Fresno State @ #11 Oregon (Sept. 4 Sat 11 AM Pac-12 Network)

[Quietduck]

why only 3 quarters ? Last time I look the game is 4 quarters long.

[ducks5ever]

The defense can only do so much to keep the team in the game. If you have an anemic offense for the 1st 3 quarters, it will be out of hand by the time the 4th quarter rolls around when you play good teams. In such cases, you can't even really run the ball since the clock is your enemy by then.

I have no idea how good of a team Fresno State is (maybe the UCLA game later will tell us), but it's still Fresno State.

[ducks5ever]

I know there's tons of debate here but hyth put up a good/detailed autopsy of last Saturday. His work is detailed and I trust it.

https://www.addictedtoquack.com/2021/9/ ... esno-state

[Quietduck]

Ducks5ever I read his analysis. Did you read his running game portion. It's a lot more positive than yours. Teams tend to win or lose games in the 4 quarter so leaving it out gives a false image of the game.

[ducks5ever]

Ducks5ever I read his analysis. Did you read his running game portion. It's a lot more positive than yours. Teams tend to win or lose games in the 4 quarter so leaving it out gives a false image of the game.

Yes, his take away is that the RB's decision making is fine and ran the correct plays. However, you have to remember that an untalented/undersized RB can still make the right reads and plays. They just won't get as many yards off each play. This stuff adds up. Instead of facing a 3rd & short, you're facing a 3rd & medium. There are many reasons the offense struggled but this just makes it all the more difficult to sustain drives.

He obviously did a much more detailed analysis in comparison to what I did, but the numbers don't lie. Verdell's numbers for the majority of the game are just bad. Fresno State had 7 drives in the first half and scored points on only 2 of them. More talented teams can probably do better than that against us. My argument still holds that if you bring these types of garbage performances against good teams in the first half to soften up the defense, you won't even be in the game when the 4th quarter rolls around. I can guarantee you that if Verdell repeats these numbers this Saturday, most of us won't be watching the 4th quarter.