1. The defense was sloppy. Tackling was poor, and they were just one step out of position way too much. These things will improve over the course of the season.
2. The defense had no heart, no soul, no emotion. At the end of that last drive, they were standing around looking dazed, confused, and tired. There was no one slapping helmets, shaking fingers, or even waving their arms to get the crowd involved. I'm pretty sure that someone will eventually step up to fill this void, too; until then, the D is going to lack heart and soul.
3. The offensive line was absolutely, positively, pathetically awful. Remember, this is the same O-line -- literally, the same five guys -- who paved the way for offensive juggernaut Collin Klein last year. He was good, but no one can perform like that without good blocking up front. That blocking was wholly absent tonight. For KSU to get a total of less than 50 rushing yards (or whatever it was, my blood pressure can't handle looking at any official stats right now) against an FCS team is, quite simply, inexcusable.
4. As predicted, NDSU is the real deal. They smacked KSU in the face over and over and over, kept their composure when the game was slipping out of hand, and literally bulled their way into a win. They completely controlled the last 20 minutes or so of the game, forcing their will onto a woeful Wildcat team that seemingly lost focus or interest in the game. Or something. I'm not sure what happened.
All I know is...
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