First half was low scoring. Did AF defense tire out in the 3rd and are we really a bad 6 pt first half team?
What was going on with the O in the 3rd?
Why not much in the 4th?

Are we good or bad, expectations going forward.

Watch the second half. It was much better: the score and box score tell the tale.

TinFoilHatPreacherBear said:

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First half was low scoring. Did AF defense tire out in the 3rd and are we really a bad 6 pt first half team?
What was going on with the O in the 3rd?
Why not much in the 4th?

Are we good or bad, expectations going forward.

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In the first half, any time we had anything good going, it was either a penalty or a fumble. We honestly would've won by a bigger margin if we could've just held on to the football.

Defense again looked stout. Once we started protecting the ball, we looked like how we're supposed to on offense in the 2nd half and it was a fun game. The gauntlet and blaster machines will be mucho busy this upcoming practice week.

• Baylor, again, came out and played only 1 half of football
• Baylor still lacks coached fundamentals
• Because their opponent was a rebuilding Air Force program, game was close at the half
• Sawyer Robertson should be the starting QB going forward
• Bears get the W, as they should have

You're so clueless.

Defense played well the 1st half but had some issues getting AF off the field. AF had a couple long clock eating drives but BU only gave them 3 points so bend don't break i guess. The entire 1st half took only 1 hour real time to play. If BU would've converted on their drives (instead of laying the ball on the turf) the halftime score would've been about 23-3. BU got it going 2nd half and dominated on both sides of the ball. BU went deep into the depth chart in the 4th qtr just running out the clock. What ended 31-3 could've been 48-3 if the fumbles didn't happen.

MrGolfguy said:

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You're so clueless.

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Yes, that's why I asked the questions.

And thank you for the latter summary. Sounds like we may be turning a corner for the better based on everyone's thoughts above as well.

Clueless was directed at Zach troll

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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MrGolfguy said:

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Clueless was directed at Zach troll

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Yes, Zach thinks a fumble is caused by coaching.

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It is, dummy.

A lack of following the Five Pressure Points of carrying a football caused each fumble. And almost a 4th. It's fundamental type stuff.....and IS a coaching thing.

Thank you for caring enough to comment.

First half tried to lose.
Second half tried to win and did by a lot.

I think the defense played well but keep perspective.

AF has zero passing threat. They ran left or right or up the middle for first down after first down and we couldn't stop them until they had a penalty or some other mistake in the first half. Second half they seemed to tire or we just cleaned things up. Defense played well against bad Utah QB2 (not too good against Rising) and Tarleton St. I'm cautiously optimistic but Colorado will tell us if they are good or not.

Offense looked light years better with Robertson. Line gave him some time. Without fumbles and an untimely bizarre illegal man downfield on a receiver we are up at least 13-3 or more at half. Robertson passes had zip and accuracy. Best QB play I've see since pre-concussion Charlie Brewer. We are a different team when our offense has a throwing attack to be feared. We haven't had that in a long time. Too early to say if Robertson can sustain this effort but there is good reason to have hope if Aranda is smart enough to keep Robertson as QB1.

Special teams were solid too.

TinFoilHatPreacherBear said:

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First half was low scoring. Did AF defense tire out in the 3rd and are we really a bad 6 pt first half team?
What was going on with the O in the 3rd?
Why not much in the 4th?

Are we good or bad, expectations going forward.

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We definitely tend to come out slow.

I just don't think we're as good right now as the majority of the remainder of our competition.

And given our schedule this year, I would still place us in that 4 to 5 win expectation.

What's so daunting about this schedule? Toughest remaining game is @ ISU. Not exactly murders row. No idea how good BU is but there's plenty of chances to stack some wins through conference play

We've played poorly in the first half of every game so far, both offensively and defensively. We've play much strongeer in the second half of each game. Not sure why this happens, but need to get it figured out and play better early.

IowaBear said:

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What's so daunting about this schedule? Toughest remaining game is @ ISU. Not exactly murders row. No idea how good BU is but there's plenty of chances to stack some wins through conference play

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100 percent. We may play a bad game or two the rest of the way and get blown out, but I don't see a single team on our schedule we should expect to get blown out by.

And if we can fix our slow start issue (an issue that's plagued us for years now, mind you) and take care of business the next two weeks, we can start building some real momentum (something we haven't done since 2021).

I'll remain cautiously optimistic until this team gives me a reason not to be. But when we've played well this year (and it's happened for stretches in all three games), we've looked like a solid middle-of-the-pack Big 12 football team.

dstaylor57 said:

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We've played poorly in the first half of every game so far, both offensively and defensively. We've play much strongeer in the second half of each game. Not sure why this happens, but need to get it figured out and play better early.

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Against Tarleton we were up 21-0 less than 12 minutes into the game and led 28-0 at halftime. I don't think it's fair to say we played poorly in the first half of that one.

I'd definitely agree on the other two, though.

1st Half:

Defense: Played soundly. Clearly, the strategy was that it would be hard for AF to string together enough first downs to score if they are only running the ball. So LB's played a little off the line to make them earn the yards. The strategy worked in that AF WASN'T able to string together enough first downs, even when we fumbled (which was every other possession). There were some bad missed tackles as well that led to big yardage.

Offense: Leaving out the turnovers, the O played pretty well. Good push off the line and nothing fancy on offense. But, as mentioned, the turnovers were disastrous. Just horrible. And even though we had 3 ACTUAL turnovers, we also turned the ball over on downs when we went for it on 4th an inches and failed. So, really like 4 turnovers in the 1st half.

2nd Half:

Defense: Stout. Really stout. AF did not move the ball well at all, except for one reverse. The missed tackles were definitely cleaned up. The linebackers moved up into the gaps, and AF couldn't do anything. Good pressure with 3 or 4 rushing linemen.

Offense: Once the fumbles were cleaned up, the ball moved well. Sawyer clearly became more comfortable in the pocket, and did a great job of stretching plays and turning them into nice gains. I still want to pinch Trigg's nose since he still carried the ball wildly after the catch.


Starting QB: I think Sawyer has earned it, but I have to admit that Finn probably would have torched these guys with his feet. There were a lot of running lanes. But from a passing perspective, it isn't really a close contest.

You're probably right with Finn having a big game using his running abilities. But I think this team is built in reverse. They need to pass to open up the run game. When our passing game got humming Saturday it opened up big running lanes.
Probably gonna have to be more pass oriented early in games to loosen defenses and than pound the rock.

boykin_spaniel said:

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3 promising first half drives ended in fumbles. Once that was cleaned up we finished drives in the second half. Sawyer should start moving forward, he looked confident and in control. Defense played well. If we can clean up turnovers and penalties no reason we shouldn't win next two games and gain a little momentum. 7-8 wins is achievable

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What's the chance he doesn't start next game?

Good summaries here.

I'll add this: we now have an RB who looks much more like a feature back. Our offense isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but if Robertson can be steady and Washington can stay healthy, we could do enough to win games as long as our defense continues to play well.

IowaBear said:

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What's so daunting about this schedule? Toughest remaining game is @ ISU. Not exactly murders row. No idea how good BU is but there's plenty of chances to stack some wins through conference play

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We are talking Baylor's schedule or the Cowboys.....

IowaBear said:

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You're probably right with Finn having a big game using his running abilities. But I think this team is built in reverse. They need to pass to open up the run game. When our passing game got humming Saturday it opened up big running lanes.
Probably gonna have to be more pass oriented early in games to loosen defenses and than pound the rock.

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Two things opened up the run game IMO. Sawyer's passing efficiency and Washington's emergence at RB.

Sawyer forced the Air Force defense to loosen up, and Washington is just so much better than every other back on our roster.

If I were listing the players we can least afford to lose to injury the rest of the way if we hope to have a successful season, Washington would be pretty high on that list. Jackie Marshall would be No. 1, but Washington would definitely be top five. Being the only dynamic back we have, Washington completely transforms our run game.

Robert Wilson said:

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Good summaries here.

I'll add this: we now have an RB who looks much more like a feature back. Our offense isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but if Robertson can be steady and Washington can stay healthy, we could do enough to win games as long as our defense continues to play well.

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I think we now have four legitimate weapons at the skill positions and a quarterback capable of unlocking them. Washington, Hawkins, Trigg and Cameron are threats defenses have to account for.

And if Monaray can ever get out of his funk, he can be one too. And even Ketron can be a good 1-on-1 deep shot guy down the sidelines, though he's inconsistent in that role.

Watching Sawyer operate the offense, I'm more encouraged by the offense than I've been in two years. There are real weapons there. You just have to get them the ball in positions to succeed, and Finn wasn't able to do that at all against Utah.

bear2be2 said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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Good summaries here.

I'll add this: we now have an RB who looks much more like a feature back. Our offense isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but if Robertson can be steady and Washington can stay healthy, we could do enough to win games as long as our defense continues to play well.

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I think we now have four legitimate weapons at the skill positions and a quarterback capable of unlocking them. Washington, Hawkins, Trigg and Cameron are threats defenses have to account for.

And if Monaray can ever get out of us his funk, he can be one too. And even Ketron can be a good 1-on-1 deep shot guy down the sidelines, though he's inconsistent in that role.

Watching Sawyer operate the offense, I'm more encouraged by the offense than I've been in two years. There are real weapons there. You just have to get them the ball in positions to succeed, and Finn wasn't able to do that at all against Utah.

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Agree with all that. I still think our OL is below average for the B12, but it's improved and may continue to improve. I also think Monaray may be more dangerous as just an occasional weapon used creatively. If our offense can be just okay, we should win some games if the D continues to play well and create opportunities.

Stay healthy, keep growing through the season, who knows...

Robert Wilson said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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Good summaries here.

I'll add this: we now have an RB who looks much more like a feature back. Our offense isn't going to knock anyone's socks off, but if Robertson can be steady and Washington can stay healthy, we could do enough to win games as long as our defense continues to play well.

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I think we now have four legitimate weapons at the skill positions and a quarterback capable of unlocking them. Washington, Hawkins, Trigg and Cameron are threats defenses have to account for.

And if Monaray can ever get out of us his funk, he can be one too. And even Ketron can be a good 1-on-1 deep shot guy down the sidelines, though he's inconsistent in that role.

Watching Sawyer operate the offense, I'm more encouraged by the offense than I've been in two years. There are real weapons there. You just have to get them the ball in positions to succeed, and Finn wasn't able to do that at all against Utah.

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Agree with all that. I still think our OL is below average for the B12, but it's improved and may continue to improve. I also think Monaray may be more dangerous as just an occasional weapon used creatively. If our offense can be just okay, we should win some games if the D continues to play well and create opportunities.

Stay healthy, keep growing through the season, who knows...

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Our OL is definitely below average. But it has looked much better in its last six quarters of football. I'm not expecting a huge push. I'm just looking for a functional Big 12 line, and it's trending in that direction.

He will start. Both will be listed so Colorado has to prep for both. Finn may get a package to run but Sawyer will start.