I wonder if we are not setting ourselves up for a disappointment with the excitement over having Ludwig back as OC and that it will measurably improve our offense. I think Ludwig is much more experienced than Taylor, and more effective in teaching than Taylor. However, I think the offense will be less explosive, by design, than last year. Ludwig is more aligned with what Whit wants to do with his offense, which is 3 yards and a cloud of rubber pellets. What he did at Vandy related to what the head coach wanted to do. At Utah, the head coach wants to limit turnovers and reduce the times the opponent touches the ball. That's not explosive. Taylor, for all his shortcomings, was committed to the passing game, to a fault sometimes. But the offense turned the ball over a lot and really didn't come into it's own until fixing the running game. However, even then, we chucked the ball a lot and had some really explosive games vs. good teams; USC, Stanford, and Arizona. That's impressive. Before we all dump on Taylor, let's give him some credit for that. We were rounding into form until Huntley got hurt. However, we also turned the ball over a lot, which is a Whit non-starter. Those who are picking us to go the CFP are extrapolating that offense with our always strong defense. And if that happens, they could be right.
I'm betting that doesn't happen. I think this year we will have a less explosive offense, but a more effective offense on average. We are going to pound the rock and play field position. Probably score fewer points than last year. But we're going to make it harder for our opponents to score.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope that we will still be explosive, but with fewer turnovers and negative plays. That makes us a contender for the playoffs. I hope Ludwig, who is a better and more experienced OC than Taylor, can do both. But my suspicion is that our offense won't be throwing the ball all over the field like Taylor wanted, but will be more effective in most games. I wonder what the over / under is for the first "fire ludwig" thread when we run 60% of the time and win a couple of games 20-14. We can grind our way to a Pac-12 championship, but that approach usually costs you a close game or two since you can't play at a high level every week.
I'm betting that doesn't happen. I think this year we will have a less explosive offense, but a more effective offense on average. We are going to pound the rock and play field position. Probably score fewer points than last year. But we're going to make it harder for our opponents to score.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope that we will still be explosive, but with fewer turnovers and negative plays. That makes us a contender for the playoffs. I hope Ludwig, who is a better and more experienced OC than Taylor, can do both. But my suspicion is that our offense won't be throwing the ball all over the field like Taylor wanted, but will be more effective in most games. I wonder what the over / under is for the first "fire ludwig" thread when we run 60% of the time and win a couple of games 20-14. We can grind our way to a Pac-12 championship, but that approach usually costs you a close game or two since you can't play at a high level every week.
