THE GOOD ...
- TRENCH DOMINATION: There were lots of reasons Nebraska was successful against the Purples last Saturday. But primary among them was Nebraska's ability to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Quietly, Nebraska's front four has become an excellent unit both in stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback without a blitz. KSU quarterback Josh Freeman was pulled in the third quarter after being sacked and harried the whole game, and I surmised that he had declared for the NFL draft right from the sidelines.
- BURST FROM THE BACK: I know, I know, I'm harping. But Roy Helu, Jr., continues to impress as a dynamic, dangerous offensive weapon. God bless Marlon Lucky for his contributions and having to go through the whole Callahan era. God bless Quentin Castille for putting some Velcro on the ball for one game. But Helu's presence on the field changes the dynamic for NU's offense. I can't wait to see what he'll look like next year as the feature back.
- THE SEA OF RED: I'm not going to lie to you. It was cold on Saturday. And Manhattan ain't exactly walking distance from Nebraska. But there was red EVERYWHERE on Saturday in the stands. And, after halftime, I would not be surprised if there was more red than purple left in the stands. And people wonder if 'Husker Fan will travel to El Paso for a bowl game?
THE BAD ...
- NOT SO SPECIAL TEAMS: Nebraska's kick return coverage unit is now so bad, and has so lost the confidence of the coaches, that they tried every possible kickoff strategy other than kick it deep. An onside kick. A pooch kick. A sky kick. Anything other than kicking it deep - which, of course, led to a Wildcat touchdown. Adi Kunalic has a powerful leg, but is so inconsistent that he got pulled for Alex Henery and the kickoff experimentation. I don't know why this is such a mystery for NU, but it's a problem.
- THAT FIRST PASS: For two road games in a row, quarterback Joe Ganz's first pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Now, that's a lot easier to overcome against a demoralized Kansas State team than against a national powerhouse like Oklahoma. And it's a credit to Ganz that he could recover again and have game good enough to be awarded Big XII Offensive Player of the Week. But really, Joe, watch out with that first one!
- PREGAME HIJINX: I wish I was making this up. Before the K-State version of the tunnel walk, they showed a five-minute video of Willie the Wildcat being "abducted" by four bumpkin-like Herbie Huskers, taken into a cornfield, and left. Of course, Willie "escaped" and rounded up those rascally 'Huskers, leading into the game. All that was missing was the "Benny Hill" music, it was that wacky. But I was just amazed at a few things. Most notably, it's K-State fan making fun of Nebraska for being "country bumpkin." I turned to my friend just to verify that we were in MANHATTAN FREAKING KANSAS, in a football stadium in the middle of Nowhere, USA, and K-State Fan was going "country bumpkin" on us. Seriously. We parked in the livestock husbandry fields outside of the stadium, for heaven's sake. Methinks thou dost protest too much, Purples.
... AND THE RESTORATION OF THE ORDER.
Sorry for recycling a Billy-C-ism, but it's true. After beating a solid Kansas team last week, and demolishing what's left of Bill Snyder's legacy, Nebraska now looks to have established itself as the clear #2 team in the Big XII North. That's not exactly where NU wants to end up, but with Chase Daniel and (probably) Jeremy Maclin leaving Columbia next year, Nebraska is in good shape to make a division run next year.
THE BIG PICTURE.
More than anything, what is fun to watch now is how this team has progressed through the season. I maintain that Bo Pelini's inexperience cost Nebraska the game against Virginia Tech, and his attempt to be cute and clever never gave NU a shot against Missouri. But he also put together a team that took Texas Tech to the wire, and who has now scored decisive victories against teams that are equal to or lesser than NU from a talent perspective. That's a very solid foundation to build on. Nebraska's season to this point hasn't been wildly successful, but has accomplished the one thing Pelini needed - to put a foundation of hope together.
THE NEXT GAME.
Colorado @ Nebraska. Wow. A Colorado team needing to win its' last game to become bowl-eligible and help their embattled coach. The irony is delicious. In Callahan's first year, CU players brought hammers to Lincoln to symbolically put the final nail in the coffin of Nebraska's bowl streak. While there are few on the team who will remember that, the fans will. Memorial Stadium will be ready and waiting for Ralphie and the boys to show up the day after Thanksgiving. And with Pelini's track record against teams of CU's level, it doesn't shape up to be a good day for the Golden Buffaloes.
GBR, baby.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
NU FOOTBALL - NU Re-View: Nebraska 45, Kansas 35
THE GOOD ...
- OK, NOW CAN HE BE THE STARTER? As has been said here since about game two of the season, Roy Helu, Jr., is Nebraska's best running back. He may not be the most talented overall, but in terms of what a running back needs to bring to this offense, Helu gives you the most. Marlon Lucky probably has better speed and skills in the open field, but it's Helu that gives NU an explosive threat in the backfield. And what a difference in the offense it makes to have that threat.
- SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH: The biggest single key to the defeat of Kansas was, I believe, the ability of the defensive front to bottle up KU's Jake Sharp and get a rush on Todd Reesing. Led by Ndomukong Suh, the front four did their jobs admirably, setting up an unexpectedly dominant performance against a well-coached Jayhawks squad. And the touchdown reception was pretty cool, too.
- TRICKERATION: A jump pass out of the Wild Husker formation. A fake field goal straight out of the LSU playbook. Apparently Bo Pelini knew this game was the one remaining game on the schedule he had to get, and pulled out all the stops to get it. One way to combat a lack of talent is with unpredictability, and NU showed that in spades on Saturday.
THE BAD ...
- STOP DIGGING: This Nebraska team apparently doesn't like to make things easy. After being bombed by the Sooners, Nebraska shot themselves in the collective foot repeatedly in the first half with turnovers and penalties. While the turnovers got better, the lack of focus showed up again at the end of the game when NU conceded an easy touchdown and then failed to recover the onside kick. Nebraska was good enough to overcome those problems on Saturday, but we've seen what happens against teams that are of a higher talent level.
- NOT-SO-SPECIAL TEAMS: Yes, the fake field goal was very cool. But punting was still shaky for NU, and the kickoff teams were anything less than special. Given Nebraska's lack of true playmakers on offense, execution in special teams is critical to maintain field position. That's been lacking in the past few weeks.
- THE STUDENT SECTION CONTROVERSY: OK, a little off-topic, but amazing how much publicity empty seats in the student section has attracted. Athletic Director Tom Osborne has hinted that some student seating may be lost next year if the students don't show up to fill it. Students are, of course, still upset about being moved up to the top rows of the stadium, a move that mystifies me in an era where home field advantage is so important. Dr. Tom, please, bring the students back to the field.
... AND THE VALIDATION.
In his first season, Pelini got his best win of his coaching tenure against Kansas. Keep in mind, this was functionally the same team that hung 76 points on NU in Lawrence last year. A ten point win over that team is very satisfying, especially when you consider that the score was not really indicitive of the game itself. Absent the mistakes in the first half, NU could have had a double-digit lead in the first half and won comfortably in the second. Nebraska showed itself to be superior to the Jayhawks in all phases of the game, and has now staked a claim as the clear second place team in the Big XII North.
THE BIG PICTURE
Two observations come to mind at this stage of the season. First, Pelini's 'Huskers have not lost a game in which they have taken the lead. Second, Pelini has done exceptionally well against teams that have equal or lesser talent than Nebraska. That may seem obvious, but after seeing some of the losses under Frank Solich and Bill Callahan, beating teams you should beat becomes more important. I was not a Pelini guy when he was hired, but I have now been sold. NU's dominant performance against a solid Kansas team after being humiliated on national television tells me a lot about Pelini's coaching ability. Now, let's see if he can recruit.
THE NEXT GAME
Nebraska (-7) at Kansas State. How bad must it have gotten in Manhattan for the Purples to axe head coach Ron Price halfway through the season? And Nebraska fans thought the end of the Callahan era was painful. KSU responded to Prince's firing with a less-than-convincing performance at Missouri, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. At this point, you have to think that KSU quarterback Josh Freeman is polishing up his NFL resume for this spring, and the rest of the team is ready for basketball season to start. This one has Big Red blowout written all over it, take the 'Huskers and give the points.
GBR, baby.
- OK, NOW CAN HE BE THE STARTER? As has been said here since about game two of the season, Roy Helu, Jr., is Nebraska's best running back. He may not be the most talented overall, but in terms of what a running back needs to bring to this offense, Helu gives you the most. Marlon Lucky probably has better speed and skills in the open field, but it's Helu that gives NU an explosive threat in the backfield. And what a difference in the offense it makes to have that threat.
- SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH: The biggest single key to the defeat of Kansas was, I believe, the ability of the defensive front to bottle up KU's Jake Sharp and get a rush on Todd Reesing. Led by Ndomukong Suh, the front four did their jobs admirably, setting up an unexpectedly dominant performance against a well-coached Jayhawks squad. And the touchdown reception was pretty cool, too.
- TRICKERATION: A jump pass out of the Wild Husker formation. A fake field goal straight out of the LSU playbook. Apparently Bo Pelini knew this game was the one remaining game on the schedule he had to get, and pulled out all the stops to get it. One way to combat a lack of talent is with unpredictability, and NU showed that in spades on Saturday.
THE BAD ...
- STOP DIGGING: This Nebraska team apparently doesn't like to make things easy. After being bombed by the Sooners, Nebraska shot themselves in the collective foot repeatedly in the first half with turnovers and penalties. While the turnovers got better, the lack of focus showed up again at the end of the game when NU conceded an easy touchdown and then failed to recover the onside kick. Nebraska was good enough to overcome those problems on Saturday, but we've seen what happens against teams that are of a higher talent level.
- NOT-SO-SPECIAL TEAMS: Yes, the fake field goal was very cool. But punting was still shaky for NU, and the kickoff teams were anything less than special. Given Nebraska's lack of true playmakers on offense, execution in special teams is critical to maintain field position. That's been lacking in the past few weeks.
- THE STUDENT SECTION CONTROVERSY: OK, a little off-topic, but amazing how much publicity empty seats in the student section has attracted. Athletic Director Tom Osborne has hinted that some student seating may be lost next year if the students don't show up to fill it. Students are, of course, still upset about being moved up to the top rows of the stadium, a move that mystifies me in an era where home field advantage is so important. Dr. Tom, please, bring the students back to the field.
... AND THE VALIDATION.
In his first season, Pelini got his best win of his coaching tenure against Kansas. Keep in mind, this was functionally the same team that hung 76 points on NU in Lawrence last year. A ten point win over that team is very satisfying, especially when you consider that the score was not really indicitive of the game itself. Absent the mistakes in the first half, NU could have had a double-digit lead in the first half and won comfortably in the second. Nebraska showed itself to be superior to the Jayhawks in all phases of the game, and has now staked a claim as the clear second place team in the Big XII North.
THE BIG PICTURE
Two observations come to mind at this stage of the season. First, Pelini's 'Huskers have not lost a game in which they have taken the lead. Second, Pelini has done exceptionally well against teams that have equal or lesser talent than Nebraska. That may seem obvious, but after seeing some of the losses under Frank Solich and Bill Callahan, beating teams you should beat becomes more important. I was not a Pelini guy when he was hired, but I have now been sold. NU's dominant performance against a solid Kansas team after being humiliated on national television tells me a lot about Pelini's coaching ability. Now, let's see if he can recruit.
THE NEXT GAME
Nebraska (-7) at Kansas State. How bad must it have gotten in Manhattan for the Purples to axe head coach Ron Price halfway through the season? And Nebraska fans thought the end of the Callahan era was painful. KSU responded to Prince's firing with a less-than-convincing performance at Missouri, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. At this point, you have to think that KSU quarterback Josh Freeman is polishing up his NFL resume for this spring, and the rest of the team is ready for basketball season to start. This one has Big Red blowout written all over it, take the 'Huskers and give the points.
GBR, baby.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
NU FOOTBALL - NU Re-View: Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28
THE GOOD ...
- THE LAST THREE QUARTERS: Once the nightmare of the first fifteen minutes in Norman ended, Nebraska basically traded punches with one of the top teams in the nation. Sure, it was garbage time by the third quarter, but if you're looking for positives, Nebraska's bounce back was one of them.
- THE RUNNING BACK OF THE FUTURE: Amazingly enough, he's also the running back of the present. As has been argued by a certain Re-Viewer since the New Mexico State game, Roy Helu is Nebraska's best weapon at running back. Given the amount of work he got in Norman, it may be that the coaching staff has started to come to that conclusion. Marlon Lucky has probably earned a starter's role, but Helu should have the majority of carries by the end of the game.
-
THE BAD ...
- THE FIRST QUARTER: Wha hoppen? My popcorn wasn't finished before NU was down 14-0. Nebraska lost its' composure after the quick fourteen points, and the Sooners pounced and buried Nebraska's chances to win, or even to make the game competitive. More evidence that NU has a rookie head coach and a team psyche still fragile from last year's adventure.
- OUTCOACHED: It was one play, but it really was a backbreaker. On Nebraska's first play from scrimmage, it was painfully obvious that OU's defense was waiting for quarterback Joe Ganz to throw a bubble screen. That pick six, which had to have been prepared for all week, is something that simply should not happen in the early stages of the game. On that play, Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got his lunch eaten by OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
- UNDISCIPLINED: It's a running theme, most easily seen in the continued penalties that give aid and comfort to the opponents. But the problems on the kickoff coverage are also a discipline issue, specifically the discipline of staying in your lane to prevent seams from opening. NU still has huge lapses in that category.
... AND THE TAKEAWAY.
When you spot a team like Oklahoma 35 points in Norman, things aren't going to go well. That disastrous first quarter almost makes the rest of the game meaningless, as there was no digging out of the hole NU had dug. Iowa State and Baylor were good wins, and Texas Tech was a solid performance, but the Sooners showed that Nebraska is still a long way from being ready for prime time. More disturbingly, this game showed that Nebraska is still only a couple of bad plays away from looking disturbingly like the 2007 'Huskers.
THE BIG PICTURE
It would be very easy to read too much into the result of this game. Let us not forget, Bo Pelini is a rookie, and was playing a whole lot of walkons on defense. While it is disturbing to see NU throw up such a clunker, the fact of the matter is that NU does not have the talent level or confidence level to be able to compete on an elite stage. For NU to play well against the big boys, they have to play a perfect game and hope for a mistake from their opponents (see Tech, Texas). Giving away points - particularly 35 of them - is too much to ask this group of 'Huskers to overcome.
THE NEXT GAME
Kansas (-2.5) at Nebraska. The Jayhawks come to Lincoln confident after a pasting of in-state rival Kansas State, a pasting bad enough to cost K-State coach Ron Prince his job. That pounding, however, might be a little misleading, as it looks more and more like the Purples have quit on their coach. KU's defense struggles, and they do not have the athletic talent of a team like Oklahoma, Texas Tech, or even Missouri. They win by out-executing their opponents, something that Nebraska has a spotty record of doing. NU has not been a great home team this year, but there's enough players from last year's squad who remember the 76 the Jayhawks hung on NU. When the talent level is even, Pelini's track record is good at having it team ready. Take the points and take Nebraska to get well and bowl eligible against the Fighting Manginos.
GBR, baby.
- THE LAST THREE QUARTERS: Once the nightmare of the first fifteen minutes in Norman ended, Nebraska basically traded punches with one of the top teams in the nation. Sure, it was garbage time by the third quarter, but if you're looking for positives, Nebraska's bounce back was one of them.
- THE RUNNING BACK OF THE FUTURE: Amazingly enough, he's also the running back of the present. As has been argued by a certain Re-Viewer since the New Mexico State game, Roy Helu is Nebraska's best weapon at running back. Given the amount of work he got in Norman, it may be that the coaching staff has started to come to that conclusion. Marlon Lucky has probably earned a starter's role, but Helu should have the majority of carries by the end of the game.
-
THE BAD ...
- THE FIRST QUARTER: Wha hoppen? My popcorn wasn't finished before NU was down 14-0. Nebraska lost its' composure after the quick fourteen points, and the Sooners pounced and buried Nebraska's chances to win, or even to make the game competitive. More evidence that NU has a rookie head coach and a team psyche still fragile from last year's adventure.
- OUTCOACHED: It was one play, but it really was a backbreaker. On Nebraska's first play from scrimmage, it was painfully obvious that OU's defense was waiting for quarterback Joe Ganz to throw a bubble screen. That pick six, which had to have been prepared for all week, is something that simply should not happen in the early stages of the game. On that play, Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got his lunch eaten by OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
- UNDISCIPLINED: It's a running theme, most easily seen in the continued penalties that give aid and comfort to the opponents. But the problems on the kickoff coverage are also a discipline issue, specifically the discipline of staying in your lane to prevent seams from opening. NU still has huge lapses in that category.
... AND THE TAKEAWAY.
When you spot a team like Oklahoma 35 points in Norman, things aren't going to go well. That disastrous first quarter almost makes the rest of the game meaningless, as there was no digging out of the hole NU had dug. Iowa State and Baylor were good wins, and Texas Tech was a solid performance, but the Sooners showed that Nebraska is still a long way from being ready for prime time. More disturbingly, this game showed that Nebraska is still only a couple of bad plays away from looking disturbingly like the 2007 'Huskers.
THE BIG PICTURE
It would be very easy to read too much into the result of this game. Let us not forget, Bo Pelini is a rookie, and was playing a whole lot of walkons on defense. While it is disturbing to see NU throw up such a clunker, the fact of the matter is that NU does not have the talent level or confidence level to be able to compete on an elite stage. For NU to play well against the big boys, they have to play a perfect game and hope for a mistake from their opponents (see Tech, Texas). Giving away points - particularly 35 of them - is too much to ask this group of 'Huskers to overcome.
THE NEXT GAME
Kansas (-2.5) at Nebraska. The Jayhawks come to Lincoln confident after a pasting of in-state rival Kansas State, a pasting bad enough to cost K-State coach Ron Prince his job. That pounding, however, might be a little misleading, as it looks more and more like the Purples have quit on their coach. KU's defense struggles, and they do not have the athletic talent of a team like Oklahoma, Texas Tech, or even Missouri. They win by out-executing their opponents, something that Nebraska has a spotty record of doing. NU has not been a great home team this year, but there's enough players from last year's squad who remember the 76 the Jayhawks hung on NU. When the talent level is even, Pelini's track record is good at having it team ready. Take the points and take Nebraska to get well and bowl eligible against the Fighting Manginos.
GBR, baby.
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