There was a lot to love about last night's game: the dominant performance by our defense, great play (except for that initial punt) by the special teams, and the play calling and execution by the offense. But I want to highlight one part of the game in particular: our final scoring drive.
We took over on our 20 with 13:35 left in the game with a 10 point lead. We've all frequently seen similar leads evaporate in less time. Despite the fact that we had clearly been the far better up until that point, the outcome was still very much in doubt.
The drive didn't start out well at all. On the first play a Hankins run for a first down was called back on a holding penalty, giving us 1st and 20 at the 10. But Hardison hooked up with Smith for a big first down on 3rd and 11; Hankins, Flores, and, for a down, Awatt did a great running the ball; and Hardison faked BSU, the TV commentators, and the fans for a nice 13 yard pickup on 3rd down. By the time Flores crossed the goal line there was only 4:25 left, a whopping 9:10 after the drive started. Even our worst ever team couldn't have blown it against BSU's best ever team at that point. It was a masterful job.
We took over on our 20 with 13:35 left in the game with a 10 point lead. We've all frequently seen similar leads evaporate in less time. Despite the fact that we had clearly been the far better up until that point, the outcome was still very much in doubt.
The drive didn't start out well at all. On the first play a Hankins run for a first down was called back on a holding penalty, giving us 1st and 20 at the 10. But Hardison hooked up with Smith for a big first down on 3rd and 11; Hankins, Flores, and, for a down, Awatt did a great running the ball; and Hardison faked BSU, the TV commentators, and the fans for a nice 13 yard pickup on 3rd down. By the time Flores crossed the goal line there was only 4:25 left, a whopping 9:10 after the drive started. Even our worst ever team couldn't have blown it against BSU's best ever team at that point. It was a masterful job.
