Is Mullen/MSU football taking another step?

[dawgday166]

You are a coach. Um, sorry, your buddy coach34 is a coach, so surely he's taught you enough that you know it isn't this simple. At the time we played LSU and Auburn, we were extremely one dimensional on offense. Fitz was shaky and hadn't settled in. We weren't throwing the ball especially well. Yes, our OL talent was lacking....but you don't just line up and run the ball against those teams, you have to do other things to open up the run...especially with our OL struggling the way it was. Those are things were weren't able to do against LSU and Auburn. Especially Auburn. It's just not as simple as to say, we couldn't run the ball because the OL sucked. If teams have a solid defense and load the box, it really doesn't matter how good your OL is. You gotta be able to do some other things to open it up.

ETA: Trying to run Holloway on interior zone reads and off tackle didn't help matters either. I wish we had gone with Aeris a lot sooner. But my point still remains....you can't be one dimensional and expect to run the ball on anyone in the SEC (except Arkansas and Ole Miss).

2015 we had Dak. Couldn't run against anyone, including a horrible AU team.

[lamont]

2015 we had Dak. Couldn't run against anyone, including a horrible AU team.

Yep- even a Taco Bell manager can see his post was not very good. Either we have a system problem or a talent problem when we face good defenses. And It's not the system. Doesn't matter if we have Dak or what at QB- we don't ever run the ball vs good defenses. That shows we lack talent on the OL.

Make sure and watch this Fall- we have Fitz and Aeris and we still won't run effectively vs Georgia, Bama, Auburn, or LSU

[dawgday166]

Yep- even a Taco Bell manager can see his post was not very good. Either we have a system problem or a talent problem when we face good defenses. And It's not the system. Doesn't matter if we have Dak or what at QB- we don't ever run the ball vs good defenses. That shows we lack talent on the OL.

Make sure and watch this Fall- we have Fitz and Aeris and we still won't run effectively vs Georgia, Bama, Auburn, or LSU

I'll be watching. Hope you (and I) are wrong ... but fear we probably won't be.

[1bigdawg]

It's just not as simple as to say, we couldn't run the ball because the OL sucked. If teams have a solid defense and load the box, it really doesn't matter how good your OL is. You gotta be able to do some other things to open it up.

So you are putting the blame on Mullen?

[lamont]

So you are putting the blame on Mullen?

We had the NFL ROY at QB plus 2 All-SEC WR's in 2015. Our problems in the run game had zero to do with teams "loading the box"

[tcdog70]

How did we get to the point of being able to sign really good QBs and Linebackers? Hell we put some in the NFL. Mullen put Tebow-Smith and Now Dak in the Pros and all they talk about is how Mullen is a QB guru. We have some really good LBs. For us to recruit OL we have to Put more than Gabe Jackson in the Pros.

When you walk in a Ol's home you have to be able to show them why they need to come to MSU. it needs to be a fast track to playing on Sunday's.

[Joe Schmedlap]

We have not had SEC talent on the offensive line under Mullen. Blame in on whomever you want, but it's been that way for way too long under this current coaching regime.. Also, it wasn't that way historically under the previous four coaches.

[QuadrupleOption]

We have not had SEC talent on the offensive line under Mullen. Blame in on whomever you want, but it's been that way for way too long under this current coaching regime.. Also, it wasn't that way historically under the previous four coaches.

The thing is, when you look at the season averages for our squads we are running the ball pretty effectively in general. I think the problem is that we don't pick one guy to tote the rock the majority of the time (except the QB), and we try to utilize the RB in situations that they aren't built for (see Brandon Holloway). Holloway was a good player for us, and I loved his effort and attitude. But he was too small to run between the tackles like a guy with an extra 4 inches and 50 pounds.

It seems like the issue we have is not moving the ball on the ground but scoring TDs on the ground.

Anyway, here's the rushing stats since 2012:

2012:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Ladarius Perkins 205 1024 5.0 8
2 Josh Robinson 55 335 6.1 1
3 Tyler Russell 43 -5 -0.1
4 Derrick Milton 34 165 4.9 2
5 Nick Griffin 32 223 7.0 1
6 Dak Prescott 32 118 3.7 4
7 Jameon Lewis 5 21 4.2 0

2013:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Ladarius Perkins 137 542 4.0 2
2 Dak Prescott 134 829 6.2 13
3 Josh Robinson 78 459 5.9 3
4 Ashton Shumpert 46 190 4.1 3
5 Damian Williams 37 112 3.0 1
6 Tyler Russell 26 15 0.6 0
7 Nick Griffin 24 96 4.0 1
8 Jameon Lewis 13 117 9.0 3
9 Derrick Milton 13 69 5.3 2
10 Brandon Holloway 8 38 4.8 0

2014:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Dak Prescott 210 986 4.7 14
2 Josh Robinson 190 1203 6.3 11
3 Ashton Shumpert 47 274 5.8 2
4 Brandon Holloway 45 294 6.5 1
5 Nick Griffin 39 157 4.0 1
6 Damian Williams 16 63 3.9 0
7 Jameon Lewis 7 56 8.0 0
8 Gabe Myles 4 35 8.8 0
9 Bennie Braswell 4 9 2.3 0
10 Fred Ross 2 6 3.0 0

2015:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Dak Prescott 160 588 3.7 10
2 Brandon Holloway 92 413 4.5 0
3 Ashton Shumpert 59 228 3.9 1
4 Aeris Williams 40 206 5.2 3
5 Nick Fitzgerald 23 127 5.5 3
6 Dontavian Lee 22 137 6.2 0
7 Malik Dear 11 110 10.0
8 Gabe Myles 7 11 1.6 1
9 Elijah Staley 3 18 6.0 0
10 Fred Ross 2 42 21.0
11 Logan Cooke 1 11 11.0

2016:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Nick Fitzgerald 195 1375 7.1 16
2 Aeris Williams 137 720 5.3 4
3 Ashton Shumpert 55 257 4.7 1
4 Brandon Holloway 50 226 4.5 1
5 Keith Mixon 25 106 4.2 0
6 Damian Williams 19 99 5.2 1
7 Malik Dear 17 124 7.3 1
8 Nick Gibson 9 57 6.3 0
9 Dontavian Lee 7 27 3.9 0
10 Fred Ross 2 39 19.5

[dawgday166]

The thing is, when you look at the season averages for our squads we are running the ball pretty effectively in general. I think the problem is that we don't pick one guy to tote the rock the majority of the time (except the QB), and we try to utilize the RB in situations that they aren't built for (see Brandon Holloway). Holloway was a good player for us, and I loved his effort and attitude. But he was too small to run between the tackles like a guy with an extra 4 inches and 50 pounds.

It seems like the issue we have is not moving the ball on the ground but scoring TDs on the ground.

Anyway, here's the rushing stats since 2012:

2012:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Ladarius Perkins 205 1024 5.0 8
2 Josh Robinson 55 335 6.1 1
3 Tyler Russell 43 -5 -0.1
4 Derrick Milton 34 165 4.9 2
5 Nick Griffin 32 223 7.0 1
6 Dak Prescott 32 118 3.7 4
7 Jameon Lewis 5 21 4.2 0

2013:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Ladarius Perkins 137 542 4.0 2
2 Dak Prescott 134 829 6.2 13
3 Josh Robinson 78 459 5.9 3
4 Ashton Shumpert 46 190 4.1 3
5 Damian Williams 37 112 3.0 1
6 Tyler Russell 26 15 0.6 0
7 Nick Griffin 24 96 4.0 1
8 Jameon Lewis 13 117 9.0 3
9 Derrick Milton 13 69 5.3 2
10 Brandon Holloway 8 38 4.8 0

2014:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Dak Prescott 210 986 4.7 14
2 Josh Robinson 190 1203 6.3 11
3 Ashton Shumpert 47 274 5.8 2
4 Brandon Holloway 45 294 6.5 1
5 Nick Griffin 39 157 4.0 1
6 Damian Williams 16 63 3.9 0
7 Jameon Lewis 7 56 8.0 0
8 Gabe Myles 4 35 8.8 0
9 Bennie Braswell 4 9 2.3 0
10 Fred Ross 2 6 3.0 0

2015:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Dak Prescott 160 588 3.7 10
2 Brandon Holloway 92 413 4.5 0
3 Ashton Shumpert 59 228 3.9 1
4 Aeris Williams 40 206 5.2 3
5 Nick Fitzgerald 23 127 5.5 3
6 Dontavian Lee 22 137 6.2 0
7 Malik Dear 11 110 10.0
8 Gabe Myles 7 11 1.6 1
9 Elijah Staley 3 18 6.0 0
10 Fred Ross 2 42 21.0
11 Logan Cooke 1 11 11.0

2016:
ATT YDS YPA TD
1 Nick Fitzgerald 195 1375 7.1 16
2 Aeris Williams 137 720 5.3 4
3 Ashton Shumpert 55 257 4.7 1
4 Brandon Holloway 50 226 4.5 1
5 Keith Mixon 25 106 4.2 0
6 Damian Williams 19 99 5.2 1
7 Malik Dear 17 124 7.3 1
8 Nick Gibson 9 57 6.3 0
9 Dontavian Lee 7 27 3.9 0
10 Fred Ross 2 39 19.5

You might want to check out individual games in '15 and '16 against the upper echelon teams. I also discount the QB since I believe his #1 thing should be yds thru the air. If he's dominating the rushing stats ... I don't think that is a great thing. Supplementing rushing stats is one thing ... dominating them is another.

[lamont]

You might want to check out individual games in '15 and '16 against the upper echelon teams. I also discount the QB since I believe his #1 thing should be yds thru the air. If he's dominating the rushing stats ... I don't think that is a great thing. Supplementing rushing stats is one thing ... dominating them is another.

I disagree on this. Today's Spread offense is about numbers and the QB being able to run the ball. Our QB should be our leading rusher every season. It's about production at QB- not just passing.

[dawgday166]

I disagree on this. Today's Spread offense is about numbers and the QB being able to run the ball. Our QB should be our leading rusher every season. It's about production at QB- not just passing.

Check out Bama's and Clemson's rushing stats from last year. Bama had 1 RB with more yds than Hurts and another with just under the same yds as Hurts. Watson wasn't close to leading rusher for Clemson.

OSU in '14 would be a good one to look at too. To get to upper echelon IMO ... the RB position (even if split with 2 backs) should be at least 1 and a half to 2X what QB rushes for. But then that is IMO.

[BrunswickDawg]

We have not had SEC talent on the offensive line under Mullen. Blame in on whomever you want, but it's been that way for way too long under this current coaching regime.. Also, it wasn't that way historically under the previous four coaches.

Derek Taite, Kevin Fant, Omarr Connor, Kyle York, and Mike Henig calls BS on this. There was a window from 97-2000 where we had a great line, but other years not so much in the Jackie and Croom eras.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Just to be that guy we average 7.6 wins a year under Mullen. So pretty much 8 wins. Eat it Random*****

[lamont]

Just to be that guy we average 7.6 wins a year under Mullen. So pretty much 8 wins. Eat it Random*****

It's exactly 7 regular season wins. Again- bowls are gravy and don't factor into predictions