Husker Gameday Game Day!

Measuring sticks come and go.  Each season gives Nebraska a few and each season, at least recently, Nebraska has responded with a loud thud.  Except in one instance. Last season Nebraska went to Columbus, Ohio expecting the worst. The Huskers responded by playing arguably their best game of the season, losing 36-31.  For a change, it looked like Nebraska was actually moving forward instead of backwards.  

This year, though, it seems as if Nebraska is still in the same place they were last season.  Even though Nebraska started 0-6 in 2018, it feels as if this 3-1 start to 2019 isn’t much better.  I think the loss at Colorado really put things in perspective for most people. Even Coach Frost said it in his press conference on Thursday, he hopes that Nebraska can stay with Ohio State and allow the crowd to carry the team.  This doesn’t feel like a team that is 3-1. Barely beating Illinois on the road will do that to you.

This game may not matter much in the overall scheme of things.  Nebraska certainly won’t be out of winning the West division with a loss. If they keep the game close, it may show everyone again how great a job Scott Frost is doing with this particular group of kids.  If they get blown out it will confirm the status quo that Nebraska is still seasons away from being a playoff contender.

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An upset would really get the ball rolling, however.  If Nebraska puts on a big performance, while ESPN sets up shop in Memorial Stadium, it would signal that the program is headed to better days.  

I don’t expect Nebraska to win.  I don’t think many do. It’s not to say that they can’t, but eye test certainly doesn’t favor the Huskers.  There is an upper echelon in college football that older Nebraska fans know all too well, but many younger fans just haven’t been able to experience yet.  I think in year four of this staff, you would hope that this type of game will be a distant memory. In year two, it just doesn’t seem reasonable. 

This season has already been more of a success than last season.  Nebraska is half way to a bowl game and has better talent than they did last season.  They may even be better coached than last year too. It is hard to keep expectations in check.  It’s harder to know that Nebraska just isn’t quite ready for big boy football just yet. I think it’s one of those stepping stone games.  This weekend, Nebraska will find out just how much farther they have to go. 

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week’s prediction was Nebraska 41, Illinois 29.  The final score was Nebraska 42, Illinois 38. The game was much closer than it should have been.  Nebraska fumbled the ball four times and had an overwhelming disadvantage on penalties. The crazy thing is, Nebraska played it’s best game on offense in many ways. Not counting the fumbles of course.  The Blackshirts were put in bad spots all night, but responded when they needed it in the second half. Nebraska proved they could win a game on the road when they don’t play their best. A glass half full person would say that’s a good omen as they move through the season in the Big Ten.

Quick Notes:

Clean Game… I don’t know if it is Big Ten referees or just playing better competition, but Nebraska takes one step forward (Northern Illinois) then three steps back in their first conference game.  Poor officiating not withstanding, Nebraska continues to shoot themselves in the foot. Fumbles are a plague on this team that Nebraska has failed to cure. Add in special teams gaffs and failure to capitalize on the other teams mistakes and you wonder if Nebraska will ever be a consistently clean team?  Northwestern isn’t that great this season, but they are always one of the cleanest teams in the Big Ten. If Nebraska could get themselves 3/4 of the way to that, they could become a dominant team in the West division.

Wan’dale Robinson…. Co-player of the game last week with Adrian Martinez.  Robinson was so ballyhooed out of high school that if he failed to make a difference in a game this season, it would have been a disappointment.  The kid delivered when called upon. That hasn’t been the case often at Nebraska in the past. It’s not clear whether Robinson should play more running back, but I think we found out that he needs to at least be in the conversation.  Robinson carried Nebraska in the fourth quarter last week. If Maurice Washington can stay healthy, he gives Nebraska a one-two punch that only a couple teams in the Big Ten can match. It will be interesting to see how Coach Frost monitors touches going forward.  

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Blackshirts…Say what you want about Illinois, but they have a couple of weapons on offense that are as good as any in the conference.  The fact that the defense played average in the first half, but bulled up in the fourth quarter was a step forward from the Colorado loss.  Nebraska probably won’t be more athletic than most teams on defense, but if they do their job, the schemes seem to give the Huskers a fighting chance in each game.  If the Blackshirts can fill their expected roles this season, the defense can still win games for the Huskers.

Special Teams…Yikes!  I don’t know if it is because of the kicking game being so unbalanced, but Nebraska put out a stink bomb last week.  Kickoffs were short, the punting game looked like they were going for broke when playing it safe was maybe the better call.  Nebraska will be at best a seven to eight win team without getting special teams under control. At worst, they could be lucky to win a couple more games based on the issues that it causes.  The SOS for help needs to be put out in the worst way.

Score Prediction: Ohio State 44 Nebraska 36

This game is funny.  Nebraska went to Columbus and scared the hell out of the Buckeyes last season.  Nebraska is better than last season, so you would think they could replicate their performance.  Unfortunately, Ohio State looks like they are much better too. Nebraska probably caught OSU flat footed last season, because no one outside of Nebraska thought they could win.  I think Ohio State thinks that they could lose this game in Lincoln. That alone will have their attention. I expect Nebraska to play hard, but if they play anything like they did in Illinois, they won’t be able to climb out of a hole against Ohio State.  I think Ohio State gets a great start, with Nebraska closing hard at the end. Either way, I will be screaming like a lunatic inside the Sea of Red, GBR!!!

Scott Frost and the Road Warriors

As Nebraska passed the quarter pole and gets ready to start Big Ten play, I’m reminded that this team is young.  We are talking super young. Look at the offensive starters. Graduate transfer Kanawai Noa is really the only senior that plays significant minutes.  Adrian Martinez is just a true sophomore. J.D. Spielman probably has the most experience of anyone on the offense and he is a junior. Captain Matt Farniok is also a junior as is left tackle Brenden Jaimes.

I bring this up, because when you start to look at the culture that Scott Frost started to instill from the first day that he came back to Lincoln, he didn’t have the offensive leadership to show everyone the way.  Devine Ozigbo and Stanley Morgan helped. Tanner Farmer and Gerald Foster were strong in that regard as well. The thing is, you lose those players from the first season and now, your leadership is replaced by great talent, but not experienced talent.

When the Huskers offense couldn’t put a drive together in Boulder to end any threat of comeback, part of me thought, this group hasn’t done it yet.  Last season during the horrible start, you had to wonder if the small amount of leadership was ever going to be enough to win a game. You know Nebraska has talent.  They came withing a few dropped passes and some defensive busts from pulling an upset last season in Ohio State.

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So last week, when Northern Illinois came to Lincoln, I watched the defense start to show leadership for this team.  The defensive, led by Darrion Daniels and the Davis brothers, along with Mohamed Barry at linebacker, is where the veterans roam.  This is a significant transformation for this team. Last season it was those offensive veterans that had to plug away in order for Nebraska to have a chance to win games.  Now, the defense is in the leadership position. The positives out weight the negatives in that scenario. I never thought this would be an issue this season, but here we are.

You see, as a Nebraska fan, the offense should be the least of our concerns.  We have, in this blogger’s opinion, one of the top offensive minds in college football calling plays.  After last year, I’m convinced that there are great teachers on the staff on offense and while this team is really young on that side of the ball, I can already tell that the offense is working to get better each week and you can see the progress.  

Coach Frost knows that to win consistently, you have to be able to run the ball up the middle at some point during the season.  The first three games, as depressing as it might have looked, Nebraska continued to work on that aspect, even though those plays have been drive killers.  Finally against Northern Illinois, you started to see some of those efforts pay off. Dedrick Mills had his best day as a Husker, breaking off a long 60 yard run and scoring up the middle on a 24 yard run in the second quarter.  These plays might have been there against Colorado, but it is a work in progress for this offense. They didn’t materialize in Boulder, but they did the next week. 

I have to keep reminding myself of that inexperience as this rebuild takes effect.  Unlike at Central Florida, Nebraska’s schedule is not filled with weeks that you can get by with less effort.  The Big Ten is no joke, with the amount of resources, the types of players, both large and veteran, along with really good coaches, the schedule is a slog.  This offense is starting to find it’s footing. It just takes a bit, when you have so little veteran presence. I have started to see it evolve last week. Which is just in time to start playing games in the Big Ten.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week’s prediction was Nebraska 34, Northern Illinois 21.  The final score was Nebraska 44, Northern Illinois 8. The defense was really good.  I mean, really good. If Nebraska can limit turnovers on offense, you can see the battle plan coming together for this team.  The defense should be able to eliminate the run game early in first half. If the offense can put points on the board and make teams one dimensional on offense in the second half, they should be able to tee off on the quarterback and create their own turnovers.  The blueprint has worked well in places like Oregon and Central Florida. I think it will work well in Nebraska, once the team settles in. Last week was the first time this season that it looked like it should.

Quick Notes:

Kicking Game… Where is Barrett Pickering?  That is the question that might haunt this team all season.  Last year Pickering was almost automatic by the end of the season.  Having that type of special teams play in your back pocket was supposed to be a major benefit this season.  Unfortunately, Pickering has been injured and it has really put Nebraska in some trouble. If Pickering can’t come back, there are going to be games lost by the kicking game.  I hope the kid doesn’t miss the entire season, it could end up costing Nebraska any chance as the West division that we all hope to win.

Maurice Washington…. I said it last week and I will continue to say it again.  This guy is different than any other player Nebraska has on the roster.  He has the ability to get by guys that we just haven’t seen in a while in Lincoln.  Keeping him fresh is going to be a priority all season. Having now seen Rahmir Johnson, I’m hopeful that Washington’s workload will be light at times.  When Nebraska plays Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa, they are going to need a healthy Washington to even the odds in those games. Let Mills, Wan’dale and Johnson have some carries and put Washington split out.  He is a mismatch all over the field.  

Secondary…Braxton Clark got his first interception last week.  Let’s hope it is one of many in his career. Lamar Jackson and Dicaprio Bootle continue to be great in coverage.  Eli Sullivan and JoJo Domann have provided a boost to the secondary when they have played. Hopefully Cam Taylor-Britt’s shoulder injury isn’t too severe and he can continue to contribute.  Defensive Back coach Travis Fisher has this group playing at a high level. If that continues to be a strength for Nebraska, Big Ten teams may be in for a bit of a shock at how hard it will be to score consistently against the Blackshirts.

Road Games…So Scott Frost has failed to win on the road as head coach at Nebraska.  If you would have came from the future last year before the Akron game was washed out and told me that Scott Frost was win-less on the road by conference play this year, you probably could have owned my house.  It has been a frustrating start for Scott Frost. I expect by the end of the season, you won’t even remember it was an issue prior to this season.

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Score Prediction: Nebraska 41 – Illinois 29

Rolling into a venue at night on the road is a hard task, I don’t care how you look at it.  Illinois has a lot of individual talent. Reggie Corbin is a beast and will be as tough of any running back Nebraska will face this year.  Quarterback Brandon Peters was highly recruited by Nebraska, along with many other big time schools before he chose Michigan, then transferred to Illinois.  If Nebraska continues their upward trajectory, as I’m betting on, this game shouldn’t be all that close. If Nebraska turns the ball over or has busts in coverage and allows the Illini to stick with them, it will be a close game all the way to the end.  I think Nebraska puts the gas down though and has the game in control by the fourth quarter this week. It is conference football season, GBR!!!

Husker Football Deja Vu All Over Again!

You feel that?  I did, it was the pain of a thousand sharp needles, all over your body.  How did Nebraska play so well in the first half in Boulder? How did they play so bad in the fourth quarter in the same place?  

We have seen it before since Coach Frost has come back to Lincoln.  Nebraska gets up on someone, but they don’t put them away. Nebraska looks like a top 25 team against someone (Northwestern, Ohio State and 2019 Colorado) but they only look that way about 75-85% of the time.  It is super frustrating. After Maurice Washington scored in the fourth quarter on a 75 yard pass to erase the 96 yard flea flicker from the Buffs, it seemed as though whatever evil demon possessed Nebraska, they could overcome it.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

Whatever you think of Scott Frost, we know he suffers with us.  He is one of us. He played here, he bleeds red. His frustration is probably as high as anyone's.  So why do we keep losing close games? A couple of reasons come to mind.

First, the offensive line needs a lot of work.  It’s true if you can’t dominate the line of scrimmage on one side of the ball, you will get wrecked.  If you recall, in a Mike Riley coached game against Wisconsin, they simply decided to run the football in a close game in Lincoln.  They didn’t pass, they simply knew Nebraska couldn’t stop them. That happened a lot to Nebraska, playing against good offensive lines, since Nebraska joined the Big Ten.  Unfortunately, Nebraska’s own offensive line resembles nothing like that. It’s ironic that the first time since Bo Pelini left that Nebraska has a strong defensive line, and the offensive line is below average at best.

Second, this team has to learn how to win.  We talked about it last year when the Huskers had their worst start in our lifetime, this team simply doesn’t know what it takes to bury a team.  Nebraska really dominated Colorado in the first half of their game. When you are up on a team 17-0 on the road, you would say that the odds are in your favor.  The problem is, Nebraska struggled to do anything offensively in the third quarter. You could sense the walls starting to tighten up on Nebraska. When a team doesn’t win a lot, little things can start to make you think the whole thing will collapse.  Until you have those things go your way and you put a team away and get backups in the game late, you just don’t know what else bad can happen, but you are sure that it can.

Last, the expectations on this team were probably way too high.  I read a lot of preseason publications and sportswriters, basically wanting to will Nebraska into winning the Big Ten West.  It could still happen, the Colorado game really doesn’t matter in the big picture. However, we all knew (including Frost), this job wasn’t going to be a redo of Central Florida, no matter how much we all wished it.  Face it, Nebraska is a program that for five years prior to Frost taking over, was headed in a large tailspin. Poor recruiting, poor coaching, poor culture and poor development has plagued Lincoln for a long time. That is hard to turn around in a couple years, let alone one season and two games.  Nebraska doesn’t play in the same conference as Central Florida, the roadblocks are a bit higher up north.

Nebraska will be back in the national conversation, I’m sure of it.  I actually feel like Nebraska by the end of the season is going to be a team no one wants to tangle with.  I also think that in two more seasons, you will see Nebraska in the conversation for a national playoff berth if things continue at this current pace.  I get it that many of us want this program to head back to the 90’s type dominance yesterday. What we should be hoping for is a replication of the 80’s at this point.  Just start winning nine games a year again for 2 or 3 seasons. With this staff and the people behind Nebraska football, I foresee it happening. Unfortunately, this season is just another block in the base of what is being rebuilt.  It’s going to give us some gut punches along the way. Better prepare for a few more before it’s all said and done. 

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week’s prediction was Nebraska 34, Colorado 31.  The final score was the reverse with Colorado coming out on top.  We know Nebraska can beat Colorado. If the played them 10 times, I’m sure Nebraska would win their 5.  Unfortunately, they only play one. It can be a stepping stone or an anchor. I think it’s just another step forward, despite the outcome.

Quick Notes:

Cam Taylor-Britt… A perfect microcosm of last week, Taylor-Britt made some unbelievable plays, tackles for loss, forced a fumble and yet he was the player defending the receiver on the flea flicker that really turned the corner for the Buffs.  Taylor-Britt is special. To me, he is like a mini version of how Nebraska is progressing. He can be sensational, but he isn’t perfect yet. He may get there, I just hope it is soon.

Maurice Washington…. Man, this kid is special.  Off the field stuff not withstanding, he is probably the most talented player on the Husker roster.  Washington makes plays that no one else on the team can make. Any time he is in the open field he can house it.  I’d like to see him play some wide receiver when Dedrick Mills and Wan'dale Robinson are on the field. Last season against Iowa he was almost unstoppable.  He needs to play as many plays as he can, he is that great.

Kickers …Nebraska was so spoiled last season with Barrett Pickering.  He adjusted after a rough start and became another of a reliable, if not spectacular kicker in a long line of Huskers specialists.  You could argue his absence has made Nebraska fall from the ranks of the undefeated. Hopefully he is healthy by conference play. Nebraska needs him.

Blackshirts…We talked about them some last week, but that first half against Colorado was almost brilliant.  I honestly felt like the emotion of the first half was what tired Nebraska out in the fourth quarter.  Nebraska put it on Colorado, and looked like they had the fire to carry Nebraska this season. Injuries have put a bit of a damper on their performance and the late game collapse was really bad, but I continue to be encouraged by their tenacity and willingness to tackle with violence.  I’d argue that the personal foul on Lamar Jackson in the first series was a bad call. I know it was early, but I felt like it gave Colorado some life. If Nebraska could have capitalized on that early stop, it would have really changed that game. The Blackshirts needs to cut down on penalties, but they could be a force in the Big Ten based on the first two games.

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Score Prediction: Nebraska 37 – Northern Illinois 21

When Northern Illinois came to Lincoln and upset Nebraska two seasons ago, it set in motion the ability to have Scott Frost come back to Nebraska.  I thought that was rock bottom for Nebraska that day, but I was probably wrong. I’m not sure if we really have hit it yet, but I sure hope so. Nebraska needs to make a statement at home this week, offensively and defensively.  If Nebraska is up by three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter, they need to get young players into the game. That's the only reason this game should be as close as we predict. Nebraska is capable of dominating this team. As always GBR!!!

Game Day in Boulder!

So that wasn’t exactly how it was supposed to go.  Nebraska has been a media favorite to win the Big Ten West division all off season and it looked like South Alabama would be nothing more than a stepping stone on the way to that title.  Then the offense took a turn into the ditch last week and as Nebraska only scored two offensive touchdowns on one of the worst offensive performances in Scott Frost’s coaching career.

So, what really happened?  A couple of things stick out and your crack blogger Kenny Bloggins went to former college football players to see if the bloggin’ eyes were telling the truth.

What surprised me was that two former players, one from Nebraska and one from the Minnesota Vikings had varying opinions on how the offensive line performed.  The former Husker told me that Cam Jurgens is going to need to be the “guy” at center. Right now, Will Farniok just isn’t ready to rumble in the Big Ten. He said that Jurgens will need to get as many reps as possible before Big Ten play and hope for the best.  The rest of the offensive line will need to get better too, but to him Jurgens is the key to the season. So goes Jurgens, so go the Huskers. Can’t say that I disagree.

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The former Viking was a little big more optimistic.  He said that hand placement was the biggest culprit for the Huskers against South Alabama.  He explained that hand placement is a matter of repetition and after doing it for a couple of games, the offensive line would be fine.  He expects offensive line coach, Greg Austin, to have it handled this week against Colorado. If they don’t, he said expect changes in personnel by week three.

From my vantage point and re-watching the first half about six times, the footwork was just as big an issue as hand placement.  The Huskers looked slow up front, like they were stuck in concrete. Matt Farniok looked like he had an invisible plow hooked to his hips.  Jurgens and new guard Trent Hixson didn’t look to be on the same page half the time. That is a communication issue and an experience issue.  I think that will get cleaned up. The feet in the concrete though? I don’t know if you can fix that.

Nebraska is in a precarious situation right now.  If the offense has a bad week against Colorado, the season may be headed toward .500 rather than any division titles.  If the Huskers can’t take advantage of the young skill talent it has, I think the coaches are going to need to take a long look at playing some different players on the offensive line and giving them a chance to build stamina and learn on the fly.  You can’t continue to put veteran players out in the trenches if they fail to perform repeatedly. Are better players on the Husker bench? I don’t think so unfortunately, but the staff may need to find out. This week more than probably any other, could foretell the rest of the season.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week’s prediction was Nebraska 40, South Alabama 17.  The final score was Nebraska 35, South Alabama 21. We were close on the score, but certainly not on our prediction of how they would get there.  Nebraska’s offense will need to be the bread winner this season for the Huskers to have great success. Hopefully South Alabama was an anomaly.

Quick Notes:

Blackshirts… You could have shocked me out of a coma if you told me before last week that the defense and punt return unit would carry Nebraska to victory.  Give big kudos do defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. He called timely blitzes and the Blackshirts forced five turnovers. They may not be world beaters, but if this defense can turn the ball back to the offense with any kind of regularity, the overall team could be good.  I don’t know if the defense can win many games for Nebraska, but it was nice to see them do it early in the season.

Maurice Washington…. Whatever you think of the suspension that Coach Frost handed Washington, it certainly was a lift to get Maurice back on the field.  He is clearly a difference maker for Nebraska. He sees the field so well, and it doesn’t take great blocking for him to get to the next level.  I’m not saying Dedrick Mills won’t have big games this year, but Washington clearly is a notch above almost any other athlete on the field. Nebraska needs Washington to play every game to increase their success.

Special Teams …I could tell that this unit was going to be improved, based on the depth of athletes on the roster this season.  When you have veteran players on special teams like Cam Taylor-Britt and J.D. Spielman along with newcomers like Wan’dale Robinson, you can see that explosive plays can happen at any time.  I foresee Nebraska having some big plays this year on both return teams. Now, Nebraska needs Barret Pickering to get healthy. If he shores up the kicking game, Nebraska will have a nice advantage on special teams in a lot of games.

Big Red Kool-Aid…With Adrian Martinez being so good as a true freshman, it was hard not to drink all the offseason hype with this offense.  That first taste against South Alabama was bitter as hell though. I think we all can see that the difference between 4-8 of last season and a possible flip to 8-4 doesn’t leave a lot of room for Martinez not to be at his best each game.  I expect the offensive line to get better, but I think it’s a lot to ask that they win the West division. It seems like even with the offseason hype, Frost’s initial prediction that it would be three years before this team is ready to make waves in the NCAA is probably closer to fact than what we would like to believe.  Who knows though, smack Colorado around this week and you never know what confidence may fly out of Lincoln.

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Score Prediction: Nebraska 34 – Colorado 31

Before the season started, I really thought Nebraska would win this game by two touchdowns and maybe more.  After last week, it is clear the team still has a lot of work to do before it blows out anyone. I’m not saying that Nebraska won’t play great this weekend, they certainly can.  I just think the thought of scoring more than four touchdowns this week may be wishful thinking. I think Nebraska gets three touchdowns on offense and the defense scores again this week.  The Blackshirts continue to create timely turnovers and Nebraska returns the favor in Folsom Field this season. GBR!!!

Editor’s Note: We regret putting North Alabama in last week’s score prediction.  The fact that we were in Alabama last week with someone from South Alabama was our punishment for the error.