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You all are out of control. Lujan made one awful play call on 3rd and short. He is 29YO and called a nice game

CatManTrue

CatManTrue

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Oct 4, 2008
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Our posters prove yet again what message board geniuses look like.

Lujan made one awful decision or playcall - and it looked like a busted play at that.

Otherwise he called a really nice game in the wind. Our Cats had several opportunities to win it in crunch time.

I’m feeling much better about this season. We can run the ball with an identity. I am now improving my projection for this season from 3-9 to 5-7.

The B1G is softer than usual, and if Lujan works out then we have an incredible roster & staff.

Was Pete Carroll’s OC’s career over after not giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch? Probably not. Maybe it was, I need to research it to confirm either way.

Bowl Game Braun!!! He is a gem, and I hope Lujem is too.
 
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cattul

Redshirt
Sep 24, 2002
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I agree with your take. The Cats are basically one and one against two likely lower tier bowl teams.

To borrow a Fitzism, last night was a pretty good “flush it” game for the offense.

I’m not going to read too much into the game. The defense was fun to watch, as were the special teams, but in reality both offenses were leaving a bunch of opportunities on the field. Credit the defenses? Credit the elements? I don’t know. People seem critical of Wright, but it seemed to me like there were quite a few issues besides just QB.

As for the 3rd down call in overtime? Oof. As you know, I strongly advocate “The Big Ten Way” in those situations going forward. (We happen to like The Big Ten Way around here.)

But, yeah, flush it. It was a pretty ugly game.

The only two phrases which could have made it less bearable to watch are:

“Live, from SeatGeek Stadium….”

and

“It was announced earlier today that these two football programs reached a scheduling agreement to extend this series well into the next decade.”
 
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loyolacat

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Oct 21, 2006
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We have spent so much time bashing offensive coordinators over the last half decade or so.....I go with it is not the X and Os it is the Jimmy and the Joes.....I love the guys we have had and I think we have fortunately had some years where we over achieved but over all we have suffered from average at best talent and OCs have done their best to match talent with play calls.....which when executed pretty much work...All teams are dealing from the same deck...not a whole lot different...knowing where you have mismatches is important but how many do we have? Kirtz runs exceptional routes but is not physically a mismatch and Henning is ok speed wise but not a burner but fast for NU....We may find out about that 3rd down play but probably there was a missed assignment and if the play had been executed correctly would have been fine...(I would have preferred something straight ahead just saying) He made a nice adjustment to get the ground game going again by bringing the Tight End in to the backfield to block...Lets see how he adapts as we move forward and if he can get his guys in
 
SmellyCat

SmellyCat

Junior
May 29, 2001
7,226
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I would not say he called a “nice” game but I’m far away from calling for his head (or Wright’s) until I see a little more. This team was never going to make the playoffs so we DO have the luxury of figuring things out right now.
 
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Fanaticat98

Sophomore
May 29, 2001
8,491
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The fact that Porter got very few touches in regulation is on Lujan. I don’t see at this point what Komolafe brings to be splitting the carries like that. Obviously it’s waaaay to early to write him off but the honeymoon is over and he needs to really work some magic to get this offense working, or we’re looking at 3-9.
 
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PurpleWhiteBoy

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Feb 25, 2021
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Windy night. Mediocre lighting. Shadows. Tough to see. Tough to throw.
But we threw 36 times... And it didn't look to me like Wright saw downfield at all.
You have to tolerate a few 1 yard running plays on a night like that.
Duke had a safety (I think) spying on Wright and he did a great job shutting the QB down.
 
bringbacktherantboard

bringbacktherantboard

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Aug 31, 2003
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PurpleWhiteBoy said:
Windy night. Mediocre lighting. Shadows. Tough to see. Tough to throw.
But we threw 36 times... And it didn't look to me like Wright saw downfield at all.
You have to tolerate a few 1 yard running plays on a night like that.
Duke had a safety (I think) spying on Wright and he did a great job shutting the QB down.
Click to expand...
The lighting seemed fine to me. I didn't have any trouble seeing anything at all.
 
J

JT2311

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Nov 29, 2019
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Only TD in regulation came on an 11 yard drive aided with a personal foul.

Yeah, the OC had a good game though.
 
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gocats8992

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Apr 24, 2022
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cattul said:
I agree with your take. The Cats are basically one and one against two likely lower tier bowl teams.

To borrow a Fitzism, last night was a pretty good “flush it” game for the offense.

I’m not going to read too much into the game. The defense was fun to watch, as were the special teams, but in reality both offenses were leaving a bunch of opportunities on the field. Credit the defenses? Credit the elements? I don’t know. People seem critical of Wright, but it seemed to me like there were quite a few issues besides just QB.

As for the 3rd down call in overtime? Oof. As you know, I strongly advocate “The Big Ten Way” in those situations going forward. (We happen to like The Big Ten Way around here.)

But, yeah, flush it. It was a pretty ugly game.

The only two phrases which could have made it less bearable to watch are:

“Live, from SeatGeek Stadium….”

and

“It was announced earlier today that these two football programs reached a scheduling agreement to extend this series well into the next decade.”
Click to expand...
It’s not Lujan. It’s the fact our QB does not have any vision for wide open receivers
 
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Fanaticat98

Sophomore
May 29, 2001
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FeralFelidae said:
Lujan's QB. This is his guy.
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Well, this was the guy he could get on short notice. I mean, I fault him for poor play calling but the personnel we have are not really on him until he gets at least 1-2 full recruiting cycles from HS and the transfer portal.
 
Purple Pile Driver

Purple Pile Driver

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loyolacat said:
We have spent so much time bashing offensive coordinators over the last half decade or so.....I go with it is not the X and Os it is the Jimmy and the Joes.....I love the guys we have had and I think we have fortunately had some years where we over achieved but over all we have suffered from average at best talent and OCs have done their best to match talent with play calls.....which when executed pretty much work...All teams are dealing from the same deck...not a whole lot different...knowing where you have mismatches is important but how many do we have? Kirtz runs exceptional routes but is not physically a mismatch and Henning is ok speed wise but not a burner but fast for NU....We may find out about that 3rd down play but probably there was a missed assignment and if the play had been executed correctly would have been fine...(I would have preferred something straight ahead just saying) He made a nice adjustment to get the ground game going again by bringing the Tight End in to the backfield to block...Lets see how he adapts as we move forward and if he can get his guys in
Click to expand...
I typically agree that fans here calling for Coaches heads after every lose is silly. The stuff with Collins is basketball shows how little we know. Players win games. They lose them too.

However, As far as this game goes, I feel Lujan didn’t call a good game at all. Almost JON like. Even without the much discussed boner in OT, I had some questions. Was a team putting a spy on Wright a surprise? It sure looks like it. Maybe Wright screwed up and refused to throw on the plays Lujan called. Was there a single crossing route by a WR? The middle of the field was a dessert. The fact that I haven’t seen a sniff of a run package for Wright is alarming. If he doesn’t have a serious run element in Wright, why is he out there. C’mon Zach. As has been mentioned, Lujan seems to be afraid of “over using “ what is working. Porter had least showed a pulse. We ran fairly effectively and somehow we end up with Wright throwing 36 passes. I am not calling for his head, but I sure hope there were some serious discussions on the way this game unfolded between HC and OC.
 
bringbacktherantboard

bringbacktherantboard

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Aug 31, 2003
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FanatiCat said:
Well, this was the guy he could get on short notice. I mean, I fault him for poor play calling but the personnel we have are not really on him until he gets at least 1-2 full recruiting cycles from HS and the transfer portal.
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He ran off Sully because he thought his NDSU QB was going to follow him here. I blame him for whom we no longer have, too.
 
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cattul

Redshirt
Sep 24, 2002
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I don’t think Sullivan ever completed a two yard forward pass to himself, so there’s that.
 
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NUCat320

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Dec 4, 2005
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We cannot grade Lujan on a curve because he’s young.

He gets latitude because the quarterback situation wasn’t of his own making. But he deserves criticism for not adjusting the game plan to the wind. His offense has scored 13 regulation points both weeks.

Just give Cam the ball.
 
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PurpleWhiteBoy

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Feb 25, 2021
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FeralFelidae said:
The lighting seemed fine to me. I didn't have any trouble seeing anything at all.
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There was discussion during the game that sometimes the ball was coming out of the lights.

I could see this being a problem for night games, given the small footprint of the field and the low height of the grandstands (and presumably the light poles). I think you'd have to be on the field to know the effect.
 
B

Baz=Heisman

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Feb 11, 2023
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Thinking Lujan called a good game is making me think you are perhaps under the influence of something. 1) We threw the ball way too much, 2) Porter should have been getting the vast majority of the carries. Himon and Komilafe were horrid, 3) Why weren’t we going on 4th into the wind with an idiot kicker?
 
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zeek55

Sophomore
Nov 21, 2010
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FeralFelidae said:
He's better than Wright. Change my mind.
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Nothing against Sullivan, but he also got beat out by McNamara, so it's not clear he'd be a savior here.

There was never going to be an easy answer for this year after Bryant exited; nobody like him was available and we saw the last time how it was when Ramsey left and we struggled at QB for 2 years.
 
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NUCat320

Senior
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FeralFelidae said:
You have your opinion and I have mine.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Wright is our prize.
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Your “Sullivan is a star” game is tiresome, and will continue to be.

Understanding that we didn’t see spring ball, do *you* think Sullivan played well enough last season that he should have been given the no-doubt starter’s role for a Big Ten team?

Do *you* think, given the state of college football, and given the performance of Bryant in ‘23, that NU *shouldn’t* have looked to the portal to get better at the position?

If you answer the above questions honestly (no, no), then Sullivan was leaving. Sullivan was only staying if he got the guaranteed starting role entering summer. And based on merits, that wouldn’t possibly be acceptable.

Iowa’s OC doesn’t think Sullivan is good enough to start in the Big Ten either.
 
bringbacktherantboard

bringbacktherantboard

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NUCat320 said:
Your “Sullivan is a star” game is tiresome, and will continue to be.

Understanding that we didn’t see spring ball, do *you* think Sullivan played well enough last season that he should have been given the no-doubt starter’s role for a Big Ten team?

Do *you* think, given the state of college football, and given the performance of Bryant in ‘23, that NU *shouldn’t* have looked to the portal to get better at the position?

If you answer the above questions honestly (no, no), then Sullivan was leaving. Sullivan was only staying if he got the guaranteed starting role entering summer. And based on merits, that wouldn’t possibly be acceptable.

Iowa’s OC doesn’t think Sullivan is good enough to start in the Big Ten either.
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The mind games are telling him that Lausch jumped him. Given what I saw last season, Sullivan was well ahead of Lausch. Sullivan may have stuck around to compete against Wright, but telling him that Lausch jumped him is running him off.

The season is still young at Iowa. McNamara has not impressed today.
 
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Gocatsgo2003

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FanatiCat said:
The fact that Porter got very few touches in regulation is on Lujan. I don’t see at this point what Komolafe brings to be splitting the carries like that. Obviously it’s waaaay to early to write him off but the honeymoon is over and he needs to really work some magic to get this offense working, or we’re looking at 3-9.
Click to expand...

Komolafe is pretty good and only going to get better.
 
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Gocatsgo2003

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FeralFelidae said:
The mind games are telling him that Lausch jumped him. Given what I saw last season, Sullivan was well ahead of Lausch. Sullivan may have stuck around to compete against Wright, but telling him that Lausch jumped him is running him off.

The season is still young at Iowa. McNamara has not impressed today.
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That’s not what he was told. Sullivan wanted assurances he would be the starter come fall, Braun would provide no such assurances because Lausch was probably ahead coming out of spring but it would be a completion through fall (including an incoming transfer). Sullivan didn’t like that, so he bailed.
 
bringbacktherantboard

bringbacktherantboard

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gocatsgo2003 said:
That’s not what he was told. Sullivan wanted assurances he would be the starter come fall, Braun would provide no such assurances because Lausch was probably ahead coming out of spring but it would be a completion through fall (including an incoming transfer). Sullivan didn’t like that, so he bailed.
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Yeah, Lausch "jumped" him.
 
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Gocatsgo2003

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FeralFelidae said:
And Sullivan found a better deal at Iowa where he's no lower than the 2nd spot.

If you don't want to run him off then don't do things to run him off.
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They didn’t run him off. They were honest with him and he didn’t like what he heard.
 
B

Baz=Heisman

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Sullivan wasn’t very good. Not sure why anyone would think he’s a savior. And anyone that bails on us is my enemy. You’re either with us or you’re against us. I hope he sucks for Iowa.
 
bringbacktherantboard

bringbacktherantboard

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gocatsgo2003 said:
Gonna just keep moving the goal posts?
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I haven't moved anything. I've been saying the same thing for months, and now after seeing Wright in person, I feel vindicated.

Lausch is not better than Sullivan. If the coaches tried feeding me that BS, I would've left too.
 
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