Now that Scott Isphording has been brought on board as co-offensive coordinator, I have seen absolutely no difference in the predictable play calling, nor any other aspect of the offense. Just putting this out there: has anyone?
I think we're seeing some differences in the offense, but I never expected a huge change. I would expect him to tinker with the pass patterns, and the passing reads, mostly, and maybe shift the play calling tendencies in certain circumstances. Play-calling is vastly overrated in judging offensive success/failure anyway. Unlike video games where play calling is the only variable it's more about execution and scheme, and the actual play that is called is only what is run maybe 60% of the time, with the rest being changed at the line depending on how the defense lines up.
I think what we've seen is that when Ohio is up against teams that can penetrate against Ohio's young defensive line, the offense doesn't work well at all, and when the offensive line is able to drive the defense back, the offense works reasonably well. Kentucky and CMU in particular had strong defensive fronts, and against those two teams the offense looked miserable.
For me, the remainder of the year, I find myself asking, who on the schedule has a defensive line capable of blowing up our offense? I don't know the answer to that. I just hope the guys up front keep learning, and improving, and that as a result things get better as the year goes on. I expect a much bigger gain year over year, though, after those guys get an off-season in the weight room (and when Wood comes back, and Gibbons is fully recovered).
Last Edited: 10/6/2014 11:38:11 AM by L.C.