Cheers, peeps! Don't know about you guys, but we MSU fans are excited to be playing y'all in the Liberty Bowl.

I'm actually working on a Liberty Bowl preview article for one of our fan websites, ForWhomTheCowbellTolls.com If you guys don't mind, I could use a little info about your team. I've been able to research stats & such pretty easily, but the "how" y'all play has been hard to find. A few questions:

1. I'm of the understanding that your offense is a run-heavy Spread option. Is this the case? And if so, how is your QB as a passer?

2. Does your offense use tempo or do you usually huddle?

3. Do you use a fullback or are you more of a TE/H-Back & WRs team?

4. What's the strongest position on your offense?

5. What is your base defense? 4-3? 3-4?

6. Is your defense a more aggressive, blitzing D or more of a zone read-and-react D?

7. What position is the strength of your D?

8. Who are your 3-5 best players, especially on D?

That info would help me a ton in putting together the preview. Any help would be appreciated, and I'll be sure to link it here for you guys to check out once I get it posted.

To answer question No. 2...Against Marshall we had a 73 yard scoring drive in 46 seconds and a 62 yard scoring drive (4 play) in 52 seconds.

(12-20-2013 01:28 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  Cheers, peeps! Don't know about you guys, but we MSU fans are excited to be playing y'all in the Liberty Bowl.

I'm actually working on a Liberty Bowl preview article for one of our fan websites, ForWhomTheCowbellTolls.com If you guys don't mind, I could use a little info about your team. I've been able to research stats & such pretty easily, but the "how" y'all play has been hard to find. A few questions:

1. I'm of the understanding that your offense is a run-heavy Spread option. Is this the case? And if so, how is your QB as a passer?

2. Does your offense use tempo or do you usually huddle?

3. Do you use a fullback or are you more of a TE/H-Back & WRs team?

4. What's the strongest position on your offense?

5. What is your base defense? 4-3? 3-4?

6. Is your defense a more aggressive, blitzing D or more of a zone read-and-react D?

7. What position is the strength of your D?

8. Who are your 3-5 best players, especially on D?

That info would help me a ton in putting together the preview. Any help would be appreciated, and I'll be sure to link it here for you guys to check out once I get it posted.

1. Correct. Taylor is inconsistent as a passer (52% completion). Has hit some big plays (7.3 yds/attempt).

2. We don't huddle. However, our tempo varies. A majority of the time, we line up and then look to sidelines for adjustments and run the play clock down to about 5-10 seconds. We will however speed it up if we like the matchups we have. We were 7th in TOP this year after leading the nation last year.

3. TE/H-Back. That used to be Turner Petersen's job, but he blew out his knee against Tulane. Now, we see more of TE Connor Cella and RB Luke Turner handling the job.

4. Strongest position is RB. Ross has had a great year that has been well-documented, but we have great depth in Turner, Dillard, and Davis that we use to keep pounding the ball and give the D different looks.

5. Base defense is *edit: 4-2-5* with the 5 in the secondary being 3 safeties and 2 CBs.

6. Not really sure how to answer this one. We play a lot of man-to-man because we feel comfortable with our top 2 CBs matching up with anyone. Against Dak, we will have to be careful with how we pressure him because we can't give him lanes to run in.

7. Corner. Gaines and Callahan both have NFL futures in my opinion. Great cover corners that we leave on islands consistently and rarely have paid for it.

8 On D: Gaines, Covington, Callahan would be my top 3. On offense: I'd say Ross and Jordan Taylor are our biggest weapons.

Hope this helps.

Correction on #5 - Rice runs a 4-2-5, very rarely going away from the personnel grouping (sometimes, there will only be 3 linemen in a long yardage situation, subbing in a DB). The 3-3-5 was run by his predecessor coach.

(12-20-2013 01:56 PM)gsloth Wrote:  Correction on #5 - Rice runs a 4-2-5, very rarely going away from the personnel grouping (sometimes, there will only be 3 linemen in a long yardage situation, subbing in a DB). The 3-3-5 was run by his predecessor coach.

My bad. Not sure what I was thinking there. I blame work lol.

But yes, our dime package will see another CB come on the field for an interior DL. So 3-2-6.

You didn't ask about special teams, but they are mostly a strength. Our kicker has 13 made kicks from 50+ with a high of 57, and range probably up to 10 yards further. 56/77 kickoffs were touchbacks.

Yowza! That's insane. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous as our FG kicking has been literally the worst in the nation this season.

Thanks for the info! Sounds like your D is a variant of what we used to run in the mid-to-late 90s when Joe Lee Dunn was our DC. 4-2-5, but at least one of the Safeties was a hybrid LB/S type, and we called them Dog Safeties.

Your offensive philosophy is interesting. Sounds like a fun offense to watch, that's for sure. Especially for someone that like run-heavy offenses like me.

You guys have been very helpful, this will really help flesh out my preview. Look for it late next week.

(12-20-2013 03:08 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  Thanks for the info! Sounds like your D is a variant of what we used to run in the mid-to-late 90s when Joe Lee Dunn was our DC. 4-2-5, but at least one of the Safeties was a hybrid LB/S type, and we called them Dog Safeties.

Your offensive philosophy is interesting. Sounds like a fun offense to watch, that's for sure. Especially for someone that like run-heavy offenses like me.

You guys have been very helpful, this will really help flesh out my preview. Look for it late next week.

I started writing a reply but it wasn't worth the effort since the other Owls nailed everything. So just a couple notes on questions you didn't ask.

Re: special teams, our return teams have done practically nothing this year. Also, we like to get tricky with our punting and it often works to our advantage. For instance, if Rice gets 4th-and-short around midfield, don't be surprised to see our QB drop a pooch punt. And our primary punter has done quite a few effective rugby kicks and other low line-drive kicks to help mitigate strong punt returners (if you happen to have one).

Re: offense, Rice occasionally runs a version of the wildcat with Luke Turner as QB. He's thrown 3 TD's this year out of the formation, though Rice is even more run-heavy than usual. Rice has been mixing the WildOwl with its base offense for a few years now, with unpredictable success. Some teams can completely shut down the WildOwl and us fans bang our heads against the wall when we continue running it when the other team clearly has it covered well. Other teams just can't figure it out and its pretty successful all game. Rice uses it quite a bit in short-yardage and goalline situations.

Re: defense, CB's are almost always on an island and both are excellent. And I'm not talking excellent for CUSA, they are both really good CB's for anyone. Safeties have some athleticism and can make plays on the ball, but are also susceptible to getting beat in coverage and missing open-field tackles. They seem to have improved their fundamentals in the 2nd half of the season, as Rice has been a little better at limiting long plays down the stretch. Really hard to predict how the defense will hold up against and SEC o-line.

(12-20-2013 02:42 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  You didn't ask about special teams, but they are mostly a strength. Our kicker has 13 made kicks from 50+ with a high of 57, and range probably up to 10 yards further. 56/77 kickoffs were touchbacks.

Special teams are going to be important in this game, especially if the Owls don't turn the ball over on our own end of the field.

I think the Owl offense will struggle a bit in this game, especially with the MSU D-line. I think Charles Ross will do OK with his rushing, but we clearly can't rely on just him. A few well-organized passing plays (even trick plays like the opening TD against Marshall) could make all the difference in scoring, but this game is going to be a game of field position.

More importantly, the offense can't panic and engage in risky behavior. In the 2Q of the Marshall game, the Rice offense stalled out for a few series, but the Owls didn't panic and placed three consecutive punts within the Marshall 10yd line. Smart play when things aren't going particularly well will be crucial. Dak Prescott is a capable runner but his passing seems suspect, and he may struggle if he is continually given long fields. Rakeem Cato was the best QB we faced (no, I am not forgetting about Manziel), but the defense eventually got into his head and frustrated him into making mistakes. The young Prescott might be easier to break in this regard.

If the Owls can repeatedly kick touchbacks and place nice punts, forcing MSU to always start on or behind the 20yd line, I like our chances. Throw in 2-3 long FGs that mere mortal kickers couldn't make, and that gives Rice a decisive edge. It only helps that MSU's FG-kicking is weak.

(12-20-2013 01:38 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 01:28 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  2. Does your offense use tempo or do you usually huddle?

2. We don't huddle.

C'mon D1... tell it like it really is.

We Meerkat. We should be proud of that. Even if they don't really understand what we're talking about now, they will the moment they see it

(12-20-2013 03:53 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 01:38 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 01:28 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  2. Does your offense use tempo or do you usually huddle?

2. We don't huddle.

C'mon D1... tell it like it really is.

We Meerkat. We should be proud of that. Even if they don't really understand what we're talking about now, they will the moment they see it

Let's hope that Meerkatting went away along with Reagan...

(12-20-2013 02:42 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  You didn't ask about special teams, but they are mostly a strength. Our kicker has 13 made kicks from 50+ with a high of 57, and range probably up to 10 yards further. 56/77 kickoffs were touchbacks.

(12-20-2013 03:04 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  Yowza! That's insane. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous as our FG kicking has been literally the worst in the nation this season.

Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

Another random season highlight from one of our walkons ... an engineering major with an IQ of 160+

(12-20-2013 06:46 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 02:42 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  You didn't ask about special teams, but they are mostly a strength. Our kicker has 13 made kicks from 50+ with a high of 57, and range probably up to 10 yards further. 56/77 kickoffs were touchbacks.

(12-20-2013 03:04 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  Yowza! That's insane. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous as our FG kicking has been literally the worst in the nation this season.

Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

We are also great at Dancing with the Stars!

(12-20-2013 06:46 PM)I45owl Wrote:  Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

Shh... we might need that arrow in our quiver.

(12-20-2013 06:46 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 02:42 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  You didn't ask about special teams, but they are mostly a strength. Our kicker has 13 made kicks from 50+ with a high of 57, and range probably up to 10 yards further. 56/77 kickoffs were touchbacks.

(12-20-2013 03:04 PM)War Machine Dawg Wrote:  Yowza! That's insane. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous as our FG kicking has been literally the worst in the nation this season.

Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

I just love that video. Especially the way it's cut.
- First replay: Okay, cool. Successful onsides kick.
- Second replay: Wait, what? How did he kick that ball?
- Third replay: Wow. Pure awesome.

(12-20-2013 08:36 PM)texd Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 06:46 PM)I45owl Wrote:  Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

Shh... we might need that arrow in our quiver.

I was thinking the same thing.
But this has been out there a long time.
No doubt the coaches have prepared Bos and the STs with another slick play for this circumstance.

(12-20-2013 10:51 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 08:36 PM)texd Wrote:  

(12-20-2013 06:46 PM)I45owl Wrote:  Only four of those 50+ yard kicks were this season (not sure about the kickoffs). And, Optimistic Owl left out the Rabona kickoff.

Shh... we might need that arrow in our quiver.

I was thinking the same thing.
But this has been out there a long time.
No doubt the coaches have prepared Bos and the STs with another slick play for this circumstance.

Yeah, I hope the MSU coaches don't frequent these boards, but I snuck into a closed-door practice this week and saw one of the most amazing Special Teams plays ever. *EVER*. Boswell gets the coverage team up to the line, addresses the ball, then coughs into his hand. The coverage team suddenly takes off, one of the guys pounces on the turf, and another uses an eyedropper to add water to the unseen dehydrated football that Boz blow-darted 10 yards. The ball expands like a sea monkey, already in the arms of the Rice player. Onside kick successful. Rice ball!! Apparently there's also a cold fusion play in the works and something called "Schrödinger's Kick."