Change is something that people usually despise. However, one change Bulldog fans cheered about was senior Omarr Conner entering Saturday night’s game at quarterback.
“Coach kept telling me all week that I needed as much practice under center as I could get,” Conner said. “I just had a feeling that I would go in at some point.”
That point came in the second quarter, after starter Tray Rutland had managed only 6 passing yards in the entire first period. It was the ninth consecutive scoreless quarter for the Bulldogs to start the season.
“Until Omarr came in and gave us that spark, we did absolutely nothing offensively,” head coach Sylvester Croom said, “and we had to find a way to change that.”
Croom utilized Conner’s abilities to step up and take control from behind the center to create opportunities that were not there before.
Conner immediately marched the Bulldogs down the field for the team’s first touchdown of the season and would go on to have a 15-for-25 night, passing for 241 yards and rushing for a touchdown.
The Conner-led Bulldogs scored 29 points in the game but came up short in the end, falling to Tulane 32-29.
“He’ll be starting [at quarterback] next week, that’s obvious,” Croom said. “And we’ll just go from there.”
After three weeks of play, the Bulldogs are 0-3, leaving fans to wonder where they will go from here. One would think that the team would be feeling as if they have hit rock bottom.
However, with the first score of the season under their belt, the players seem to be excited about the weeks to come.
“We can click,” Conner said. “Everybody just has to keep working hard. A lot of guys have seen tonight what they are capable of doing by scoring 20 points in one half. And now they feel like they can do it.”
Croom’s defensive unit, which had been the backbone of the Bulldogs’ efforts thus far in the season, was another area of disappointment. The defense gave up six plays over 20 yards. These plays came on drives that produced four of Tulane’s five touchdowns.
According to Croom, the frustrating thing is that Tulane did nothing surprising, and the defense should have been prepared for these plays.
“The coaches called every play (Tulane was) going to run when they lined up,” Croom said. “We just do not play consistently against non-SEC opponents, and that is something we had been addressing all week.”
The Bulldogs doubled their number of penalties for the season during Saturday’s game, adding yet another area for the Bulldogs to seek improvement. They came at critical times during the game.
“Tonight a couple of (penalties) really hurt us,” Croom said. “It’s things like that that can kill you.”
Croom made it obvious that he is looking for someone to step up and make plays. He wants someone to play the leading role for this team.
He is calling for guys to stand up and be a playmaker.
“We are going to put the guys on the field that make plays,” Croom said, “We just don’t make plays, and we are making too many mistakes.”