Coach’s Guide to Dodging a Bullet: UCO Edition

Well, that was a close one. In a wild fist fight between UCO and Missouri Western, the Bronchos came out on top to keep their MIAA title hopes alive. This game was about as ugly as a 37-34 shootout could be.  UCO got outgained on offense, turned the ball over in terrible spots, gave up 27 points unanswered, threw a pick six, missed a PAT, benched the starting quarterback, and had to go to overtime against a three-win team, but they still won. After all of that, they found a way to win. So now, where do you go from here?

Step one: take a deep breath. Relax. Everyone’s heart should be racing after you dodge a bullet like that. How could it not be? But there’s still work to do. So, you have to give it a big exhale and move on. Eyes have to be on the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.

Step two: don’t lie to yourself. Once you have successfully calmed down, assess exactly what happened and address everything. Jett Huff was not good. Was that solely his play on the field, a bad gameplan, or bad execution on the offense as a whole? Only Coach Dorrel’s staff truly knows. But whatever it was, you have to address it. Don’t lie to yourself and say, “our offense has been great all year. We’ll be fine.” That cannot be an option. I’m not saying they should blow it up and make wholesale changes. We just need a tweak. Maybe there just needs to be changes in situational play calling. Less aggressive here, more aggressive there, maybe let Huff have more of a say about plays he likes in those spots. I don’t think benching him moving forward should happen at all, but as a coach you need to keep your thumb on the situation because that is now two straight weeks of uncharacteristic play from your star quarterback.

Step three: get back to what made you great. I know I wrote a couple weeks ago that maybe the offense should slow down or change up the pace to help the defense a bit more. Well, maybe I was wrong about that. When in doubt, go back to the basics. The bread and butter. Huff, Terrill Davis, and Jaylen Cottrell were elite to start the year, so do what you did then. It probably isn’t as simple as calling the exact same plays, but it is as simple as making sure you’re putting them in the same situations. Huff is great in the short to intermediate passing game, so lean on those RPOs and the window routes to allow him to hit his spots without rushing. Cottrell is best when he gets out on the edge, so find the formations, fronts, and motions to get him more leverage outside. Davis was rewriting the record books earlier this year with working in space and finding holes in the secondary, so line him up in formations that avoid congestion. We just have to get their swagger back.

It’s obvious that the team was hungover from last week’s loss to Pitt State, but newsflash: Pittsburg State just got demolished this week 37-13 against Central Missouri. Meaning UCO is in sole possession of first place in the MIAA. Solely. By themselves. They just played two back-to-back weeks of their worst football so far this year, and they moved up in the standings. That doesn’t make sense. But it doesn’t have to. Great teams win even when they shouldn’t, and UCO is still a great team. So, everyone take a deep breath, clear your minds, and strap on your boots, because there’s still work to do.  The Bronchos are still in the driver’s seat in the MIAA.