Offensive Play

All on-side kickoff attempts, all two point conversions, and no more field goal attempts.

Interesting, but not very efficient.

 
I mean, I get it. You want to be able to score and score quickly but there will come a time when a tough defense challenges them (OSU) that's when the real question will come up. Can they live with 3-4 yards a run/pass and not let themselves get in their own way?

I don't know if the staff is capable of it. Through 3 games, they've really relied on explosive plays (20+ yards). And it seems they get a little uncomfortable when they're forced to get small chunks of yardage. SF will have to call his best game in about 2 weeks.

 
I think what a lot of people are basically asking is this: Do we have a set of bread & butter plays that we can count on executing well that pick up 5-8 yards consistently? Across the first two games, I think it's fair to ask that question.

But I think the better question to ask is this: Is Martinez doing a good job of making the correct reads? That's really the question. Because he's pretty damn accurate with his medium-long throws. So if he has a guy wide open downfield, then that's the guy he should throw to.

In terms of the long runs, it's mainly just been Mo's freakish athletic ability. Something this team desperately needed coming off of that stretch from 2014-2018.

 
Undone said:
I think what a lot of people are basically asking is this: Do we have a set of bread & butter plays that we can count on executing well that pick up 5-8 yards consistently?
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If we had plays we knew we were going to pick up 5-8 yards, we would be winning an NC this year.

 
BigRedBuster said:
If we had plays we knew we were going to pick up 5-8 yards, we would be winning an NC this year.
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Certainly didn't mean that they would work every single time. But to the extent that our average of "plays per drive" goes up and our 3 & outs go down.

I don't have any stats to back this up, but it seems like we've seen way too many 3 & outs. 

Also seems like Frost has looked for the pass plays on first down a lot that entail a lot of reads. When that results in an incompletion, we're playing from behind the sticks.

 
I'm glad that Frost is following this thread and addressing my concerns!

Like @FTW and @Undone Are we capable of getting those tough yards when tough yards are needed? 

Good article and a glimmer of hope/incite below.

Good comments by Held...

Speaks to having a plan to get tough yards, but appears it don't really work until NIU (not that I saw them try a lot the first 2 games ie commitment to run between tackles)

I asked Held during the week if this running game is sequential, if Frost is sometimes fine with a 3-yard gain up the gut because that specific play at that specific time isn’t about gaining 15 yards, it’s about setting something else up later?

“The 3-yard gains, if it’s in the first quarter, we want those as we keep pounding and pounding it, to become 7, 8, 9, 10-yard plays. Being more physical early on and then that wear and tear over time, with our tempo, we hope those become bigger plays as the game goes on. That’s what it was for 100 years around here. You might run the fullback for 3 yards but then in the fourth quarter that fullback same play was 30 yards, and that’s what we’ve got to get to.”

Those words were bouncing around inside my head Saturday night when the Huskers opened a fourth-quarter drive at their own 1, ran up the middle for 3 yards on first down, ran up the middle again for 3 yards on second down, then gashed NIU for 11 yards up the middle on third and another 11 yards up the middle on the very next play. 

Rest of article here and worth the read.  Shows the maturing vision of Mills

https://hailvarsity.com/s/7749/nebraskas-ground-game-looks-closer-to-taking-off

 
Undone said:
Certainly didn't mean that they would work every single time. But to the extent that our average of "plays per drive" goes up and our 3 & outs go down.

I don't have any stats to back this up, but it seems like we've seen way too many 3 & outs. 

Also seems like Frost has looked for the pass plays on first down a lot that entail a lot of reads. When that results in an incompletion, we're playing from behind the sticks.
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We're 73rd in the nation on third down conversion pecentage at 39.5%. I think that suggests we've had a fair amount of 3 & outs. Couldn't find a stat on that specifically though. We definitely need to improve on 1st down and have less 3 & outs.

 
Undone said:
I think what a lot of people are basically asking is this: Do we have a set of bread & butter plays that we can count on executing well that pick up 5-8 yards consistently? Across the first two games, I think it's fair to ask that question.
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I'm not trying to pick on you because there has been a lot of discussion about this.

But LSU is #7 in the country at 7.96 yards per play.  Minnesota is #103 in the country at 5.00 yards per play.  So basically everyone in the country is picking up 5-8 yards per play.

But, like @BigRedBuster said and I have said several times, I think many people are clinging to the old-fashioned idea that "good" offenses are able to consistently grind out 12 play scoring drives when they really "need to".  But I don't think that's really the reality anymore.  Clemson doesn't do that.  Ohio State doesn't do that.  Oklahoma doesn't do that.  Alabama doesn't do that (though they are probably the closest to someone who could against most opponents).  That's just not how college football is played anymore.  Everyone is looking for "chunk" plays.  There are just too many things that can go wrong and too many good players spread all around the country that the vast majority of times you can't simply line up and impose your will on the other team all the way down the field over and over again.

 
Hmmmm.  Did he elaborate why?  How does that effect our offensive game plan?  What specific looks? I am assuming the delayed blitzes/stunts meant to confuse the OL..

I'd take that as a compliment to how our O went 4-2 down the stretch 

 
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Just remember: if  Nebraska has a handful of bread & butter plays that you, me, and Coach Frost think we should run more frequently and in specific situations, every opposing DC will have the same information and have a game plan to screw that up. 

Frost's offense needs a lot of rhythm and variation. I think the supposedly bland playcalling will look a lot less bland when the offensive line gets up to speed. 

 
Mavric said:
But, like @BigRedBuster said and I have said several times, I think many people are clinging to the old-fashioned idea that "good" offenses are able to consistently grind out 12 play scoring drives when they really "need to".
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Nah, definitely not where I'm coming from with that argument.

I like to look at total offensive yards, and then to an extent also look at red zone effectiveness. But for this discussion, mainly total offensive yards. I don't care how the 'skers move down the field at all, but if you have a lot of 3 & outs you're probably might just not wind up being all that successful.

Against NIU we had 525 offensive yards, against Colorado we had 469...but against South Alabama we objectively sucked and only had 276. I realize that Mo didn't play for a full half; that surely impacted that stat line.

We just couldn't move the ball down the field against South Alabam and that deserves criticism IMO.

 
WyoHusker56 said:
We're 73rd in the nation on third down conversion pecentage at 39.5%. I think that suggests we've had a fair amount of 3 & outs. Couldn't find a stat on that specifically though. We definitely need to improve on 1st down and have less 3 & outs.
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https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/third-down-conversion-pct

These stats show that NU is 61st at 39.5%.

NU is getting chunk plays on 1st and 2nd downs to produce scores.  Against CU, NU had 2 drives where it scored a TD without having a 3rd down in the drive, and another TD drive with only 1 third down.  Against Northern Illinois, NU had 3 TD scoring drives without a 3rd down.

Looking at the drive charts from the first 3 games:

South Alabama - 4 three and outs in 12 drives

Colorado - 5 three and outs in 15 drives (all in 2nd half and OT)

Northern Illinois - 2 three and outs in 14 drives

So, yes the three and outs were concerning in the first 2 games, but NU was much better against Northern Illinois.

 
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