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Ball State Postgame Thread


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Focus in general for both sides. Missed tackles and dropped balls will get you beat when a game hinges on literally making all of the plays that were there to be had but failed to execute. Margin for error arguably goes up next week but plummets from there, althoygh they cant look past EIU I hope next week sees then making the most of their tune up game before Ohio State.

Justus, Ellis and the Special teams in general definitely proved key in setting up and getting something out of trips into Cardinal terriroty .Whitehead really punted well too.Field position gained eveb greater importance later as BSU stayed close and Indiana won that area.

Also of note the team has appeared to avoid multiple significant injuires between camp and game 1..That is always a plus.

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If I had to hand out grades for the offense:

Offensive Line: C

Not getting a lot of push in the first half to run between the tackles, but they kept Penix upright for the majority of the game.  Need a better push for our backs to make waves.

Running Backs: B-

It was a workman like day for Scott and crew.  As the game progressed, it was encouraging to see the backs run through contact.  Scott looks to have shed weight but still can push into the end zone when called on.

Quarterback: B

Freshman jitters got to Penix a couple of times with some poor throws early, but damn does he have an arm.  He would have hung another two or three TDs if the ball would have been caught better (more on that later). Future looks bright with him under center.

Tight Ends: A

Something that somewhat surprised me was the number of times Hendershot had his number called and delivered.  His hustle was on full display and showed some great playmaking by going down and getting the ball on that 2 pt. conversion.

Wide Outs: D+

Too many dropped passes for my liking here that really left points out on the field.  Really was a disappointment to see from an area that should be a strength for this team.  Routes didn’t seem crisp and the hands were not ready.  They can shore that up for next week

Special Teams kicking: A+++

Have a day Logan Justus!  Kid has the golden foot setting three career longs in one day.  A 2019 version of Austin Start is a potent weapon to have, especially when you are in a close game and have to grind out points on a premium

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I had hoped we would come out and win 42-10, but I'm not terribly disappointed in how we played.  I think a lot of the things we struggled with are things we can improve.  Tackling obviously needs work, and our WRs need to catch the ball.  If we could have caught some easy passes, we would have won a lot easier.  That should get better going forward.

I was really happy with our special teams outside of the kicks out of bounds.  Justus was obviously amazing.  Ellis looks like he could be a weapon on kickoff returns.  We had a handful of kickoffs into the end zone, and even Smolar booted a couple a lot better than last year.  Whitehead was terrific on his few kicks, especially the one he bombed inside the 10.

I was also really happy with Hendershot.  He looked good on his catches today.  With our talented WR, it will be a huge boost having a good pass catching TE.

Penix definitely showed flashes of potential.  Had some nice deep throws, got out of the pocket and moved really well.  He wasn't shy about taking a hit either.  There were a lot of positive signs from him.  If Westbrook wouldn't have dropped that long pass, he would have been getting close to a top 10 all time passing day for us (385 is tied for 10th).

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16 minutes ago, Hoosierinbham said:

This was Ball State's season highlight. Credit to them for playing hard. Remember watching Ohio State struggle with Miami of Ohio, Bowling Green, and Buffalo. Hoosiers won.  Let's see how they adjust.

Yes,

Ball U did the same last year vs Notre Dame.  They don't play with the same intensity in the MAC as they do against in state schools.  Lets see a couple more games before we decide IU's fate.

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Now, for the defensive side of the ball:

Defensive Line:  D

I was worried that this was one of the weaker links on our team this year and unfortunately didn’t see anything that could quell that fear.  Too many missed tackles in the backfield, not getting enough push or pressure against a weaker opponent, and not staying in lanes and gaps are not encouraging signs.  Tighten it up for next week.

Linebackers: C-

Backers had a rough start as well.  A little better as play went on and settled in, but we’ve got to do better covering opposing slot receivers and tight ends given the formation we run.  Ball with the dumb penalty was disappointing to see from a defensive leader. Still too many missed tackles, players here need to square up and drive instead of lunge.

Defensive Back: C

We are young in our secondary still, so the growing pains will still be on display.  Nice to see an INT to seal it, but there isn’t enough speed or strength to press up on the line consistently yet which was on display today.  No excuse for some of the chunk passes and gains we saw and gave up today.  Tackling is also an issue here as well.

 

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Just got home from the game and it was good to get the win but did not come away real impressed with their play.  It should have been a blowout but those two interceptions and the 5 drop passes just let BSU stay in the game.  Whop and Westbrook dropped sure TD"S and Whop dropped two more as well.  both INT's were on Penix with the first one not reading the coverage and he other was just a over throw.  I was expecting out OL to dominate the line of scrimmage and run down their throats but could not really get the ground game going.  could not believe when they showed the stats after 3 and we actually had 117 yards rushing.

On D it seemed like our DB's had some broken coverages and let guys get wide open in the middle of the field.  Did not have a great pass rush early but it did get better as the game went along.  I am happy with a win because in the past this would have been a loss so I will take any win when it comes to IU football

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2 hours ago, jblaz13 said:

Focus in general for both sides. Missed tackles and dropped balls will get you beat when a game hinges on literally making all of the plays that were there to be had but failed to execute. Margin for error arguably goes up next week but plummets from there, althoygh they cant look past EIU I hope next week sees then making the most of their tune up game before Ohio State.

Justus, Ellis and the Special teams in general definitely proved key in setting up and getting something out of trips into Cardinal terriroty .Whitehead really punted well too.Field position gained eveb greater importance later as BSU stayed close and Indiana won that area.

Also of note the team has appeared to avoid multiple significant injuires between camp and game 1..That is always a plus.

ellis looks like he's going to be something. grady-mcball needs to get his emotions a little under control

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2 hours ago, ClusterHead said:

If I had to hand out grades for the offense:

Offensive Line: C

Not getting a lot of push in the first half to run between the tackles, but they kept Penix upright for the majority of the game.  Need a better push for our backs to make waves.

Running Backs: B-

It was a workman like day for Scott and crew.  As the game progressed, it was encouraging to see the backs run through contact.  Scott looks to have shed weight but still can push into the end zone when called on.

Quarterback: B

Freshman jitters got to Penix a couple of times with some poor throws early, but damn does he have an arm.  He would have hung another two or three TDs if the ball would have been caught better (more on that later). Future looks bright with him under center.

Tight Ends: A

Something that somewhat surprised me was the number of times Hendershot had his number called and delivered.  His hustle was on full display and showed some great playmaking by going down and getting the ball on that 2 pt. conversion.

Wide Outs: D+

Too many dropped passes for my liking here that really left points out on the field.  Really was a disappointment to see from an area that should be a strength for this team.  Routes didn’t seem crisp and the hands were not ready.  They can shore that up for next week

Special Teams kicking: A+++

Have a day Logan Justus!  Kid has the golden foot setting three career longs in one day.  A 2019 version of Austin Start is a potent weapon to have, especially when you are in a close game and have to grind out points on a premium

not sure if penix's second pick was his fault. from his reaction it appears he expected the receiver to run a button hook. do they still call it that? the receiver curled in so may be on the receiver. plus he slipped. whop had two huge drops. and, of course, westbrook's drop on an under thrown ball. hendershot could have had a huge day if penix was on the mark. good to see the tight end utilized

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1 hour ago, AshtonHershey said:

I thought the play-calling on offense was much-improved. The defense looked out of place, though. 

Coach Allen, in the post game video, I linked below, was pleased with the offensive play calling.

In terms of the poor tackling on defense.  Coach Allen said that can be corrected. 

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