An ugly game.
Jordon Brookshire is not a starting quarterback. He is/was awful. Indecision is his middle name. As stated in prior posts, throwing the ball downfield is really hard. 7/20 and 115 yards is a poor first half, yet this was his game total. He was 2/6 for 15 yards in the first quarter, 1/6 for 39 yards in the second quarter and 0/1 in the fourth quarter. Lucas Johnson should be stretching his archenemy (legs and associated muscles) the entire week before the Arizona game. If Brady Hoke, and to a lesser extent Jeff Hecklinski, continue an entire game with Mr. Brookshire, he/they should have his/their brain(s) removed from his/their skull with an ice-cream scoop.
William Dunkle acted like a moron. Keep your emotions in check, Mr. Dunkle. Frustration is part of the game. Teeing up yourself for 15 yard specials is d-u-m dum, so dumb, you didn’t get to the “b”.
The good news is the Aztec defense yielded only 48 total yards rushing. 3 interceptions, including a touchdown courtesy of Andrew Aleki, coupled with 5 sacks was impressive. However, the defensive backfield was far too soft and off the line of scrimmage as proven by the 326 yards passing by New Mexico State. By the way, Noah Tumblin needs to get better fast. He was the proverbial drum beaten, especially during the first half.
Greg Bell (21/161) and Jordan Byrd (3/48) made for an effective running game (248 total rushing yards).
If you were wondering, can Matt Araiza punt? The answer is yes, yes he can. 9 boots for an average of 56.8 yards. What will he do in high altitude locations?
Finally, our offense cannot sustain itself with Jordon Brookshire as qb. We will not be able to win close games, especially with time fading away. The Aztec offense had one quarter (the fourth) in which possession exceeded 7 minutes. Not good.
1-0.
Go, Aztecs.
tipmypitch 