Undone

Turner Gill...I'm pretty sure we would have had the ultimate identity crisis in that scenario.

You know what's like eating comfort food? Winning. Winning was our identity. Whether it was the wishbone under Devaney/the early Osborne years, or the option, winning was our identity. I don't think anybody would be saying stuff like this if we were hanging up conference title banners on campus.

Yeah. He's threaded the needle several times in two games, and clearly his accuracy and field-reading ability is growing greatly. Again - Not surprising at all, because he's got a ton of potential, and now he has a *real* QB coach, and isn't spending so many practice hours on learning the read and practicing the option. And the fact that he can scramble to boot bodes really well against The U. I love our chances tomorrow.

I love Tommy. I love his potential, and I love the trajectory of his development. He's an outstanding QB and leader of our offense. But the zone read doesn't work well without a guy who's comfortable in 3rd & long. We got by with a decent OL and two guys named Burkhead & Abdullah. I'm glad the zone read is out.

That's right. But here's the difference...and I'm going to preface this by saying that I LOVE TOMMY ARMSTRONG and everything he is and does for our team...but the difference is, Oregon recruits QB's whose arms are ready to go, right out of high school. So their chances of converting those third & longs increase dramatically. Of course, Tommy's accuracy seems to have improved noticeably during the off-season. And it shouldn't come as a surprise either - He's getting way more reps throwing the ball in practice, as opposed to spending a huge chunk of that time practicing the read (and the option as well, under Beck). Point is, I'm glad we've moved away from the zone read. Tommy's becoming a better passer. We just need to OL to come up to speed, and this is a great looking offense.

My theory on this is that his accuracy has improved so noticeably because we're no longer wasting a huge chunk of practice hours practicing the zone read and option. What an amazing concept...have a QB who's really more of a "run first" guy actually work exclusively on his passing game. Clearly, we have an offensive coordinator who knows how to coach a QB. I love our offense under Riley; it's everything I hoped it would be. We just didn't have great run blocking. If we did have, that game would have been a lock yesterday. I like this offense.

-Hopefully wake up -Eat an omelet shaped like a fedora -Do the macarena -Call the Uber driver in my neighborhood who drives a K-car to get a ride -Get dropped off in Jakarta -Giggle profusely -Get a sensual back massage from Megyn Kelly on the beach

Really highlights his screaming abilities, gg.

I was born in Lincoln, and I'm still here. I remember being emotionally tied to winning/losing at a really young age. I loved my team, and loved that they were in my home town. Watching Cory Schlesinger rumble into the end zone for our first title of my lifetime was one of the greatest moments of my life. I'll never forget that feeling. In the fourth quarter, when we were down, I came upstairs all depressed. Thought sure we were gonna lose, and I was ranting. My mom, probably not even looking up from her cross-stitching (as she only listened to games on the radio back then - said watching made her too nervous) said, "Don't be a fickle fan." lol. Cool story, right?

Bill Self says 'hi.'

Would you care to expound upon what exactly was wrong with our offense this season, then? The offense that only scored 16 points of offense against Michigan State and 17 points of offense against Minnesota? I'm genuinely curious to hear your take.

I know. That's why I specifically typed "lol."

Wut?

Those stats are outstanding. For me, it reinforces the buzz that Riley adapts a system to what he's got. If he's got ultra-talented backs to work with, those numbers from 2013 & 2011 indicate that all of the people caught up in a hissy fit that "Riley passes too much" should probably calm the **** down. And, let's just be honest with ourselves - Ameer graduating puts a huge question mark over the I-Back position anyway. Passing a little more may end up being what *next year's team* needs. I think I like what I'm seeing.

I lol'd. I haven't read all of the replies. The one thing I'm hoping for is to use Cross downhill. "OH NOES, BUT THEN THE OTHER TEAM WILL KNOW WHAT'S COMING!!!1" It works for Iowa. I'm using the term "works" loosely, but this is the B1G. Do what works - run Cross downhill situationally. Could go a long ways.

Haha, this was a good one. Kudos to you OP for a pretty decent troll. So post, much wow.

I agree with the majority of what you're trying to say. Michigan State had defensive talent last year that probably only aligns once in every 5-10 seasons. That's mainly what allowed them to get the best of Urban in the title game last year. But I disagree with the assumption that Ohio State is that far back from the other schools in the playoff...at least had Barrett been 100% healthy when they face Alabama. I think the score easily could have been 70-0 if Barrett had been 100% on Saturday night.

I'd like for coach Riley to bite the head off of a paper mache cat with the most bloodthirsty look ever shown on the face of an NU coach.

Chris, you're uncharacteristically positive about Riley and his staff! Are you feeling ok?

This is a safe place, Dude. We've known about your yoga pants for years now.

I haven't even once *thought about* there being the slimmest chance Papuchis/Beck stay. If they do, I'll be in the fetal position in the corner if you need me.

I think the bottom line is that most of us on this board will be excited if we see a proven pair of coordinators. That this was lacking by Bo is undisputed by probably, what? 98% of our fan base? So if Riley gets that far, he'll have my backing for sure.

Inb4 "you're firing the guy before he's coached a single game."

Stay the course my man!!! I +1'd you, but I have to say that the players having a coach's back means absolutely nothing once the boosters are done with a guy. Bo is quite possibly the best example of this.