Iowa v UCLA

[Dean Pope]

The game was nowhere near as close as the score. UCLA shut down the Iowa running game and was moving the ball up and down the field. If not for turnovers and penalties this was a blow out. Also the athletic difference in the teams was pretty clear. I saw UCLA running backs outrunning the Iowa defense to the edge and hurdling guys. The last really dangerous running back we've had is the controversial Maurice Washington. The last great one was a decade ago in Ameer Abdullah.

UCLA's run defense is legit. I would love to see them beat USC and make Lincoln "Front Runner" Riley's seat just a little bit hotter. Preferably after NU beats them as well!

 

[dinglefritz]

How bad is Wisconsin then?

It’s impossible to predict future performance from past results from game to game. That seems more true this year across college football than I can ever remember.

 

[V-Doub]

I remember all of the "UCLA sucks" posts on this message board before the last two weeks. And people making fun of their hiring process, who UCLA hired and the guys speech at Big 10 media days. It was all so silly. Now Foster appears to be college football's Mike Tomlin! (I kid) I'm happy for UCLA. Clearly they are well coached and they've figured some things out. I was glad to see them continue that delayed blitz up the middle tactic against Iowa too. It worked.

Deshaun Foster may not have any experience. But he’s smart enough to hire coordinators and assistants that do. He had no problem bringing in EB (huge steal of a hire) who has far more experience experience and success than himself. EB’s resume looks a lot like he should be a HC in the NFL. Foster isn’t trying to develop coaches and rehab career losers. He’s hiring people smarter than himself and letting them do their thing. But hey, I’m sure Skippy McQuire will be a great coach with few years of development… 🙄

 

[SLOHusker]

I remember all of the "UCLA sucks" posts on this message board before the last two weeks. And people making fun of their hiring process, who UCLA hired and the guys speech at Big 10 media days. It was all so silly. Now Foster appears to be college football's Mike Tomlin! (I kid) I'm happy for UCLA. Clearly they are well coached and they've figured some things out. I was glad to see them continue that delayed blitz up the middle tactic against Iowa too. It worked.

Well, Bienemy is a terrific hire and is calling a great game. As for Foster, that team does have a lot of discipline problems and the penalties kept both NU and Iowa in the game (turnovers helped Iowa as well). Their athletes were making plays we never see. Their running backs just accelerate through holes, have vision, and top end speed. Their DL is actually better than ours. I thought ours would be better but Hutmacher seems to have lost something after wrestling. Garbers is a good QB playing his last season. Being able to extend plays and being on the same page with your OC makes a difference. Raiola has been a below average or even bad QB since OT against Illinois. I don't know what the issue is but he's just not accurate, makes bad decisions, and isn't seeing open receivers.
I won't be surprised if Foster follows the same path that countless UCLA coaches have before him and is a consistent 500 coach that is eventually fired. But as of today they are better than half of the Big 10.

 

[Dean Pope]

Deshaun Foster may not have any experience. But he’s smart enough to hire coordinators and assistants that do. He had no problem bringing in EB (huge steal of a hire) who has far more experience experience and success than himself. EB’s resume looks a lot like he should be a HC in the NFL. Foster isn’t trying to develop coaches and rehab career losers. He’s hiring people smarter than himself and letting them do their thing. But hey, I’m sure Skippy McQuire will be a great coach with few years of development… 🙄

No arguments there, but it's all about who you know and who knows you. Not sure why Bieniemy came to UCLA, but I believe he was from SoCal when Colorado recruited him. So that coming home aspect may have been part of it. He also retained some coaches and that appears to have worked out fine too.

 

[Dean Pope]

I won't be surprised if Foster follows the same path that countless UCLA coaches have before him and is a consistent 500 coach that is eventually fired. But as of today they are better than half of the Big 10.

This is a reality of coaching, especially in the mega conferences. You can only go 7-5 or 6-6 for so long before a change is needed in order to bring in the next contestant. Only one team out of 18 can be the winner. In a given year, only two or three fan bases are going to be satisfied with the results.

 

[Dean Pope]

. They have better athletes at a couple of spots but that isn’t the difference IMO. The biggest difference is that they’re getting better QB play largely because they have a better OC.

Teams know Raiola by now. He's very good if given time to throw. Get him to scramble out of the pocket and he's among the worst in the league. There's a huge difference. We've all seen it. At this point, his eyes drop quickly to see where the rush is coming from and if a receiver is open he won't see him.