Georgia Southern Week Pressers

[CC Eagle]

1 minute ago, teachercd said:

Weren't you guys at triple option offense forever?  Do the fans miss that or do you still run it?

 

Man... we could spend all day talking about what GS has or hasn't run for the last few years and all the different feelings that fans have. Here's the best cliff notes version I can give you.

 

- GS totally abandoned the Paul Johnson flexbone triple option in 2006 when Brian Van Gorder was hired. He tried to force an under center, pro style offense with no consideration at all to personnel. We went 3-8 for our second losing season in modern history and BVG ran off that December.

- Chris Hatcher (birthed out of the Hal Mumme air raid tree) came in next. He was smart enough to use our elite running quarterback, hybridizing his pass heavy offense into a spread option scheme that worked pretty well. But the next two years devolved into a pass-heavy offense that never got explosive.

- Jeff Monken took over and brought back the flexbone. He basically willed us to two consecutive FCS semifinal runs through threats and intensity. We had a lot of talent that had to be reconfigured to work in the flex and he managed it well.

- Monken was hired away by Army and Willie Fritz was hired for our first season as an FBS school in 2014. Fritz's staff opened up the formations and tactics, but still leaned heavily on the option and had the offense ripping off huge plays left and right. GS went 8-0 in conference play in its first FBS season and went 9-3 with a GoDaddy Bowl win in 2015 in our first season of bowl eligibility.

- Fritz left for Tulane ahead of the 2015 bowl game. Tyson Summers was hired and everything went to pieces. GS started 2016 3-0, but Summers and his staff managed to neuter the offense despite nearly everyone from the previous season returning. Summers and his OCs preached that they were running an option offense despite it being very obvious that they were dying to do something else... You'd get 5-10 totally forced option pitches per game, followed by ineffective QB-read plays and no blocking when it came time to pass.

- Summers went 2-7 after the quick start in 2016 and was canned halfway through 2017 after starting 0-6. Chad Lunsford took over as interim and seemed to spark morale, winning two games down the stretch.

- Lunsford had never been higher than Special Teams Coordinator/Asst. HC, but he took a still-talented team and rode it to a 10-3, bowl-winning season in 2018. He got the team to bowl games in both 2019 and 2020, but his staff didn't recruit well and the high morale couldn't make up for the lack of talent last season. The fanbase barometer also waned as he took a page from Summers and insisted that we were a "gun-option", "run-first" team despite the game plan usually not looking like that.

- Clay Helton was named new HC midway through 2021, but stayed away from the team and allowed our interim to play out the season before Helton made any staff decisions or involved himself in practices or game planning.

- It's safe to say that the option is no longer in the picture. We have some QBs farther down the depth chart that are mobile (and maybe run-first), but Vantrease isn't looking to run or pitch. MAYBE, he'll pull a handoff for a naked boot if he sees the perfect storm of offensive and defensive alignments.

- We still have some very good running backs, but the OL is more focused on pass protection and the running game will look like very basic inside/outside zone and not a misdirection or option attack.

[Hilltop]

7 minutes ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

Not forever but our opponents thought so!   About 1981 to 2003.  
We have two groups of fans nowadays.  We call them ‘run the dam ball’ guys and ‘pass the dam ball’ guys.  The past 20 years, the pass the ballers have got their way.  The wins have declined steadily.  
 

Ironically, Scott Frost was a great QB that led a great running offense to lots of wins and our last title.  But he’s the most ‘pass the dam ball’ we’ve ever had.  Hence, he’s our losingest coach too!   Some disagree as to the cause-effect on this but as a run the ball guy, it’s not even debatable.   
 

So, you can expect NU to sling the ball around aplenty.  However, lurking somewhere in the old dusty playbooks in Lincoln are some very lethal running plays and a scheme that can tear up a lesser team.  We can’t remember that happening in a decade but it can happen.
 

It is impossible to guess if or when it will again happen but someday soon I hope!  
 

Smh... he was asking the Georgia Southern Fan.  Come on 84, you can do this.  Your posts lately have been ok man.  Don't lose it now.

[84HuskerLaw]

2 minutes ago, Hilltop said:

Smh... he was asking the Georgia Southern Fan.  Come on 84, you can do this.  Your posts lately have been ok man.  Don't lose it now.

Lol.  

[84HuskerLaw]

Just now, 84HuskerLaw said:

Lol.  

My posts are always on point. I don’t always fight the dam typo / tech issues with the funky words the input creates.  It takes too much time.  I apologize for being hasty and a bit lazy.  But my post was aimed at a GA So fan interested in knowing about Neb football these days compared to what MOST cfb fans would think about when Neb football was mentioned. Surely you agree with the gist of my post.  How could you not?  

[CC Eagle]

1 minute ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

My posts are always on point. I don’t always fight the dam typo / tech issues with the funky words the input creates.  It takes too much time.  I apologize for being hasty and a bit lazy.  But my post was aimed at a GA So fan interested in knowing about Neb football these days compared to what MOST cfb fans would think about when Neb football was mentioned. Surely you agree with the gist of my post.  How could you not?  

 

I'm a diehard college football fan. I'm well-versed in Nebraska football. I've even had some arguments with GS fans for having a stance that the I-formation Nebraska option of the early-mid 90s was more explosive and versatile than our flexbone. 

 

Rule changes have really reduced the effectiveness of the option and even the incentive to have a good running game, but - as an offense first guy - there's nothing more entertaining than watching highlights of an option team playing a good defense that just doesn't get how to stay on assignments or be accountable for their gaps.

[Husker in WI]

7 minutes ago, CC Eagle said:

 

I'm a diehard college football fan. I'm well-versed in Nebraska football. I've even had some arguments with GS fans for having a stance that the I-formation Nebraska option of the early-mid 90s was more explosive and versatile than our flexbone. 

 

Rule changes have really reduced the effectiveness of the option and even the incentive to have a good running game, but - as an offense first guy - there's nothing more entertaining than watching highlights of an option team playing a good defense that just doesn't get how to stay on assignments or be accountable for their gaps.

 

As long as Nebraska wins this weekend you're going to be real popular around here.

[runningblind]

8 hours ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

My posts are always on point. I don’t always fight the dam typo / tech issues with the funky words the input creates.  It takes too much time.  I apologize for being hasty and a bit lazy.  But my post was aimed at a GA So fan interested in knowing about Neb football these days compared to what MOST cfb fans would think about when Neb football was mentioned. Surely you agree with the gist of my post.  How could you not?  

You replying to your own post of "Lol", talking about how you replied to someone else but meant the post for yet a another person is gold. 

[84HuskerLaw]

57 minutes ago, runningblind said:

You replying to your own post of "Lol", talking about how you replied to someone else but meant the post for yet a another person is gold. 

No. I responded to a critical post not liking what I said about Neb fb relative to option fb.  
i actually referenced the post incorrectly but it was meant to a GS So fan who was also talking about option fb and so many Husker fans and or cfb fans who still recall NU as a powerful running team.   I happened to be discussing the very subject this morning with a Buffalo Bills fan I work with and their pounding of the Rams Thursday.  
 

I confounded the three I guess but my points were valid.  Hilltop often likes to question even the most obvious factual points and hates about everything I have to say.  Lol.    I also frequently have the issue when attempting to quote a post to respond to it in particular and when I hit submit, suddenly a completely different post shows up instead.  And I can’t ‘edit’ any post after submitting.  I used to but not for awhile now.  Sorry if it confuses but I tend to think most will figure it out.   Obviously you did, sort of I think.  Hilltop clearly not. 

[Toe]

How on earth did this game get an evening time slot?

[admo]

1 hour ago, Toe said:

How on earth did this game get an evening time slot?

Bringing in the croots, and months ago it felt good on paper.  

[Decked]

Feel like we are due for a week 2 crazy game here! Hope I’m wrong.