In no particular order (I tend to have a post open and type out/update things as they pop into my head as I'm re-watching)...
1) The three-man rush should be banished to hell. I feel the same way about our single-back, under center look. We just don't have the OL to make that work consistently, especially when it's short yardage and the defense knows what's coming. Either get more creative with that package or scrap it entirely.
2) Godwin is getting a little lazy with his eyes, "peeking" into the backfield to try to make gamechanging plays rather than the proper plays. Got burned deep on the first drive because of it, then pretty close another couple times. Queiro also took some pretty awful angles throughout the game. All in all, the veteran safeties have left a lot to want for with plenty of things to clean up.
3) Fisher is good. Really good. Has a very natural way of picking his way through traffic, then finishing the tackle upon arrival. I can recall only one play that he didn't make. The linebackers should be in good shape next season with Fisher and Hall along with a bevy of promising newcomers to compete with the guys already on the roster.
4) Mick called an excellent game from the start. His gameplan correctly assumed that MSU would stack the box to stop the run and was loaded with "beaters," both play-action and underneath drag/pick routes. Only a handful of play calls I didn't like, most notably Thorson pulling the ball on a couple short-yardage plays; Clayton always seems to go horizontal in those situations, which isn't exactly what you want to do on short yardage.
5) The defense did well in a "bend-don't-break" sense, but sure left some big plays out there. Hartage dropping an easy pick, Igwebuike dropping an appreciably more difficult pick, LJ Scott's fumble that was luckily backed up by another fumble, Moe missing an admittedly difficult play on the muffed punt, McGee getting jostled on the floater over the middle in the fourth quarter, etc. Those are the kind of plays that can make a big difference in close games and we were lucky none had a big impact on the game. Sparty can obviously point to the two "doink'd" field goals as the difference in the game, but we could just as easily point to those couple plays we left between the lines as potential difference makers.
6) Somewhat surprised that Fitz didn't challenge the play when MSU's long snapper downed a punt inside the one. Looked to me like he carried it across the line and field position was HUGE at that point in the game.
7) While they ended up making some big plays down the stretch, the receiving group has to do a better job consistently catching the ball. The "Thorson throws fastballs" narrative is overplayed, especially when the ball hits the receiver in the hands. You're a P5 wideout. Catch the damn ball.
8) His stat line isn't that impressive, but Justin Jackson is just f*****g magical. He's always turning 1-yard gains into 4 and 2-yards into 6. He got us a couple first downs basically on his own, plus a couple big blitz pickups down the stretch. Deserves every accolade headed his way and then some.
9) Scoring right before the half then getting the ball right back might be my favorite thing ever, sad though that may be. Wish we did more with our possession coming out of halftime. Wilson had a step on the deep pass, but he's never really going to be that downfield guy. Skowronek has to make the play with Thorson rolling out. Fessler can't drop that ball on the outside slant. Bunch of missed opportunities to go ahead early in the second half.
10) Lewerke's stats are gaudy, but it tells you something about our defense that MSU essentially abandoned the run for the fourth quarter through overtime. Our defense is playing very stout run defense with proper run fits and, as mentioned above, Fisher has a natural way of sorting through traffic to clean up anything inside. This bodes very well for our remaining schedule, as there's not a "scary" passing offense left (Brohm can do some creative things, but I don't think they can keep it up for a full game). It is of course very problematic that MSU consistently moved the ball through the air without much of a run threat, but let's just focus on the silver lining after a top-25 3OT win, mkay?
11) Watched it a bunch of times on gameday and a bunch of times today... still not convinced that Felton's juggling TD was really a catch. Sure looked like the ground aided the catch to me, especially on the angle from behind the play.
12) Homer alert, but Gaziano and Samdup Miller were getting held all day long (including on Gaz's strip to end the game). They're not the most physically skilled pass rushers out there, but strong and play with a motor. Excited about watching those two develop over the next couple years, plus the influx of DE talent.
13) The play with about two minutes left in which Fisher whacked the MSU WR upside the head was very odd. While clearly not targeting, the referees' discussion essentially gave MSU a free timeout plus the ref was EXTREMELY slow in declaring the ball ready for play. Saved MSU some precious time on the clock with one timeout left. I was literally screaming at the television the first time through to set the ball and equally as flummoxed the second time through (albeit at a much lower volume).
1) The three-man rush should be banished to hell. I feel the same way about our single-back, under center look. We just don't have the OL to make that work consistently, especially when it's short yardage and the defense knows what's coming. Either get more creative with that package or scrap it entirely.
2) Godwin is getting a little lazy with his eyes, "peeking" into the backfield to try to make gamechanging plays rather than the proper plays. Got burned deep on the first drive because of it, then pretty close another couple times. Queiro also took some pretty awful angles throughout the game. All in all, the veteran safeties have left a lot to want for with plenty of things to clean up.
3) Fisher is good. Really good. Has a very natural way of picking his way through traffic, then finishing the tackle upon arrival. I can recall only one play that he didn't make. The linebackers should be in good shape next season with Fisher and Hall along with a bevy of promising newcomers to compete with the guys already on the roster.
4) Mick called an excellent game from the start. His gameplan correctly assumed that MSU would stack the box to stop the run and was loaded with "beaters," both play-action and underneath drag/pick routes. Only a handful of play calls I didn't like, most notably Thorson pulling the ball on a couple short-yardage plays; Clayton always seems to go horizontal in those situations, which isn't exactly what you want to do on short yardage.
5) The defense did well in a "bend-don't-break" sense, but sure left some big plays out there. Hartage dropping an easy pick, Igwebuike dropping an appreciably more difficult pick, LJ Scott's fumble that was luckily backed up by another fumble, Moe missing an admittedly difficult play on the muffed punt, McGee getting jostled on the floater over the middle in the fourth quarter, etc. Those are the kind of plays that can make a big difference in close games and we were lucky none had a big impact on the game. Sparty can obviously point to the two "doink'd" field goals as the difference in the game, but we could just as easily point to those couple plays we left between the lines as potential difference makers.
6) Somewhat surprised that Fitz didn't challenge the play when MSU's long snapper downed a punt inside the one. Looked to me like he carried it across the line and field position was HUGE at that point in the game.
7) While they ended up making some big plays down the stretch, the receiving group has to do a better job consistently catching the ball. The "Thorson throws fastballs" narrative is overplayed, especially when the ball hits the receiver in the hands. You're a P5 wideout. Catch the damn ball.
8) His stat line isn't that impressive, but Justin Jackson is just f*****g magical. He's always turning 1-yard gains into 4 and 2-yards into 6. He got us a couple first downs basically on his own, plus a couple big blitz pickups down the stretch. Deserves every accolade headed his way and then some.
9) Scoring right before the half then getting the ball right back might be my favorite thing ever, sad though that may be. Wish we did more with our possession coming out of halftime. Wilson had a step on the deep pass, but he's never really going to be that downfield guy. Skowronek has to make the play with Thorson rolling out. Fessler can't drop that ball on the outside slant. Bunch of missed opportunities to go ahead early in the second half.
10) Lewerke's stats are gaudy, but it tells you something about our defense that MSU essentially abandoned the run for the fourth quarter through overtime. Our defense is playing very stout run defense with proper run fits and, as mentioned above, Fisher has a natural way of sorting through traffic to clean up anything inside. This bodes very well for our remaining schedule, as there's not a "scary" passing offense left (Brohm can do some creative things, but I don't think they can keep it up for a full game). It is of course very problematic that MSU consistently moved the ball through the air without much of a run threat, but let's just focus on the silver lining after a top-25 3OT win, mkay?
11) Watched it a bunch of times on gameday and a bunch of times today... still not convinced that Felton's juggling TD was really a catch. Sure looked like the ground aided the catch to me, especially on the angle from behind the play.
12) Homer alert, but Gaziano and Samdup Miller were getting held all day long (including on Gaz's strip to end the game). They're not the most physically skilled pass rushers out there, but strong and play with a motor. Excited about watching those two develop over the next couple years, plus the influx of DE talent.
13) The play with about two minutes left in which Fisher whacked the MSU WR upside the head was very odd. While clearly not targeting, the referees' discussion essentially gave MSU a free timeout plus the ref was EXTREMELY slow in declaring the ball ready for play. Saved MSU some precious time on the clock with one timeout left. I was literally screaming at the television the first time through to set the ball and equally as flummoxed the second time through (albeit at a much lower volume).
