Well, that was not much fun at all. In fact, it was one of those loses that will irritate the hell out of a fan for weeks to come. We made some bad mistakes and LSU's best players took full advantage of them.
What really happened to our team Saturday night? Did LSU suck that bad on offense or did our defense just play that damn good? Did LSU play stellar defense or did our offense just get bogged down by bad play calling? Did Mullen call the game conservatively because of LSU's defense or because he did not trust our offensive line?
After watching the game again, I'm still shrugging my shoulders at some of those questions. In my eyes, the questions could go either way. What I do know is some of you will think I'm crazy about my grades for this game.
To those listed below, please have your parents sign and return your report cards by Friday...
Offense: B This may seem crazy to some, but I thought our offense played well when given an opportunity to show their skill. Gaining only 177 total yards is nothing to be proud of, but I think that was a result of Jeff Mullen more than the player's performance.
Jeff Mullen's Play-calling/gameplan: F He consistently says that every play is designed to gain at least 4 yards. I'm not sure what the hell that means exactly, but it did not work on Saturday night. Running up the middle with a speed back against a defense that was selling out on almost every play does not make sense to me. Run a reverse or hand the ball to the man in motion. The only misdirection play we ran all night was a trap right in the 4th quarter. Mullen had a terrible game and everyone knows it, including HCBS. Don't believe me, listen to his post game press conference.
Offensive Line: C- I actually would've given this unit a higher grade had it not been for our final drive. They did a decent job of giving Geno time to throw, but Mullen did them no favors in the run game. Consistently running the ball up the gut was stupid.
Defense: B+ I wanted to give this unit an A, however, I just could not justify it because we couldn't tackle or catch the ball at key points in the game. If we do either of those things, we win Saturday night. This unit was aggressive from the start of the game and Casteel's game plan was perfect. We blitzed to the correct side and at the right times all game. They deserved better from the offensive game plan.
Special Teams: D Two blocked field goals and a punt return for a TD. (SIGH)
LSU fans that visited the blog last week: A+ It was great talking football with y'all and feel free to stop by whenever you like. Hopefully, WVU is making an impression across the SEC and would be considered in future expansion talks. Also, thanks to the guys from And The Valley Shook for all you hospitality and good luck the rest of the season.
LSU Fans on TV: D People that follow LSU football don't know it yet, but I love to bash fans for their behavior. Y'all cajuns deserve a spanking after that horrible performance on Saturday night. I thought Death Valley was supposed to be filled with great fans that would make it shake at the end of close games? The only shaking at Death Valley this week was caused by the mass exodus of your fans from a great football game. There were probably 60,000 fans in the stands on WVU's last series. I won't even go into your booing because that is just beating a dead horse on this blog. I expected more from SEC fans. Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. Then again, most Mountaineer fans don't know what Mountaineer Field looks like at the end of games.