Interesting Harbaugh factoid

For all the areas of concern it is fair to have about this team, we were still just some good QB play away from a road win over what is potentially a top 25 team (I'm sure they will be ranked at least part of this season, possibly by Tuesday.)

The only thing I found a little surprising in the negative sense outside of Rudock's poor play was the repeated running into stacked fronts, particularly in second and long situations.  I had my fill of that from DeBord before Hoke/Borges got me even more disgusted about it... I know Harbaugh likes some physicality and is trying to establish something, but we were still calling those plays into the 4th Q last night and I think at some point you have to break the game plan a little bit based on what the opposing defense is or isn't giving you.  They were selling out to stop the run most of the night, we didn't have any back that seemed capable of finding the holes when they were there (and they were some of the time, believe it or not,) and they struggled to cover our receivers -- It was just hard to tell since Rudock so often threw to the wrong guy or sailed the ball over the right one.

But I'm not surprised by the backs... they were what I expected them to be.  Ditto for the LB coverage/angle lapses... we're going to be limited at LB until we can recruit some athleticism into that position.

Positive surprises came from the receivers:  Butt was awesome, Darboh performed very well, Perry looks great for a true freshman.  I thought the OL did well in pass protection against a very good pass rushing team, and were better than you might think at run blocking when you consider how much Utah sold out to stop the run.  We lost the numbers game more often than we just didn't block well.  The DL could still use more pass rush, but was as good as could be asked for against the Utah running game.  That was a veteran OL with one of the best backs in the nation, and we had them shut down for most of the game.  Also, special teams didn't cost us in this game, against one of the best special teams in the country.  Baby steps.

 

I had us 9-3 to start the season, and I'm having trouble seeing that now.  That said, I also thought Utah would be our third toughest game on the schedule after OSU and MSU, so maybe we're right on track.  I still think we're just one good QB away from being a very good team.  If Harbaugh and Fisch can work some magic there and this offense can start to gel, I think we still win our share.  Last night stunk, but what if it's our only loss going into the MSU game?  I don't think it'll be easy, but I think it's possible.  Either way, Harbaugh will need some time.  One thing I can guarantee is that Hoke wouldn't have won last night either, and it probably would have been a lot uglier than it was.

This team is going to battle for a win next week, get a momentum game in week three and then gel to take care of a good BYU squad. This will be a good year, I feel it.

This game didn't feel like a "Hoke" game so I'm optimistic.  Actually, it kind of felt like one of those ND or PAC road games from the early/mid 2000s where we simply turned the ball over too much.  Anyone else get that vibe?

Bad news - the brahs at 11W have already written off the Harbaugh era as a complete failure. After one game.  

Listen to Harbaugh's presser, it'll make you feel a lot better.  #1 it's Jim Harbaugh, speaking intelligently about the game, answering specific questions like a serious man who knew exactly what was going on.  Wonderful change from Hoke. 

But #2 he had a really good take on the game.  Lots of fixable issues.  He liked how the team stuck together and kept fighting, liked how Rudock recovered from the pick 6 to lead a TD drive, liked how a lot of the guys played including the OL in the second half.  Talked about a lot of "run-throughs", which I think are pulling OL running by a defender instead of blocking him.   Admitted the RB's missed some holes, but liked how Smith ran tough.  

I agree with him, I think there's a lot to work with.  8-4 / 9-3 is still out there, with the potential to take down one of the rivals at home. 

It just straight up felt different. In a good way. I don't know if those are my harbaugh colored glasses or what but it felt better.

Hey, Hoke would have lost by 40, we would've thrown 4 picks, and we wouldn't have scored an offensive touchdown. The 7 points wouldve been off a fg and two safeties.

Did Harris ever get in the game?  After all the enthusiasm in the weeks leading up to the game about how we would see him and he would contribute, but I never saw him on even a single play, and the stat sheet certainly shows that he did not catch a pass.  Does anyone know if he is okay?

but we all know if Hoke was still at the helm, we would have gotten beat by at least 14.  Let Jim work his magic

Drake Harris was at least in at the beginning of the game and near the end but I didn't notice him in other than that. The camera work was terrible, they never announced a lineup and ran down who position groups were during the game, rarely had replays. So who knows how many plays he was in on but they sure didn't throw to him for some reason. I thought he would be a game changing weapon :(