My Kingdom for a stop

Well, it was certainly a wild night in Boise and on some levels pretty disappointing, but I have to say that I am not too disappointed this morning.

Yes, you'd like to think that with a 7-point lead with :32 left  you would win the game.  That 50 yard pass was an absolute heartbreaker, and while you can say how that never should have happened inside the last minute of a game, let's remember that just one play before that, BG had completed a 50-yard pass to our best player who was wide freaking open, and that shouldn't have happened either.

And I guess that summarizes why I am not too disappointed....because this game was pretty much what we expected and our team gave us pretty much what they have all season, ie, a stellar offensive performance, inconsistent defense and an inability to consistently stop the run.  Idaho gave what they have as well, which is pretty much the same.

So, they had the ball last, and they won the game.  I love the fact that they went for 2 to win, (more on that later, but I think if you have that chance in the last seconds, it is almost always your best chance to win), and no matter how you slice it, the game came down to one play and they made it.

I have watched the final drive on ESPN's video service (which they won't let me embed, because, yeah, don't know), and it certainly does appear that Idaho found a weak spot in our defense and exploited it.  Enough said about that.  On the 50 yard play, we actually had three guys around the ball, as you would expect given that it was an absolute rainbow, but the it wasn't a pure hail mary in that Enderle had to scramble and it might have been improvised.

Either way, in a prevent defense, one of those guys should get the ball, that's what the defense is designed to prevent, after all, but they didn't.  We still had chances after that to win the game.

I was obviously incredibly pleased with the offensive performance.  Idaho had a weak D, and we exploited it for over 500 yards.  Tyler and Freddie had a great night in their last game in orange and brown.  I am so happy that Freddie stepped onto the national stage and showed the kind of player he is, which is a hell of a football player and not some minor-conference freak catching bubble screens. 

He had 17 catches and over 200 yards, which is a huge game, and he was upfield much of the time and they simply could not cover him, especially when he got matched up in single coverage.  He has an amazing ability to find open spaces in almost any defense (perhaps his QB training), and while not blazing fast, he finds space and that makes him a very good player.  He is a solid runner with the ball, and is a complete player.  It has been a privilege to watch him this season.

Tyler was 33-47 with 4 TDs, and and average per attempt over 8 yards, which is pretty good and certainly not emblematic of a high percentage passing game.  Obviously, you'd love to have the one interception back, because that was a big play in the game, but he bounced back from that and eventually took us into the lead, so you can't complain about it too much.

Willie Geter also had a 100 yard game, and also had 5 catches for 65 yards, and remains a very good player inside the offense we like to play.  I think he is a tough runner who just hasn't been given openings to run, or wasn't much for much of the season.

The defense?  Well, what can you say?  Enderle was a little rusty and certainly came out having some problems, but once he got his rhythm, he was pretty much shredding us.  Maybe the biggest key to the game was that Idaho also rushed for 200 yards, and that gave them a dimension that made them hard to stop in the end.  The defense did force 7 punts (we punted only 3), and had some times when they made stops, but they did give up 43 points, so we don't want to overplay that hand too much.

One thing that might be forgotten, but that blocked FG was disappointing.  First, that we didn't get a TD, and second, that we didn't take the opportunity to extend our lead when we had them on their heels.

But beyond that, it was pretty much what the first 12 games had told us to expect from both teams, and in the end, it came down to one play and they made it and we didn't.  It was a thrilling game, and I'd love for us to have won, but I can't feel bad for Idaho.