The Bobcat Nation

That was how long the LONGEST of our 22 RB rushes went for yesterday and in total, we averaged 2.9 yards per carry

On our 38 other plays (all QB Runs and Passes) we averaged 8.7 yards per play.

Against South Dakota we rushed 29 times for 101 yards (3.5 yards per carry) our LONGEST rush of the day from an RB was 13 yards and our 2nd longest, I believe was 8 yards from Humphrey.

On our other 34 plays (Mellott Runs and Passes) we gained 259 yards (7.6 Yards per play)

So in our two games vs. MVC teams essentially our BEST RB running play (Save one 13 yard rush) was less than our AVERAGE play doing anything else (QB runs and passes)

Let me start out by staying that I love Vigen and our coaching staff. I hope Vigen stays here a long time. He seems to have high character and is obviously a great coach. But we had a lot of coaching mistakes yesterday. Several folks have enumerated some of them-- and it's notable that NDSU still had to play an almost perfect game to beat us-- converting third down after third down, making accurate strikes down the field playing stout defense. That is because we were the better team, even though, despite showing great heart, we didn't make quite enough plays when we counted.

And yes, the draw TD was a really bad error that changed the game- my high schooler was yelling "It's a draw, it's a draw" as soon as everyone lined up and even if it was a missed assignment, that's on the coaches to call a timeout when they are seeing what my High Schooler is seeing.

But to my mind the real key time we lost the game was when we got the ball back midway through the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead for the first time.

And we did RB runs-- twice-- the same strategy that had failed 20 previous times before throwing an incomplete pass and punting it away to NDSU. They immediately drove down the field-- not showing any of our conservatism despite being ahead-- their first play was an 18 yard completion downfield-- and scored the winning touchdown.

Ultimately we failed against NDSU (and partially against SD-- but we were able to pull things out because we were a significantly better squad overall) because the staff got (pardon my French) got in a D*ck measuring contest with the MVC teams. Dominating on the OL was our "identity" and even when it became clear we were not dominating on the OL, we never fully committed to changing our strategy, acknowledging we were not winning at the LOS and handing the ball to the Walter Payton Award winner, and having him try to win the game for us. We stubbornly refused to acknowledge that what worked for us against the vast majority of other teams will not work for us against top MVC teams. We weren't horrible on the OL (I don't think Tommy took a sack in either game, though he was pressured) and we were better against NDSUs defensive front than we were against South Dakota-- but they were better than us up front and we stubbornly played into their strength.

Only twice against NDSU did Tommy rush for less than 3 yards on his Fourteen carries-- but very few of these were designed runs-- including the TD> His passing was less consistent but still generally effective. We did not put the game in the hands of our best player and let him try to win it for us. Instead we went back to our old formula, even when it was (dramatically) not working. This was the game we saved Tommy 's health all year for-- and then we underutilized him.

Overall, this actually makes me OPTIMISTIC-- yes this was a legendary team that should have won the crown-- but with a bit better coaching adjustments in game and a bit better in-game adjustments we still would have beaten them--even as they played their best game of the year.

I'm confident that we can have a future title contender and ultimately win a title in the near future. We didn't lose do to some NDSU magic. These guys aren't way better than us and we're struggling to catch up. The key to victory was staring us in the face the whole time.

We just refused to notice it.

Thanks Travelingcat. That is a great post.

I thought the two running plays you mentioned were odd calls, given the circumstances. Our pass game was working very well second half, and we weren't getting much from handoffs. They weren't able to stop Tommy on a RPO. It was do or die time.

mchammer wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 7:23 pm

I thought the two running plays you mentioned were odd calls, given the circumstances. Our pass game was working very well second half, and we weren't getting much from handoffs. They weren't able to stop Tommy on a RPO. It was do or die time.

I agree. We had the momentum, had North Dakota State reeling. Then we went to two consecutive dives into the line for 2 yards each or so. So frustrating. I felt we got conservative there, just like we did in the third quarter vs South Dakota and just like we did vs Davis. This time we couldn't recover.

The drive in that 4th quarter that you’re referring to is the moment I knew we’d lost. There was clearly some times during the game that I had doubts, but that drive made it clear to me.
We had them by the nuts and let go. Went back to playing Rob Ash football. Conservative! We’d just ripped off 15 points and got the defensive stop we desperately needed. That one series is the one series that I’m going to remember for an awful long time.

89Cat wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 7:39 pm

mchammer wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 7:23 pm

I thought the two running plays you mentioned were odd calls, given the circumstances. Our pass game was working very well second half, and we weren't getting much from handoffs. They weren't able to stop Tommy on a RPO. It was do or die time.

I agree. We had the momentum, had North Dakota State reeling. Then we went to two consecutive dives into the line for 2 yards each or so. So frustrating. I felt we got conservative there, just like we did in the third quarter vs South Dakota and just like we did vs Davis. This time we couldn't recover.

I agree, we’d had so much success putting Tommy on the move to the flat in the RPO and leaking either a TE or RB out as a blocker/receiver that I KNEW we’d call that play again and nope, up the gut where our linemen were not getting the push they promised. It was a crushing missed opportunity that sealed our fate.

A serious question for the strategists on this board. As the team got to the end of the season and into the playoffs, the number of sweeps and screens they had been using to stretch defenses seemed to be diminishing to near zero. Instead of a few dives, would not a few “stretch” plays have yielded benefits (beyond the quick passes to the outside)? They have some speed in Adam and Ty, and possibly the best receiver blocking crew in the country. I noticed the Bison line was compressed into a very small lateral space (no big draws against them) but wouldn’t they have been vulnerable to some wide stuff, maybe even on the field side?

Thank you.

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2025 5:02 am

A serious question for the strategists on this board. As the team got to the end of the season and into the playoffs, the number of sweeps and screens they had been using to stretch defenses seemed to be diminishing to near zero. Instead of a few dives, would not a few “stretch” plays have yielded benefits (beyond the quick passes to the outside)? They have some speed in Adam and Ty, and possibly the best receiver blocking crew in the country. I noticed the Bison line was compressed into a very small lateral space (no big draws against them) but wouldn’t they have been vulnerable to some wide stuff, maybe even on the field side?

Thank you.

Well, there were a couple times earlier in the game we tried to go wide and they read it and strung it out. Can't really overemphasize how good a game the NDSU safeties played. We had so many runs up the middle that could have gone yard if the safety didn't correctly fill the hole or slash in and make a shoestring tackle.

I do agree though that we should have put the ball in Tommy's hands to at least get the drive going. At least until we had a first down or two under our belt to get them on their heels.

We had multiple run plays where we were one broken tackle away from huge gains. I’m not going to sit here and beat up on the coaches for sticking to our identity.

utucats wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2025 9:09 am

We had multiple run plays where we were one broken tackle away from huge gains. I’m not going to sit here and beat up on the coaches for sticking to our identity.

We had 51 runs across two games where we never had that one broken tackle. Meanwhile we ran wild every time we put the ball in Tommy's hands to run or throw it.

To me that suggests a failure in strategy.

Travelingcat wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2025 9:15 am

utucats wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2025 9:09 am

We had multiple run plays where we were one broken tackle away from huge gains. I’m not going to sit here and beat up on the coaches for sticking to our identity.

We had 51 runs across two games where we never had that one broken tackle. Meanwhile we ran wild every time we put the ball in Tommy's hands to run or throw it.

To me that suggests a failure in strategy.

You are sad and need someone to blame. Our team has dominated in the run game for years but you are taking the position that we shouldn’t have leaned into what has been our strength for a decade.

I remember when everyone on BN beat up on Vigen for expecting to much of Tommy. Now it’s the opposite. We lost 1 game this year and a site full of casual observers wants to criticize a man who led us to 15 wins and a 2nd natty game appearance in 4 years.

Tommy had his chances and was electric as always but he wasn’t perfect. Neither was Vigen. We could all blame Rohan for dropping a couple catchable balls. They are human and worked their asses off trying to accomplish this goal. We are lucky to have all of them.