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!!
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