Did Iowa prove us Option lovers wrong

[Igetbored216]

First of all, GT does not run the triple option. Yes, that is one of the plays they run, but it's called the flexbone option spread. There are many more types of option plays run out of it (QB Iso option, FB Option, Speed Option...just to name a few).

The beauty of the flexbone is that if you have a QB that can throw as well as run (Nesbitt can only do one really well), the flexbone in its "normal" set is like having a RB and four WR set out on the field. You have two actual WR, the "FB", and then you have the two wingbacks (or whatever you want to call them). Once GT gets a dual threat QB, I think this offense is going to be even more potent than it already is.

 

[knapplc]

Oh..And Steve Taylor (5?Tds against UCLA) ,Turner Gill, Some others I can't think of...couldn't pass?

You need someone behind center that will keep the Defense from loading the box.

Steve Taylor and Turner Gill could pass. So could Gerry Gdowski. But Jammal Lord couldn't hit a short pass to save his life (long passes he could throw, though), Crouch wasn't a good passer, Frost wasn't a good passer, Frazier wasn't a good passer, etc. All of these guys did OK passing, but it was not a strong part of their game.

 

[Paul in WI]

GT lost for a lot of reasons the other night. All have been already listed by various people. As a long-time Husker fan (like many of you), I've experienced many similar, frustrating games where I'd plead with the tv to "just PASS the ball" to loosen things up. The best Husker teams of old at least had a quarterback who was a threat to complete a pass or two when needed. It doesn't matter if the qb can run like a gazelle, because if he has no arm, your team is going to run up against an "Iowa" who won't respect the pass and will simply stack up their athletes to shut down a one-dimensional running game. If GT would have had any sort of passing threat to make Iowa pay with a few big passes, I think the game would have looked a lot different.

I love Osborne ball. However, if you don't have any sort of downfield aerial threat, you're going to get hosed sooner or later. The GT/Iowa game was a perfect case in point.

 

[mmmtodd]

to be fair, GT dropped several big play, defense loosening balls in that game. they had the chance. sort of.

but i firmly believe Paul Johnson gets a QB in there that can do what he wants...watch out.

 

[junior4949]

No, Iowa didn't show the option doesn't work. What they showed was Johnson isn't nearly as good at changing his gameplan during the game as he's been advertised as doing. In the 1st half, they had a whopping 32 yards with absolutely ZERO passing yards. There was absolutely zero changing of the gameplan in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, they pulled their interior linemen and used a lead blocker from the backfied. Amazing, their option started working then. Also, Iowa was stacking the box with upwards of 9 guys. TO would have at least emphasized some playaction in the first half. We saw this against Miami in the 94' NC game. Unfortunately, Frazier was either throwing darts into the ground or an INT. The option isn't dead. Johnson just waited too long to change his gameplan.

 

[Yellowjacketfan]

Interestingly, Nesbitt was a 4 star shotgun quarterback in high school and came to GT while Chan Gailey was the coach. He said this year, "if I knew I would have been running the option I would probably have not come to GT." I just think GT has so much success running throughout the year that he hardly ever throws thus he is not as good at is as he could be. He does go off at times, such as in the Miss St. game he passed for 266 yards. I think he has it in him, maybe next year he will develop into a better passer.

 

[default_28]

I've seen quite a few people saying that once GaTch gets the athletes PJ wants then they'll be unstoppable, but just like the option isn't popular in college right now it's not popular in High School either. Who says that the elite players are out there for them to recruit? They don't have a QB commit this year and only took one last year(according to rivals, I don't know what positions their Ath recruits play). I think in the 80's and 90's TO could find players who played in an option based offense in HS which is harder to do now IMO.

 

[Cob Mob]

Games are won by Joe's and Mo's not X's and O's. When GT has superior athletes on the field the option will roll. It did so 11 of 14 games this season. We have the skill players but no O-line and no defense (last night was the best the defense has looked in a long time). Against above average and even some very good teams you can hide your O-line and defense with great skill players but Iowa had a D-line that blew up our O-line and had an offense that was good enough .... which is not hard to be ... against our D. I look at the bright side ... maybe such a poor performance will cause draft stock to drop for our great juniors and thus they will come back. If so GT will be the best unranked team in the nation haha.

Nesbitt=average, at best. I know you guys like him, but he is not a good option qb. Receivers in the blocking game have it down it seems. Ballcarriers are solid. O-line is crap, and QB looks like a compromise. I think a guy like Nesbitt would be better suited to a Tyrod Taylor type role, but his arm is frightening. His pitches are even scary.

I'll accept a lot of comments about GT, but Nesbitt is really not average. He is the heart and soul leader of the team. Maybe he doesn't throw that well (actually, he DOESN'T throw well), but take him off the team and we have 2-3 more losses. He single handedly won the Florida State game and was the determining factor in the Wake Forest game. Finding an athlete like him may not be hard, but he is a fullback as a quarterback and a great leader. Tebow like in his leadership but without the SECSPN hype ... I believe he also received first team all-ACC honors. I don't think you have watched GT enough if you think Nesbitt is average.

I think you missed my point. Im not questioning his leadership, heart, or any of that. Im simply talking about his ability to run the option. I watched GTech every chance i got this year, just like i watched Navy...I love watching option football. Its what i ran in high school. Its what Nebraska kids my age grew up doing in the backyard; flip the wrist, fingers held high, thumb to the sky...not throwing bombs. You said it best by calling him a fullback. He gets square and headed downfield, hes an unstoppable brute. But getting to the corner takes forever, and he doesnt have a great cut step when he finally commits to keep. I kept waiting for an Iowa corner to snag one of his pitches out of the air and house it. Paul Johnson will get a QB in there at some point that can truly do these things, and then you will see the difference.

Maybe you hadn't watched Nesbitt in a lot of games this year, but the guy is a monster. He's an exceptional athlete and has developed into a very capable option qb. Easily as good as Taylor and some of the better (not great) Neb option qb's. His game vs Iowa was just bad. He didn't play well, and Iowa was all over GT. Iowa matched up well vs GT's scheme, and was well prepared. Nesbitt's passes and pitches were very bad vs Iowa, but I've seen the guy dominate games and play a lot better than he did in that game. jmo.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

So if Iowa proved it doesnt work, did Navy prove that it does?

It is like any other offense, you will have three kinds of days. Great, bad and average. The key is when you have those days. If you have a bad day you better still win.

Callahans WCO put up great numbers vs teams like Our Lady of the Worthless Miracle, but when he played any team that was decent or that had a good DC, the Skers tended to look really bad after the first 15 playes (scripted plays).

The option is not dead because of one bad night, heck, GT had the ball with a chance to win with 4 minutes left, think of it that way.

 

[bshirt]

No...something we all need to realize is Johnson is running the option w/ players who were not recruited to run that offense..just wait till he gets his players...obviously Nesbitt is a running QB and the running back are very good..i mean more of the o-line...

Good point.

PJ in his 2nd year at GT loses his bowl game which proves to many the option doesn't work. :facepalm:

Of course, for four years Bill Callahan's wco at NU was 0 - 19 when down at halftime and this year SW rode the wco to 102nd total offense. So yeah, it's a damn good thing we dumped the power/option offense.

 

[huskerswrkhavoc]

No...something we all need to realize is Johnson is running the option w/ players who were not recruited to run that offense..just wait till he gets his players...obviously Nesbitt is a running QB and the running back are very good..i mean more of the o-line...

Good point.

PJ in his 2nd year at GT loses his bowl game which proves to many the option doesn't work. :facepalm:

Of course, for four years Bill Callahan's wco at NU was 0 - 19 when down at halftime and this year SW rode the wco to 102nd total offense. So yeah, it's a damn good thing we dumped the power/option offense.

1st time we've had a bad offense. The 0-19 had nothing to do with Cally's offense, everything to do with the lack of defense. Kinda hard to say we ran a "true" WCO this year also... We did a lot of different things. Had we ran the power/option offense that you were sarcastically thankful for dumping, we STILL would of been 0-19 when down at halftime. And probably worse, because we wouldnt have had a lead at half.. EVER.

 

[In the Deed the Glory]

No...something we all need to realize is Johnson is running the option w/ players who were not recruited to run that offense..just wait till he gets his players...obviously Nesbitt is a running QB and the running back are very good..i mean more of the o-line...

Good point.

PJ in his 2nd year at GT loses his bowl game which proves to many the option doesn't work. :facepalm:

Of course, for four years Bill Callahan's wco at NU was 0 - 19 when down at halftime and this year SW rode the wco to 102nd total offense. So yeah, it's a damn good thing we dumped the power/option offense.

1st time we've had a bad offense. The 0-19 had nothing to do with Cally's offense, everything to do with the lack of defense. Kinda hard to say we ran a "true" WCO this year also... We did a lot of different things. Had we ran the power/option offense that you were sarcastically thankful for dumping, we STILL would of been 0-19 when down at halftime. And probably worse, because we wouldnt have had a lead at half.. EVER.

Nice blanket statement there. Care to expand on that with some actual fact or even intelligent analysis?

Didn't think so, amazing we never had a lead at halftime when running that offense for 20 years. <_<

 

[EZ-E]

If that slow @$$ Iowa defense can stop it then anyone can. As I was watching that game I dont think there were too many kids on that Iowa team that would start for us.

Clayborn would. Angerer wouldnt-We have Dillard. That Prater kid might be in our 2 deep but wouldnt start for us.

 

[REDSTEEL]

If Iowa proved that the option doesn't work, then did Alabama prove last night, that a power running game can still take you to the National Championship game and win it? <_< They had no problem running it down the throat of the Number 1 rush defense.

 

[EZ-E]

If Iowa proved that the option doesn't work, then did Alabama prove last night, that a power running game can still take you to the National Championship game and win it? <_< They had no problem running it down the throat of the Number 1 rush defense.

Yes. They proved that the best teams are still the ones that can line up, go hat on a hat, and run the ball down your throat.