BAER/DEFENSE: Credit Where It’s Due

[RebelBuzz]

Game ball goes to Baer and this D.

We had a game plan to keep a VERY light box and force them to throw into a tight secondary.

The defense easily could have gotten gashed on the ground with a light box... but they didn’t. Extremely well done.

 

[unlv91]

Good game by UNLV. The two costly mistakes by Fresno State sealed the deal for the win

 

[drmontehorne_a_yahoo.com]

I did not see the game. What the hell happened???

 

[WarthogRebel]

Keep our opponents under 21 points and we can win out.

 

[drmontehorne_a_yahoo.com]

No doubt.

 

[Deleted member 308]

Our offense showed up in the second half. So the D just kept bending until the pressure got to Fresno and they imploded.

 

[j. spilotro]

Game ball goes to Baer and this D.

We had a game plan to keep a VERY light box and force them to throw into a tight secondary.

The defense easily could have gotten gashed on the ground with a light box... but they didn’t. Extremely well done.

Totally different defense tonight. A lot of credit for whatever was changed up.

 

[rebelwithacause]

The defense most be definitely improving. Holding them to only 16 points is a great achievement...granted Washington was ranked #10th at the time and also held them to 16 points. #1 Alabama held them to 10 points. I'm shocked...i didn't watch the game, just looked at the box score 20 minutes ago !!

 

[IMReb]

Hard to believe! Best all around game of the season. What happened to all the penalties and goof ball plays?

 

[lvrebalum2012]

A good offense that was able to stay on the field and put together long drives is what helped the defense. That was the difference between this week and weeks prior.

 

[RebelBuzz]

A good offense that was able to stay on the field and put together long drives is what helped the defense. That was the difference between this week and weeks prior.

Good point. This CERTAINLY was a huge factor. But schematically and execution-wise it looked like night and day from AFA and USU. Fresh legs are a huge plus.

 

[WarthogRebel]

IMO, it's hard for me to tell if the defense was that much better or were they more rested. Our offense was able to put together lengthy, multiple first down drives and this probably played in to the defensive success.

 

[j. spilotro]

IMO, it's hard for me to tell if the defense was that much better or were they more rested. Our offense was able to put together lengthy, multiple first down drives and this probably played in to the defensive success.

It’s not like our D went from really bad to good overnight. The sustained drives on offense helped a lot and on 3rd and longs, we were successful in large part and we usually aren’t. A lot of that, I think, had as much to do with FSU not making plays as much as UNLV making the plays. We put the pressure on them and they didn’t handle it well.

All in all, best overall game the Rebs have played all year.

 

[willlevi]

The defense wasn't really that improved, the offense just controlled the clock and limited the possessions.
Each teams had 3 possessions in the first half
Fresno had 6 possessions in the second half but the last two were in the final 4 minutes. If you exclude the muffed punt, Fresno only had 5 possession with the final coming with less than 2 minutes to play.
If this were a fast paced shootout it would have been a loss but the slow and efficient move the chains style of offense kept the defense out of bad positions. They made a lot of defensive mistakes when given the opportunity but the team pulled it off.

 

[LocoRebel]

The defense wasn't really that improved, the offense just controlled the clock and limited the possessions

I agree that the offense controlled the clock and limited Fresno State's ability to run their offense... but I don't think it's fair to say the defense wasn't improved. Obviously there were issues, but it looked like *for the most part* they knew what they were doing out there. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but at least it was somewhat better. Tackling at times was just as bad, but at other times, it looked good. Difference was not many offensive mistakes, and I think that's a major credit to Stanton making the short passes and being decisive. Not as explosive as Armani, not close. But the experience factor is massive there.

I wonder if Armani now having played half of a season and now seeing Stanton do it will help him, rather than just the sit and watch, he can really relate to lessons at this level.