Care: Stroud running the ball
He did it everybody! And Braxton is throwing the ball today too probably!
In all seriousness, we knew he had the athleticism to pick up yards when needed and today in conditions that made it impossible for him to use his arm, he did what needed to be done. It was great to see and gives our remaining opponents yet another wrinkle to prepare for.
It was good to see us bring some new looks today, even if it was a game or two early because the weather was just that bad. It's nice to know we have sections of the playbook we still haven't utilized.
Don't Care: The final score
No, we aren't used to this type of game. And yes, we should have scored more and performed better. But a win is a win is a win and we're still undefeated and in control of our destiny. This is what matters folks.
Care: A toxic fanbase.
Look, I get it. It was uglyyyy today and doesn't feel great even though we won. However, this website is filled with people who are already starting to discuss when we should fire Ryan Day. This is a coach whose current floor is an 11-2 season with a Rose Bowl win. Think about that. This board would have self-destructed in the 2002 championship year.
There's being a fan, and then being something beyond that which isn't healthy, isn't supportive of our team, and isn't conducive to an enjoyable environment. It's impossible to play every game perfectly, and it's exceedingly rare to see an offense do nothing wrong or have no issues.
Our team may have flaws, but that doesn't mean we need to spout every foul thought we have, especially after a double digit win.
Let's enjoy what we do have while acknowledging we can continue to improve.
Don't Care: This week's CFP rankings
Win and in. That's all we need to pay attention to. There are going to be many people upset with Tennessee falling too far/not falling enough, the placement of Bama whether they win or lose, etc. None of it matters. As long as we continue to win we will be in the Top 4.
UGA deserves #1 after the destruction of Tennessee, that's really the only thing that I believe everyone will be able to agree on.
Where we fall means nothing right now.
Care: Rush offense
I'm finally ready to admit we aren't a great rushing team. Against Iowa and Penn State I was willing to excuse some of our deficiencies due to both defenses being very good and specifically game planning our run game out of the game. But Northwestern is not a good defense and we couldn't do much against them for most of the game. That's alarming.
Day's unwillingness to dedicate to the run was a problem today. We weren't going to pass the ball today due to the weather and he still tried to do so in situations that put us behind the chains. Poor play-calling and not much trust in our rush offense. Not a good sign.
It's Frye's first year so I'm not really concerned about the hire, his track record is good and he'll get the guys he wants as he recruits. But they need to figure out some other plays to free up our guys. The second half saw us pull the trigger on some different looks which were successful so I'm hoping it just means we haven't shown our full hand just yet.
Don't Care: The Big Ten West...again
Holy shit they are just so bad and can't do anything right. Illinois looked like a team that could end up with a pretty damn good resume at the end of the season whether or not they beat Michigan. Instead they go and lose to a terrible MSU team. So they'll most likely drop out of the rankings or close to it.
The Big Ten West isn't putting anybody worth talking about in the conference championship game. Our resume will rely on Penn State and Michigan and that's about it.
