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What a difference a week can make.
Yes, the competition level was a little different than week 1, but how many times in the past have we seen the Garnet and Black "escape" these games instead of taking care of business the way we should?
It took the Defense a couple of drives, and a talking to, but they really turned it on. Furman had a great plan Offensively, and that was to get the ball out quickly. Don't allow our Dline time to use our size and athletic advantage to get to the QB. Early on those quick slants carved up our D, but after some adjustments, our starters shut them down.
The Offense didn't have a fantastic opening drive, but after that, we scored at will with the starters.
Again, yes, this is WHAT we should have done to Furman, but there's been far too many games that we've walked away thinking, "damn, that shouldn't have been that close."
I think this was just the game these guys needed to 1, wash the taste of UNC out of their mouths, and 2, gain confidence going into week 3.
Honorable Mentions:
The Freshmen Class - To my knowledge, other than specialists, we had true freshmen play at every single position, at one point or another Saturday night, and nearly every single one made an impact. We all thought this class looked great on paper. It turns out, they look great on a Football field too.
Jalon Kilgore - Yes, a part of the freshmen class, but similar to Nick last season, he was thrown into the fire on the very first drive of the season, and has not disappointed. He finished week 1, 2nd in tackles, and led the team in tackles against Furman.
Xavier Leggette - So far this season, X has just been unstoppable. Perfect passes, he catches. Need to make adjustments to the ball, he catches. Once Juice gets healthy and you have those 2 out wide with AB in the slot. We're going to have a very dangerous passing game ...
Spencer Rattler - ... and what's going to make that passing game so dangerous, is QB1 playing his tail off. Rattler has been absolutely lights out this season, and I couldn't be happier for him. With all the trash talk people have gone after him with, yes the season is early, but it's great to see him playing at the level he has so far.
This guy, like Leggett, has shown flashes in the past. He transferred here and had a lot of type as a guy that could really make some plays, but we just didn't see him get on the field much. Against UNC in the Belk Bowl, he made some great plays, but once the season rolled back around, he seemed to fall back into the shadows.
This year, he's burst out of the shadows like a man with his hair on fire, and I'm here for it.
I don't recall a slot receiver making plays like this since Kenny McKinley was carving up Defenses, and I haven't seen us run 3 receivers out onto the field that Defenses had to truly worry about all 3 of them, since Alshon Jeffery, Bruce Ellington, and Ace Sanders.
The 3rd head of this new WR monster has consistently made defenders miss out in the open, and he's one shifty cut away from taking one to the house.
Saturday night, when Furman focused on the outside, Spencer put the ball into 10s hands and he made Defenders EAT dirt has they were diving at his feet.
THE WINNER OF THE ATE 'EM UP AWARD AGAINST FURMAN IS ... AHMAREAN BROWN
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