It's Been A Long Week Husker Nation...

Run Tommy!

After a nice win at Memorial Stadium Chicago edition, the Huskers were able to come home from Evanston with a 4-0 record.  What has happened since then has been a bit of blow up, both at home and nationally.

So let’s talk a little bit about the game.  Nebraska was a favorite on the road against a Northwestern team that had come into Lincoln last year and dealt the Huskers a large blow, that helped push the Huskers toward a 2-6 record that they were lucky to pull out of enough to get to a bowl game.  This isn’t the same Nebraska team and it showed.

The first series that the Huskers had the ball looked like they were going to be a runaway, they marched down the field only to have Terrell Newby fumble the ball while leaping Superman style toward the pylon.  Unfortunately for Nebraska, that play changed the complexion of the game slightly.  Instead of blowing out the Wildcats, they hung around and made it hard for the Huskers to blow them out.

On the good side of things, the Huskers amassed over 500 yards of total offense.  Tommy Armstrong continued with his strong play and rushed for 132 yards.  Including 246 yards passing, Tommy is really making a case that he could be all Big Ten by the end of the season.  If you would have told fans that at the beginning of the year, most would have probably scoffed at that.  They shouldn’t, Tommy has been the MVP so far this season for the Huskers.  If he can stay upright and continue with his current pace, there is no doubt in my mind that the Huskers can end up playing for the Big Ten title come December.

Defensively, Kevin Maurice had a big game with his first two sacks of the season.  Chris Jones continued to play like a lock down cornerback and Joshua Kalu and Aaron Williams both had interceptions to help the defense hold Northwestern to 13 points.  This Blackshirt unit has really been solid when they’ve needed to be and continue to improve over last season’s unit.

Nebraska has a chance to move to 5-0 this weekend against Illinois.  After last season, an undefeated record moving into October is a reversal of fortune that all Husker fans are enjoying.  Last year’s debacle in Champagne seemed like hitting rock bottom, losing 14-13 on a last seconds touchdown pass.  Little did we know that getting beat by Purdue was the actual bottom, but this year the Huskers look like they are back on track and should have plenty of motivation for revenge against the Illini this weekend.

One last thing I want to touch on is the three players that kneeled during the National Anthem.   Whether you are offended by the act or not, clearly the players, Coach Riley and the rest of the team have handled the controversy well since last Saturday.  While I can certainly understand people being upset, sometimes you have to put yourselves in someone else’s shoes to completely understand what they feel and what is important to them.  I won’t ever understand what it’s like to be an African American in this country, no more than I will understand growing up in an environment of drugs, crime and broken homes.  While you may or may not agree with the platform they chose to try and bring light to a subject, the fact is, the discussion has been ramped up this week in Nebraska.

All that being said, I’m going to support the team and those three players.  Coach Riley is supporting them, the University President Hank Bounds has supported them and their teammates are supporting them.  That’s enough for me.  I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I understand that bringing light on a subject of race and the difficulty of the times we live in pertaining to race is important.  I have a feeling that this episode is going to bring this team together this weekend and this season.  

I think a little bit about what has happened this last week.  I then think about Sam Foltz and what this team went through this summer.  Life isn’t always simple, in fact sometimes it is damn hard.  Being 18 years old or 22 years old, sometimes you see things different than someone who is knocking on 40, 50 or even 80.  That’s ok, it’s alright to have differing opinions and being able to express them is about as American as apple pie and football.  Hopefully the end result is that we all are more aware of the circumstances in this country and what we need to do to improve it going forward.  I know cheering for the Huskers this weekend is always a great way to bring all of Husker Nation together, I hope it continues to do that.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last week our Northwestern prediction had the Huskers winning 28 to 17.  Considering it ended up 24 to 13 we didn’t do too bad, but we will continue to persevere in our effort for perfection!

While the game itself seemed like it was pretty tightly contested, Nebraska was never really challenged in the final minutes. Though it wasn’t a blowout, the Huskers also never seemed in danger in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska was able to do pretty much whatever they wanted against the Wildcats offensively.  If it weren’t for the two early dropped balls near the goal line, Nebraska could have easily been out to a 28-3 lead.  This Husker team is learning how to put teams away.  They aren’t quite head and shoulders above each opponent, but they are definitely looking like they are a top shelf team in the Big Ten West.

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Quick Notes:

A Mikale Wilbon sighting!  Mikale had a homecoming of sorts, as he is from Chicago.  He played like he was out to impress his family too.  After seeming to be an afterthought since the beginning of the season, Wilbon averaged over 9 yards on his six carries last Saturday.  I think we all would like to see a little more of that action.

Chris Jones continues to play lights out.  It really is becoming lock-down U on his side of the field.  In fact, I’ve read a stat he is averaging an interception or pass breakup on every four passes thrown his way this season.  Even if it’s not true, he has played like an All-Conference cornerback.

Tommy Armstrong is making a believer out of many.  Tommy continues to improve from week to week.  It’s not a stretch to say that his improvement has been maybe the most remarkable improvement from one year to the next that we have seen since (chokes up a bit) Ndamukung Suh. I don’t want to put Tommy in that class just yet, but the improvement has been remarkable.

4-0. Like I said earlier, the fact that the Huskers are undefeated and ranked 15th in both national polls is impressive.  Considering where things were headed at this time last season, I’d say it’s a marked improvement.  A win this weekend, followed by an off week should be enough to help propel Nebraska into the meat of their schedule.

Recruiting.  It’s hard to understand sometimes because the results don’t always present themselves while recruits are here, but Nebraska is hosting an impressive set of recruits again this weekend.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to get kids to home games at Nebraska.  It is such a game changer for them.  As Coach Riley closes out this class, there are plenty of high profile kids considering the Huskers.  Continue to win and this could be the highest rated recruiting class for Nebraska in over ten years.  

Score Prediction: Nebraska 38 – Illinois 14

Nebraska was feeling their oats a little bit after a big win at home over Oregon.  What happened after that was the first road game, first conference game and the first chance for Nebraska to stumble.  The Huskers didn’t do that.  Now they get an Illinois team that has less talent at most positions, but a quarterback that had a big day against the Huskers in 2015.  This week it shouldn’t matter though, this team is too resilient and too focused to let this game slip away.  Nebraska gives up a couple touchdown passes in the second half, but will cruise to a relatively easy Homecoming victory.  GBR!!

On to Northwestern!

On to Northwestern! 

 Last week was about as much fun as a Husker fan can have, save for the heartburn of blowing a second half lead and having to have your dehydrated quarterback lead a furious comeback that you aren’t sure is going to happen. I digress, it was still fun! Of course when it was all said and done, Nebraska did what it had to do and they plucked those Oregon Ducks and started the season 3-0. 

The game itself, if you were able to attend, was about as much fun as you can have when Nebraska plays a ranked opponent. Oregon is no slouch, even if they dropped from the ratings. A lot of press members have written and said that had Rolls Royce Freeman not been hurt, Nebraska probably loses. First of all, I highly doubt it would have changed the outcome, Oregon ran for 336 yards on the day, so unless Melvin Gordon walked out on the field, it’s doubtful that the Ducks would have ran the ball much better. Second, the Ducks are built on speed, and multiple teams around the country would have had a hard time containing the high octane offense the Ducks run, so for Nebraska to shut down the passing game and force the Ducks to find a way to beat them, it seemed to work out okay for the Big Red. 

Nebraska made plays when it had to make them. Tommy Armstrong played about as well as I can remember him playing. No turnovers from Tommy along with his ability to run the football when called upon, made him the game MVP in my mind. The Blackshirts held when they had to. Wide Receivers made catches that were so clutch, it reminds you just how special this particular group is at catching the football. Honestly, on fourth down in the fourth quarter, I was calling for a punt, but Coach Riley had enough confidence in Tommy to make the play on fourth and long to change momentum and really stick it to Oregon.  

Coach Riley had the weight of the world on him last week. You come to Nebraska to get away from the University of Oregon and all the advantages that they had over him at Oregon State, and boom, your second year, coming off a 2015 season that wasn’t what you expected, you get the Ducks again. Let’s face facts, had Nebraska not won that game, we’d all be sitting around this week, saying “well, at least we can still get to Indy.” Now, it’s not only can we get to Indy, but can this season turn into something special? 

I’ve said multiple times, Tommy Armstrong is the key to this season. So far, outside of one crazy throw to a Wyoming linebacker, he has played like a leader and a senior. If you haven’t been impressed with his play making ability and his leadership in 2016, you probably won’t ever be a fan of Tommy. He has simply made plays, be it with his legs or arm and he is a big reason the Huskers roll into Evanston undefeated. 

Now Nebraska has another quest coming. Since Nebraska has joined the Big Ten, they have had one year that they managed to make it to the Big Ten title game, otherwise it has been a dreary existence in the league. One of the biggest reasons for that struggle is Nebraska’s inability to beat what I would call second tier teams in the league consistently. I would put Northwestern at the top of that list.

Northwestern has next to no winning football tradition up until the last 25 years. They were perennial doormats in the league for a long time. That said, even in their prime recent vintage, they have been a second tier team most seasons. That doesn’t mean they are bad, but Nebraska is a place that dedicates way too many resources to football to not beat Northwestern consistently. And boy, have they made it tough on the Huskers. Outside of 2014 when Nebraska came roaring back from a rocky start to blow out the Wildcats, this series has been filled with close games, nail biters and fortunately for Ron Kellogg III, a Hail Mary that will live for the ages. If Nebraska is to take the next step in relevancy in the national college football landscape, they need to start by taking care of business this week. A big win on the road to start Big Ten play, may be the precursor to big things come December. 

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ON WITH THE REWIND… 

 Last week our Oregon prediction had the Huskers winning 35-32. Not too shabby, believe me, it could have gone the other way. Nebraska won a game that they hadn’t typically won in about 6 years, against a team that probably would have beaten any recent Husker squad. 

Nebraska’s crowd needed to step up. Man did they ever! That was one of the loudest and rowdiest games I’ve attended in a while. I would rank it up with the Miami game from two years ago, it was fun and Husker fans delivered! 

Expect to see trick plays. Oregon dialed up the two point conversion after each touchdown. The Huskers only allowed one conversion on the first attempt. It may have cost Oregon a chance to win, and as we thought, trick plays had an outcome in the game, it just wasn’t the trick plays that we may have thought were coming. Nebraska didn’t pull out any, but they made big stops on the conversions and that was a great help. 

Quick Notes: 

1. Shoutout to Bryan Reimers and his first touchdown catch as a Husker! His story as a Lincolnite walk-on was great news and was sorely needed with Brandon Reilly unable to play. Great play as well when the Huskers needed a big play! 

2. Oregon won’t forget Michael Rose-Ivey. The senior linebacker made huge plays throughout the game and made a play when Nebraska needed it the most on the final Oregon possession. He gets a game ball. 

3. Oh, Devine! Devine Ozigbo put the pedal down to start the second half running the football. He forced Oregon to respect the run and opened the game up for some big throws later in the half. He gets a game ball. 

4. Tommy Armstrong is the man. Tommy has shown in the past what he is capable of. Now it’s just a matter of consistency from game to game. You are starting to see that now. He was the player of the game against Oregon, no doubt about it. Let’s just hope he drank plenty of Gatorade this week! 

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Score Prediction: Nebraska 28 – Northwestern 17

Unlike last week, I feel like Nebraska has a talent advantage over Northwestern at multiple positions.  The Wildcats are missing 3 of 4 starting defensive backs from the start of the season.  Brandon Reilly will be back and the Huskers WRs have been playing lights out without him.  I expect to see at least two touchdown passes, including Stanley Morgan getting his first.  Throw in a big day rushing from Devine Ozigbo and Terrell Newby for good measure and a game that might be close in the first half, should be well in hand by the 4th quarter for the Huskers.  GBR!!

Expect A Nailbiter Against Oregon!

Shuck a Duck, look who’s coming to Lincoln!

Last week the Nebraska Cornhuskers entertained their neighbor to the west, the Wyoming Cowboys.  The Huskers were a little too hospitable in the first 3 quarters, keeping the Cowpokes in the game all the way into the fourth quarter.  What happened after that isn’t something we have seen much of the last 4 years.  The Huskers held it all together while the opponent came unraveled.

Let’s be real here, Bo Pelini was fired as much for his inability to hang on to leads and his teams penchant for blowing a gasket in big games and getting run over as he was for his boorish sideline behavior.  He also had a hard time getting his team to play hard against perceived lesser opponents.  The McNeese States and South Dakota States of this world probably were a precursor to greater issues within the program than the Wisconsin and Ohio State avalanches.

This time however, the Huskers poured it on in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive week, beating a lesser team by a much greater margin that the game play would have led you to believe.

Nebraska is an improving team and we are seeing it before our very eyes.  And not a moment too soon, because guess who is coming to Lincoln?  Yeah, the Mighty Ducks from Oregon.  This isn’t your mom and pops Oregon teams from the 70s and 80s that played Nebraska and took some large beatings.  This is the second most winning program behind Alabama the last few years.  Oregon has become a hot item in college football overnight, as much for their Nike garish uniforms as their winning success, but they have had great success recently and it has turned this matchup into the ultimate measuring stick for Nebraska.

One might argue that since Chip Kelly moved to the NFL and Marcus Mariota followed, that Oregon has been moved down a peg or two.  That may be the case, but nationally, the Ducks cache is still great and believe me, they have enough weapons that if Nebraska doesn’t come to play on Saturday afternoon, the Huskers will get boat raced.

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This Nebraska team is probably equipped to play Oregon as well as any Husker team in the last four years. The last two years with Coach Pelini led to some dog races against teams with more perimeter speed than Nebraska and last season with the changeover in staff, the Huskers couldn’t stop Purdue, let alone one of the top offenses in the country.

Things seem to have turned for this Husker team this season.  Coach Riley and Coach Banker have really upgraded the defense in their second year and position coaches at each level are having a great effect on their groups and it’s starting to show.   Brian Stewart has the defensive backs intercepting passes; Trent Bray has the linebackers leading the team on the field and newly hired defensive line Coach John Parrella has the line playing better than they did all of last season when Nebraska had two NFL draft picks starting next to each other.

This Nebraska team is built to stop the run first and that is what they will need to do with Oregon.  The Ducks try to force you to use all your resources to stop the perimeter runs, then beat you over the top with quick hit passing when the safeties come up to far to help with the run.  I expect the fact that Coach Banker and Coach Riley have spent over 10 seasons playing against Oregon should allow for them to plan their schemes adequately.  I think Nebraska’s defense should keep the Huskers in the game.

That leads us to the Husker offense.  As much as we all want the defense to play well, this game really hinges on the play of Tommy Armstrong.  If Nebraska is to have any chance this weekend, Armstrong is going to need to limit turnovers to no more than one and Tommy will need to run the ball with authority to keep Oregon honest enough that he can find wide open receivers down the field.  I don’t know how much faith I have in this happening, but Nebraska is due to win a game that it should, against an opponent that they maybe have equal talent with.  If Nebraska can find a way to do well offensively this weekend, I think they can come out of this game 3-0 going into conference play.

Quick Notes:

Getting Mick Stoltenberg back on defense should be a nice boost to the defensive line this weekend.  Oregon plays fast paced and Carlos Davis may need a breather for a few series.  Mick is a beast when healthy and should provide enough depth to help Nebraska slow the Ducks run game.

Losing Brandon Reilly for this game sucks.  Missing Brandon in the first game of the season showed that the WRs that are backing him up weren’t quite ready for prime time.  Having him back against Wyoming opened up the field and Nebraska had WRs running open all over the place.  This week they won’t have that luxury, so Alonzo Moore, Jordan Westerkamp and De’Mornay Pierson El will need to step up their games this week to make up for it.

Nebraska needs to limit Oregon possessions.  You can put it however you want, but the Huskers need to stay out of a track meet with the Ducks.  Oregon has an Olympic hurdler on their team at wide receiver and has plenty of speed at almost every skill position.  Nebraska has to be patient on offense and not turn the ball over.  Keeping Oregon from having the ball keeps them out of rhythm and keeps them from scoring.  Both of those things would be a great help in winning for Nebraska.

The home crowd needs to show up.  In the past Nebraska fans have been better than great for night games.  Afternoon games have been kind of a tossup how loud the fan base is.  If Nebraska repeats the crowd rowdiness from Miami and Michigan State of the last couple of years, Oregon will be in for surprise that they aren’t expecting.  And yes, I will be there losing my voice with the rest of the Big Red Faithful!

Expect to see some trick plays.  Oregon and Nebraska will have a trick or two up their sleeve this weekend.  Whoever is successful in running one or two may be the difference maker in a game that is bound to be close.

Score Prediction:  After thinking this over, I think Nebraska is going to pull this game out.  I don’t know how, I’m not sure I believe it anywhere but in my heart, but something tells me it’s Nebraska’s time to shine this Saturday.  I think they pull out a close on, Huskers 33, Ducks 30.  Let’s hope I’m able to type next week, as I expect a nail biter!  GBR!

Here Come the Cowboys!

Giddy Up!!!

Game one is in the books Husker fans and no matter what you think about it, the best part is, 1-0 sure seems a lot better than last year’s 0-1 on a heartbreaking Hail Mary from the Stormin’ Mormans from BYU. Fresno State won’t be confused with BYU anytime soon, but sometimes that’s a good thing. Nebraska isn’t quite ready to play a big dog the first week like we did in the 80s and 90s, but they may be closer than you think!

Nebraska ran the ball against Fresno State more than they had probably planned, but when you average over 5 yards per carry and only have one negative play on a botched end around, you will take it. Tommy Armstrong didn’t need to pass a lot to win and honestly, that’s ok. There will be other games that he will have to throw more, probably even this week, so to not put much stress on the passing game while wide receiver coach Keith Williams sits out his suspension, is probably a good thing.

So what went right last weekend? First, the Huskers dominated the line of scrimmage for the most part on both sides and that was a nice surprise. New to the left side, tackle Nick Gates had the best game for a left tackle according to Pro Football Focus for any college left tackle so that makes the move seem like a success so far. With three new starters on the offensive line and pretty much no one in the same spot they were last season, I would say that would qualify as success. A rough first quarter, followed with improvement in the second and finally a domination in the running game moving into the fourth quarter. Not a bad way to kick off the season.

The running backs looked solid, if not spectacular against Fresno and will need to continue that. Being able to run the ball effectively will really open the Huskers offense as we move on into the season. We even got to see Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon a little bit, so there is some really good depth.

We didn’t return any punts, but that had more to do with bad punting than anything Jordan Westerkamp did. We get to see De’Mornay Pierson-El this week and believe me this will be a nice spark plug for the team.

Defensively, the young guys on the defensive line didn’t shine super bright, but they also forced the running game to be shut down, which is a credit to them and new d-line coach John Parrella. I imagine we will continue to see them improve week to week, which would be a large step forward from last season.

Linebackers played really well last week and they will have to continue to play well. The Husker Linebacker group is deep and has experience this year. It will be tested as Wyoming has a really great running back coming to Lincoln, so it will be interesting to see if the Huskers can shut down the run game like they did against Fresno.

The secondary as a whole played pretty well, with some new starters like Kieron Williams and Lamar Jackson playing significant roles. Adding back All Conference player Nathan Gerry and Antonio Reed coming back from early season injury, should inject more life into a unit that seems to be improving and looked light years ahead of last year.

Overall, I give the Huskers an A- grade for the Fresno State Game, they did what they needed to do, which is put away a bad team and get young kids into the game in the fourth quarter. If they can duplicate that against Wyoming this week, Husker fans will be ready for a real prime time matchup with the Oregon Ducks, but let’s get this Cowboy win out of the way first!

A few notes…

• It can’t be overstated how great the tribute to Sam Foltz went. It was pretty dusty around Memorial Stadium as the players all took a knee on the sidelines as the team sent no punter out as a tribute to Sam. Great statement Coach Riley and great coverage of Sam in the press this week.

• Whoa be to the guy that stole from Sam Foltz’s brother. I don’t know how big an idiot you had to be to steal from the most loved family in Nebraska last week, but I’m guessing they guy won’t ever be welcome in Nebraska again. Talk about an idiot.

• More passing this week. Expect the offense to open up this week. It sounds like there was some lackluster play from the wide receivers last week, which led to the ground and pound game that Nebraska used against Fresno. I expect Nebraska to throw more than 20 times this week.

• Nate Gerry and Brandon Reilly return. No matter the reason, suspensions for starters is always hard on a team. These cats are starters for a reason, they are the best players at their positions. I look for them to provide a spark for the Huskers this week.

• Expect the Wide Receivers to play better this week. I don’t know why or how they played as bad as they did against Fresno State, although I assume a combination of Reilly being gone and Coach Williams not being at the game may have something to do with that. Remember, Jordan Westerkamp and Cethan Carter missed time this fall during practice, they also were shaking the rust off. I expect a much better performance this weekend.

• Family coming to the game wearing yellow and brown? I don’t know about many of you, but I grew up in the panhandle of Nebraska, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the Wyoming Cowboys simply because they were closer to us than Lincoln. A lot of my friends and family went to school in Laramie and dare I say, are probably the second most popular school outside of UNL when it comes to college football out west. Either way, many of them are coming down and wearing Wyoming gear this weekend. Now I won’t say I condone it, but I will gladly have a drink with them and show them a lot of hospitality. For most of them, the Huskers are there second favorite team, so let’s try to keep it that way. Heck, who knows, we might even convert a few!

• Score prediction – Nebraska 38 – Wyoming 22. I expect the Cowboys to try and run right at Nebraska. It’s the DNA of their team, but they also have a really good quarterback, so the Blackshirts will have all they can handle. I expect Nebraska to have their way offensively though, as Wyoming is very young and small on defense. Let’s hope we see Nebraska have a dominant game on offense this week! As always, GBR!!!

It’s Game Week! Buckle Up!

Buckle Up!

For most people in the world, this week is just another date in time on this spinning blue rock. For those of us in Husker land though….it’s a rebirth of all that is right in the world!

Nebraska is on the upswing and after a sometimes disaster fueled season in 2015, 2016 is filled with promise of a fresh start. Last season was Coach Mike Riley’s first in Lincoln and while I think he was excited about it, he probably underestimated the task in front of him. That task along with some questionable play calling led to just the third losing season in most Husker fan’s life times.

Onward and upward!

First, let’s address the naming of captains, or more specifically, the one person not named captain. Some people were a little alarmed that Tommy Armstrong wasn’t named one of the captains for the 2016 Husker football season. Some newspapers have blown the situation up, explaining that it could be another negative on a season that has not had much good news lately. Let’s review why it’s no big deal.

First, captains are voted on by the players. Most of the kids on this year’s team are young. Look at the roster that came out, not many seniors and even fewer juniors. Part of that stems from back to back recruiting classes that were lackluster and short on numbers. Whatever you think about Bo Pelini, he did not do a good job with roster management, and honestly, it will probably be another 2 years before all the kinks and depth upgrades are worked out. Why do I bring this up? Tommy is not overly close to a lot of the young players on the team. He is the quarterback, the leader on the field. Tommy is not an outgoing personality that is out to make friends. It’s hard to be voted captain when you aren’t close to a lot of players on the team. It’s a bit of a popularity contest and Tommy simply isn’t the type of kid that would pander for votes.

Second, kids know who the leaders on the field are, and let’s be clear, Tommy is a leader on the field. He came into Nebraska as a kid who takes over the huddle, even as a freshman. Nothing has changed in that respect and Tommy is as tough as any QB we have had. He has played through numerous bumps and bruises and kids respect that.

Finally, Tommie Frazier and Scott Frost. It’s not a forgone conclusion that a starting senior quarterback will be captain. Frazier and Frost weren’t voted captains. That didn’t seem to stop Nebraska from being successful. I don’t think we are a National Champion contender this season, but I also don’t think it will make a bit of difference that Dylan Utter is a captain and Tommy Armstrong is not. Tommy is the kind of kid that let’s stuff like this slide off his back. I don’t see it being any different this time around. A few notes as the season kicks off this week…

 1. Overall, when looking at Nebraska’s schedule, it has some easy stretches and one stretch (Wisconsin, Ohio State) that is simply brutal. If Nebraska gets out of the gate 3-1 or better, they should be able to cruise through the next three games and should get to Wisconsin 6-1. Anything could happen, after that, but it’s safe to say Nebraska would probably end up with three losses after that start, which would make them 9-3 and probably fall just short of the Big Ten title game. After last season, beggars can’t be choosers, I think most would take that. Nebraska is building depth, but any major injury to Armstrong and this season will be a roller coaster to stay above .500. Let’s hope for a healthy season and a competitive bowl game in Florida in January.

2. This freshman class is going to be good. Tre Bryant is going to play a major roll this year, but outside of him, Lamar Jackson at cornerback should be the only other freshman gaining significant minutes outside of special teams. Its possible Boe Wilson could play at guard as well, but I’m sure the staff would like to redshirt him. Don’t be alarmed by this though, this class of freshman has had a great fall camp and the future looks bright

3. Tanner Lee will be on scout team, but you will hear about him as the season goes on. It’s not often a scout team QB will be the talk of the team, but much like Taylor Martinez tearing up the scout teams as a redshirt, Lee will be doing the same as he sits as a transfer. The kid looks to be good and the staff is thrilled that he just earned an extra year of eligibility.

4. Nebraska’s defense should be much better. Based on familiarity with this coaching staff alone, the defense should be good enough to win at least 2 games that Nebraska didn’t win last season. From most indications, John Parella has been a great hire, Trent Bray has been a bright young star coaching linebackers and Coach Banker feels much better about where the defense is compared to last season when they couldn’t even line up correctly for certain calls.

5. This wide receiver group is fantastic. And it shouldn’t matter, Nebraska will need to run the ball to be effective in the conference, for a variety of reasons, not the least is Tommy Armstrong’s sometimes erratic throws. Throw in the occasional horrible weather like they faced in Illinois last season and if Nebraska wants to be successful, even with this great talent at receiver, Nebraska will go as far as the running game can take them. They don’t have to run it 60 times a game, they just need to be efficient when the do run, to take pressure off the passing game.

6. Buckle up and enjoy the ride! After all that has happened this off season, including the loss of a very popular and beloved teammate, it will be good to get some games started. This team cares a lot and wants to play well for themselves, Sam Foltz and not least of all the fans. This team wants to win, so let’s go support them as much as we can and enjoy the season! GBR!!!

We're Talking About Husker Practice!

Revving Up the Big Red Engines! 

So through some great fortune and dumb luck, I was able to go to a Husker practice last week. It was the first of two major scrimmages for the Huskers. Since that scrimmage the Huskers had a second practice with more scrimmaging that kind of settled the dust on player position battles. I’ll go on with a few things that I noticed and add some updates to some of the positions since.

Tommy Armstrong is still Tommy, some throws are great, and others are really sketchy. When he runs though...look out. He looks like a LB out there and if they choose to let him run he will be really dangerous. He looks like a fourth year player that has spent a lot of time in the weight room. As Tommy goes, so go the Huskers, so let us hope we see the good Tommy a lot this year and not the Tommy that looks like he is playing a game of 500 out there.

On the flip side we better hope Tommy doesn't get hurt. Ryker Fyfe looked really rough at the first scrimmage, but seemed to bounce back the next week. Say what you will about Armstrong, but Fyfe just isn’t the dynamic play maker with his legs that Tommy can be and he doesn’t have near the arm strength. That being said, he should be an adequate backup, as long as he isn’t asked to carry the load.

Patrick O’Brien looks like he is going to be good down the line, but right now, he looks like a freshman. Hopefully he will be able to redshirt, because if he has to play a lot this season, it will be a long year.

And on the hyperbole train of the year, we will be playoff contenders next year if Tanner Lee plays anywhere near like he did when I was able to watch him. So much more accurate than anything we have ever had here. He was with the 3rd string and 2nd string guys, but every ball was catchable and on the money. Not going to lie, he would make Tommy sweat if he was eligible this year.

So on to the running backs... I have to eat my words on Tre Bryant, (full disclosure, I thought he would need to have a redshirt year) that kid is good. He is small, but he gets in the hole and moves the pile. Honestly I'd like to see some film, but the closest comparison I could give is Derek Brown. We just haven't had anyone quite like this kid in a while. He runs good inside and has a nice burst to get to the edge. If he continues to look like this, not only will he not redshirt he will steal carries from Terrell Newby.

Newby ran really good outside when I watched, but like always, he struggles inside. I don't know if he can put it together in time to do anything meaningful this year, but he ran with purpose today so that is encouraging.

Devine Ozigbo isn't the number one, he isn't flashy, but he does everything pretty well. He and Armstrong seem to work well on option and zone read. Could continue to be a nice weapon this season, hopefully taking off from his UCLA game last year.

Mikale Wilbon has some sparks, but nothing stood out when I watched him. He was just 4th string in my opinion, but he also didn't get any carries where he was given much of a chance to shine. If he is your fourth string running back, you are sitting in good shape. He would play a lot at about half the schools in the Big Ten.

The offensive line looked pretty rough the day I watched. They hadn’t really gelled when I watched them. Then to top it off, DJ Foster was hurt and will miss the season. His backup, Corey Whitaker also was banged up and will likely miss playing until the conference season starts. That means Boe Wilson a true freshman may start. That always gives me some hesitation, but he was recruited as a junk yard dog type and hopefully that’s what he is. The tackle position on the flip side is set up really well. Nick Gates and David Knevel look great. Their backups have little experience, but if these two can stay healthy, I really look for them to keep Armstrong upright and hopefully plow running lanes a lot this year.

Just throwing this in, besides Wilson, the freshman class looks really good. Nebraska fans expect the pipeline to be stocked with great players and it seems like this coaching staff is finally getting Nebraska back up to speed.

The tight ends start and end with Cethan Carter. Carter has NFL type potential. His backups, Sam Cotton and Trey Foster are okay, but neither is on par with Carter. The young backups have a long way to go as well. Carter needs to stay healthy for Nebraska to have a chance to win their division, but when he plays, wow, he is really good.

Sometimes at practice, you know some guys are going to have good days and others won’t, just the way practice works. Players that really stood out to me were Alonzo Moore, Derion Grim, and Stanley Morgan. You may ask why Brandon Reilly or Jordan Westerkamp didn’t stick out, but Jordan sat out and Reilly wasn’t featured. I wouldn’t worry about those two, they will still be the belles of the ball, but it was nice to see other featured players make plays and get after it!

Overall, the offense has some great pieces and I would tell you that this year will have some big ups, but again, depending on Armstrong, could have some valleys as well. We are as stacked at wide receiver as we have ever been and the running back position is very well stocked. A lack of experienced depth on the offensive line and a thin group of tight ends could be the Achilles heel. Either way, Nebraska’s offense should be in the top half of the conference. That will be better than it was last year, and that is all we can hope for at this time of year.

I will hit on the defense in my next blog. Until then, Go Big Red!

Ok, I'm not going save the best for last, because I wanted to share this, but Mick Stoltenberg was a monster yesterday. He gets off the ball so well, and he is so strong he was killing our 1s on the O line. Quite honestly he was the best player on the field yesterday out of everyone. He and Kevin Maurice were men out there and if we can spell them and keep them healthy all year, it gives me a lot of hope that we will be a good defense.

On the flip side of that, the DEs really weren't very good yesterday. It was more of a hold your ground kind of attack, just try and keep the lineman off the linebackers. Part of that could be that Gates and Knevel are pretty good, but I'm afraid we are going to have to dial up pressure from elsewhere again this year to get the QB.

Carlos Davis was on the 2nd team and his effort is so good. Bright future for that kid. I made a note of Logan Rath playing with the 2nd team. He played really well, good addition to the rotation.

Other backup lineman didn't really stand out. Neal and Alex Davis look so good physically, I have hope that Coach Parella can coach them up, but there is a long road ahead for the young'ns.

At linebacker there was really good stuff. Banderas made a great tackle on Ozighbo at the start of the scrimmage and he seemed to be around the ball a lot. I spent so much time watching the line, it was a little more difficult to keep up on the linebackers but they all seemed to cover very well in pass coverage.

Ty Ferguson had a good day and I thought that Marcus Newby played well too. They all shut down the inside runs, but as I said earlier it may have been the OLine as much as anything but you can tell the depth at LB is much better.

Luke Gifford is playing well too. Bray is fun to watch, he gets after his players on the sidelines and seems like a guy they all want to play for. All in all this should be a good group.

Finally the DBs. The starting corners were really aggressive, right at the point of PI on a lot of throws. To me, that's great though. You want to make the refs make the decision and Kalu and Jones are really good at pushing the envelope. Boaz Joseph and Eric Lee have really improved. It's a deep group, getting deeper. Bootle and Dismuke both ran well and you can tell they are going to be solid. 

Lamar Jackson didn't stick out yesterday, but he also didn't look bad either. I will chalk this one up to just a single scrimmage. He got trucked pretty good by Tre Bryant, I bet he learns from that!

Safety play was good in the fact that they were awesome in run support and played the pass well. Not a lot of deep throws to judge from, at least for Gerry or Williams. Antonio Reed just seems to fly around out there, I love that kid.

Younger guys didn't stick out either, but I think we have some great athletes back there, and that gives me a lot of hope.

I'll Remember Sam

    I write this with a very heavy heart today. I’ve been working on a few blog posts the last couple of weeks, but time and life has gotten in the way. My wife and sons and I welcomed our 5th member to our family two weeks ago, a baby girl, so I’ve had a lot going on lately and not enough time to put out some semi relatable Husker stories or information out for Husker Memes fans.

     A few days before our new bundle of joy, a baby girl was born, my cousin died in a car accident out in Western Nebraska. It was a painful reminder of how fragile life is, as he left his young wife and son in this world without a father and left a big void in our family as a friend and all around great guy. It was super frustrating, because with a new baby being born, what is supposed to be one the great moments in your life was overshadowed with great loss.

     I tell you this, only because we all were stunned on Sunday morning with another loss, this time Sam Foltz, Nebraska’s great punter. We are big fans of Sam at our house. The boys, who are headed to fourth grade next month, have been to the Nebraska football camp the last two summers. Both times, Sam has been front and center, fooling around, catching, throwing and kicking to any kid that wanted to show off for him.

     In 2015, the boys and my nephew attended the camp, and the first two players out on the field were Sam and Drew Brown. As the boys grabbed a football and started throwing it around, Sam was right in the middle of them, along with Drew, giving them all the attention that they could handle. As a parent, and a kid that grew up during Nebraska’s halcyon days of the 80s and 90s, it was awesome to get to watch my own family get their first real dose of Husker football up close and personal. The boys all had an awesome time, but from that day forward, I was sold on Sam and Drew and I could tell that they were great kids, just from their interaction from the camp. We took plenty of pictures the next two days and Sam was kind enough to join in on many of them and also signed, anything and everything, including the shirt on a lot of kid’s backs.

     In 2016, I wasn’t able to spend as much time with the boys at camp as I would have liked, but when I went to pick them up on the final day, the first person I saw signing autographs and of course giving one to my son, was Sam Foltz. I took a couple of pictures as Sam signed again. I was starting to take him for granted because he was such an accommodating person. Sometimes you get used to someone a little too easy. Again, I noted how Sam was out there, just being a kid himself, signing anything and everything and always with a great big grin!

     I was able to attend the Uplifting Athletes run the week before Sam’s terrible accident, and of course, when we got there, Sam was right in the middle of 10-15 kids, holding court and involving his teammates and anyone that would listen with any kid that wanted a bit of his time. I was standing about 10 feet from Sam when that iconic picture that he posted to Twitter was taken, following my son in a mile race that was a blast, simply because the players give so much of their time to make it fun. Afterward, both the boys were collecting autographs, and I see Sam standing there, and one of my sons hadn’t gotten his football autographed yet by Sam. I told him, “Go get it again, Sam doesn’t mind and tell him that you are starting to become a buddy to him, heck, he sees you kids enough!” I didn’t get a picture with Sam and the boys that day. For whatever reason, I just figured, I had plenty already and I had a feeling that Sam would be around to take pictures whenever we needed, so I was in no rush.

    My first thought when I heard the news about Sam’s accident, I felt just like I did when I heard the news about my cousin. Sam isn’t related to us, he probably doesn’t even know any of our names. At the same time, Sam had become family. He was always there when the boys asked him to be there to take pictures or autographs, he threw the football and kicked it to them, whenever they asked. He was a family member in my eyes, as Sam was no longer a stranger, and the news hit us all like a sledgehammer.

     I will remember Sam for the rest of my life. As many of you probably have read or if you had any interaction with Sam, you probably already knew what we all did about him, he was a great person. As we recover from this and prepare to watch our favorite team this season, I know I will think about him every game. I expect many of you will too. I’d encourage you not to take someone like Sam for granted. I know I will never take him for granted again.

“You never know who’s watching.. What impact do you wanna leave on the next generation to aspire too?!” #DreamBig – Sam Foltz @samfoltz27

#RIP27