Here at The Daily Dutchman (A Penn A&T institutional publication), we have dedicated a weekly section for our athletic programs to get highlighted.
Coaches Corner:
Here, Penn A&T Head Football Coach Tim Keyser will do a quick (honest) breakdown of last week's performance followed by a rundown of their upcoming opponent.
Tim Keyser:
[On loss to Temple]
Well, here we are seven games through. Still no win, and quite a few head turners. We went into last game with a lot of confidence, which is hard to do when you lost by 45 points the previous week. But our guys fought through the week of practice and obviously had a chip on their shoulder. Now I don't want to hear any BS about the weather conditions. Were they ideal? Hell no, it rained for literally seven straight hours on Saturday. I have to order new shoes for the whole staff because ours are completed ruined. Regardless, we played damn hard in the first half. The absolute best we have played up this point in the season. Defense came out and made a huge stop on our two yard line and we did not have much time to capitalize before the break. We came out flat and not ready to play which is why we lost by 20.
I thought for once we could hold a team under 40, hell 45! Second half was ugly on both sides. No momentum, no confidence, no balls. I just need someone to sack up and make things happen. I understand the frustrations playing out there and being over matched each and every week because it sucks. We just need some heart to show to this young fan base and this university.
[On quarterback dilemma]
We have on our hands...two guys, who want to be the guy. We also have on our hands...two guys who haven't shown anyone outside of their own ego's that they are ready to be the guy. Look, I know throwing a football in the rain is hard and that may have caused some issues for Ritchy on Saturday, but you just have to find a way to get it done. Tyler made some nice throws when Ritchy went down with an injury but then when he got the last part of the fourth quarter he did not show up. Ritchy will remain our starter into the week of practice and next and we will make some judgments from there.
[Future outlook as season winds down]
We've made some strides. Overall, this has been a tough season but our guys could have packed up and left after the Rutgers game but they didn't. For that, I still give them my gratitude.
We have made some strides on the recruiting front. We don't have a lot of wiggle room right now since we are so young but that just means we need to find quality over quantity. Easier said than done but we are happy with the kids we've been in contact with and we'll continue to push forward there.
Midseason Stats