A couple of quick blurbs on Rutgers here. FYI he believes that Rutgers at 25 is the right call he has them at 25 as well.

This is why this #25 slot is a big deal. People will be talking about Rutgers all of the time now and with the easy start of the season barring no WTF loses we should be in the top 25 at least through Thanksgiving.

Odd front- odd amount of defenders on the line of scrimmage

Even front- even amount of defenders on the line of scrimmage

This is why I had both nebraska and wisconsin down as losses in my preseason prediction thread. When you are a zone based run scheme the gaps, angles, reads and id men are alot easier to identify and get to in even fronts vs odd fronts. Its why I think our offense will all of a sudden look competent again next week as UCLA is an even front base defense.

In zone based run schemes when youre running plays like inside zone and duo which is our bread and butter, our OL and kirk have a numbering system of who they will be doubling and manning up as well as who they will be coming off the double team to get to next (2nd level defenders usually linebackers).

In the past couple weeks vs the odd fronts that nebraska and wisconsin employ, they have run fitters coming from what I would call the 2nd and a half level with what some teams will call their husker (for nebraska), badger (for wisconsin) or lets just say a generic “stud” backer/defender. This guys job is to fill the hole from depth that hasnt been accounted for and clean up the mess. A good chunk of kirks offense is reading that defender and then if he comes down hill throw it behind hin. The issue is with these types of defenses, there is a safety behind that so it eliminates an effective throw that slows the run fitter down such as a glance.

Anyway, when we play odd front teams that employ the structure of defense nebraska and wisconsin do, expect our Offense to look miserable. When we play even front teams like ucla next week, expect to walk away feeling good.

I know "just what we need, another thread" or "captain obvious", yada yada yada, let's focus on the real elephant in the room (besides our cocktail napkin sized playbook) - our lack of size, quickness and nastiness inside.

We see over and over again teams - like Wisconsin - beat the hell out of us, not because of some stud QB, RB or receiver, but because we just can't field a B1G team upfront on either side of the ball. I'm not talking about depth, which we obviously don't have, I'm talking about the 1st team guys. We got zero push on offense (our strategy appears to be to get in the way of the dline rather than push them around) and on D we got zero penetration (here our strategy appears to GET engaged with the opposing teams oline rather than to get around or through them). We see it week after week when we play real teams - our oline isn't moving anyone and our dline and, to a lesser extent, our LBs get manhandled. Thank goodness our dbs are, for the post part, good tacklers, but they are getting beat up and worn out and we are only half-way through the season.

We need to spend our limited NIL dollars on lineman. RBs are dime a dozen and WR are plentiful as well (yes it would be helpful if they caught the ball). In terms of QBs, find 2 of them per year playing 7 on 7 ball in bumf#@k Texas, Oklahoma, etc. and give them a chance to play in the B1G and let them play. If they don't perform on to the next guy, wash, rinse, repeat.

By the way, didn't we a few years ago bring in a ton of oline recruits who were supposed to be good? Where did they go or are they here and simply not B1G material?

Purdue got smacked by Wisc then the following week took #23 into overtime on the road and lost trying for the win on a 2 point conversion.

Hope? (obviously I'm not accepting a 1 point loss to UCLA at home)

RU ranked #25, Purdue, Indiana, and UCLA also ranked

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It appears there needs to be some serious thought put into the offensive scheme. It is built to win when there is near equal or superior athletes. Over the last four years the results have shown that. Rutgers can pound the ball and play good defense, and beat teams that they are near in talent or superior too.

Today against Wisconsin was an example of the opposite. Wisconsin had better line play and superior talent. Trying to outmuscle them and play straightforward without any motion without any misdirection or without any trick plays produced the result we saw.

In essence, a predictable scenario produced a predictable outcome. This program does not currently have the depth to survive key injuries, or to play against superior talent, teams, and just lineup without any scheme advantage.

This year there are a number of games on the schedule where the talent will be greater. Just lining up and trying to play straightforward will produce a predictable result. There needs to be thought to a new offensive scheme that allows the scheme to produce results that limits the talent differential.

On defense, in general, I feel that the scheme has not been limiting. Today it’s the extreme lack of talent at the linebacker position and the somewhat lesser talent on the defensive line that caused the problems. The scheme didn’t really hold it back in a tremendous way. The office is quite different and is producing predictable results That require a real rethinking of a scheme that allows the talent differential to be bridged to the best it can be.

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Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise anymore but the meltdowns after one close loss are really a sight to see. Most teams other than Ohio State lose conference games in this conference, and even they sometimes drop one or two. It's a good conference. That's bound to happen.

Most people expected 7-9 wins this season. How are we not on track for that? Every other team we have left has already lost at least a game.

Nebraska isn't a bad team, and but for the inexplicable TD they didn't call, we at the minimum go into OT.

VT beat Stanford 31-7 and Washington beat Michigan 27-17. Those are quality wins for us.

Same crap as last year I guess where we are going to hear from the usual suspects all season how NW and VT were not quality wins and GS can't beat teams with a winning record and the same people run and hide when confronted with the insane lies.

Looking at the remainder of the schedule Nebraska may be among the top 3 toughest games we have. Relax.

We can talk about game changing, gifted QB’s (guilty) and talented skill
Players.
However, the ability to compete week in week out is still dependent on your offensive line and front seven on D.

We are more than woefully short, we are tragically short… i don’t believe this is hyperbole… our quality depth is non existent and can’t be remedied.

No coaching or game plan can overcome it.

Watching the Ohio State vs Oregon game, Oregon got a strip fumble recovery that was ruled a completed catch non strip, and the review system did not have the time to halt play and review it.

Twice ? WTF was that ?

Good for them.

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After that 4 win start, it is hard to look ahead and really feel confident about getting 2 more wins.
We really have no significant offense other that KM, and teams are doing a great job of taking that away. Our passing game looks like last season.
Now, with the loss of so many players, we are seeing just how thin our talent is.
So much for the early enthusiasm.

The GOOD

1. Powell's return. Hard to overstate.
2. Bailey's return. Difference maker in safety showed, amongst others. Seemed to line up way too wide on occasion though. Did I miss him or was he out last series?
3. AK--Better than advertised. Bona fide B10qb. Made plays when run wasnt working and appears to mean RU doesnt need to be one dimensionsal.
4. D. Miller is nice.
5. Strong--Good game and not just the long screen.
6. Fletcher--good pass option. So much better than anticipated in first year at position in college.
7. Longerbeam is for real.
8. Punter solid.
9. Left side of the line solid.
10. Djabome a solid lb.
11. Sam brown in beast mode.
12. KM getting the first down when it was needed even on a less than stellar day.

NOT so Good:

1. Right side of the OL in particular at guard. Beaten pretty badly a number of times yesterday.
2. Fletcher has been great but his missed blocks have blown up a few plays.
3. Pass rush. Starting out way too wide to get there in time or not getting a push has been an issue. A pass rush would make such a difference.
4. LB play other than Poweel and Djabome. Real noticable drop off. A concern if Powell or Djabome goes down.
5. Kick and punt returns. Yes Dremel has sure hands and there are times for that. BUT there were at least a ko and punt where there was no one for yards and positive gains could have occurred. Situationally you can't just forefeit ANY yards all the time. Sure there will be an all out punt block when you will fair catch, but not always and can't forefeit any yards always.
6. Decision making. The long fg and not going for it on 4th and half yard with Brown and KM. Instilled the fight in the tram but not GS best day.

The most striking takeaway from today was the knowledge gained that, with a heisman candidate caliber running back and a seasoned team on a sun soaked pristine day in October we couldn’t gain 1 yard on Wisconsin.

And not only could we not gain one yard, our coaching staff KNEW we couldn’t gain the one yard. We had two fourth and inches early in the first quarter and we punted both. No interest in going for it.

Then, in the 2nd quarter, deep in opponent territory, we finally work up the nerve. We go big formation, give it to our rb, who got maybe 2 feet? Completely stuffed and it was obvious the moment the play happened.

It’s year 5 and it’s Groundhog Day, again. We still can’t get a yard against Wisconsin bc their guys eat glass and just come into our Place and do whatever the hell they want. Over. And over. And over again.

The final insult — when Wisconsin needed a yard they had no issue getting it