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Griz vs Idaho State game day

You can be happy about the win and also concerned that we played poorly on Defense and our O-Line run blocking was non existent this game. They're not mutually exclusive and it just shows fans care and want to improve so we can keep winning moving forward.
If us "armchair quarterbacks" notice what needs to be improved, don't you think the players and coaches know as well? What good does it do to worry about something that you have no control over?
 
I'm sure everyone wishes the defense would have played better earlier in the game but don't discount the lessons this team learned last night about resiliency and perseverance. The fact that they were tested under fire and didn't panic, or fold will pay huge dividends through the season and the playoffs.
The coaches just can't create an environment or challenge like that on the practice field.
 
Being a numbers guy, I spent a bit of time looking over the box score, etc. for the game. Several things stood out.

First, the Griz got 132 yards rushing, although you wouldn’t know it from all the bitching about the O-Line. Admittedly, that’s not a lot, but that – according to post-game remarks from their end – the Bengals “stacked the box” because they were afraid Gillman would run all over them. That did work, holding him well under his average yards per game … but he still scored one TD.

Did anyone notice that the Griz, in turn, totally shut down their running game? Just 76 yards in 23 attempts. That tells me the Griz also set out to stop the run. That almost always puts the DBs on an island … and, as we saw, they were barely up to the task. But what could you expect? Cooke is a pretty good passer, and he put the ball in the air 54 times. Think about that: 54 passes attempts vs 23 rushes. (Cooke and Ah Yat had very similar completion percentages BTW.)

Also, for all the bitching about the Griz defense (not unjustified, of course), they held the Bengals scoreless in the 4th quarter, when it really mattered.

Then we have the most important numbers: Griz 42 points, Bengals 38.
 
I love the GRIZ announcers. Much better than previous years under you know who. Fair to a great ISU effort but still Griz people.
 
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