Game #4 @ Campbell Camels

[valpotx]

Wow, what an absolutely pathetic pass by Lehman on 1st and goal.  That is the third pass he has thrown directly to Campbell, resulting in 2 INTs.  Lehman just blew this game on that play, leading to a TD for Campbell.

[valpotx]

I feel bad for the guys, as this is a game that we were well on our way to winning.  What a terrible pass by Lehman, with no Valpo receivers in the area, turning what should have been a 31-27 lead, into a 34-24 deficit.  He forces the ball quite a bit to our WRs, who are often double or triple covered.  He puts his blinders on, and doesn't see anyone but the first option on some of these plays. 

[valpotx]

To top it off, another INT by Lehman, again trying to force it into 3 defenders.  Seriously, this was a terrible display by Lehman in the 4th quarter.  He literally stares at his WRs that he is going to throw it to.  What a disappointment.

[covufan]

Just before half I had a chance to look at the score and stats.  It was a very close game, and I started thinking that it would come down to turnovers...

[valporun]

valpotx, are you saying Lehman "tipped" his passes, like a pitcher tips his pitches? I didn't get to see the game, so I'm hoping maybe I can find an archive for it...

[VUDad]

The passing game came alive at Campbell, meaning we broke free of the short pass habit. With a more diverse passing game comes greater risk for errors--the short passes are very safe. While it's great to see us expanding the field, three pics--especially 2 in the red zone in Q4 in a game we could've/should've won, make you wonder what the coach will do now that we have 5 pics and only 4 TDs. The O-line played well and gave Ben good time. Hall had a good game too. The D played well enough--our turnovers out them on the field too much and in tough spots. Lots of positives for Valpo, the turnovers were the difference. Not sure we'll see many more teams with such weak pass coverage.

[usc4valpo]

I had a feeling Campbell would be ready to win and stop the Sader streak.  They are better than previous years, as is Valpo.  I still see 4 wins.

BTW, after watching Baylor-ISU , it would be really nice in the future to have some team speed rather than forming a team in a Big 10 mode.  Something to think about.

[VULB#62]

Wish I could have watched this one, but I couldn't.  But, I did get a peek at the Game Tracker at the half and was heartened by the 10-10 score.  Later I was able to review the CU stats recap and the scoring summary

Attendance: Full house (6300+),
Total Offense:  VU 533, CU 405
Total Return Yds:  VU 172, CU 287
Penalties: VU 4-45, CU 10-114
INT By:  VU - 1, CU - 3
Fumbles/lost: VU 0/0, CU 2/0
Sacks by: VU 0, CU 0
Possession: VU 29:59, CU 29:54

ENCOURAGING:
•   The new Offense his starting to get in synch – 531 yards of total offense against a defense that Mike Minter said after the murderous OOC schedule they played would be among the top 20 in the FCS.
•   392 yards passing and some big plays by essentially a first year starting QB
•   With the exception of the 3 INTs (later) this squad continues to minimize penalties, does not fumble much and has allowed few sacks this season so far.
•   The running game (by committee) seems to be able to churn out sufficient yardage to allow the passing game room to operate.  This week it was Brandon Hall who nearly hit 100 yards
•   This team shows the characteristics of a fighter and hasn't given up.  They can counterpunch and in this game took the lead a couple of times.  It was a hard fought back & forth battle as far as the stat sheet seemed to reflect.

DISCOURAGING:
•   Three INTs, 2 going into the red zone -- both were returned 70+ yards (but not for scores -- have to commend our kids for running down the interceptor before the end zone).
•   287 return yards given up.  149 on punt and kick-off returns (Valpo had 122), but 138 net on INT runbacks.
•   Couldn't finish them off when we had them down.

BOTTOM LINE:
We have a ways to go, but after 4 games, I see improvements.  However, they are not in all phases of the game each game.  We get better in one area, but either don't improve or regress a bit in another.  The offense is a good example: greatly improved passing game offset by 2 picks at the worst times.  But I still think in total, this team is displaying more grit than in the last 4 years and does not cave in when the first little thing goes wrong as in the past.  Yes, we beat Campbell the past 3 times, but two of those were against a poorly coached team and last year was Minter's first year.  Everyone on the board pointed to their improvement and few picked us to win, myself included.

[usc4valpo]

Interesting - Time of possession when added up up is off by 7 seconds.  It does not add up to 60:00.  And yes, I do need a life.

[VUDad]

Mike Minter is probably the only one touting their defense as a top 20. Their pass coverage was the worst we faced this year, which our O completely jumped on for yards. While we seem to be able to put up big stats (as has been the case for the past few years), we don't score in pace with our yards. After four games, three against teams that were quite winnable, more adjustments on O are needed. Look for more surprises, as seen last night with two trick plays in a row.

[vu72]

I will say that the quality of the video was outstanding--almost HD.  The camera angles were very good and they had instant replay--which was not used very well! Our broadcast is no where near as good as the lens always seems to have a little butter smeared on it.

[VULB#62]

Mike Minter is probably the only one touting their defense as a top 20. Their pass coverage was the worst we faced this year, which our O completely jumped on for yards. While we seem to be able to put up big stats (as has been the case for the past few years), we don't score in pace with our yards. After four games, three against teams that were quite winnable, more adjustments on O are needed. Look for more surprises, as seen last night with two trick plays in a row.

Got that right, Dad.  Point I was making was making was Minter said it.  They will be a better team compared to last year and the year before but it would appear their secondary is as porous as in the past.  Surprising given his college and pro background.  I doubt any PFL team will lead the FCS in Defense given the OOC FCS drubbings our teams absorb. Marist is next and it is winnble IF we come to play and eliminate our errors.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Interesting - Time of possession when added up up is off by 7 seconds.  It does not add up to 60:00.  And yes, I do need a life.

that was when the ball was in the air and God had it

[valpotx]

Our Defense played really well considering the situations they were put in.  Our Special Teams didn't help them out at all, not staying in their lanes on several kicks.  Seriously, for those watching the game, the outside contain guy would ALWAYS slant in at the last minute, leaving a huge hole on the outside where the Returner would then go.  We also gave up large returns on INTs.  Those two fumbles Campbell had looked like we had the ball at first, only to lose it in the dog pile.  We very much looked like the better team throughout the game, outside of Special Teams and the turnovers.

[VULB#62]

Here's some quotes from the Post-Trib article.  NWITimes didn't have an article.


Take one glance at the offensive numbers and it may be fair to assume that Valparaiso came away with a victory in Saturday's game against Campbell.

However, three interceptions and two missed field goals squashed five threatening Crusader drives, helping Campbell pull out a 34-24 victory in the Pioneer Football League opener for both teams.

The turning point of the game came when Valparaiso had first-and-goal from the Campbell seven-yard line, trailing 27-24 midway through the fourth quarter. Ben Lehman's pass sailed into the hands of Campbell's Luke Hill, who returned the interception 77 yards to the Valparaiso 23. DeShawn Jones ran it in from there, expanding the lead to 10 and accounting for the final margin.

"The turnovers in the second half really were the swinging points in the game," Valparaiso coach Dave Cecchini said. "We were doing an outstanding job offensively, playing and executing the best that we had all season. We made a couple poor decisions, and you can't have that."

Here's the link:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/30145440-419/valparaiso-opportunities-go-to-waste-in-loss-to-campbell.html#.VCm_cEsXKgE