No cutsie-pie key pictures this time, just full of information. This initial one will be a little more light-hearted than most, being that this game likely won't be close beyond halftime. At least I hope not.
Seems simple enough, right? I am of the belief that whenever you have way more talent, especially up front, you pound the ball down their throats. You show who is boss, who is more talented, and who pushes who around. Not to try and tie this into the Appy State-Michigan game, but if Michigan gives the ball to Mike Hart they more than likely win the game. Give the ball to Brandon McAnderson, give the ball to Jake Sharp, even get freshman Carmon Boyd-Anderson the ball quite a bit. I want to see us (fine, hear us) run the ball 50+ times tonight, unless of course they jump out to a big lead. Which leads me to Key #2...
Don't let SELA stay in the game. Take the ball, run it down their throats, and jump out to a one-TD lead at least. Then, proceed to continue to be aggressive, aggressiveness is key, and put the game away for good. The more and more SELA stays in the game, the more and more confidence begins to grow and their sideline (and fans) believe that they can actually pull of an upset. I don't want it to even be a possibility by the second quarter, although I expect it will take until after halftime before the game really is out-of-hand.
Assuming we accomplish Key #2, let the young kids play (again) and get them some valuable experience. I am specifically talking about offensive weapons, like Dezmon Briscoe, Ryan Murphy and Carmon Boyd-Anderson, but I am also talking about young defensive players. We will need all the depth we can get once Big 12 season comes around and injuries inevitably pile up, and it would be nice to have some of that depth developed through real-life game action. Y'know?
Those are the 3 keys, open thread will be up fairly shortly.
ROCK CHALK!