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.
 |
| BLEEDHUSKERRED.COM |
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.
 |
| Carriker Chronicles |
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.
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.
 |
| BLEEDHUSKERRED.COM |
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!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment