Everyone's down on the football team after the ND game. Let's regroup and start talking about what would constitute signs of life against a listless VMI team. We should win this game, and win it handily, regardless of how we play. What should we be looking for to prove progress and give an indication that this team will be decent moving forward?

Feel free to add your own - but I've collated a few ideas I've thought through as we look at this game coming up:

1) Armstrong in the pocket - I want Armstrong passing and commanding an offense - not taking off and playing backyard football. It would be encouraging if Armstrong has fewer than 5 non-sack rushing attempts (hoping he doesn't take any sacks, but sometimes it happens).

2) Sure hands - let's fix the dropsies please. We need sure handed receivers to contend and get the explosive plays we need. Would be great to have fewer drops.

3) Air yards - if there's a time for explosive plays, it's this weekend. This should be our best shot at chucking it deep and scoring an 80 yard touchdown or something. Of course we'll see some busted coverages that lead to a guy like Gray taking off and getting a big score, but it'd also be nice to see the guys get solid separation and Armstrong throwing mid-to-deep balls. Multiple completions that travel 30+ yards through the air? Yes please.

4) No busted defense - Sometimes things happen. Recover if you can. Teach the kids some gap integrity and not to overpursue so if this team gets them out of alignment, they can recover and prevent a huge play from happening. It would be great to keep VMI out of the end zone altogether, but preferably let's prevent any plays over 30 yards from happening.

5) Turnovers - this defense is predicated on generating disruption, and that shows itself best when we generate turnovers. Would be great to get some momentum and generate a bunch of turnovers to help lead into future games. We've been close - let's execute.

6) Run it up - this is the least likely because Doeren doesn't really do death strokes, but sometimes they just happen. Would be great to get some defensive scores, special teams scores, or blown plays so that we run up the score above 50 or, better yet, 60. Would really help the confidence of the team, especially if the offense generates 60 on their own.

Let me know what you guys are looking for this weekend!