Offense, Passing & Great Catches

[freescooter]

The fact is you can win running the football and you can win passing. having a good passing game can sometimes be an equalizer. But Florida demonstrated this year that running and defense can win. Watching Notre Dame on Saturday, I thought Edsall, not Kelly was the Irish head coach. Power running even on 3rd an 5 or 6. Just knock the other guy back on his butt. And watching a bit of West Virginia the last two weeks, you got a sense of what can happen when defenses figure out the "unstoppable" passing attacks and it can be just as ugly as when they stop power running attacks. Especially when you don't play defense.

 

[junglehusky]

All I want is a UConn team that scores one more point than the other team. I don't care how they do it.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Sounds like soccer is the sport for you, FCF. The rest of the country (that part which does get respected, at least) seems to see things different. No wonder the Big East is being shoved out of the majors. I'm sure that their 85,000 fans in attendance enjoy this football a lot better than the 40,000 (if that) fans sitting in tiny little Rentschler. And, how in the heck does a UConn fan want to look down their nose at the Big 12 style of play when those teams would eat the Huskies lunch. Arrogant much?

It sounds to me that you are missing a whole lot of what is important (and did not fully read my post).

When has a team that played the style that WVU-Baylor displayed a few weeks back won a title? Where are the biggest stadiums in college football? Those schools still play some defense and run the ball a little (and one of those two conferences has a stranglehold on the national title). Hell, the top programs (not merely the hottest ones) in the B-12 still use balanced offense and solid defense (and are the only two current B-12 schools with national titles in the BCS era as well as the largest stadiums).

I'm guessing that you grew up in an era of video games where constantly changing scores are necessary to hold someone's attention. I personally view the Baylor-WVU game as football's version of slow pitch softball with short fences. Most of the skill, most of the beauty are taken from the game if scoring becomes that easy.

 

[johnhuskies95]

It sounds to me that you are missing a whole lot of what is important (and did not fully read my post).

When has a team that played the style that WVU-Baylor displayed a few weeks back won a title? Where are the biggest stadiums in college football? Those schools still play some defense and run the ball a little (and one of those two conferences has a stranglehold on the national title). Hell, the top programs (not merely the hottest ones) in the B-12 still use balanced offense and solid defense (and are the only two current B-12 schools with national titles in the BCS era as well as the largest stadiums).

I'm guessing that you grew up in an era of video games where constantly changing scores are necessary to hold someone's attention. I personally view the Baylor-WVU game as football's version of slow pitch softball with short fences. Most of the skill, most of the beauty are taken from the game if scoring becomes that easy.

Again, we are not the SEC. We aren't close. Our goal should be to become at least somewhat relevant nationally.

It's great to say we're going to be "old school" and play with good fundamentals, but you don't win big like that unless you recruit really, really well. We don't. At all. For UConn's entire football history, we've been bringing in 2 stars. It's only been in the last two years that we've brought in more three stars than 2 stars in a class, and even then it's been very close.

 

[huskymedic]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/10/21/alabama-florida-oregon-defense-overtime/index.html#ixzz2A5RYs3l3​

Stewart Mandel @ SI ​

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"Top BCS contenders again defined by elite defenses​

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Remember a few weeks ago when 600-yard passing days and 70-63 games were all the rage? Well ... false alarm.​

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There are still plenty of shootouts to go around if that's your thing (just watch Texas every week), but when it comes to the majority of teams still in contention for the national title, it's all about defense. In fact, a couple of them are making the case that you hardly need to throw the ball at all.​

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AP No. 3 Florida (7-0) continued its surprising resurgence Saturday with a 44-11 rout of then-No. 9 South Carolina. And the game followed much the same script as the Gators' previous SEC wins (only with a wider margin of victory). Florida's offense produced just 29 first-half yards and punted four times, but it raced to a 21-3 lead by forcing three fumbles deep in opposing territory. For the third consecutive week, quarterback Jeff Driskel threw for fewer than 100 yards, though he did finish with four touchdown passes. The Gators recorded just 183 total yards and still won by 33 points."I'd rather have one yard in front of me than 75," said Driskel.​

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Meanwhile, SEC counterpart LSU (6-1) is taking its offense-optional approach to another level. In Saturday's 24-19 win at Texas A&M, the Tigers converted just 2-of-16 third downs. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger went 11-of-27 for 97 yards. But much more importantly, Les Miles' defense picked off last week's quarterback du jour, Johnny Manziel, three times and held him to 27 rushing yards on 17 carries.​

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"The defense always sets us up," said Tigers running back Jeremy Hill, who broke off a long fourth-quarter touchdown (47 yards) for the second straight week. "Every game they find a way to keep us in the game."​

No. 2 Oregon's (7-0) flashy offense gets no shortage of attention and was obviously instrumental in last Thursday's 43-point explosion in just over a quarter against Arizona State (5-2). But the Ducks, too, threw for only 48 yards on the night. Besides an explosive running game (406 yards against Arizona State), Oregon's defense has become its calling card in 2012. The Ducks held Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly, the nation's third-rated passer coming in, to 93 yards and picked off he and backup Michael Eubank four times. "Our defense is playing outstanding," said Oregon coach Chip Kelly. "That's the key to being a great football team."​

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No. 5 Notre Dame (7-0) has mastered the art of low-scoring victories, including Saturday's 17-14 win over BYU, and it doesn't seem to make a difference who lines up under center. Tommy Rees got the start at quarterback Saturday following Everett Golson's concussion the week before and was far less effective (7-of-16 for 117 yards) than he's been in his recent late-game relief appearances. No matter. The Irish produced a pair of 100-yard rushers (Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood) and rode a defense that -- gasp -- allowed its first two offensive touchdowns since Sept. 8, but pitched a shutout after halftime and has yet to allow more than 17 points in a game. Notre Dame will put that streak on the line Saturday at No. 8 Oklahoma against a Sooners' offense currently averaging 44.7 points per game. "We're a hard-nosed team," said defensive end Stephon Tuitt. "We're going to fight until the bitter end. I hope a lot of people out there realize that."​

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Now, this is the point in the column where I remind you that it certainly doesn't hurt to have an effective quarterback. In fact, it's likely the difference between a good team and a great team. Case in point: No. 1 Alabama (7-0).​

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Obviously, the first thing people think of when discussing Nick Saban's team is its stifling defense. And indeed, after holding Tennessee to 282 total yards in Saturday's 44-13 victory, the Crimson Tide remain No. 1 nationally in total defense (195.6 yards per game) and scoring defense (8.3 points per game). Alabama is also closely associated with its powerful rushing attack, which ground out 233 yards against the Vols.​

But guess what? The Tide now boast the nation's most efficient passer as well. AJ McCarron, who went a scorching 17-of-22 for 306 yards and four touchdowns against Tennessee, is completing 68.8 percent of his throws for 1,476 yards, 16 touchdowns and, through seven games now, still no interceptions. We're starting to see that AJ's more than a game manager," said Tide center Barrett Jones. "He was really explosive. They brought a lot of guys in the box, we needed to throw the ball and we did that. It was awesome."​

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The only other team that comes close to rivaling Alabama's completeness in all three phases of the game is one with significantly fewer former four- and five-star recruits. Saturday night, No. 4 Kansas State (7-0) went to West Virginia and put an end to this season's early Air Raid narrative. Wildcats star Collin Klein, not Geno Smith, produced the night's huge passing performance (19-of-21 for 323 yards and three touchdowns) while also rushing for four scores. Klein may not pass 50 times, but when he does throw, he's incredibly effective. He ranks second in the FBS (behind McCarron) in pass efficiency with a 70.5 completion percentage to date.​

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But K-State, like the other teams mentioned above, wins with its defense. The Wildcats notched the first two interceptions of Smith's season, sacked him four times and held him to his lowest passing yardage output (143) since 2010. "If we play to our capabilities, we can do some good things out there," said cornerback Nigel Malone. "Eventually, if [people] take notice, they do, if not it doesn't matter. We're going to play the defense we know how." People have noticed, Nigel. Contrary to earlier reports, there are great defenses to be found this season. It's no coincidence they reside at the top of the BCS standings."​

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[whaler11]

Come on. Just because the 5 best teams in the country are based on their defenses doesn't mean defense matters.

 

[huskymedic]

Come on. Just because the 5 best teams in the country are based on their defenses doesn't mean defense matters.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Again, we are not the SEC. We aren't close. Our goal should be to become at least somewhat relevant nationally.

It's great to say we're going to be "old school" and play with good fundamentals, but you don't win big like that unless you recruit really, really well. We don't. At all. For UConn's entire football history, we've been bringing in 2 stars. It's only been in the last two years that we've brought in more three stars than 2 stars in a class, and even then it's been very close.

But we'd rather be "smashmouth" cuz it sounds so "Frozen Tundra". Nevermind that whole part about bringing 2 star players. The better ones are going to places where the whole football scene is more exciting. Fans on this board forget that UConn needs to find a niche to start making a bigger recruiting splash, and exciting offensive football might be that edge. Certainly the snoozefests or the outright ineptitude on offense aren't getting it done.

 

[junglehusky]

I would concede the point that exciting WVU style losses might get a few more fans in the Rent. I would counter that getting to 9-10 wins and contending for a big east championship with quote-unquote boring football, excellent defense, balanced running/passing, would get a heck of a lot more season ticket packages sold. Fans will attend a "snoozefest" if they think there's a good chance of getting a win out of it. Currently we have snoozefests that are guaranteed losses. You are right that we need better recruiting, but it's not a problem exclusive to WRs and QBs, its the whole offense (and improving talent / depth on defense wouldn't hurt either.)

 

[Jax Husky]

The top 20 passing offenses in the country. Exactly 2 of them are in the Top 20 right now. It is a veritable who's who of college football. Most of these schools are just raking in recruits (not):

1 Baylor 6 228 150 10 65.79 2344 10.28 21 390.67 4.39 15.63
2 Marshall 7 362 255 7 70.44 2730 7.54 22 390.00 1.93 10.71
3 Houston 7 377 223 13 59.15 2547 6.76 13 363.86 3.45 11.42
4 Texas Tech 7 309 219 7 70.87 2532 8.19 30 361.71 2.27 11.56
5 Arizona 7 330 211 9 63.94 2466 7.47 18 352.29 2.73 11.69
6 West Virginia 7 306 224 3 73.20 2464 8.05 27 352.00 .98 11.00
7 Oklahoma St. 6 237 157 7 66.24 2106 8.89 15 351.00 2.95 13.41
8 Louisiana Tech 7 282 199 0 70.57 2337 8.29 20 333.86 .00 11.74
9 Washington St. 7 351 203 14 57.83 2256 6.43 14 322.29 3.99 11.11
10 San Jose St. 7 251 185 3 73.71 2253 8.98 17 321.86 1.20 12.18
11 Akron 8 391 237 11 60.61 2492 6.37 23 311.50 2.81 10.51
12 Arkansas 7 261 146 8 55.94 2180 8.35 16 311.43 3.07 14.93
13 UAB 7 265 156 4 58.87 2175 8.21 12 310.71 1.51 13.94
14 Oregon St. 6 227 143 4 63.00 1864 8.21 10 310.67 1.76 13.03
15 Syracuse 7 271 176 8 64.94 2164 7.99 13 309.14 2.95 12.30
16 Fresno St. 8 334 223 4 66.77 2427 7.27 22 303.38 1.20 10.88
17 Texas A&M 7 275 173 7 62.91 2123 7.72 14 303.29 2.55 12.27
18 Indiana 7 310 197 4 63.55 2122 6.85 14 303.14 1.29 10.77
- Troy 7 288 189 8 65.63 2122 7.37 13 303.14 2.78
11.23

 

[Jax Husky]

The top 20 scoring defenses in the country. 13 of these teams are in the Top 20:

1 Alabama 7 7 7 0 0 0 3 0 58 8.29
2 Notre Dame 7 6 6 0 0 0 8 0 66 9.43
3 Rutgers 7 8 5 1 0 0 8 0 79 11.29
4 Florida 7 9 8 0 1 0 7 0 85 12.14
5 Florida St. 8 12 11 0 0 0 6 0 101 12.63
6 Boise St. 7 12 9 1 0 0 4 0 95 13.57
7 Utah St. 8 12 9 0 0 0 10 0 111 13.88
8 BYU 8 14 13 0 0 0 5 0 112 14.00
9 Mississippi St. 7 12 11 0 0 0 6 0 101 14.43
10 LSU 8 15 12 0 0 0 5 0 117 14.63
11 Michigan St. 8 11 11 0 0 0 15 0 122 15.25
12 Oklahoma 6 11 9 0 1 0 5 0 92 15.33
13 Penn St. 7 14 14 0 0 0 4 0 110 15.71
14 Kansas St. 7 13 10 1 0 0 7 1 113 16.14
15 South Carolina 8 14 13 0 0 0 11 0 130 16.25
16 Michigan 7 12 11 1 0 0 10 0 115 16.43
17 Oregon St. 6 12 12 0 0 0 5 0 99 16.50
18 Southern California 7 14 12 0 0 0 7 0 117 16.71
19 Bowling Green 8 15 12 1 0 0 10 0 134 16.75
20 Cincinnati 6 10 7 2 0 0 10 0 101 16.83

 

[freescooter]

West Virginia's recent woes, two straight blow out losses, show that a passing offense can be just as ugly when it gets shut down as a running one can. Two straight weeks the Air Raid put up UConnesque 14 points, the final 7 coming in both games against the opponent's scrubs. And this a team that had been averaging over 50 points a game and had scored 69 and 70 points in games this year. You can throw it all over the yard and win. you can run it down there throats and win. the more important part of both those statements is that you win. Both can look awful when they get shut down.

 

[ZooCougar]

Imagine UConn's offense against WVU's defense.

 

[ZooCougar]

Also, if we played WVU this season, I am pretty sure that Coach P and Co. would spend the week practicing to defend the run.

 

[Jax Husky]

If you want to know what UConn's problems are, look at these statistical rankings:

The worst rushing teams in the country (we are the 5th worst):
101 Fla. Atlantic 7 252 834 3.31 6 119.14
102 Akron 8 247 941 3.81 6 117.63
103 East Carolina 8 267 940 3.52 9 117.50
104 Arkansas 7 213 810 3.80 9 115.71
105 SMU 7 205 806 3.93 5 115.14
106 Colorado 7 249 768 3.08 8 109.71
107 Oregon St. 6 210 650 3.10 9 108.33
108 Hawaii 6 198 640 3.23 5 106.67
109 Utah 7 256 735 2.87 4 105.00
110 San Jose St. 7 248 706 2.85 8 100.86
111 Colorado St. 7 227 698 3.07 3 99.71
112 Boston College 7 200 652 3.26 5 93.14
113 New Mexico St. 7 219 646 2.95 8 92.29
114 Maryland 7 282 634 2.25 9 90.57
115 Miami (OH) 7 196 625 3.19 4 89.29
116 Connecticut 8 278 695 2.50 7 86.88
117 UAB 7 245 579 2.36 11 82.71
118 Idaho 8 216 649 3.00 3 81.13
119 Washington St. 7 142 284 2.00 3 40.57
120 Tulane 7 157 190 1.21 0
27.14

 

[Jax Husky]

And, worst turnover margin (we are in the bottom 20 there as well):

101 Oklahoma St. 6 2 4 6 4 7 11 -.83
102 Western Mich. 8 7 8 15 8 14 22 -.88
103 Army 7 4 2 6 11 2 13 -1.00
- Colorado 7 8 3 11 8 10 18 -1.00
- New Mexico St. 7 5 2 7 7 7 14 -1.00
- Texas A&M 7 1 6 7 7 7 14 -1.00
107 Akron 8 6 3 9 7 11 18 -1.13
- Connecticut 8 5 4 9 7 11 18 -1.13
109 Syracuse 7 3 4 7 7 8 15 -1.14
110 Maryland 7 7 3 10 12 7 19 -1.29
- Nebraska 7 6 3 9 13 5 18 -1.29
112 Arkansas 7 3 4 7 9 8 17 -1.43
- Auburn 7 8 1 9 8 11 19 -1.43
- Houston 7 6 7 13 10 13 23 -1.43
115 Idaho 8 7 6 13 10 15 25 -1.50
116 Buffalo 7 1 2 3 6 8 14 -1.57
- South Fla. 7 5 0 5 7 9 16 -1.57
- Southern Miss. 7 1 4 5 10 6 16 -1.57
119 Hawaii 6 4 1 5 10 5 15 -1.67
120 Virginia 8 3 1 4 8 12 20 -2.00

 

[johnhuskies95]

No

The top 20 scoring defenses in the country. 13 of these teams are in the Top 20:

1 Alabama 7 7 7 0 0 0 3 0 58 8.29
2 Notre Dame 7 6 6 0 0 0 8 0 66 9.43
3 Rutgers 7 8 5 1 0 0 8 0 79 11.29
4 Florida 7 9 8 0 1 0 7 0 85 12.14
5 Florida St. 8 12 11 0 0 0 6 0 101 12.63
6 Boise St. 7 12 9 1 0 0 4 0 95 13.57
7 Utah St. 8 12 9 0 0 0 10 0 111 13.88
8 BYU 8 14 13 0 0 0 5 0 112 14.00
9 Mississippi St. 7 12 11 0 0 0 6 0 101 14.43
10 LSU 8 15 12 0 0 0 5 0 117 14.63
11 Michigan St. 8 11 11 0 0 0 15 0 122 15.25
12 Oklahoma 6 11 9 0 1 0 5 0 92 15.33
13 Penn St. 7 14 14 0 0 0 4 0 110 15.71
14 Kansas St. 7 13 10 1 0 0 7 1 113 16.14
15 South Carolina 8 14 13 0 0 0 11 0 130 16.25
16 Michigan 7 12 11 1 0 0 10 0 115 16.43
17 Oregon St. 6 12 12 0 0 0 5 0 99 16.50
18 Southern California 7 14 12 0 0 0 7 0 117 16.71
19 Bowling Green 8 15 12 1 0 0 10 0 134 16.75
20 Cincinnati 6 10 7 2 0 0 10 0 101 16.83

Nobody is saying that we need to give up defense for offense.

 

[Jax Husky]

No

Nobody is saying that we need to give up defense for offense.

To an extent, the type of passing exhibited by the teams in the "Passing Offense" list above do give up defense. They do not control the clock, and thus give their opponents too many chances. Thus, defenses wear down.

What is important is passing efficiency, not how many yards you pass for. My overall point anyway, is that UConn sucks balls this year because we are in the bottom 5 in rushing, not because of the passing game. UConn does not, as is implied by the OP, need to throw it all over the yard to get fans and recruits.

 

[sdhusky]

How'd your "smash mouth" running game go the other night? How bout the shutdown defense? The passing game, however humble it may be right now, was all the Huskies had. Better watch a few other college games to get better acquainted with how the games played today, Monte.

Alabama is #75 in passing offense.

I think they're managing somehow even though teams like Texas Tech have "passed them by"

 

[sdhusky]

Alabama is #75 in passing offense.

I think they're managing somehow even though teams like Texas Tech have "passed them by"

ND is #100 in passing.

#2 in points against.

You claim passing is way more important but lets pretend each is only equal in value.

If you average them, you get #51, but ND is undefeated and a bit better than #51

 

[johnhuskies95]

To an extent, the type of passing exhibited by the teams in the "Passing Offense" list above do give up defense. They do not control the clock, and thus give their opponents too many chances. Thus, defenses wear down.

What is important is passing efficiency, not how many yards you pass for. My overall point anyway, is that UConn sucks balls this year because we are in the bottom 5 in rushing, not because of the passing game. UConn does not, as is implied by the OP, need to throw it all over the yard to get fans and recruits.

Look at the top 5 in rushing offense: Army, Air Force, Georgia Tech, Oregon, and New Mexico.

Team rushing success doesn't automatically equal team success either.

 

[ZooCougar]

Yardage generated is a measure of performance. It's not a true measure of effectiveness. If a team is low in yards generated and it is undefeated then who cares?


In 2007 we were outgained routinely in games that we won.

What is best for UConn is an offense that is dynamic and multi-dimensional.

 

[Jax Husky]

Yardage generated is a measure of performance. It's not a true measure of effectiveness. If a team is low in yards generated and it is undefeated then who cares?


In 2007 we were outgained routinely in games that we won.

What is best for UConn is an offense that is dynamic and multi-dimensional.

That's why I said you have to look at passing efficiency as the measure, not yardage and how much people throw. It is about throwing and running the ball efficiently.