MSU @ Purdue

[gotime909]

Virtually every team we've played has done that to us - we've been 120th or worse in pass defense pretty much all year.

Until the last 2 games tho it was keeping them from giving up big plays so I bought in. But now the big plays are piling up so there's no defense to why they're doing the whole prevent thing.

 

[Spartanmack]

Until the last 2 games tho it was keeping them from giving up big plays so I bought in. But now the big plays are piling up so there's no defense to why they're doing the whole prevent thing.

I've felt all year they were a huge liability and it was only a matter of time that the offense was going to sputter enough or we'd run into a really strong defense. I'd have to look back at prior game stats but I don't feel like the big plays are a recent phenomenon - nor are the mistakes like corners getting turned around, tripping themselves up, dropping back 15 yds and still letting guys get 5 past them downfield, etc...

I think we've just been playing with fire all year and today we got burned.

 

[Spartanmack]

The defense played bend don't break again - Purdue's last 5 possessions all went deep into the red zone with 1 TD while 4 of them ended in FGs. But it doesn't really matter when you let them schore on every drive and chew up clock - the TD drive took 7 mins off the clock and the last 3 drives were 60, 93 and 78 yds.

 

[gotime909]

The defense is bad, but that can be changed or fixed in an off-season. I'm more worried about how Thorne has played. He had some big games with trick plays and bombs early, but his last 7 games he has 8 tds and 7 ints passing. That's with having the best rb in college football behind him. The line gets dumb penalties, but haven't given up many sacks. He's just missing badly too often. I don't think he's as bad as lewerke, but im not sure he's much better.

 

[Spartanmack]

I think sacks given up is an overrated stat for evaluating a line. It doesn't pick up pressures, hurries and hits the QB takes and doesn't account for a QB that's able to avoid sacks but not be set for throws. Also, as a team we've allowed 13 sacks, puts us in the high 30s, Alabama has allowed 18 sacks, 67th nationally - about half a sack a game counts for 32 spots in the rankings. And no one would say we have a line anywhere near as good as theirs - it has a lot to do with the fact that we don't play good defenses very often let alone, every week.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Thorne is a great QB, but I think the line is worse. Walker is another story - always one of the 2 best players on the field, usually the best. Today that was either O'Connell or Bell, unfortunately.

It doesn't help that we lost Nailor. I think Thorne is a serviceable B1G QB and having 2 weapons at receiver can make you a competetive team with just a serviceable quarterback. To me the bigger issues are play calling and the line, probably in that order.

 

[gotime909]

I like seeing the post game quotes from Tucker and Thorne. They owned it and gave Purdue all the credit for their win. Total 180 from what those whiny fucks did last week after we beat them.