Long-time football fan, no X's and O's knowledge. Here's why we're good from my perspective.
Offense:
Offense:
- Chase Brown is just ridiculously good at RB. I've seen bigger, faster, and/or more explosive RBs but he makes the most out of every inch of space he's given. He reads his blocks, slips through the hole, and explodes in open space. He basically gets about 2 yards/carry more than he should on all kinds of runs. So that makes the running game very hard to stop.
- DeVito makes good decisions and has mid-range accuracy. We don't have the game-breaking talent at WR but there's enough there that IW can be a go-to guy and the other WRs can get open enough. TDV can get you 7 yards in the air when you have to get it. He will steal a few 1st downs with his legs. He avoids INTs and sacks by being decisive and making good reads. The scheme and play-calling help him because he usually doesn't have to work too hard to get to the right decision.
- BB knows how to develop offensive linemen. If it's his coaching superpower then it's a good one to have. He knows how 300+ lb men move, I suppose.
- Lunney is a mastermind. Guys get open because multiple plays run out of the same looks, there is motion and misdirection, and he generally calls plays that are appropriate for the situation. Goal-to-go plays could use a little work but generally the play-calling is all about keeping the chains moving. The tempo of the offense is such that he forces the defense into a call and can then read and adjust the play as needed. So you are very rarely trapped in a play with no chance of success. You can still hold the ball a long time but every so often you go fast and steal a play while the defense isn't ready. It's a schematic advantage and our offensive players seem very comfortable with it.
- Dominating talent at key positions. Elite CB and DL play. Witherspoon is a shut down corner and the Newton/Randolph tandem create a lot of havoc. The LB corps isn't amazing so we will give up some big runs here and there but the DL helps them a ton. We can get away with more guys in the box because the back end can survive 1-on-1 matchups.
- Ryan Walters is just a savant at defensive play calling. The stuff he dials up is very often disruptive. Steal a play or two every drive and get a TFL and that makes it very hard for the opponent to sustain long drives.
- Very few guys just standing around covering air. The scheme is effective and guys do their jobs. College football is very big on misdirection but we hardly ever get fooled because nobody is freelancing. Guys trust the system and don't just chase the action of the play. That discipline means that a lot of the cute misdirection plays end up in TFLs.
- I actually think our lack of a long-range FG kicker helps our game management. We go for it more on 4th down which is the right thing to do anyway. The key is that we know we're doing it in advance and use 3rd down to set up 4th down sometimes.
- We aren't desperate so we don't gamble on special teams. Just do the basics and let the offense and defense win the games.
- The team is confident enough to perform in clutch situations. I can't think of a single back-breaking FG miss. The Indiana game was lost on special teams but the punting issues have been fixed.
