UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

Great first post! Welcome aboard.

That is great to hear...like you said hopefully they will all make it down to LR for the game!

Well, I'm fixing to hit the road... got on my GSC championship ring, purple dog tags, white Henderson hat and red shirt... how's that for a mixture? Good luck to all, just hope everyone comes out of the game healthy and we enjoy a decent contest.

Thanks for the plug. I was hoping it all made sense. Games like this are very hard to predict due to the fact that our second team should get alot of time on the field and a couple of late scores are possible. One note about the offense though; if we dont score over 40, its gonna be a long season. The score of this game SHOULD be whenever Conque and Cooley feel like they've done enough. I'm in no way bashing HSU, but based upon last year, coupled with the fact that we should be at least as good but are probably better than before, I feel that there is no reason it shouldn't get ugly fast. They are switching a WR into a fairly complex offensive scheme, so that should take more than a game or two for him to adjust.

On the flip side though, season openers are just that, season openers. It is very hard to predict if your team has done everything in practice to be able to execute the gameplan effectively. And even though our scholarships have essentially doubled, this is deceptive. Alot of those scholarships went to starters who weren't on full athletic aid to cap them off. Plus I would assume a fair number of our scholarships are redshirting this year. Those freshmen that we got in the fall that are planning to contribute this year have no experience at the collegiate level yet. If HSU ever had a chance at competing with us at 63 scholarships, this is it.

That being said, Bears in a rout.

Good call! Good call!

Man what a nice open to the season. We took care of business, but still a ton to work on for the rest of the season to improve on. All in all, a good win to open the new move

Am I the only one who noticed we started "practicing" in the second quarter?

I noticed onside kicks, fake extra points, second stringers making plays, and an overall feeling this was a real-speed practice session. I think Henderson was severely overmatched and it showed. I give them credit for playing us but the "snooze" factor came into play right before halftime. NOt a bad night out in the Rock though. Great job Bears!

I guess my 50+ to 21 prediction was a little off...considering their QB was also their kicker.....anyone catch Nathan trying to kick it away??? THat's what I mean by practice....

Good home opener. I was impressed with the number of students in the crowd, it really seems to have come along way in just a few years. As to the game, it was pretty much as I expected. The defense was swarming, and the athletes in the secondary were making good plays on the ball. I really liked the tempo of the defense. Seems like Denzil knows to just let them go out and make plays. They didnt really try to force anything defensively, which is exactly what you try and do against a team like henderson. I thought we locked it up pretty well when they got into field goal range.

Offensively, I think we are right where we should be. There are going to be occasional hiccups, but overall hard to argue with our performance. I was a little disappointed with the second quarter, I think we left a few points off the board. The big plays were there, 81 had his now typical burn the corner for a over 50 yard score, and R Brown had a nice touchdown scamper early on. N Browns pick early wasnt too bad of a play, more of a great play by the LB to intercept. The TE was his first read on that play and he did the right thing, sometimes the DEF just gets a great break on the ball. Timing wasnt always perfect, but its not going to be in your home opener. I also thought Nate had good control of the game. He appeared very calm throughout and called timeouts where appropriate. The OL looked aggressive and finished their blocks well. We did a good job of getting the ball out to our wideouts so they could make some plays, and I was particularly impressed with Twilley at TE. Defenses will have to gameplan for his ability to get open and catch the ball. I also commend him on the XP that went awry to get himself open in the flat and convert the two pointer.

I would like to see one of our punters get consistent enough so that Paul doesnt have to pull double duty. But dont be too alarmed at the Special Teams play, it's always the last thing to come around for a team.

Go Bears 1-0 Baby!!!

Random comments ----

Totally agree that the kicking game must improve. But I'm talking about everything: punting, field goals, coverage on kickoffs and punts.

I thought the first team offense and defense were pretty impressive when they wanted to be. Once again Fairooz proved that one man can't cover him.
(Speaking of, the craziest thing I saw all night was Fairooz with single coverage on what would have likely been another TD for him except he was called for a false start I think. That's just bad coaching right there. )

Nathan looked good also. I agree that the play the LB made on the ball for the interception was more a good play by the LB than a bad decision by Nathan. I'll take 23-29 and 269 every game.

Ross put aside any doubts that he can be a great #1 back. 7.8 yards per carry? Sounds like Kentrel/Bernard/Willie to me. And yes I know it was just one game.

I didn't think to look up at the replay, but man was Chijuan wide open. Whitely was very impressive at the end of the game too. And he was running behind an offensive line with 0 starters I believe (I'm sure HSU had quite a few subs in as well).

10 players caught passes! Ware and Twilley were very impressive to me.
The over-the-shoulder catch of the punt by Cedric Logan was crazy, but awesome that he caught it and made something out of it.

I know Coach Conque was disappointed with the 3rd down conversions (5 of 13).

The defensive secondary looked very good. Four picks? Unbelievable. That's one of the main reasons I was a little disappointed that we only scored 39 points.

Very happy for Lancaster getting in the game and making a huge play. That's a great way to start your college career.

If you've made it through this rambling congratulations. You passed.

What do I get for passing....a reception! Make me player number 11 to catch a pass

I had a good time at the game last night. You guys have a LOT of seniors and juniors in the two deep. For that reason, I think you shold be competitive in your D1 games this year. You are going to have to get some of the young guys some PT so they will be ready for a full D1 schedule next year.

I thought your OL, QB, and of course Lurch the receiver stood out as well as your LBs. HSU was bad and their OL was even worse, so I didn't see enough to get a good feel for the secondary.

You are exactly right about the third downs. UCA has big play potential on every play, but the conversion rate is a sign that they need to work on consistency.

One question. Your band was good, but they do have uniforms don't they?

Yeah, the band has uniforms, but for some reason at this game they always where casual attire.

Here's what I took from listening to the game, and just a couple of observations from my end of things.

My guess is that the game could have gotten as bad as we wanted it to. But it was more important to get the new guys and youngins in the game to get them experience AND to get them on tape for teaching purposes.

It was nice to get through game number 1 without any serious injury.

I have heard nothing but absolutely OUTSTANDING reports about our Band. Our new director is making some outstanding strides with that group and that group deserves to be recognized and applauded for their efforts last night, and I am looking forward to what else they have in store at home games.

You weren't at the game?

I was at the game, I just wasn't AT the game!

Someone who WAS AT the game was the SLC Commish, Tom Burnett! That was great that he would fly in to watch us in our first game. This SLC gig is a class act! Isn't it nice to be wanted

The band was awesome! I loved the tomahawk chop to the chant "bear" and the shouting match they used to get the crowd pumped. Yeah, I think UCA could have scored 50+, but they saw an opportunity to "practice".