Good Article on Nebraska’s 3-3-5 Defense

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RememberMurray said:
On offense, Minnesota's o-line is large and powerful.

On defense, Nebraska (according to the article) is quick, agile, fast and unpredictable.

If you are Minnesota's offensive play-caller, do you opt to have your bigger, stronger offensive linemen...

A) Backpedaling in pass protection, trying to locate and engage with quick, aggressive defenders who are coming from unpredictable angles

....or....

B) Charging/surging forward, relentlessly, in front of our quick, agile running backs?

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The best answer seems almost too obvious. The problem, of course, is that if it's obvious to us, then it's obvious to Nebraska as well.

On the other hand, does the Nebraska defense have the personnel to stop a powerful run-first attack even if they know in advance that it's coming?
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Feels like early it is smashmouth, grind them down running the ball with some very high % passing mixed in. Their smaller guys will get worn down. Then start mixing in the pass more. I think Gophs win by at least a couple TDs, with six points coming from the defense.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Feels like early it is smashmouth, grind them down running the ball with some very high % passing mixed in. Their smaller guys will get worn down. Then start mixing in the pass more. I think Gophs win by at least a couple TDs, with six points coming from the defense.
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That would seem to be our/Fleck's universal M.O.

It's the old Wisconsin model. Pound 'em, grind 'em down, gradually force them to press and make mistakes.
 

Jack jones said:
Need I remind you that Iowa State runs the same 3-3-5. They shut down Iowa last year winning 10-7. Obviously, they have used this defense for several years. And I would hope our offense is better than Iowa’s. But never the less, I expect a low scoring game and final result could come down to the kicking game. Gophers won’t win if they are constantly behind the chain.
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Iowa was not a juggernaut on offense last year...did you miss that? Iowa was 123rd in scoring offense, Gophs were 66th...and an average of 10 points higher per game.
 

RememberMurray said:
That would seem to be our/Fleck's universal M.O.

It's the old Wisconsin model. Pound 'em, grind 'em down, gradually force them to press and make mistakes.
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Difference from past years is I think they open it up with the pass later.
 




tjgopher said:
I would add that Athan seemed to start strong against the 3-3-5 of Syracuse. He was 7-for-9 for 80 yards with a couple of nice drives before he was hurt. Then Tanner entered and we went run heavy again. Tanner threw 7 total passes in two and a half quarters. No Ibrahim in the 2nd half, either.
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The 3-3–5 is very vulnerable to certain seam passes. Athan can make those throws (assuming the receivers are there). I don’t think PJ trusted a “rusty” Tanner to make those throws against Syracuse, especially after we pulled ahead.

I believe in the early going we will use a mix of run and pass to test Nebraska’s 3-3-5, looking for vulnerabilities. I think we will use outside runs more than inside, because RBs who can get to the outside quickly (while our OL and TEs seal the edge at levels 1 and 2) are Kryptonite to the 3-3-5.

Of course, if Zack Evans is the next Mo, maybe we go simple: just run right at Nebraska and dare them to stop us.

Go Gophers.
 

Fleck's fantasy is to kneel three times and punt on offense every time, as soon as we gain the lead. That strategy maximally reduces the chance of turnovers by the offense.

Only half joking ...
 

MplsGopher said:
Fleck's fantasy is to kneel three times and punt on offense every time, as soon as we gain the lead. That strategy maximally reduces the chance of turnovers by the offense.

Only half joking ...
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Not even close...
 



Gophergrandpa said:
A TE who is an excellent blocker and who can catch is extra valuable against this defense. We might see two TEs in a heavy set sealing the edge on DL and LBs. This will actually be a real chess match as well as a physical struggle.
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I agree two tight ends looks, heavy package then burn them, Nebraska with play action. Then grind this piss out of em after going deep a few times.
 

MplsGopher said:
Fleck's fantasy is to kneel three times and punt on offense every time, as soon as we gain the lead. That strategy maximally reduces the chance of turnovers by the offense.

Only half joking ...
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No, his real fantasy is to have great players with the skills to spread the defense all over the field then shred them both on the ground and through the air. Stay tuned.
 

His fantasy was the spread, but he relegated himself to running RPO zone blocking out of 21 and 11 pers since he started at Western? Hmm ...

Hey, I hope we do spread it out more this year! Looking forward to it!
 

The reason I feel Neb. will upset our Gophers is based onfirst game situations. New OL, relative new QB, relative new OC. Too many variables against us. Then when you look at the stats from the bowl game more questions start appear. Plus I am sure Nebraska has a better athletes than Syracuse. Don’t get me wrong, I will be celebrating with everyone else in lot 37with a Gopher victory.
 



Not saying we shouldn’t take Nebraska seriously, but are we actually that worried about this game? They’ve won 10 games in the last 3 years, have a new coach and a starting QB who has very mediocre stats from his time at GT(to be fair I know nothing about GT).

With that being said I understand it’s the first game of the year which opens the door to more possibilities.
 

Jack jones said:
The reason I feel Neb. will upset our Gophers is based onfirst game situations. New OL, relative new QB, relative new OC. Too many variables against us. Then when you look at the stats from the bowl game more questions start appear. Plus I am sure Nebraska has a better athletes than Syracuse. Don’t get me wrong, I will be celebrating with everyone else in lot 37with a Gopher victory.
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Totally understand some pessimism and have questions about Minnesota too. But if you're worried about those variables, just take a look at the variables on the other side of the field: all new coaching staff, all new schemes, new QB, almost no depth at WR and CB, horrible OL the past 2 years...and on and on. Minnesota is also much healthier than they were for the bowl game and has vastly upgraded at WR. I'm optimistic Minnesota wins going away...
 

Having Tight Ends that can (a) seal an edge and (b) catch passes in the middle, really blows up a 3-3-5. We're a match-up nightmare for Nebraska. Plus, they're players are just learning the new D. I think we'll win this one will be a pretty easy win.
 

RememberMurray said:
Your comparison is valid if Iowa's offense is fairly comparable to Minnesota's offense. Let's explore that...

Nationally, last season, Minnesota was 65th in total offense, Iowa was 130th. 130th is second to last.

Minnesota was 3rd in time of possession. Iowa was 105th.

Minnesota was 3rd in third down conversion rate (52.1%). Iowa was 129th.

Minnesota was 56th in red zone offense. Iowa was 85th.

Minnesota was 46th in first downs. Iowa was 127th.

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Both Minnesota and Iowa employed a run-first offense. Minnesota's offense was clearly — and substantially — better.
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...and yet...
 

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