Stephen M Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star is crying in his oatmeal this morning. The gist of his article, which I will spare you except for a couple highlights, is that expecting fans to be patient gets more difficult when a basketball school rolls you on your home turf.
Here's a few lowlights.
- Special teams blunders and mental mistakes are still holding this team back.
- How does a player like Whop Philyor, who's name sounds like someone who could have been one of Otis' sidekicks on the Andy Griffith Show, catch 14 balls.
- Frost says they have some tough and dicsilpined guys, but not enough of them yet.
Point #1. Special teams are the hidden secret of any successful team. Take them lightly and you will be recruiting in December instead of preparing for a bowl game. Add mental mistakes and you have all the earmarks of a team that's not very well coached.
Point #2. Running hurry up offenses and trying to play basketball on grass may help you catch up in a game you're trailing, but it also leads to more plays from scrimmage for the other team as well. I would bet Indiana ran more plays from scrimmage than any other game this season, which not only gives them more opportunities, but also taxes the defense of the team going up tempo, giving them less rest on the sideline even when the offense scores. (Take note, Kirkball haters)
Which leads to point #3. Pretty self explanatory and it bears out on the field every Saturday.
Add to this the fact that he continues to get his quarterbacks killed and no wonder this is a recipe for disaster. And a beautiful sight for Iowa eyes.
Maybe they will have "Scott Frost Day" in the Hawkeye state when Opie gets canned. Or maybe they will be mouring the loss even worse east of the Missouri, because there's always a chance the next coach could right the ship.
