If I remember correctly it looked like the Cincy lines got stronger or we got weaker as the game went on
That wasn't it. Though I can see people coming away with that impression.
That game sticks in my brain.
Kirk Herbstriet.. a Schiano fan of sorts... predicted a Cinci win in a bold fashion. His line was something like "I went to a Cinci practice and the ball never touched the ground". meaning the passing game was perfectly executed. Now, I think Herbstiet lives near Cinci.. and does again with his HS QB son playing for one of those Cinci HS powers. So, I had hoped that line was a bit of homerism.
It was not.
Brian Kelley was Cinci's coach in his 3rd year and his OC was also in his 3rd year. Consistent coaching. He had beaten Rutgers in close games the previous 2 years and Rutgers lost to Cinci from 2006 to 2010. Brian Kelley owned Greg Schiano.
Yeah.. Dantonio (Kelley's predecessor) cheated in 2006 with that bogus tackling the WRs thing in single coverage.. taking the penalty yards. And having their over-aggressive D make big plays against everything but the long pass. Disgusting tactic but genius at the same time. We had killed them in 2005 44-9 in the last game of the season at home for us.
But after seeing Rutgers for 2007 and 2008 and winning close games, Kelley planned all offseason for a classic Schiano defense for the opener on the road at Rutgers. A big TV game. They developed a quick passing game that got the ball off in 2-3 seconds. No time for Schiano's stunts and blitzes to get pressure. And their timing patterns worked even in heavy traffic. The QB and WRs executed perfectly and won the jump balls too.
That wasn't their lines getting stronger.. that was momentum vs disappointment/desperation later in the game. That game was won on the Xs and Os and in spring and summer drills and preseason practices.
EXECUTION won that game for them.. decisively. And I hope we eventually see some thing like that from our offense sometime soon.
