M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Nice win v. pedostate. In crunch time Fraklin is an idiot. McSorley looked pissed about that play call when it got stuffed.

[AlabamAlum]

Yeah. He out coached himself. That game was interesting. OSU comes out flat. Then gets their head back. Misses a late FG after a freak offensive facemask. Targeting-happy refs. Then a gut run into the teeth of the OSU D on 4th and short.

BigTen betting is my Kryptonite. I didn't bet the OSU game for real money, but I did the M-NW game. Just awful.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Northwestern plays well as the underdog at Ryan Field. Always. M cant run over them or any team with a decent front 7 and NW front 7 is sleeper good. I had a sense they'd do to M's run game what they did. I dont like Harbaugh's approach to this circumstance. I'll have more to say about that after I see some film.

[froot loops]

Don Brown is good at making adjustments or the D is asleep in the 1st half for most of these games.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Don Brown is good at making adjustments or the D is asleep in the 1st half for most of these games.

Thorsen was much sharper through the mid 2nd quarter than he was from there on out. His best shot was the dink and dunk stuff on first down that picked up 7 yards. He than had 2 plays to make 3 yards. Doable. The reason for that was pressure. It started getting to him. As well, M disrupted the timing of the screens and slants that were working so well early by not letting receivers to get into their routes cleanly.

When Fitzgerald tried to get him to throw long off the PA where there's time to allow the play to develop, he got hammered to the tune of 6 sacks. Roll outs? You have to deal with Gary, Hudson, Bush and Winovich if you do that to your QB. That didn't work out too well for them. So, it wasn't so much adjustments by Brown as it was getting the DL and DBs to do what they are coached to do and to do it pretty well.

[iam416]

[iam416]

The more I look at that final PSU play the more I'm starting to understand it. PSU has them outnumbered 8 v 7 in the box. OSU is matched up 3v3 on the outside against the potential bubble and the safety is 15 yards deep. If Penn State executes then it's a big win. And you're trusting McSorley on the read option. McSorley makes the right read because Dremont Jones is in his mug and not crashing on Sanders. But Schiano has stunted Chase Young straight into Sanders' gap. 2 PSU OL are left blocking absolutely no one and 2 pretty much have been beaten. What's interesting is that they ran the same play (other side) on 3rd and 14 against 7v6 in the box and McSorley pulled it and got 9 to set up a very makeable 4th down. But, on that play OSU was running straight gap up front and PSU got a hat on everyone.

I think Ohio State showed a look that calls for read-option, knew it, knew it was coming and ran a stunt to stop it even with inferior numbers.

All of that is good on paper and I'm sure "Neck Sharpies" dude would justify the shit out of it if it were HARBAUGH!!!!'s call. But what makes it a problematic all is that OSU's DL was giving Penn State's OL trouble most of the night. If they do it again then your 8v7 is reduced and the play is in trouble. And for the bulk of the night that particularly play didn't work. McSorley's yards were on scrambles and leads more than read-option. So, in the technical paper sense, I think the call was good. But in the actual game sense, it was a huge risk.

[crashcourse]

thought your QB played pretty well

hard to believe he was a freshman playing in that environement

[Jeff Buchanan]

........ So, in the technical paper sense, I think the call was good. But in the actual game sense, it was a huge risk.

Interesting.

I don't know if CFB teams are using this approach widely - like the NFL, I would think they are - but the guys up in the box keeping player and play stats have a role in play selection. Maybe PSU got it wrong in the heat of battle and the wrong information about the success of plays like this from the press-box v. osu was passed to Franklin on the sideline.

As an aside, observers have been constantly critical of what is called the plays by committee approach they think M takes on play calls. We'll that's what it is at the NFL level and probably to an increasing level in CFB. Everything is data driven everywhere else. The best performing teams are making play calls based on data available to them and while one guy can make the call there are several others properly involved in the process of determining what it's going to be.

IVO this, it's hard to call Franklin and idiot or a drag on PSU's championship expectations ...... but he is. JMO. YMMV

[froot loops]

Count me in the camp that thinks that is a bad call on 4th and 5. You need to throw.

[iam416]

Yeah, me, too. I think you trust your best player -- hell, the best player on the field for either team -- and let the chips fall where they may. Over the course of 60 minutes I think you play the "fancystats" percentages, but in a do or die one off, I want the best player doing what he does best.

I just thought it as interesting how it unfolded. 8v7 in the box is usually a good spot for read option.

[froot loops]

The problem with calling that play is a successful play of that still might only get 4 yards.

[WingsFan]

Right, I could see needing a yard or 2, but 5 or 6 no way

Anyway fuck Franklin, I have grown a hate for that guy

[iam416]

Holtmann gets another top 50 kid. Really like that hire.

[iam416]