So I watched the replay of GOPHERS-AF last night, and I came away with a very different opinion of what our offense has done this year than I had on Saturday night. We ran the ball well vs. AF, we just didn't run enough. Bennett and Eskridge were going for 4-6 yards nearly every carry, but we failed to convert a couple of short ones that killed us. Weber looked much sharper than he did against SYR, and used more weapons earlier in the game (which we forget when Decker catches the last 6passes from AWEB in the 4th qtr).
Why then have we scored 23 and 20 points in our 2 games against medicore defenses? Penalties!! Honestly, this is the issue right now on offense. We had 8 for 69 yards against AF...7 of those were on offense, 3 on Decker! Everytime we'd start rolling and moving the ball we would have a penalty or two or even three on one occasion.
AF also controlled the ball nearly the entire game, so we didn't get a chance to put up a ton of yards with minimal possessions. We had the one Gray fumble, which gave them 3 points. We ran for 4.5 ypc, but like I said - we didn't continue to run the ball in the 2nd half...which was probably the right call considering how well we threw in the 2nd half. 4-11 on 3rd down...obviously this needs to improve. 2 bad Weber throws, 2 poorly executed short yardage runs, and 3 dropped passes are why we didn't convert every single 3rd down. The drops were ridiculous against AF - I didn't realize it while watching it live, but there were at least 4-5 balls that should have been caught and would have put Weber up over 300 yards for the game.
So what does this all mean - I am not nearly as down on our offense as I thought I was. I think there are a lot of little wrinkles that Fisch is saving for when we really need them (i.e. CAL this week!) 1. Catch the ball, 2. Stop making penalties on offense...if these things can happen I think our offense can be solid.
One other reason we have not scored as well is the major lack of big plays, or as Chilly would say "explosive plays". We have the speedy gamebreakers that can make this happen, I think it's just a matter of taking a chance and getting a break here or there to get us a couple of long TD's and quick scoring drives. We can't expect to go 80 yards and 15 plays every drive - the best of the best cannot do that. You have to have the big plays, but you have to take a chance at getting them as well.
This is just a little prelude to the GOPHERS-CAL prediction coming later today...I just didn't want you to think I'm out of my mind when I tell you our offense isn't terrible and we can score some points this week...and go 9-3...and win the B10...
All picks are in - I'll send out the weekly list later today. Thanks!
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