[NU Sports] So you think the Cats are "snake-bit"

[Tom Maycock]

>Mike Bolden came in for Demetrius Dugar at CB during the game (Dugar
>replaced Jeravin Matthews as starter vs Iowa).  Note that Dugar got beat on
>PSU's long TD pass - he wasn't out of position but just plain got beat.
>


Yeah, but I'm not sure that was all Dugar's fault. Fitz was talking with both Dugar and Arnold after that play, and I'm not sure that Arnold wasn't supposed to be providing the deep cover there (he bit on the play action I believe). Pretty sure Dugar was still in for another series or two after that play, but I think that's when Arnold got benched. No way to know for sure, but it's certainly true that the receiver just ran past Dugar on that one.

Bolden and Carpenter seemed to have their own issues out there, but as you mention, the D actually played pretty well in the second half. We really missed Tyler Scott. 

Certainly another weird game, in the sense that it followed pretty much exactly the same formula as the other Big 10 games: Horrible defense most of the game. Prolific offense that is almost good enough to win despite the horrible D, but with a couple of painful breakdowns of their own that end up making all the difference in the final result. 

It's really a shame, because Persa is operating at a ridiculously high level (even with less mobility than last year), and it's all going to waste. 

I don't know if it's obvious on TV, but Persa is just ripping the ball out there. Perfect spirals with huge velocity every time. You should see him warming up on the sidelines--I'm afraid he's going to hurt someone as hard as he throws it. Assuming there's still some room for improvement in his mobility as he recovers from the achilles injury, I think he's got a chance at the NFL. He'll probably turn out to be to short to get a good look, but he's got the other tools. 

Tom