The Difference in Pro Style Wisconsin and Nebraska Offenses

[davecisar]

Paul Chryst and Wisconsin and Mike Riley at Nebraska were cut from the same coaching tree and supposedly run the same Pro Style offense, Some may even say PC is a branch from the Riley coaching tree. So why did Wisconsins offense do so well this year- while NUs was awful?

They do in theory run the same offense- Pro Style WCO but with HUGE differences Schematically- a lot of the formations, blocking schemes, run and pass plays are exactly the same

Play action passing game
Lots of 1 back sets- Wisconsin uses the FB more than NU- but likes 11 personnel
Straight drop back QB with no QB run game
Lots of Inside and outside zone with some jet sweeps and jet window dressing
Same as NU- but thats where the similarity ends:

WISCONSIN COMMITS TO RUNNING THE BALL
Even when the run game isnt doing a lot- Wisconsin runs the ball
Riley at OSU JUST LIKE AT NU NEVER COMMITTED TO RUNNING THE BALL, saying he would change and run the ball- was a bald faced lie
Rileys pass to run yards were always 1.5 to 3.8 to ONE- NO MATTER WHAT HE AND DL SAID- YES he has always been and will always be someone that wants to throw first
That is who he is, that approach will NEVER allow anyone to compete in- yet alone win BIG
NU this season- 1290 rushing yards- 3300 passing yards- about par for the course in Rileys lifetime coaching stats- he was who he was (shame on those who hired him)
I said this when he was hired ( and was chastised for it) Supported him- went to all the games- ALWAYS knew he would fail.

Wisconsin this year- they were well- Wisconsin
2900 yards rushing- 2400 passing
So instead of being 1.5 to 3.8 to 1 on pass to run like Mike Riley was through his entire career- they are what POINT .8 to 1 pass to run
Good for 31st in the nation in offense and more importantly finishing THIRD in the country in the final Polls with recruiting classes ranked in the 30s- 40s AND doing it clean. Amazing
GREAT JOB BARRY ALVAREZ

 

[davecisar]

Also other differences
GREAT OLINE play- fantastic fundamentals
BIG physical- well conditioned offensive linemen- Miami was worn out in 4th quarter
Play calling- every first down WAS NOT AN INSIDE ZONE running play- every third down was not a pass short of the sticks
They threw on first down
Offensive line schemes- also ran power O, Counter and Wham schemes- not just IZ/OZ
Wisconsin will also formation to run- with unbalanced lines and 3 Tight Ends
Of course cant leave out- great defense, excellent special teams- awesome culture

I like Mike Riley as a person and was glad Bo was fired. However there was NO WAY his approach was ever going to work here. We were sold a bill of goods. Hopefully- all coaches who follow will learn from MRs mistakes.

 

[scarletred]

Still say there was a conspiracy on Barry's part to screw over the program he is so proud of who he played for...

Still scratch my head why he convinced Eichorst to hire Riley for the next Head Coaching job at Nebraska.

Good post by the way.

 

[cubsker]

get ready to be disappointed. frost is going to throw the ball. we're going to be in shotgun on 3rd and 1.

 

[scarletred]

get ready to be disappointed. frost is going to throw the ball. we're going to be in shotgun on 3rd and 1.

He is not comparing Frost offence to Chryst or Riley.

Just saying.

 

[cubsker]

He is not comparing Frost offence to Chryst or Riley.

Just saying.

His quote:


YES he has always been and will always be someone that wants to throw first
That is who he is, that approach will NEVER allow anyone to compete in- yet alone win BIG

 

[huskerfan66]

get ready to be disappointed. frost is going to throw the ball. we're going to be in shotgun on 3rd and 1.

I am good as long as we convert

 

[scarletred]

His quote:


YES he has always been and will always be someone that wants to throw first
That is who he is, that approach will NEVER allow anyone to compete in- yet alone win BIG

Sorry, I miss interpreted. I know what you mean now.

 

[Husker1078]

get ready to be disappointed. frost is going to throw the ball. we're going to be in shotgun on 3rd and 1.

Wisky ran the ball 65% of the time.... 629 attempts
Riley ran the ball 44% of the time..... 368 attempts
Scott 54% of the time.... 464 attempts

There were a handful of games were UCF had more passing attempts then rushing....
vs SMU 40 pass 36 rush tight game 31-24
vs USF 44 pass 40 rush tight game 49-42

Frost is very balanced while running the ball nearly 40 times a game.......

Im super optimistic......

 

[davecisar]

I could care less if we run under center or not
You can have a run first physical run offense and game out of the gun

The net is you can never never never be consistently competitive in the big with a pass first mentality that our previous coach had a track record of for thirty plus years
No matter how many times he and his staff lied about how they were going to run the ball a bunch and be physical - yeah right- lie

Long term statistics simply don't lie
Coaches however do

I feel very confident Scott frost gets it
His track record says he does

 

[CatColumbia]

Still say there was a conspiracy on Barry's part to screw over the program he is so proud of who he played for...

Still scratch my head why he convinced Eichorst to hire Riley for the next Head Coaching job at Nebraska.

Good post by the way.

I tend to agree to the conspiracy that Alvarez screwed over our program by recommending Riley. At the end of the day we had an incompetent idiot in Eichorst who listened to him and made the piss poor decision to hire Riley, which set our program back 5 years.

As for Wisconsin, what impresses me most about them is their strength, not only physically but mentally. Their D does not allow teams to score touchdowns in the red zone and their offense always seems to have answers and deliver when the going gets tough. If things go how I believe they will with Frost, we are 2 years away from making this into a competitive perennial rivalry.

 

[davecisar]

I tend to agree to the conspiracy that Alvarez screwed over our program by recommending Riley. At the end of the day we had an incompetent idiot in Eichorst who listened to him and made the piss poor decision to hire Riley, which set our program back 5 years.

As for Wisconsin, what impresses me most about them is their strength, not only physically but mentally. Their D does not allow teams to score touchdowns in the red zone and their offense always seems to have answers and deliver when the going gets tough. If things go how I believe they will with Frost, we are 2 years away from making this into a competitive perennial rivalry.

Alvarez never recommended Riley
He recommended Eichorst
The only candidate pearlman "interviewed"
It was a non search easy hire
Eichorst had Riley In his back pocket
Again no search because 61 year old Riley was an easy hire
Rescuing Riley from a program he had one winning season in his last 5
Then offering him double his salary and $7,000,000 parachute
How could anyone turn that one down???
Of course what do you expect from someone who had no track record of hiring major college coaches??
He learned and failed on our dime

 

[hddude55]

For most of the past 15 years our online has been the hittees. Scheme is important but means nothing if the line is getting trampled consistently.

 

[bloodredd]

If Riley can do what he does with the talent level at Oregon State, just wait till he gets to NU.....

 

[CatColumbia]

Alvarez never recommended Riley
He recommended Eichorst
The only candidate pearlman "interviewed"
It was a non search easy hire
Eichorst had Riley In his back pocket
Again no search because 61 year old Riley was an easy hire
Rescuing Riley from a program he had one winning season in his last 5
Then offering him double his salary and $7,000,000 parachute
How could anyone turn that one down???
Of course what do you expect from someone who had no track record of hiring major college coaches??
He learned and failed on our dime

My understanding is that Alvarez recommended Eichorst and then also recommended Riley, hence really screwing our program twice. I'm sure that Alvarez is grinning from ear to ear today.

As for Riley, can't blame him for taking the Nebraska job.. He and Eichorst thought that having the resources alone was going to be enough to take this program to another level.

 

[davecisar]

My understanding is that Alvarez recommended Eichorst and then also recommended Riley, hence really screwing our program twice. I'm sure that Alvarez is grinning from ear to ear today.

As for Riley, can't blame him for taking the Nebraska job.. He and Eichorst thought that having the resources alone was going to be enough to take this program to another level.

That isn't true at all
Alvarez recommended eichorst to pearlman
Eichorst had Riley in his top drawer file

Had Eichorst done his homework he would have seen that Riley was pass first pass often guy
Throughout his long coaching career and that in the big that approach simply has never never never lead to consistently competitive or championship teams in real life

Both pearlman and Eichorst went for the easy hire
Someone that would take the job with little to no effort on hirers part
Extremely lazy proccess

 

[scarletred]

My understanding is that Alvarez recommended Eichorst and then also recommended Riley, hence really screwing our program twice. I'm sure that Alvarez is grinning from ear to ear today.

As for Riley, can't blame him for taking the Nebraska job.. He and Eichorst thought that having the resources alone was going to be enough to take this program to another level.

This what I heard as well. Heard Eichorst asked Alvarez for some recommendations on Head Coach's and Alvarez mentioned Riley, because he thought about hiring him after Bielma left for Arkansas, that is why I brought it up...

 

[davecisar]

This what I heard as well. Heard Eichorst asked Alvarez for some recommendations on Head Coach's and Alvarez mentioned Riley, because he thought about hiring him after Bielma left for Arkansas, that is why I brought it up...

Not true at all
Barry didn't choose our ad and head coach
He chose our ad who always had smilin Mike in his top drawer

Of course all the guys in the conference coaching fraternity love a guy they can consistently beat
Smilin Mike is deeply entrenched into the frat
Leadership position in the coaches association
Buddy buddy with everyone
Inept coach
A perfect plant
But it didn't happen that way

 

[scarletred]

That isn't true at all
Alvarez recommended eichorst to pearlman
Eichorst had Riley in his top drawer file

Had Eichorst done his homework he would have seen that Riley was pass first pass often guy
Throughout his long coaching career and that in the big that approach simply has never never never lead to consistently competitive or championship teams in real life

Both pearlman and Eichorst went for the easy hire
Someone that would take the job with little to no effort on hirers part
Extremely lazy proccess

Not doing his home work is spot on, but then again he was a lawyer dressed as a AD.


Not calling you a liar you may know more on the subject, may have heard this from some radio honks I believe.

 

[bigscarlet]

I tend to agree to the conspiracy that Alvarez screwed over our program by recommending Riley. At the end of the day we had an incompetent idiot in Eichorst who listened to him and made the piss poor decision to hire Riley, which set our program back 5 years.

As for Wisconsin, what impresses me most about them is their strength, not only physically but mentally. Their D does not allow teams to score touchdowns in the red zone and their offense always seems to have answers and deliver when the going gets tough. If things go how I believe they will with Frost, we are 2 years away from making this into a competitive perennial rivalry.

Yes, I think alvarez is an ahole. If he would lead people to believe riley was such a good coach, why didn't HE hire riley at wisconsin as he had more than one chance to do.

I will continually despise barry alvardick, even though he is a fellow alumnus.

 

[anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi]

get ready to be disappointed. frost is going to throw the ball. we're going to be in shotgun on 3rd and 1.

I have a feeling he will not ever raise this topic again as soon as Frost coaches his first game. Actually, I would pretty much guarantee it.

 

[anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi]

That isn't true at all
Alvarez recommended eichorst to pearlman
Eichorst had Riley in his top drawer file

Had Eichorst done his homework he would have seen that Riley was pass first pass often guy
Throughout his long coaching career and that in the big that approach simply has never never never lead to consistently competitive or championship teams in real life

Both pearlman and Eichorst went for the easy hire
Someone that would take the job with little to no effort on hirers part
Extremely lazy proccess

This is accurate. The previous 2 coaching hires were lazy. This one was also very easy. Let's all hope it works.

 

[bigscarlet]

Not true at all
Barry didn't choose our ad and head coach
He chose our ad who always had smilin Mike in his top drawer

Of course all the guys in the conference coaching fraternity love a guy they can consistently beat
Smilin Mike is deeply entrenched into the frat
Leadership position in the coaches association
Buddy buddy with everyone
Inept coach
A perfect plant
But it didn't happen that way

Do you honestly think se didn't ask his mentor and friend alvarez (the guy who recommended se to perlman for the ad job) about his opinion on his decision to hire riley?

I would venture to say se didn't make that big of a decision (and ultimately betting his career on it) in an immense vacuum.

 

[Baxter48]

This what I heard as well. Heard Eichorst asked Alvarez for some recommendations on Head Coach's and Alvarez mentioned Riley, because he thought about hiring him after Bielma left for Arkansas, that is why I brought it up...

It was also away for Barry to push out Gary Anderson since Anderson was chaining the offense and Barry didn't like it

 

[ninit1953]

I could care less if we run under center or not
You can have a run first physical run offense and game out of the gun

The net is you can never never never be consistently competitive in the big with a pass first mentality that our previous coach had a track record of for thirty plus years
No matter how many times he and his staff lied about how they were going to run the ball a bunch and be physical - yeah right- lie

Long term statistics simply don't lie
Coaches however do

I feel very confident Scott frost gets it
His track record says he does

Not trying to defend Riley here, but often time NU fell behind really early like the Oregon game . They would have to pass a lot to be able to play catch. I think the fact of the matter is NU running backs were ineffective whereas NU has a very good group of receivers.

 

[B1G RED RULES]

If Riley can do what he does with the talent level at Oregon State, just wait till he gets to NU.....

I love this line! We were so hopeful that we overlooked Riley’s record. Dennis Erickson was the only coach to achieve something out of his players after he left, then Riley went back to OSU and didn’t achieve anything.

 

[davecisar]

It was also away for Barry to push out Gary Anderson since Anderson was chaining the offense and Barry didn't like it

Not sure how anything at Nebraska had anything to do with Anderson moving from Wisconsin

Unusual guy
Walks away from winning program for loser program
Then quits instead of getting fired and taking his multimillion $$ buyout like riley

Chryst won 34 games in 3 years
Anderson flamed out at Oregon state
Barry wins this one

 

[Jacor123]

Don't forget he sent us Cosgrove with all his blessings ......and hired a great DC

 

[davecisar]

Do you honestly think se didn't ask his mentor and friend alvarez (the guy who recommended se to perlman for the ad job) about his opinion on his decision to hire riley?

I would venture to say se didn't make that big of a decision (and ultimately betting his career on it) in an immense vacuum.

Asking for an opinion on someone you already considering is much different than all the people saying Alvarez named the coach

Alvarez named Riley to pearlman on open ended question
Much different than if and that is an unconfirmed if that Eichorst asked Alvarez about someone Eichorst was already vetting

 

[davecisar]

Don't forget he sent us Cosgrove with all his blessings ......and hired a great DC

Really?

He sent us cg?
Callahan knew cosgrove forever and hired him away from Wisconsin
Even though just like Riley, the inept cosgrove was on his way out of Wisconsin at the time due to lack of productivity
It was a very easy hire
Just like Riley was an easy hire

Frost on the other hand was handled perfectly and professionally. It was not a slam dunk by any means. Scott had many very attractive options
Riley and cosgrove didnt
See where both of them ended up after nebraska
This is getting ludicrous

 

[CatColumbia]

“Mike’s a good football guy and he’s a great person,” Alvarez said Wednesday at the Big Ten administrative meetings. “People in Nebraska will love him.”

Alvarez, who played at Nebraska for Bob Devaney, relayed a conversation he had with a “Nebraska administrator who had been around for a while.” That person said Riley has drawn comparisons in the athletic department to former NU coach Tom Osborne.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/wiscon...cle_bc352a4b-7981-5159-8aec-75c378a5fbb5.html

 

[davecisar]

I love this line! We were so hopeful that we overlooked Riley’s record. Dennis Erickson was the only coach to achieve something out of his players after he left, then Riley went back to OSU and didn’t achieve anything.

This was the false narrative hope pedaled by the sunshine pumped and hate bo crowd

Erickson was one play away from playing for a national title at Oregon state
Erickson did much better at Oregon state than Riley did

Btw I was happy bo was fired
I just dislike watching poorly coached football from Riley

 

[davecisar]

“Mike’s a good football guy and he’s a great person,” Alvarez said Wednesday at the Big Ten administrative meetings. “People in Nebraska will love him.”

Alvarez, who played at Nebraska for Bob Devaney, relayed a conversation he had with a “Nebraska administrator who had been around for a while.” That person said Riley has drawn comparisons in the athletic department to former NU coach Tom Osborne.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/wiscon...cle_bc352a4b-7981-5159-8aec-75c378a5fbb5.html

Again
Commenting on someone that an ad is already vetting is much different than naming the coach- as some here are saying
Smilin Mike is a member of the coaching fraternity
They all support each other no matter how mediocre they may be as long as they play the buddy buddy game like smilin Mike does

 

[cidsports]

Mike Riley never had Barry Alvarez on his coaching tree. Paul Chryst is a B1G guy, with experience in and out of the Big Ten.

Mike Riley, Gary Anderson ... Both clearly were not fits in the Big Ten.

Scott Frost played at Nebraska. But, like Paul Chryst he headed to get some Northwest experience.

 

[Baxter48]

Not sure how anything at Nebraska had anything to do with Anderson moving from Wisconsin

Unusual guy
Walks away from winning program for loser program
Then quits instead of getting fired and taking his multimillion $$ buyout like riley

Chryst won 34 games in 3 years
Anderson flamed out at Oregon state
Barry wins this one

Barry nudged se into hiring Riley so he could coax Gary out without having to fire him all benefiting Wisconsin, Nebraska hires a loser Barry gets his guy. people that have way more insight have stated this

 

[davecisar]

Barry nudged se into hiring Riley so he could coax Gary out without having to fire him all benefiting Wisconsin, Nebraska hires a loser Barry gets his guy. people that have way more insight have stated this

I dont count tin foil hat guy who is looking out his windows for black helicopters and Elvis as having a lot of "insight"

 

[barney44]

One is your basic bread and butter run the ball and set up play action, the other is throw to set up the run crap. One has worked at the college ranks many, many times over while the other requires NFL talent all over the place to be highly successful.

 

[StrongArm517]

Don't forget he sent us Cosgrove with all his blessings ......and hired a great DC

**** me