I understand that emotions are high, but I encourage you to read before commenting.
After looking back and assessing the game, I feel fairly confident with this analysis. Ped State last night did everything that Kirk strives to do in his own game plan:
1. Long sustained drives that eat up the clock, with running up the gut and occasionally passing.
I keep being told that Drew Allar is the elite of the elite. Last night, I was still not impressed. He's not a bad QB by any means, in fact, he does what he needs to do. Move the ball. He's no Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, or Shadeur Sanders, but he does his job of simply keeping the ball moving well. He makes safe throws that make it difficult for a defense to turn over. That being said, the offense they ran last night was smart football. They kept the ball safe and minimized any chance for a turn over. There was no flash, just competent play calling with great execution. Running up the gut, and occasionally passing to keep things moving and the defense on their toes.
2. Suffocating defense
The defense was as advertised, suffocating giving us no chance to move the ball and they forced turnovers. That is exactly how Kirk likes it. That then puts your offense in position to score. Not rocket science, but when done right it works very well. The difference, just like on offense, Ped State has playmakers. Iowa, does not. Our DLine is a joke.
3. Capitalize on opponent miscues
I know that all football teams strive to do this, but you're hard pressed to find a team that does it better than Iowa. But last night nothing could go right. Fumbles and special teams disasters, Ped State was able to jump on every single one. Now, there are some caveats, such as how Iowa seemingly jumped back on Erick All's fumble first, or how the Ped State punt was more luck than something they actually wanted to execute. But nonetheless, they were able to take advantage.
As much as I hate to say it, but Ped State is playing like Kirk wants us to play, they're playing our own game so much better than we are. But we lack the playmakers and coaches to properly execute it ourselves. Sure, it may work against lowly B1G West teams, but East teams will chew us up and spit us out.
After looking back and assessing the game, I feel fairly confident with this analysis. Ped State last night did everything that Kirk strives to do in his own game plan:
1. Long sustained drives that eat up the clock, with running up the gut and occasionally passing.
I keep being told that Drew Allar is the elite of the elite. Last night, I was still not impressed. He's not a bad QB by any means, in fact, he does what he needs to do. Move the ball. He's no Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, or Shadeur Sanders, but he does his job of simply keeping the ball moving well. He makes safe throws that make it difficult for a defense to turn over. That being said, the offense they ran last night was smart football. They kept the ball safe and minimized any chance for a turn over. There was no flash, just competent play calling with great execution. Running up the gut, and occasionally passing to keep things moving and the defense on their toes.
2. Suffocating defense
The defense was as advertised, suffocating giving us no chance to move the ball and they forced turnovers. That is exactly how Kirk likes it. That then puts your offense in position to score. Not rocket science, but when done right it works very well. The difference, just like on offense, Ped State has playmakers. Iowa, does not. Our DLine is a joke.
3. Capitalize on opponent miscues
I know that all football teams strive to do this, but you're hard pressed to find a team that does it better than Iowa. But last night nothing could go right. Fumbles and special teams disasters, Ped State was able to jump on every single one. Now, there are some caveats, such as how Iowa seemingly jumped back on Erick All's fumble first, or how the Ped State punt was more luck than something they actually wanted to execute. But nonetheless, they were able to take advantage.
As much as I hate to say it, but Ped State is playing like Kirk wants us to play, they're playing our own game so much better than we are. But we lack the playmakers and coaches to properly execute it ourselves. Sure, it may work against lowly B1G West teams, but East teams will chew us up and spit us out.
