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We're now 12th in the NCAA in rushing yards per game...Brennan Marion is getting it done

rebelx

rebelx

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We had the 85th ranked rushing offense in 2022, we're now 12th ranked....that's a helluva an improvement! Should be fun going up again the 133rd ranked defense (out of 133 teams) in 2 weeks.

I did a deep dive into the Go-Go Offense before the season and a refresher recently, and I think we've only seen a small sample of what the offense can do. It's not unlike the offense that Urban Meyer came up with as it uses an option-type look, with counters and misdirection, and with a spread out passing game.

The idea with the passing game is to have too many "options" in the backfield that forces teams to bring a safety or two up to better defend the run options more and that will open up the pass over the top...which is something we've been trying to do quite a bit this season, with mixed success.

Watching AFA dismantle SDSU with the option and then throw over the top for those TDs....I think that's kinda the basic same idea that the Go-Go Offense is designed to do, but not as much dedication to a triple option look, and with a bit more passing than what AFA does.
 
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rebelx said:
We had the 85th ranked rushing offense in 2022, we're now 12th ranked....that's a helluva an improvement! Should be fun going up again the 133rd ranked defense (out of 133 teams) in 2 weeks.

I did a deep dive into the Go-Go Offense before the season and a refresher recently, and I think we've only seen a small sample of what the offense can do. It's not unlike the offense that Urban Meyer came up with as it uses an option-type look, with counters and misdirection, and with a spread out passing game.

The idea with the passing game is to have too many "options" in the backfield that forces teams to bring a safety or two up to better defend the run options more and that will open up the pass over the top...which is something we've been trying to do quite a bit this season, with mixed success.

Watching AFA dismantle SDSU with the option and then throw over the top for those TDs....I think that's kinda the basic same idea that the Go-Go Offense is designed to do, but not as much dedication to a triple option look, and with a bit more passing than what AFA does.
Click to expand...


A perfect example of seeing more and more elements I posted a stat that showed we utilized presnap motion less than anyone in the country heading into Hawaii.

So of course to make me look like an idiot (Shut it @bcvegaspt ) Marion was using tons of motion vs Hawaii. Each week there are noticeable new wrinkles.

I think same could be said for the defense. Blitzing, or sometimes not blitzing but bringing a 4th guy from a CB slot spot or a Safety spot or a LB to rush the passer still leaving 7 in coverage but giving the appearance of a blitz.

It's refreshing to see us actually seeing week to week and possession by possession adjustments.
 
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rebelx said:
We had the 85th ranked rushing offense in 2022, we're now 12th ranked....that's a helluva an improvement! Should be fun going up again the 133rd ranked defense (out of 133 teams) in 2 weeks.

I did a deep dive into the Go-Go Offense before the season and a refresher recently, and I think we've only seen a small sample of what the offense can do. It's not unlike the offense that Urban Meyer came up with as it uses an option-type look, with counters and misdirection, and with a spread out passing game.

The idea with the passing game is to have too many "options" in the backfield that forces teams to bring a safety or two up to better defend the run options more and that will open up the pass over the top...which is something we've been trying to do quite a bit this season, with mixed success.

Watching AFA dismantle SDSU with the option and then throw over the top for those TDs....I think that's kinda the basic same idea that the Go-Go Offense is designed to do, but not as much dedication to a triple option look, and with a bit more passing than what AFA does.
Click to expand...
One thing that I've noticed. Our RBs have been absolutely wide open in the flat on a number of plays leading to TDs. With all the different formations and looks defenses are off balance. Vs Utep and Hawaii we had multiple runs or screens for TDs where guys went untouched and basically walked in.
 
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dcut03 said:
I was a ilittle disappointed at first, but I may actually be relieved we got Marion instead of Petrino.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Petrine may have mailed it in. Clearly he wasn’t intending on staying long!
 
dcut03 said:
I was a ilittle disappointed at first, but I may actually be relieved we got Marion instead of Petrino.
Click to expand...
I'm actually very glad to have ended up with Marion over Petrino, but like you, I was a bit disappointed at first; but knowing now we have an OC that has his OWN, self-created offense....one that has been sampled by NFL teams amongst others, and a coach that almost certainly be HC sooner than later... I couldn't be more satisfied with the guy we ended up with.

Brendan Marion is the early gem on this coaching staff. Defense has been good, at times, as well...but nothing like the offense. The last time we had a modicum of success was when we had a run-heavy offense under John Robinson. I feel like Marion's offense is the type of offense that is successful at the college level...it uses the run to setup the pass, confuse the defense, and open up the field for huge plays.

I couldn't be more happy to have Marion as our OC...I'll never forget that Howard win over UNLV....and knowing we have the OC that orchestrated that win makes me happy. I'm just hoping that with this offense, we'll finally have defense ready for Air Force's option attack!
 
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Bullmastiff 1 said:
One thing that I've noticed. Our RBs have been absolutely wide open in the flat on a number of plays leading to TDs. With all the different formations and looks defenses are off balance. Vs Utep and Hawaii we had multiple runs or screens for TDs where guys went untouched and basically walked in.
Click to expand...
...not like I'm an expert of the Go-Go Offense, but I think that's the beauty of what I know about the offense...it creates situations where D-Line to Linebackers have too many assignments to cover everybody. Once the QB (whomever it may be) can make the best read, the offense could be deadly.
 
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rebelx said:
...not like I'm an expert of the Go-Go Offense, but I think that's the beauty of what I know about the offense...it creates situations where D-Line to Linebackers have too many assignments to cover everybody. Once the QB (whomever it may be) can make the best read, the offense could be deadly.
Click to expand...
That QB recruit Kharson Gordon ran a 40 in 4.4. When he is incorporated in Marion's offence along with our RB corps and guys like Ricky White and De Jesus...this offence will be scary. I hope we get to see it before Marion moves on. I hope UNLV increased the staff pays and keep the team together for another 2 years beyond this year.
 
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Yeah, I don't see Marion here next year. It's not his MO. Which could impact on the commits we have depending on the next guy.

rebelx said:
...not like I'm an expert of the Go-Go Offense, but I think that's the beauty of what I know about the offense...it creates situations where D-Line to Linebackers have too many assignments to cover everybody. Once the QB (whomever it may be) can make the best read, the offense could be deadly.
Click to expand...
Ask Michigan what they thought about the Go-Go Offense. It may be as good as the MWC but it won't make a difference against real talent. We need to keep recruiting at a higher level.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to have Marion this year. But don't forget where we have been the last +30 fking years. Keep praying we move forward and get better and better each year. I only use +30 as a more recent benchmark. In my life time I was there at the Silver Bowl in it's first year. A different conference and a different time.
 
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1Tripoda said:
Our DC is young, he's only 34 years old. Watch out for this kid. That defense is going to improves throughout the year. Michael Scherer is legit. His players are starting to fly all over the place. Just keep our staff for 2 more years, please.
Click to expand...

As fun and intricate as the GO GO offense is, I'm really enjoying watching the chess being played by the defense.

Hawaii game Rebs were running a lot of stunts. Racked up two sacks on first Hawaii drive and another on I believe their next drive. Hawaii made some adjustments. Stunts weren't as effective. 3rd quarter DC seemed to start bringing different guys up to line of scrimmage. Rebs were playing some 3-2-6 looks. QB really didn't know where the 4th rusher was going to come from.

They recorded 6 total sacks and 10 TFL (Second straight week with double digit TFL) Funny thing is (I'd have to go back and watch to be sure) I don't think the Rebs are bring more than 4 on a lot of these plays. So even though a LB/SF/CB might be rushing the passer they are technically blitzing since it's only four guys a lot of times

A lot of it looks like what Rocky Long was doing at SDSU. I don't think we have the same horses yet that Rocky had, but there are a lot of the same elements and that's why even though Rebs are giving up some big plays they are mitigating that by creating a lot of negative plays in return.
 
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Meister_Rebel said:
Yeah, I don't see Marion here next year. It's not his MO. Which could impact on the commits we have depending on the next guy.


Ask Michigan what they thought about the Go-Go Offense. It may be as good as the MWC but it won't make a difference against real talent. We need to keep recruiting at a higher level.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to have Marion this year. But don't forget where we have been the last +30 fking years. Keep praying we move forward and get better and better each year. I only use +30 as a more recent benchmark. In my life time I was there at the Silver Bowl in it's first year. A different conference and a different time.
Click to expand...

Ask Michigan what they think about any offense...
 
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Meister_Rebel said:
Exactly. It's all about the talent.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Although I've made this point 100 times in the past. I've clamored for years UNLV need to go after a defensive minded coach.

Reason being I'm of the opinion that unless you are willing to run an option style offense like the academies you will struggle if you don't have horses on offense or great QB play.

On the flipside, I think you can be a little less talented/athletic on the defensive side, but a solid game plan, being good schematically, guys knowing where to be, you can still make things uncomfortable on opponents especially QBs.

I'm not talking about talent gaps between a UNLV and Michigan. But within the Mountain West or other G5 schools.

Rocky Long's defenses gave some P5 schools fits and they weren't as talented as their opponents.
 
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I’m semi impressed with Marion’s offense. But let’s not kid ourselves It’s looked good versus really bad teams. I’m not going to judge how it looks versus air force or Fresno I see both those as beat downs. Same with Reno and New Mexico won’t read to much into those 2 games as well. I’m interested in Colorado state and San Jose state. Both teams are mid pack of MW conference and teams UNLV usually finds a way to lose to. This year I’m hoping is different. Win those plus Reno and new Mexico would be a solid first year and top 4 finish in conference.
 
Trying to compare us right now to Michigan is absurd.

We will never be able to recruit like them, so a very bad comparison.

Also, we really didn't start to run some of the intricacies of this offense until Vandy, and we are still adding things every week. We were very vanilla against Michigan being physically overmatched.

I'm sure if we had that game at the end of the year we would have tried to be more deceptive. Both sides of the ball. We weren't trying the weird blitzes and stunts.

I think the staff made a decision to play conservative. Tried to protect the ball, get out of there as healthy as possible. Not put much on film for a game they likely would not have won.

Weirdly enough Michigan did not play very conservative. They had a 50/50 run pass split and had some called QB runs.
 
Also this offense has more to it. It is run heavy, but it also is meant to push the ball downfield in the passing game. We haven't been able to do that yet, at least not consistently. Definitely not the past 2 weeks.

Odom has mentioned several times in the past few press conferences that we need to push the ball downfleid more. We aren't run heavy because we are a defensive minded team. We just haven't been able to execute the way they want to. This offense is meant to be more explosive.
 
At this point I’m good with not stretching the field too many times throughout the game. I coach HS soccer (the real fútbol) and creating overloads is such a better way to move the ball into space instead of going over the top all game.

The Go Go is meant to create overloads within 5-7 yards of the line of scrimmage. It requires a DB or LB to make a decision in the same way the RPO puts the hones on a DE to make a decision. You put the ball in the hands of De Jesus, White, or a RB in space by stretching the defense horizontally. You then have the over the top option when the safety come down to match up or an over the middle crossing or dig route option when a LB helps on an overload. That requires a QB who is actually looking for those option. I’m not sure we have a QB on this team who is ready for that. Not saying it can’t or won’t happen this year or next, but it’s evident by the play calling and adjustments we’ve seen. Hats off to Marion for making those adjustments without limiting the playbook too much. I’d keep beating this drum until someone can stop the run game. We have a legit stable of RBs and can continue to wear down defenses by just running 4 different guys out there.

I think we’re going to see a lot more De Jesus on a flat or whip route in the slot. This would open up a go route, especially in short yardage situations. The eagles ran a play on Sunday that was a thing of beauty. Goedert is lined up on the line on the right side of the line. He goes in motion to the left side and lines up in the slot. The ball is snapped and he goes into the flat for a screen. The Commanders are in man coverage and they both try to jump the Goedert route and AJ Brown releases in a go route and Commanders are left chasing AJ into the end zone.

www.espn.com

A.J. Brown's incredible run after the catch caps 59-yard TD reception from Jalen Hurts

Brown made the reception in stride down the sideline, deked a defender and then weaved his way through traffic.
www.espn.com

I could see a situation where you use De Jesus as a decoy in the flat after a day of quick throws gashing your defense for 6-8 yards per play that will leave White all alone on a go route. It just requires Maiava to make that throw. I have faith he will get there. The running game will also help as teams load up the box with 7-8 to stop the run game.
 
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Meister_Rebel said:
Yeah, I don't see Marion here next year. It's not his MO. Which could impact on the commits we have depending on the next guy.


Ask Michigan what they thought about the Go-Go Offense. It may be as good as the MWC but it won't make a difference against real talent. We need to keep recruiting at a higher level.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to have Marion this year. But don't forget where we have been the last +30 fking years. Keep praying we move forward and get better and better each year. I only use +30 as a more recent benchmark. In my life time I was there at the Silver Bowl in it's first year. A different conference and a different time.
Click to expand...
Yep!

I pretty much said the same thing, keep recruiting, we have a ways to go as far as having enough depth and talent to be a great MWC team let alone compete with a top P5 team like Michigan. I would settle for us being like Tulane last year year in and year out!
 
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reagan21 said:
At this point I’m good with not stretching the field too many times throughout the game. I coach HS soccer (the real fútbol) and creating overloads is such a better way to move the ball into space instead of going over the top all game.

The Go Go is meant to create overloads within 5-7 yards of the line of scrimmage. It requires a DB or LB to make a decision in the same way the RPO puts the hones on a DE to make a decision. You put the ball in the hands of De Jesus, White, or a RB in space by stretching the defense horizontally. You then have the over the top option when the safety come down to match up or an over the middle crossing or dig route option when a LB helps on an overload. That requires a QB who is actually looking for those option. I’m not sure we have a QB on this team who is ready for that. Not saying it can’t or won’t happen this year or next, but it’s evident by the play calling and adjustments we’ve seen. Hats off to Marion for making those adjustments without limiting the playbook too much. I’d keep beating this drum until someone can stop the run game. We have a legit stable of RBs and can continue to wear down defenses by just running 4 different guys out there.

I think we’re going to see a lot more De Jesus on a flat or whip route in the slot. This would open up a go route, especially in short yardage situations. The eagles ran a play on Sunday that was a thing of beauty. Goedert is lined up on the line on the right side of the line. He goes in motion to the left side and lines up in the slot. The ball is snapped and he goes into the flat for a screen. The Commanders are in man coverage and they both try to jump the Goedert route and AJ Brown releases in a go route and Commanders are left chasing AJ into the end zone.

I could see a situation where you use De Jesus as a decoy in the flat after a day of quick throws gashing your defense for 6-8 yards per play that will leave White all alone on a go route. It just requires Maiava to make that throw. I have faith he will get there. The running game will also help as teams load up the box with 7-8 to stop the run game.
Click to expand...
I would agree. There is nothing wrong with a run first team with short passes that are more horizontal than vertical.

But Odom has called out the lack of vertical passing game as a concern for us now, multiple times actually . Not later, not next season. I think it is something they want to incorporate now, and I would expect to see more attempts at Reno.
 
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dcut03 said:
I would agree. There is nothing wrong with a run first team with short passes that are more horizontal than vertical.

But Odom has called out the lack of vertical passing game as a concern for us now, multiple times actually . Not later, not next season. I think it is something they want to incorporate now, and I would expect to see more attempts at Reno.
Click to expand...
Agreed and going for almost 300 yards on the ground a couple times this season will create matchups we want.
 
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reagan21 said:
Agreed and going for almost 300 yards on the ground a couple times this season will create matchups we want.
Click to expand...
For sure. UNR knows they will need to slow down the running game if they have a chance to beat us. Hopefully we'll have a plan early on to try to catch them on some play action deep passes.
 
LVRebel2000 said:
For sure. UNR knows they will need to slow down the running game if they have a chance to beat us. Hopefully we'll have a plan early on to try to catch them on some play action deep passes.
Click to expand...
They kept Fresno to about 140 yards on the ground so we will see how our O-Line and running back committee does. Fresno did get most of their yards in the air so maybe we will have a better chance there. Damn bye week.
 
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rebel5280 said:
Yep!

I pretty much said the same thing, keep recruiting, we have a ways to go as far as having enough depth and talent to be a great MWC team let alone compete with a top P5 team like Michigan. I would settle for us being like Tulane last year year in and year out!
Click to expand...
The only thing that, to me, holds him back from moving "up" after year one is the inability to get the vertical pass really going. Obviously if the QB play is a certain percentage better, it's a different story.

I could see a scenario where the offers that come his way aren't as obvious "take it" scenarios and the obvious ones come after a second season of dominant run game and at least some life in the passing game. Obvious to see that he will be rising, though.

Let's not forget we have played some of the worst teams in the nation, and will for 3 of the next 4 games. Fresno, Air Force, and Wyoming will be a little more important for that, imo.
 
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dcut03 said:
Also worth noting we just faced two less than stellar defenses. Expecting 300 yds every week is probably asking a bit much.
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iu
 
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Reno can't stop the run...

Kansas didn't play that well vs them and still scored 4 TDs and had around 150 yards on the ground...
Idaho ran for 150 but wasn't even trying...
Texas St. Ran for almost 300 yards...

Even if they really try to stop the run, They'll find themselves getting gouged by our recievers because I can't imagine White or Dejesus not finding themselves torching CBs 1 v 1...
 
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unlvlurker said:
I’m semi impressed with Marion’s offense. But let’s not kid ourselves It’s looked good versus really bad teams. I’m not going to judge how it looks versus air force or Fresno I see both those as beat downs. Same with Reno and New Mexico won’t read to much into those 2 games as well. I’m interested in Colorado state and San Jose state. Both teams are mid pack of MW conference and teams UNLV usually finds a way to lose to. This year I’m hoping is different. Win those plus Reno and new Mexico would be a solid first year and top 4 finish in conference.
Click to expand...
San Jose State currently has the worst Rushing Defense in our conference, and are 4 spots away from being the worst rushing defense in the entire country.

Yeah, they've had our number, but as bad as that rushing defense is right now, I'm not super worried at this point.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/24/p3
 
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rebelx said:
San Jose State currently has the worst Rushing Defense in our conference, and are 4 spots away from being the worst rushing defense in the entire country.

Yeah, they've had our number, but as bad as that rushing defense is right now, I'm not super worried at this point.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/24/p3
Click to expand...
We get UNM- 101
SJSU- 126
UNR-111

Thats seems like 3 really good looking opportunities to get wins.. Add in CSU which is like 119 in total defense (Bad) and thats sets up for a really good season.
 
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rebelx said:
Take a look at who's dead last in total defense 🤣

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22/p3
Click to expand...
Theyre also 127 in total offense... just a bad team all the way around.. Even if they manage to be "hyped" for the game against us, I just cant see them making it competitive and frankly, Id like to see us just pound them into submission like that year they ran for like 500 yards against us in 2009...
 
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We’ve only seen half of what the go go can do. Yes there are elements of the triple option. But its also supposed to utilize a west coast passing offense where those triple option guys are open for short passes. I claim that if defenses are having a headache defending our runs, then it’ll be lights out when we can also complete those short passes. We haven’t quite realized the potential of this offense.

As far as the defense goes, there were a lot of times vs Hawaii where Hawaii’s o line had a guy or two blocking no one. We’re creating havoc using the guys we have. Can you imagine what our DC could do with more talent? Hawaii’s QB got hit A LOT on Saturday. The stats don’t tell how many times he was forced to throw the ball away or make a bad pass because he was about to get wreaked.
 
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