Akron Game Preview

Ok, so I went to Kansas City to watch Nebraska play Cincinnati.  Outside of the game a couple of items.

First, Arrowhead Stadium is old, someone told me it is the third oldest in the NFL, and since I know that Soldier Field and Lambeau Field are the oldest, I would guess that is accurate.  The stadium itself is built to hold in crowd noise, and I must admit, it was really…..really loud.  Probably as loud as I can remember hearing a sporting event.

Second, the scoreboards are awful.  The ribbon board never showed any statistics and it was nearly impossible to find the two places where they kept the game clock and play clock from where I sat in the lower bowl.  To top it off, the video boards are smaller than the ones at Nebraska high schools.  

On the flip side, it really felt like an old school game.  There weren’t 25 ads playing during commercial breaks for Aker Farm Equipment, Bryan Health or any other Nebraska commercialized and monetized item the University can throw on the video board.  I know it takes a lot of money to run the University and the athletic department, so I’m not upset, but the in-game experience with just a college band and few other distractions was a welcome break from the normal home Husker games.

Finally, I cannot stress this enough, it is hard to digest what is going on in a game when you are at the lower level of the stadium and you can’t get a bird’s eye view, like on TV, of what is really going on.  I thought Nebraska’s defensive line was bad, and for the most part they were, but not bad for the reasons I thought.  In watching the game, I thought they were getting manhandled, but rewatching on TV, they were getting up field, and they seemed to be winning their battles way more against the O-line, they just were not assignment sound.  After the review I felt much better about the future of the defensive line than I did leaving the stadium.

It also looked like Nebraska should be able to throw deep and I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t try to go over the top against the Bearcat defense.  What I couldn’t see is that they were playing mostly with a three-safety high cover that kept our offensive players in front of them and that they weren’t letting us go past without making sure Nebraska’s wide receivers were covered in full.  After the rewatch, it made me appreciate Dylan Raiola’s efficiency in the passing game.  He continuously hit open receivers, didn’t force much and played well.  It was difficult to see all that in person.

I say all of this as a reminder, not just to anyone reading this, but to myself as well that it was game one.  The biggest improvements should come between week 1 and week 2.  If that happens, and the team continues to improve week to week, it should be a very fun season.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 34, Cincinnati 17. The actual score was Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17.  Nebraska dominated the middle two quarters of the game, and it was enough to come home with a victory.  The reality is, they should have probably scored at least one more touchdown, but they just as easily could have given up a free touchdown on an almost interception by Raiola on a swing pass on fourth down.  I felt like the offense could have played better, there were multiple times when beating one more defender would have been the route to a long touchdown.  Nebraska needs to make more big plays on offense.

Quick Notes:

Emmett Johnson…If you were looking for a player of the game, Johnson was it.  He carried the ball a career high 25 times and was targeted 10 times in the passing game.  It was an unusually large load for a running back but considering the youth and the minimal experience behind him, it was probably necessary.  Johnson is the bell cow at running back for sure, but he will need to be efficient and have about a third of the carries this week and next, so he has a chance to survive the Big Ten gauntlet.  If you were to tell me that there was a top three players Nebraska would struggle without, Johnson would be in the top three, easily.

Nyziah Hunter....Of the transfer receivers, Hunter really impressed me.  He made an acrobatic catch early in the game that if he had stayed on his feet, was an easy touchdown.  He then made a spectacular contested catch in the end zone for a touchdown right before halftime.  Dane Key is clearly a veteran that is going to be a big part of the offense, but having Hunter as the opposite outside receiver along with Jacory Barney in the slot gives Nebraska as good of a set of wide receivers as they have had in at least a decade.  This group should be enough for Dylan Raiola to have a big year in the passing game.  Hunter is really fun to watch, and he will score some big touchdowns this season.  

Ceyar Wright..…As I listened to Husker talk radio this week, it was great hearing everyone talk about how people weren’t sure that Wright even played.  That’s how great he was in coverage against the Cincinnati wide receivers.  Wright and Andrew Marshall shut down the passing game for the Blackshirts on the back end.  Throw in the great play of Donavan Jones and the pick by Malcom Hartzog and the defensive cover backs had what I would consider an excellent game.  Nebraska has some issues up front, but they certainly have the guys in the back end of the defense to keep them in any game.

Vincent Shavers Jr…Shavers wasn’t always where he should have been, but he made the play of the game by forcing a fumble in Cincinnatti territory right before half, recovered by Williams Nwaneri, that turned into a touchdown to give the Huskers a 10-point lead at halftime.  Shavers is the best linebacker on the team.  The thing that holds him back the most is experience.  The more he plays, the better he is going to get.  He plays fast and when he makes mistakes, he makes those fast as well which allows him to recover.  The Blackshirts inexperience showed up in Kansas City, but the potential is high with many of them.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 42, Akron 10

As an opening home game goes, you couldn’t ask for a better opponent to get healthy with.  I don’t mean to bag on the Zips, but Akron lost 10-0 to Wyoming last week and it wasn’t pretty.  Nebraska needs to put up some points in this game so their back up players can get valuable experience before conference play.  Nebraska’s youth clearly showed in the opening game.  It’s true, the starters are veterans in a lot of places, but there are so many young players in new roles and new situations, the repetitions are the biggest benefit of playing a team that isn’t that great.  Nebraska should dominate from the get-go, and I hope the offense opens it up and goes for the throat early so they can work on their game going forward.  As always, be loud, be proud and GBR!!!