Football Study Hall: Nebraska and the Frost option

Saunders

Saunders

Heisman Trophy Winner
Nebraska is going to be a cutting edge, option running football team again!

The Mike Riley hire at Nebraska made a certain degree of sense. The common perception is that the Cornhuskes oversteered away from the brash Bo Pelini and hired the nicest man in coaching. My take at the time was that Riley actually brought a skill set to the job that fit the needs of present day Nebraska, but that he was facing an uphill climb in transforming the design of the offense and fixing the defense.

While there were many calls for Nebraska to hire Ken Niumatalolo and double down on their option roots under Tom Osborne, that would likely have been an abject surrender of ever assuming a place of national contention again. If you look at the defensive S&P+ rankings of the flexbone/triple-option teams of today you’ll find that they virtually never rank amongst the nation’s best in defense. Niumatalolo’s Navy is regularly involved in shootouts in which opponents are befuddled by their option but feast on the Midshipmen defenders.

A move to that brand of triple-option would also have made it very difficult for Nebraska to credibly present itself as a destination for pro-caliber players around the country, which in turn would have damaged their ability to become a title-contending team.

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2017/12/15/16780916/nebraska-cornhuskers-and-the-scott-frost-option-osborne
Click to expand...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The same debate as always.   They made these arguments against Osborne and even were saying this all through the mid / late nineties when the best teams of all time were wearing Husker gear.   They are wrong.  Actually, I think now would be the perfect time to make the switch back to the wishbone/Osbone/run oriented option style offense.   With the decline of NFL (it is facing many issues of its own making and as popularity plummets, the interest in the NFL type offenses will also wane.  Football will be an amateur game and NU is historically the best amateur football place - period.  

The virtue of being a program that does not produce NFL players I feel out weighs the opposite.  I think we want players that dream of being Huskers (not Packers or Broncos or 49ers or Patriots).   NU is the destination, not a stopover.   

 
Riley failed in all facets of the game....That much is true.  Frost's offense at UCF evolved from what he did at Oregon.  I am sure that it will evolve again at NU.....Frost has been coached by some of the greatest minds of the day.  He will be ok.  I feel confident that the O will have pieces and parts of what he has been exposed to/coached in etc.....

Georgia Techs total D was 33.......I'd take that with the most prolific O in college football...

 
Frost has worked for great coaches as a player and coach.  His parents were coaches.  I think he learned from all- not imitating them.  

I think you will over a 1-2 year period see a Frost offense that is his with maybe some glimpses of his old coaches.  

I am am not worried about his offense.  I want to see an aggressive fast defense that believe they own the line of scrimmage.  When was the last time we had a defense that we expected them to stop the other team on 3rd and short most of the time.  In Riley’s time, I did not expect the defense to hold on 3rd down.  I thought we had a higher percentage to get a 4th down by penalties, fumbles, interceptions or dropped passes.  I believe defense is the key to turning things around.  

 
URSS said:
When was the last time we had a defense that we expected them to stop the other team on 3rd and short most of the time.
Click to expand...


 I don't know. I can say such expectations are false hope, though. College teams convert 3rd and 1 about 70% of the time. 3rd and 7 is converted at about half that.

Good 3rd down percentages start by not having 3rd and short.

 
Stupid writer. The defensive rankings of teams running the triple options has zero correlation to the defensive rankings if Nebraska adopted that offense.

 
84HuskerLaw said:
The same debate as always.   They made these arguments against Osborne and even were saying this all through the mid / late nineties when the best teams of all time were wearing Husker gear.   They are wrong.  Actually, I think now would be the perfect time to make the switch back to the wishbone/Osbone/run oriented option style offense.   With the decline of NFL (it is facing many issues of its own making and as popularity plummets, the interest in the NFL type offenses will also wane.  Football will be an amateur game and NU is historically the best amateur football place - period.  

The virtue of being a program that does not produce NFL players I feel out weighs the opposite.  I think we want players that dream of being Huskers (not Packers or Broncos or 49ers or Patriots).   NU is the destination, not a stopover.   
Click to expand...




What planet do you live on dude?

 
84HuskerLaw said:
The same debate as always.   They made these arguments against Osborne and even were saying this all through the mid / late nineties when the best teams of all time were wearing Husker gear.   They are wrong.  Actually, I think now would be the perfect time to make the switch back to the wishbone/Osbone/run oriented option style offense.   With the decline of NFL (it is facing many issues of its own making and as popularity plummets, the interest in the NFL type offenses will also wane.  Football will be an amateur game and NU is historically the best amateur football place - period.  

The virtue of being a program that does not produce NFL players I feel out weighs the opposite.  I think we want players that dream of being Huskers (not Packers or Broncos or 49ers or Patriots).   NU is the destination, not a stopover.   
Click to expand...


College football saw viewership rating drops similar to the nfl. But keep spewing whatever it is you believe. 

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/college-football-viewership-networks-aside-fox-fs1-2017.html

ironically, Fox was the only rating that was up. Good for the B1G. 

 
Figure I'd put this here. Really interesting breakdown of Frost's first year at UCF......He was predicted to win 6.4 games in 2017......Guy is a winner and truly gets more form "less"...

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/4/25/15400678/central-florida-football-2017-preview-schedule-roster

Still, where Frost goes, wins follow. It’s been the case no matter where he plays or what he coaches. Frost may not have the most gregarious reputation in the world, but it appears he’s really good at just about every aspect of football.

UCF improved from 110th to 30th in Def. S&P+ last year; an experienced Knights defense conformed with what coordinator Erik Chinander wanted to do, and while the secondary is undergoing a drastic rebuild, the front seven returns enough to lead you to believe any drop-off could be only minor.

I expect we will take some lumps on both sides adjusting, but if UCF (with a  2 year sample) is representative of Frost, the D will carry the O the first season....

 
Last edited by a moderator:
brophog said:
 I don't know. I can say such expectations are false hope, though. College teams convert 3rd and 1 about 70% of the time. 3rd and 7 is converted at about half that.

Good 3rd down percentages start by not having 3rd and short.
Click to expand...
Hm?    I would suggest that most offensive coaches would prefer to have more third and shorts than third and longs?   I am not going to look up the stats but I would dare to take a wild guess that the success rate, on average, is much better for getting a first down on third and short vs third and long.   Of course you would probably be in favor of successful first downs gained on first or second down but that would be the only way to avoid having the third down situations  This is a discussion about Frost's offense, not his defense I do believe.   

 
Last edited by a moderator:
84HuskerLaw said:
Hm?    I would suggest that most offensive coaches would prefer to have more third and shorts than third and longs?   I am not going to look up the stats but I would dare to take a wild guess that the success rate, on average, is much better for getting a first down on third and short vs third and long.   Of course you would probably be in favor of successful first downs gained on first or second down but that would be the only way to avoid having the third down situations  This is a discussion about Frost's offense, not his defense I do believe.   
Click to expand...
The post you quoted literally states what the rates are.

 
Nobody has cable anymore*.  Of course everything is losing viewers.

*hyperbole - calm your tits.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top