McKewon: Offensive play-calling did Husker defense no favors in second half of blowout loss to Ohio State

[TheMeanFarmer]

They should have ran the clock, worked on their interior and zone blocking, gone to max protect and tried to complete some possession passes.

And I said so in my armchair both during the game and here in my Monday Morning Quarterback position.

 

[VectorVictor]

I agree that the play calling wasnt great. However, when you lose 62-3, play calling should be the LEAST of your concerns. there is a foundational problem with a 62-3 loss, not an in-game strategy problem.

we helped them get to 62-3 with the playcalling though. At some point you have to concede the game, and try to run some form of an offense. Seemed every play in the 2nd half was launch it downfield on a prayer. That stops the clock, and allows your defense to continue to get run over.

Bingo. Game was over at halftime. Slow the bleeding, get outta town. What happened on Saturday was Callahan v Texas Tech 2.0.

Agreed, and it's why I put the loss vs. Wisky square on Langsdorf's shoulders, and I'm putting this blowout on his shoulders too. His playcalling is reverting back to his 2015 style, and what's troubling is that Riley isn't putting the hammer down on it from the sidelines. Sam's article, while two games tardy, is on point.

Add to all this Riley's commitment to recruiting dual-threat QBs in the future, and it's high time that our program part ways with Langsdorf at the end of the season if he can't (or won't?) fix his broken playcalling.

Also...related to this, multiple people have said our best defense wasn't what Banker had on the field, but our offense. This tOSU loss illustrates this, more than anything else, and highlights why these problems with Langsdorf need to be resolved ASAMFP, or we will have a hell of a time versus Maryland, Minnesota, and Iowa.

 

[Mavric]

lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of your star qb. Youre down 31-3 at half. That game was the least of our worried. Ask any true competitor. When youre gettin your teeth kicked in, it makes no difference if its by 30 or 60, and you wanna keep competiting at full capacity. We couldnt run the ball, so what's basically being suggested is running 3 and out for the sake of burning 3 minutes and heading out. We're so damn enamored with what happened in Lubbock 12 years ago. We gotta get Fyfe ready. For a bunch that's so obsessed with getting backup qb's MEANINGFUL snaps, it's being pretty double standard with the 2nd half playcalling. At that point, you've already washed your hands of it and are looking to next week and probing and prying to find some stuff to move forward with.

We were more effective running the ball than passing it.

 

[Count 'Bility]

lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of your star qb. Youre down 31-3 at half. That game was the least of our worried. Ask any true competitor. When youre gettin your teeth kicked in, it makes no difference if its by 30 or 60, and you wanna keep competiting at full capacity. We couldnt run the ball, so what's basically being suggested is running 3 and out for the sake of burning 3 minutes and heading out. We're so damn enamored with what happened in Lubbock 12 years ago. We gotta get Fyfe ready. For a bunch that's so obsessed with getting backup qb's MEANINGFUL snaps, it's being pretty double standard with the 2nd half playcalling. At that point, you've already washed your hands of it and are looking to next week and probing and prying to find some stuff to move forward with.

We were more effective running the ball than passing it.

we scored 3 points. "more" is pretty relative. LOL

 

[commando]

why the hell do we recruit QB's and WR's? we need to run every single down winning or losing dammit. that is the Nebraska way. always has been and always will be. fire any coach that ever thinks about calling 1 of those newfangled passing plays. we don't need any of that bull sh#t around here!!!

 

[cm husker]

This goes to my point in the Navy Thread.

Are NU coaches and fans willing to swallow pride and win ugly (i.e., minimize possessions and grind out outcomes) even if the card says this X should beat that O.

Hell, with Langs, it seems he sometimes runs what the card says even if this X shouldn't beat that O.

 

[cm husker]

Nebraska comes out an runs the ball for 7 yards on 2 carries. Then throws a slant that's deflected for a pick 6.

After that, NU put together a 72 yard drive that resulted in a FG. NU ran it with IBs only 3 for 7 yards (one of those was a 1 yard loss on 1st and goal from the 2 yardline). We then threw it on 2nd and 3rd downs from the 3 yard line and came away with only a field goal. Armstrong did add 7 yards on two carries, but iirc those were scrambles. The remaining yards came on 3 of 8 passing and a 15 yard PI.

The rest of the game, NU backs got 14 carries, even though two of them averaged over 4 yards per carry with no carries of more than 20 yards to skew the average.

But instead of grinding, NU asked Rife to throw it 18 times, including on a 4th and 1 from the OSU 15 when a TD that drive would have brought NU within 2 TDs.

That's suspect play calling - or maybe moreso, suspect game planning.

 

[GBRFAN]

Nebraska comes out an runs the ball for 7 yards on 2 carries. Then throws a slant that's deflected for a pick 6.

After that, NU put together a 72 yard drive that resulted in a FG. NU ran it with IBs only 3 for 7 yards (one of those was a 1 yard loss on 1st and goal from the 2 yardline). We then threw it on 2nd and 3rd downs from the 3 yard line and came away with only a field goal. Armstrong did add 7 yards on two carries, but iirc those were scrambles. The remaining yards came on 3 of 8 passing and a 15 yard PI.

The rest of the game, NU backs got 14 carries, even though two of them averaged over 4 yards per carry with no carries of more than 20 yards to skew the average.

But instead of grinding, NU asked Rife to throw it 18 times, including on a 4th and 1 from the OSU 15 when a TD that drive would have brought NU within 2 TDs.

That's suspect play calling - or maybe moreso, suspect game planning.

BS

Take off the blinders

 

[Saunders]

I wonder how many people actually read the article. The reality is, that game was over once Tommy went out, and when we finally got the ball in the third quarter, we were down 38-3.

Look: In Riley’s reshaping of Husker football, he won’t win every game. You can build winning programs even on losing nights. But you have to steer a leaky boat back to the dock with some care and some haste.

Riley left Nebraska’s pontoon out there to take on water. Nebraska’s offense didn’t need chunk plays. C’mon. It needed first downs. It needed to burn clock.

NU didn’t have a single first down in the third quarter.

The Huskers called 10 third-quarter plays. Three runs gained 15 yards. Seven passes gained 6 and led to an OSU pick-six.

What in the world was Riley thinking?

That’s how Nebraska possessed the ball for 7:07 of the second half. How many defenses, already struggling, are going to respond well when the opponent holds the ball for almost 23 of 30 minutes?

You aren't coming back from that, especially with a backup QB. So instead of trying to burn clock and protect the defense (who was fatigued and completely out of the game), they did the opposite.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I wonder how many people actually read the article. The reality is, that game was over once Tommy went out, and when we finally got the ball in the third quarter, we were down 38-3.

I am wondering how many people actually read the article, too. The discussion in this thread isn't any where near what is actually discussed in the article.

When NU was down 38-3, the prudent thing would have done to just limit further damage. I understand the blocking wasn't doing any good, but that was still a game situation where the offense could have worked on running the ball.

 

[Saunders]

I wonder how many people actually read the article. The reality is, that game was over once Tommy went out, and when we finally got the ball in the third quarter, we were down 38-3.

I am wondering how many people actually read the article, too. The discussion in this thread isn't any where near what is actually discussed in the article.

When NU was down 38-3, the prudent thing would have done to just limit further damage. I understand the blocking wasn't doing any good, but that was still a game situation where the offense could have worked on running the ball.

Or just killed the clock to limit the beating.

Instead of a 4-5 touchdown beating, we ended up with the 2nd worst loss in program history (only 1 shy of the record).

 

[Count 'Bility]

I read the whole thing and get it. I just dont agree. Just keep playing the game. it's just a take as fans who become more upset at losing by 60 than if we lost by 40. so we criticize what we did when behind cuz a 60 point loss hurts us fans more thna 40, where to the players and coaches, it's a boat race either way. the margin is irrlevant. it was 38-3 10 seconds into the 3rd quarter. That's all it comes down to. Maybe i was different, but when we would get creamed, we just wanted to keep playing. Being a competitor. I dont know. is what it is.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I wonder how many people actually read the article. The reality is, that game was over once Tommy went out, and when we finally got the ball in the third quarter, we were down 38-3.

I am wondering how many people actually read the article, too. The discussion in this thread isn't any where near what is actually discussed in the article.

When NU was down 38-3, the prudent thing would have done to just limit further damage. I understand the blocking wasn't doing any good, but that was still a game situation where the offense could have worked on running the ball.

Or just killed the clock to limit the beating.

Instead of a 4-5 touchdown beating, we ended up with the 2nd worst loss in program history (only 1 shy of the record).

+1,000,000 for the Duke gif.

 

[Mavric]

Nebraska comes out an runs the ball for 7 yards on 2 carries. Then throws a slant that's deflected for a pick 6.

After that, NU put together a 72 yard drive that resulted in a FG. NU ran it with IBs only 3 for 7 yards (one of those was a 1 yard loss on 1st and goal from the 2 yardline). We then threw it on 2nd and 3rd downs from the 3 yard line and came away with only a field goal. Armstrong did add 7 yards on two carries, but iirc those were scrambles. The remaining yards came on 3 of 8 passing and a 15 yard PI.

The rest of the game, NU backs got 14 carries, even though two of them averaged over 4 yards per carry with no carries of more than 20 yards to skew the average.

But instead of grinding, NU asked Rife to throw it 18 times, including on a 4th and 1 from the OSU 15 when a TD that drive would have brought NU within 2 TDs.

That's suspect play calling - or maybe moreso, suspect game planning.

BS

Take off the blinders

You've already shown yourself to be one who ignores what actually happens during a game if you don't want to believe it.

So perhaps you should take your own advice.

There is very little opinion in there. Mainly the last sentence. The rest is simply stating what actually happened. You can make your own case as to why you disagree with the conclusion but disregarding things just because you don't like them isn't very helpful.

 

[Mavric]

I read the whole thing and get it. I just dont agree. Just keep playing the game. it's just a take as fans who become more upset at losing by 60 than if we lost by 40. so we criticize what we did when behind cuz a 60 point loss hurts us fans more thna 40, where to the players and coaches, it's a boat race either way. the margin is irrlevant. it was 38-3 10 seconds into the 3rd quarter. That's all it comes down to. Maybe i was different, but when we would get creamed, we just wanted to keep playing. Being a competitor. I dont know. is what it is.

In fairness, it has been brought up ad nauseam over the last 4-5 years that the margin of victory was a significant factor in how to judge the results of a game.