obviously, they thought they could do more downfield in the early going. Ether the WR were not getting open, or Shea wasn’t seeing them... hard to tell on TV.
When that didn’t work and we found ourselves down early, we scrapped that gameplan and went back to what had been working in previous games, which was run up the middle and PA pass. It worked to a degree, but we weren’t as sharp as we had been previously. If Shea is hitting like he usually does, we score 28 in the second half and nobody bats an eye.
But, sometimes you need to win ugly. Good teams win and overcome “off” nights, so hats off for that.
I could be wrong on this, but it seemed like we had a lot more success running the ball when Mason was in the game. Also, I am fine if I never see another tailback run on 3rd or 4th and 1. Give the ball to Mason. Hell, 1st and goal from the 5... give it to mason 4 times if you have to.
All in All, NW game to play, we came out flat, and still clawed back and won. It happens. It doesn’t mean we can win the Big Ten, we just can’t win playing flat.
In the end my only real problem with the playcalling was not having Mason more involved, especially in short yardage. Higdon has great burst, but he’s not a great short yardage back.
When that didn’t work and we found ourselves down early, we scrapped that gameplan and went back to what had been working in previous games, which was run up the middle and PA pass. It worked to a degree, but we weren’t as sharp as we had been previously. If Shea is hitting like he usually does, we score 28 in the second half and nobody bats an eye.
But, sometimes you need to win ugly. Good teams win and overcome “off” nights, so hats off for that.
I could be wrong on this, but it seemed like we had a lot more success running the ball when Mason was in the game. Also, I am fine if I never see another tailback run on 3rd or 4th and 1. Give the ball to Mason. Hell, 1st and goal from the 5... give it to mason 4 times if you have to.
All in All, NW game to play, we came out flat, and still clawed back and won. It happens. It doesn’t mean we can win the Big Ten, we just can’t win playing flat.
In the end my only real problem with the playcalling was not having Mason more involved, especially in short yardage. Higdon has great burst, but he’s not a great short yardage back.
