confidence. There was nothing at all flukish about this game. We straight up were the better team.
Onward and upward, Clone fans.
1) This team absorbed Tech's best shot, and just kept punching back. Did any of the rest of you guys "know" that we were going to blow the game when Tech mounted their comeback? I sure did. A McCarney or Chizik team would have NEVER recovered from that rally. I think the entire stadium got that "here we go again" feeling in the pit of their stomach when that punt snap went wild, and then when Tech quickly got the game knotted up. This team, and maybe more importantly, this fanbase learned something tonight: a Paul Rhoads team is going to fight, and they aren't going to just unravel after a few good quarters. Unless they're playing Iowa.
2) Austen Arnaud. This guy has been absolutely crucified by our fan base, and went out there with a sore shoulder and played a near perfect game. Great touch on his deep balls, and made some clutch throws (TD to Franklin comes to mind). He played up to his ability, and it really energized our entire offense. This guy is our ******* quarterback. He threw more TDs in the first half than Tiller has in his career, which includes 3 starts. Can we please quit acting like there's a QB controversy?
3) Penalties. They were still really bad in the first half, but in the 2nd half, when we needed to move the ball, our guys played more disciplined ball then we've seen all year in this regard. The only one I can remember was on the drive that lead to Hammerschmidt's TD, where Alvarez got a false start taking us from 1st and goal on the 5 to 1st and goal on the 10. This still needs to be addressed, but appeared to be getting a little better, at least from a timeliness aspect.
4) Collin Franklin and Darius Reynolds. These guys are play makers, and we need to be getting the ball in their hands more often, plain and simple. Arnaud has some chemistry with both of them, and we need to play into that.
5) Offensive line. FINALLY some run blocking. That's what we were looking for. KO played a lot better, it seemed, and quit down on his penalties, as well as moving men like an animal. We weren't consistent enough (that 3rd and short where Woody got blown up was baaaaad), but some serious improvement.
6) Shontrelle Johnson. FINALLY, a highly touted player that lives up to the expectations. Let's just hope he doesn't get Mike Wagner syndrome.
7) Jeff Woody. He's more effective out of the Pistol, than the standard shotgun, but again, great change of pace. With him and SJ, we have a great 1-2 punch for a long time.
8) A-Rob. Missed ya buddy! Glad to see this man back with a vengeance!
9) Bend-but-don't-break broke a little too much last night. Our pressure on the QB was a lot better, but there were some terrible errors by our D-backs. LJ got freaking abused on that final TD by Tech. Just burned. That said, 3rd straight game with an INT for AJ Klein (wished he'd have kept going to keep that pick 6 streak alive though), and our defense nutted up and got some really, really important stops in the 2nd half, after taking a haymaker from the TTU offense. The stop that allowed us to go up by 14 again was one of the most important plays of the game.
10) Jeremy ******* Reeves. This kid is all heart, and a lot of ability. Looking forward to the rest of his Cyclone career. Players make plays, and this guy is no exception.
We stood toe to toe with a solid South opponent, scored a butt ton of points, and took an absolute haymaker from them. We held on to win the game, and I think it gave our team a ton of confidence. There was nothing at all flukish about this game. We straight up were the better team.
Onward and upward, Clone fans.
