WKU Football: Grading WKU’s 23–22 Loss to Louisiana Tech
Well, it’s been over 24 hours and it doesn’t feel any better. WKU should have won Saturday’s game, no doubt about it.
Well, it’s been over 24 hours and it doesn’t feel any better. WKU should have won Saturday’s game, no doubt about it.
And, while there was some bad on Saturday, there was also some good and there was some in-between. That’s the fancy way of saying let’s get to gradin’ the performance.
Mike White: B-
White looked a lot more comfortable than he did against Illinois — it looked like he felt he had time to allow routes to develop and even established a reliability factor with a couple of guys in order to go to them in key spots. He finished the day with 226 yards through the air, completing 25 of 35 passes and rushing for a touchdown.
However, White was unable to help successfully manage the final quarter and taking time off the clock (although whether that’s fully on the shoulders of him or Sanford can be debated) and was unable to make magic happen in the last several possessions, instead either getting sacked or being forced to throw it away to stall out the drive. As White feels more comfortable in Sanford’s system, he’ll be able to close out games.
At least, we hope.
Quinton Baker: INCOMPLETE
A bloody shame, too. Baker was beginning to look like the offensive star, and as the Stadium broadcast said (and was something I completely agreed with) looked like he was about ready to tear off a big run at any moment.
And then he went down.
And then he returned!
But then he went down, again, and was carted to the locker room.
Who knows what the dynamic of the game would have been had he stayed in the game. It was very reminiscent of when Tevin Coleman went down for the Falcons in the Super Bowl — once that happened, Atlanta entered “play to not lose” mode and, well, you know the rest.
As a matter of fact, as SOON as Baker went down (the first time), I thought to myself “this is just like the Super Bowl,” but didn’t want to actually voice it anywhere to put it into the universe. Apparently that didn’t work.
Baker finished with 79 yards on 19 touches and a touchdown and it’s a shame he went out because he probably would have finished with an A.
Deon Yelder: A
Yelder’s performance was my personal favorite of the day, and mostly because he established himself as a reliable pass catcher from the tight end position, something the Tops haven’t truly had in quite some time. While the stats don’t scream “A performance” (54 yards on six catches), the fact that White could target Yelder and know he was going to make the catch is exactly what you want out of a tight end. It’s what Jack Doyle did. It’s what Tyler Higbee did. It’s what Mitchell Henry did. And, at least on Saturday, it’s what Deon Yelder did.
Joe Brown: A
This may be the easiest grade I give — Joe Brown did everything in his power to put the Tops in position to close the game out with that fourth quarter interception. He also finished with two tackles. Not much more to say. He tried. He really did.
Fourth quarter performance: Don’t ask
I’m not meaning to beat a dead horse. I’m really not. So I suppose I wont.
Overall Grade: INCOMPLETE
Is this a cop out? A little bit, yes. But I argue it’s valid. We saw the Tops compete for three quarters on Saturday. They simply didn’t finish, and it cost them the game.
Okay, fine. If I have to give an actual grade, I give it somewhere between a B- and a C+.
Your turn — what grades would you give the Tops, both individually and as an overall unit, following Saturday’s defeat? Let us know in a comment below, on Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.