Post by Sly Fox on Oct 8, 2005 7:50:32 GMT -5
LU looks to get running game in gear
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 8, 2005
Every time Liberty University's Rajive Otah tried to run to the outside last week against VMI, he was met by a swarm of Keydet defenders.
He gained 57 yards but lost 15 in that game, and most of the losses came on the outside. It would be easy to say that Otah doesn't have the speed to cut the corner and get to the open lane on the sideline.
But the LU offensive line knows better.
"Our blocking has to be better," said LU coach Ken Karcher, whose team battles Chattanooga tonight at Williams Stadium. "Overall as an offensive line, we need to continue to improve."
Mike Godsil, the freshman center who had turned heads with his gritty play in the season's first four weeks, took much of the blame for the running game's woes last Saturday.
Little technique issues, the ones that are the difference between a running back gaining 10 yards or losing five, were the root of the problem.
"You take the wrong first step, and you're already behind," Godsil said. "So technique is huge."
For Liberty (1-4) to produce offensively, the running game must show some fast improvement. The Mocs (3-2) have been vulnerable to the run, allowing 306.4 yards per game.
Those numbers are somewhat skewed, though, because UTC's last two games were against Georgia Southern and Wofford, and neither team throws the ball much.
Georgia Southern ran for 493 yards on 66 carries against the Mocs.
Liberty can't expect to do that sort of damage considering the Flames have run for 311 yards on 158 carries all season.
But at some point, the Flames must show an ability to possess the ball by moving it on the ground. Chattanooga blitzes mercilessly, meaning screen passes and draws up the middle will be open.
LU quarterback Brock Farrel must recognize the blitz is coming and make a decision quickly, something he's struggled with so far.
Plus, the running backs must pick up blitzing linebackers, something Otah had trouble with against VMI.
"If you knew Rajive, he is a young man who is always going about a million miles an hour in his mind," Karcher said. "Rather than hurry up and get out on a route, he has to have an awareness as well as slowing his mind to say, 'OK, who are the one or two guys that I am supposed to look at first?'"
Defensively, Liberty hopes to build upon last Saturday when it held VMI to 40 second-half yards.
Chattanooga sophomore quarterback Antonio Miller is much more of a threat on the ground than through the air.
The Mocs will run some option, but they'll also send Miller on designed runs from under center. Fortunately for the Flames, they have a similar athlete in backup QB Zach Terrell to simulate Miller in practice.
"You've just got to open your eyes a little bit more and you've got to see what's going on," said LU safety Shane Lancaster, whose 42 tackles ties him for the team lead with Manny Rojas. "You've always got to know that the quarterback has the potential to break downhill and start running. If no one is there to make a play, he can eat up 20 or 30 yards."
This is the second meeting between the teams. Liberty won last year in Tennessee 43-40 as the Flames' special teams accounted for 29 points.
It was another miserable day in a 2-9 season for the Mocs, one that has been forgotten, UTC coach Rodney Allison said.
"There are not many kids on our team this year who were part of that game," Allison said. "I am not worried about last year."
Liberty shares the same sentiment. With 35 newcomers on the roster, not many Flames played in that game either.
Those newcomers are finally starting to show signs of cohesion, and it appears from another spirited week of practice that the tough start of the season has only toughened the team's resolve.
"It's just time to let loose and play," Godsil said. "We've got to stop over thinking things and just play. Just have a great time and play football. It's the game we love, so we might as well have fun."
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 8, 2005
Every time Liberty University's Rajive Otah tried to run to the outside last week against VMI, he was met by a swarm of Keydet defenders.
He gained 57 yards but lost 15 in that game, and most of the losses came on the outside. It would be easy to say that Otah doesn't have the speed to cut the corner and get to the open lane on the sideline.
But the LU offensive line knows better.
"Our blocking has to be better," said LU coach Ken Karcher, whose team battles Chattanooga tonight at Williams Stadium. "Overall as an offensive line, we need to continue to improve."
Mike Godsil, the freshman center who had turned heads with his gritty play in the season's first four weeks, took much of the blame for the running game's woes last Saturday.
Little technique issues, the ones that are the difference between a running back gaining 10 yards or losing five, were the root of the problem.
"You take the wrong first step, and you're already behind," Godsil said. "So technique is huge."
For Liberty (1-4) to produce offensively, the running game must show some fast improvement. The Mocs (3-2) have been vulnerable to the run, allowing 306.4 yards per game.
Those numbers are somewhat skewed, though, because UTC's last two games were against Georgia Southern and Wofford, and neither team throws the ball much.
Georgia Southern ran for 493 yards on 66 carries against the Mocs.
Liberty can't expect to do that sort of damage considering the Flames have run for 311 yards on 158 carries all season.
But at some point, the Flames must show an ability to possess the ball by moving it on the ground. Chattanooga blitzes mercilessly, meaning screen passes and draws up the middle will be open.
LU quarterback Brock Farrel must recognize the blitz is coming and make a decision quickly, something he's struggled with so far.
Plus, the running backs must pick up blitzing linebackers, something Otah had trouble with against VMI.
"If you knew Rajive, he is a young man who is always going about a million miles an hour in his mind," Karcher said. "Rather than hurry up and get out on a route, he has to have an awareness as well as slowing his mind to say, 'OK, who are the one or two guys that I am supposed to look at first?'"
Defensively, Liberty hopes to build upon last Saturday when it held VMI to 40 second-half yards.
Chattanooga sophomore quarterback Antonio Miller is much more of a threat on the ground than through the air.
The Mocs will run some option, but they'll also send Miller on designed runs from under center. Fortunately for the Flames, they have a similar athlete in backup QB Zach Terrell to simulate Miller in practice.
"You've just got to open your eyes a little bit more and you've got to see what's going on," said LU safety Shane Lancaster, whose 42 tackles ties him for the team lead with Manny Rojas. "You've always got to know that the quarterback has the potential to break downhill and start running. If no one is there to make a play, he can eat up 20 or 30 yards."
This is the second meeting between the teams. Liberty won last year in Tennessee 43-40 as the Flames' special teams accounted for 29 points.
It was another miserable day in a 2-9 season for the Mocs, one that has been forgotten, UTC coach Rodney Allison said.
"There are not many kids on our team this year who were part of that game," Allison said. "I am not worried about last year."
Liberty shares the same sentiment. With 35 newcomers on the roster, not many Flames played in that game either.
Those newcomers are finally starting to show signs of cohesion, and it appears from another spirited week of practice that the tough start of the season has only toughened the team's resolve.
"It's just time to let loose and play," Godsil said. "We've got to stop over thinking things and just play. Just have a great time and play football. It's the game we love, so we might as well have fun."
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