Michigan State - 5 things you need to know
- Thread starter jesterondirt
- Start date
So basically, we are not going to be able to run consistently on third down, so the pressure will be on Smith to throw. Which is fine, we have seen elsewhere that he has the mental and physical abilities to throw against a defense like Michigan State. The challenge will be giving him time to operate and calling plays that dont take a piss and a sandwich to develop, like for instance a certain end around running play inside our own five.
I didn’t think we had a chance against Texas, but they won that game and then beat themselves in the last 15 minutes.
This game is winnable. Will we beat ourselves?
I didn’t think we had a chance against Texas, but they won that game and then beat themselves in the last 15 minutes.
This game is winnable. Will we beat ourselves?
I’m ready to take a piss and eat a sammech! Then I’m gonna lay a hat on some Sparty!
I feel like a loser but I’m just hoping to see a non-anemic passing game in the Mich St game. If we throw for 250-300 yards and moving the ball, I’ll be happy regardless of the score.
Unfortunately, I have no confidence in the staff’s ability to manage that.
Unfortunately, I have no confidence in the staff’s ability to manage that.
Prediction: The first TU play from scrimmage will be an attempted bubble pass that is picked off and returned for a TD. We (and all opposing coaches) know how much Monty likes the bubble pass
It depends. If we go on offense first, I predict first play is a run up the middle. If Mich St is on O first then I agree 100% on the bubble being our first play. And it taking so long to come to fruition.
I’ve bet my sanity that the new QB has the arm strength, accuracy, experience, and eye discipline to only throw that pass when it will always be completed for positive yardage (because it is essentially a long hand-off/toss in this offense).
MSU fan here, looking forward to the season.
Fortunately (for all of our opponents), our offense was one of the worst in FBS last year...we finished 116 out of 129 teams in total offense in 2018. Our Defense was an elite unit last year (and will be better this year), but our opponents were always in the game late because our offense is completely listless. Eventually, since they were on the field all game, our D would finally allow a late score in the 4th and we'd lose 7-6 or something ridiculous like that. See Arizona State, Oregon, Nebraska games (off the top of my head). We had a boatload of injuries last year (we were using a 4th string punter at one point!), but we still should have won at least 3 more games with even a mediocre level offense.
What was our coaching staff's solution to our anemic offense during this off season? Shuffle the deck chairs. We didn't fire a single person and simply rotated all of the existing coaching staff to new positions. Seriously a Mickey Mouse "buddy / buddy" solution. Long story short, I'm not expecting some sort of massive improvement or schematic change from last year to this year. Our opponents will all be in the game late.
Fortunately (for all of our opponents), our offense was one of the worst in FBS last year...we finished 116 out of 129 teams in total offense in 2018. Our Defense was an elite unit last year (and will be better this year), but our opponents were always in the game late because our offense is completely listless. Eventually, since they were on the field all game, our D would finally allow a late score in the 4th and we'd lose 7-6 or something ridiculous like that. See Arizona State, Oregon, Nebraska games (off the top of my head). We had a boatload of injuries last year (we were using a 4th string punter at one point!), but we still should have won at least 3 more games with even a mediocre level offense.
What was our coaching staff's solution to our anemic offense during this off season? Shuffle the deck chairs. We didn't fire a single person and simply rotated all of the existing coaching staff to new positions. Seriously a Mickey Mouse "buddy / buddy" solution. Long story short, I'm not expecting some sort of massive improvement or schematic change from last year to this year. Our opponents will all be in the game late.
One thing the 5-points doesn't mention is how Michigan State developed a very long Baylor and Penn State like culture allowing their physician to assault girls and how several cases of sexual assault alleged against football and basketball players got swept under the rug by Izzo, D'Antonio, and the AD. Michigan State athletes were 3 times more likely than non-athletes to be named in a sexual assault allegation (source: ESPN OTL) being named in 4.7% of all title IX cases despite making up only 1.5% of the population.
And Nassar...probably on the Mt. Rushmore of athletic dept. personnel going straight to hell along with Art Briles and probably being greeted by Joe Pa at the entrance.
And Nassar...probably on the Mt. Rushmore of athletic dept. personnel going straight to hell along with Art Briles and probably being greeted by Joe Pa at the entrance.
So I come over here to have a rational discussion about football and you immediately take the thread in the gutter. Considering you can't even spell our football coach's name correctly, I can tell your intellect is lacking. Hopefully you do not represent the majority of Tulsa fans.
Since you clearly do not understand the facts (and this might be wasted breath on you), let me explain:
There is not a single Spartan out there who defends Larry Nassar or anyone who enabled him. That will deservedly be a stain on the university for a long time. Larry Nassar was NOT an employee of the athletic department. He was an employee of the medical school and he also worked with USA Gymnastics / Olympics. Remember when Kerri Strug was helped off the floor with the ankle injury in the 1996 Olympics? That was Larry Nassar helping her off the floor. He was renowned as the "USA Gymnastics" doctor so he treated many USA Gymnasts at tournaments/training around the world in addition to MSU athletes at the clinic on campus (primarily gymnasts, rowers, volleyball players). He gave presentations to the medical community on "pelvic floor" procedures to treat back pain, which he then perverted to abuse so many girls / women (over half of the victims even had parents in the room). This guy was a complete monster...highly educated, calculating, and in position of authority in his field...about as dangerous of a predator as there is.
Fast forward to the lovely ESPN and OTL smear campaign, which you mentioned. This was released the day after Nassar was sentenced (convenient, right)? Even though they taped the piece in August, they waited nearly 5 months to release the piece in order to time it with the Nassar sentencing (but ESPN pretends to care about the victims). For clicks, ESPN decided to smear Izzo and Dantonio even though they are in no way affiliated with Larry Nassar. They basically took old news from football and basketball and presented it as new (things that had already been through the legal system, things there were press conferences about a decade ago, etc.), conveniently omitted key pieces of information which didn't support their narrative, etc. They put the faces of Izzo and Dantonio alongside Larry Nassar (a convicted serial molester / pedophile / predator) on ESPN, which was the most disgusting display of character defamation I've ever seen. There are no dots to be connected between those 3 individuals, but thanks to ESPN's "culture" mantra, everyone seems to think they are all fishing buddies or something.
The same author of the OTL piece (Paula Lavigne) randomly evaluated several schools including MSU back in 2015. She released an article stating that "MSU students and athletes are not treated any differently as it pertains to the letter of the law." Basically saying that athletes do not receive preferential treatment. 2 years later she completely changed her tune and basically said everything she wrote previously was false. Seriously?
Have serious issues come up over Izzo's 23 years as basketball coach and Dantonio's 12 years as football coach. Of course, but they've been handled correctly...reported through proper channels (Title IX), players dismissed from the team, etc. This is why they still have their jobs. The US Dept of Education, OCR Report, NCAA, and independent investigations have all corroborated Dantonio and Izzo's versions of events (in response to ESPN's various allegations) through phone records, etc.
I could go on but I've probably already lost you. It's unfortunate that society and people like you treat accusations as fact in 2019. This is why the media gets away with murder in 2019, people just read headlines and/or don't bother to do their own research...pure laziness.
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I have no idea why certain posters immediately attack any opposing team's fans. I, for one, appreciate your insight into your football team and hopefully you can ignore the trolls.
FYI, I am not very optimistic about our chances to win more than 4 games this year unless our offense is leaps and bounds better than last year. We will have a different QB but that is all we add. Our head coach fancies himself an offensive coordinator so nothing will change there. We didn't score a single point last year against a bad Arkansas team so I'm sure the MSU defense will have no problems. Our defense may be the bright spot to the 2019 squad with returning young players that have promise. Our linebacking corps may be top 5 all time at TU. So, if things go as scripted, MSU will win 7-0.
FYI, I am not very optimistic about our chances to win more than 4 games this year unless our offense is leaps and bounds better than last year. We will have a different QB but that is all we add. Our head coach fancies himself an offensive coordinator so nothing will change there. We didn't score a single point last year against a bad Arkansas team so I'm sure the MSU defense will have no problems. Our defense may be the bright spot to the 2019 squad with returning young players that have promise. Our linebacking corps may be top 5 all time at TU. So, if things go as scripted, MSU will win 7-0.
Ms Lavigne over at ESPN OTL has tried to do a hit job on TU in the past, so we know how that feels.
TU shouldn’t be casting any stones on sexual assault issues, especially considering who we hired to coach our football program.
MSU should cease to exist as an institution based on its handling of this situation before, during and after the perverts arrest. I think it is effing outrageous we are taking their money for this game and I hope a fair portion of it is dedicated to preventing sexual assault.
But if one of you could politely point to where our guest can go to recover some pride in his time on campus and the football team that reminds him of those days, I’d appreciate it. The school has robbed him in a very minor way with the handling of the situation. He came over in good faith and he deserves the down to Earth values of Oklahomans and our collegial atmosphere we pride ourselves on this board.
To our visitor, I won’t apologize for the above message, that’s up to him, but I will say that Tulsa fans have the hard earned reputation, particularly on here, of the guys that hang out at the 19th hole bar at your local middle class country club. Friendly, exclusive but not snooty, smart. Former UCF Coach George O’Leary said in a press conference that “even their message board posters are classy”. Not sure if you caught BLA on a bad day or subject, because he’s typically not like that. But the issue being discussed provokes strong feelings and he may have just vented. I’m guilty of that in the past on similar issues dealing with Baylor.
So let’s stick to football. Our team is little better than a high school all star team if we can’t run some of the very basic parts of the Baylor offense with success. Trap plays, bubble screen, some strange veer look RPOs. That’s the bread and butter of this offense and we’ve struggled with the base package the last two years despite having pro talent on the O line. You guys can stop the run and with our play calling being 60/40 run on plays that matter, that doesn’t sound like Tulsa has a chance. We were moving the ball effectively against OSU in Columbus before some bone headed coaching decisions and a weather delay. But that QB has graduated and we’ve been hapless ever since - except a single game where we led Texas 21-0 in the third quarter last year.
We have a Baylor transfer at QB. Depending on whether you judge him by a single outstanding performance at OU or by several mediocre other games, we may or may not have a kid who can throw the ball. If we throw effectively on the first drive, then you’ll have a ball game at least until the end of the 3rd Quarter. After that who knows what could happen. If we run three times and punt the first series, then you can relax and funnel some beers off the roof of your house, throw darts at a pic of Harbaugh’s face or whatever it is that they do for fun in East Lansing.
And LOYAL is right. Zaven Collins is the type of LB you wish you had on your team.
Thanks for stopping by and your interest in our program. It should be an interesting game.
TU shouldn’t be casting any stones on sexual assault issues, especially considering who we hired to coach our football program.
MSU should cease to exist as an institution based on its handling of this situation before, during and after the perverts arrest. I think it is effing outrageous we are taking their money for this game and I hope a fair portion of it is dedicated to preventing sexual assault.
But if one of you could politely point to where our guest can go to recover some pride in his time on campus and the football team that reminds him of those days, I’d appreciate it. The school has robbed him in a very minor way with the handling of the situation. He came over in good faith and he deserves the down to Earth values of Oklahomans and our collegial atmosphere we pride ourselves on this board.
To our visitor, I won’t apologize for the above message, that’s up to him, but I will say that Tulsa fans have the hard earned reputation, particularly on here, of the guys that hang out at the 19th hole bar at your local middle class country club. Friendly, exclusive but not snooty, smart. Former UCF Coach George O’Leary said in a press conference that “even their message board posters are classy”. Not sure if you caught BLA on a bad day or subject, because he’s typically not like that. But the issue being discussed provokes strong feelings and he may have just vented. I’m guilty of that in the past on similar issues dealing with Baylor.
So let’s stick to football. Our team is little better than a high school all star team if we can’t run some of the very basic parts of the Baylor offense with success. Trap plays, bubble screen, some strange veer look RPOs. That’s the bread and butter of this offense and we’ve struggled with the base package the last two years despite having pro talent on the O line. You guys can stop the run and with our play calling being 60/40 run on plays that matter, that doesn’t sound like Tulsa has a chance. We were moving the ball effectively against OSU in Columbus before some bone headed coaching decisions and a weather delay. But that QB has graduated and we’ve been hapless ever since - except a single game where we led Texas 21-0 in the third quarter last year.
We have a Baylor transfer at QB. Depending on whether you judge him by a single outstanding performance at OU or by several mediocre other games, we may or may not have a kid who can throw the ball. If we throw effectively on the first drive, then you’ll have a ball game at least until the end of the 3rd Quarter. After that who knows what could happen. If we run three times and punt the first series, then you can relax and funnel some beers off the roof of your house, throw darts at a pic of Harbaugh’s face or whatever it is that they do for fun in East Lansing.
And LOYAL is right. Zaven Collins is the type of LB you wish you had on your team.
Thanks for stopping by and your interest in our program. It should be an interesting game.
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Obviously, you are entitled to your own opinion...I just hope it is based on knowledge of the facts rather than the ESPN / Media shock factor, which is simply intended to drive revenue / clicks / faux outrage. Our institution's response (by former president Lou Anna K Simon in particular) was extremely embarrassing. I hope anyone who didn't do the right thing faces the appropriate legal penalty.
To say that the institution should "cease to exist" because of Larry Nassar and the few people who may not have acted appropriately (or didn't act at all) is a bit extreme. While the toll of Larry Nassar's atrocities is huge and inexcusable, it is not fair to brand the entire MSU community (530,000 living alumni, 50,000+ current students, 5,700+ current academic faculty, 7,000+ current support staff) based on the actions or inactions of a few. Not to mention, all of the contributions and research the university contributes the country/world.
I appreciate the Tulsa football insight, looking forward to the game and continued discussion.
It wasn't an attack on you...it was a fact on Michigan State. My point is I'm tired of schools not doing the right things and protecting students' rights. I've worked in student affairs/development, etc. for 20+ years so I know the difference between criminal charges and title IX investigations and know they are not inherently linked as a rule of law. While Michigan State and Baylor received from public blowback, both are still accepting millions of dollars and bale to maintain their athletic programs despite the athletic dept's clear lack of control and oversight for all of its programs and the students involved. (BTW, I got the D'antonio spelling off of an article, which apparently spelled it incorrectly).
I worked at Baylor as my first student affairs job, long before all of this (but right at the time Dave Bliss came on). While ALL of the administrators I worked with did their jobs with integrity and the utmost concern where student well-being was involved, I know several people who ended up being the fall-guys in the initial stages of the Baylor scandal in their attempt to remove blame from Ian McCaw and Art Briles to keep them in their positions. After all, Baylor was not a Big XII joke any longer. All of these things...Penn State, Baylor, MSU, and countless others all took intentional steps to protect the MONEY.
I have nothing against Mich St fans in particular and I would always root for them against Wisconsin and Ohio State in the past. But Huffy's right, TU should not have taken this game due to the circumstances involved and schools involved in title IX cover-ups should lose ALL TV money during the time they covered the situations up. That's me.
Nope...my post wasn't even a response to the MSU fan's post. It was a post based on the title of the thread...I even mentioned it in the 1st line. And I typically don't attack any teams' fans (unless it's the Memphis fan who is always over here throwing shade). I even respect opposing fans posting but trying to stick to facts. I had no issue with what Luegs posted...my response to the thread was actually in works before his post and happened to just appear after his post. If you look, my original post was not a response to any particular post in the thread.
I'm going to say it's
Magic Johnson University: 21
Perfect Record Against Notre Dame: 3
MSU will score 2 defensive touchdowns and add another on the ground. Tulsa will get nothing going... but come back the next week and dominate San Jose.
Magic Johnson University: 21
Perfect Record Against Notre Dame: 3
MSU will score 2 defensive touchdowns and add another on the ground. Tulsa will get nothing going... but come back the next week and dominate San Jose.
How is there a lack of oversight or control by the athletics department?
Again, this has nothing to do with the athletics department beyond the fact that Larry Nassar (not affiliated or employed by the MSU Athletic Department) was a specialized doctor who happened to treat a select group of athletes (primarily female gymnasts) in a clinic on campus. How is this lack of oversight by the Athletics Department? If anything, it's a lack of oversight by the medical school and Nassar's boss, William Strampel (former Dean of the DO school who has now been found guilty of misconduct in relation to this case).
ESPN is the entity who attempted to tie in revenue sports (Izzo and Dantonio) for their own personal gain. Based on your responses, it seems they were successful. ESPN simply presented old news as being "swept under the rug," in many cases never mentioned that charges were never filed by the prosecutor, or that the various allegations had already been handled through the appropriate channels nearly a decade earlier in some cases. Never mentioned that players were immediately dismissed or kicked out of the program in certain cases. Bash the university all you want for the Nassar atrocities, MSU deserves to wear that scar for life. The rest is a circus created by the media. Unfortunately, thanks to ESPN, the general public now associates Izzo and Dantonio with convicted predator/pedophile/molester, Larry Nassar. It's disgusting and it's not right. However, our society allows the media to get away with these types of things.
The basis of your arguments or "sources" is solely ESPN and their slanted smear job. That's like watching Fox News or MSNBC and acting like you have both sides of the story and/or have all of the relevant information. Just go back and look at all of the detail Paula Lavigne has had to walk back since her initial smear job.
One thing I think we can agree on is Title IX is a kangaroo court and needs to be completely overhauled.
I’m not familiar with the ESPN angle but I don’t doubt it. I do agree with your take on the Title IV being a kangaroo court. We have gone completely overboard trying to right a wrong. The process needs to be overhauled and balance brought into the process. A balance which ensures the accuser and accused both have a chance to be heard and the accusation properly reviewed and challenged when applicable but is sensitive to the accusers rights at the same time.
Dang, I thought this was a football discussion board. We should probably get one for that.
While you’re at it get the Feds to back off of how they apply FHA to student housing. I was about the sound off against the next kid who came in saying he needed his doggy with him as an emotional support animal
Who cares about the past as long as you win. TUbla is what is wrong with TU. Thinks we should be this high and mighty school when we should be concerned with just winning. No one cares about your academic rating or if our morals are so good that we cannot forgive a non related gambling issue. Get real.
My dad was an Ivy League grad and unless you asked he would never tell you. My mother earned her degrees at a directional state school outside of Oklahoma. Hell, dad may not have told you if you asked. He'd go down the list of his of work experiences, his experiences in the military during WWII, and lessons from his childhood that he felt like were the areas that really taught him how to be successful. Experience and the lessons of hard knocks mean a whole lot more than where you go to school. Sometimes, the school can open a door, but if your a complete dip shiz they won't worry about it hittin' you on the arse on the way out.
This used to be true. Today is a different story. companies like to be able to say they have employees that went to the best engineering/law/med/business schools in the country including <add list here>. It's a status thing. And you're right, doesn't mean a hill of beans if the people are clueless about what they're supposed to do or they can't solve problems outside of the box.
Most employers today will look at the education and then move to the first 2-3 lines of the experience (if they get past the cover letter) and then move on if it doesn't stand out.
Funny story from one of my Bio professors at Boston U (before I transferred to TU) about a conversation he had with a Harvard professor while attending a lecture at MIT. After using the bathroom, BU professor is tucking in his shirt at the mirror and begins walking out. Harvard prof stops him and says in a snooty tone "At Haaarvahd, we wash our hands after using the lavatory". BU professor's response "At BU,we learn not to piss on our hands". He told this as an intro to an 8:00am lecture class for general bio. Freaking hilarious. But also goes to show with how full of themselves some of the Ivy leaguers are.
I hope your professor didn’t really take credit for that age old story. It dates back to at least Winston Churchill, and I’ll bet he didn’t originate it either. It’s even been used in a few movies over the past several years.
Just my opinion and experience.....school matters (especially if it's a top 50-60 school) on the first and maybe the second job. After that it tends to be a footnote in most fields as your work product and experience takes precedent. School also matters at times when the hiring individual graduated from the same university.
I watched the Mick St spring game & took some notes. First, don't get too excited about their 7-6 record last year. Like us, they had a ton of injuries to starters(10) including the entire O-line which is back-OUCH!. Some 3 games(such as QB B. Lewerke) others anywhere from 4 to 8 games. Which means of course that all those back-ups got B10 experience.
The Offense: Lewerke throws a nice short & medium ball but I didn't see anything deep. His back-up, for Packer fans, is named Lombardi & there's a reason why Lewerke will start. They love the dump-off to a RB over the middle as well as to a TE.
A couple 0f 240 lb. RBs to pound you with. 3rd & short shouldn't be a problem for them. WR's are tall & athletic. One named Stewart catches about anything tossed his way.
The Defense: Their D will keep them in just about every game. A huge d-line & they are athletic. Our run game better get it's act together or we're in big trouble. They've got an all-everything middle lb named Bachie who's a real stud.(for that matter, ours ain't chopped liver). The D-backs are fast, athletic & can cover.(although they haven't met Mr. Stokes or Mr. Johnson yet). Their kicking game looked average-punts, fg's & kick-offs, although I'm sure their coverage will be tough.
Utah St. took these guys to the 4th Q in the first game last year. I believe we can do the same-they won't be expecting what we're going to bring after our crap record of the last 2 yrs. But we have to get people ready to run block with capable back-ups(maybe TK can dent that B10 beef). I love our D-line starters,back line & of course, our LB's will shock everyone we play. They'll have to play up for their run game & short passes which means man to man at the back. From what I've seen, our D-backs can handle it. If this game is close in the 4th Q, who the hell knows?? TU Football:1st,last,always!
The Offense: Lewerke throws a nice short & medium ball but I didn't see anything deep. His back-up, for Packer fans, is named Lombardi & there's a reason why Lewerke will start. They love the dump-off to a RB over the middle as well as to a TE.
A couple 0f 240 lb. RBs to pound you with. 3rd & short shouldn't be a problem for them. WR's are tall & athletic. One named Stewart catches about anything tossed his way.
The Defense: Their D will keep them in just about every game. A huge d-line & they are athletic. Our run game better get it's act together or we're in big trouble. They've got an all-everything middle lb named Bachie who's a real stud.(for that matter, ours ain't chopped liver). The D-backs are fast, athletic & can cover.(although they haven't met Mr. Stokes or Mr. Johnson yet). Their kicking game looked average-punts, fg's & kick-offs, although I'm sure their coverage will be tough.
Utah St. took these guys to the 4th Q in the first game last year. I believe we can do the same-they won't be expecting what we're going to bring after our crap record of the last 2 yrs. But we have to get people ready to run block with capable back-ups(maybe TK can dent that B10 beef). I love our D-line starters,back line & of course, our LB's will shock everyone we play. They'll have to play up for their run game & short passes which means man to man at the back. From what I've seen, our D-backs can handle it. If this game is close in the 4th Q, who the hell knows?? TU Football:1st,last,always!
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Imo, it all depends on what your field is, there are a ton of careers out there that don't even require a college degree. You can be successful without a degree , but it sure can open up a lot of doors down the road, and if you and another candidate have the same skills except one of you has a degree, you better believe the one with the degree is going to get chosen... That is unless the company is crap and chooses the cheap route , and if that's the case , you don't want to work for them anyway.
I’m in the pessimist camp, but I’d definitely take that.
Hey guys, Spartan fan here as well. I had been lurking for a bit just wanting to get to know more about your program and what we can expect. Saw the thread and figured it was time to jump in.
I’m going to ignore the comments that are outside of football because that likely won’t get anyone anywhere. I’ll only add that there is a lot for us Spartans to be upset with and ashamed of. However, that doesn’t define us. Coach D is a spiritual and God fearing man with 2 daughters and a great family. Any insinuation that he would “sweep something under the rug” is sensationalism at its best and really ignorant. But I also realize I’m an alum and fan and so people will believe that my viewpoint Is skewed. I know how it works.
Anyways, it sounds like both teams are going through some changes. You guys seem to be really passionate about your team so I love to see that and hope we have a good discussion if you’ll have me!
To add to what the other Spartan posted above:
Someone mentioned our spring game. I probably wouldn’t take much out of that in terms of the offense. There is a new system going in place and they showed 0.00% of any of it. That spring game was very bland on purpose. The most important thing that I took away is simply that Lewerke is healthy and throwing the ball really well. He was hurt last year and tried to play through the pain.
Our coach purposely didn’t send any offensive players to media days to avoid any chance of spilling the beans on what to expect. So, your guess is as good as mine on what we will run. Probably more of a no huddle/spread if we had to guess. Traditionally, we have been a run heavy team with power formations and occasional RPO.
I’m hoping we use Lewerkes legs again. In 2017, that made all the difference as he is pretty athletic and quick.
That doesn’t mean our offense will be good. It was piss poor last year. Embarrassingly bad. Yes, there were a tremendous amount of injuries (hell we even had to use 5 different punters because they kept getting injured) but the scheme wasn’t good in adjusting to the players that had to play. I think we maybe had one person on offense who played a full season and wasn’t injured. It was historically bad on the injury front. Starting QB, 4 WR’s including one who played with a hard cast on his hand for several weeks, most of the OL and our starting RB were all out for significant lengths of time.
The first 4 games of the year we averaged 30ppg which was solid. Once the injuries started to take a toll we finished averaging about 18pts a game. Pretty pathetic.
Defensively we are stout. Should have 6 players go to the nfl after this season. 5 for sure. So, we’re excited about that. Great against the run. We lost two DB’s to the NFL but one of the spots is being taken by a 5th year senior with plenty of experience so there shouldn’t be much of a drop off there we hope.
Historically, we never start out strong. I would agree that taking the points is smart. We aren’t likely to cover. We rarely do. With installing a new offense I’m sure there will be some growing pains there and probably more field goals than anyone would care for.
I’ve been trying to get a sense of your offensive. Sounds like you have two solid RB’s. Possibly starting a new QB so that will be tough for us to scout. Baylor is good at recruiting QB’s so I’m sure that kid can play. Some attrition on the OL but confidence that the next guys up will step up.
Do you guys use any tempo regularly? Spread with RPO? How would you describe the offense?
Who’s a player that by halftime Spartan fans will get to know and be annoyed with? There’s always one haha.
Here’s hoping to a good discussion and fun game.
I’m going to ignore the comments that are outside of football because that likely won’t get anyone anywhere. I’ll only add that there is a lot for us Spartans to be upset with and ashamed of. However, that doesn’t define us. Coach D is a spiritual and God fearing man with 2 daughters and a great family. Any insinuation that he would “sweep something under the rug” is sensationalism at its best and really ignorant. But I also realize I’m an alum and fan and so people will believe that my viewpoint Is skewed. I know how it works.
Anyways, it sounds like both teams are going through some changes. You guys seem to be really passionate about your team so I love to see that and hope we have a good discussion if you’ll have me!
To add to what the other Spartan posted above:
Someone mentioned our spring game. I probably wouldn’t take much out of that in terms of the offense. There is a new system going in place and they showed 0.00% of any of it. That spring game was very bland on purpose. The most important thing that I took away is simply that Lewerke is healthy and throwing the ball really well. He was hurt last year and tried to play through the pain.
Our coach purposely didn’t send any offensive players to media days to avoid any chance of spilling the beans on what to expect. So, your guess is as good as mine on what we will run. Probably more of a no huddle/spread if we had to guess. Traditionally, we have been a run heavy team with power formations and occasional RPO.
I’m hoping we use Lewerkes legs again. In 2017, that made all the difference as he is pretty athletic and quick.
That doesn’t mean our offense will be good. It was piss poor last year. Embarrassingly bad. Yes, there were a tremendous amount of injuries (hell we even had to use 5 different punters because they kept getting injured) but the scheme wasn’t good in adjusting to the players that had to play. I think we maybe had one person on offense who played a full season and wasn’t injured. It was historically bad on the injury front. Starting QB, 4 WR’s including one who played with a hard cast on his hand for several weeks, most of the OL and our starting RB were all out for significant lengths of time.
The first 4 games of the year we averaged 30ppg which was solid. Once the injuries started to take a toll we finished averaging about 18pts a game. Pretty pathetic.
Defensively we are stout. Should have 6 players go to the nfl after this season. 5 for sure. So, we’re excited about that. Great against the run. We lost two DB’s to the NFL but one of the spots is being taken by a 5th year senior with plenty of experience so there shouldn’t be much of a drop off there we hope.
Historically, we never start out strong. I would agree that taking the points is smart. We aren’t likely to cover. We rarely do. With installing a new offense I’m sure there will be some growing pains there and probably more field goals than anyone would care for.
I’ve been trying to get a sense of your offensive. Sounds like you have two solid RB’s. Possibly starting a new QB so that will be tough for us to scout. Baylor is good at recruiting QB’s so I’m sure that kid can play. Some attrition on the OL but confidence that the next guys up will step up.
Do you guys use any tempo regularly? Spread with RPO? How would you describe the offense?
Who’s a player that by halftime Spartan fans will get to know and be annoyed with? There’s always one haha.
Here’s hoping to a good discussion and fun game.
Offense has been bland and risk adverse the last two years. Most plays are read option runs with the QB rarely keep it and lots of screen passes.
We stretched the field with some success late in the year but it was rare sans the SMU game.
Hopefully we have a QB the coach trusts and WR that can get open.
RB’s and OL are solid as is the defense.
We’re hoping for 6 wins and a bowl this year and to get out of this game with no injuries.
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Honestly, I’m not sure how you would describe the offense other than confusing. We had a great group at O-line, but QB play was weak, play calling predictable and often suspect. Tons of read option that leans heavily on the running backs while praying the QB doesn’t make a mistake.
My moneys on Linebacker Zaven Collins, but my hope is that Zach Smith is the guy.
