Let’s get to it-

1. A winnable game that became a blowout. Those are the worst kind. In the first half, I saw a Lion team that was hungry and that was playing with desire and then halfway through the third quarter, the wheels fell off and of course it was the same old stuff. Injuries, lack of execution, lack of depth, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. A pick six, a fumble at the 2 yard line, two explosive plays for touchdowns. That is 28 points right there. Also, two drives that the LIons had that should have resulted in touchdowns. That is really what it comes down to. I guess the two positive things we can gleam from this is that a) our players are not afraid to walk into a major college football stadium and go toe to toe with an FBS program and b) they play very hard when they do. Effort was there, execution was not.
2. On offense especially in the first half I felt like the Lions did a great job moving the ball between the 20’s but something would happen to cause the offense to sputter. Eric Rodriguez showed how tough he is, but something seems off about him and it is this. I remember when he took over in 2022, He already had a great arm but he brought with him a pocket presence and a mobility that really gave our offense a great set of weapons. Last night, E-Rod did not seem as fast nor as quick and nimble as he was two years ago, and honestly, I think the surgery and rehab of the past 2 years have affected some of his playmaking ability. E-Rod looks like he has hit the weight room HARD because he looks more like a safety than a quarterback, but that is what keeps you from getting injured is by having more meat on your bones. The play that knocked him out of the game was a BOGUS non call (more on that later). The running game was much better than it was last year, but the receiving game….too many drops, not enough getting open for either E-Rod or Peace to make their progressions. The O-Line was a little bit better but still has a ways to go as far as pass protection, but the run blocking was by in large effective in the first half. Second half was a different story.
3. Special teams was up and down. Mitchell McGarry had his best game punting and boy did we need it. McGarry averaged 42.2 yards per kick with a long of 46. Aiden Martin was pretty effective in kickoffs, though our coverage left a lot to be desired. The extra point…..we HAVE to get this fixed. I saw Andy Gallegos in the spring game and he was effective kicking extra points, so unless it was just a whiff due to nerves, it is either bad blocking (again), or overall lack of execution. Jack Welch is probably getting fed up with this and I can’t blame him if he is. The return game was pretty good on both punts and kickoffs.
4. The officiating was AWFUL. You had 4-6 stooges who could not agree on what side was up and what side was down. To be fair, they hit SDSU with a few penalties that were very iffy but the hit on Eric Rodriguez that knocked him out should have been a minimum roughing the passer (which would have negated the pick 6), and the first drive where Rodriguez threw a beautiful fourth down pass that was clearly defensive pass interference, they flag came in late and then was picked up. That doesn’t happen, it is first and goal at the 2. This crew was bad all around and the Mountain West needs some better quality officials.
5. Next week The Lions have a rematch with Cal-Davis as they head back to the Golden State next Saturday. Ron Peace might be the quarterback but the one thing I am begging the staff is please do not put Eric Rodriguez back unless he is 100% ready to go. If he is not, put in Ron Peace. Also, HC Clint Dolezel said that he lost 3 starters in the second half due to dehydration and it really affected our defensive game plan. I feel better that this team will do better against the Aggies than we did last year, and despite all of this, this team is much better than last year. Dolezel said he felt this was a winnable game. If you look at the score you might be tempted to laugh at that, but if you watched the entire game, you will understand where he is coming from.