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Just Gary said:

The only way we can pull out victories is to play incredible defense and opportunistic offense.

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Voila! Complementary football.

Which means if the defense gets a turnover deep in enemy territory, the offense cashes in with a TD. We didn’t do that against Wash. Lujan and his crew needs to do better.

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gocatsgo2003 said:

That line is far from exclusively on the QB.

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It all begins with the QB play.

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Our guys were having issues with the footing early in the game, it seemed our cleats were getting stuck in the turf on more than one occasion. That seemed to be what happened with Coco on the opening kickoff, luckily he was able to return and play most of the game.

I always like his game going back to his tape.

olshin said:

Correct.
But also correct is that the game is moving way too fast for him right now. And particularly damning that he's the best option.

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I mean, it’s a Northwestern quarterback. After a long run of really-goodness we’re in a decade of putridity. Hopefully that can be shaken off.

What’s apparent is that NU is dead if NU can’t figure out the transfer game.

None of IU’s QB, or top five ball carriers, or top five receivers were with the program last season. They’re mostly brought in from JMU (head coach) and Ohio (OC, I assume), with I think a UNC guy and a Wake guy. Now, IU has gone from laughingstock to seeming powerhouse in one offseason…I guess long-term success depends on whether they’re following the Mel Tucker plan or not.


I’ll say, my favorite play of the game was what I believe to be Lausch’s final completion. A quick bubble screen to the right, probably Henning. Washington knew exactly what was coming and Lang was making an “omg I didn’t get to my guy quickly enough” gesture before the tackle was even complete. Felt like a nice microcosm of an ass-kicking.


Anyway, not enough talent on this roster. Winless in conference is more likely than a bowl.

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ricko654321 said:

I missed the Coco injury, was going to the bathroom. I heard it didn’t look good. Any ideas? And did Theran Johnson also go out with an injury? I saw we replaced him but didn’t notice a play where / if he got hurt.

And do we know what Cam Porter’s injury is, any idea when he’s back?

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Coco looked like he hurt his knee slipping on the opening kickoff return. But then he played the rest of the game as far as I know.

ricko654321 said:

I missed the Coco injury, was going to the bathroom. I heard it didn’t look good. Any ideas? And did Theran Johnson also go out with an injury? I saw we replaced him but didn’t notice a play where / if he got hurt.

And do we know what Cam Porter’s injury is, any idea when he’s back?

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Coco played plenty of snaps so I guess he’s fine. Johnson was also in for plenty of snaps. No idea on Cam. I have a hunch though he’s been hurt since camp which is why we’ve been rotating so much.

Totally agree. And I liked his swagger. I wonder if he replaces Evan Smith. Smith has not been good.

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Purple Pile Driver said:

Michigan was not very good in the second half. Mullins and Edwards to the lesser degree were enough to pull out a win, but the win was a gift. A pick 6 killed USC. They had Michigan completely on the ropes and gave up a 63 yard run where they missed two tackles on a 4th and 1 late in the game. The Michigan QB’s are not good at all. Michigans team is NU on steroids. Similar strengths and weaknesses. The difference is 4 star talent versus our talent.

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I watched a lot of the UM-USC game and I agree. Mullings is a big bruising converted linebacker. I thought of our own Cullen Coleman when I saw him play, With Tyus gone, we could use a big short yardage runner.

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Braun needs to tell his boy wonder OC to stop running pistol/shotgun inside the 5. It makes zero sense.

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I’m very much getting 2019 vibes to this point. Good defense, solid special teams but major QB issues. The Indiana game will likely tell us how the rest of the season will go.

I do still want to see Lausch with a healthy Cam, in his second conference start, before I’m ready to declare that he doesn’t have it. However, if he doesn’t, and Aiden Gray is healthy (not sure if his injury was season-ending - maybe someone knows?) I’d give him a shot.

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This logic is very strange:
“You know, at some point, if we remained down 15, we were going to have to go for two as early as it was in the game,” he said. “Still significant time in the third quarter, thought that getting it down to 12 would allow us to, instead of chasing a tie, go get two touchdowns and go win the football game.”

Basically, I don’t want to be down 17-8, because then we’ll have to either take the two here, or on the next one (assuming we hold them scoreless the rest of the way).

Oh well, NU didn’t even belong on the same field as that team. Thankfully, the nine-team Big Ten West will never exist.

Michigan was not very good in the second half. Mullins and Edwards to the lesser degree were enough to pull out a win, but the win was a gift. A pick 6 killed USC. They had Michigan completely on the ropes and gave up a 63 yard run where they missed two tackles on a 4th and 1 late in the game. The Michigan QB’s are not good at all. Michigans team is NU on steroids. Similar strengths and weaknesses. The difference is 4 star talent versus our talent.