[Husker] Two Keys for the USC Game

[Mike Jaixen]

I agree with those points, though I would also add
that  under the old NU offense, one of the receivers
primary jobs was to block downfield.  I would venture
that this role is much reduced now.

--- Steve Stone <sstone at pvtnetworks.net> wrote:

> Travis Stephens wrote:
> 
> I just got an e-mail listing some things that might
> be critical for 
> Saturday's game.
>    1). Husker RB backs- Not the backs themselves
> exactly.  More like 
> their ability or lack of it to break off big runs. 
> Back during the 
> Ssolich era people used to lambast the Alexanders,
> Buckhalters, and 
> Diedricks of the world for their inability to "take
> it to the house". 
> Yet in the WCO era NU has had only 1 run of longer
> than 40 yards and 
> that's playing some fairly moribund competition. 
>     As was explained to me some of this is because
> of the West Coast 
> Offense.  Apparently the Husker's emphasis on
> passing more means more 
> zone coverage which allows secondary players to see
> the running plays 
> develop and come up and force the play.
> 
> Certainly there's a degree of truth in the above,
> but I attribute the 
> acknowledged lack of long TD runs to a deterioration
> in the quality 
> of offensive line play beginning in Solich's
> penultimate season as 
> head coach and just now beginning to right itself -
> - but not fully 
> as yet. For years there existed a decline in quality
> and depth due to 
> injuries, expulsions, and a recruiting dropoff, the
> result being 
> fewer long runs on the field.
> 
> Last season saw a truly mediocre running attack,
> statistically 
> speaking, even though Cory Ross was a gifted runner.
> During the 
> season, Ross had several games in which he scored
> long TD runs off 
> dump passes across the line of scrimmage that gave
> him a broken field 
> in which to run in, and he made the most of it. In
> those games, he 
> has low running stats but excellent receiving stats.
> The important 
> thing, of course, was that he traversed a lot of
> territory and scored 
> well. His longish run in the Alamo Bowl showed that
> he had the 
> ability to take it to the house when the situation
> and the blocking 
> was there.
> 
> Another factor is math: the Huskers have about 80
> offensive plays per 
> game. Not counting punts and field-goal tries, if 15
> are passing 
> plays, the running backs have 65 chances to take it
> to the house. If 
> 45 are passing plays, the running backs have only 35
> chances to do so.
> 
> Ultimately formations have little to do with
> offensive fortunes. 
> Rather, the players - - mainly linemen and
> specifically tackles - - 
> largely determine outcomes.
> 
>     2).  USC's punt coverage.  USC gaver up 17.0
> yards PER return last 
> season.  That's abysmal.  I have never seen a major
> Div 1. team do so 
> poorly.  One of the reason's USC defense gave up so
> many more points 
> per game than the previous three seasons was the
> graduation of their 
> all-American punter.  I don't even know if last
> year's punter is 
> still around or if USC has replaced him.  If he's
> still pinting that 
> has to be something the Huskers must exploit.
> 
> Dr. Tom always stressed that in football there are
> not two but three 
> first teams, offensive, defensive, and kicking. He
> emphasized that 
> kicking is fully one-third of the game. As a result
> of that emphasis, 
> a high percentage of Husker punters and kickers have
> had success not 
> only in the college game but on Sundays.
> 
> So far Titchener has shown great promise of
> replacing Sam Koch 
> adequately. Let's wish him well next Saturday.
> 
> But the Huskers do need to do something about the
> kickoff situation.
> 
> Steve Stone
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> 


Mike Jaixen
Blog: http://huskermike.blogspot.com

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