The offensive line play continues to be the one position group holding us back from being a playoff threat.
I think this team would have a higher ceiling if we played Mayfield and Hudson now. It doesn't make sense to me that neither played against SMU (or maybe they got in there during garbage time and I didn't notice - but certainly not during the first three quarters).
Against the better defenses on our schedule (MSU, Wisconsin, OSU), we'll need to use the pass to set up the run.
Jim's natural approach to offense - like Lloyd - is to use the power run to set up the pass. Teams know that, and they continue to stack the line against us. Even if they didn't, I'm fairly confident this offensive line is not good enough to open up consistent running lanes against the better defenses we'll face. I'm hoping in the back of his mind, Jim realizes this.
Defensively, it's hard to get motivated to play against a team like SMU. They had some good players, but the game was never legitimately in doubt. As the competition improves, focus will need to sharpen.
From what I've seen so far, Winovich and Bush are the guys giving the best effort, Hill hasn't been great, Gary is up and down, and Hudson has been pretty quiet.
A few things continue to bother me about the defense. I really never want to see Kinnel or Metellus covering wide receivers one-on-one, either deep or on slants over the middle. It just doesn't work. I would much rather use Ambry Thomas in that role, and take my chances that his tackling ability isn't as good.
It's still way too easy to get the edge on running plays against us - other teams are great at getting a numbers advantage and exploiting it.
Our DEs are losing containment way too much on pass rushes, and there never seems to be anyone waiting to make a play once the opposing quarterback sidesteps the rush and begins to take off.
We still have a very good defense - many of these guys will be playing on Sundays, and some of them are going to be high NFL draft picks.
But if I were a guessing man, I'd say we're going to need 24+ points to beat MSU and PSU, and 30+ to beat OSU. (I think we can grind out a 17-14 or 21-17 type win over Wisconsin). And even Nebraska and Northwestern could conceivably move the ball some and score on us. PSU is an interesting test, in the sense that they lost a ton of great skill players, and we hammered them at home two years ago.
In short, this defense is very good, but I don't think we're going to be able to lean on it to deliver dominating performances against the better teams on the schedule.
I think this team would have a higher ceiling if we played Mayfield and Hudson now. It doesn't make sense to me that neither played against SMU (or maybe they got in there during garbage time and I didn't notice - but certainly not during the first three quarters).
Against the better defenses on our schedule (MSU, Wisconsin, OSU), we'll need to use the pass to set up the run.
Jim's natural approach to offense - like Lloyd - is to use the power run to set up the pass. Teams know that, and they continue to stack the line against us. Even if they didn't, I'm fairly confident this offensive line is not good enough to open up consistent running lanes against the better defenses we'll face. I'm hoping in the back of his mind, Jim realizes this.
Defensively, it's hard to get motivated to play against a team like SMU. They had some good players, but the game was never legitimately in doubt. As the competition improves, focus will need to sharpen.
From what I've seen so far, Winovich and Bush are the guys giving the best effort, Hill hasn't been great, Gary is up and down, and Hudson has been pretty quiet.
A few things continue to bother me about the defense. I really never want to see Kinnel or Metellus covering wide receivers one-on-one, either deep or on slants over the middle. It just doesn't work. I would much rather use Ambry Thomas in that role, and take my chances that his tackling ability isn't as good.
It's still way too easy to get the edge on running plays against us - other teams are great at getting a numbers advantage and exploiting it.
Our DEs are losing containment way too much on pass rushes, and there never seems to be anyone waiting to make a play once the opposing quarterback sidesteps the rush and begins to take off.
We still have a very good defense - many of these guys will be playing on Sundays, and some of them are going to be high NFL draft picks.
But if I were a guessing man, I'd say we're going to need 24+ points to beat MSU and PSU, and 30+ to beat OSU. (I think we can grind out a 17-14 or 21-17 type win over Wisconsin). And even Nebraska and Northwestern could conceivably move the ball some and score on us. PSU is an interesting test, in the sense that they lost a ton of great skill players, and we hammered them at home two years ago.
In short, this defense is very good, but I don't think we're going to be able to lean on it to deliver dominating performances against the better teams on the schedule.
