No opening, only grading.
Quarterbacks:
Another good-if-not-great performance from Mr. Todd Reesing, who is proving Mangino more right every game. --- Side note, why does Mangino not get any love as the "Mangenius"? I know that Eric Mangini of the Jets pretty much has a hold on the nickname, largely thanks to the overuse on ESPN during last year's playoff run, but Mangino's name is only one letter different, and sounds virtually the same. Speaking of, we need to establish a Mark Mangino nickmane, I have yet to see one I like on the internet. Post suggestions in the comments. --- Moving back to the QB play, Reesing only went 13-23 (57%) isn't ideal, but it is passable especially with the ground game we possess. Another thing that makes the low completion percentage survivable is how many of those passes are thrown down field, trying to make a big play. 11.2 yards an attempt is very good, especially considering his completion %. He also threw two TD's, and they were both passes of over 20 yards (including one to Aqib Talib), with both passes well thrown. Kerry Meier came on in garbage time for the second straight week, and played amazingly efficient. He only threw 1 pass, a 23 yard TD to Jake Sharp on a short pass, but ran the ball twice for 44 yards. 40 of those came on one run, a tremendous display of athleticism that makes you wonder how he didn't run away with the job.
Grade: A
Running Backs:
Yet another dominating performance on the ground, averaging 5.7 yards every carry. That, of course, was benefited by Meier's 40 yard run in garbage time, but starters Brandon McAnderson (11 carries 60 yards 2 TD's) and Jake Sharp (8 carries 32 yards 1 TD) both performed well. It is becoming clear that Mangino favors McAnderson, with him receiving the bulk of the carries for the second straight week. I am enamored with Sharp personally, but a split will do them both good once we roll around to the end of the season, and Sharp should get his chance to shine next season. However, another name trying to sneak his way in is true freshman Carmon Boyd-Anderson, who saw plenty of garbage time Saturday. He made the most of it too, taking his 13 carries (most on team) for 54 yards and a TD, his first in college. He is a special talent, and figures to be a factor the rest of the season and next, despite Sharp's apparent chance to take over. His play likely will decide whether Sharp is the main back next year or not more than anyone else, even Sharp himself. The more we see of Carmon the better, and he will likely be seeing some serious action in Big 12 play. Trust me.
Grade: A-
Wide Receivers:
Option #1 in the passing game is Marcus Henry, hands down. 5 catches 119 yards prove that point, he will be a name that will be start to be mentioned around Big 12 circles come conference play. However, our strength is how many talented athletes we have, including Dexton Fields (5 catches 59 yards 1 TD), Marcus Herford (0 catches) and Raimond Pendleton (0 catches). Of course, there is more to our passing game than simply the talented athlets on the outside. Derek Fine caught 2 passes, and he is doing a good job at being an outlet for Reesing. He will become much more valuable once we start playing Big 12 teams, more pressure will be breathing down Todd's throat and, instead of waiting for someone to get open deep, he will dump it off to a back or Fine. Speaking of backs, Sharp caught a pass for 23 yards, the TD he caught from Meier. Lastly, we get to Talib, whose involvement in the offense is puzzling to more than just me. Of course, who am I to second-guess when he has caught 3 passes in 2 games, two of them going for TD's of at least 36 yards.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line:
Another great performance from the O-Line, that is assumed any time you average 5.7 yards on the ground and 11.2 per attempt through the air. Their first real test will be in Manhattan on October 6th, and until then they figure to simply dominate their competition. We will be able to tell little until then.
Grade: A
Later on tonight we will take a look at the defense.
ROCK CHALK!