Offense vs. ISU

[Horns11]

I'll preface this by saying I believe the defensive secondary (and a certain LB who wears #3) was the primary culprit on Saturday. We can't keep giving up weak 3rd downs. If we take away even 1 of those conversions, it could be a 14-point swing in our favor, thus making the game seem not even close. Maybe that's also on the pass rush, but ISU hasn't had that kind of offensive production all season.

However, the offense had their fair share of opportunities to turn it into a blowout as well.

Going play by play again to see where the "major" malfunctions seemed to be.

1Q
12:32 - all 3 interior linemen whiff or don't hold their blocks long enough
12:15 - Sanders drop (but he wouldn't have gotten much yardage after a catch)
8:51 - Majors and Jones get blown off the line as Robinson is stopped in backfield
8:15 - Conner holds as he got beat... negates big pass play
7:45 - Ewers' inexcusable backwards throw at the ground towards Sanders
0:00 - last play of quarter - Ewers should have handed the ball off on RPO off tackle... instead held it and THEN threw it to Robinson. Robinson should have played DB on it and just knocked it down rather than take a 5-yard loss.

6 poor plays in a quarter might not seem like a lot, but it kind of set the tone for the majority of the half. I'm thinking the Conner hold was the big one because it was on a huge pass play.

2Q
13:36 - the first time we noticed Casey Cain. Ewers underthrew the ball for sure, but Cain made no attempt to even adjust. Turnover on downs. I'm saying this one is 60-40 on Cain.
9:02 - Bijan picks the wrong hole and gets stopped
8:24 - Second Casey Cain watch. Ewers overthrew this time, but again, Cain seemed to be the one out of position.
8:02 - kind of a strange call all around. Worthy wasn't even close to open, but Ewers unloaded into double coverage at him. Probably could have been called PI, but it wasn't a good read either way.
2:28 - Sanders and Karic got demolished on the left side of the line and Roschon had no lane.

3Q
Kickoff (honorable mention because it's not offense) - Taaffe's hold on Robinson's great return.
12:03 - coaching honorable mention? Taking the illegal substitution penalty on a 7-yard run by Bijan. Getting a 1st-and-5 instead of a 2nd-and-3 when we had momentum and were running the ball right down their throats seemed like a slow sigh of relief for ISU to let them calm down and then make a good tackle on the next play.
5:42 - tough one but when Ewers stepped up in the pocket, he still had Omeire running the drag and his man coverage bailed on him. If Ewers keeps his head up and does an easy toss to #21, it would have been a decent gain on 3rd down. Like ISU seemed to get.
1:56 - Casey Cain drop. I think this one really set the tone for the next couple series. I don't know if it would have been a TD, but jeez.
1:50 - hangover from the previous play. Ewers was flustered and kind of misthrew it at Roschon for incompletion.
1:45 - hangover from previous 2 plays. Milton ran the wrong route and Ewers overthrew it.

This was a huge shift in tone and attitude for both teams. We can't let one bad play throw the whole game out of rhythm, and then ISU took the lead.

4Q
5:11 - 3rd and G from the 1 - Hutson whiffs completely on his man and doesn't get any help from the pulling big guys. Pretty much the only OL flaw since the 1st quarter. Also the worst play call of the game considering how well we had moved the ball on that drive.

TLDR:
1. Don't let one bad play set the momentum tone for the next umpteen plays.
2. Start quicker. We needed to take advantage of field position from blocked punt.
3. OL got so much better as the game went on. ISU got tired.
4. Run the ball.

 

[RainH2burntO]

I'll preface this by saying I believe the defensive secondary (and a certain LB who wears #3) was the primary culprit on Saturday. We can't keep giving up weak 3rd downs. If we take away even 1 of those conversions, it could be a 14-point swing in our favor, thus making the game seem not even close. Maybe that's also on the pass rush, but ISU hasn't had that kind of offensive production all season.

However, the offense had their fair share of opportunities to turn it into a blowout as well.

Going play by play again to see where the "major" malfunctions seemed to be.

1Q
12:32 - all 3 interior linemen whiff or don't hold their blocks long enough
12:15 - Sanders drop (but he wouldn't have gotten much yardage after a catch)
8:51 - Majors and Jones get blown off the line as Robinson is stopped in backfield
8:15 - Conner holds as he got beat... negates big pass play
7:45 - Ewers' inexcusable backwards throw at the ground towards Sanders
0:00 - last play of quarter - Ewers should have handed the ball off on RPO off tackle... instead held it and THEN threw it to Robinson. Robinson should have played DB on it and just knocked it down rather than take a 5-yard loss.

6 poor plays in a quarter might not seem like a lot, but it kind of set the tone for the majority of the half. I'm thinking the Conner hold was the big one because it was on a huge pass play.

2Q
13:36 - the first time we noticed Casey Cain. Ewers underthrew the ball for sure, but Cain made no attempt to even adjust. Turnover on downs. I'm saying this one is 60-40 on Cain.
9:02 - Bijan picks the wrong hole and gets stopped
8:24 - Second Casey Cain watch. Ewers overthrew this time, but again, Cain seemed to be the one out of position.
8:02 - kind of a strange call all around. Worthy wasn't even close to open, but Ewers unloaded into double coverage at him. Probably could have been called PI, but it wasn't a good read either way.
2:28 - Sanders and Karic got demolished on the left side of the line and Roschon had no lane.

3Q
Kickoff (honorable mention because it's not offense) - Taaffe's hold on Robinson's great return.
12:03 - coaching honorable mention? Taking the illegal substitution penalty on a 7-yard run by Bijan. Getting a 1st-and-5 instead of a 2nd-and-3 when we had momentum and were running the ball right down their throats seemed like a slow sigh of relief for ISU to let them calm down and then make a good tackle on the next play.
5:42 - tough one but when Ewers stepped up in the pocket, he still had Omeire running the drag and his man coverage bailed on him. If Ewers keeps his head up and does an easy toss to #21, it would have been a decent gain on 3rd down. Like ISU seemed to get.
1:56 - Casey Cain drop. I think this one really set the tone for the next couple series. I don't know if it would have been a TD, but jeez.
1:50 - hangover from the previous play. Ewers was flustered and kind of misthrew it at Roschon for incompletion.
1:45 - hangover from previous 2 plays. Milton ran the wrong route and Ewers overthrew it.

This was a huge shift in tone and attitude for both teams. We can't let one bad play throw the whole game out of rhythm, and then ISU took the lead.

4Q
5:11 - 3rd and G from the 1 - Hutson whiffs completely on his man and doesn't get any help from the pulling big guys. Pretty much the only OL flaw since the 1st quarter. Also the worst play call of the game considering how well we had moved the ball on that drive.

TLDR:
1. Don't let one bad play set the momentum tone for the next umpteen plays.
2. Start quicker. We needed to take advantage of field position from blocked punt.
3. OL got so much better as the game went on. ISU got tired.
4. Run the ball.

Not really on your primary topic here..but you reminded me...
I thought the two most important plays in the game (Dekkers fumble notwithstanding) were bookends for the game...
Cook butting in where unneeded and knocking the ball from Dem0s hands when he had a chance to scoop and score...completely changed the trajectory/tone of the game
...And Huthinsons misplay/drop near the end.

 

[Horns11]

Not really on your primary topic here..but you reminded me...
I thought the two most important plays in the game (Dekkers fumble notwithstanding) were bookends for the game...
Cook butting in where unneeded and knocking the ball from Dem0s hands when he had a chance to scoop and score...completely changed the trajectory/tone of the game
...And Huthinsons misplay/drop near the end.

I'll go even further in that if Overshown wasn't "messed with" by Cook on that blocked punt, we're up maybe 28-7 at the half. I think we get back that poor 1Q drive and make something of it because the pressure would be off with the lead. Then... who knows? Maybe the final score looks more like the OU game and less like a comeback over an unranked opponent.

Hutch's drop wouldn't have even needed to affect the outcome at all if we were clicking on offense sooner.

 

[RainH2burntO]

I'll go even further in that if Overshown wasn't "messed with" by Cook on that blocked punt, we're up maybe 28-7 at the half. I think we get back that poor 1Q drive and make something of it because the pressure would be off with the lead. Then... who knows? Maybe the final score looks more like the OU game and less like a comeback over an unranked opponent.

Hutch's drop wouldn't have even needed to affect the outcome at all if we were clicking on offense sooner.

Sounds like you and i watch football similarly. Unless you are head and shoulders above your opponent in every meaningful way.
..say Georgia vs Vanderbilt....nothing has a greater impact on the trajectory of a game and how it unfolds than these:

Blown opportunity
Capitalizing unexpectedly on gratuitous opportunity
Officiating call that alters game at crucial juncture
Losing key leader/contributor(s)
And a few others

Sport is not just physical but obviously mental and the mind dictates or at least impacts the physical. It is very much about pressure management...or the increasing or relieving pressure to optimize physical and mental freedom and performance. The importance of mental "momentum" and its relationship to pressure cannot be overstated.

Point is, football isnt ALL Xs and Os and Jimmys and Joes...
There are many nuanced things that can happen in a game if you are an average to good team playing another average to good team that can dramatically affect the players psyche and what happens next, resulting in wildly vacillating momentum and point swings.

I see most games as a series of if...then equations.

Too much lol?!?

 

[caryhorn]

but ISU hasn't had that kind of offensive production all season.

I would say that perhaps they had a better day against Baylor where ISU scored 31. And BU has a pretty salty defense.
Our third down defense is my biggest concern about the upcoming osu game. That really needs to get fixed.

 

[Your Wrong]

I would say that perhaps they had a better day against Baylor where ISU scored 31. And BU has a pretty salty defense.
Our third down defense is my biggest concern about the upcoming osu game. That really needs to get fixed.

Unless I am misunderstanding your post, ISU scored 24 versus BU. They were down 17 when ISU got the ball back with 9:37 left. They then scored 10 in those final 10 minutes.

 

[Statalyzer]

I have a hard time blaming Cain for those first two. The balls were so far off target that he probably had difficulty locating them. And one might have ended up out of bounds even had he gotten to it.

 

[mchammer]

I have a hard time blaming Cain for those first two. The balls were so far off target that he probably had difficulty locating them. And one might have ended up out of bounds even had he gotten to it.

The long ball landed a yard in bounds.

 

[WorsterMan]

You can be sure Okie Lite saw how often Dekkers was successful throwing over the middle vs the D. THAT worries me.

 

[RainH2burntO]

I have a hard time blaming Cain for those first two. The balls were so far off target that he probably had difficulty locating them. And one might have ended up out of bounds even had he gotten to it.

I thought he could have given more effort on the first one...though it was a very poor pass...and the second was either him running the wrong route (appeared to be) or Ewers misreading. The third was a wide open perfect pass game altering drop.

 

[caryhorn]

Unless I am misunderstanding your post, ISU scored 24 versus BU. They were down 17 when ISU got the ball back with 9:37 left. They then scored 10 in those final 10 minutes.

I stand corrected. You are absolutely right. I got the BU-ISU score mixed up. The final score was 31-24 Baylor. ISU did a have a good offensive game against BU, and ISU had a poor defensive showing against Baylor.

 

[Horns11]

I stand corrected. You are absolutely right. I got the BU-ISU score mixed up. The final score was 31-24 Baylor. ISU did a have a good offensive game against BU, and ISU had a poor defensive showing against Baylor.

ISU was far better on 3rd downs and their pass game against us than they were against BU. Plus, that was a home game for them, so... always seems harder to play at the Trice I guess.

I still think we can fix it, if we're healthy in the defensive secondary. We don't need Austin Jordan and Jamier Johnson getting reps that others should be getting.