No matter how good your opponent is you have to snuff out their momentum. It is always the slightest of things that can change a game and if you let your opponents momentum cause you to play in the least bit safe, you are inviting trouble. Three things happened in the second half that allowed them to have new life and gain momentum and all of them could have easily been snuffed out.
1. The 44 yard completion on 3rd and long from their 3 or so yardline. We should have brought the house on that play and Edmonson made a horrible non play. He never turned to the ball and had no idea where it was. Turn your head and it's a simple pass break up and a punt from the back of the end zone. By the way that was right after Arnett's beautiful TD to make it 34-10. We had mo, Edomonson's whiff gave it to them.
2. The next series we go the length of the field with Scott running it down their throat. We then sputter inside the 5 yard line and we need to kick a field goal. Again converting our momentum to their momentum. Score a TD there and you start snuffing out their energy.
3. Nicholson's penalty out of bounds. Instead of getting the ball back on a punt they get another 15 tacked on and keep the drive going. Again, a shifting of momentum.
These are all things that if they went the other way, and easily could have you are looking at much less offensive output and passing by them and probably a 41 or 48-10 score. We would have been talking about a dominating defensive performance. Like Dantonio likes to say, it's a game of inches.
1. The 44 yard completion on 3rd and long from their 3 or so yardline. We should have brought the house on that play and Edmonson made a horrible non play. He never turned to the ball and had no idea where it was. Turn your head and it's a simple pass break up and a punt from the back of the end zone. By the way that was right after Arnett's beautiful TD to make it 34-10. We had mo, Edomonson's whiff gave it to them.
2. The next series we go the length of the field with Scott running it down their throat. We then sputter inside the 5 yard line and we need to kick a field goal. Again converting our momentum to their momentum. Score a TD there and you start snuffing out their energy.
3. Nicholson's penalty out of bounds. Instead of getting the ball back on a punt they get another 15 tacked on and keep the drive going. Again, a shifting of momentum.
These are all things that if they went the other way, and easily could have you are looking at much less offensive output and passing by them and probably a 41 or 48-10 score. We would have been talking about a dominating defensive performance. Like Dantonio likes to say, it's a game of inches.
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