I used to run a very similar offense to NIU
Finally had a chance to rewatch the game. If I wasn’t an ND fan that would have been a blast to watch. FYI, I know the O and special teams played worse than the D, just thought you might be interested in some of the nuance of the NIU offense. If you want to reiterate that the defense didn’t lose the game, that is a fair point, carry on, no need to read anymore.
I coached the fly offense for many years and NIU ran a version of it for large chunks of the game. The fly offense has a receiver going in motion who can get the ball on a sweep or fakes getting the ball. The primary concept is to cause hesitation by distracting with the fly motion. And then run right at the defense as they try to figure out where the ball is at. When NIU didn’t run fly concepts, they used a lot of pulling and cross motions to create the same effect. In other words, there was a lot of eye candy for the defense.
ND was frequently unsure where the ball was and that caused a lot of hesitation. In the first half they tried to rotate with the motion instead of running over with the motion. A pretty common adjustment to the fly offense. Basically the guy covering the fly motion, doesn’t run across the formation with the fly guy, he rotates into a deep safety position and the safety rotates to the fly side. ND really struggled doing this, they seemed confused when they rotated and hesitated a lot. They went away from it in the second half.
The biggest mistake ND made was they got too caught up with the motion (NIU didn’t just use fly motion, they had a lot of guys pulling and a lot of guys going in opposite directions on their running plays to cause hesitation)
As a guy who coached this offense, I loved playing against teams like ND that were mesmerized by the motion. You could run down hill at them and even if you weren’t bigger then then you could absolutely maul them because they are standing around trying to figure out where the ball is and you are coming downhill at them. It is also a great way to neutralize teams with good speed.
NIU did a nice job with their game plan. I’m an Al Golden fan, but he didn’t have a great plan for this one.
Complete thread:
- I used to run a very similar offense to NIU -
Larz,
2024-09-09, 20:02
- Kinda reminds me of a Kelly-Era BYU game -
Jeremy (WeIsND),
2024-09-10, 07:32
- Was that senior day 2012? Golson dinged, so we had to -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 09:32
- Don't think it was Senior Day -
Jeremy (WeIsND),
2024-09-10, 10:57
- Yikes. That was FREEZING for an October game then. -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 11:05
- Agreed - I recall there were some flurries flying around - Jeremy (WeIsND), 2024-09-10, 11:11
- Yikes. That was FREEZING for an October game then. -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 11:05
- Don't think it was Senior Day -
Jeremy (WeIsND),
2024-09-10, 10:57
- Was that senior day 2012? Golson dinged, so we had to -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 09:32
- By the way, #1 is from Savannah. Beach High School. -
Grantland,
2024-09-10, 06:20
- He’s a problem for sure. Talented RB. Hope he has - Larz, 2024-09-10, 06:30
- The timing on the fly motion was so good -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 03:27
- I think I posted at least once below that I was surprised we -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 05:55
- That’s absolutely it - Larz, 2024-09-10, 06:04
- The key is -
Larz,
2024-09-10, 05:23
- Thank you Larz. As I was reading it I thought "sounds -
Grantland,
2024-09-10, 05:48
- No worries! Absolutely, very much like defending the option - Larz, 2024-09-10, 05:58
- Thank you Larz. As I was reading it I thought "sounds -
Grantland,
2024-09-10, 05:48
- I think I posted at least once below that I was surprised we -
BillyGoat,
2024-09-10, 05:55
- Thank you for this. -
terribletr,
2024-09-09, 22:02
- No worries! Motion is a killer for sure! - Larz, 2024-09-10, 05:27
- It felt during the game... -
domer.mq,
2024-09-09, 20:24
- Yes, they really struggled with that. Totally agree - Larz, 2024-09-09, 20:35
- The analysis of the ND offense is actually easier -
Larz,
2024-09-09, 20:20
- We are so bad getting in and out of breaks at WR -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 03:37
- Kris Mitchell is a 1,000 yard receiver -
Jay,
2024-09-10, 07:11
- Yeah it’s so odd -
Larz,
2024-09-10, 07:28
- My guess (as per linked post above) -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 07:34
- watch the Duke highlights -
HumanRobot,
2024-09-10, 07:35
- The NIU game film is fairly hopeless -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 07:40
- check out -
HumanRobot,
2024-09-10, 08:02
- Lead foot going in the totally wrong direction -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 09:04
- How did he win the Manning Academy with these flaws? - San Pedro, 2024-09-10, 09:26
- We paid $2 million for a QB who can't hit a crosser. -
San Pedro,
2024-09-10, 08:40
- Don't cry for Jay Jordan... cry for us - atxND, 2024-09-10, 08:59
- Lead foot going in the totally wrong direction -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 09:04
- check out -
HumanRobot,
2024-09-10, 08:02
- The NIU game film is fairly hopeless -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 07:40
- watch the Duke highlights -
HumanRobot,
2024-09-10, 07:35
- My guess (as per linked post above) -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 07:34
- It's really strange. Terry mentioned his hands. -
San Pedro,
2024-09-10, 07:24
- his FIU highlight tape is fantastic - Jay, 2024-09-10, 07:29
- Yeah it’s so odd -
Larz,
2024-09-10, 07:28
- It also doesn't help when they don't make plays -
Domer99,
2024-09-10, 06:51
- Greathouse has to make that fucking catch. - KGB, 2024-09-10, 06:55
- Once again our most twitchy receiver is a walkon lax player. -
San Pedro,
2024-09-10, 05:56
- Yeah. As improbable as it seems, Faison seems to be our - BillyGoat, 2024-09-10, 06:41
- Yea it really stands out. It’s odd. -
Larz,
2024-09-10, 05:33
- Denbrock may be surprised to discover -
San Pedro,
2024-09-10, 06:02
- Hard to imagine what his plan for the season was - Mike (bart), 2024-09-10, 06:11
- The pass scheme has been shocking - Mike (bart), 2024-09-10, 05:59
- Denbrock may be surprised to discover -
San Pedro,
2024-09-10, 06:02
- Kris Mitchell is a 1,000 yard receiver -
Jay,
2024-09-10, 07:11
- We are so bad getting in and out of breaks at WR -
Mike (bart),
2024-09-10, 03:37
- Kinda reminds me of a Kelly-Era BYU game -
Jeremy (WeIsND),
2024-09-10, 07:32