10-28-2017, 11:13 AM
Very well stated, stupac.
By the way, MSU had NFL caliber defensive backs. I mean maybe we should have thrown instead of running it up the middle (and with the clock ticking, it tilted the balance in that direction). But, it was not clearly evident a priori that generally speaking, MSU was vulnerable to the pass. In fact Michigan State was the top program in the country defending the pass (in terms of PER against). Then again, they were third best in the country in rushing defense (ypc).
The bottom line is that we were playing one of the top defenses in the country. They were second in total defense, third in scoring defense that year. The other team is trying to win too, and sometimes they play well and make plays when they need to. Thinking that different play calling would have resulted in a different outcome provides some measure of comfort, but sometimes a team just outplays you, and to believe otherwise denies the other team a measure of agency that it does possess.
BC
By the way, MSU had NFL caliber defensive backs. I mean maybe we should have thrown instead of running it up the middle (and with the clock ticking, it tilted the balance in that direction). But, it was not clearly evident a priori that generally speaking, MSU was vulnerable to the pass. In fact Michigan State was the top program in the country defending the pass (in terms of PER against). Then again, they were third best in the country in rushing defense (ypc).
The bottom line is that we were playing one of the top defenses in the country. They were second in total defense, third in scoring defense that year. The other team is trying to win too, and sometimes they play well and make plays when they need to. Thinking that different play calling would have resulted in a different outcome provides some measure of comfort, but sometimes a team just outplays you, and to believe otherwise denies the other team a measure of agency that it does possess.
BC