Nice win! It was a good outing for the offense. They did not manage the clock well at the end of the first half and they stalled a few times in the second half but got into a scoring position and got points. The missed field goal could have been huge but it ended up not being an issue. A really good game for Annexstad and the O-Coordinator. I did not mind the option with Annexstad on the last drive. Most everyone probably expected the third run into the line and there was little success with those plays in the 4th quarter. Maybe they catch UNI stacking the middle and Annexstad gets outside for a 1st down. It did not work but it was not a bad call in my opinion. The defense gave up some big plays but they made the big plays when they needed to.
I will admit when they went three and out and gave the ball back to UNI with over a minute left I thought the Birds stood a good chance of losing this game. They came up with some of their best defense of the night at that point. Big win and a needed win. I hope the offense continues to improve. Maybe we will look back at the second half of the SIU game as the point where the offense got it together. If they continue to improve this team can make the playoffs.
Annexstad was 8-15 for 87 yds in Q1, and then went 21-26 for 170 yds the last 3 qtrs. Didn't get a lot of big yards, but helped move chains as run game faded 2nd half. We got 118 rush yds the 1st half, but just 34 rush yds 2nd half. So Zack was the guy who slowed UNI enough, to give our defense a chance to help us hold on late. Time of possession was 35 to 25 ... kudos to offense and defense.
Hope Wright is ok - he looked so strong early - oh to have had Mueller and Wright wearing down defenses. Nigel had a nice game (16 for 69 yds) but hes not ready to carry a heavier load yet. Tanner Taula had a big game to .. great to see a QB (and OC) who like to use the TE !!
Nice day all the way around. We handled SIU entire 2nd half last week and were 12 yards from a win last week. Then handled UNI entire 1st half today and we're able to hand on despite being on the road against a decent UNI team.
Let's ride this momentum past South Dakota, probably the best 1-4 team in FCS.. They are tougher than their record, with #1 SOS in FCS.
Let's go Redbirds !!
Edit .. and 13-20 on 3rd down ???? Plus 2-2 on 4th down, which adjjusts the 3rd down conversion to 15-20 moving chains on 3 or 4th downs .... against UNI ??? Punted just twice despite scoring just 23 pts.