So here are the benchmark reports for the BG-OU game. A few notes...
BG was incredibly efficient. They had only 11 yards per point, which is very good. They were also very good in the redzone and on third down.
Meanwhile, BG ran only 53 plays.
BG's passing yards were soft but there were no sacks and no INTs.
BG had 52 yards NET punting...just sick.
When sack adjusted, OU's rushing is still well below average and their net passing numbers are outright terrible. They did run a bunch of plays.
OU only ran the ball 51% of the time, and that cannot have been what they planned for.
There were no turnovers...unless you count the four punts from OU.
a couple of observations:
ReplyDelete1. BG looks like an old school football team right now. Stout and resilient defense and an offense that relies on the running game (when the Falcons line up in the "I" formation, MAC defenses who have played against spread, speed offenses for so long, don't seem to be able to cope).
I like this look. It isn't a gimmic or trendy offense - it just says, we are better than you. Mix in a few trick plays to keep the defenses on their toes and BG could build a program in the MAC on this model. It also seems to me to be a solid foundation to build confidence and the swagger that all strong defensive teams seem to have.
2. Pair the old school model with stout and aggressive special teams play that relies heavily on a strong punter (the punting game was nothing short of heroic against OU) and you have a hard nosed football team. I loved that we kept coming after the kicker even following the roughing call.