Sickening finesse. We didn't line up in the I formation all night until briefly in the third quarter after the strip sack.
First quarter was 5 rushes. It should be a minimum of 15 against a team like that. It was like the coaching staff was giddy all offseason with a returning quarterback and decided to do nothing but tinker. We didn't threaten to hit anyone. I gave up on evaluating the new offensive linemen once it was obvious we had no intention of running the ball with any authority.
I despise an approach like this because I'm convinced it does nothing to prepare you for the top teams. The power game has to be established first, so opponents have to fear it, and to allow all the cutesy garbage to flow off of that. When all you have is tinkerbell finesse you are sitting ducks against better foes.
Mike Leach forgot to win today as a 31 point home favorite against Portland State. Nothing new. He loses as big favorite all the time, far more often than he wins as underdog. When you don't pound the outmanned team all your theoretical advantages are lessened and the opponent perks up once they sense you aren't going to hit them in the mouth. The Canes risk similar, not to Mike Leach incompetence but versus foes we should routinely handle. There was one sideways pass to the right sideline that looked like it was designed with no gain as the best case scenario and a 2 yard loss as the norm. Sure enough, it was complete for a 2 yard loss. I howled.
At least we explored the middle of the field in the passing game, unlike James Coley's first year. The opening series featured some nice designs, including the failed pass to Yearby when Kaaya was wild high.