Ok, so that might be overstating a bit, but you get the idea. Nebraska has had plenty of heartbreak in Soonertown in their own storied history. It’s also the site of possibly Nebraska’s greatest triumph, the Game of the Century.
Nebraska moves into this week with some question marks on the offensive side of the football. The injury bug has depleted the tight end room and the wide receiver room. The loss to open the season in Illinois feels like it was a year ago, but it still feels like a fresh wound that likely won’t heal this season.
The Huskers run to the quarter pole of the season with a chance to make a statement. Of course, we have been saying that for 5 years now and Nebraska has yet to beat any ranked teams in that time frame. I read yesterday that Nebraska hasn’t beat a top 5 team on the road since 1997…. read that again! Man, how long have we been wandering in this wilderness?
It’s not that the Huskers have been horrible that entire time frame, but even teams like Kansas, Oregon State and Duke have more exciting wins the last 10 years than Nebraska probably does.
It doesn’t make sense how a college team with the resources that Nebraska has could go this long without just falling into an upset. A day when everything clicks and nothing goes right for an opponent. I don’t know that Nebraska will get that this weekend in Norman, but man, if Nebraska didn’t truly sell their souls to the devil in the 90’s, you would think we are due for a pallet cleanser at some point.
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Last game prediction was Nebraska 28, Buffalo 24. The actual score was Nebraska 28, Buffalo 3. At the end, it wasn’t even that close. Nebraska had two touchdowns called off due to poor penalty calls and another one that possibly should have been called but has often been missed by referees. Had Nebraska won 45 to 3, I wonder if the narrative would have been different this week at all. The days of blowing teams away in the first quarter may be gone for Nebraska, but in my mind, even with the continued mistakes on special teams, that may have been one of the top 3 most complete Husker games of the Scott Frost era. That was encouraging.
Quick Notes:
Luke Reimer…What else can you say about the Big Ten Defensive Player of the week? Reimer played at a level that we haven’t seen a Nebraska linebacker play at for a long time. He seemed to be everywhere against Buffalo. His interception was so close to a pick six, I honestly thought he was a fullback on that play the way he was running the football. Reimer has been someone the coaches keep pointing to as a Sunday type of player. If he continues to play like that, he could be on the path to some All-conference honors.
Samori Toure…So far, Toure looks like the missing piece for Adrian Martinez to play at an all-conference level. Toure is consistently so wide open that Martinez has to look at him on every play. We knew that Toure was a likely NFL draft pick had he went into the draft last spring, but he has so far been a spring board for the entire Husker offense. It remains to be seen if he will continue to play at this high level when the conference season starts, but you have to admit he has at least made it look like Nebraska will have big play potential every week.
Chris Hickman…The tight end position has been snake bit this year for Nebraska. All Chris Hickman has done is taken that opportunity to make his mark. I’ve been impressed with Hickman’s blocking, even if he is relatively skinny for that spot. That isn’t what has made him special the last couple of weeks. He has been a security blanket for Martinez the last two weeks, when he was needed the most. Hickman looks like he will be a part of the offense moving forward, even after the other players get healthy. That’s a big plus for Nebraska down the road.
Offensive Line…This grade isn’t good so far. Nebraska has continued to struggle with pass rush against lesser teams and the holes for the running backs have all but vanished so far this year. The offensive line, in my opinion, is what is keeping Nebraska from being a borderline top 25 team. If the Huskers could block even at a mid-tier level, the offense finally has the weapons to make teams pay for overplaying the run. However, when teams can pin their ears back and do whatever they want, it makes any offense shaky. Credit to Adrian Martinez for being elusive enough to not make it a disaster every week. This group has to improve for Nebraska to have any chance at making a bowl game.
Score Prediction: Oklahoma 38, Nebraska 28
I’ve been all over the place on predicting this game. Nebraska could implode and give up 63 points, or they Blackshirts could prove that the first 3 weeks weren’t a fluke and hold Oklahoma to 30 points or less. I lean more toward the latter actually. I think Oklahoma is underestimating the Huskers. I also think if Nebraska had their full complement of tight ends and receivers, they could make this a game. I’m expecting OU to get out to an early lead and kind of coast, but I don’t think Nebraska just sits back and takes it and I think they will come away from this game with some confidence that they can play with better teams. I’m leaving for Norman as soon as I finish this so GBR!!
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