[CTcard]

Respectfully, the "limits" on the O were not due to personnel that year - at least that's my distinct recollection. 

Well, there may have been deficiencies in play calling, and everybody knows that is your hobby horse, but that certainly does not negate the fact that there were personnel limitations as well.

First is the state of Hogan's development.
He was better than in 2012, but nowhere near the QB who starred in 2015. In particular, in 2013 he added the deep ball to his short passing repertoire and scrambling ability. However, he was not good at the intermediate routes that need to be thrown with some steam - in particular slant routes were a nightmare. (See the interception from the $C 10 in the 4th quarter when a FG would have given us the lead. Of course the fact that Hogan was not good at such passes likely means it was a bad play call; but that doesn't change the fact that Hogan wasn't good at such passes.)

That was the year we basically didn't have tight ends (10 catches from that position on the season). That also contributed to killing our intermediate passing game.

Our receiving corps had some skills but wasn't deep or particularly good at actually catching the ball. Montgomery has been heavily discussed. Number 2 was Cajuste, still only a sophomore. Number 3 receiver was Kodi Whitfield who eventually found a better home at safety. 

Gaffney was a very good back, but he wasn't particularly explosive. A very mild limitation.


Now all of these are "limitations" on a conference championship team that finished the season ranked #11, and #30 on offense points per drive. That's a pretty high bar. But it seems silly to pretend these issues didn't exist.
[MSU, by the way, was #1 in the country in defensive points per drive (and in many defensive categories) - something one should consider in evaluating our offense's output in the Rose Bowl.]

[CTcard]

Respectfully, the "limits" on the O were not due to personnel that year - at least that's my distinct recollection. 

Well, there may have been deficiencies in play calling, and everybody knows that is your hobby horse, but that certainly does not negate the fact that there were personnel limitations as well.

First is the state of Hogan's development.
He was better than in 2012, but nowhere near the QB who starred in 2015. In particular, in 2013 he added the deep ball to his short passing repertoire and scrambling ability. However, he was not good at the intermediate routes that need to be thrown with some steam - in particular slant routes were a nightmare. (See the interception from the $C 10 in the 4th quarter when a FG would have given us the lead. Of course the fact that Hogan was not good at such passes likely means it was a bad play call; but that doesn't change the fact that Hogan wasn't good at such passes.)

That was the year we basically didn't have tight ends (10 catches from that position on the season). That also contributed to killing our intermediate passing game.

Our receiving corps had some skills but wasn't deep or particularly good at actually catching the ball. Montgomery has been heavily discussed. Number 2 was Cajuste, still only a sophomore. Number 3 receiver was Kodi Whitfield who eventually found a better home at safety. 

Gaffney was a very good back, but he wasn't particularly explosive. A very mild limitation.


Now all of these are "limitations" on a conference championship team that finished the season ranked #11, and #30 on offense points per drive. That's a pretty high bar. But it seems silly to pretend these issues didn't exist.
[MSU, by the way, was #1 in the country in defensive points per drive (and in many defensive categories) - something one should consider in evaluating our offense's output in the Rose Bowl.]