I never ever gave up hope on this team and thought we still had a chance to win it until we failed to stop them on that first drive of ASU's final series. I fully expected us to use our TOs to stop the clock and felt we would have had enough time to march down and score the winning touchdown.
No fairy tale endings for us tonight.
So while I was numbed by the loss at the Rose Bowl, I really wasn't surprised. Good college football teams get beat every week by weaker teams that play with more heart.
ASU wanted this one more -- I know it's a cliche, but it's true -- and it showed.
Was our staff outcoached? Probably, but you still have to put some of the blame on the players. Unfortunately, our offensive line was getting beat and our freshman quarterback was put under a lot of pressure. Considering the way the OL blocked, I thought Josh actually had a decent game. There were some key drops that hurt us a lot.
ASU deserves a lot of credit for doing a great job of scouting us and stopping us from doing the things we wanted to do. I don't think the answer is as easy as just making adjustments. They had answers for everything we tried.
I think our team has to regroup, lick its wounds, learn something about preparation from this loss and move on to the next game. ASU certainly did what it needed to do after a big loss. We can do it, too.
No fairy tale endings for us tonight.
So while I was numbed by the loss at the Rose Bowl, I really wasn't surprised. Good college football teams get beat every week by weaker teams that play with more heart.
ASU wanted this one more -- I know it's a cliche, but it's true -- and it showed.
Was our staff outcoached? Probably, but you still have to put some of the blame on the players. Unfortunately, our offensive line was getting beat and our freshman quarterback was put under a lot of pressure. Considering the way the OL blocked, I thought Josh actually had a decent game. There were some key drops that hurt us a lot.
ASU deserves a lot of credit for doing a great job of scouting us and stopping us from doing the things we wanted to do. I don't think the answer is as easy as just making adjustments. They had answers for everything we tried.
I think our team has to regroup, lick its wounds, learn something about preparation from this loss and move on to the next game. ASU certainly did what it needed to do after a big loss. We can do it, too.
