Must Win Weekend

There won’t be another opportunity like this for Nebraska again.  A reeling Maryland program that has more losses that Nebraska and may be even more beat up at this point.  Nebraska needs to capitalize on this opportunity to set up a possible bowl game entry against Iowa right after Thanksgiving.

Nebraska played hard against Wisconsin, the offense rushed for more yards against Wisconsin than any other team has all season.  The Husker offense continues to make large chunk plays. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to capitalize with points. It’s killing them.

Coach Scott Frost said this week that if they could score 30 points a game they should win most of them.  We haven’t seen very many games in the Big Ten when the Huskers could score 30. They finally seem to have the offensive line working well enough to move the ball, but due to play calling, effort or whatever, Nebraska struggles in the red zone.

The Nebraska defense hasn’t held up their end of the bargain either.  They continue to struggle to stop the running game. Part of that is because they defensive line doesn’t keep the offensive line from meeting the linebackers.  Another reason is that the secondary at safety is so banged up, they have walk ons and true freshman as backups to the starters. When the starters come out, it is a big drop off.  When they are hurt and have to play, it is just as bad as when the leave.

Those aren’t excuses, they are just the reality.  Nebraska has underachieved this season, for multitudes of reasons.  Some of it is the player personnel, some of it is depth, some of it is coaching.  If you could pin point any one thing, you would say it should be easily fixed. That’s simply not the case.  Nebraska should be working on their 7th or 8th win this weekend, instead they are fighting to stay bowl eligible with 2 games left.  Lost chances, poor decisions and lack of leadership will mark this 2019 season. If Nebraska can somehow pull out a win at Maryland, they will have it all on the line in one week.

If they fail to win this weekend, it will be a long cold winter in Lincoln.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week’s prediction was Wisconsin 38, Nebraska 21.  The actual score was Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21. It should have been much closer than it was.  Nebraska’s inability to make a field goal and keep the game close to a one possession game in the second half, forced Nebraska to try and make fourth down conversions when they could have used field goals, if only they had made the first one.  Nebraska’s inability to score in the red zone continues to be costly to this team.

Quick Notes:

Blackshirts…The inability to tackle has been a huge killer for this team.  Tack that on to the inability to get a consistent pass rush and you can see how the defense can’t win a game on their own.  Nebraska’s offense has had it’s own problems, but they are exacerbated by the defense’s inability to flip the field, create turnovers or get quick 3 and outs.  Nebraska will need to address all of this again this off season. Will it ever get better for Erik Chinander? He better figure it out, because the leash will start to get shorter the longer it takes to turn the Blackshirts around.

Cam Jurgens…. It has been an interesting season for the redshirt freshman from Beatrice.  He struggled early in the season with high snaps and often looked lost. Watching him against Wisconsin though, I started to think that Nebraska will have it’s first All Conference Center since Dominic Raiola.  Jurgens plays really hard. When he latches on, he plays to the whistle and he is able to get down the field and throw blocks that clear a lot of space. The entire offensive line has played much better as of late, but Jurgens’ rise has been especially notable.

Dedrick Mills…Can’t stress enough how big of a player he was against Wisconsin.  He was difficult to bring down, broke big runs and forced Wisconsin to play fewer defensive backs which opened up the passing game.  Sometimes as a player, the game, in a new system, doesn’t click right away. Mills has worked hard and now seems to understand where the seams are being created and he isn’t hesitating.  I feel like he will have a huge game against Maryland and probably against Iowa if he can stay healthy.

Young Players…Nebraska has played younger players quite a bit as we close out the season.  Ty Robinson, Myles Farmer, Braxton Clark, Chris Hickman and Keem Green have all seen an increase in snaps.  I expect a great many of the to continue to play more as the season winds down. It is apparent that the 2019 recruiting class has a lot of players that will help next season.  It’s nice to see them get the game reps that they wouldn’t otherwise get with the old red shirt rules. Nebraska has a bright future, these kids will the core of that future.

Score Prediction:  Nebraska 36, Maryland 30

For the first time in a long time, I think Nebraska will win a game on the road.  Maryland really is banged up and are playing out the string. If Nebraska can get up early on the road, they should cruise.  More likely, they will score often, but make mistakes that cost them easy points. It will make the game much closer than it should be, but in the end, I like the Big Red today.  With any luck at all, it will set up a big match for Iowa when they come to Lincoln. Turtle soup for the Huskers! GBR!!