[lex24]

Truth be told, for whatever reason, the game was not that hard to watch.  There was a fair bit of good football being played, just mostly from the ASU side.  And despite some gaping talent holes, there was a bit of good that came from the game.  Yarusek had a breakout game, 6 catches for 118 yards, and a fair number of them on third and long for a first down.  The defense was beaten quite soundly early, and then stiffened up.  ASU’s offense scored a touchdown on its first three possessions and was six for six on third down conversions, and then the defense got better; bending a bit but coming up with some big plays when it counted.  ASU’s offense never scored after about 5 minutes in the second quarter, and wound up converting one for its last seven third downs.  McKee was up and down, getting some balls into some incredibly tight windows, but also throwing a few bonehead ones (yes, the three INTs, but also a couple near misses).  Give ASU’s defense some credit; they made us one-dimensional and then made us pay for it.  And critically, ASU didn’t shoot itself in the foot - they wound up +2 on turnovers, and until our final drive, had only one penalty.  I think overall, had it been backwards (STanford +2 turnovers and ASU more like 90 yards worth of penalties, this game would have been strangely winnable.

The flashing warning signs are the brutally atrocious running game, a miserable game for the offensive line, shady tackling for much of the game, and getting run all over.

We are not a good team, but I don’t think we are a miserable team either.  I still think we can eek out another three wins against the softer part of our schedule, even if OSU will be a tougher out than I had expected.

BC

Oh, I'll probably watch the DVR at some point today - just to see for myself what was depicted in the game threads.  Your recap sounds about right, though I wonder how much of ASU's 2H failure to score on O was attributable to abandoning (relatively speaking) the running game.  Maybe it was just a desire to work on the passing game.

As for Buster, he has had a terrific season - one I certainly did not anticipate - including some monster hits (the game opening RBIs in last two games are most notable examples).  Colleagues and I at work have been debating the HoF credentials all year.  50/50 on whether he was "in" at beginning of the season.  We should double-check that now, as I suspect it's unanimous in (or near unanimous in) now.

I don't see Buster managing.  Not sure he has the demeanor/interest.  Do you think he is a baseball lifer?  I think he is a baseball star followed by "something else."

He absolutely has the demeanor.  Calm as can be.  And garners respect. Not sure he has the interest.

[lex24]

Truth be told, for whatever reason, the game was not that hard to watch.  There was a fair bit of good football being played, just mostly from the ASU side.  And despite some gaping talent holes, there was a bit of good that came from the game.  Yarusek had a breakout game, 6 catches for 118 yards, and a fair number of them on third and long for a first down.  The defense was beaten quite soundly early, and then stiffened up.  ASU’s offense scored a touchdown on its first three possessions and was six for six on third down conversions, and then the defense got better; bending a bit but coming up with some big plays when it counted.  ASU’s offense never scored after about 5 minutes in the second quarter, and wound up converting one for its last seven third downs.  McKee was up and down, getting some balls into some incredibly tight windows, but also throwing a few bonehead ones (yes, the three INTs, but also a couple near misses).  Give ASU’s defense some credit; they made us one-dimensional and then made us pay for it.  And critically, ASU didn’t shoot itself in the foot - they wound up +2 on turnovers, and until our final drive, had only one penalty.  I think overall, had it been backwards (STanford +2 turnovers and ASU more like 90 yards worth of penalties, this game would have been strangely winnable.

The flashing warning signs are the brutally atrocious running game, a miserable game for the offensive line, shady tackling for much of the game, and getting run all over.

We are not a good team, but I don’t think we are a miserable team either.  I still think we can eek out another three wins against the softer part of our schedule, even if OSU will be a tougher out than I had expected.

BC

Oh, I'll probably watch the DVR at some point today - just to see for myself what was depicted in the game threads.  Your recap sounds about right, though I wonder how much of ASU's 2H failure to score on O was attributable to abandoning (relatively speaking) the running game.  Maybe it was just a desire to work on the passing game.

As for Buster, he has had a terrific season - one I certainly did not anticipate - including some monster hits (the game opening RBIs in last two games are most notable examples).  Colleagues and I at work have been debating the HoF credentials all year.  50/50 on whether he was "in" at beginning of the season.  We should double-check that now, as I suspect it's unanimous in (or near unanimous in) now.

I don't see Buster managing.  Not sure he has the demeanor/interest.  Do you think he is a baseball lifer?  I think he is a baseball star followed by "something else."

He absolutely has the demeanor.  Calm as can be.  And garners respect. Not sure he has the interest.