NOTE: Pardon the light bitterness.
Although I picked the Coyote football team to beat Central Washington, I was (secretly) afraid this could happen.
The pass defense hasn’t stepped up this year - aside from the Duluth game. That’s been the Achilles heel for this team over the past two three seasons. We’ve all seen that, yes, the defense can dominate on occasion, but the truth is, it’s sub-par. Horribly sub-par.
Again today, the USD offense did its job, compiling 644 yards of total offense. SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR. And the Coyotes LOST. You can’t be wasting those kinds of efforts.
At 3-3 (and 2-1 in the North Central Conference), the Coyotes may need to win its remaining five games if it wants to get a playoff berth. Keep in mind, USD didn’t lose it’s third game until the last game of the regular season in 2006. And in 2005, the team only lost two games. Granted, those were different teams with different players, but it’s a good source of comparison.
Now, I know people might argue that the Coyotes have had a really tough schedule this year - trust me, I’ve made that argument publicly. And while they have played some tough teams, it doesn’t excuse the defensive efforts. You can’t give up 55, 31 or 45 points in a game and expect to be a playoff contender. Good teams just don’t do that.
For the past few hours, I’ve been asking myself: how good is this team? The truth is, we really don’t know how good USD truly is. Their offense has looked amazing at times, but awful at times. Their defense has looked good at times (a period of 6 quarters against Duluth and St. Cloud), but awful at times.
I’ve never been one to openly criticize the USD football team, because frankly, there hasn’t been much to complain about in the post-Jon Austin years, but I’m on the verge. I had high expectations for this team in 2007, but so far, it’s looking more and more like a 7-4 squad. And given the talent and offensive firepower, that’d be a disappointment.
- - Jeremy Hoeck
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