Turk's Game Analysis and Individual Grades

[Turk]

Truncated version this week:

Mr All Turk: Jackson

Defense: B-
I've said all along that the way to beat this defense is to hit the one on one opportunities downfield. It seems that is one of the things that Ball State did that the other teams didn't really take advantage of. We lose a lot of jump balls downfield. It didn't help that Godwin seemed to get concussed early in the game. Hopefully him and Kyle are going to recover soon. Very little pressure to the QB, which was surprising. Walker didn't have a great game at all. The D delivered when it counted though.

Offense/ Offensive Coordinator: B-
CT looked absolutely lost in the first half but really came back nicely. OL gave plenty of protection and did its job. WR are still dropping downfield throws but we just have to manage it.
The difference in the game was McCall throwing on first down, especially in the third quarter. For whatever reason, we had tons of mental errors in the first half with the 3 turnovers by CT, dropped passes, and penalties. CT just needs to settle down. Credit Fitz for sticking with CT. I probably wouldn't have minded Oliver going in there but CT was much improved after he settled down. BTW, we still gotta do a better job of snapping the ball to CT.

Injuries: Yikes. It was really a tough game for us on the injury front. Our depth will be tested next week.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Thorson: D/A

D for first half play and losing two fumbles. The second one was awful as it looked like he lost the ball on his own while trying to scramble as we were content to run out the half. It would be an F if it were not for the fine pass to Vitale and the good throw to Shuler, who has to find a way to hang on to those balls. He leaves way too many big plays on the table. The interception looked horribly egregious, but I am assuming he was expecting a different route (I obviously do not know what the play call was, but CT was throwing to a spot on deep sideline on that play).

A for second half for many very good throws.The TD to Carr was a thing of beauty. He made a very good throw to Jones on the scramble that should have been ruled a catch. The similar, shorter throw to CJ on the last drive was also very good. I was very impressed by his accuracy and arm strength displayed in the second half. It bodes well for the future. We need that type of passing game if we are going to compete in conference.

 

[Turk]

Thorson: D/A

D for first half play and losing two fumbles. The second one was awful as it looked like he lost the ball on his own while trying to scramble as we were content to run out the half. It would be an F if it were not for the fine pass to Vitale and the good throw to Shuler, who has to find a way to hang on to those balls. He leaves way too many big plays on the table. The interception looked horribly egregious, but I am assuming he was expecting a different route (I obviously do not know what the play call was, but CT was throwing to a spot on deep sideline on that play).

A for second half for many very good throws.The TD to Carr was a thing of beauty. He made a very good throw to Jones on the scramble that should have been ruled a catch. The similar, shorter throw to CJ on the last drive was also very good. I was very impressed by his accuracy and arm strength displayed in the second half. It bodes well for the future. We need that type of passing game if we are going to compete in conference.

Vault had one on one on the outside and CT knew he had it, but Vault pulled up for a quick out when CT wanted him to continue deep without breaking off his route. I can't say for sure but I think Vault should have continued deep.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I hope the 2nd half Clayton Thorson is what we see for the rest of the season. Looks like the D isn't as stout as I thought. Need the O to produce.

Thorson had a great 2nd half, but the throws were still not perfect - the 2nd Vitale TD was thrown a little behind him. The strike to Carr was very good though.

 

[chicagocatfan24]

Turk, when Purdue fires Hazell they should hire you. They'd never lose to NU again, since you know this team and the game of football inside and out.

 

[spartcat]

I'd give the D a break, although I wouldn't give them an A either. It did adjust well to the zone read after some early problems. One of the 2 T.D.s was a very short field after a turnover. We did shut them down in the last quarter, or at least most of it. We held them to their lowest point total of the season, even with all the chances our O gave them in the 1st half.

I just have to give kudos to their wideout(s?) who could high point those jump balls even when blanketed by our d backs. Those sideline and end zone passes were NEVER open. The catches were just outstanding. Maybe we could arrange a QB trade with a little NU cash thrown in? Our freshman is improving. Theirs is awesome already.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I'd give the D a break, although I wouldn't give them an A either. It did adjust well to the zone read after some early problems. One of the 2 T.D.s was a very short field after a turnover. We did shut them down in the last quarter, or at least most of it. We held them to their lowest point total of the season, even with all the chances our O gave them in the 1st half.

I just have to give kudos to their wideout(s?) who could high point those jump balls even when blanketed by our d backs. Those sideline and end zone passes were NEVER open. The catches were just outstanding. Maybe we could arrange a QB trade with a little NU cash thrown in? Our freshman is improving. Theirs is awesome already.

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

 

[willycat]

Turk, when Purdue fires Hazell they should hire you. They'd never lose to NU again, since you know this team and the game of football inside and out.

After what Hazell has achieved or not achieved at Purdue, don't think that Turk could do any worse.

 

[FanatiCat]

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

That I agree with, but for a true frosh in his first start, he looked more polished than Thorson. He seemed to make fewer silly mistakes like the fumble at the end of the half; he made good decisions like throwing it away, and on those jump balls he was able to put enough under it (even under pressure) that they didn't get picked off by our underneath guy. It wasn't just the WR.

It was also somewhat reassuring that in contrast to precious DB units, our coverage was like a glove on those - it couldn't have possibly been any better up until the point of timing the high-point. Even on the TD non-catch.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

That I agree with, but for a true frosh in his first start, he looked more polished than Thorson. He seemed to make fewer silly mistakes like the fumble at the end of the half; he made good decisions like throwing it away, and on those jump balls he was able to put enough under it (even under pressure) that they didn't get picked off by our underneath guy. It wasn't just the WR.

It was also somewhat reassuring that in contrast to precious DB units, our coverage was like a glove on those - it couldn't have possibly been any better up until the point of timing the high-point. Even on the TD non-catch.

Could have sworn I saw the BSU fumble inside the NU 20 yard line...do you recall that play?

 

[willycat]

Could have sworn I saw the BSU fumble inside the NU 20 yard line...do you recall that play?

Yes, there was a fumble there but the best QB on the field last night was wearing red.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Yes, there was a fumble there but the best QB on the field last night was wearing red.

I disagree. Pretty significantly.

 

[thewildcat2011]

I hope the 2nd half Clayton Thorson is what we see for the rest of the season. Looks like the D isn't as stout as I thought. Need the O to produce.

Thorson had a great 2nd half, but the throws were still not perfect - the 2nd Vitale TD was thrown a little behind him. The strike to Carr was very good though.

You thought we were consistently going to hold teams to 5 points a game? Has that ever happened in the modern era of college football? We're still #3 in the Nation in scoring defense after a lackluster performance where we left a lot of big defensive plays on the table (3 or 4 INTs).

Not to say that the offense doesn't need to score, but it's silly to downgrade the defense after last night.

 

[techtim72]

The BS quarterback was surprisingly mobile. He schooled our defensive ends in the option read quite a few times. The defensive line rush left too many lanes for him to get free. I do not recall any blitzes although I must admit I left watching the game for large periods of time out of frustration. All in all it felt like NU wasn't getting pressure on the quarterback. I was surprised at the 14 or 35 number, however, which says NU was doing something right.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Yes, there was a fumble there but the best QB on the field last night was wearing red.

Mmmmm...no. Thorson was awful one half and superb the other, but the two fumbles defined his craptitude, not his passing. On balance, CT was pretty good. He led his team back and made more plays than his counterpart.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

The BS quarterback was surprisingly mobile. He schooled our defensive ends in the option read quite a few times. The defensive line rush left too many lanes for him to get free. I do not recall any blitzes although I must admit I left watching the game for large periods of time out of frustration. All in all it felt like NU wasn't getting pressure on the quarterback. I was surprised at the 14 or 35 number, however, which says NU was doing something right.

After the first couple drives, Hank adjusted by having the DE crash the ball carrier with a linebacker scraping over the top. The DEs were doing what they wer coached to do, not getting "schooled."

 

[FanatiCat]

Could have sworn I saw the BSU fumble inside the NU 20 yard line...do you recall that play?

I thought it was the BSU RB that fumbled.

Regardless, the "silly mistake" wasn't that Thorson fumbled, but that he was inappropriately trying too hard to make something out of a broken play when he should've just gone down to try to run out some more clock just prior to halftime.

 

[techtim72]

GCG, learned something. They definitely were crashing towards the ball carrier.

 

[hdhntr1]

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

For a true Frosh, his play was pretty solid. Ran the Read Option pretty smoothly and other than the red zone fumble (not sure whose fault it was) decisions were pretty good. He put the ball where it had to be. Good run decisions and threw it away

You thought we were consistently going to hold teams to 5 points a game? Has that ever happened in the modern era of college football? We're still #3 in the Nation in scoring defense after a lackluster performance where we left a lot of big defensive plays on the table (3 or 4 INTs).

Not to say that the offense doesn't need to score, but it's silly to downgrade the defense after last night.

Especially since at least 10 of their points were off of turnovers.

 

[hdhntr1]

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

Considering he was a true frosh in his first start, he was impressive.Rand the read option very well. Through the ball away when he had to. Put the ball in solid locations. Pretty solid performance.

 

[Hungry Jack]

It was not our best defensive effort, but considering that BS received 3 turnovers in the first half--two inside NU territory and the third just shy of midfield--the defense was pretty good. All of BS first half points came off NU turnovers that created short fields. The Cardinals had two drives of over 60 yards. The officiating certainly did not favor the NU defense either.

 

[Katatonic]

It's hard to call a guy "awesome" after a 14-35 performance when most of the big plays were the result of chucking it up to a physical wideout than anything the QB did.

Maybe not awesome, but concerning what the BSU QB had to play deal and play w/, he was, overall more impressive (notwithstanding having the best receiver on the field - still had to make those throws, often under pressure where only his receiver would be able to catch it).

While Thorson played well in the 3rd Q, he also had wide open receivers (when was the last time NU receivers were that wide open?) and a nice pocket.

Sadly, don't think it's the NU receivers improving that much as it is the BSU secondary being that awful.

To put it in context, VMI passed for 444 yds against BSU's secondary.

So Thorson's success passing in the 3rd Q had a lot to do w/ the advantage NU had at the receiver and O-line.

Conversely, Thorsons's bad stat day against Duke isn't as bad based on Duke having one of the best secondaries in the nation.