We've all been there. Waking up in the morning after a nighttime rendezvous, in a bed that's not ours, trying to figure out what our next move should be.
(Disclaimer: as a blogger, I can't actually speak from experience here since I still live in parents' basement. But that doesn't stop me from imagining based on what my cool friends have told me.)
We find ourselves in a similar quandary the morning after a Northwestern football game. That night of sleep between then and now should help illuminate things a little bit more.
So was it as satisfying as we thought yesterday? Or should we have just said no and moved on with our lives?
Luckily there's a scale to help us gauge things a bit from best to worst:
5. Ready for a second round right now.
4. I'll at least stay for breakfast and see what happens from there.
3. Saying goodbye in person, but bolting immediately
thereafter.
2. I guess leaving a note would be polite.
1. Who cares if I don't have my clothes? I'm getting out of
here.
Continue reading to see where the Rice game ranks the morning after.
And on the morning after scale (pause for effect), Northwestern at Rice of Sept. 18, 2010 earns:
4. I'll at least stay for breakfast and see what happens from there.
Now some of you might be thinking, "NU went on the road, walked away with a win, and a double digit win at that. I'll take that every week. Why are we not ready for a second round right now?"
The simple answer is the offensive performance in the first half and the (lack of) running production in general, yet again.
Dan Persa again put up superhuman numbers. A career-high 24 completions on 32 attempts for a career-high 307 yards. But look at the first half. Seven of those incompletions came in the first 30 minutes of play - two quarters when the offense scored 0 touchdowns. That simply cannot happen if this team wants to win tough Big Ten games down the stretch. You have to play two full halves to win against good teams (See: Iowa at Arizona). I'm not complaining; I'm just saying.
As for the running game - 3.2 yards per carry?! Maybe Mick McCall is buying into the "three yards and a cloud of dust" philosophy, but that number needs to be higher. The running backs get yards in spurts (a few 10+ yards runs), but it still seems like there are too many negative or no yard plays and not enough (read: any) big 20-30+ yard gains.
As for the good to great things in yesterday's game that led the 'Cats to the 17-points win. The defense got it done. Demos was perfect for the first time all year (although the only thing more nerve-racking than watching a Northwestern field attempt is listening to it on the radio). And again, in the second half the offense clicked and moved the ball, seemingly, at will.
(We'll have much more when we flush it tomorrow).
So feel good but not great about this win. Enjoy your Sunday. And root for the Bears if you must.
Filed under: Football
Tags: Dan Persa, Defense, rice, Running Game, Staying for Breakfast, The Morning After
