**Official Lamar v. Central Arkansas - Homecoming Game**

[Guest bigred360]

Overall, I was disappointed in the loss. As the game progressed, I thought this game was in our control. We just didn't seal the deal. We were in the game until that last interception.

 

Eliminate or reduce the other teams BIG plays ... One of the biggest things that is reducing our chances at winning is failure to stop the big plays. It's great when the big plays are made by my team, but it's a killer when the opponent is making them.

 

From the official game stats ...

 

[table]

[tr][td]2nd 01:37 UCA Bobo, Terence 51 yd pass from Dick, Nathan (Camara, Eddie kick)

1 play, 51 yards, TOP 0:12 17 - 17 [/td][/tr]

 

[tr][td]3rd 00:22 UCA Lasker, Al 35 yd pass from Dick, Nathan (Camara, Eddie kick)

6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:17 31 - 24 [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]4th 02:07 UCA Love, Jestin 31 yd interception return (Camara, Eddie kick)

38 - 24 [/td][/tr]

[/table]

 

Take those away or at least some of them away plus the "gift" following the fake punt, and the end result is a different story.

 

3rd 10:40 UCA Grandy, Jesse 12 yd pass from Dick, Nathan (Camara, Eddie kick)

4 plays, 32 yards, TOP 1:14 24 - 17

 

(I had no problem with the fake punt. It was a gamble, but the payoff would have been great if it had worked. I thought it was in the right place on the field at the right time in the game. Too bad it didn't work. I hope we don't try it again for a long time though, particularly when we are either tied or ahead. However, I am glad that we have a coaching staff that is willing to take a gamble sometime.)

Eliminate or reduce the 3rd down defensive breakdowns... Another thing is to play defense on third down as hard as it is played on 1st and 2nd downs. I have seen too many times this season where we had great defensive plays for the first two downs and then let the other team continue the drive with a third down play.

 

I realize the only thing that matters is the score at the end of the game, but I see the things we need to work on are more related to giving up the big play. Looking at the statistics, there are a lot of positives to build on. We had more first downs, more total yards, more yards passing, a better punting average, more kick off return yards per return, and a higher time of possession.

 

Positives

 

Started out with long, time consuming drives for scores... I really liked the way the game started out. We had two long drives for scores.

 

Improved kicking ... In the earlier games, I thought kicking and special teams was one of our weakest facits of the game. I saw improvement in the kicking game. There were several kickoffs for touch backs in the UCA game as opposed to letting the other team start from the 35 yd - 45 yd line too many times this season.

 

More fans using the tickets they bought ... Nice to see more fans in the stadium; like everyone else I would like to see even more. I do agree that we need to be louder and more into the game. In the fans defense, the sections around me did get up for the kick offs. We need to be louder when the defense is on the field though. The spirit groups are doing their part. We as fans need to do our part.

 

Pregame atmosphere ... It's a lot different and a lot better than it was when we had season tickets during the 70's through the end of the 80's. We don't tail gate, but it is great walking to the stadium past the tail gaters. Lots of activity and energy during the pregame.

 

+100

[coachacola]

I noticed the box score said attendance was 15,367, just like the previous 3 games? So are the exact same 15,367 fans going to every home game? :laugh:

[Guest NorthoftheBorder]

I noticed the box score said attendance was 15,367, just like the previous 3 games? So are the exact same 15,367 fans going to every home game? :laugh:

 

Good catch Coach. Just another example of what I was trying to say about not having the depth chart updated with accurate info. Getting the small things wrong sets the tone for the big things.

[Guest CardAmbassador]

I noticed the box score said attendance was 15,367, just like the previous 3 games? So are the exact same 15,367 fans going to every home game? :laugh:

 

Good catch Coach. Just another example of what I was trying to say about not having the depth chart updated with accurate info. Getting the small things wrong sets the tone for the big things.

 

I saw this last night and was a little pissed. What the heck is going on? Report the freakin attendance as is, I think there were more than 15,367 tickets sold for this game. I want answers and accountability.