Bishop2b5
SEC Exchange Student
- Messages
- 8,927
- Reaction score
- 6,154
It was like ND went into halftime and decided “Let’s just repeat in the second half what we did in the first half on both sides of the ball”. Meanwhile, OSU’s three DCs made adjustments and forced ND to 3 & out after 3 & out while the Cowboys’ offense eroded the Irish lead.
You gotta credit the OKie St OC as well. They adjusted to ND’s aggressive D and used their aggression against them while exposing the ND defensive backs. I don’t recall many blitzes getting home in the second half. If anything they did Sanders a favor as he simply split the middle and raced to another first down.
ND got out-coached. There is no waiver wire in CFB so Elston/Mickens/MF knew what they had in the defensive backfield. Their plan worked for a good part of the first half but that defensive plan was built on swampland b/c it collapsed in the 2nd half & Rees wasn’t prepared to adjust to a shootout to at least give the D a rest.
That's it in a nutshell. Great first half, but no answer to the inevitable halftime adjustments of OSU.