[NU Sports] Overconfidence? (used to be Purdue to Sun Bowl)

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

>Our D-line ought to be able to move their O-line, and keep alot of pressure
>on Mr. Chang.

And we've been doing a lot better at that since Loren came back - hopefully
we see Howard and company chasing Chang down a lot.

>On offense, we need to pound the ball, maybe put up 400-500 yards rushing.
>Keep the ball out of Timmy Chang's hands.  Pass it around some, to keep them
>honest, but NO dumb interceptions (late first half interceptions gave new
>life
>to both Penn State and Illinois in recent weeks).

That's the big thing - we have to commit to the running game and just pound
away. And, as was said, turnovers.

>All year long, we have driven the ball downfield, only to settle for a field
>goal (or a missed field goal).  If we kill 5 minutes driving, but settle
>for 3
>points, and Hawaii throws a bomb for 7, that hasn't helped anything.  When we
>are in the red zone, PUT THE BALL IN THE END ZONE.

Actually, I thought I saw a stat during the PSU game about us having one of
the higher % of red zone TDs (in relation to opportunities) in the nation
-- after that TCU game, I think we just decided when inside the 20, we were
going for it.

>AND NO MORE DUMB PENALTIES !

:) -- we had been really good on that all year until the Illinois game. I'm
just hoping that was a blip and maybe that eagle-eyed and flag-happy ref
from across the field doesn't make the trip. Though ... can we opt NOT to
bring Big Ten refs and go with ones from the WAC?:)

>I wuld prefer that the legacy of the Walker years not be mid-level bowls,
>league-high penalty totals, slow season starts, inconsistent kicking
>games, and
>playing down to the opponents level.

Sheesh - that's kind of harsh on Thanksgiving weekend!:) Though I'd agree
with the kicking game part (and before this year, the penalties - though
we've improved there). As for the rest ...

- I'm not sure we play "down" to the opponent's level -- these last two
years, we've really only lost two games to teams we "should" have beaten.
Air Force last year and TCU this year. The Air Force one still hurts - that
was a collapse. TCU was an opener on the road. But other than that, we've
beaten the teams we should have and beaten a few we shouldn't have.

- Slow starts ... well, I'd rather have the slow part there with a strong
finish than the other way around (see Minnesota). I think our strong
finishes the past two years show a nice resolve and overall improvement on
the team. This year, we had some tough losses (on and off the field) to
start out against a fairly solid schedule. And it's not like other NU
coaches have been able to start 3-0 in the NC slate either.:( It'd be nice,
but if I had to choose, strong finishes is fine with me.

- As for the mid-level bowls, if we can get it done and beat Hawaii, Walker
will have three bowl trips in the last five years. Those three trips will
be as many as every other NU coach, combined. Yeah, we would have gotten a
couple more in the '60s under the plethora of bowls today, but it'd still
be Walker at the top of the list individually.

Perhaps more important ... we've gone 4-4 and 5-3 in league play the last
two years. Only two other NU coaches have posted consecutive non-losing Big
Ten records since WWII - Agase in the early '70s and Barnett in the
mid-'90s. Establishing some consistency in winning league games and heading
to the postseason (winning one would be nice:) ) would be a nice step in
building the program we all hope for one day.

>Can anybody remember the last time we outplayed and put away a double-digit
>underdog, rested the starters for 10-15 minutes and got the younger guys some
>playing time ?

OK - it would be nice to not have a nervewrecking finale once and awhile
for the ole' heart, but it has been fun and NU football rarely is dull.:)
But as for this season in particular, I'd argue that we weren't going to
blow anybody out. Kansas is a much tougher team than their record (ask
Texas), Indiana won at Oregon, beat Minny and have a couple other teams
that "should" have pounded them fits ... and Illinois is a rivalry game. In
the other three, Purdue and OSU were ranked and at PSU was against one of
the nation's better defenses. I certainly didn't expect any blowouts going
into this year, and looking back, I'm not surprised we didn't have any.

I dunno ... are the Walker years perfect? Are we "there" yet? No ... but I
hardly think his legacy will be that bad. A win on Saturday would help a
lot ... but regardless, this has been an enjoyable season. As I mentioned
in the first wrap of the year when the Otto Graham Honor Roll was unveiled
... it gives some perspective on where NU football has been and how truly
thankful we can be for the last decade or so.

Happy Thanksgiving!

GO CATS!!! BEAT HAWAII!!!
-SjT


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