CougarCorner

With the defensive struggles we’ve all seen, we needed the offense to step up. And they haven’t. Seven points in the second half? Perhaps me, but for the first time I thought Jaren struggled to find open receivers. The fourth down play calling continues to baffle me. While the defense wasn’t as bad as prior weeks, I was amazed at how open ECU’s receivers were. And giving up six plus yards a carry ain’t going to cut it. Starting out 4-0 and ending up (I fear) 5-7 is a real downer.

There was definitely progress made. We were bad, but not super bad. Probably the best run blocking on offense I've seen all season. Big holes. But the passing game sucked. It's hard to tell from the TV angles if the WRs are not getting open or if Hall just wasn't able to find them. I was happy to see him smartly use his legs. Should have been doing that all season. But the offense, with the exception of Puka, just had no spark in them. I don't think that the play calling was horrible, but it was bland. Not saying we should be doing a trick play every series, but something to make the offense less predictable.

And that last PI call...I think it could have gone either way. If it wasn't called I really don't think anyone gripes too much...

I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt that Liberty is better than their struggles against an FCS team would suggest, and I'm likewise willing to believe that ECU might be fielding the best team they've ever had. Our defensive struggles are a known quantity at this point. But our offensive struggles are inexcusable. The coaches, particularly the offensive line coach and Roderick, should be told they are on the hot seat if something doesn't change right away.