**** The Official Northwest Missouri State vs. Valdosta State Game Thread ****

[Reaper16]

I was planning on giving mobile updates in this thread from Braly Memorial, but I was too frustrated to do it the more the game went on. And then it started raining, etc.

Big ups to Valdosta State. They owned the line of scrimmage for the better part of the game, and they looked hungrier in the second half. Which is amazing, because I would have figured that NW would be hungrier than any team ever for a NC ring.

Coaching is a big part of the blame, too. I know NW's passing game isn't that strong because of the absence of Faulkner and Robsinson, but you have to adjust to what the opposition is doing. The times NW did try to pass were either very successful, or only unsuccessful because the o-line didn't block anyone, leaving Osborn to scramble.

At least NW just got beat. I mean, yeah, the scheming and adjustments could have been better, and the clock should have been handled much better, but NW simply go beat more than anything. I'm content with that.

Though the profound sense of, despair, I think it is, washing over me is debilitating. 3 straight NC losses? I know now that I will never know what victory feels like in any competitive venture that I invest energy into; whether as a fan of a team or as an active participant, I have never, ever, ever tasted the big-time victory. I have personally experienced more second places, be they in following a sports team or in competitive theater and forensics competitions, than any one person should. I am profoundly sad right now. Profoundly so.