A View from the Stands – Troy 9 Vs Arkansas State 13

It’s hard to find something good to say about Saturday’s game with Arkansas State in Jonesboro. Both teams seemed determined to lose. Although the score would suggest it was a defensive battle, from where I was sitting it look more like neither team had a starting offense on the field.

Prior to arriving in Jonesboro I read as much as I could about the Indians. They weren’t a bad team. They seem to have good offensive production but their defense was having trouble stopping the big plays and most other plays for that matter. I figured with as much talent as we have our defense would easily shut down their offense (which it did) and our offense would have a field day with their defense (which it didn’t).

Our offense was miserable. Half (124) of our total yardage (249) came from Betterson. Leak was 6 for 19 for 73 yards in the passing department with one interception and our only touchdown. You won’t win many games in college football scoring only 9 points the entire game. I have to wonder why we aren’t giving our other quarterbacks a chance. Maybe Leak is the best in practice but he is too inconsistent in the games to be relied upon. Someone else needs to be given the chance. I also don’t understand the play calling by the offensive coordinator. Betterson is certainly our premier running back but you can’t send him the same place on every play.

Our defense was good again. Their major lapse came early in the fourth quarter after Olmstead had just punted the ball 60 yards to put the Indians on their one yard line. The Indians quickly lined up and ran the ball 28 yards while our defense had their hands on their hips looking over at the sideline. (I am completely at a loss as to why we can’t call a defense in from the sidelines before the opposing team gets set.) That’s when I conceded the game to the Indians. We were being beat by a better team that was playing with energy and attitude and we had neither.

Special teams were good but I hate to rave about Thomas Olmstead’s punting when it means we fail on so many third down attempts (4 of 15). We at least blocked an early field goal attempt.

Overall I was miserable the entire game. Even our cheerleaders were run off for most of the game. However, unlike our football team, they later came back and stood their ground.

Troy is in a battle for last place in the SunBelt. Although Troy won great games against Marshall and Missouri and also played tough against South Carolina, they have refused to play to potential in the SunBelt conference. We have too much talent to be playing like this. I certainly don’t have the answers, but I can think of some questions that should be asked. Why aren’t we giving another quarterback a chance to play? Why are we so predictable in calling offensive plays? Why can’t we design a game plan that plays to our strengths? We seem to change the offense every game and when that doesn’t work we go back to what we are good at, which is running the ball. Why aren’t we designing an offense that gets better ever game? Are we too worried about the other teams’ defense rather than our own offense? I’d like to see us develop a signature offense that is our trademark. I don’t care if the other team knows what’s coming at them --- I’m more concerned with our execution. I understand that you have to find out what works and exploit the opportunities the opposing defense gives you, but I also know that you have to have some fundamental plays that are our offense’s strengths. Since we don’t have a passing game, why don’t we run some options and screens? Or why don’t we put both Richardson and Betterson in the backfield at the same time like Auburn does? And lastly, our passing game has got to improve. Right now every team knows that they only have to stop the run and blitz the quarterback. We have got to make changes in that area.

I’m sure LSU watched this game and thanked their Athletics Director for scheduling us for their homecoming.