My questions/observations FWIW:
1. Why does our D-Line line up 1-2 yards off the ball, then not move forward when the ball is snapped? We lose all that ground each play (hence the reason everybody cuts us for 3-9 yards a run)
2. Not one player on our team is to blame for this loss themselves. They ALL were horrible. But let's hope Pelini doesn't go nuts on them for this absolute let down. We've seen him punish these players before after a disgusting loss. It just demoralizes them and they don't play worth a shi* the rest of the year.
3. Pelini is riding on thin ice. Maybe not with the university, but he has to be with the fans. Examples:
a. How many stud recruit players have transferred (or left) from the program under his tenure? I can think of multiple players in just this past off season (Green, Moore) His
coaching style is not conducive to this generation of college kid.
b. Hiring from within the program (or your personal friends) is not the answer. Papuchis, Beck, Cotton- These guys will never lead us to the national standings that we desire.
c. The defensive scheme has been broke down and understood by all FBS teams throughout the country. There is not one team in the country at this point who can't put up
decent numbers against our D. Not un-Godly numbers, but decent numbers. Our defense can't always be the tortouse and the opponent be the hare. That trick only
works once.
4. Our players continually fall back to basic problems (year after year) with poor takling, bad decisions under pressure, horrible blocking, etc...
I don't have any answers, and I definitely couldn't do any better...but there is somebody out there who can. Multiple people who can (see Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Les Miles, etc.) This game has changed so it's time we do too. We have to use what the other's do to get the job done. We have to stop trying to coach the way we always have and match up with what the champs do. (I know that means recruiting changes too) Sometimes it isn't so bad to see how champions are doing it and replicate that process.
This game was a major black eye to our team, university, conference. Unless things change somehow, we will have to accept the fact that we will NEVER be a powerhouse team again. EVER.