Just when you think the Huskers are done and Mike Riley’s job is probably finished, this group of Huskers comes back on a miserable night for the offense in the red zone and stuns Purdue in Indiana. If you didn’t watch the game (and who could blame you for 3 quarters) Nebraska held serve when they needed too, probably for the first time this season and gave their offense a chance to win it at the end.
It wasn’t a pretty victory. Quite honestly, beating Purdue isn’t really a monument victory either, but for this team and this coaching staff, all hanging by a thread, it keeps the Huskers in the Bowl hunt and maybe even propels them to finish the season on a high note.
As we say all of that, the reality is, it is a long uphill slide for Mike Riley and this staff. Injuries are really starting to mount up. Michael Decker, the best center on the team is out for the year and right guard Tanner Farmer will miss the rest of the regular season. Tre Byrant has already been ruled out for he year, but Mikale Wilbon has been banged up and now Jaylin Bradley has a bum wheel after his breakout game. Defensively, Luke Gifford continues to be hampered by a hip problem, and the safety position doesn't have a player in the group that hasn’t missed some time and will continue to miss time.
College football is a long slog, almost a war of attrition. At this point, Nebraska is losing that war. This is where one the of the biggest complaints of the Mike Riley era is starting to come to fruition. For a staff that is so organized in recruiting, they failed to address some of the issues with the upper class and have undersigned the first three years they have been here. It is killing depth and may cost Riley his job. He has failed to recruit Junior College kids to fill holes and the transfer market, outside of Tanner Lee has yielded no fruit to speak of. I understand Riley not wanting to add more dead weigh to the roster, but when you go after big time high school kids and finish runner up on a lot of them, you have to supplement that somehow. You have some of the best JUCO teams in the country in your back yard. If you fail to take advantage of that at Nebraska, that is your own problem.
Nebraska’s roster has holes and young players sprinkled throughout. The good thing is, some of the young guys on the roster are delivering. Coming back to beat Purdue on the road shouldn’t be sold short. Purdue has improved immensely under new coach Jeff Brohm this season. The problem is, the Nebraska bar had already been set way above Purdue, and Nebraska is playing at their level. For Mike Riley, these last four games have to be above that if he wants to stay in Lincoln.
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Our previous score prediction for the Purdue game was Nebraska 24 – Purdue 18. The actual score was Nebraska 25 Purdue 24. You have to give Nebraska some credit, they hung in the game as long as they needed and Tanner Lee drove them to a last minute win. For those who have criticized Tanner Lee as the starter, you wouldn’t have wanted anyone else throwing the ball that last drive.
Quick Notes:
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Tanner Lee, NFL QB…. It sure didn’t look like it to begin the season, but the reality is if Mike Riley is let go at the end of the year, Tanner Lee is probably headed to the NFL draft. Lee graduates in December, and let’s face it, without him in Big Ten play, Nebraska is probably 1-4 and in way worse shape than they are. He has improved to the point that he is the best throwing quarterback in Nebraska history. I know I beat the drum that he is the best I’ve ever seen in Lincoln to begin the year. It’s too bad it took 3 or 4 games to shake off the rust, this season may have gone a bit differently.
The team answered the heart question…. There was a moment in the 3rd quarter against Purdue that the defense started to bull up a little bit. They made a couple plays in the Boilermaker backfield and you could see their confidence rise. I think this had an effect on the entire team. If you can find that little bit of spark in the darkest hours, I think they can continue to play hard. For this state and coaching staff let’s hope that continues.
Jaylin Bradley shows potential… Nebraska’s run game was down right awful last Saturday, but the freshman from Bellevue showed great potential, outrunning Purdue to the outside. It’s clear that his speed is Big Ten worthy. He has a banged up ankle and probably won’t play this weekend. That is too bad, he might have been the horse that gave Nebraska’s run game a little pop in the last half of the season. For whatever reason, the offensive line is no longer opening up anything in the run game. Bradley showed that maybe he could make something out of nothing.
The final ride begins… I will just say that if Mike Riley wants to coach at Nebraska next season, he better hit the gas this weekend and keep it on through Minnesota. If making a bowl game or finishing with 7 wins is the bar for staying, you can’t lose to Northwestern or Minnesota. You win those two games and beat Iowa, you have a chance to stay. Losing to Purdue would have sealed this staffs fate in my opinion. They made it over that bar, but the higher bars start this week.
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