One Hurdle in the Books

How fitting that the week after losing a game on the road that Nebraska had all but locked up, Nebraska bounced back, only to give up another lead, yet hold on for their first victory.  2018 has not been kind to the Huskers, but all the hard work finally paid off.

Scott Frost took a lot blame for the loss at Northwestern.  I felt like he should have been blamed. Last week we even wrote that Frost had likely mismanaged the clock in two games that may have cost Nebraska a win.  Not this week, not against Minnesota.

Frost is a great play designer, you can tell, week to week, Nebraska has the ability offensively to completely out maneuver the opposing teams.  Against Wisconsin, Nebraska figured some things out in the second half to get back in the game. Against Colorado, a 14 point deficit was over came when the offense started putting the screws to the Buffs.  Against the Wildcats, a team that had given up few rushing yards, Nebraska continued to be effective on the ground.

For some reason though, between clock management, questionable play calling and outright horrible play from the offensive line, Nebraska looked like they were outcoached when it mattered the most and that’s why they were 0-6.  

That all ended against Minnesota.  When the Gophers came back and closed the gap, Frost didn’t panic.  In fact he did something he was unable to do in any previous game. He ran clock when they needed it, to give the defense some rest.  He also threw on running downs and ran on passing downs in situations that proved to be overwhelming matchups for the Minnesota defense.

All those things that Frost was able to do at Central Florida finally showed up in Memorial Stadium.  Adrian Martinez is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country. Devine Ozigbo and Maurice Washington provided a 1-2 punch that looks like it will carry the Huskers the rest of the season.  Throw in J.D. Spielman and Stanley Morgan Jr. and Nebraska finally seems to have the offense that can score on anyone in the country.

The defense is still a work in progress for the Huskers and the special teams has been so far below average that at times I wondered if they are even coached.  These problems continue to persist, but it may just be an issue that takes time to figure out. The defense needs a different style of athlete to compete with great teams, but it also requires depth.  Those lapses in depth are due as much too lousy recruiting the last five years before Frost’s arrival as anything.

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All of these things are correctable though.  We’ve seen Frost has finally figured out his offense.  I suspect as he runs the Big Ten gauntlet and gets acquainted with the other teams in the league, the defense and special teams will improve as well, even if it won’t be until 2019 or beyond.  It is clear Frost has a plan, and for the first time all season, there was a victory to show for it. Hopefully it’s the first of many more to come.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for the Gophers’ game was Nebraska 34 – Minnesota 28.  The actual score was Nebraska finally winning a game 53-28. Even when Nebraska was up 28-0 I wouldn’t allow myself to get super excited.  This team was going to need to win before they could start to whip teams in the back of the wood shed. This time when the Gophers cut it 28-22, they responded like they hadn’t so many other times before.  Everyone in Lincoln breathes easier this week.

Quick Notes:

Running Game…  All those rushing yard totals Frost had at Oregon and Central Florida each week looked like they may be fool’s gold when it came time for Big Ten play.  That is clearly not the case however, as Nebraska continues to put big yardage totals on the board each week. Credit Nebraska’s design in the running game.  I don’t know that the Offensive line is loaded with talent, but they have done a great job getting holes opened and setting the edge. Nebraska can run the football and that is going to pay off big time down the road.

Adrian Martinez is the man…. I promise this is the last week in a row that I will praise Martinez specifically in our blog.  Problem is, you can’t quit praising him. He was 25 of 29 passing last week without throwing a pick and he topped that off with 125 yards rushing.  Every week he gets better and better. It is hard to imagine where Nebraska would be without him, and it’s clear to me that while Tristan Gebbia may end up being a really good quarterback, 2AM as the kids call him, has potential to be an all-time great at Nebraska.

Offensive Line … I give Greg Austin a mountain of credit.  He has taken kids that have played in a completely different system since the arrived in Lincoln and continuously improved them in the new system week after week.  We’ve all been frustrated by the penalties and the blown assignments, but this unit has continued to grow and mature into a really good group. We will know in two weeks if they have evolved into a great group when they go to Columbus, Ohio.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 46 – Bethune-Cookman 17

This game has a purpose, and that is to allow young kids to play and to get a 12th game.  That’s about the extent of it.  Bethune-Cookman really has no business playing at Nebraska during the conference season.  This isn’t the SEC, and if Akron hadn’t decided that they needed to get out of dodge it wouldn’t be on the schedule at all.  A big “thank you” to Bethune-Cookman for agreeing to play in Lincoln. Nebraska needs to get out of this game with no big injuries.  Get up quick and big and get the young kids in the game. GBR!!

Will it Ever End?

Another week and another Husker loss.  I swear, if there was a way to break your heart every week and you asked a team to do it to you, this Husker team has been on it.  You couldn’t have written a script for how this Husker season has went that would be approved in Hollywood. It wouldn’t be realistic.

Last Saturday was the final straw for me.  With Nebraska leading by 10 points with less than six minutes to play, it really seemed that the Huskers would finally get a victory in 2018.  What followed was heartbreak for the coaches, players and fans. I felt like a gut punch had landed. What cruelty is someone putting on this team?  Is it Voodoo? A hex? A curse?

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After some inner anger had subsided, I decided to look at the team and see if there was something that would tell me why the team has struggled to get a victory so far.

What I have come to realize is that the coaching may have as much to do with Nebraska losing at least three games as anything the players have done.  I really have stayed away from criticizing Coach Scott Frost too much, simply because we knew that the culture around Lincoln needed to be fixed and that it would take some time.  I know that a poor effort in recruiting by the previous two staffs was going to cause issues this season. Nebraska lacks depth in key areas and is playing a young player at quarterback.  That is going to bite you in the rear end a few times during the season.

The Huskers lack key playmakers on defense on third down.  They have failed to build a pass rush without blitzing in Big Ten play and even when they have blitzed, they have left themselves vulnerable to open men down field.  The blitzes barely get to the quarterback and that simply can’t happen if you want to put a stop to long drives.

A lot of these things were known prior to the season starting.  I will give the coaches a break for the Troy loss and Michigan and Wisconsin were simply better teams.  That leaves three games though, that Nebraska could have and probably should have won.

Against Colorado, Nebraska failed to manage the clock properly.  Against Purdue, bad play calling probably cost Nebraska on third and short plays with questionable reads and runs.  Northwestern had a combination of the two and it allowed the Wildcats to come back from their own 1 yard line with less than a minute and a half on the clock and no time outs.

Some of that has to lie at the coach’s feet, specifically Coach Frost. I’m sure that Coach Frost knows this, but you have to ask yourself why?  Our conversion rate on fourth down is horrible. I know the offensive line isn’t going to win many awards, but give them a chance with some different play calls.  

Don’t let off the gas when you have the lead.  Use your dynamic quarterback to try to get to the outside on plays that typically go up the middle on short yardage situations.  Run some type of bootleg or option. Just don’t continue to try and line up and blow people off the line. This team isn’t built for that.  It will be in time, but you have been bitten by the same issues over and over the first six games.

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This offensive line is built to pass block and to run block on passing downs.  You can see it in their sets. They do really well when there aren’t eight guys on the line.  The have blocked well enough to get Devine Ozigbo over six yards per carry and they have blocked well enough to let Adrian Martinez get to the edge for run pass options.  Let them do what they do best, even if you have the lead and running the clock is imperative. Maybe try letting the play clock run down, but don’t get Martinez out of his rhythm.  It’s ok to continue to do what you did to have success. Don’t give up on that, just because the “normal” game that you know should work. It clearly doesn’t with this team. Embrace the difference.  It might just start winning you some games.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for the Northwestern game was Nebraska 32 – Northwestern 31.  The actual score was Northwestern winning 34-31. If you had told me that the Huskers would lose in overtime on the road, normally I’d say, ok, good game.  In this case though the Huskers had them on the ropes and couldn’t finish. To say it was deflating was putting it mildly. I couldn’t even drink an adult beverage after it was over…there was no joy in it.

Quick Notes:

Culture…  Coach Frost continues to tell everyone that the Culture is getting established.  I believe him, but we need to start seeing some tangible wins to back it up. The excitement of adding Frost as the head coach has worn off, results are going to be necessary and soon.  Credit to the players for continuing to fight, for many of the seniors they could cash it in. As a fan, I hope they don’t, but it won’t be easy for Frost to keep the ship afloat without a win soon.

Adrian Martinez is the man…. Despite a costly fumble by Martinez that possibly let Northwestern steal momentum, he continues to play great most of the time.  Martinez is one of the top signal callers, not just in the Big Ten, but the entire country. For the bigger part of his last two games he hasn’t played like a freshman.  His ability to beat teams with his legs and his accuracy has been better than even I could have imagined. He will win plenty before he leaves Nebraska, even if it isn’t his first year.

Defense Needs a Break … I feel like the defense is improving week to week, but the offense and special teams need to win a game for Nebraska and give the defense a rest.  From the start of the season, the Huskers have been playing just well enough to lose. That will wear down a great defense, let alone one that is closer to average.  The Blackshirts aren’t going to win games by themselves, but don’t blame them alone. I think they will continue to answer the bell this weekend.

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Score Prediction: Nebraska 34 – Minnesota 28

I haven’t even talked about the discrepancy in penalties at Northwestern, even though it continues to be a huge issue for Nebraska.  If the Huskers can get out of their own way this weekend, I think coming back to Memorial Stadium should be the fire needed to finally get over the hump.  Nebraska must protect the football and continue to build on creating turnovers. The Gophers aren’t exactly a world beater, but they play hard and they just gave Ohio State a game.  Nebraska can ill afford to continue to hurt themselves if they want to win this game. I’m going back out on a limb again and the Huskers get a pelt this weekend. GBR!!

Is This The Week We Get A Win!?!?

Bring on Those Wildcats!

I text back and forth with my brother in law quite a bit during the football season (Hi Dave!) and he asked me how I was going to spin another week into, “Hang in there, it’ll get better,” for the Huskers. We had our usual jovial back and forth and right away I told him Nebraska will win this weekend against Northwestern.

I actually told some buddies that right after the Wisconsin game.  I believe it in my heart. In my head? Well that is a different story, but we will get to that in the game prediction.

You see, being a fan is different things to different people.  If you are a message board fan, you know the types out there. Message boards are a microcosm of your family and friends.  There are the nutty ones that really don’t know what they are talking about. Then you have the eternal pessimists, “Scott Frost is an idiot, he has managed to be worse than Riley.”  That kind of person makes me laugh. It’s as if the current Nebraska staff has completely lost their mind when they left Orlando to come to Lincoln.

Then there are the eternal optimists.  Unfortunately, I fall in that category quite often.  The funny thing about being an optimist is you can rationalize anything.  For instance, when I found out Greg Bell was leaving the team last Friday, my first inclination was, “great, more carries for Maurice Washington!”  It didn’t matter that Nebraska continues to hemorrhage players. In my mind I was alright with Greg Bell leaving. He hadn’t really shown me anything that said, “You know, that kid could be an All American someday!”

And so you have a situation where less has become more.  As players leave the team, you start to think, man, maybe they did need to weed some malcontents out.  Sometimes, whether at work, at play or even on vacation, you just have to rid yourselves of people that don’t want to be there.  Coach Frost knows that, heck I suspect players still on the team were happy to see some of those players leave.

Pat Riley wrote a book some years back after coaching the L.A. Lakers to an NBA title.  He talked about this thing called the “disease of me” that can affect a team. Nebraska isn’t coming off from winning any titles, so that isn’t an apples to apples comparison, but basically the disease of me is when players on the team become so enamored of the things that are important only to them, that they lose sight of how they can contribute and be part of something bigger than any one individual.

Teams go through this all the time.  Nebraska has endured some really bad leadership, some bad mistakes in recruiting and some bad seeds in the program the last 24 months.  Scott Frost and his staff continue to weed that out, sometimes week to week. They are getting things done to alleviate the “disease of me.”  Unfortunately, it’s come with a cost of losing a lot of games. Hang tight Husker Nation, I think it’s about to get better. Read on to find out why!

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for the Wisconsin game was Wisconsin 35 – Nebraska 17.  The actual score was Wisconsin winning 41-24 and while the defense continues to not be able to stop teams on 3rd down, I somehow felt like Nebraska found another spark that is about to light the flame.  The Huskers offense again put up yards on a good defense. Maurice Washington, J.D. Spielman, Adrian Martinez and Stanley Morgan are enough talent to start to win games.  If the defense can improve, even in small increments against the teams left on the schedule (not named Ohio State) I can see the Huskers winning 3 or 4 games going down the stretch.  I think it starts this week.

Quick Notes:

Wisconsin’s O-Line…  That was rough watching Wisconsin continue to bully their way through the Huskers defense based on sheer will.  For the second consecutive year, Nebraska had to learn the hard way that we are a way away from being able to slow down NFL lineman from opening gaping holes in the defense.  It’s going to be at least 2 or 3 years before Nebraska will truly be back, even with the hardest work and great recruiting. That is a sobering thought.

Offense is good, when they don’t screw up…. Nebraska moved the ball up and down the field in the second half against Wisconsin.  They even found the end zone to make the game interesting. The problem is they continue to be their own worst enemy.  Holding calls are killing them. Throw in an illegal block in the back and illegal hands to face and they can’t seem to get out of their own way.  I thought the game wasn’t reffed consistently at all and you could argue that Wisconsin was holding all over the place as well, but until Nebraska starts winning some games, they won’t be given the benefit of the doubt.  Hopefully as the Huskers face less talented defensive lines, they will have fewer of these penalties.

We have some Playmakers! … When Nebraska signed Maurice Washington, it was a big deal.  Last week you started to see why. The kid is special. He has a different gear than everyone else on the field.  Nebraska needs to find more like him, but that’s for another blog. J.D. Spielman continues to make teams pay for over protecting to Stanley Morgan’s side of the field.  As teams start to adjust, it should open things up more for Morgan and the tight ends down the field. With Washington showing that he can catch the ball as well as run it, Nebraska may have finally found how they can do what Frost did at Central Florida.  You need playmakers all over the field for the offense to work and I think they are finding the players that can do that.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 32 – Northwestern 31

I think Nebraska has a great shot to win this game.  I know Northwestern knows that too and they will be ready.  I just think Nebraska has worked to improve the last two weeks and is about to show it.  Northwestern isn’t filled with great athletes all over the field, especially on defense. Nebraska has shown that they can take advantage of that.  Offensively, Northwestern has a great quarterback in Clayton Thorson. What they don’t have is a great running game since Jeremy Larkin had to retire.  If the Husker Blackshirts can somehow put pressure on Thorson and not give up more than 2 big plays in the game, I like Nebraska’s chances. Hopefully the Husker Faithful that traveled to Evanston bring their lungs with them and that will help the Huskers finally get over the hump.  Nebraska gets an overdue victory this weekend, GBR!!

The Husker Road Remains Filled with Holes

I keep writing week after week, wondering when it is time to start thinking the Huskers are going to win a game.  After Nebraska failed to win early games they were favored in, it probably won’t be a stretch to say they may not win until they play Bethune-Cookman.

We have already covered the fact that this year’s Husker team has razor thin margin for victory week in and week out.  We know that the defense is going to need to improve to a level that isn’t probable or maybe even doable this season. As fans, it can be frustrating, but every week I come back and I’m thinking, maybe they have a chance?

Now this week may not be THE week that it happens but hear me out.  We finally saw a glimpse of what Adrian Martinez and this offense can be in the second half against Purdue.  We saw a lot of it during Colorado, but when Martinez hurt his knee, the process had to start over again. Devine Ozigbo started to show out as the lead running back, and the wide receiver corps may be about to start a solid rotation.

Adjustments have been made on special teams, but there is still a way to go.  Caleb Lightbourn had a tragic week punting, but J.D. Spielman started at punt returner and looked solid.  Jaron Woodyard seems to be settling in as a kick returner. With any luck, hopefully that part of the equation will start to provide some dividends.  Barrett Pickering hasn’t elevated himself yet, but as a true freshman, you have to think that he will continue to improve as the season goes on.

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Defensively, Nebraska is going to have to figure out a way to establish a pass rush.  Nebraska is toward the bottom of all FBS teams in the country on stopping 3rd and long, but the Blackshirts are in the middle of the pack in overall 3rd down conversion defense.  It’s not like they are big time stoppers, but if the offense doesn’t make any turnovers, Nebraska could upset someone that they aren’t supposed to, just by being a bit above average stopping a team on 3rd down.

If Nebraska can figure out a way to improve their blocking on offense and start to pressure the quarterback on defense, they could fight their way out of this losing streak and start heading the other direction.  It’s a lot to ask, but we see glimpses of it each week. Going to Madison to play the Badgers might not be the time to see it up front, but I think Nebraska will show up this week and give it the old college try. You never know, they might even keep it close.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for the Purdue game was Purdue 33 – Nebraska 27.  The actual score was Purdue winning 42-28 and the Blackshirts again failed to hold up their end of the bargain for most of the game.  They did make some stops in the 4th quarter, but by then the damage was done and the offense couldn’t bail them out.

Quick Notes:

Blackshirts…  David Blough took Nebraska apart for the majority of the game.  Defensively, Nebraska is reaching too much and not filling their responsibilities and it continues to kill them with big plays.  The Huskers held Rondale Moore somewhat in check, which was surprising, but plenty of other playmakers made Nebraska pay.

Wide Receivers…. Losing Tyjon Lindsey may seem like a bad week for the Huskers, but I honestly don’t know if Lindsey was ever going to be a big part of the offense.  Nebraska looked for ways to get him involved and he just never seemed to stand out. Kade Warner starting was a bit of a shock to most of us, but honestly, he played well in his first career start.  Stanley Morgan and J.D. Spielman are all Big Ten performers week after week. Nebraska needs at least one more wideout to step up and really help them out. It would be nice if Mike Williams, Jaron Woodyard or Andre Hunt could be that player.  I expect that we will start to see more of a rotation, if for nothing else, Morgan and Spielman will be burned out by November otherwise.

Tearing it out by the Root … This team has some underlying issues that are keeping the Huskers from reaching their potential.  Whether it’s too many penalties, players not listening and doing their own thing in games, or simply not knowing how to play hard, Coach Scott Frost has had to continuously establish a new culture.  We can face it, it is probably worse than most of us could have imagined. What is happening now is that players that aren’t “all in” continue to disappear from the team or have less playing time. It won’t be pretty and it won’t happen overnight, but Nebraska continues to rip out the old to start planting the new.

Score Prediction: Wisconsin 35 – Nebraska 17

Nebraska figured out some things on offense last week against a Purdue team that was better than anyone probably thought.  They wore the Boilermakers out in the 4th quarter and they made them defend the entire field and the Huskers put up a lot of offense.  I expect Nebraska to put up a lot of yards per play this week, but it probably won’t show up on the scoreboard.  Wisconsin is the worst type of matchup for this Husker team, they physically try to beat you up and Nebraska isn’t quite ready for a game like that.  I think it will be close at half but Wisconsin will keep the ball and wear down the Blackshirts in the end…Don’t worry, we will still be cheering like crazy, as always, GBR!!