I was at the game on Saturday.... my observations.
First of all the weather was horrible. It was 96 degrees at kickoff and as humid of a day as I can remember... not that that had an influence on the game but it did on me after pounding several Budweisers before the game. I also noticed a lot of cramps..... for both teams.
The Special Teams looked good. NU was near the bottom last year in yards per return, but you could tell they had spent a lot of time working on it and they almost took one to the house. Cogdon looked very good for a freshman K starting his first game. The only black spot on this squad was the missed extra point. GRADE: B+
The Offense reminded me somewhat of Denvers last year. The moved the ball well but seemed to self destruct in the red zone. Cory Ross ran tentitivly and never seemed to get his rhythm. Taylor did some good things, but looked indecisive in the pocket at times. The recieving core had several drops some of which were very costly. The two bright spots were Taylors touch on the deep ball and Marlon Lucky, who always seemed to fall forward for positive yardage. GRADE: D+
The Defense looked dominant throughout the game. The D-line has some horses up front. That is the deepest, most talented part of the team. The LBs looked good especially Corey McKeon who looks like a faster version of Barrett Rudd. The secondary was solid, but lacks depth. The lone Maine TD came on a play when both starting CBs were out of the game with cramps.... if they lose one or two of the top 3 CBs that secondary will be swiss cheese. GRADE: A-
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