[winflop]

Yes, and Michigan State had perhaps the best defense in the country.  I suppose we could have thrown on fourth down; the result is unknowable.  But given that they had a pair of all-American corners, the likely outcome was not much better than trying to gain a yard on fOur third and short by running it between the tackles.

BC

Could be. But they never even tried. If they had tried and not succeeded then that's the type of loss where you just tip your cap to the better team. Also, it's not about one play or even one series. There was no change the entire second half despite MSU putting 8/9 in the box and playing one-on-one the entire game.

Also, MSU was one of several examples over Bloomgren's tenure as OC - not all of which were losses, and not all losses were because of this problem.

[winflop]

Yes, and Michigan State had perhaps the best defense in the country.  I suppose we could have thrown on fourth down; the result is unknowable.  But given that they had a pair of all-American corners, the likely outcome was not much better than trying to gain a yard on fOur third and short by running it between the tackles.

BC

Could be. But they never even tried. If they had tried and not succeeded then that's the type of loss where you just tip your cap to the better team. Also, it's not about one play or even one series. There was no change the entire second half despite MSU putting 8/9 in the box and playing one-on-one the entire game.

Also, MSU was one of several examples over Bloomgren's tenure as OC - not all of which were losses, and not all losses were because of this problem.