Okay, so I have started my prognostication woes a lot earlier in the season this year. I thought we were going to see an offense come out onto the field, grab the early momentum and hold their high-powered offense down to well below their lofty output from last year. I was not entirely wrong, but I sure as heck wasn't very close, either.
As I watched our offense meticulously dismantle the Big 12 defense on that first drive, my heart swelled with pride as our SEC Dawgs showed those Cowboys how "we" do things down south. That drive could not have been much more impressive. A skillful mix of run and pass, Joe Cox commanded the offense with ease and Richard Samuel began to show us all what the "hub-bub" was about. Our line was dominant and we seemed to impose our will on the smaller defensive front for Oklahoma State. Before you knew it, we were up 7-0. Boy, was I feeling good about the rest of the game.
We all nervously watched the kickoff as it sailed to a corner of the field, but was closer to the 5 than the 35 of last season. Whew! Everything is looking good. Our defense comes out and pretty much shuts them down. I even told the guy sitting next to me at Sammy's Tavern, here in Raleigh, "They don't play defenses this fast in the Big 12", as I chuckled. True enough, this day it would not be the defense that would let us down, it would be the man up in the coaches box who would prove to be our ultimate failure, Coach Mike Bobo.
The next couple of series' saw the wheels come off of our offense. We, for some reason forgot how to call a running play, forgot how to catch and forgot how to hold onto the ball. After that first drive, we forgot how to play offense. We continuously put our defense into bad situations and simply expected them to bail us out. Coach Martinez' group was ready to play and did all that they could (save for 2 blown coverages) to help win the game. The defense played well enough to win, but their counterparts did not. Good teams follow up a first drive and defensive stop like we had by driving down the field again and letting the "other guys" know that we fully intended to win this game, and that this game will be played according to our wishes.
After all the off-season talk about how close this team was, and how we would play more like a cohesive unit, the defense far out shined the offense on this day. Even though we could not generate a pass rush to speak of, our defense held the Cowboys well below their average from last year. Of course, their defense held us, along with a little help from our poor play and play calling, well below our average from last year, as well. Their defensive coordinator deserves some credit for the adjustments he made as they took the game back from us.
Up next, South Carolina in what could be a very ugly, defensive struggle. Neither offense should scare anyone else on our schedules and it may come down to turnovers and who is able to take some advantage of them.
Until next week...
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