EmeraldIngot

Well, a coach is what his record says he is, after all.

He was interviewed over the phone on 1620 earlier this week. He was directly asked if he would be interested in coming to Nebraska if Frost was hired. He didn't even wait for the question to finish being asked before he said "Absolutely yes." I think if he gets offered, he's coming here.

You forgot about special teams.

I haven't. A couple that should have been PI, a couple that should have been caught. But passing is a little off tonight too. Not much, but a little more lead can do wonders.

Only if a QB can make a big time pass.

I think, if they were going to fire him before the end of the season, they would have already. He might know this is his last year, but even if we lose out, he won't be gone before the last whistle of the regular season. Firing a coach right after after win? That's an insane move. No coaches would ever feel secure here if we did that.

Defense keeps getting better. Twists, stunts, and blitzes have finally been added, but pass coverage still needs some work. Offensive line seems to have fixed some of their troubles. Good push at times, good blocking most of the time. Still need more work on picking up blitzes. Tanner Lee has gotten some confidence back. Fewer dangerous throws. With a little luck, he's moved past his yips. Our stable of RBs continues to impress. Ozigbo especially, he has the ability to take over the game late. Especially out of that inside zone split. It's an inside zone run with trap elements on the backside DE. The OT across from him let's him go and blocks a linebacker instead, but the TE comes across the formation and blindside him to open up the center. Good play, well executed. Ozigbo runs it really well. Still a lot to improve on, but some improvement has been made. I think we can go 6-6 at a minimum if we keep improving, and might even upset Iowa at the end of the year if it gets better. Still lots to complain about, but it's not all doom and gloom.

Part of the problem is that they don't chain their runs off each other, nor do they run PA out of their most common or successful run plays. For example, we had some early success with the counter O, but we don't run anything off of the same look. That is, with a guard and TE pulling towards the 'backside' of the play, we don't run anything where those guys pull and the RB goes towards the frontside. Maybe if we ran a trap or a dive where those guys both pull and block towards the middle? It would give, initially at least, the same look, but they would be two different plays. If the defense starts biting hard on one play, run the other and watch your RB pull in 15-20 yards a pop. An A-gap dive or a variation on an inside zone split would work wonderfully. Add in a play action off the same look, and that's another possibility for a big play. Right now, there's no real continuity or connection between the plays being run. It's about as random as pulling plays from a hat. It also ties into identity. Right now, we don't have an identity, we don't have a core group of plays we can point to and say 'this is what we like to do'. A good offense starts with a core group of plays. For example, inside zone, outside zone, bubble screen, slant bubbles, levels, corner curls. From there, plays are added that, initially, look identical to the core plays, but go different directions. Like a zone counter split, read option, inverted veer, fake bubble fade, corner post (with an underneath out route) and so on. Finally, a smart OC will add in situational plays, meant to beat specific fronts and coverages based on who they play any particular week. And if you've got a good enough QB or an excellent communication system (signs or signals from the sidelines) you can put in hot routes and audibles to beat particular blitzes, especially ones your opponents like to run. Anything else on top of that is just style. The core principles remain the same, regardless of what 'system' an offense runs. West Coast, pro style, spread, even being 'multiple', whatever, doesn't matter. Establishing an identity by having and running a core group of plays makes everything an offense does easier. A defense will tool itself to try to stop your core plays, but by running a play that directly exploits a defense expecting something else, and you'll have huge, backbreaking explosive plays. And if they don't adjust to stopping your core plays, since they're the plays your offense is the most familiar with and (hopefully) the best at running, you'll still be able to drive down the field. Osborne's teams did this. The counter trey was specifically designed to exploit defenses that were over committing to stop the power O. The read option was specifically designed to take advantage of overly aggressive 'contain' defenders. Right now, our offense doesn't seem to have any 'core' plays, let alone any counters to our core plays. They're not chaining plays together, and many times it seems like each new look only has one play that's ever run out of it. It's a poorly designed offense. While they have some well designed individual plays (at times), there's no continuity between plays, nothing that really links them together. That's why defenses are able to key in and stop up seemingly at will. At least, that's my opinion anyway.

The D started playing aggressive and distrupts the Rutgers O. Still doesn't look great, but disruption is helping.

"Lots of people go to college for 8 years!" "Yeah, they're called doctors."

At least with the Pope, we'd have a chance at divine intervention. And if he pulled off a miracle and won us a title, we'd call him Saint Francis, patron saint of Football, and Nebraska would be a Catholic state.

Step 1: Order Diaco to incorporate some press zone coverage and some kind of nickel package. Have the DBs press at the LOS before backing into their assigned zones. This should hopefully disrupt the QBs rythm by delaying the recievers for a half second, and shifting that into a zone coverage will hopefully lead to some confusing reads. Use this scheme as a foundation for blitzes. That is, rush 4 on every play, from random directions, and rush more on occasion (maybe even bring the house every once in a while!). OLB, MLB, S, CB, doesn't matter. Add the LBs showing pressure close to the LOS and some twists by the DL to disrupt the OLs blocking assignments and throw off their pre-snap reads can hopefully get someone to the QB unblocked. Include some rolling coverage to, again, disrupt presnap reads and cover areas left vacant by a DB blitzing from the edge. Step 2: Install a Trap, Power O, and a pitch play using the same strong or weak I formations we've already shown. Including the Counter we have run with some success, these should be our core running plays. Our identity. Adjust several formations so we can run these plays from multiple looks, even from shotgun or pistol (with an H-back acting as fullback). Add play action, screens, and bootlegs that can run off these plays to make a defense that is over committing to stopping our core runs give up huge plays. Step 3: Find passing routes that naturally compliment each other, like routes that cross each other and disrupt DB pursuit (without being obvious picks), routes that put DBs in no-win situations (like the Levels concept), and routes that take advantage of soft spots in the typical zone coverage of whoever we are facing in any paricular week. Like TE seams down the middle in Cover 2, 4 verticals in cover 3, curl corners against cover 4, excetera. Step 4: Spend an entire day each week working only on special teams. Fine-tune both punt blocking and punt return setups. Figure out a Field Goal Block play. Work on kick return and onside kick coverage. Install some trick plays, like a deep curl from one of the gunners on a Punt formation. Just have the punter throw to the spot and the gunner does a quick turn around to go get it. Step 5: Put each player on notice. No starter spots are guaranteed. If you practice poorly, next man up. If you play poorly in game, next man up. Forget redshirts, forget 'experience' or how long you've been in the program. Players will have to compete each and every week for their starting spot, and anyone, from a true freshman walkon to a 5th year senior, could take it from you. Step 6: Lean on position coaches to spend the first half of practice each day teaching the 1's and 2's the skills necessary to their positions while everyone else does scrimmaging (full contact, where NCAA rules permit), then switch for the second half of practice. This way, everyone has some time learning skills and getting live reps each day, even if those reps are half-speed walk throughs with no contact. Step 7: Give a rousing speech about the program, how much it means to the state, to the fans, and to the players and their future. How playing with fire and with passion, making plays, and winning games is important to the fans and to the future. How employers (and NFL scouts) will look at the skill they show on the field and come to realize how much hard work they've put into playing well, about the good character that shows. Talk to them about how the media and their detractors don't think they can do it, about how some people believe they're not capable of winning more than 4 games this year. Then tell them it's on their (the players') shoulders to prove them right by playing bad, or prove them wrong by playing well. Make them play with a chip on their shoulders. Step 8: Just Win, baby! Step 9: ???? Step 10: Profit!!!

We weren't as good as some people (myself included) on here thought we would be. We weren't as bad as some people on here thought we would be. If our offense plays like they did in the first half and the defense plays like they did in the second half for the rest of the year, I like our chances. I'll always cheer on my team and hope they do well, even when we're down 42-14.

The game didn't go as well as anyone would have hoped. There's no denying that. The defense looked completely lost in the first half, the Ducks tore through them like a soggy loaf of bread. That said, it didn't go quite as bad as some people are implying. We adjusted in the second half and shut them out. Let me repeat that. They. Did. Not. Score. In the second half. We play defense like that through the rest of the year, and we'll be in good shape. Tre Bryant going down with an injury really limited our offense. We knew Lee was gonna throw the ball. They knew Lee was gonna throw the ball. Their pass D really came up big. In the end, we just couldn't get the ball rolling well enough to overcome our first half mistakes. That said, I think we'll be playing much better football moving forward. If the D keeps improving, the only problem spots I see are Wisconsin, Ohio State, and State Pen. Everyone else, we'll handle just fine. Winning the West is still well within our grasp.

Damn, Oregon has got some killer luck. All the tipped passes fall right into their players' hands.

Holy hell, we can get a stop! Now just gotta pound it into the endzone and get one more stop to take the lead! We can still win this! GO BIG RED!!!

Looks like we can fire back pretty well. Just gotta get two stops so our O can catch us up.

Guess we're not completely out of it yet. Just gotta get a stop here.

Lots of red in the stands. Looks good in Autzen.

I think the game is gonna come down to whoever makes the fewest mistakes. Oregons offense can move the ball and will probably score, but ours will be able to do the same against their defense. If we get a stop or a turnover late in the game, we win. If they get one of those, they win. I expect it'll be a close game all the way through.

Or just borrow a friend's cable login info and stream it from Fox Sports online.

A chance to do or dare.

It's like playing Risk. But with college football. ... I think I've found my new favorite game.