I do not see how anyone could say we played bad. We were actually extremely efficient and did not toy around with them at all. It was complete dominance from the opening kick.
1) First team offense scored a TD in each of its drives. It was 28-0 at the end of the first. Taylor was pulled after the 5th TD with 10 minutes left in the first half. At that point he was 8-9 passing with 85 yds. For awhile we thought he was 9-10 passing for 91 yds and a td...but Greg Smiths TD on a nifty play to the sideline was ruled a lateral...thus a running TD. Third team and walk-on's started entering the game in the third qtr....and we did the classy thing only attempting 3 passes in the final 40 minutes of the game! To those who may not have seen it you might think we should have passed more anyway...but the beating was so bad it was embarrassing to watch for them....you cant get a hate on for Samford! Florida Intl maybe...but not Samford!
2) Defense was stifling...we had 2nd teamers in during the first half...and then started mixing in the walk-on's late in the 3rd quarter. It was a mix of players that gave up the 14 points late in the game. I want to say Samford only had 2 or 3 first downs in the first half despite 9 possessions. They ended up punting 10 times...and turned it over on fumbles twice. Mario Butler and Dominique Reese saw a lot of reps the entire game which was good for them. They definitely had a couple of cover issues...so thats why you play them so you can work those things out. Jonathan Dwyer looked incredible with 3 TD's and 139 yds. on 9 carries (15.3 ypc). He had a 65 yd TD...but not the longest of the day as Tashard had a 73 yd TD!
3) Special teams did great. Scott Blair was kicking off various coverages and did all of them well. He had a least one touchback I remember. Additionally the coverage was so tight and fast...Samford was muffing many of the kicks. Blair got to do this 10 times! We even let Travis Bell kickoff twice so the backup could get some reps. To reciprocate...Scott Blair got to give an extra point a shot...which he did with ease. Travis had FG's of 21 and 31 yds. We woke up Durant on the sidelines twice to have him come in and punt....averaged 46.5 on those two kicks. Correy Earls had tremendous kickoff returns of 67 and 43 yards. He has incredible burst and is fearless from the first step...I hope we stick with him back there.
4) Downside is we lost a key TE and blocking specialist in Brad Sellers for the year with a knee injury. He is having surgery on the knee and is lost for the year. He has already redshirted...but if his grades are there and he desires to we can ask for an extra year when he is a senior. He was one of the bookends in short yardage situations. Austin Barrick will move into his spot (R-Fr)....and there are no scholarship TE's behind him. Alex Paquette (6-2, 260), and Jeff Lentz (6-5, 222) are behind him...we could see other combo's with other position players in these situations if necessary.
The other downside is key special teams player...and #2 DE Robert Hall suffered a deep shin bruise and had to leave the game for x-rays. He even had an MRI Monday as the pain was so severe they feared a break. However, it will heal on its own...it just remains to be seen whether he will be able to play against BC...he was listed as doubtful Monday.
4) Other injury updates...Rashaun Grant, James Johnson, and AJ Smith sat out against Samford but will be ready for BC. It appears Joe Gaston hamstring will not allow him to be ready for BC.
