floridacorn

I agree, but that's a pretty monumental caveat. I'm honestly past the point of hoping they will challenge for the West. Not that they are incapable, but this staff has to prove they can be retained as a first step. I've seen positive signs the past 2 weeks, can they build off that, or will they regress to another Illinois type performance? 2-0 the next two I'll start being optimistic again. 1-1 still leaves more questions than answers & 0-2 is big trouble.

Tail wags dog as the NCAA considers allowing the rest of college football to play by the same rules the SEC does. This rule had an exception written into it once already after the SEC openly defied it...

With the depth NU has at CB, I would like to see these utilize 1 of these guys as a true nickel, & bounce JoJo inside to a LaVonte David type role in these situations. I get you have limited time in college football & it makes such moves challenging, but it terms of maximizing coverage ability...

I can't speak to the validity of this story, but it's pretty well known UF offered Frost the position, and his insistence that he bring his entire staff from UCF was a sticking point for UF.

This is tricky, but it's the LG. NU is in 1/2 slide protection, so definitely not the C. LG & LT are manned up on backside vs 3, but Buffalo drops both DE's w/Double A-Gap blitz to rob Hot read.

Frost stayed the course w/play calling. Run game isn't where they want it or where it needs to be, but they stayed patient, played within themselves, & didn't self destruct. Many of the winnable games this team has lost under Frost are won w/play calling like we saw today.

I know the Stepp run play as DART. It's inside zone w/a pulling OT being utilized as a lead blocker. For a team having difficulty getting to the 2nd level on IZ, DART addresses that.

Substitute Memphis for BYU & this makes more sense to me. It's a stronger version of Conference USA/AAC w/upside programs. SWC refugees turned that middle class conference into a barrio in two decades...sounds right

I know this wasn't posters ?, but this is a straddle option, split zone is when the H-back comes across the formation, & blocks the backside defender. I really don't like seeing that from NU, because you are no longer playing 11 on 11 in the run game at that point, although I do realize they do this to set up other plays. The more I watch this NU offense under Frost, the more convinced I am they aren't reading anything, and are predetermining reads. I know Gus Malzahn does that for example, but they are misreading a lot of mesh point decisions if they are reading...

This is a veer, yes Ervin should be hitting the B gap, & he should be hitting it hard. He doesn't, it looks like he starts to cut backside, then bounce outside, before remembering he should be hitting that up inside. Allen's block is out there for Martinez in the event of a keep. Doesn't mean Ervin couldn't bounce this once he has it, but he likes to bounce everything, & I'm guessing they are in his ear about getting upfield. I don't think this is the right question however. Who's the unblocked defender they are making the read off??? The defender Ervin runs smack into???

I have difficulty imagining how Frost is coach next season if they don't win this week after dropping the Illinois game. Must win, biggest game of his NU coaching career, & we are talking about Buffalo...it is what it is, but I really don't see how that's not true.

Message boards are like youth football coaching staffs. The second things go wrong, half the people think the solution is to change the entire system. There's no holy grail, it's always the coaches &/or the players!

This is puzzling. Zone blocking rules don't care about alignment & there is very little difference between the 4-3 1 gap & 3-4 1 gap D they were prepared for. This is the same coach who has shared the story of why he prefers a 3-4 defense, stating the 4-3 can't hold up to the Oregon rushing attack...is it not?

I think Frost was choosing NU regardless, but UF offered him the job, and this was the sticking point.

IMO, you don't need Justin Fields or whomever fits the ideal dual-threat prototype. But, you can't ask or expect a player like AM or LM to be a consistent drop back QB. I can explain more in-depth, but to keep it simple, this team should never do anything but run or play action pass outside of true passing situations and in those situations they should call a solid percentage of draws & screens. I believe you can win and win big w/a dual threat QB who is a limited passer, but you can't if you ask him to be a pocket passer.

I strongly disagree w/this, but I'm over seeing them try to force spread QB's into an elementary air raid system.

In a nutshell, this team continues to beat itself under Frost.

The counter to SEC power moves in the name of FOOTBALL is to make an alliance that provides thought leadership on gender equality on top of the already stated thought leadership on diversity, equality, and inclusion? I guess if I cared about women's volleyball I might give two cents about this, but I don't.

The NCAA allowed analysts to participate in practice last season after the season was rescheduled. So, I don't see how this can be related to Rutledge. I'm reminded of the Jerry Tartkanian line, "when the NCAA is mad at Kentucky, they put Cleveland State under probation". Insert snarky NU comment here

The media's obsession w/ST's in amusing. Has Dawson even fielded a single question about OLB's?

At 1st I thought this was like saying the less a batter strikes out, the better their batting averages tend to be. But, if "production" is defined as gross production, I can see the deeper logic, broader correlation between negative plays & "production". More consistent running game, staying on schedule, more opportunities to run the ball, ect... For me, the running game always comes down to the 2nd level. If lineman are getting there or LB's are staying free & making tackles, ect... But, you certainly have to crawl before you walk, ie cracking the LOS. O-line play always starts w/the center & Jurgens should probably be a 1st year starter this year. Hopefully, all the growing pains he went through being forced into action as an undersized, inexperienced lineman pay big dividends this season.

Nelson always struck me as a stiff, try hard type. But, he looked explosive, and fluid in drills. Really interested in seeing him in that first game now.

I was thinking Nash is a large human & he doesn't stand out in that group, now I see why. About the only position on this team where NU doesn't have positional size is ILB.

Agree w/your assessment, but your proposed solution is actually counter productive w/respect to getting the superior D-line depth on the field. NU's 3-4 DE's are not interchangeable 4-3 DE's. Robinson, Stille, & Rodgers are more DT than edge players. When NU switches to a 4-2-5, which they did quite a bit of last season, you are actually taking 1 of the D-Lineman off the field, & replacing him w/an extra OLB. Most teams nickel package would put an extra DB on the field, slot CB or S. Doman is that guy for NU, so when NU switches to nickel, they replace a DE with an OLB, & their 4 in the 4-2-5 consists of 2 IDL & 2 OLB.

I don't disagree. To clarify, I didn't intend to suggest a "comp" for Yant is Blount. But, there's a discussion on whether a big back can thrive in this offense, Blount seems like a better example to use than Bettis or Henry for example.