[Husker] QB's roll during Osborne/Solich/Callahan years

[j j]

Success of the running game will dictate how often a team passes. I would guess in some of those years that we had Gill and Rozier or Frazier and Phillips or Frost and Green that there were games (against KU perhaps) in which we were able to run at will and had no need to pass it. I would also guess that in those years there were a lot more times that the qb dropped back to pass and ended up scrambling (which would probably be counted as rushing attempts) then there have been the last 4 years. The style of offense also dictates the amount of times a qb will have the opportunity to run the ball. 




Tommy Thompson <huskertt at charter.net> wrote: I had a few extra minutes time, so I did some research on the Osborne/Solich/Callahan years.  My point was to see the evolution of the QB's roll in the game.  I was really surprised by a couple of factors, and not so much by a few others.

I did not include yardage, as it wasn't a factor in the "roll" of the QB.  I think that would be more of an "outcome".

No hidden agenda here...just for fun.

Here's what jumped out to me:

1.  Installing the option in 1980 did not significantly decrease the number of passes attempted per year.  (Obviously, the number of attempts went down, but not as dramatically as I thought).
2.  The QB still ran quite a bit before the option.
3.  During the Steve Taylor/Gerry Gdowski years (1986-1989) and then again starting with 1997 through 2003 (Frost/Crouch/Lord), the QB ran the ball a LOT.  In fact, from 1997-2003, the percentage of carries was never below 31 percent.  
4.  In Solich's last year, the QB still ran the ball 34% of the time while the number of passes attempted dropped.  For some reason, I was under the impression that Barney Cotton had made some changes to the offense.
5.  In Callahan's offense, the QB ran the ball similar to the early Osborne years.
6.  Passing attempts in the WCO are dramatically more than even the Ferragamo years.   This year could end up with the highest total yet.

I suspect that the rushing numbers include carries that were actually not supposed to be runs.  However, that was true in the option years as well as the spread and WCO years.

Not sure how this will format for the list, but there are 3 columns.
Year
QB Rushing Percentage
Passing Attempts


year qb rush % passing attempts
1973 11.37%  255
1974 12.91%  223
1975 12.06%  246
1976 12.67%  306
1977 14.43%  209
1978 17.55%  229
1979 15.61%  206
1980 20.30%  174
1981 19.36%  181
1982 19.95%  214
1983 22.38%  192
1984 19.42%  160
1985 19.51%  144
1986 27.13%  168
1987 26.00%  162
1988 26.83%  163
1989 30.11%  168
1990 24.02%  157
1991 25.21%  205
1992 22.49%  199
1993 24.62%  201
1994 18.05%  210
1995 20.89%  228
1996 22.43%  222
1997 31.26%  182
1998 37.42%  208
1999 37.12%  184
2000 33.18%  172
2001 33.63%  199
2002 36.60%  235
2003 34.64%  192
2004 13.11%  322
2005 18.81%  444
2006 9.57%  411
2007 9.17% 380 (still in progress)

Tommy Thompson
"GO BIG RED"
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