Maryland Game Blog

(Predictions are at the end if you don’t want to read the rest!)

Sometimes Husker football feels like an argument with your wife.  You know you might win, but it isn’t going to be the win you hoped for, right or wrong…

After playing the two Michigan teams at home, I feel like we got out of a dirty washing machine, cleaner, but still not clear.

Nebraska has suffered at the hands of pass rush in both conference games, and a little bit against Cincinnati when they played them to open the season.  That doesn’t mean that the pass blocking wasn’t better against Michigan State, but it does mean that there is a lot of work to be done this season at that end of the spectrum.  Nebraska continues to stay away from running the football, which is also concerning, but Nebraska has also played so well in the passing game when it was needed, it’s hard to nitpick.  

Nebraska’s special teams have been a revelation so far this season.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the reason Nebraska has won two games this season that they might not have won in the last decade.  They have provided excellent field positions for the Husker offense and they have done a great job limiting teams effectiveness in the return game, essentially limiting teams to long field positions from which they have to start their drives.

Due to this change, Nebraska’s defense has been given a chance to improve.  I’d say they have improved substantially up front.  The bye week came at a perfect time for the Blackshirts.  The defensive line needed to play with more explosion, more fire and attack.  We saw that against the Spartans to a degree we haven’t seen since last season.  If Nebraska continues to play like that along the D-line, there is a possibility, though slight, that Nebraska could win out.  Defensive Coordinator John Butler has the secondary figured out, but if he can continue to build the front end with the youth at linebacker and the inexperienced defensive line to match the effort against Michigan State, the Huskers could be scary down the stretch.

So that brings up back to the offense.  Of course the wind had a huge effect on the passing game, essentially making it worthless for half the game last Saturday.  And it may be that as the cooler weather sets in and the wind will continue to blow, the offense may be limited.  On the other hand, Nebraska could have just survived their worst weather game of the season, passed it with a B- and they could become the scoring attack needed to survive the next seven games.

As you can tell, there are still so many answers that we don’t know about this team, but at the same time, the picture is getting clearer week by week.  Big Ten football inches ever closer to the NFL, teams change as the season goes along.  For the first time in a long time, it feels like Nebraska is far from a finished product.  Close games week to week, can be decided by slight improvements each team makes as the season progresses.  Buckle in Husker fans, this season may just be starting to hit its stride.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 27, Michigan State 24. The actual score was Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27.  When Nebraska went down 21-14, I saw the heads of the players and thought, here we go again.  This time, they didn’t bow down to the Spartans, in fact they exploded and ten minutes later, Nebraska led 24-21.  It felt like a defining moment in the season.  Nebraska is starting to gain some confidence that I wasn’t expecting this early.  It may bode very well if they can get past this next hurdle.

Quick Notes:

Deshon Singleton…The veteran big hitter in the defensive backfield was the Big Ten defensive player of the week!  He corralled two easy interceptions and almost had a fumble return for a touchdown if the ball had been back about a yard.  He played violently on his tackles and has done a good job outside of the Michigan game on run fits.  Singleton is always a wild card to me, if he plays well Nebraska usually plays well.  He has enough help in back end, he can take some chances. 

Nyziah Hunter....In the game of guess who’s hot at wide receiver, this week it was Hunter.  Nebraska’s three headed monster at wideout continue to deliver week in and week out.  Nebraska didn’t get a chance at a lot of plays on offense, due to quick scoring by the Husker offense and the long drives by Michigan State, but the trio of Hunter, Jacory Barney and Dane Key continue to step up and score each week.  The Huskers are more like an NFL team, meaning you might take away one guy in a game, but you won’t take away them all.  That’s why each week there seems to be a different player standing out.

Emmett Johnson...…Johnson is slowly playing his way into All Conference consideration.  Scoring three touchdowns last week, Johnson has put himself on top of the scoring leaderboard for Nebraska with eight on the season.  Johnson may be the only consistent weapon at running back for Nebraska, so it goes without saying that he needs to stay healthy for Nebraska to reach their goals.  

Williams Nwaneri…..I find it very difficult not to be very excited for Nwaneri and his future.  I expected he would play quite a bit as a backup this season, hoping he would break though as a sophomore.  Instead, he has ratcheted up the level of play this season, into a starting role and I’m not sure he isn’t the best lineman on the roster.  With Keona Davis and Cam Lenhardt, that isn’t an easy task as both play with high motors.  Nwaneri is just different though.  His athleticism and his ability to use his length to get by blockers aren’t things that can be taught.  He has almost and unlimited ceiling and he is already starting to try and find out how high.  He could be the kind of player that carries a defense at some point.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 30, Maryland 23

This Maryland team, in my opinion, is more talented than Michigan State, but I don’t know if they are as good of a team.  Nebraska certainly can’t afford to take them lightly.  However, I think that Maryland’s freshman quarterback hasn’t seen anything quite like this Blackshirt secondary, and if the pass rush is half as aggressive as it was against Michigan State, Nebraska should have a nice Saturday.  The other side of the coin is, can the Huskers protect Dylan Raiola enough that he doesn’t end up too battered to make the plays to win the game?  I think special teams is the deciding factor in this game, I expect that to travel well to Maryland.  Nebraska may find itself behind again at some point, but I expect them to pull the game out at the end. First road game for many of us, but the vibes are still there and GBR!!!