Second Team Offense Needs Work

Bobby Eveld and the second team offense were not sharp on Saturday night. (Picture: www.tampabay.com)

While the 37 to 7 win over Ball State made Holtz happy and improved the overall record to 2-0 to start the season, Holtz and staff were not pleased with the second team unit.

Coach Holtz stated that at the start of the second half, the second team unit was going to take the field no matter what. He told the first team players to be ready to get back in there, but wanted to get the second team unit, especially offense, onto the field and into a real game situation. However, the results were less than great.

Bobby Eveld just was not on par, going 3 for 11 in 5 series with the second team offense that managed to get just 20 yards of total offense. Ball State played well, but when B.J. Daniels threw for over 350 yards, they weren't exactly shutting the Bulls down, so this is a bit concerning to see.

Running back Marcus Shaw had 7 carries for -3 yards, including one run that nearly ended in a safety because he was driven back so far on the carry.

Who was to blame for the bad offense? Was it Shaw or Eveld, the offense line, or the defense of Ball State? The answer, all of the above.

Holtz needs his younger players to develop more and get into the flow of the game. As the season wears on, players will get injured and the younger players will need to be ready in case they have to step onto the field and contribute during key plays. During these games USF is ahead of their opponent, they have to come into the game focused and prepared like they were a starter and execute the offense to the best of their ability. 5 drives for 20 yards will simply not cut it.

The second team unit is capable of moving the ball. Eveld could start if needed and Shaw is an electric running back, but they need to get better and will get their chances to prove to Holtz that was just a fluke. If not, I am sure practice will be a little bit harder for them this week and into the future.