Was it just me, . . . . ?

[mcgregor]

Or did the offense seem to gain a spark with Riley Nelson in?

Sure, TCU had their seconds in the game. But there seemed to be a different feel on offense with Riley in there. Additionally, it is interesting to see the value of a kid that can genuinely scramble.

[Mars]

Wasn't the first TCU defensive call with Nelson in the game a corner blitz?

I don't remember seeing many TCU backups playing. They had Dalton still in late in the 4th.

[mcgregor]

Wasn't the first TCU defensive call with Nelson in the game a corner blitz?

I don't remember seeing many TCU backups playing. They had Dalton still in late in the 4th.

To answer this question I'd have to go back and watch the game. That's not something I'm willing to do.

[hawkwing]

Riley's first snap was a corner blitz, and I think resulted in a sack, or at least a very short gain on what was a QB draw up the middle.

If I recall, it seemed they put some pressure on Riley the first two snaps, and then backed off a little to see what he would do.

[CougarClaw]

Anytime you put in someone who's trying to prove himself, he'll definitely bring a spark. Nelson's done that every game he's been in this year.

My issue though is that he seems to be a much better runner/wildcat option than a passer. His throws...have been pretty unimpressive. But perhaps that's because I've been watching Max too long.

[cachevalleycougar]

No - he didn't bring a spark. Yes, he ran it up the middle a couple times for some decent yardage, but Unga was already doing that. On a couple of his throws he showed why he won't be starting at the Y at any time.

[Cougarpoke]

I kind of thought something similar, that Nelson brought a little fire into the game. It very easily could be attributed to the fact that he was trying to prove himself...but a mobile QB is something no team in the conference prepares for when they play BYU. I would advocate putting Nelson in more frequently for change up plays. That being said, as for next year, I have no idea if Nelson can beat our the other stud QB recruits that are coming in. In my opinion it looks like Nelson kind of lobs the ball and doesn't have a lot of zip. But, then again, Doman was a very similar player. Who knows...all I know is that I put a lot of fan power into Max Hall's ability and have been greatly disappointed. The defense is always expected to be bad and lose games for us, so I am not nearly as dissappointed as when the QB should have gone to shorter pass patterns...or maybe my frustrations are misplaced and I should be upset with the play calling, which I didn't think was very good. Oh, my cup runneth over...

[Lawboy]

It was just you. Nelson did nothing of note. Unless you call having happy feet, and pulling it down after 1.3 seconds of note. His pocket presence still needs work. Wish we could combine Max and Riley. Max hangs too long, Riley not long enough.

[ABYUFAN]

If he brought a spark, I didn't see it. And I was unimpressed with his throws. It's funny because after Max Hall was gone, I watched Riley and thought, we'd have been even worse with this guy in there (And I like Riley, I had some missionaries that served with him in Spain over for the game - they have nothing but good things to say about him)

PS My friends told me that Riley said that his family has a saying: "A quarterback can have a bad game, he just can't have a bad game in a BIG game."

I like that saying...

[mcgregor]

It was just you. Nelson did nothing of note. Unless you call having happy feet, and pulling it down after 1.3 seconds of note. His pocket presence still needs work. Wish we could combine Max and Riley. Max hangs too long, Riley not long enough.

I don't mean this personally, but "happy feet" is typically a false criticism. We can talk about it if you'd like.