[NU Sports] Polls

[Tom Maycock]

> I still think we tend to go conservative with our game plan
> when we have a lead, even in the 3rd quarter. 

I've been pretty frustrated at times by the conservative approach the last few games, particularly on 3rd and long situations. But given the QB and RB injuries, and a young offensive line facing tougher defenses lately, it's understandable. 

And it is hard to argue with the results. Trusting the defense, playing the odds, working for field position, and avoiding turnovers late worked out pretty well against Minnesota and Michigan. 

Maybe we could have closed both games out with more aggressiveness on offense, but we might also have shot ourselves in the foot. The correlation between turnover margin and wins/losses has been particularly strong this year, so I'm sure that has factored into the decision-making process. 

Still hard to watch a designed QB run on 3rd and long though, particularly when you remember the Kustok era, when almost any 3rd down distance, or even 4th down distance, wasn't out of the question. 

In any case, you have to be impressed by the adjustments the coaches have made at halftime this year. Almost without fail we've been better on both offense and defense coming out of the half. 

Tom