What did Ball St do on offense that Duke and Stanford did not?
- Thread starter GlideCat
- Start date
I just think Riley Neal is the real deal. He's a real dual-threat QB and he's hard to defend. Ball State has a good offense with him at the helm; let's give them some credit.
I agree. They have a good scheme with lots of movement and misdirection. I think NU went to a spy on Neal with Walker which helped, but he is a good runner, much better than CT is.
I would argue that tall, athletic receivers give most teams fits.
+1. As I pointed out in another thread, Ball State performances were deceiving since they started the wrong QB the first 3 games.....
Was a big-time trap game (I predicted 19-9, and it was even closer than that), and just grateful to get out with a win.
Should be noted that Minny had a similar game where a bunch of guys got hurt. Should be an interesting game next week.
Yeah, I just saw Kill on BTN, and he said seven starters went out and did not return.
I think they found a way to take godwin out of the game. The safties had a decent game, but probably not as aggressive against both the pass and run if godwin was in the game. Confidence in both safeties allowed hank to mixup the blitz schemes - not so much this game.
I do not think that we game planned on him running as much as he did and it cost us a lot of yards in the first half. We seemed to adjust to it and his yards per run went downward as the game wore on. His throws were never terribly accurate. Starting in the 3rd, he appeared to be focusing on throwing it at #8 and throwing it high and it was #8s job to get the ball. So, while I believe that Neal did a great job for a first start, I do not think he is the best quarterback that we have faced or are going to.
It was only ONE tall athletic receiver, Jordan Williams. It just looked like he was two receivers because a) he was a beast all over the field and b) he lined up against both Harris and Van Hoose. He was a 1,000 yard receiver in '13 and would not be shocked if he is playing on Sundays next year. Some of those catches were truly amazing (Treveon Henry still doesn't believe he caught that first one with underneath and a safety over the top, I bet).
You mean like they game planned a probable concussion? Then a broken wrist for his back up? That makes no sense.
Agreed (to me, Hogan was the best QB we faced noncon, and it wasn't close), but he was certainly a good QB. In fact if he had just thrown in up a few more times for Jordan Williams to go get it, we may have lost....
He also had the advantage in running read option since we didn't have a ton of hit on tape, I believe, since Ball State started the wrong QB the first 3 games.
And I think that this was truly the reason for our D not being as stellar as in the first 3 games. Who was our third string safety? I only saw Treveon give any safety help after the injuries, and a lot of times it seemed like our corners were just on islands with zero safety help at all.....
Im saying IMHO the loss of godwin probably had a material impact on our defense. I think he is a big piece of the equation in terms of the swag that the secondary and D play with. Their confidence and trust, which allows them to be more aggressive. I think the D played more tentatively and probably ran fewer and different blitz packages. And while the D played well enough to win, i think they missed both godwin and quero.
Having said that, i am pleased we have watkins, brown, mcshepard, hartage and all the depth in the secondary. And they played well enough to win.
Ball State has four seniors starting on their o-line, which showed tonight. Injuries took their toll for sure, but credit to Ball State's o-line for really playing a good game tonight.
I'm not saying ball state should win the playoff or even win the Mac, but they weren't bad
Agree their QB and receivers are solid, but I was surprised that our D line didn't get at the QB much. Is their O line that good or were we off? If our D was having an off night, maybe this is a scare/wake up we needed going into the B1G. Anyway, glad to be 4-0!
Just saw Jonny2's post about their O line. That helps me. Ball State looked like a pretty solid team.
Yes but... Are they better than Wisconsin, Iowa, or Nebraska? These are the teams that we have to beat if we want to challenge for the West. I am glad that we played against a pretty good Ball State offense. Hopefully we can learn from the experience and the film and be that much better next week.
Losing both Godwin and his backup Kyle meant we had Terence Brown lining up with Traveon Henry at safety. I don't know who is next in line after that but suddenly we aren't as deep as we were last week. Wasn't there talk that Parrker Westphalia may be a better safety than corner?
Stanford fans' observations/complaints about the loss was really familiar to what some of us had stated about the early season losses last season.
1 Lost the battle in the trenches.
2. Couldn't get the run game really going (see above).
3. QB under too much pressure (see above).
4. Penalties putting the O in the hole.
5. Crucial dropped passes.
6. Conservative/vanilla game plan.
7. Not moving the pocket/using Hogan's legs (did that during the USC win).
The BS O-line definitely did a better job protecting their QB, but as stated, losing 2 safeties played a large role i what Hank could do.
Speaking of the D, here's a pretty good piece on NU's D by Inside NU's Trahan which was published by USA Today.
When senior cornerback Nick VanHoose arrived at Northwestern in the fall of 2011, he wouldn't have believed he'd be playing for the defense he is now. A lightly-recruited player from Ohio whose offer list included Indiana and Ball State, VanHoose figured he was joining a defense that, put bluntly, was tailor-made for lightly-recruited players.
Back in 2011, the Wildcats were constantly on their heels on defense, and it showed. Northwestern ranked 66th nationally in scoring defense and 100th in defensive efficiency, as calculated by Football Outsiders.
The defense was, predictably, vanilla and boring, attempting to mask average athleticism with with a bend-don't-break style of play. The Wildcats stayed in their quarters defense — in which each defender gets a portion of the field, keeping everything in front and content to give up mid-sized gains — and didn't dare mix it up. Fast forward four years, and the Northwestern defense has undergone a radical transformation.
"It's changed over the years, how we play out on the edges," VanHoose said. "It's definitely more exciting."
Because Northwestern has a speedy middle linebacker who can make plays and tackle in space, the Wildcats are less risk-averse than they have needed to be in the past. They have dialed up safety blitzes and spent third downs getting to the quarterback with their NASCAR (i.e. speed) package, rather than worrying about whether the offense will counter an aggressive play with an extended drive. That attitude has carried over to the entire defense.
"In my four years I've played, this is probably the most aggressive we've been," VanHoose said. "Probably more man, more press man. And some more blitzes just mixed in. It mostly just gives (Hankwitz) a lot more options making different calls. Maybe he wouldn't have made that call three years ago."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...western-football-top-ranked-defense/72837814/
(Edit - seems like NJCat already posted this.)
1 Lost the battle in the trenches.
2. Couldn't get the run game really going (see above).
3. QB under too much pressure (see above).
4. Penalties putting the O in the hole.
5. Crucial dropped passes.
6. Conservative/vanilla game plan.
7. Not moving the pocket/using Hogan's legs (did that during the USC win).
The BS O-line definitely did a better job protecting their QB, but as stated, losing 2 safeties played a large role i what Hank could do.
Speaking of the D, here's a pretty good piece on NU's D by Inside NU's Trahan which was published by USA Today.
When senior cornerback Nick VanHoose arrived at Northwestern in the fall of 2011, he wouldn't have believed he'd be playing for the defense he is now. A lightly-recruited player from Ohio whose offer list included Indiana and Ball State, VanHoose figured he was joining a defense that, put bluntly, was tailor-made for lightly-recruited players.
Back in 2011, the Wildcats were constantly on their heels on defense, and it showed. Northwestern ranked 66th nationally in scoring defense and 100th in defensive efficiency, as calculated by Football Outsiders.
The defense was, predictably, vanilla and boring, attempting to mask average athleticism with with a bend-don't-break style of play. The Wildcats stayed in their quarters defense — in which each defender gets a portion of the field, keeping everything in front and content to give up mid-sized gains — and didn't dare mix it up. Fast forward four years, and the Northwestern defense has undergone a radical transformation.
"It's changed over the years, how we play out on the edges," VanHoose said. "It's definitely more exciting."
Because Northwestern has a speedy middle linebacker who can make plays and tackle in space, the Wildcats are less risk-averse than they have needed to be in the past. They have dialed up safety blitzes and spent third downs getting to the quarterback with their NASCAR (i.e. speed) package, rather than worrying about whether the offense will counter an aggressive play with an extended drive. That attitude has carried over to the entire defense.
"In my four years I've played, this is probably the most aggressive we've been," VanHoose said. "Probably more man, more press man. And some more blitzes just mixed in. It mostly just gives (Hankwitz) a lot more options making different calls. Maybe he wouldn't have made that call three years ago."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...western-football-top-ranked-defense/72837814/
(Edit - seems like NJCat already posted this.)
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It is a good point you make with the QB. TAMU beat them badly, but when they put Riley in, he led the team to 21 points in the 2nd half, though you could argue it wasn't really against the 1st team Aggie D.
BSU also moved the pocket a lot early, making it harder to get pressure. That dropped off a bit over the course of the game as Neal kept running and the hits kept accumulating.
How do you think Brown did? Being at the game, I thought he didn't look out of place at all. However, I did notice some confusion before plays started.
I haven't read a lot of this thread but Jordan Williams kept BS in the game. That one catch between vanhoose and the safety was awesome, but a horrible pass that could have been picked. Also Van Hoose was 1" from batting down the ball on his touchdown that should have been overturned. The refs also sucked today. I that BSU was kinda lucky to score 19
I don't. I think NU was kinda lucky BSU scored ONLY 19 today. They left 7 points on the field just due to their kicking game.
Luck is the wrong word for it, but on BSU's last TD, 1. it wasn't a catch and 2. their QB on 3rd and long had like a 15 yard run where he would have been sacked had the back judge called the BLATANT holding on Gibson. He was getting held all night.
The few pass plays that went for big yards were defended very, very well but the receiver made a nice play on him. That kid will get a shot to play on Sundays. Game of inches.
The few pass plays that went for big yards were defended very, very well but the receiver made a nice play on him. That kid will get a shot to play on Sundays. Game of inches.
You guys have had a couple of big wins where you played very well with great emotion. It's very difficult for college teams to maintain that. It's hidden with some teams with top 5 talent because they have a definitive difference in talent that eventually overwhelms lesser teams.
For a team like the Wildcats, as long as they are playing their best against the stiffest competition, and find a way to win against lesser teams, NU will have a great season.
For a team like the Wildcats, as long as they are playing their best against the stiffest competition, and find a way to win against lesser teams, NU will have a great season.
Sadly, injuries are catching up with NU. We'll see this week how many guys are out for Minny, but for certain the back-up safety/nickel back is out with a broken arm. I never saw so many NU players go down in a single game since the dark ages.
Didn't notice him a ton (which is a "win" for a third string guy coming in as an injury replacement), but very average when I did.
Over the first three games, our D had been playing as well as any, and yes I mean any, team in the country. We stiffed a Stanford team that has put up 41 points on USC and 42 on Oregon State. Duke just hung 34 on Ga. Tech after getting 10 against us. We've got a way to go on offense, but we match up very well in talent with most teams on defense. Injuries, as always, will be the key to whether that continues. Getting down to the third string will affect any team.
