If you're suggesting that Ehlinger got better as the game went on, I'll agree. But thats about it.
We'll have Shane in our next game, but we'll look more like the team that played Maryland instead of the team that beat SJSU and played USC to the wire. The reason is – we're a different team when Ehlinger is in there. I hope everyone has noticed.
As the game went on, Ehlinger became or at least seemed to feel more at liberty to tuck and run, which caused USC trouble and opened up other opportunities. If we can analyze the rest of the game instead of just one half of it – we'll see that other contributors stepped up. Foreman's grab in the end zone was spectacular and most won't make that catch. He did. Our OL began pushing SC's DTs around. Announcers were openly saying USC's D was worn out.
While I agree the play calling was atrocious, we almost overcame it. When Ehlinger settled down and played within himself, you began to see the future in him. Players played inspired because with Sam pushing the envelope in both runs and passes, he set the example. With Shane, there's a lot of pretty stuff during the in-betweens but lacks substance when it matters. Example – 400+ yards of offense against Maryland. Yet, we lose. Ehlinger racks up half of that and we almost beat USC.
You don't see "moxie" in the stats. They don't keep up with that and can't measure it. But Ehlinger clearly has it and it's apparent we've been missing it.
