In the last post I went over the top 10 Big 12 defenses of the 2010s based on scoring defense within league play. That gave us the following list: I like the 2017 TCU Horned Frogs, 2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers, and 2017 Iowa State Cyclones from that list for their performance and/or innovative impact on the … [Read more…]
The two best defenses in the Big 12 in 2019 shared a common trait. For years Big 12 defenses have been tortured by the conflicts and challenges that spread offenses can create for their linebackers that have to align in space across from a slot. Iowa State and Baylor both played 3-down, broken stack defenses … [Read more…]
Brent Venables’ Clemson Tigers defense got themselves into quite a hole against Ohio State in the playoff semifinal. The score was 16-0 midway through the second quarter and the Tiger offense was struggling to find room to breathe against the Buckeyes between a sudden rash of injuries at receiver and Ohio State’s amazing athleticism. The … [Read more…]
I have a few sneaking suspicions about the league this year that I don’t think are ironclad yet. It’s often easy for me to forget that teams change throughout the year. Iowa State always seems to improve, especially after adding young Matt Campbell recruits on offense into the mix. Texas is on an absolute roller … [Read more…]
No doubt Lincoln Riley has been winning every round up till now. Dana Holgorsen went 0-7 against Oklahoma as a head coach and the scores after Riley joined the Sooner staff went: 2015: OU 44, WVU 24 2016: OU 56, WVU 28 2017: OU 59, WVU 31 2018: OU 59, WVU 56 That last one … [Read more…]
All of the fall camps are wrapping up so there’s some details out now on how different teams are coming together. Here’s a look around at some of the interesting notes that have been cropping up. Oklahoma State One fun detail to come out recently was Mike Gundy noting that his team would have probably … [Read more…]
Gary Patterson is a nut when it comes to scouting opponents, I’ve heard from multiple offensive coaches at B12 media days that game planning for Gary Patterson’s defense is one of the toughest challenges in the league. Naturally, his defense is designed to be flexible within the constraints of playing four-down, base personnel. Here’s the … [Read more…]
Over at Football Study Hall I took a look at what’s coming down the pipe from Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs, in particular their three-down sub-package that they used a lot last year. It’s similar to the defense that Phil Bennett had created at Baylor towards the later years (especially 2015 and 2016) and … [Read more…]
I overlooked TCU in my preseason prognostications of the 2017 Big 12 football season. I probably oversteered a bit for having missed West Virginia the previous season and I also underestimated Gary Patterson’s ability to fix the defense with so many returning starters and Sonny Cumbie’s ability to mold Kenny Hill into a good game … [Read more…]
So…my big question about Lincoln Riley and his time at Oklahoma was “how does he handle the defense and how does he handle Mike Stoops in particular?” It was beginning to look like nepotism that kept Mike Stoops around in Oklahoma, although he has had some solid units since returning and stands to see improvements … [Read more…]