The Husker running game ineffectively played with one hand tied behind its back for long stretches last season; the hand that would have figuratively allowed for the Huskers to utilize a counterpunch to the Inside Zone body blow, if we were to continue using boxing analogies.
A myriad of factors contributed to this, but chief among them was the inability to run man and gap-blocked run plays with any confidence due to the immobility of our offensive guards prior to Jerald Foster’s return on November 12th.
u200bSpecifically speaking, games against Indiana, Purdue, and Wisconsin were the aforementioned stretch of games where the Husker run game could not employ an off-speed pitch to exploit dishonest and aggressive defenses from triggering down hard against NU’s Inside Zone plays.