WKU really went Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the course of one quarter. In the first quarter against Maine, the Tops looked loose and found their rhythm early. Especially Drew Eckels, who found success targeting Lucky Jackson and Mik’quan Deane. However, in the second quarter, Coach Mike Sanford switched over to a run-based offense and also admitted post game to “taking their foot off the gas” in the second quarter after posting a comfortable 21-point lead.

That coaching decision led to a stifled offense that barely resembled the team that started the game. Lucky Jackson stopped being targeted after Sanford said he wanted to be intentional about the wide receivers use and Deane dropped passes. Sophomore wide receiver Xavier Lane got more looks but wasn’t able to haul in the passes. In particular, he had a heartbreaking drop while all alone near the end zone that might have helped the Tops stave off Maine.

The Tops were only able to muster 42 yards on the ground, yet stayed with a run-heavy diet for the balance of the game which disrupted the flow of the offense. Two poorly scouted plays were a second half 4th and 1 run that WKU couldn’t convert and then a blocked field goal at the end of the game that would have given the Hilltoppers a chance to tie it. Sanford acknowledged in the post game presser that he didn’t necessarily put the team in the best positions to score at times during the game.

Going forward, the head coach will have to decide what he wants his offense to be. Either continue to push a run first preference or be okay with airing it out more. However, Sanford is dealing with a young line that has proven that they need strength and direction, so he can’t have it both ways. This team is one of tempo and rhythm as we have quickly learned. You mess with that during a successful stretch of a game, then you threaten to blow the whole game up and end it before it begins.

Speaking of that offensive line, we again saw just how young they were against Maine. While the line provided good coverage for Drew Eckels in the opening minutes of the game, they quickly deteriorated and left Eckels having to scramble out of the pocket to make most plays work. The senior quarterback was also sacked six times for a loss of 42 yards and had a critical fumble that was ran back by Maine for a 50-yard score.

Although WKU’s line was bigger than Maine’s, the Black Bears knew how to put pressure on the young Western line and make them miss blocks that would have been key for opening holes for the run and keeping Eckels upright.

Unfortunately, this will probably continue to be a problem for the Hilltoppers going forward. While the line will get better through repetition, the vacuum of where they are and where they need to be appears to be getting larger.

WKU’s defense looked strong during the first part of the game, set off by that a big pick-six by Devon Key. The swagger was definitely there but was shut down after the defense couldn’t stop Maine Quarterback Chris Ferguson and the Black Bears’ air attack. Maine’s Ramo Jefferson and MIcah Wright did a nice job or snaking behind the WKU defenders to make catches that led to touchdowns. That led to their offense becoming more aggressive and pushing WKU’s defense harder on the ground. Maine was able to pick up 142 yards on the field. The Topper defense grew tired and discombobulated quickly because of the quick 3-and-outs pitched by the offense, which allowed Maine to seize on the opportunity. Coach Sanford admitted the defense was put in too many short field situations over the course of the game.

The defense is still the lifeblood of this team and I think they can rise to the occasion next week versus Louisville and in subsequent games. But they got punched in the mouth by Maine and couldn’t find a way to respond. That is something to be concerned about.

The run game for the Tops was, once again, anemic. Thirty-one attempts and only 42 yards to show for it. Sanford used Marquez Trigg, DeAndre Ferby, Garland LaFrance and Joshua Samuel to try to spark a ground presence. It failed miserably. Holes closed up quickly for the Tops and the lack of a run game that Sanford committed to throughout most of the second quarter and beyond created a ripple effect and shut down the passing game and paralyzed the defense.

While WKU has a nice looking running corps on paper, the young offensive line is not able to provide the blocking necessary to spring a Ferby free for a long haul of yardage. Instead, these guys are collecting a yard, at best, if not being taken down behind the line of scrimmage.

While WKU does need a presence on the ground, as any well-rounded team should, the takeaway from the Maine game is that until the line matures into their roles and are able to hold off defenders better, your run game should be in a glass case that you break open only in case of an emergency. Otherwise you run the risk of losing momentum in a game that is easily won through the air, just like on Saturday night.

Let’s be honest for a second, WKU couldn’t have been much worse on third or fourth downs conversions against Maine. The Tops were 3 of 16 on third downs and 0 for 2 on fourth downs. The Tops never gave themselves much of a chance with their inability to move the chains. Some times it was a run that was snuffed out, other times it was a dropped pass to keep the drive moving. The Tops found a way to squander most all of those. Since they weren’t able to sustain a drive, the Tops weren’t able to even make it to use their red zone packages because they never pushed a drive that close. It is quite baffling how WKU was stuffed at the box on a 4th and 1 run that would have edged the Tops closer to the promised land.

If I’m WKU, this is one of the things I spend most of the upcoming game week working on. The success percentage has to increase. WKU has to be able to find the red zone consistently. They did a better job against Wisconsin and then took a major step backwards against Maine.