I’ve Got a Fever and The Only Prescription is More Hurry-Up Offense

Stubborn. Old School. Doesn't like change.

That is Paul Rhoads to a T.

For the first time Saturday, we saw some flash. Gold on Gold uniforms for one (I know those recruits like it).

And a completely different offense in the second half.

Against Toledo, Rhoads went to a hurry-up offense, and it worked. Again and again and again.

All of a sudden ISU was snapping the ball faster than they had all season. The screen passes were working. Our best receivers were getting multiple targets. And according to Kirk Haaland's article, ISU had one of its most efficient and consistent offensive performances in the Paul Rhoads era.

Sam Richardson threw for a school-record 37 completions (he can thank OG Daniel Burton for the record breaker); ISU had its biggest output of the year with 454 yards; while running their most offensive plays, and scored the most points of the season with 37.

So when asked Monday if Rhoads will continue to use the hurry-up offense?

"We'll mix it in," Rhoads says. "(It's) not something that we'll use all the time."

Are you kidding me?

ISU found their stride for the first time on offense all year, and you want to go back to the same old Pretend-To-Hurry-Up, Only-To-Stare-At-The-Sideline-And-Let-The-Defense-Get-Set play?

That's like hooking up with a Perfect 10 model, only to say "Na, I think I'll go back to the 6 and 7's I had before."

Why not keep the defenses guessing? Why not get their players tired and take away their chances at substitutions?

I mean, I don't know about you, but I would much rather wake up to a Mila Kunis, than a Helena Bonham Carter.

Be the aggressor. Put the nail in the coffin. Keep your foot on the gas.

Even Sunshine Sam agreed. Once the hurry-up offense started, the offense was firing on all cylinders.

"They (Toledo) were waiting around, trying to set their defense up to what we were doing, and we were kind of waiting on them a couple of times, " Richardson said. "Once it gets to that point, you've got to roll and not really let them get into that groove that they were in on defense."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Toledo was forced into a smaller playbook on defense, and it didn't allow them to blitz or bring pressure like they did in the first half.

Even Rhoads made remarks on that one.

"We felt we were the better conditioned team and played at a higher rate than they were, especially in the fourth quarter, (and) we felt we wore them down. We had a different level of energy in the second half," said Rhoads.

And that all attributes to the offensive play calling, tempo and mindset.

Now don't get me wrong, Toledo isn't in the same defensive atmosphere that the Big 12 is in, but when you got something working, you've got to stick with it.

For the first time in six games, we saw a glimpse of what this offense could be. Now wouldn't you fans want to see more of it?