ColoradoHusk
Donor
Lightbourn is like Charlie Brown and he doesn’t even need Lucy to pull the ball away from him.
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- Thread starter Ric Flair
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ColoradoHusk
Donor
It’s a guess on my part, but it’s usually why coaches try something like a surprise onside kick early in the game. Coaches do most things based on tendencies from the other team.
Went back and listened. Frost said they "got a great look" to try an onside and that they had practiced it.
Not sure if they saw that look on film but I would think so. That was our first kick-off of the game so it's not like could have seen it anywhere else.
I believe he also said it hadn't gone that way in practices, referring to the botched kick.
olddominionhusker
New member
That’s what i figured. They probably saw the unbalanced front line look on film and thought if they saw it early to give it a go
krc1995
Donor
I should hope not. Lol. I could have done that. I’m guessing the unbalancedness wasn’t there late in the 4th or the element of surprise was gone.
It sure would have have been nice to have that ace in the hole late in the game.
There's no way we would have had it because they were prepared for it then (due to game situation)
ColoradoHusk
Donor
There’s no ace in the hole to play late in the game. Teams will line up differently on kickoff depending on the situation. Of course, Ohio State was going to be prepared for a potential onside kick late in the game.
Again, this is me speculating, but based on how coaches watch film and game plan, the NU coaches spotted a vulnerable spot in Ohio State’s traditional kickoff return team. It was worth trying and Lightbourn failed to even put his foot on the ball. Coaches will prepare endlessly for moments like that, and a player can still fail in the moment.
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krc1995
Donor
I'm pretty sure in the seemingly endless list of possible outcomes, the kicker not making contact with the football didn't even enter SF's mind. It's really quite comical if it happens to someone else.
ColoradoHusk
Donor
Of course it’s funny if it happens to another team. That’s why I’m going to defend the play call to no end. No one would have ever though Lightbourn would have completely whiffed on the kick attempt. I have seen plenty of onside kick attempts in my life, both surprise and traditional onside kicks. I have never seen a kicker completely miss the ball. It was an outcome that no one would have predicted. I saw posts of “you can’t expect Lightbourn to perform in that situation” but Frost shouldn’t expect Lightbourn to completely whiff on the ball.
krc1995
Donor
:yeah
They ran the play in practice. Apparently with enough success that they thought it was worth a try in the game. It didn't work out. It happens. It sucks but it happens.
Same deal with the turnover near the goal line where Martinez threw it backwards and JD couldn't come up with it. I absolutely love that play in general tough I don't know if I would have called it that close to the goal line. But they could probably run that play 100 more times and never have the outcome that happened in the game. That doesn't make it a bad call. Just a continuation of the horrendous luck we've had this year.
junior4949
New member
The only problem I had with the call was the one who they were trusting to make the play. For as many games as Lightbourn was the starting punter, I can only assume he was doing a good job and having enough success in practice. When it became apparent that practice play was quite a bit different than game play, he lost his punting duties. So now, we have the exact same player and expected a different outcome. Don't get me wrong, under normal circumstances I loved the call as well. I just thought it was very ill advised running it with Mr. Practice.