The Good

• Casey was the man.  He played a part in all four scores and set a career high with 318 passing yards.  We don’t win that game without him.
• Some of the freshman defensive players can really hit and hit hard.  Linebacker Jelani Smith completely blew up WIU running back Herb Donaldson and forced a fumble that stalled the Leathernecks first possession.
• As Bobby Petrino might say, the field looked ‘tight.’  The classic logo at midfield is just the right size and is flanked nicely by the SEC logos.

The Bad

• The protection breakdowns in the offensive line, an assumed strength of this team, was surprising and disappointing.  The sacks and negative plays allowed doomed several first half drives.
• As feared, the defensive front showed no signs of being able to stop the run.  Granted, Herb Donaldson was as good as advertised (35 carries for 157).  But still, we got pushed around pretty good.
• Several kickoffs by Jeremy Davis barely made it to the 20-yard line.  We need to try Tejada kicking off ASAP.
• Pile up those red pants on the 50-yard line and burn the damn things!  We’ve had enough of them in 2008.

The Ugly

• Elton Ford’s fumble on the opening kickoff immediately took the crowd out of the game.  It also set a tone of tentativeness by the Hogs that lasted well into the second quarter.
• I lost count of the dropped passes and dropped interceptions.  I know the humidity was really high, but it sure didn’t seem to affect the Leathernecks as much as the home team.
• When the going got tough, London Crawford took it to the house…just not the end zone.  The oft-injured receiver got his ‘bell rung’ on a fourth quarter kickoff return and was later carted off the field as a precaution.  Coach Petrino couldn’t specify on Sunday when he thought Crawford would be able to return to practice.