[NU Sports] did we ever think

[Jonathan Hodges]

It is interesting that OSU's most successful drive against USC was their
first of the game when they utilized both QBs, shuttling them in and out
during the drive; which ended in their only points of the game, a FG.  After
that they stuck with Boeckman and got shelled.  After that game was when
they made the switch to Pryor.

I would not advocate switching a starter in and out of the game, but the
fact is that a spread offense with a running QB is hard to stop.  If the
offense has the ability to spread 5 wide AND have a big running threat out
of the backfield, that is hard for any defense to deal with.  Without a
doubt, NU was playing it safe in the second half with a lot of designed
runs, yet Kafka got decent yardage.

In any case, don't expect OSU's fast defense to allow a QB run for that many
yards.  Their LBs are extremely fast and won't get caught off guard.  NU
will need an effective, balanced game plan to move the ball well on them.
If CJ isn't at 100%, we'll likely see Kafka again because the ability of the
QB to run and evade pressure is key.  We'll see how NU addreses it because
Kafka creates obvious dual-threat problems that OSU will have to honor and
may open things up a bit downfield.

Jonathan

On Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 5:50 PM, <Hakirsch at aol.com> wrote:

> In a message dated 11/2/2008 3:39:43 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> bwdolphin146 at yahoo.com writes:
>
> > there would be a Big Ten season where the first team officially, utterly
> > and completely eliminated from bowl eligibility would be ... MICHIGAN?
> >
> >
>
> Of course no one would have predicted it--I just hope we can beat them at
> the
> Big House--
>
> We absolutely need to go at least 1-2 to get to a halfway decent bowl, and
> 2-1 would put us in excellent shape--I like others on the list worry about
> getting clocked in a good bowl, but I would still be thrilled at having us
> go to
> Tampa or SA--
>
> We need to figure out an offense that isnt just Kafka running--maybe Bacher
> comes back and we have more confidence in him throwing the ball, vs the
> obvious
> lack of confidence for Kafka in the second half  (I also lacked confidence
> for him , which is why I hoped we wouldn't throw on our last possession
> until we
> were past mid-field)--not sure if the 3rd down fumbled snap was a pass play
> or draw  -any guesses ?
>
> Also should we consider shuttling the 2 QB's against OSU to keep them off
> balance ?--OSU tried that against SC to little avail --
>
> Harry
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com