-They had us figured out better than we had them figured out.
-They had a 6th year senior QB (MAC, MVP in 2022) who had played in 41 games. We had a true freshman QB who had played in six games.
-We had five turnovers (two in the red zone). They had one meaningless one.
-We missed tackles and tackled poorly, they didn't.
-We blocked poorly on the perimeter, stifling the run game.
-They wanted this game more than we did.
N.B. All of the above can be fixed to some extent this year, except the second.
-They had a 6th year senior QB (MAC, MVP in 2022) who had played in 41 games. We had a true freshman QB who had played in six games.
-We had five turnovers (two in the red zone). They had one meaningless one.
-We missed tackles and tackled poorly, they didn't.
-We blocked poorly on the perimeter, stifling the run game.
-They wanted this game more than we did.
N.B. All of the above can be fixed to some extent this year, except the second.