Watching live, it seemed like Oregon did pretty much did whatever they wanted minus a key couple of stops by NU. Then after the game, digging through the box score and game stats, there were a couple of big numbers that jumped off the page.
Following a more detailed, play-by-play watch through the game, I'm actually really impressed what these guys were able to do with Oregon.
Against the pass, the results were pretty unbelievable. Holding Oregon to 14 of 23 for 146 yds and 0 TD's is more than impressive. The combined effort of the Def and ST in defending all the 2 pt attempts was certainly impressive. And while the numbers are bad (and I have no interest in being the "what if" stats guy), I do think that it's worth acknowledging that had NU not lost contain or missed a tackle on just three occasions then the overall production of Oregon looks significantly different.
Just three rushes accounted for 137 of their rushing yds and 2 of their TD's. The remaining 67 offensive snaps look pretty pedestrian without those three busted plays. Regardless, NU survived them. They happened. You tighten it up and move on to the next game.
It reminds me of the Iowa game last year where if NU doesn't lose contain on the two stretch plays and let Canzeri run free then NU holds Iowa to well under 150 total yds on the day and likely wins the game going away. Against Oregon, it was three plays that completely changed the complexion/perception of what was otherwise a pretty respectable outing by the Blackshirts. They didn't stonewall them, but they certainly kept them subdued for a large part of that game.
Oh well. It's easier to think about and critique things like this after a win then after a loss (like to Iowa last year). Three plays and we likely have a whole different perception of the game/defense. Again, tighten it up and move on to NW.
GBR!
Following a more detailed, play-by-play watch through the game, I'm actually really impressed what these guys were able to do with Oregon.
Against the pass, the results were pretty unbelievable. Holding Oregon to 14 of 23 for 146 yds and 0 TD's is more than impressive. The combined effort of the Def and ST in defending all the 2 pt attempts was certainly impressive. And while the numbers are bad (and I have no interest in being the "what if" stats guy), I do think that it's worth acknowledging that had NU not lost contain or missed a tackle on just three occasions then the overall production of Oregon looks significantly different.
Just three rushes accounted for 137 of their rushing yds and 2 of their TD's. The remaining 67 offensive snaps look pretty pedestrian without those three busted plays. Regardless, NU survived them. They happened. You tighten it up and move on to the next game.
It reminds me of the Iowa game last year where if NU doesn't lose contain on the two stretch plays and let Canzeri run free then NU holds Iowa to well under 150 total yds on the day and likely wins the game going away. Against Oregon, it was three plays that completely changed the complexion/perception of what was otherwise a pretty respectable outing by the Blackshirts. They didn't stonewall them, but they certainly kept them subdued for a large part of that game.
Oh well. It's easier to think about and critique things like this after a win then after a loss (like to Iowa last year). Three plays and we likely have a whole different perception of the game/defense. Again, tighten it up and move on to NW.
GBR!
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