Questions answered in the Arkansas game

[johnnylightnin]

In my mind, this season hinged upon our ability to be proficient at QB, DL, and DB. I felt decent about everything else...LB being a bigger question than OL, WR, or RB in my mind.

QB
After this, I'm done with the QB discussion until Saturday. My opinion has been made clear. I trust skip will put the best guy in...I just happen to think we already know who that is. That said, if we can improve upon what we saw Saturday (either through a Freshman gaining experience or a Senior stepping his game up), we should be fine there. We don't have a Driskell, but I've endured seasons of quarterbacks that were far worse than what we saw against the best defense we'll face all year.

DL
This was the most pleasant surprise from Saturday for me. Arkansas had a lauded OL and our defensive front gave them fits. We showed scheme creativity and discipline. I was very impressed. JF is clearly the star of the position, but the pieces that Skip and crew have put around him have us well positioned to compete for a conference title. We're gonna be fine on the DL.

DB
I don't know how, but I had forgotten how good Xavier Woods is. He's an NFL caliber safety and he showed it last night. Sneed and Grogan (I guess he's more of a linebacker) showed out as well. We need to be better tackling, but we were always in position...which has not always been the case under Skip. Coach Baker seems to be really owning his system and putting his guys in a position to be successful.

Are we where we need to be? Not yet. That said, we went toe to toe with the most talented team (on paper) that we'll play this year. That means there are no sure losses on the schedule...feels good to say that. My record prediction is trending up. MTSU, WKU, and USM are on notice.

How Bout Them Dawgs!

[HogDawg]

One thing that surprised me yesterday: We're big, physically. Very big. We were just as big as Arkansas, who had the biggest team in college football last season. I can't imagine anybody in CUSA that's going to push us around.

[talonofdeath]

MTSU, WKU, and USM are on notice.

How Bout Them Dawgs!

I'll alert the Hattiesburg Mafia ....

[PawDawg]

I'll alert the Hattiesburg Mafia ....

Heck of a comeback by y'all. I had certainly written it off as a loss.

[johnnylightnin]

I'll alert the Hattiesburg Mafia ....

I can't wait for that game. We owe y'all one for the pantsing you delivered last year!

[talonofdeath]

I can't wait for that game. We owe y'all one for the pantsing you delivered last year!

We could lose out the rest of the season....who really knows, BUT the only sure loss I see between now and the LaTech meeting is LSU, and stranger things have happened. SHOULD be alot riding in the LaTech-USM game again this year.

[johnnylightnin]

We could lose out the rest of the season....who really knows, BUT the only sure loss I see between now and the LaTech meeting is LSU, and stranger things have happened. SHOULD be alot riding in the LaTech-USM game again this year.

Teams with no O aren't sure losses for anybody! Go get Leslie retired!

[talonofdeath]

Heck of a comeback by y'all. I had certainly written it off as a loss.

So had everybody else, except the ones who mattered.

[DJDAWG]

So had everybody else, except the ones who mattered.

Not me. I could see, even at halftime, that USM had the better team. Then, your coach used halftime to show he is the real deal.

[boxerdog]

I didn't notice Sneed but I thought Cooper played well (and I didn't expect that). I thought our qb looked better than their's. In fact, I think our qb looked like he could be better than Driskel.

[DJDAWG]

Our kickoff teams looked much improved.

[SicemDawgz]

My biggest question was QB. If J was the second best on the team, we're in excellent shape. My second question was DL. They aren't just some big fat boys that's can take up space, we've got some Bulls

[OLDBLUE]

One thing that surprised me yesterday: We're big, physically. Very big. We were just as big as Arkansas, who had the biggest team in college football last season. I can't imagine anybody in CUSA that's going to push us around.

Do we have enough "quickness" in that beef to contend with TTech? That looks like it will be a big test for our defense. Over-all, things look good, but I have this nervous feeling about facing a team with good speed.

[HogDawg]

Do we have enough "quickness" in that beef to contend with TTech? That looks like it will be a big test for our defense. Over-all, things look good, but I have this nervous feeling about facing a team with good speed.

I expect us to force a lot of QB sacks at TX Tech.