- When we got up 27-9, I thought, "Holy shit. This team's not only improved, but damn we might go 9-3." Then Ole Miss moved effortlessly into a position to win, and Malzahn made some questionable decisions. So I thought, "Damn, we're almost there but 2012 still sneaks up on us."
- I've read a lot about Malzahn's play calling and how he was killing our offense by trying to force the passing game. Marshall was 11/17. That's not horrible numbers for a gameplan that featured 48 run plays. I didn't like having a few drives of three passes, then a punt, but for the most part, I thought the passing game was looking decent. I think there were two drops.
- We finally saw Marshall's running ability. It was great. The guy can fly. It's too bad he's a toothpick. I hope his injury isn't serious because that looked like the old Pat White/West Virginia offense from a few years ago. I think we can execute that gameplan perfectly.
- The defense was really able to step it up since Ole Miss didn't have a run game up the middle. I was most impressed by our ability to shed blocks and shut down the wide receiver screens. The past four years featured us getting pushed backwards or choosing a side and then the receiver flies by our guys.
- I could have sworn Carl Lawson picked up three sacks, but holy shit what a beast last night. The guy really showed up Robert Nkemdiche. I really hated how the ESPN commentators only brought up the recruiting class of Ole Miss. They kept putting the camera on Nkemdiche. Kept bringing up Treadwell and Engram and that offensive linemen. But never said, "Carl Lawson, the 2nd best defensive end in the country behind Nkemdiche is playing like he should have been rated 1st." Because he should have been. I didn't see any big plays made by Nkemdiche.
- I'm really excited about this win. We should be bowl eligible. A year ago we were 1-4 with our lone win coming in a close and lucky game against LA Monroe. A year ago, we were one week away from me giving up on the season. Now we're 4-1 with a pretty good chance at being 6-2 going into November.
- Though I don't think we beat Arkansas the first week of November. They run up the middle. Gotta get that fixed by then.
- Also, I think our chance of making a big splash upset is the greatest against Texas A&M. We seem to do well defending against the spread. A&M's defense is god-awful against the run. I think we can get some points. Pick up a few plays on defense, and we could really shock the country.
- Finally, while this win was exciting, I have to return to being a cynic about our team this year. We're 4-1 and could very well finish 8-4 after what I saw last night. But we do still have remnants of 2012 on our team. Wouldn't surprise me to have our only remaining wins be against our two cupcakes.
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