ISU opens as 14 pt favorite vs TTU
- Thread starter ClonesFTW
- Start date
I like our chances against a QB with limited mobility.
So, is Duggan Mola Ram, or is he the guy strapped to the cage?
Our punt return mo is still scary imo. In this still shot, there are SIX OU players surrounding the fair catch, with another in the wings. THREE are literally in his face. You know they are waving and yelling in his face. Halo rule be damned.
What was the moneyline for the OU game? Talked to a guy who told me he screwed up and wanted ISU with points and ended up going straight up. Figure he had to make some extra bank on that.
Our punt return mo is still scary imo. In this still shot, there are SIX OU players surrounding the fair catch, with another in the wings. THREE are literally in his face. You know they are waving and yelling in his face. Halo rule be damned.
I agree at first glance it seems like we need to have more guys down there just incase there is a muffed catch.
Also, I don't think NCAA has the Halo rule. I think that's NFL only.
Yep, no halo rule. The catcher just has to have an opportunity to make a fair catch. If you touch him and he drops it then it is a penalty. They don't throw anything unless there is a drop and contact.
We're the only team I've ever seen that never tries to block the punt, or block for the returner. It's like we have 1 guy to fair catch the punt, while the other ten just stand somewhere near the line of scrimmage for the entirety of the play. Looking at that still shot, there is 1 other player in the screen, and he's 10-15 yards away. Where is everyone else? They weren't rushing the punter. Can anyone with football knowledge fill me in on what our punt return strategy is? The only thing I can come up with is we are playing to defend a fake every time. This is pretty much what we did every punt return last season too. No other team does this.
Our punt return mo is still scary imo. In this still shot, there are SIX OU players surrounding the fair catch, with another in the wings. THREE are literally in his face. You know they are waving and yelling in his face. Halo rule be damned.
If a defender obstructs the vision of the returner it is a penalty as well.
In that particular return it was something of an outlier. He had misjudged the punt and at the last moment moved forward in the midst of the coverage to make the catch. It is generally close, but not always that close. If they are moving in and breathing on the guy and impeding his ability to adjust to the ball they are more likely to get a call. In a case like this one if they are stationary and the returner moves into them I think they are reluctant to pull out the flags.
I have often wondered if a returner could manufacture a call on a fair catch when they get so close by setting up about a yard laterally from where the ball is going and then run into the coverage at the last moment to make the catch. With a fair catch he has a right to the ball and unimpeded progress to the point of the catch. It would be a high risk/low reward type of move though. 15 yards on one hand but a turnover and possible score on the other hand.
It is a safety first approach. Coaches have confidence in our Offense to move the ball. You actually see a lot of teams take this approach. We are essentially playing prevent defense to protect against fakes. The average punt return in college football is around 5 yards. Coaches would rather ensure possession than the normal 5 yards and also risk fumbles and muffs, which happen more frequently when the returner is looking for return windows instead of catching the ball. Also, we are averaging -3 yards per return this year.
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A reason he misjudged the punt perhaps is because all the defenders were standing in his way where the ball needed to be caught. It has to be VERY distracting to the returner to be moving to catch the ball and have defenders directly in the path. It appears defenders can get very close, then back away while harassing the returner. One would think they could yell into his face at the last moment. For them it seems to be high reward, low risk. Strong possibility of a muff.
Doesn’t believe in blowouts? Did you miss the ULM game? Or the Tech games the past few years?
To be fair, last year's Tech/ISU game was the most lopsided 10-point win I may have ever witnessed.
True, but if we’re only talking last year, I think the 49-24 win over TCU compensates.
1) You actually see a lot of teams take this approach. Link?
2) The average punt return in college football is around 5 yards. Link?
NCAA College Football FBS current individual Stats | NCAA.com
Discover the current NCAA FBS Football leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.
www.ncaa.com
I found this interesting if you had an average of 5 yards that you would just be outside the top 15 in the country. If I'm reading that right.
So why wouldn’t you touch the spread then? You would just go Tech + 12.5. You’re not really betting against Iowa State with that big of a spread.
