4skers89

Watched the replay. On TMs first run it looked like KB was trying to block Dennard. Once Dennard got around him, KB neglected to point and tell TM to run faster. TM had no chance of getting to the endzone.

If I was a referee and saw a team habitually play dirty but not necessarily flag worthy, I wouldn't hesitate to throw a flag on a subjective penalty. I'd wait toward the end of the game for it to have the most impact. Zebras are probably fans of CFB themselves and don't want that as part of the game.

Martinez has 8 interceptions through 9 games, and you expect him to throw 7 in his last 3? Against two of the worst defenses in the B1G? You have lost your mind, sir. SheepDog has lost faith. I have to admit, I found other distractions during the coach C years. Not everyone is strong enough to be a fan this year. Sometimes you have to look hard to see the positives but they are there. One thing I learned watching the team during the TO years is that you can be staring at greatness and not even realize it. After so many disappointing bowl losses, it wasn't until the blowout of FL before I actually thought we were a very good team. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is laying the groundwork for something special next year.

I think there is something to this. Kenny didn't help on Taylor's first run and comes up short. Kenny helps on this run, TD!

I can't see sh#t on that video. He barely had enough time to hold. No way does that ever get called. edit: I was looking at the LT. Yes he held but it was bang bang. He didn't need to hold. He's really sucked this year compared to the other guys. I think he is carrying too much bad weight. Shows in his lack of mobility on that play. Needs more muscle, less fat.

Apparently we have one less Bell on our team to get confused about. I wonder if Bo was just getting frustrated having Antonio trot onto the field whenever Bo shouted "Bell, get in there". Can't really yell Kenny, too South Parkish. I know it's not right but does anyone else think "OMG they killed Kenny!" when KB gets hurt in a game?

Good info hu5kers and analysis Knapplc. So we should hope for a non-windy Saturday and pass? I think PSU blitzes a lot so maybe short passes are in order? The Purdue passing (+61) stood out to me and is a recent game. Might be interesting to catch a replay of that game to see what Purdue did passing wise. Then again, they lost 34-9 and only rushed 26 times versus 62 pass attempts. Our offense will definitely be more balanced so that game probably won't be useful. Maybe we'll just stick to what we know and try to eliminate mistakes. That would probably be good enough for a win.

I think the team is self-aware based on Eric Martin's post game comment to T-mart. They drive us crazy but you got to love 'em . They are due for a complete game. Let's hope it is this week.

Since we have muffed fair catches wouldn't that make the risk of a more aggressive punt return game outway the reward? It's more difficult to catch a punt and try to run with it. It's kind of strange now that I think about it, I don't recall that many highlights of long punt returns from any team this year. Seemed like last year there were a lot. Maybe I'm not paying attention or teams are more concerned about player safety.

They have a fairly stout run defense, 123.6 yards rushing allowed/gm but OSU was able to run on them 53 carries for 234 yards. A lot of runs but PSU sacked OSU 4 times and had 1 pick and held them to 143 yards passing. Should be interesting to see how Beck attacks this defense. Glad we're playing this one at home.

Personally I thought coining the phrase "It happens almost as predictably as a 4th qtr Husker comeback" was the highlight of the post.

I'm surprised that this would be your takeaway. When Taylor breaks a 70 yard TD run...that's just him being faster than everyone else on the field. Other running QBs may get hauled down in the backfield on those plays or caught by a safety, but Taylor breaks 'em all the time. Those runs probably factor in greatly to him getting these awards. But the fact that he's statistically the best passer in the B1G is reason enough for the accolades. Those stats *prove* he's distributing to his teammates and making them involved to be successful. So I don't think the comparison to Braxton works at all. It's not my takeaway, our coaches are doing well to balance our offense (the part of my paragraph you chose not to quote). My point was directed toward a tendency on HB that I've noticed. The "Just run the damn ball" crowd shows up when we throw some INTs. It happens almost as predictably as a 4th qtr Husker comeback. Even the BTN guys have chimed in saying we need to run more when our passing is failing (I believe post OSU game). Given our offense, there is a finite number of ways to run the RBs therefore that implicitly puts more running plays on the QB. If we can avoid risking injury to Taylor, we should continue to pass and use our RBs for running. If the defense is giving T-mart the run like MSU did, turn him loose. Taylor was untouched on most of his runs. Low risk of injury. This is in stark contrast to MI, where Denard is relied upon to run through the middle and other plays where he will definitely get tackled. I believe Urban recognized this too and is passing more and less Braxton running but I haven't watched too many OSU games lately. We are ahead of the curve. Our INTs are disappointing but as long as we win games I'm hopeful that they are learning experiences for better QB decisions and play calling going forward. We need an effective passing attack.

This may not be a good thing if we are relying too much on Taylor. Look at how much OSU leans on Braxton. Their backup stepped up in the game that Braxton was sent to the hospital but it's not comfortable for OSU when this happens. I believe Bo & Beck have done a good job keeping Taylor safe and distributing the load. At the same time they aren't afraid to use him when the defense neglects him like MSU did. Congratulations T-magic! Now get to work on improving your rollout passing I cringe EVERY TIME we run that designed rollout. I don't think we're relying too heavily on him at all. I think he has learned to pick his spots much better and no longer forces things as much. We have a great stable of RB and talent all over the place on offense. I wouldn't compare Taylor's performances with the way OSU relies on Braxton. Given Taylor's performance against MSU, PSU is going to key on him big time. If he can rollout and present himself as a running threat we can torch them on some big passes. I'd like to see Taylor settle down before passing on the rollout and be more accurate. Didn't mean to make it seem like I was putting words in your mouth. I was just pointing out that relying too much on Taylor's running is dangerous.

I've noticed your posts are getting more negative and more negative...................posts like these are created to get a rise out of people in the MOD's and Admin's opinion. While we appreciate everyone's opinions your posts are becoming more negative and more negative. This thread had nothing to do with turnovers so you aren't staying on topic. This post is pretty close to being troll worthy.......................suggest it stops now. Now continuing with the discussing about NU being a 7-point favorite and who folks think will win. negativity - humor - take your pick. if you can't laugh at this team every once in a while...being a Husker fan is pretty rough right now. Sad, I seem to recall SheepDog as being one of the biggest sunshine pumpers. Get that man some We can get him back. I don't make score predictions but I expect us to come out and take care of business. This will be the year we do not have the unexpected home loss! Given our history with PSU this is a game we should be up for. GBR!!!

This may not be a good thing if we are relying too much on Taylor. Look at how much OSU leans on Braxton. Their backup stepped up in the game that Braxton was sent to the hospital but it's not comfortable for OSU when this happens. I believe Bo & Beck have done a good job keeping Taylor safe and distributing the load. At the same time they aren't afraid to use him when the defense neglects him like MSU did. Congratulations T-magic! Now get to work on improving your rollout passing

I'm missing a couple of plays for 8 yards but of 41 carries here is how their yards were gained. <= 3 yards 24 carries 21 yards 4-6 yards. 7. carries 32 yards 7-10 yards. 4. carries 34 yards >= 11 yards 6. carries 143 yards A lot of runs were stopped for short yardage. By quarter the carries/yards 1st 9/56 2nd 6/57 3rd 16/86 4th 10/30 Bad third quarter.

This is way off the mark. With the way that Michigan State actually dedicated themselves to running Bell yesterday they probably would have beaten us last year with the same gameplan. Much improved stopping the run this year especially the past few weeks and much improved LB play as of late. I see nothing but improvement from last year. I thought we were improving too this year but not from last year. We finished ranked 64th in rushing defense last year, currently 87th. I thought it would be interesting to look at MSU's last 5 games and choice of run vs pass. MSU ran on us more than any of their previous 4 opponents. Not sure what to make of it other then they thought it would be their best chance against us. The result of their horrible game plan from last year might have something to do with it. Here are the completion/attempts and carries for their last 5 games. Iowa's defense played well against MSU. Nebraska. 9/27. 43 carries Wisconsin 24/39. 28 carries Michigan 21/34 31 carries Iowa. 12/31. 39 carries Indiana. 24/40. 42 carries

NO! Now take you heart pills and buckle up. Our players probably know of PSU's lack of depth. They might let them get up by 24 before they pull it out in the 4th. Keep the heart pills handy.

I haven't re-watched the game and was drunk the first time around (seems to make our games easier to watch) so I don't have an opinion on breakdowns. Thanks for the analysis. MSU's rushing yards made me concerned considering we may have to face Wiscy in the CCG.

Definitely a good win but I'm interested to see if we are improving. I don't think we should dwell on the UCLA and OSU games but they indicate that defense is something to be concerned about. It seems like our defense took a small step backwards against MSU given how bad their offense is.

Is this the ESPN thing? If so, one wink. Brings national attention to our program while the B1G is almost an after thought.

I haven't watched too many of their games but I know they love their tight ends. That worries me since I don't think we do a good job covering TEs. McGloin has improved quite a bit as have their wide receivers. O'Brien has done a good job coaching them up. Not sure about their run game. They lack depth on defense so our up tempo offense will be a problem for them later in the game.

Our defense struggled against the run and that is where the yards came from. But Michigan State's players are really good players, but they are just young and inexperienced. It is natural that later in the season and with more experience their efficiency and production will increase. So don't completely compare them early in the season to us now. That's why I looked up stats from the most recent games and put them in order. I think the yards rushing and passing are in line with our pass and run defense rankings. We did well against the pass. It's almost like our philosophy going into the game was we're going to stop the pass and you have to make yards running. The opposite of what Papuchis said going into the game. I thought end of Wiscy, NW and MI games showed that our defense was improving. Now, I'm not so sure.

Taylor had the most problems doing this. Made several bad passes out of that scheme. Taylor needs to get better at this. With his run threat that can become a big play. OSU does it a lot. I think Taylor needs to slow down and get into a better passing posture before throwing to improve his accuracy.