Northern Illinois

Maybe. Did we turn the corner or just hit a moving sidewalk on the way to the wall?

Folks, it was Northern Illinois, but that was the best feeling any Nole has had postgame since December when we were in Shreveport against Southern Miss. With this kind of happiness pretty much a lock against directional schools, I was looking on the schedule for Western Carolina or North Texas. But, alas, nothing but conference games, the Irish and the Lizard left on the slate. So, a Bowl is still the end of our current rainbow.

For those of you at home not able to see the excitement that is the Seminole sideline, the clear leader of this team has not taken a snap yet this season. James Blackman is a windmilling, human pogo stick of emotion who still manages to keep his headset attached to his preternaturally skinny noggin. I have seen backup quarterbacks being classy and some have even genuinely been good teammates. But, this kid was a starter all last season, and QB's all over the country just quit on their teams when dealt his current hand. James not only stayed, but is throwing straight flushes at every dealer. Every great play, he is sprinting on the field to hug his teammates - including the kid chosen to play his position. He is in the defensive and special teams huddles. Granted, he can slither almost unnoticed in between lineman to get in the middle of these gatherings, a skill that may come in handy if our line continues to create"holes" like they are. But, you can see from any seat in the building what a positive force this young man is. You can't help but root for him.

Well, the offense had a pulse yesterday. I do not think there were any revelatory changes in approach, but we gave our beleaguered tackles some help on most of the longer pass plays, with TE's and backs chipping better than Kelly.  We started the game red hot, which I will take a flyer and guess was because the first dozen plays were scripted by the entire staff. The kids knew the calls, executed them quickly, and Deondre got the ball out of his hand right now. Then, the East/ West Willie Shrine Game took over. Cam is simply not a good fit right now in this ground attack. He has reverted to HS form trying to outrun every defender and is just gifting his mates too may negative plays. Jacques and Amir Rasul both are hitting holes hard, and Jacques is a plus pass protector. Interesting film evaluations coming up on these three. Loved seeing both Gavin and Noonie grab competed deep balls, but the real mystery remains why we do not take at least six shots a game at Terry. He is ridiculously talented; like NFL-talented as a freshman. Literally bigger and faster than anyone he will line up against, and has ball skills like the last #1 WR pick wearing our colors who happened to snag a somewhat important TD to end a fun evening in Pasadena.  Leave seven in to protect and give Frenchy time to throw it deep to this wunderkind.

Congrats to Greg Frey for finding a serviceable combo of beef this week. It was not exactly a Brazilian style feast, but it was not Violas Veggie Surprise either. The key was the gritty performance by Abdul Bello at LT. For the first time since Landon Dickerson checked out early against VT, this position was not a Penn Station turnstile. In fact, he was downright average, and that folks is cold peanut butter pie on a sunny Sunday. When he got cramps, young Jujuan Williams came in, and two false starts and a whiff later, trainers had miraculously dumped three horse buckets of fluids in #75, and the offense began to function again. On the other side, Brady Scott was battling a potential number one pick most of the day, and mercifully had a teammate next to him to lend a hand and a body. When he was left on an island, that island was bombed while being battered by a typhoon. As a reminder loved ones, this is a team that has less tackles on their roster than punters right now.  So, if we can somehow survive until we get Kelly and Dickerson back, there is hope again...

The defense was mostly solid. This was not exactly a high powered machine we were facing, but they did finish with only 6 yards rushing. However, the 3rd down defense was Kelly-esque, with a wide open long TD and an almost another if not for a Huskie wideout wearing shoes 1 size too big. The lack of a pass rush is mostly to blame here. We desperately need Joshua Kaindoh to arrive. This kid has every tool in Tim and Al's bag, but just can not stay healthy. Brian Burns is just not big enough to take on the double teams he is facing, and needs the other side to threaten. The answer might be in the middle.

If you are like me and part of your morning routine is stepping on the scale, you can appreciate the feeling of looking down and seeing three...seven...eight. Our boy, Robert Cooper is all of that 378 and more. He is the entire Sickmon clan in one body. On a day when Christmas did not arrive, we needed "Trenchmonster" to fill the proverbial void. Just think, he is still a true freshman. Maybe on the honey fried chicken diet, we can get him up to four and a half bills. The starter this week was the former best defensive player in the country in Marvin Wilson, and he is starting to play like it. Winning on almost every snap, he is causing havoc in the middle. But, we are only getting real pressure with exotic blitzes. That has to improve. On the back end, Lavonta Taylor's drive to All American has taken an early exit, but Kyle Myers, and Stanford Samuels are picking up the slack. With the exception of some poor play in deep zones though, you get the feeling that the kids like this defensive staff and are improving every week.

How much fun was it to watch the team react to Ricky nailing all three tries this week including a momentum saving bomb before the half? Combne that with the electricity that is DJ Matthews and special teams has a pulse too. These fellas are the key to stealing a win or two this year, so if we can just avoid stupid penalties every other kick, we might win this important third of the game.

Maybe, maybe there could be enough to string together something with a road game against struggling Louisville next week. Almost the entire ACC took the week off - especially those playing - and suddenly the schedule looks possible again. Winning is more fun...I promise you. Let's do a little more of that. See you next week from the shadow of Churchill Downs.