Freeezing Trojans

(Predictions are at the end if you don’t want to read the rest!)

If you ever wonder how other teams go about their business and if they have as much drama as Nebraska, you can limit those teams to basically anyone that fires their coach midseason.  Nebraska has had more drama about a coach not leaving, than any time that I can remember.

Matt Rhule agreed to an extension with Nebraska, basically putting an end to speculation that he may leave to take over at Penn State.  In signing the extension, Rhule agreed to a larger buyout if someone else wanted to hire him, and in turn, he added to seasons to his contract, and an agreement for more funding for Name, Image and Likeness, more commonly known as NIL.

If that wasn’t enough, USC is coming to Lincoln, and the Huskers are planning to have a “Blackout” game with alternate uniforms and a theme of “Blackshirts” paying homage to former defensive greats.

Nebraska does it big.  The question now is, can they beat a ranked team in a big game?

USC isn’t ranked in the top ten, in fact they come into Lincoln ranked only 23rd in the country.  Nebraska hasn’t beaten a ranked team since 2016.  In fact, if Nebraska loses this game at home, they will officially be under .500 at home all time against ranked opponents, for the first time since the early 90’s.  

Nebraska has taken many steps forward in the last two seasons.  To be honest, one of the crazier things about the last decade has been Nebraska’s inability to beat a ranked team.  Nebraska has played plenty of them, but for whatever reason, they cannot seem to put it all together to win.  Heck, even Purdue, Maryland and Northwestern have beaten ranked teams in the last decade, and they have been arguably worse than Nebraska at multiple points in time during that ten-season period.

Nebraska really is out of excuses now, with the Rhule drama behind them, they need to come out and put together a full game of great effort and execution in all three phases of the game.  If Nebraska is ever truly going to get out of the rut that they are in, that would be the next big launching pad to prove Nebraska is on the right track.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 19, Northwestern 17. The actual score was Nebraska 28, Northwestern 21.  A big kickoff return for a touchdown coming out of halftime was such a lift for Nebraska, they played a game to win, instead of playing not to lose in the third quarter.  A terrible spot call overturned a fourth down for Northwestern, that in my mind would have put the game away.  Credit Northwestern for capitalizing on their fortune, they almost stole one.  Nebraska made the plays to win in the end, and that’s all you can ask for, although there was plenty of complaints from fans that the game came down to the wire.

Quick Notes:

Emmett Johnson…So far, Johnson has been the Huskers offensive MVP.  He has been on a tear when he gets multiple touches and currently sits second in total rushing yards in the Big Ten.  For someone that was third string coming into last season, it is amazing how far EJ has come, and now there is talk he may have played his way into the NFL.  We will wait to see if that happens after the season, but for now, Johnson is playing his way into all conference territory.  Nebraska will need to ride him over these last four games, if they have any hope of winning games in November. 

Kenneth Williams....What a difference a play makes.  Williams almost took a kickoff return to the house against Maryland, that Nebraska followed up with a touchdown that turned the game around on the road, and last week against Northwestern, Williams struck pay dirt and returned the opening second half kickoff to the house.  Williams’s ability to gash teams in the return game continues to play huge dividends for the Huskers.  Credit to his blockers, they are disciplined and attack relentlessly helping to spring Williams, but his speed is a game changer when he gets in the open field.

Rex Guthrie...…After earning a Blackshirt the week before, Guthrie played arguably his best game of the season.  He has come out of nowhere to start at safety as a redshirt freshman, and he has established himself as a lynch pin in the back end of the defense.  He will have his work cut out for himself this week, as USC has two great pass catching tight ends.

Nyziah Hunter....Hunter continues to make big plays for Nebraska.  His touchdown catch, on the fade route that extended Nebraska’s lead 21-7, was as good of a catch as I have seen a Husker receiver make.  Hunter now leads Nebraska in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns on the season.  The transfer from Cal has provided a security blanket for Dylan Raiola as teams try to shut down Jacory Barney and Dane Key.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 33, USC 28

My head says that Nebraska won’t win this game.  USC is so talented at quarterback and on offense, that it’s going to be very hard for Nebraska’s Blackshirts to hold them from scoring over 30 points.  But my heart tells me that Nebraska is going to be able to have success running the football.  It’s also telling me that USC’s special teams aren’t that special, and Nebraska should get a boost in that area as well.  It won’t hurt that it will be in the mid 30’s at game time for the team from Los Angeles.  Nebraska will need to play a perfect game in many ways to win, but my heart tells me they are going to get it done this week, celebrating Coach Rhule’s commitment to the Huskers!  Wear black, be loud and GBR!!!

Home Sweet Home

 

(Predictions are at the end if you don’t want to read the rest!)

Well, that trip to Minnesota wasn’t much fun.  I’ll tell you how not much fun it was, as Husker fans headed to the exits after the score was 21-6 with a lot of time left, my brother-in-law stopped drinking.  That right there is enough to stop this Husker fan in his tracks!

Now we get to find out if this road trip was an aberration or if it was the precursor for the rest of the season.  Nebraska had done a great job on its road trip to Maryland, and while it wasn’t always pretty, they came out smelling like a rose.  They turned around and played a game that was much more like the fertilizer spread on the rose.  Just when you think Nebraska is turning it all around, it came to a screeching halt.

The week didn’t get off to a good start with the Penn State firing of their head coach, and then when Matt Rhule addressed the media the Monday after, but didn’t say, “yeah, I’m staying at Nebraska” it was probably a bad omen.  

And I don’t think the team necessarily was worried about Coach Rhule leaving for Penn State, but in the back of your mind you had to kind of thing that it was probably a bit of a distraction, not just for Coach Rhule, but the program in general.

The other thing to keep in mind, college football teams lose, on the road, and it isn’t all that rare.  Outside of Ohio State, Oregon and now Indiana, teams are going to lose 2, 3 or 4 games a season, that’s just the way it goes.  And until you have a proven plan, or proven players that can rise above it all, Husker fans might as well plan on losing a few games each season.  That’s the reality of college football when you aren’t a big dog.

I’m not saying the coaches and players shouldn’t have been more prepared for last week.  They do need to realize that Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin live in a world where Nebraska is the bigger fish, regardless of their records, and beating Nebraska is akin to their Super Bowl half the time.  Kansas State and Colorado were the same in the Big Twelve.  There are just teams, considered inferior over a certain amount of time that really want to beat Nebraska’s rear end from here to eternity and Nebraska can’t just show up and beat them.  

That’s the next step for this Coach Rhule team.  Northwestern this week, is much like the three Big Ten teams mentioned above, a win over the Huskers fuels their season.  This gets them closer to bowl eligibility and means that they will finish most likely in the top ten of the conference.  Nebraska has the same goals to play for.  They need to act like it, don’t overlook Northwestern and reset their season course to get to a great bowl game.  Northwestern certainly is going to play like it is their Super Bowl.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 29, Minnesota 24. The actual score was Minnesota 24, Nebraska 6.  I got the Minnesota score right, but I didn’t count on the Nebraska offense playing in the twilight zone.  Nebraska’s inability to get passes out on offense ruined any chance the Huskers had of winning.  There were multiple plays in the first half that Nebraska didn’t capitalize on to score touchdowns that would have changed the strategy in the game, and it really bit the Huskers.  If Nebraska goes up 14-0, or even 10-3, that game has an entirely different tone.  Nebraska needs to figure out how to get over the hump against Minnesota.  It’s a current black mark on the program.

Quick Notes:

Luke Lindenmeyer…Not much to write about on the offensive side of the ball, but Lindenmeyer continues to be a safety blanket for Dylan Raiola in the passing game.  Lindenmeyer shows up every week and makes a play that the Huskers need to either stay in a game or put the game away.  The Junior walk-on from Papillion has been a revelation for the Huskers and is an exciting piece each week that teams need to account for. 

Keona Davis....Davis played what is likely his best game of the season against the Gophers.  His stats may not show it, but he made tackles when needed and was the anchor on a maligned defensive line.  He was part of one sack and while it doesn’t always show in the stats, he made many key plays to help other Blackshirts make tackles.

Archie Wilson...…The freshman Australian punter continues to shine on special teams for Nebraska.  He averaged 44.6 yards per punt last week and pinned Minnesota at the three-yard line in the third quarter, which is all you can ask for from your punter.  He hasn’t been perfect this season, but he has delivered more often than not.  Wilson is a bright light for a special teams unit that is currently ranked 2nd overall in the country.  That is a slingshot leap from a Husker team that was in the 100s the prior season.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 19, Northwestern 17

An early game, against a team that will want to run the ball and leave Memorial Stadium with a victory, doesn’t leave much margin for error.  Nebraska will need to scratch, claw and fight to get every point this weekend.  Northwestern isn’t loaded with stars, but they will make you beat them in a physical rock fight.  Nebraska needs to remain patient, run the football and force turnovers.  I have a feeling it’s going to come down to a last-minute field goal and this time Kyle Cunannan delivers for Big Red!  It’s going to take a big early effort from the crowd to keep Nebraska up when things may look tough, so GBR!!!

Minnesota Paradox

There is a commercial with Johnny Carson that most of you have probably heard.  In it he talks about going home again.  And sometimes you can’t go home again, but in reality, you carry your home with you, wherever you go.  

I think about that a lot.  I’ve lived in Lincoln for over 20 years, but I still carry my home with me daily.  My job, my family, my life, still draws on the lessons I learned from growing up in Western Nebraska and it drives me into what I do, still to this day.

Why is that relevant?  Because Nebraska’s head football coach Matt Rhule may have a decision to make about whether he wants to go home and coach at his alma mater Penn State, or if he wants to stay in Lincoln and continue to coach the Huskers.

It isn’t that Rhule doesn’t love Penn State, he does, and he stated as much at his weekly press conference, hell, he met his wife there.  And if the job is offered, I can’t imagine the stress and the thought process that he will go through to make that decision to stay in Lincoln or go.

On the flip side, he has a home now.  If there is one thing I can appreciate above all others with Coach Rhule is that he wears his heart on his sleeve.   He has moved his entire family to Nebraska.  He has set up deep roots within the heart of Lincoln and he has worked so hard to build a program that he can now start to fine tune and hopefully enjoy the fruits of his labor.   All that goes out the window if he leaves for State College in Pennsylvania.  

And if Penn State is still home, and it calls to him, and he absolutely can’t tell them no, his decision to leave won’t be easy.  They have an issue with their culture right now, and they are a very senior led program.  All the work that he has done in Nebraska will need to be replicated again in Happy Valley.

It leads one to think that Coach Rhule has grown strong roots for Nebraska that won’t be broken.  He has everything you could want in Lincoln, and it’s a great place to raise a family.  His wife has a business in Lincoln, and he has already done all the hard work to get Nebraska where he wants it.  He already carries his home with him, wherever he goes….in Lincoln.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 30, Maryland 23. The actual score was Nebraska 34, Maryland 31.  It certainly wasn’t pretty, and Nebraska had to come from behind twice, but they pulled out the road win in Maryland.  Despite three interceptions by Dylan Raiola and not creating any turnovers on their own, Nebraska kept battling.  It was disappointing that Nebraska couldn’t recreate their defensive success against Maryland’s passing game that they had against Michigan State.  It will be interesting to see what the Huskers do moving forward to create more havoc with pressures and sacks as the season wears on.

Quick Notes:

Javin Wright…If anyone on the defense deserves to have success, it’s Wright.  He has responded in consecutive weeks leading the team in tackles and leads the team in tackles for loss.  Moving inside at linebacker hasn’t always been pretty for the seventh-year player, but he has started to take ahold of the position and has been a big weapon for the Huskers.  If he continues to play at a high level with Vincent Shavers Jr. Nebraska will be able to limit teams rushing attacks. 

Turner Corcoran....When starting left tackle Elijah Pritchett had to come out of the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, the returning veteran Corcoran stepped in on the final two crucial drives and played great.  Protecting Dylan Raiola’s blind side, Corcoran didn’t allow a pressure and gave Nebraska crucial play that in the past decade would not have been the case from a bench player on the offensive line.  It was great to see Corcoran play at a high level, and it was great to see the senior out there, recovered from last season’s injuries.

Emmett Johnson...…Johnson is earning his way onto this list every week.  He has become a bell cow for the Huskers offense.  Offensive coordinator Dana Holgerson should get a lot of credit for getting the ball to Johnson as much as he did against Maryland.  It kept their defense from being able to pin their ears back on the pass rush and it also kept the offense level on passing and rushing so the defense would have to expect either type of play.  Johnson is going home this weekend to play against the hometown Minnesota team that didn’t offer him a spot out of high school.  It will be interesting to see how hard he runs in Minneapolis.  He has been Nebraska’s MVP on offense in conference play so far.  

Nyziah Hunter…. Every week one of the wide receivers has popped for the Huskers.  Raiola has done a great job of spreading the wealth, with all three starting wideouts having at least 20 catches through the first half of the season.  Now Hunter has back-to-back games with a wide receiver screen touchdown, teams will certainly want to stop that play going forward.  Nebraska should be able to take advantage of teams over playing the screen and hopefully make big plays the other way.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 29, Minnesota 24

Nebraska has been crossing line items off their list each week.  Winning in the All-Red jerseys.  Winning one score games.  Winning on a come from behind drive.  Nebraska hasn’t done any of those things in years.  Now Nebraska is taking it to another level.  They will be wearing the All-White uniforms on the road, and Nebraska is attempting to win back-to-back conference road games for the first time since 2006!  To top it off, Nebraska is 1-6 versus Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck.  There is a lot riding on this game, but for the first time in a long time, Nebraska has the weapons needed to get it done.    Nebraska is in for a street fight, but I think they come out on top and continue to slay those dragons in their attempt to get back to Nebraska dominance! GBR!!!

Maryland Game Blog

(Predictions are at the end if you don’t want to read the rest!)

Sometimes Husker football feels like an argument with your wife.  You know you might win, but it isn’t going to be the win you hoped for, right or wrong…

After playing the two Michigan teams at home, I feel like we got out of a dirty washing machine, cleaner, but still not clear.

Nebraska has suffered at the hands of pass rush in both conference games, and a little bit against Cincinnati when they played them to open the season.  That doesn’t mean that the pass blocking wasn’t better against Michigan State, but it does mean that there is a lot of work to be done this season at that end of the spectrum.  Nebraska continues to stay away from running the football, which is also concerning, but Nebraska has also played so well in the passing game when it was needed, it’s hard to nitpick.  

Nebraska’s special teams have been a revelation so far this season.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the reason Nebraska has won two games this season that they might not have won in the last decade.  They have provided excellent field positions for the Husker offense and they have done a great job limiting teams effectiveness in the return game, essentially limiting teams to long field positions from which they have to start their drives.

Due to this change, Nebraska’s defense has been given a chance to improve.  I’d say they have improved substantially up front.  The bye week came at a perfect time for the Blackshirts.  The defensive line needed to play with more explosion, more fire and attack.  We saw that against the Spartans to a degree we haven’t seen since last season.  If Nebraska continues to play like that along the D-line, there is a possibility, though slight, that Nebraska could win out.  Defensive Coordinator John Butler has the secondary figured out, but if he can continue to build the front end with the youth at linebacker and the inexperienced defensive line to match the effort against Michigan State, the Huskers could be scary down the stretch.

So that brings up back to the offense.  Of course the wind had a huge effect on the passing game, essentially making it worthless for half the game last Saturday.  And it may be that as the cooler weather sets in and the wind will continue to blow, the offense may be limited.  On the other hand, Nebraska could have just survived their worst weather game of the season, passed it with a B- and they could become the scoring attack needed to survive the next seven games.

As you can tell, there are still so many answers that we don’t know about this team, but at the same time, the picture is getting clearer week by week.  Big Ten football inches ever closer to the NFL, teams change as the season goes along.  For the first time in a long time, it feels like Nebraska is far from a finished product.  Close games week to week, can be decided by slight improvements each team makes as the season progresses.  Buckle in Husker fans, this season may just be starting to hit its stride.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 27, Michigan State 24. The actual score was Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27.  When Nebraska went down 21-14, I saw the heads of the players and thought, here we go again.  This time, they didn’t bow down to the Spartans, in fact they exploded and ten minutes later, Nebraska led 24-21.  It felt like a defining moment in the season.  Nebraska is starting to gain some confidence that I wasn’t expecting this early.  It may bode very well if they can get past this next hurdle.

Quick Notes:

Deshon Singleton…The veteran big hitter in the defensive backfield was the Big Ten defensive player of the week!  He corralled two easy interceptions and almost had a fumble return for a touchdown if the ball had been back about a yard.  He played violently on his tackles and has done a good job outside of the Michigan game on run fits.  Singleton is always a wild card to me, if he plays well Nebraska usually plays well.  He has enough help in back end, he can take some chances. 

Nyziah Hunter....In the game of guess who’s hot at wide receiver, this week it was Hunter.  Nebraska’s three headed monster at wideout continue to deliver week in and week out.  Nebraska didn’t get a chance at a lot of plays on offense, due to quick scoring by the Husker offense and the long drives by Michigan State, but the trio of Hunter, Jacory Barney and Dane Key continue to step up and score each week.  The Huskers are more like an NFL team, meaning you might take away one guy in a game, but you won’t take away them all.  That’s why each week there seems to be a different player standing out.

Emmett Johnson...…Johnson is slowly playing his way into All Conference consideration.  Scoring three touchdowns last week, Johnson has put himself on top of the scoring leaderboard for Nebraska with eight on the season.  Johnson may be the only consistent weapon at running back for Nebraska, so it goes without saying that he needs to stay healthy for Nebraska to reach their goals.  

Williams Nwaneri…..I find it very difficult not to be very excited for Nwaneri and his future.  I expected he would play quite a bit as a backup this season, hoping he would break though as a sophomore.  Instead, he has ratcheted up the level of play this season, into a starting role and I’m not sure he isn’t the best lineman on the roster.  With Keona Davis and Cam Lenhardt, that isn’t an easy task as both play with high motors.  Nwaneri is just different though.  His athleticism and his ability to use his length to get by blockers aren’t things that can be taught.  He has almost and unlimited ceiling and he is already starting to try and find out how high.  He could be the kind of player that carries a defense at some point.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 30, Maryland 23

This Maryland team, in my opinion, is more talented than Michigan State, but I don’t know if they are as good of a team.  Nebraska certainly can’t afford to take them lightly.  However, I think that Maryland’s freshman quarterback hasn’t seen anything quite like this Blackshirt secondary, and if the pass rush is half as aggressive as it was against Michigan State, Nebraska should have a nice Saturday.  The other side of the coin is, can the Huskers protect Dylan Raiola enough that he doesn’t end up too battered to make the plays to win the game?  I think special teams is the deciding factor in this game, I expect that to travel well to Maryland.  Nebraska may find itself behind again at some point, but I expect them to pull the game out at the end. First road game for many of us, but the vibes are still there and GBR!!!

Homecoming, Time for Spartan Beatdown

(Predictions are at the end if you don’t want to read the rest!)

 I swear, these bye weeks coming after a loss have to be the longest in recorded history of sport.  Nebraska losing a close game to Michigan was bad enough, but then you get to sit and stew on it for another week with nothing to clense the losing palette.

And that long wait is even more painful when you rewatch the game, because as bad as it seemed during the real time version, watching the Michigan defense dictate the entire game plan again makes a person want to lose their lunch.

Nebraska has so many things going in the right direction, and the game was close, despite the Wolverine’s obvious talent advantage on defense, it makes you wonder if we have a false sense of reality or if the Huskers are really good, needing a few pieces to be great?

And that is why the bye week sucked so bad.  We all watched the Nebaska offense keep the Huskers in the game through the air.  We all watched the Hail Mary just before half that let Michigan know that Nebraska wasn’t going to fold in this game.  We can see that Dylan Raiola is the most talented quarterback, likely since Eric Crouch, to wear the red N.  

We don’t know though, if Nebraska is still climbing, or did Michigan just fall back to earth?  And if Michigan isn’t really that good, but had a good game plan with a freshman quarterback, how much improvement will we actually see this season?  

It’s hard to know what to exepct after a bye.  Nebraska hasn’t had much, if any, success the last few years after a bye.  This weekend could be the same.  Michigan State has an NFL quarterback and wide receiver combo.  They will pose every bit of the problems that Cincinnati posed when Nebraska played them.  Can the Blackshirts rise to he occasion?  Or will the trio of wide receivers and Luke Lindenmeyer carry the offense so the defense doesn’t have to?  We have had to wait two weeks.  One way or another this season is about to get interesting.  The wait was too long.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 24, Michigan 23. The actual score was Michigan 30, Nebraska 27.  It was a game that never seemed close in many ways, but Nebraska was a defensive stop and a field goal away from overtime against a team that won the National Championship two seasons ago, with many of the players that were on that title team still playing.  Nebraska isn’t quite there yet in the trenches, when it comes to overall built up talent.  They may be a season, if not two away from having the depth and age needed with better athletes to compete at a super high level.  

Quick Notes:

Jacory Barney…It’s hard to imagine where this team would be without it’s fantastic sophomores.  The Dylan Raiola to Barney combo has been lethal, almost since Barney arrived.  He continues to make big time plays all over the place, running the football, catching the football or returning punts.  If Nebraska could get him the ball 10 times every game they should.  He delivers.

Dylan Raiola....I don’t care what anyone says about Raiola.  People think it’s funny he tries to copy Patrich Mahomes and they give him a lot of grief about it nationally on sports shows, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure there are 3 quarterbacks in the country I’d rather have.  Raiola kept Nebraska in the game against Michigan.  Without him, Nebraska loses by 20 points.  I just hope we don’t waste his talent.  He is a tremendous college quarterback.

Vincent Shavers Jr....…Shavers has played as well as any defensive player on the Blackshirts so far this season.  He has missed some tackles and he has been blocked out of his gap a few times, but he is one of the few players that has made game changing plays each game this season.  Whether forcing a fumble, making a tackle for loss, or a shoestring tackle that keeps someone from breaking a big run, Shavers has done it all.  Nebraska could use 5 more of him on defense.

Dasan McCullough…McCullough has quietly become Nebraska’s best edge rusher.  He had success against Michigan in the backfield and is difficult to block if you don’t get to him quick enough.  Nebraska will need that kind of pass rush this entire season.  If McCullough can start to earn help from the offense in their schemes to block him, that helps the entire defensive front.  The veteran needs to be the leader on the D-Line and help bring some of those young guys along with him.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 27, Michigan St 24

I know the spread is double digits, and I realize that the Spartan defense gives up a lot of big plays.  The thing that I keep going back to, is that games in the Big Ten are close.  Outside of Ohio State and Oregon, and the occasional Indiana blow out, each week the Big Ten teams slug it out, and it seems as if most games are within one score.  Now maybe Las Vegas is right and maybe Nebraska will roll, but I’m skeptical that he defense can contain the Michigan State passing game, and I’m also skeptical that Nebraska can win without running the football more and with success.  I see the Huskers coming out on top, but this game will likely be closer than many want. GBR!!!