Well that week is out of the way. Or is it? That is the question that will cloud the rest of this Husker season. Can Nebraska weather an interim athletic director that is “not here to fire anyone” during a football season that seems to be a little more intense that it needs to be? Can Mike Riley get it going in a season that started with so much promise, but with three pick sixes and some poor judgement by the starting quarterback, that has turned into a house fire?
Let us start with the addition of Dave Rimington as the Interim Athletic Director. We all know Rimington’s story as an All-American, two time Outland Trophy winner that has his own trophy named after him. What we don’t know is how much Rimington will be in communication with Mike Riley about expectations and the “compete” narrative from University Administration. Riley, in my opinion should probably be kept one more season beyond this, barring an utter disaster this weekend or followed by getting trounced the next two weekends. If that happens, then all bets are off.
So how does Riley keep the train on the tracks during this turmoil and uncertainty? I think he found that answer last weekend in the second half against Rutgers. After another Tanner Lee pick six and with the boo birds making their appearance, Riley held strong, sent Lee back out there and rode the Devine Ozigbo-Mikale Wilbon train to victory. The defense played another strong game as well. Riley may be able to squeeze enough out of the running game and defense to make this season salvageable. I believe that is what Riley has to do.
I’m one of those people that thought if Tanner Lee was ever going to be benched for a series or a game, it was after his latest touchdown pass to the other team. I thought Patrick O’Brien should have gotten into the game that next series. Lee, outside of his first few drives a game, has looked like he should be playing Division II football at best and possibly NAIA at worst. This time though, patience paid off for Riley. Lee coolly marched the team down the field on a 97 yard 17 play drive that put Nebraska in the driver’s seat. It’s clear that Tanner Lee is a long way in front of O’Brien for playing time and it’s also clear, like it or not, the Huskers season is going to rely on Lee, no matter what.
That’s a dangerous place to be, especially if your head coach is feeling the heat. It’s no secret that football coaches are often tied to the athletic director that hires them, and Shawn Eichorst getting fired certainly turns up the thermostat. I’m all for Riley sticking around though, outside of losing eight or nine games and getting blown out consistently the rest of the season, I think he should get another shot in 2018.
For anyone that thinks that Scott Frost is the cure for the malaise that has become Husker football, I urge a little patience. If you fire Riley for going 5-7 or 6-6 you will have the third recruiting class in six years hurt by changing coaches. That can be a program killer when then the margin for error is so small. Nebraska has played 12 first time career starters this year already. Nebraska has lost arguably their two best defensive players in Josh Kalu and Chris Jones and their best offensive weapon in Tre Bryant. Throw in Stanley Morgan, David Knevel and Marcus Newby missing time and its clear Nebraska has been playing a team that is spotted with inexperience. Topping it off, nearly 2/3 of Nebraska’s roster is either a freshman or sophomore.
As much as it pains me to say this, this year could be a year of total rebuild. It should be rock bottom for Nebraska for the foreseeable future. If some staff adjustments are made after the season and the defensive staff continues to improve the team week to week, I think it’s worth the investment to see it through into 2018. If Nebraska can hammer a super inexperienced Illinois team this Friday and keep a top 15 recruiting class intact, I think Riley should be given another season. Unless Nebraska completely implodes, our new athletic director along with University President and Chancellor, should give Riley that opportunity. Of course this is all subject to change and that is why Shawn Eichorst is gone.
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Our previous score prediction for the Rutgers game was Nebraska 36 – Rutgers 14. The actual score was 27-17 and the game was much closer than it probably should have been. Another pick six by Tanner Lee made a brilliant game for the Blackshirts into more of a circus than it needed to be. Nebraska settled down though, ran the football effectively and held on. Hell, we even saw a victory formation this last weekend. We get a few of those going and life will improve immensely in Lincoln.
Quick Notes:
Devin Ozigbo gets it going… Mikale Wilbon played really well too, but Ozigbo gives the Huskers a punch that other teams don’t want. He is big, he is powerful and after a “break” to start the season, seems to be running with a purpose that the team thrives on. I hope he keeps clean of whatever landed him in the doghouse to start the season. Mike Riley’s job may depend on it.
Bob Diaco may be figuring it out…. Outside of the first drive by Rutgers, the Blackshirts held the Knights to one field goal the rest of the way. If you could tell me that Nebraska will give up less than 20 points per game the rest of the way, save Ohio State and maybe Penn State, I think the entire state would take that and be satisfied. Diaco is rotating players everywhere, starting new guys each week and challenging the other teams with different looks each game. He also seems more comfortable than the first week. Now that the Big Ten schedule has gotten up and running it is Diaco’s time to shine.
Tanner Lee…the season continues to ride with him… No matter how you look at it, Lee is the starter for the foreseeable future for Mike Riley. Riley and Danny Langsdorf were able to run the ball effectively against Rutgers and it seemed to help Lee out. I’m not going to bag on the kid anymore this week, his starting X receiver was walk on Gabe Rahn, other receivers continue to drop passes and the tight ends haven’t been able to block or catch. Lee is suffering from a lack of big time help and it shows. Hopefully Stanley Morgan being back this week gives Nebraska the ability to take the next step.
Score Prediction: Nebraska 31 – Illinois 21
I think Nebraska is more talented than Illinois. I think Nebraska has better players in the trench than the Fighting Illini. I think Nebraska will run the ball at Illinois with success. So why will this game be close until the end again? I feel like Nebraska is continuing to find itself a little more each week. I thought I would see consistency at the start of the season from the offense. We started to see some of that last week. I think Nebraska takes another step in that direction this week. It will probably still be a tight game into the third quarter, but Wilbon and Ozigbo should start to push the game open in the fourth. Nebraska must win two in a row. Go get’m and GBR!!
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