FINALLY GAME DAY!

Hope springs eternal!  Or this time, “falls” enteral?  Either way, a new Nebraska season is finally here.  Man, it’s been a while.  When we last saw the Huskers, they were limping to a 3-5 season finish with a come from behind win over Rutgers.  Nebraska failed to reach a bowl game for the fourth year.

To be honest, it feels even longer.  Nebraska has been relative about two times in the last four years.  When they hired Scott Frost and when they were ranked ahead of a 2018 season that ended worse than the season before.  It’s been a long hard ride.

So why will this year be different?  There are quite a few reasons for optimism, but it should probably be weary optimism.  Nebraska returns most of their defense that was the only bright spot for much of last season.  The special teams have an official coach in Mike Dawson for the first time in Frost’s career at Nebraska.  Special teams really can’t get much worse outside of Connor Culp from last year, so that should at least be a brighter spot.

So why would we be so negative as the Huskers go into Champaign for the first game of the season?  Quite simply, the offense has been awful.  Scott Frost was considered a budding genius as an offensive coach when he was at Central Florida and Oregon.  His first year at Nebraska was rough, but by the end of they year, you had an idea that Nebraska would figure it out and start being competitive in the Big Ten.

What happened after that was two seasons of sputtering outputs.  Nebraska has yet to develop a running game that can compete consistently in the Big Ten.  They have yet to produce wide receivers or really a quarterback that can compete for all Big Ten honors.  The offensive line has been average at best and the running game outside of the quarterback all but disappeared.

Why will that change in 2021?  I think a big part of the optimism is based on Adrian Martinez settling in and being consistent from week to week.  Establishing a running game with the running backs is so important to Martinez and his health.  Martinez simply can’t take the punishment he has received in the last two year.  Two running backs that weren’t on the roster last season and a redshirt freshman (Markese Stepp, Gabe Ervin, Jr. and Sevion Morrison, respectively) are the leaders in the clubhouse to help Martinez.  

They all need help from the offensive line.  That is the piece that has really failed to propel the Huskers into the upper reaches of the Big Ten West.  Veteran leadership from Cam Jurgens and Matt Sichterman should help the inside, but the tackles are young but talented.  They all need to take a step forward, but they look the part off the bus.

Throw in a revamped wide receiver room and veteran tight ends in Austin Allen and Travis Vokolek and you start to see a Big Ten roster for probably the first time in Coach Frost’s tenure on the offensive side.  

Martinez had his best season when he had Devine Ozigbo and Stanley Morgan on the team.  Those two are still working to make NFL rosters but they were clearly great assets when they were in Lincoln.  If Nebraska can finally recreate that type of supporting cast, they should be able to reach some of that potential that we all thought we were getting when Coach Frost was hired.  If that doesn’t work out, this season could be a long one for all of Husker Nation. 

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Rutgers 24, Nebraska 21.  The actual score was Nebraska 28, Rutgers 21.  I always question if we should put the final prediction back in the blog, but it is a gentle reminder where Nebraska was at the end of last season.  No amount of Kool-Aid can cover the abysmal finish to the Husker’s Covid shortened season.  Nebraska survived four turnovers from Adrian Martinez and physically handled Rutgers enough to win in the end.  Hopefully those days of struggling are long behind Nebraska.

Quick Notes:

Scott Frost…A not so quiet off season almost slowed to a crawl once fall camp started, but an article about an NCAA investigation has started a lot of rumors about Coach Frost and his future at Nebraska.  To be honest, the investigation on whether an analyst worked with players during a practice really doesn’t raise a flag for me.  It’s likely nothing will come of it, other than a slap on the wrist.  What it did show was the national perception of where Coach Frost is in terms of keeping his job.  I think Frost is safe this year, even if they went 5-7.  Changes would be made, but likely Frost would survive to 2022.  If Nebraska were to fall off and only win 3 or 4 games, I don’t know that he would survive that.  I think this is Frost’s best team.  If he truly is growing as a head coach in the Big Ten, he could take that big step that we have all been expecting from his hire on day 1.  

Adrian Martinez…Has there ever been a player that has had this much influence on a Husker season in the last 15 years?  If Martinez goes down for any length of time it would likely be disastrous for Nebraska.  He has had terrible turnovers at high-risk junctures of his career, but there is no denying he can change a game when he is playing well.  Nebraska must keep him upright and healthy this year and any chance of winning more than 5 games is contingent on him playing at least 10 games this year.  He has more talent around him than he has had for his entire career.  He, much like Coach Frost, needs to take that large step this fall.  

Sevion Morrison…I think the starter at running back on Saturday will be Morrison.  He may not be the player with the most carries or the most production, but I’m betting on him being the starter.  Stepp and Ervin will have their opportunities, but Morrison was the guy that I was the most excited by when he came out of high school.  He reminded me of Demarco Murray from the Oklahoma days and I really think he has shown a lot of those skills in fall camp.  If he is the man and can provide the rushing that Nebraska has really lacked since Ozigbo left, the sky is the limit for this Husker offense.   

Cam Taylor-Britt…We haven’t talked too much defense in this week’s blog, but this guy is the leader of the Blackshirts.  If Taylor-Britt has an all Big Ten season, which he is capable of, this defense can be a top four defense in the Big Ten.  If that happens, Nebraska will have a legit chance of winning the Western division.  Taylor-Britt can shut down the other teams best wide receiver every week.  That allows a veteran defense to do unique things to create pressure on offenses that they otherwise may not be able to do.  He is an NFL player.  Nebraska needs him to play like it every week.  

Season Predication:

Nebraska has the best overall roster since the last bowl season in 2016.  The have veteran leadership on defense and have NFL caliber athletes all over the roster.  The time is now.  Scott Frost has been building it up, Husker fans are ready for the results in the win column.  To me, the ceiling is likely 8 wins, but the floor, should something happen to Martinez, may be 3 wins.  That’s a big swing.  I like Nebraska to lean into a seven-win year.  Eventually the one score ball games must go in Nebraska’s favor.  No team has struggled more to win close games than Scott Frost led Husker teams in the last three years.

Score Prediction:  Nebraska 31, Illinois 24 

Going into the fourth year at Nebraska, Coach Frost has had two good game plans for season opening games and had his best half at Boulder in his second game in 2019.  I feel like Nebraska will be well prepared for Illinois.  The Illini bring back 22 Super Seniors, but they really have lost a lot of offensive fire power along the line and at wide receiver.  Nebraska gave Illinois five turnovers last season and still had multiple opportunities to get back into the game.  New coach Brett Bielema has a strong history in the Big Ten, but he will be breaking in his new team for the first time.  Nebraska probably couldn’t have asked for a better time to play Illinois, as they will be working out some first-year coaching kinks.  If Nebraska doesn’t win this game, it will be a long year in Lincoln.  That shouldn’t happen this time!  GBR!!

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Same Old Big Red Story...

If you were like me watching the Nebraska game last week against the Golden Gophers, you probably had that sour feeling in the pit of your stomach after Nebraska was down 10-0 in the first quarter.  I texted a friend and told them that if Nebraska couldn’t take the lead before halftime, it was already over.  This Husker group just can’t have nice things.  They took the lead, but just before the half, they gave up a drive that ended up with Cam Taylor-Britt kicked out and a halftime deficit.  They never recovered.

This season has been a microcosm of 2020 for me.  We all wanted the Huskers to play.  We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but damn it if we didn’t want something to drag us away from the hellscape that is this pandemic.  Coach Scott Frost made bold declarations that Nebraska would play anyone and anywhere.  It all seemed like it was going to be a fun season, regardless of how few games would be played.

Then the Big Ten cancelled the season before it ever got off the ground.  I think that was a big loss for everyone, including Nebraska.  When the Big Ten relented and fired it back up, some of the steam that was building in Lincoln went out of the tailpipe for a lot of people.  National media mocked the Huskers and wondered aloud why Frost would want to play with a team that wasn’t likely to have much success.

From my perspective, I felt like Frost wanted to play, because he knew that there would be no spring season.  I think he has been behind the 8 ball since he arrived in Lincoln.  Imagine all the things that could going wrong in your first three years.  Then imagine that they do go wrong.  First game cancelled due to lightning.  Players leaving, either of their own accord, or because they were no longer wanted.  Second season, you lose a game at Colorado that you shouldn’t lose.  Follow that up by playing with multiple kickers that can barely kick off let alone hit a 30-yard field goal for most of that season.  Your quarterback is hurt early in the second season and your team never really takes off.  You think you have a great incoming recruiting class and 2020 will be better, but then Covid hits and half the four star recruits take off before the season even starts and of those that do stay, they miss spring football, off season workouts and a regular fall.

It has not been easy in Nebraska.  Scott Frost hasn’t exactly helped himself out.  The offense that is supposed to be the bread and butter of any Frost team has been average to lousy in 2020.  Special teams have improved, but not at a clip that any fan would be clamoring for.  The defense, while playing above average has imploded at crucial times during the season.

In closing, the Huskers get at least one more chance to play football, this time in New Jersey. We sit back and wonder what could have been, but more likely what should have been.  We have seen a lot of games the last three years, but most of it hasn’t been what we were hoping.  If Nebraska could close out with a win, that might propel a lot of people to get excited for 2021.  2020 has sucked the excitement out for a lot of us.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 31 Minnesota 24.  The actual score was Minnesota 24, Nebraska 17.  In a game that Nebraska not only needed to win, but should have won, this final home game was awful.  Nebraska’s offense was chaotic and had one good quarter.  The defense bowed up for the most part, but when they needed a stop at the end, they just couldn’t get one.  Chalk it up to another one score defeat for Scott Frost.  I’m generally an optimist by nature, but if Nebraska continues to lose games that they should win at this clip in 2021, there will be a drastic change in Lincoln next winter.

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Quick Notes:

Scott Frost…I write this blog to give kudos to players each week.  At this point though, Scott Frost has practically killed any offensive fireworks.  For whatever reason, Nebraska’s inability to pass the ball like a Power 5 team should, continues to define the Frost era at Nebraska.  Think about it.  Since Martinez’s game against Illinois last year, Nebraska has yet to make anyone pay for loading up the line of scrimmage.  You can’t win in the Big Ten if you can’t throw unless you have a monster run game.  Nebraska doesn’t have that either.  Whether it is play calling or quarterback play, Frost needs to have a big improvement next fall.  It’s unbelievable that with Frost’s pedigree the Nebraska offense struggles as much as it does.  This offseason will define the Frost era at Nebraska.  For all our sakes, lets hope it’s for the better.  

Austin Allen…He is the most improved player on the team, from 2019 to 2020.  With Jack Stoll nursing an injury most of the season, Allen’s performance has risen above what I could have hoped for.  Allen is a legit All Big Ten type player.  If he continues on this path, I see no reason why he won’t be an NFL draft pick when his college career is over.  He really could use a consistent passing game to take his own game to the next level.  It’s nice to see from an in-state player.  Nebraska could use more like him.

Wan’Dale Robinson…This kid is so special.  He needs help though.  Nebraska needs another player that can take the stress off Robinson.  It could be a running back or another wide receiver, but Robinson is so much better than anyone else at those positions, he is forced to play both.  Nebraska needs an offset so teams can’t key on him.  He is tough as nails.  He takes hit after hit each week and bounces right back up.  It’s flabbergasting that he has yet to score a touchdown in 2020.   

JoJo Domann…I don’t know if Domann is coming back to the Huskers next season, but he has been a lot of fun for Husker fans to watch this year.  He has been a bright spot on a team without many.  Domann is at his best using his versatility, either making plays at the line of scrimmage or knocking down a would be catch on a deep route.  He will be missed severely next season, if he does leave.  His persistence after early career injuries should be admired.

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Score Prediction:  Rutgers 24 Nebraska 21 

Nebraska will be fresh off a devastating loss at home.  Rutgers is limping into a final game of the season.  Unfortunately for the Huskers, Rutgers plays about as physical on defense as Minnesota did.  Nebraska simply wasn’t good enough or smart enough to make the Gophers defense play the run and it was costly.  If Nebraska can’t run the ball with their running backs this Friday, it is likely they will come home with another loss.  I’d like to tell you that it will all work out, but Rutgers has been playing better football than Nebraska.  I hope I’m wrong and the overall talent wins out, but I’ve been burned too many times this season.  Yeah, you guessed it, I’ll still be watching the entire game from start to finish, cheering my butt off so, GBR!!

Gopher Game!

The weather swings of fall are stupefying.  That’s what it’s like watching Husker football.  Last weekend, Nebraska finally put the pedal to the metal and won a game by more than one score.  It’s not that we weren’t nervous.  Heck, since Coach Scott Frost came to Lincoln every game seems like a heartbreaker.  It’s a lot like the fall weather, great one day, blizzard the next.  

Last week we talked about those swings and when is Nebraska going to right the ship into consistency.  This week, the Huskers have another opportunity to start a winning streak.  The last three years have been a constant up and down roller coaster.  You never know which Husker squad you are going to see.  The last two games have been more consistent.  Even though Iowa snuck another victory out, the Huskers played even keeled.  Last week, they did it again, getting out to a large lead, then slowly maintaining it throughout the game.   Purdue challenged, but Nebraska put it away in the end.

That’s what has been missing from this group.  Can they close?  One thing we have discussed before is that this group of Huskers has forgotten how to simply put teams away.  A lot of losing will do that to you.  Nebraska needs to put together a string of victories.  I’m reminded of the 2012 Husker team.  They did get blasted in the Big Ten championship game, but they also strung together a line of victories that was impressive to get into that game.  That team knew how to win, week in and week out.

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The biggest lift, in my opinion, has been the play of Adrian Martinez.  The team seems to have figured out his comfort zone in the passing game.  It’s not much down the field fly routes, but a more under controlled, precision passing game.   If Martinez continues to be accurate in this offense, it really does hum a lot better and gives Nebraska a chance in most games.  Minnesota will have a much better defense than Purdue.  It will be interesting to see if they can put more pressure on the Husker QB.

On top of Martinez, the Blackshirts are also playing with more consistency.  Throw in kicker Connor Culp and you have the beginning of a team that won’t let itself down from one piece to the next.  That is the consistency that will allow Husker football to put together a string of wins.  If they can close this week against the Gophers, we might get to see something we haven’t seen in 4 seasons, a three-game winning streak.  

I’m not one to get ahead of myself.  I question if Nebraska can even win this weekend as a 10-point favorite at home.  The Huskers haven’t earned that trust from fans yet.  We have been burned too many times.  Coach Frost keeps saying it’s close.  It will be nice to see that become reality this Saturday.  Less like the up and down Fall weather and more like the Husker teams of old.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Purdue 37 Nebraska 31.  The actual score was Nebraska 37, Purdue 27.  It may be that the Blackshirts had an outlier against Illinois.  We expected Ohio State to score a lot, but I don’t know that we imagined the Huskers defense being this consistent in 2020.  Illinois was the only team other than the Buckeyes to get out of the 20s against them.  They have made big plays when needed and for the most part have been solid considering they have been given awful field position.  Outside of one blown play to David Bell, they were solid against the Boilermakers.  Big props to them for keeping it together after the Illinois disaster.

Quick Notes:

Adrian Martinez…I know, I know, Martinez is in this list every week, but let us be honest with ourselves, he really is building a solid resume this fall.  He has been more consistent in his passing attack, delivering on those short routes that he too often missed last season.  It helps that he has been able to find Wan’dale Robinson more often.  Robinson can help any team and the fact that a concerted effort to get him the ball has made Martinez more consistent has paid off.  Nebraska has had very little consistency at wide receiver this season and that hasn’t helped.  Throw in a pandemic and the inability to have time to work with all those guys and you can understand how there could be some struggles.  If Martinez continues to improve, the Huskers record should too.

Dedrick Mills…Last weekend just goes to show that a running back that can consistently hammer out positive yards helps your offense.  Mills wasn’t at 100 percent, but he was good enough that Purdue couldn’t just pin their ears back and go after the quarterback play after play.  He also does a really good job blocking for Martinez on designed quarterback runs.  If Mills is closer to healthy this week, I expect him to have his best game of the season.  Just in time for the cold weather.

Special Teams…As much as the kickoff teams continue to frustrate Big Red fans, the rest of the special teams had a big week for a change.  Connor Culp continues to be the best field goal kicker that Nebraska could have asked for.  He continually puts points on the board when drives stall.  Last season, those drives ended in fourth down misses and lost opportunity.  Better punt returns and better field goal kicking has changed games for Nebraska this season.  A blocked punt last week was a huge play for a team that needed some momentum.  If the Huskers can continue to take advantage of special teams play, that by itself would be worth one or two wins a season.  It certainly helped last week.  

Cam Taylor-Britt…Britt seems to be coming into his own.  Combined with Dicaprio Bootle the two cornerbacks took on a heavy load against Purdue and their All-American wide receivers.  For the most part they kept them contained.  Yes, David Bell had a long touchdown catch, but that had as much to do with a missed help from the safety as anything.  Taylor-Britt made big plays against big time players last week.  You often see players really come into their own as Juniors and have big Senior years.  I’m predicting a big Senior year for Taylor-Britt.  

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Score Prediction:  Nebraska 31 Minnesota 24

A much-needed win on the road has left the Huskers open to possible bowl eligibility.  They absolutely must win this weekend for that to happen.  Minnesota will be limited by players in quarantine and will only travel about half their team this weekend.  Nebraska hasn’t been done many favors by their schedule this shortened season, but if there was a time to take it out on a team, this is it.  I could see Nebraska pulling away in the fourth quarter.  With this team, it just never ends up that easy, and I reflect that in my prediction.  Nebraska should get a second win in as many weeks though and for that, we can all celebrate, GBR!!

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Nebraska Stuck In Neutral 😐

Here we are again.  I always want to write immediately after a game, especially a loss, because it’s therapeutic, but also, you remember exactly how you felt when then game finished.  Life happens sometimes and you can’t put everything you feel into a half page blog about Husker Football.

After a while, the feeling you had after a loss, especially a close loss either builds up into anger or it turns into apathy.  I can’t help but feeling a few days after Nebraska lost yet another game to Iowa, that my anger is getting harder to get over.  I talk to a lot of Husker fans throughout the week.  I spend way too much time on a Rivals and 247.  Sometimes that anger is drawn outward because other sensible people see the big picture and that one game in a vacuum is not a good way to judge a program.

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Since Coach Scott Frost has returned to Nebraska, he has coached 29 games.  His record is 10 wins, 19 losses.  You can’t sugar coat that.  By record, he is the worst Husker coach in over a half a century.  What’s the one thing that makes that worse?  When you look at the 19 losses that Nebraska has suffered, 10 of those losses are by a touchdown or less.  Last week the same thing.  A 26-20 loss that with one touchdown could have been a victory.

It is SO frustrating.  Nebraska fans have been the big dog on the block for fifty years before 2017.  We suffered through 3 losing seasons in that time frame and we hated it.  Now we have had 4 straight losing seasons (yes, I know this year isn’t finished, but it’s not looking great) and people that were born after 2005 have seen more losing than winning since they could start paying attention.

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So, what is the bright spot?  For me, when I look at Nebraska, I see a team that is young on offense.  There is so much room for improvement, that these close losses should eventually start turning into wins.  We can do so much better on special teams.  Another muffed punt last week and terrible field positions on our kickoffs show that you can pick up a lot in that area.  Defensively, we played relatively well, but we only created one turnover and that was a gift from the Iowa quarterback.  Again, room for improvement.

I will never take a Husker game for granted.  We only get so many every year, and this year they have been a welcome respite during a time of global pandemic.  So, I will cheer like hell again this weekend.  The anxiety of these losses has started to pile up though.  It might not always be this way under Frost, but if the anxiety turns into apathy, I know a lot of people that will find other things to do on Saturdays in the fall.    

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Iowa 31 Nebraska 17.  The actual score was Iowa 26, Nebraska 20.  The Huskers had their chances and even had the lead 20-13 in the third quarter.  Nebraska continues to kick themselves in the teeth though.  A muffed punt, poor field position for Iowa and a missed block on the final drive doomed an otherwise solid effort.  Other teams simply just need to play well and wait for Nebraska to implode.  It continued last week.  How long before Nebraska does that to someone else?

Quick Notes:

Adrian Martinez…He has been a whipping post for Husker fans since his rough 2019, but he seems to be the best option for the team moving forward.  He played really well against Iowa, with only one turnover on the final drive.  That turnover, like a lot of his plays was affected by bad line play.  Martinez has been cursed with bad offensive line play for two seasons now.  One has to wonder how well he would have developed if he was protected better.  I’d like to see him take more chances down field, but you can’t argue with his passing last week, he was 18 out of 20.  Can’t get much better than that.

Luke McCaffrey…There is little doubt that McCaffrey is one of the best athletes on the Huskers.  He was able to get a couple series against Iowa.  I don’t mind the changing from series to series to create a change of pace.  What I would like to see more is McCaffrey on the field, even if it isn’t at quarterback.  The kid is clearly a competitor.  He isn’t going to be getting the snaps that a starter should be getting this season.  What’s the harm in using him like Nebraska did against Ohio State?  He knows all the plays, so it should be easy for him to run one spot.  I just can’t help but think with him, Zavier Betts and Wan’Dale Robinson at wide receiver, you could open things up vertically.

Kickoffs…I understand that Iowa has one of the better kick returners in the country.  What I don’t understand is where the kickoff through the end zone has went?  I can’t believe that Nebraska doesn’t have a kid on campus that can consistently boot the ball through the end zone.  It has been a big disadvantage under Coach Frost.  It would provide a big boost in field position changes and would eliminate the chances for long returns.  

Luke Reimer…The “other” Luke on the team is really starting to look like he will be an All Big Ten player.  He has that sixth sense that you look for in defenders, that he seeks the ball as well as anyone on the team.  He is blessed with great speed as well.  If you are looking for someone to hitch your wagon too the next few years, Reimer is as good as anyone.  With Colin Miller out for the season, Reimer should get plenty of opportunity to make plays.  That should be a good thing for the Blackshirts.  

Score Prediction:  Purdue 37 Nebraska 31 

I want to tell you Nebraska will get a win this weekend on the road.  I want to tell you that the offense will break out against a poor Purdue defense.  Unfortunately, since Coach Frost has come back to Lincoln, Jeff Brohm’s offense has been a Rubik’s Cube for the Blackshirts.  Purdue has been able to exploit Nebraska’s linebackers in the passing game, pretty much at will.  If the Huskers want to get a road win, they will need to take advantage of the Boilermaker’s weak run defense.  If they fail to control the ball and turn it over, Purdue will put up a lot of points.  I really hope I’m wrong.   As always, GBR!!

Does Nebraska Have A Chance In Hawkeye Land?

The other side of the ugly coin flipped on Nebraska last weekend.  Nebraska fans are accustomed to lousy losses the last decade, so why did a loss to Illinois feel like such a punch to the gut?

The main reason it felt so terrible is that through the first three games the Huskers played, while not always clean, they competed.  The opener against Ohio State was supposed to be a blow out, but Nebraska played the first half like they were going to compete for a Big Ten West crown.  The next game was cancelled, but the next week the Huskers played Northwestern hard.  They probably should have won the game, but poor execution in the red zone killed any chance of that.

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Next Nebraska played a wounded Penn State and they jumped out on them so hard in the first half, even a second half collapse wasn’t enough to keep the Huskers from winning.  It seemed as though Nebraska was finding itself in this shortened season.

So, when Illinois was slated to come to Memorial Stadium and open the home schedule, Nebraska looked poised to continue the building process.  The problem was the Illini didn’t care about Nebraska’s rebuild and they steamrolled the Huskers.  

An opening forward pass that was ruled a fumble by Luke McCaffrey sent the Huskers into a funk.  It was compounded by some other questionable referee decisions.  Nebraska couldn’t get a stop on defense and the offense couldn’t get out of its own way.  The Huskers gave Illinois so many opportunities with five turnovers, it was hard to see any progress in Scott Frost’s program.  If anything, it showed most Husker fans that we are a long way from any sense of challenging the upper tier programs in the Big Ten.

It’s my conclusion that Coach Frost is going through some growing pains.  It’s hard to understand that the wide receivers didn’t practice hard prior to the game.  Why is that?  Why with a new wide receiver coach (Matt Lubick) and a young team was there a lackadaisical approach to a game Nebraska needed to win?  Good coaches have that weeded out by the third year in their program.  This team has a lot of issues that still aren’t weeded out.

Nebraska football that we remember from the Coach Osborne years was physical, well executed and disciplined.  That’s what most Husker fans expect.  We see glimpses of it sometimes with this group of Huskers, but it’s not enough.  Nebraska has had no identity to hang their hat on since Coach Frost took over.  They resemble nothing of the teams that he played on in the 90s.

I can forgive a lot of things with Nebraska football the last three seasons.  I have typed many thoughts about this coaching staff, which many of you have read.  Most of those things have seen the positive within the growth of Coach Frost and the Huskers.  Last week was different.  Nebraska went back to the same unfocused play that has plagued them over the last five years.  It wasn’t Frost that started that slide, but it was disappointing that he hasn’t stopped it by now.  You start to wonder if he will ever get it stopped.

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ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 34, Illinois 24.  The actual score was Illinois 41, Nebraska 23.  A game that most people thought Nebraska should win was a disaster from the opening snap.  Five turnovers will do that to you.  Nebraska’s inability to pass the ball effectively was only compounded by its inability of the “Blackshirts” to stop anyone.  The worst defeat of a an already murky 1-3 start.

Quick Notes:

Offense…I think it’s safe to ask if this 2020 version of Nebraska will be competent on offense.  Losing Dedrick Mills has blown a hole in the running back room that has had little success.  The wide receiver talent looks good on some possessions but is randomly absent from most games when they are needed the most.  The old quarterback axiom that when you have two quarterbacks, you really have none couldn’t be more true right now.  Nebraska’s inability to throw the ball downfield has caught up with them and teams simply force the Huskers to run into eight or nine players each possession.  Coach Frost is supposed to be a play calling genius, and I think he still is, but Nebraska must figure out how to stretch the field vertically.  Until they do that, they won’t be anything other than bottom dweller in the Big Ten. 

Collin Miller…I must admit, I didn’t even watch the play live when Miller was hurt.  As I sat on the couch, I couldn’t figure out what was happening, and replay wasn’t giving us much either.  Those kinds of plays happen in football.  Luckily for Miller it sounds like he will be ok but will miss the rest of the season.  That’s another big loss for the Blackshirts.  Miller has been the leader of the team.  He has also been one of the more consistent tacklers that Nebraska has.  His loss will be hard to overcome for a defense that still has too many run fit issues and can’t seem to hold up the line of scrimmage half the time.  Get well Collin, Husker Nation is behind you!

Penalties…In three seasons, Coach Frost’s Husker squads have really struggled with penalties in the first half of the season.  For whatever reasons, they have settled down as the season wore on and cut them down the last half.  Will this season be the same?  It better be.  Nebraska’s inability to come out of timeouts with the right personnel or formation or sometime snap the ball before the play clock runs out is as frustrating as anything going right now.  Good teams don’t have those issues.  It’s simply an organizational thing that must be corrected.  What is missing from Coach Frost’s program that this continues season after season?  It needs to be figured out, yesterday.

Quarterbacks…We should have foreseen what was going to happen with Luke McCaffrey when teams started making him throw the ball.  He simply is too inexperienced to handle different pressures and too eager to turn on those jets when he doesn’t have an easy open read.  It made Adrian Martinez look like an NFL quarterback last weekend, compared to McCaffrey.  It’s not all on the quarterbacks that the offense has been shockingly bad.  A combination of poor offensive line play, young wide receivers and questionable coaching decisions in the run game have earned Nebraska a place at the back of the line.  The best game Nebraska played was when Martinez was the starter and Luke was used as a jack of all trades.  I would expect Nebraska to go back to Martinez this week.  I hope that they keep Luke on the field, even if it isn’t at quarterback.  You need game changers out on the field and McCaffrey is certainly that.  It just isn’t at quarterback right now, at least for most possessions.  

Score Prediction:  Iowa 31 Nebraska 17 

It pains me to say this, but Nebraska is lost right now, Iowa is not.  At this juncture it is as simple as that.  Iowa knows they are going to run the ball and they are going to force you to beat them in the air.  Nebraska has weakness in both of those areas.  It will be difficult to exploit any Iowa issues if you have no strengths to rely on.  Nebraska will score on a couple of drives in a crazy short amount of time.  It will be the same shock when they are unable to control the ball on most others.  We will be riding out a Thanksgiving turkey hangover.  We will still cheer on the Huskers.  As always, GBR!!

Nebraska At Home in 2020 Take 2!

A New Era, Will it be the Same Results?

If nothing else, Nebraska fans can be finicky.  After pulling out a close win over a winless Penn State team, I found myself at odds with the second half offense.  The defense rose to the occasion, two times shutting out Penn State in the final quarter, to help hold on to the victory.

The final defensive hold was great, and the defensive backfield played great late in the game, but what happened to the offense?  Luke McCaffrey started the game so well.  Nebraska looked like they were going to be a well-oiled machine when the rolled out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and with some help from the defense, extended it to 27-6 at halftime.

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After halftime, I found myself wondering if we were watching the second half in Boulder last season.  Or the final drive against Purdue last year, or for that matter every loss in the last two years that came down to a late lead lost in the fourth quarter under Head Coach Scott Frost.

Then I started to review a few things.  First and foremost, Nebraska was playing on offense with a bunch of new players.  Even the veterans, weren’t all that veteran outside of a couple of linemen.  Cam Jurgens, redshirt freshman, Wan’dale Robinson, sophomore, Zavier Betts, true freshman, Marcus Fleming, true freshman, Ethan Piper, redshirt freshman and finally Luke McCaffrey, redshirt freshman.  I’m leaving a few players out, but the fact of the matter is, Nebraska is going through a youth movement on the offensive end.

Tack on that Penn State is probably in the top two teams in overall talent in the Big Ten and you start to see that the win, while dicey, was a much bigger deal than it seemed as we held our breath.

If you have been a fan of this team for as long as most of you reading this blog, the last five years have been nothing but disappointment and despair for the most part.  Scott Frost was supposed to come in and save the day, but along the way, talent simply wasn’t in place to take the league by storm.  There was no impressive coaching to win close games and honestly, I’m sure Frost would tell you, he had to learn a few hard lessons in his initial run through the Big Ten.

Nebraska is working on a reboot of a storied program.  Quite honestly, we only avoided rock bottom thanks to the brand that the red “N” provides in recruiting.  Frost has done a lot to rebuild both sides of the ball, but the reality is, three head coaches in a four-year span of recruiting hurt Nebraska as much as any coaching has.  It’s hard to build a program with that type of turnover.  There are still crumbles in the foundation that are starting to be filled.

Nebraska will eventually get there, where they are old on both sides of the ball.  That’s when you start to challenge for the Big Ten title.  It may be a couple years away.  In the meantime, I need to remind myself to enjoy the wins.  There may not be many more this season, and while it’s our right as fans to judge everything in the program, I will try and enjoy the young players and their growing pains.  We saw a bright light across the Husker universe last week in that first half.  Hopefully we start to see the stars shine on a longer basis.

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Penn State 24, Nebraska 21.  The actual score was Nebraska 30, Penn State 23.  The Huskers had to hold on for dear life in the second half after building a huge first half lead.  Nebraska seems to have confidence in the first quarter, then looks a bit skittish after that.  They need to build off that and start the second half as focused as they do the first.  If they can do that, they will start to win at a more consistent clip. 

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Quick Notes:

Wide Receivers…When you play freshman at wide receiver, especially talented ones, you will see some great highs and generally some weeks that nothing happens.  Marcus Fleming, Zavier Betts and Alante Brown are going to be really good players at Nebraska.  They already are starting to show why they were four-star recruits.  The issue with playing that talent is the other teams have coaches too and they know enough to throw the kitchen sink at them to see how they respond.  Moving Wan’dale Robinson to tailback probably limited the amount of passing that Nebraska wanted to do in the second half against Penn State.  If you are the coach of the Huskers, you hope to let these three guys contribute more every week.  They need them all to play and play well.  Be ready for some ups and downs.

Deontai Williams…Williams continue to make big plays for the Huskers.  He along with Cam Taylor-Britt have provided a big spark to the Blackshirts.  Williams’ sack, strip, fumble recovery for a touchdown was a play that the Huskers need to see more of when they play better teams.  He hasn’t been shy laying the wood, but he has been caught out of position more times than the coaches would like.  You take those busts when he can provide a play like that against Penn State.  If he can sure up the more mundane parts of the game, he could be an all-conference type player this year for the Big Red.

Connor Culp…After last seasons debacle at kicker, Culp has been a breath of fresh air.  He has been consistent on field goals and he has been uber-valuable on kickoffs.  Nebraska has benefited from that type of play, when last year, it was lucky if they made half those plays.  If Culp continues to provide consistent kicking, Nebraska could win a close game down the road, that they have lost in the past.  It has provided a big boost to the team and should allow Frost to be more confident calling plays in the red zone.  Despite a few hiccups against Northwestern, he had a stellar weekend against Penn State.

Offensive Line…For most of my life, Nebraska was synonymous with the “Pipeline” and the envy of most college football programs.  The first game of the season, Nebraska looked like a return of the Pipeline was closer than it had been in years.  Since then, injuries, inconsistency and miscommunication probably brought results that were closer to reality.  Against good front lines on defense, the Huskers still don’t have the build to just line up and bust someone in the mouth.  They struggle to drive good players off the line and the pass protection has been less than average.  If Nebraska wants to finish strong this year, the offensive line will need to be the reason why.  Nebraska is relying on a young group of skill players and a veteran tight end group to move the ball.  Without the offensive line paving the way, it will continue to be a struggle.

Score Prediction:  Nebraska 34 Illinois 24

I predicted a Penn State win last week and for about a half hour, I was worried I would be right.  Last week was a relief and this week, Nebraska needs to build on that quick start and try to maintain it for 60 minutes.  Illinois is probably in the bottom three teams in the conference.  For the Huskers to take that next step, they need to dominate in these types of games.  I don’t know that the Huskers will do that just yet, but if they can control the line of scrimmage this week, they should have a comfortable margin.  If McCaffrey doesn’t end up in Victory formation this weekend, it will be a big blow to Husker Nation.  I think they will end up closing out a game that they should, for a change.  As always, GBR!!

Nittany Lions, Martinez, and McCaffrey! Oh My!

So sorry, but I must interrupt our usual blog with the news that Nebrasketball just landed their first 5-star recruit in Bryce McGowens.  Not since Andre Woolridge picked Nebraska in the early 90s have the Huskers landed a recruit of this magnitude.  I have no doubt, Coach Hoiberg is about to launch a great run of Husker Hoops…now back to football!

Another week, another Husker heartbreaking loss.  I will give Coach Frost credit he knows how to keep the games close.  On the other hand, he has yet to get over the hump with most of these close ones.

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Since Coach Frost arrived at Nebraska, he has tied his team to the coat tails of Adrian Martinez.  In the first season, Martinez played well early, was hurt, then returned and looked like he was going to be a four-year starter that would take the Huskers back to the glory of the past.

As last season started, playing in Boulder, Nebraska’s first half really looked like we had turned the corner.  Nebraska has a large half time lead and Martinez looked like he was going to have a great season.  We all know how that game turned out.  So far Martinez, like the Huskers haven’t seemed to recover. 

After two game this year, it is apparent that a change is coming, and likely this weekend.  Luke McCaffrey will probably start the first game of his Husker career against Penn State, with minimal number of fans in the stands.  Not exactly how we all drew it up last spring.

Luke has earned the shot, as much as Martinez has lost it, but it does make this fan feel melancholy.  Martinez has put a lot of his life into the Husker program.  So many of us have cheered him on, celebrated his achievements and genuinely hoped he would be the leader we all want our Husker quarterbacks to be.

Maybe it won’t be permanent, maybe McCaffrey falters and Adrian must come back and save the day.  It wouldn’t be the first time a starting quarterback was benched and came back better than he was before.  More likely though, without injury, the future of Nebraska and Scott Frost rides with McCaffrey.

We all feel the struggle of this season.  I’m sure Martinez feels is as much if not more than many of us.  It is a situation where a lack of early nonconference games has limited several players of showing their potential.  Unfortunately, with Nebraska’s schedule, time is of the essence to win and win now.  

Will McCaffrey be the answer we all have hoped for this last half decade?  Maybe.  McCaffrey has shown that he is an incredible athlete.  He gets the ball out of his hands in a hurry and makes quick decisions.  He seems to be the “fast blinker” that the staff raves about.  He has answered the bell when he has been on the field so far in minimal duty. This time, he will likely get an entire game to show us what he is all about.  Husker Nation will get a chance to find out if this is a new era of Husker football.  

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Last game prediction was Nebraska 28, Northwestern 17.  The actual score was Northwestern 21, Nebraska 13.  Nebraska will regret that game all season.  They had ample opportunities in the red zone and came away with just one touchdown.  If the Huskers can’t right the offense, this season has the potential to be disastrous.  They are lucky the defense is playing above expectations, if they weren’t, I think we all would be in a panic.

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Quick Notes:

Running Backs…You might say what happened to Nebraska’s running game?  However, the quarterbacks have ran the ball effectively.  On the flip side, the Husker running backs have been a shell of what they were the previous year.  Dedrick Mills hasn’t gotten going and outside of a few plays by Marvin Scott III and Ronald Thompkins, nothing has jumped out about any running back.  Part of it is play calling, and whether Mills can get to the perimeter like they need.  Another part is the offensive line.  As good as they looked against Ohio State by times, they have yet to just dominate a game.  The running backs need some holes, but they also need to attack their opportunities better.

Quarterbacks…As I talked about above, McCaffrey will likely get his first shot to run the Husker show.  He deserves a shot.  Martinez has been just above horrendous in the passing game and most of the time, can’t even play above that.  This offense requires accuracy.  We know from watching players like Marcus Mariota and McKenzie Milton that an accurate quarterback is a nightmare for defensive coordinators in this offense.  Coach Frost needs someone that can make the easy passes, to lessen the pressure on the offensive line, which in turn should open the running game up and hopefully allow Nebraska to play downfield more in the passing game.  Martinez wasn’t getting it done, so we will find out if it was just him, or a larger concern of the team altogether.

Defensive Line…Man, I don’t want to talk about these guys again, but seriously, Ty Robinson and Casey Rogers are going to be good for a long time in Lincoln.  Throw in Ben Stille and Damion Daniels, along with up and comers Jordon Riley and Keem Green and this group looks to be possibly the best position group for the Huskers.   Nebraska is giving up about 4.2 yards per carry, which isn’t great, but they have been much better against the run that last season.  They also have played two of the better running offenses in the Big Ten.  Penn State doesn’t have a great running attack.  If Nebraska can make them one dimensional, they should have success this weekend.

Special Teams…The Huskers continue to be snake bit on special teams.  A missed field goal, poor punting, awful punt returns, and average kickoff game has limited Nebraska in several ways.  We all know the Huskers were at their best the last decade when they had strong kicking game and made something out of their returns.  Nebraska is still not good enough to be able to play week to week with subpar special teams play.  If they want to win any games going forward, they must clean that up.  We shall see…

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Score Prediction:  Penn State 24 Nebraska 21 

After last week, I just don’t know how Nebraska is going to beat a wounded Penn State team.  Nebraska offensively has been as bad as I can remember them, at least since the awful Bo Pelini group that still almost rode Ndamukong Suh to a Big XII title.  If a change at quarterback is all that separates Nebraska from revving it up this weekend, I think it’s fair to ask Coach Frost what took so long.  On the other side, Penn State is 0-3 and needs a win just as bad as Nebraska.  I expect them to hit Nebraska in the mouth early and often.  If the Huskers play like they did last weekend, I just don’t see it ending well for the Huskers.  I will still be on my couch screaming away, let us all hope that my prediction is the worst thing that happens this weekend.  Here's to hoping I am wrong! GBR!!