⚡ CFB Dashboard

Personnel We did not adequately fill Hall's void. Dion Crawford (#18) returned from injury and looked functional in tight spaces, but he's another thick legged guy, somewhat similar to Marcellius Pulliam, that appears to be missing some quickness. Caleb Wheatland (#44) was not as good as week 1. I like the footspeed, but thought he was hesitant in the run game. Kind of reminding me of Wayne Matthews. Given those showings, and how frequently we are going with 3 LBs, I was surprised we didn't play more guys today. Pretzlaf (#45) got gassed by the end. Not sure who's next on the depth chart. Looked like DiMari Malone (#10) was out there on special teams. I have no inside info, and am probably just paranoid, but the combination of... 1) the look of Hall's injury last week, 2) the elbow brace on the sideline today, 3) Fitz so openly speaking about how Hall would go tomorrow if we had practice, and 4) the early point spread... almost seems like a smokescreen for ND and that we may be without Jordan longer. Cam Stodghill (#12) saw extended action today. A little as a traditional LB, but more so as a hybrid 5th DB. I say that instead of nickel, because at times it looked like he was playing the deep middle, which is interesting. Hard to tell exactly how he's being deployed without All 22 film. Had one very nice PBU. He is not physical enough to play Big Ten LB, but may help a little in this role. I am surprised they have him in the middle of kickoff coverage. The speed is there for it, but you can't avoid contact in that role. NiJhay Burt (#0) got in at nickel on the third drive of the game and played much more than week 1. Based on what I saw, he is an upgrade over Richard (#7). Too early to tell if that means he is a plus player himself. Appeared as though Richard was first in at Safety when Vaught (#2) went out for a play with injury. Brantley (#4) was improved today, and made perhaps the most important play of the day - but he still scares me. There was a swing pass in the second quarter where he was playing slot CB on the same side as Bell (#3). Instead of inside out leverage, Brantley over ran it and gave up the cutback. Love his spirit, but if he's overzealous the downside is greater than the upside.. Keahnist Thompson (#9) got the start at DE. Isaac Smith (#13) still saw snaps as well. Not sure why. Would much rather see what Thrush (#97) or even House (#33) can do in a game like that. Roberts (#55) was really the only DT to "win" against EMU double teams. A little alarming. Still love and respect how hard Coenen (#96) and Beeler (#52) pursue and pass rush, but I think we're about to see the lack of bulk shine through. Trey Lisle (#8) moves very well for his size and he no longer looks terribly slender. I wonder how many guys in CFB are covering kickoffs and playing DL? Also like his effort rushing punts. This year is a little early for a breakout, but I'm buying stock. Does anyone know who is rocking the temporary #66 & #74 jerseys on special teams? @JimComparoni Scheme I like how frequently we substitute on defense. With a roster full of imperfect players, it helps to maximize their output. EMU seemed to recognize that in preparation and used tempo to either prevent us from doing so, or catch us in scramble situations. At various points in the game, the LBs were aligning 6-7 yds from the LOS. There's no way this was intentional, given it was in pretty standard down and distance scenarios. I think it's more likely a sign that they were struggling to see/trust their reads and drifting back to get a better/longer view of things. I do not like how wide we are aligning the DEs in short yardage. We're giving OL free releases onto LBs. Even a 250lb LB like Hall cannot be expected to stalemate that... nonetheless make a play short of the sticks. Scheme aside - Soares (#1) still looks like a liability in the run game. In addition to being undersized, he doesn't show great technique either leveraging or spilling pulling linemen. Seemed like we saw slightly less of him on early downs today, but I haven't charted it. We are really loose (wide) with the alignment of our Nickel/Star against any sort of twin receivers - even when the offense has TE, double tights, 2 back, etc. formations. If you are going to do that your backside safety needs to come down as an extra box defender. Ours is still aligned off screen, leaving us light against the run numbers-wise. Maybe we're only comfortable playing it this way against MAC teams, idk. What I do know is that it's not going to be sustainable in the Big Ten.