Off the Air
Lynn Meredith
Teamkong

We’re back or are we?? That seems to be the question on most Gorilla fans minds. Recovering from the Emporia State upset with a dominant performance against Missouri Southern last Saturday night has many people again cautiously optimistic, but wondering if the Gorillas are good enough to survive the next three weeks.

Winning big is always a good thing!

Pitt State was outstanding in every area against Mo Southern and 49-0 hardly tells the story. It rained for three quarters, the Gorillas substituted freely and the wind hampered some of the offense or the score could have easily been higher. The Lions are not a good team and are riding out their season creating expectations for their next savior who can resurrect a program mired in mediocrity.

The win was good for the Gorillas. We were able to iron out some issues that bothered us in the Emporia game. The D-line was able to slant and do some technique things while the Linebackers again swarmed to the ball carrier. The Secondary wasn’t challenged too much, but they lined up well and played hard the entire game.

Meanwhile, the O-Line dominated and allowed Philpot and Race to run through some great openings. The Quarterbacks struggled with their passing at first, but continued to press through the discomfort until their form returned and the passing game flourished. Say what you want about Mo Southern being a team notched slightly above Rolla…winning big is good for the soul and especially good for the Gorillas as they enter the toughest stretch of their season.

Western is a good team…

November is a tough month and it starts with Mo Western. The Griffons are a solid team with lots of weapons and a confident attitude. Western has never lacked for confidence against the Gorillas and usually plays pretty well against us. Remember last year, when Andy Majors had to rally the team with a late TD drive to win? Or the last few times in St. Joe, where Pitt State has met with bad weather, bad officiating, lightning, and a fired-up Griffon team? There has been some times that Pitt State has had emotional let downs against this team. I have seen it a couple of times on the road and once at home in recent years, but it’s different this year. As we all know, we’ve already had the let down this season.

Look for the Griffons to follow the Emporia mold of pounding us up the middle and also add some scrambling Quarterback to the mix. Western will want to run in the same style as the Hornets and PSU will be ready this time. But the Griffons have a weakness…the accuracy of their quarterbacks. They have thrown 11 interceptions in 7 games. That will be their nemesis again this Saturday. After we shut their run down and force them into the pass.

What now??

Well…we all know to expect tough games from here on out! The blowouts are over…unless there is some freaky turn of events during a particular game. The Gorillas are good enough to win out, but they have to play at a high level…an emotional level…much like the St. Cloud performance. That game epitomizes the Pitt State style of play. Where emotion causes adrenaline surges that results in exceptional plays…turnovers….points!

When the Gorillas are best….they are emotional….they are revved up….they play almost unconscious football. The Gorillas were not that way two weeks ago versus Emporia and it surprised me. The team learned from that day and despite the lingering hurt…that day will serve us well. It will serve us well the next three weeks. It will remind us of what happens when we check our “on the field” personalities at the gate … when we don’t properly prepare for opponents during the week….when we go through the motions and just expect to win by showing up.

So to answer my own opening question….we’re back!!

I expect the Gorillas to win….because they now know what happens to teams that are less than 100% ready. 

PSU 31-17.