**** What did we learn - Sparty edition ****

[WhatDoIKnow]

I learned that the MSU D front 7 is better than the NU offensive line. Not much else to say. They are a better team than us.

 

[74Hunter]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

It's like the first five games were against really really bad teams or something.

....or something.

Go ahead, fire Pelini.

Keep an eye on Ann arbor.....

.....you'll look back fondly on the Pelini era.

 

[irafreak]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

Had it been a truly close loss I don't think you'd see so many vultures. Our offensive coaching staff laid an egg. MSU's defense is good but not shut down good like they seemed last night. We played right into their hands and made minimal adjustments. This loss is on the offensive staff. I can't blame TA for getting rattled especially when he makes comments about the team not sure what to do. That's coaching. No gameplan. No plan of attack. No backup plan to exploit their defense. Nothing. We walked in with the same routine we have every week and expected the top defense in conference to be pushed around like Miami. The staff deserves a lot of criticism for this (and I'm talking offensive...D played great.)

I though it was a 5 point loss?

But anyhoo, I agree that our offense was outclassed. The OC,QB, OL, none were particularly good.

It's tough to call plays though when you can't execute short swing and screen passes.

Yeah I'm not arguing everything...honestly I guess maybe sit TA when he misses repeated swing passes to settle him down or try some jumbo packages ala brett beilema to give your qb a breather and see if you can't get Ameer going with even numbers matching...I'm more disappointing in the lack of creativity for such a big game. If there was ever a time to have a halfback pass or flea flicker this was the game yet it was the same plays over and over from the previous weeks.

I'm not big into the final score because it's often deceiving. I'd been saying all week MSU played a good game against Oregon until the end when they fell apart and were finally overrun. Last night we were shut down for 3 quarters and then hit some big plays but we did not play a good game. It was embarrassing. We looked overmatched.

 

[Danny Bateman]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

Like it or not, Ira, you're not Tim Beck. You're not running his offensive system. A pocket passer would be useless in this offense because it would totally erase the threat of the QB run game.

Seeing as how our offense is built around spread concepts and the zone read, that would be bad. It's no shock to see why a freshman Martinez could unseat a senior Zac Lee in 2010. Lee had zero mobility.

We can agree on some things. Beck got an F last night. Whatever he was trying to do, however he wanted to attack... it sucked. Once again, we've said this before, he needs to make better (any) adjustments and think on the fly better when his gameplan going in falters.

Tommy needs an actual QB coach to iron out his mechanical problems and develop him into a passer. If something has to give, move Barney to admin and spend money (big money if you have to) to get the best QB coach you can. He can coach Tommy up, help him to reach his potential, as well as provide another set of eyes to TB during games so maybe we can adjust to something. ANYTHING.

I was disgusted with his first series after half time. Quick three and out was another blow to our morale at that point.

Barney and Garrison get an F for last night. That was the absolute worst blocked game I recall EVER as a fan of this program. They flat out embarrassed our line all night. I don't envy any of those OL in the film room come Monday.

But I'm able to see the good through the bad. I don't think the rest of the coaches should be dogged on that much. Bo is responsible for getting the offense ready to go for this HUGE game. I get that. I'm sure they had a solid gameplan in place going into the game. Clearly it didn't work. They took away AA, killed the zone read, and Tommy couldn't throw well last night. It was the perfect storm for a loss.

But I cannot blame Bo for failing to fix the offensive gameplan or adjust it IN GAME. To expect a defensive head coach to suddenly commandeer the offense during the game is ludicrous IMO. He can give suggestions to Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, the complete fall on the face performance of the offense last night goes solely on TB. He gets the praise when we rush all over teams. He should fall on the sword when we struggle as spectacularly as we did last night.

I'm not delusional at all my man. This coaching staff is doing a damn good job. I credit Bo and the defensive coaches for keeping our asses in that game after the offense totally peed down their leg.

The defense played with their heart on their sleeve, especially considering the players we've lost so far. Think about it. Alexander, CJax, Rose, Avery, Davie. That's half our damn starting defense not in the game. I am SO impressed by how well they played regardless. SOOOOO glad Roach played lights out and I pray Bando is now relegated to the bench. He needs to drop some weight and get faster ASAP, IMO.

The offense is still too inconsistent. I said going in that we needed to wait and see with Beck because he's "turned the corner" before only to fall on his face later. I think I was correct on that one. He gets an F. Barney/Garrison get Fs.

I'm not calling for heads just yet, though. They've got the rest of the season to put this behind them. If find a way to make it to Indy and kick Sparty's a$$ their en route to the Rose Bowl, all is forgiven, IMO.

 

[Danny Bateman]

I learned that the MSU D front 7 is better than the NU offensive line. Not much else to say. They are a better team than us.

They're a damn good team. I still don't feel like they're flat out better than us yet, per say.

To let us almost come back and win is excusably stupid playcalling from D'Antonio.

As badly whipped as we got last night... and we did... That's the kind of game that makes me want a rematch. Because we have a legitimate shot to win.

 

[AFhusker]

Nope, but it'd be nice if the guy who's made 8 figures off the University actually got his team ready toplay for four quarters against a team with a pulse seven years in.

I remember a guy in a similar situation looking at real estate in Boulder Colorado.........

Bring up Tom and comparing him to Bo is such a lame and unjustified defense. I wish people would stop it.

 

[Danny Bateman]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

Had it been a truly close loss I don't think you'd see so many vultures. Our offensive coaching staff laid an egg. MSU's defense is good but not shut down good like they seemed last night. We played right into their hands and made minimal adjustments. This loss is on the offensive staff. I can't blame TA for getting rattled especially when he makes comments about the team not sure what to do. That's coaching. No gameplan. No plan of attack. No backup plan to exploit their defense. Nothing. We walked in with the same routine we have every week and expected the top defense in conference to be pushed around like Miami. The staff deserves a lot of criticism for this (and I'm talking offensive...D played great.)

I though it was a 5 point loss?

But anyhoo, I agree that our offense was outclassed. The OC,QB, OL, none were particularly good.

It's tough to call plays though when you can't execute short swing and screen passes.

Yeah I'm not arguing everything...honestly I guess maybe sit TA when he misses repeated swing passes to settle him down or try some jumbo packages ala brett beilema to give your qb a breather and see if you can't get Ameer going with even numbers matching...I'm more disappointing in the lack of creativity for such a big game. If there was ever a time to have a halfback pass or flea flicker this was the game yet it was the same plays over and over from the previous weeks.

I'm not big into the final score because it's often deceiving. I'd been saying all week MSU played a good game against Oregon until the end when they fell apart and were finally overrun. Last night we were shut down for 3 quarters and then hit some big plays but we did not play a good game. It was embarrassing. We looked overmatched.

Not to dissect everything you say, Ira. We did get embarrassed last night, I agree.

However, as for mixing it up with those different packages... I think when you're getting whipped so badly on the basic stuff you're trying to win, running more elaborate, creative plays to try to catch the D off guard is a bad idea. I think it probably would've failed pretty bad. If we can't block the easy stuff-- AA would've been eaten alive before he could even get a pass off or pitch back to the QB.

 

[AFhusker]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

Like it or not, Ira, you're not Tim Beck. You're not running his offensive system. A pocket passer would be useless in this offense because it would totally erase the threat of the QB run game.

Seeing as how our offense is built around spread concepts and the zone read, that would be bad. It's no shock to see why a freshman Martinez could unseat a senior Zac Lee in 2010. Lee had zero mobility.

We can agree on some things. Beck got an F last night. Whatever he was trying to do, however he wanted to attack... it sucked. Once again, we've said this before, he needs to make better (any) adjustments and think on the fly better when his gameplan going in falters.

Tommy needs an actual QB coach to iron out his mechanical problems and develop him into a passer. If something has to give, move Barney to admin and spend money (big money if you have to) to get the best QB coach you can. He can coach Tommy up, help him to reach his potential, as well as provide another set of eyes to TB during games so maybe we can adjust to something. ANYTHING.

I was disgusted with his first series after half time. Quick three and out was another blow to our morale at that point.

Barney and Garrison get an F for last night. That was the absolute worst blocked game I recall EVER as a fan of this program. They flat out embarrassed our line all night. I don't envy any of those OL in the film room come Monday.

But I'm able to see the good through the bad. I don't think the rest of the coaches should be dogged on that much. Bo is responsible for getting the offense ready to go for this HUGE game. I get that. I'm sure they had a solid gameplan in place going into the game. Clearly it didn't work. They took away AA, killed the zone read, and Tommy couldn't throw well last night. It was the perfect storm for a loss.

But I cannot blame Bo for failing to fix the offensive gameplan or adjust it IN GAME. To expect a defensive head coach to suddenly commandeer the offense during the game is ludicrous IMO. He can give suggestions to Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, the complete fall on the face performance of the offense last night goes solely on TB. He gets the praise when we rush all over teams. He should fall on the sword when we struggle as spectacularly as we did last night.

I'm not delusional at all my man. This coaching staff is doing a damn good job. I credit Bo and the defensive coaches for keeping our asses in that game after the offense totally peed down their leg.

The defense played with their heart on their sleeve, especially considering the players we've lost so far. Think about it. Alexander, CJax, Rose, Avery, Davie. That's half our damn starting defense not in the game. I am SO impressed by how well they played regardless. SOOOOO glad Roach played lights out and I pray Bando is now relegated to the bench. He needs to drop some weight and get faster ASAP, IMO.

The offense is still too inconsistent. I said going in that we needed to wait and see with Beck because he's "turned the corner" before only to fall on his face later. I think I was correct on that one. He gets an F. Barney/Garrison get Fs.

I'm not calling for heads just yet, though. They've got the rest of the season to put this behind them. If find a way to make it to Indy and kick Sparty's a$$ their en route to the Rose Bowl, all is forgiven, IMO.

I don't see how people are blaming Beck when the OL played like crap and that rattled our QB to where he could't hit a pass to save his life in the first 50 minutes of the game. Blame the charity recruting that gives guys named Cotton and Pelini starting jobs on the OL when they are not Divsion 1 calibier players.

 

[URSS]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

Like it or not, Ira, you're not Tim Beck. You're not running his offensive system. A pocket passer would be useless in this offense because it would totally erase the threat of the QB run game.

Seeing as how our offense is built around spread concepts and the zone read, that would be bad. It's no shock to see why a freshman Martinez could unseat a senior Zac Lee in 2010. Lee had zero mobility.

We can agree on some things. Beck got an F last night. Whatever he was trying to do, however he wanted to attack... it sucked. Once again, we've said this before, he needs to make better (any) adjustments and think on the fly better when his gameplan going in falters.

Tommy needs an actual QB coach to iron out his mechanical problems and develop him into a passer. If something has to give, move Barney to admin and spend money (big money if you have to) to get the best QB coach you can. He can coach Tommy up, help him to reach his potential, as well as provide another set of eyes to TB during games so maybe we can adjust to something. ANYTHING.

I was disgusted with his first series after half time. Quick three and out was another blow to our morale at that point.

Barney and Garrison get an F for last night. That was the absolute worst blocked game I recall EVER as a fan of this program. They flat out embarrassed our line all night. I don't envy any of those OL in the film room come Monday.

But I'm able to see the good through the bad. I don't think the rest of the coaches should be dogged on that much. Bo is responsible for getting the offense ready to go for this HUGE game. I get that. I'm sure they had a solid gameplan in place going into the game. Clearly it didn't work. They took away AA, killed the zone read, and Tommy couldn't throw well last night. It was the perfect storm for a loss.

But I cannot blame Bo for failing to fix the offensive gameplan or adjust it IN GAME. To expect a defensive head coach to suddenly commandeer the offense during the game is ludicrous IMO. He can give suggestions to Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, the complete fall on the face performance of the offense last night goes solely on TB. He gets the praise when we rush all over teams. He should fall on the sword when we struggle as spectacularly as we did last night.

I'm not delusional at all my man. This coaching staff is doing a damn good job. I credit Bo and the defensive coaches for keeping our asses in that game after the offense totally peed down their leg.

The defense played with their heart on their sleeve, especially considering the players we've lost so far. Think about it. Alexander, CJax, Rose, Avery, Davie. That's half our damn starting defense not in the game. I am SO impressed by how well they played regardless. SOOOOO glad Roach played lights out and I pray Bando is now relegated to the bench. He needs to drop some weight and get faster ASAP, IMO.

The offense is still too inconsistent. I said going in that we needed to wait and see with Beck because he's "turned the corner" before only to fall on his face later. I think I was correct on that one. He gets an F. Barney/Garrison get Fs.

I'm not calling for heads just yet, though. They've got the rest of the season to put this behind them. If find a way to make it to Indy and kick Sparty's a$$ their en route to the Rose Bowl, all is forgiven, IMO.

I disagree. Bo is the Head Coach and he is paid to run the team including telling the OC what to do. Bo is a defensive coach and therefore he knew what Sparty was doing on defense. He also then knew what offenses could do to counter that specific defensive game plan.

 

[NUpolo8]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

It's like the first five games were against really really bad teams or something.

....or something.

Go ahead, fire Pelini.

Keep an eye on Ann arbor.....

.....you'll look back fondly on the Pelini era.

Because we have to make a bad hire after above?

Seriously, this fable can't be laughed at harder.

 

[irafreak]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

Like it or not, Ira, you're not Tim Beck. You're not running his offensive system. A pocket passer would be useless in this offense because it would totally erase the threat of the QB run game.

Seeing as how our offense is built around spread concepts and the zone read, that would be bad. It's no shock to see why a freshman Martinez could unseat a senior Zac Lee in 2010. Lee had zero mobility.

We can agree on some things. Beck got an F last night. Whatever he was trying to do, however he wanted to attack... it sucked. Once again, we've said this before, he needs to make better (any) adjustments and think on the fly better when his gameplan going in falters.

Tommy needs an actual QB coach to iron out his mechanical problems and develop him into a passer. If something has to give, move Barney to admin and spend money (big money if you have to) to get the best QB coach you can. He can coach Tommy up, help him to reach his potential, as well as provide another set of eyes to TB during games so maybe we can adjust to something. ANYTHING.

I was disgusted with his first series after half time. Quick three and out was another blow to our morale at that point.

Barney and Garrison get an F for last night. That was the absolute worst blocked game I recall EVER as a fan of this program. They flat out embarrassed our line all night. I don't envy any of those OL in the film room come Monday.

But I'm able to see the good through the bad. I don't think the rest of the coaches should be dogged on that much. Bo is responsible for getting the offense ready to go for this HUGE game. I get that. I'm sure they had a solid gameplan in place going into the game. Clearly it didn't work. They took away AA, killed the zone read, and Tommy couldn't throw well last night. It was the perfect storm for a loss.

But I cannot blame Bo for failing to fix the offensive gameplan or adjust it IN GAME. To expect a defensive head coach to suddenly commandeer the offense during the game is ludicrous IMO. He can give suggestions to Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, the complete fall on the face performance of the offense last night goes solely on TB. He gets the praise when we rush all over teams. He should fall on the sword when we struggle as spectacularly as we did last night.

I'm not delusional at all my man. This coaching staff is doing a damn good job. I credit Bo and the defensive coaches for keeping our asses in that game after the offense totally peed down their leg.

The defense played with their heart on their sleeve, especially considering the players we've lost so far. Think about it. Alexander, CJax, Rose, Avery, Davie. That's half our damn starting defense not in the game. I am SO impressed by how well they played regardless. SOOOOO glad Roach played lights out and I pray Bando is now relegated to the bench. He needs to drop some weight and get faster ASAP, IMO.

The offense is still too inconsistent. I said going in that we needed to wait and see with Beck because he's "turned the corner" before only to fall on his face later. I think I was correct on that one. He gets an F. Barney/Garrison get Fs.

I'm not calling for heads just yet, though. They've got the rest of the season to put this behind them. If find a way to make it to Indy and kick Sparty's a$$ their en route to the Rose Bowl, all is forgiven, IMO.

I don't know if my post gave off the wrong impression or what but in no way am I calling out Pelini. Other than hiring Beck and in my useless opinion not holding him accountable, the defense looked great and his teams don't quit. Come out unprepared and sometimes play uninspired but they fight and always will.

Nothing I saw offensively gave me any reason to believe Beck is the right man for the job. I've been able to give him credit when he calls good/great games but he's too inconsistent and seems to lack a lot of common sense. I'm not a coach. I don't want to be a coach. But when I casually watch a game and notice that everytime our QB changes the play the MSU linebacker gets gleefully excited and makes a hand signal (the same one every time TA makes the change) and the play gets stuffed...I don't know how your qb is still doing it after halftime. I mean pull a trick audible on them...tell tommy next time you audible we're going with a deep ball.

Be the aggressors. Make them overthink and get them out of their gameplan by analyzing what they are doing and attack the void left. MSU was a good as I thought they were after watching Oregon...we made them look elite. And honestly that's on us (mostly the OC/line coaches)

 

[irafreak]

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

Had it been a truly close loss I don't think you'd see so many vultures. Our offensive coaching staff laid an egg. MSU's defense is good but not shut down good like they seemed last night. We played right into their hands and made minimal adjustments. This loss is on the offensive staff. I can't blame TA for getting rattled especially when he makes comments about the team not sure what to do. That's coaching. No gameplan. No plan of attack. No backup plan to exploit their defense. Nothing. We walked in with the same routine we have every week and expected the top defense in conference to be pushed around like Miami. The staff deserves a lot of criticism for this (and I'm talking offensive...D played great.)

I though it was a 5 point loss?

But anyhoo, I agree that our offense was outclassed. The OC,QB, OL, none were particularly good.

It's tough to call plays though when you can't execute short swing and screen passes.

Yeah I'm not arguing everything...honestly I guess maybe sit TA when he misses repeated swing passes to settle him down or try some jumbo packages ala brett beilema to give your qb a breather and see if you can't get Ameer going with even numbers matching...I'm more disappointing in the lack of creativity for such a big game. If there was ever a time to have a halfback pass or flea flicker this was the game yet it was the same plays over and over from the previous weeks.

I'm not big into the final score because it's often deceiving. I'd been saying all week MSU played a good game against Oregon until the end when they fell apart and were finally overrun. Last night we were shut down for 3 quarters and then hit some big plays but we did not play a good game. It was embarrassing. We looked overmatched.

Not to dissect everything you say, Ira. We did get embarrassed last night, I agree.

However, as for mixing it up with those different packages... I think when you're getting whipped so badly on the basic stuff you're trying to win, running more elaborate, creative plays to try to catch the D off guard is a bad idea. I think it probably would've failed pretty bad. If we can't block the easy stuff-- AA would've been eaten alive before he could even get a pass off or pitch back to the QB.

Hey no I'm not suggesting we should have actually tried to get cute. I'm implying that (again just casual observation) that there didn't appear to be anything in the gameplan to get cute. Had we been toss sweeping to Ameer or handing of under center a lot I might have felt we could be setting something up. My issue is that it appeared that we had nothing in the works. Doesn't matter if you think you can use it or actually do use it...just seems like poor preparation to not have some new formations to start the game.

How many times do you see teams in big games drive the field their first drive and it's due to a bunch of new formations the other team hasn't seen. You can script the first 5-10 plays and work em over and over in practice to try to catch them early. I'm disappointed that we didn't bring anything new for what everyone knew was going to be the best defense we'd seen so far.

 

[URSS]

This team will only go so far as its offensive line and play calling will take them. Nebraska before entering the MSU game was averaging something like 5 yards before contact. You don't do that without a good offensive line. At the same time, it's hard for 5 guys to block 7, and Beck needs to figure that out or hit the road.

As much as I love Ameer, and as much as heart as he shows and as much dedication he has, he's good for one game altering fumble a year. Last year it was against UCLA. This year it was last night.

Unlike recent prime time, big game performances (48-17 Wisconsin in 2011, 45-17 Michigan in 2011, 63-38 Ohio State in 2012, 70-31 Wisconsin in 2012, 41-21 UCLA in 2013), the stats will tell you that we had every chance to win this game. MSU turned the ball over 3 times in the first half, giving Nebraska starting field position about 40 yards away from the endzone. If we take advantage of one of those, we win the game.

The game was very 2009 Missouri.

As much as the result (loss) is the same, this team and the way the loss happened, the feeling is different. There's no reason to believe we can't win out and head to Indy to face MSU again.

But, let's rest our guys this weak, and be ready for another test against a reinvigorated, division leading, Northwestern.

You average 5 yards before contact against weak defensive teams. No doubt a good game plan and speed helps.

Tim Beck did not adjust when he knew by the 2nd Qtr that his game plan was not working. If he thought we would wear them down, he was not watching the game. He should have gone to the passing game until the Sparty defense eased off their game plan to stop Ameer and the run game. I blame Beck and Pelini for not planning on this before the game.

 

[Danny Bateman]

I disagree. Bo is the Head Coach and he is paid to run the team including telling the OC what to do. Bo is a defensive coach and therefore he knew what Sparty was doing on defense. He also then knew what offenses could do to counter that specific defensive game plan.

I agree he could've made suggestions to Beck on what he saw that could've worked against the defense they were seeing.

But the offense ultimately falls on TB. Bo hired Beck to take care of the offense. If Beck fails, it's ultimately on Bo. But he's not going to take play-calling duties over mid-game from him. Defensive-background coaches have done it that way since the beginning of time. If you think guys like Saban or Gus Bradley from the Jags don't let someone else run the offense for them while they run the defensive show... They do.

 

[Saunders]

Nope, but it'd be nice if the guy who's made 8 figures off the University actually got his team ready toplay for four quarters against a team with a pulse seven years in.

I remember a guy in a similar situation looking at real estate in Boulder Colorado.........

Bring up Tom and comparing him to Bo is such a lame and unjustified defense. I wish people would stop it.

Not when it's the standard we're trying to attain. If you can't compare Bo's struggles to Tom's, then you can't compare their accomplishments. It doesn't work that way.