The Coastal Cornhusker

Sunday Review: Georgia

2014-01-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

So that was fun. Four days later, and my heart is still in my throat as I think about the ball glancing off of Georgia TE Arthur Lynch's hands. What a fantastic win for this beleaguered Husker team in enemy territory, a win and a powerful statement for the Bo Pelini regime.

There's a palpable glow about this football program that wasn't here last Sunday; it proves the old axiom of 'winning cures all'. When that win comes against a ranked SEC team on a national stage, well that's just gravy.

It wasn't a pretty game, it sure as heck wasn't pretty weather, but the scoreboard read 24-19 at the end of the 4th quarter, and the good feelings and momentum should warm Husker hearts through the long cold winter.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Quincy Enunwa WR. Enunwa's four catches for 129 yards and 2 TDs more than made up for his drop. The senior added another highlight to his reel with the 99 yard bomb, and will take his skills to an NFL team in May. Husker nation will miss the hard blocking receiver with a knack for finding the end zone.

Defensive MVP: Corey Cooper S. Cooper led the team with 10 tackles, including a touchdown saving one-on-one tackle of Todd Gurley on Georgia's second to last drive. Tackling Todd Gurley one-on-one is something that Cooper will tell his grandchildren about someday, as the Georgia RB seems poised to make a real name for himself in this sport. Cooper will be counted on to lead a young Nebraska secondary next season that will likely be the biggest question mark on this defense.

Special Teams MVP: Josh Mitchell CB. Mitchell made the best play of the first half, recognizing Georgia's muffed punt and pouncing on the loose ball, securing it on the wet, slippery turf. So often this season Nebraska has been burned on special teams, it was nice to get one back.

Freshman MVP: Tommy Armstrong QB. The freshman didn't light the world on fire, but aside from that late interception, he mostly made good decisions and didn't lose the game for his team. Next season he should have a stout defense and it will be important for him to complement them better than he did this season.

Assistant Coach MVP: Ross Els, linebackers coach. You're never going to be able to completely shut down a special player like Todd Gurley, even hobbled as he was, but to hold him to 86 yards on 21 carries shows that the linebackers mostly played assignment-sound football and most importantly, tackled well. The young bucks' next step is to stop getting lost in coverage. Good halftime adjustment shutting down TE Arthur Lynch, who tortured Michael Rose for 6 catches in the first half.

5 Who Stood out:
*Thad Randle DT. Another senior who ended his career with a bang. Randle finished with six tackles, and was consistently pushing the pocket all game long. I've been critical of Randle being on the field in place of more talented youngsters, but he proved me wrong in his swan song game.

*Ameer Abdullah RB. Abdullah didn't have any real breakaway plays, but he still ground out 122 yards and a TD, getting solid national publicity for a potential Heisman run next season. Which given the recent history for Nebraska's star offensive players, probably means he'll get injured.

*Cethan Carter TE. The freshman finally got an on-target pass on that play-action seam route and cashed in with a 23 yard catch. I can think of at least five times this season that that same play was wide open but the pass just wasn't within Carter's reach. Here's hoping for big things next season.

*Michael Rose MLB. The freshman capped his strong debut season with another 9 tackles and some good clean QB hits. Rose has work to do in learning to cover the crossing routes that burned him so many times yesterday, but he's going to be a good one.

*Randy Gregory DE. The sophomore made as beautiful a move as you'll ever see on that second quarter sack, and he's come a long way in run support. If he adds good weight and refines his skills, he's poised to have an amazing season next year.

Key Stat: +1. I don't want to try and remember the last time Nebraska finished a game on the right side of the turnover margin; it made a huge difference yesterday.

Play of the Game: The 99.9 yard bomb. It was all the more special because there was such potential for disaster. Rewards are made much sweeter with risk.

Play We Want Back: How much different would the game look if Tommy Armstrong's third down pass was a few feet closer to Quincy Enunwa's hands on Nebraska's last drive? Nebraska's offense might have finished the game on the field instead of sweating on the sidelines.

Blown Call: I didn't particularly like the unnecessary roughness call on Georgia DE Ray Drew in the first quarter. I think that a QB on a zone read should expect to be tackled if he's performing an adequate ball fake.

And no holding penalties all game? Come on...

Hit of the Game: The hit by LB David Santos on Georgia TE Arthur Lynch as he caught the ball on that crucial 4th down with 25 seconds left was just enough to ensure that Lynch would drop the ball and essentially end the game for the Big Red. I liked Bo's sideline celebration too, that smile looks good on him.

I want to see more...
*Option. It worked well once, not so well another time, and then it was gone. Nebraska's offense seemed to abandon the option in favor of speed sweep fakes, and I'm not convinced it was a good trade.
*Randy Gregory. The sophomore said he was coming back next year, and if he duplicates the success he had this season, it will more than likely be his last in Lincoln. I hope that it's on par with Ndamukong Suh's 2009 season.
*Kenny Bell. He only had one catch and a handful of targets. Enunwa really took over as the primary receiving target this year, and I'm interested to see how Bell reacts next season when he's the main man again.
*Good bounces. Footballs are a funny shape and that adds a large element of luck to the game. Nebraska finally got a bit of that on their side this game.
*Mud ball. There's something romantically old-school about a football game in the muck. I love to see it once or twice a year.

I want to see fewer...
*Drops. Jamal Turner had a rough season with injuries, and he compounded his woes by dropping a touchdown pass in the second quarter. This has been an off-and-on issue for the Big Red wide receive and it needs to go away.
*Penalties. Six penalties doesn't seem like a lot, but there were too many false start penalties for my liking. With a completely different offensive line next season, this could be an area of concern.
*Missed tackles. With the exception of that long pass to Chris Conley, all of Georgia's big plays started with a missed tackle. For this defense to take the next step and be dominant, that's going to have to change.
*Games with Ed Cunningham in the booth. Husker message boards spent most of Thursday and Friday griping about Cunningham's blatantly unfair color commentary (if you knew nothing of the Bulldogs or Cornhuskers before the game, you might have thought that Georgia was starting their third-string everything while Nebraska was completely healthy) and obsession with calling defensive timeouts near the end of the half. Give me Chris Spielman any day.

Armchair coach: I wouldn't have thrown the ball on 3rd and 4 with three and a half minutes left. Tommy Armstrong was 6 of 14 before that throw and hadn't completed a pass since the 99 yard bomb in the third quarter. In that situation I put the ball in the hands of my All-American running back and tell him to go win the game. Even if stopped short, that's 40 more seconds off the clock and less chance of heart attack for the fans.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I'm glad the Huskers won, now everyone can be happy until the Spring Game."

We'll see. I'm sure that Husker fans will be griping again soon, it's how we show our love.

Opponent Watch:
*If you weren't paying attention, Wyoming fired coach Dave Christensen after their 5-7 finish, and hired Craig Bohl away from North Dakota State where he just won his third consecutive FCS National championship. QB Brett Smith, the scourge of the Blackshirts in week one, elected to enter the draft instead of riding out a coaching change, and the Cowboys are enjoying a lovely Laramie winter, while their Mountain West Conference buddies have been on a tear this bowl season.

*South Dakota State beat Northern Arizona in the first round of the FCS playoffs, but then fell to Eastern Washington 41-17 in round two. The Jackrabbits finished a respectable 9-5.

*Minnesota turned in the Big Ten's most disappointing bowl performance, stinking their way to a 24-17 loss to 7-6 Syracuse. The Gophers only managed 127 rushing yards and only scored three points until the fourth quarter. So the Gopher's surprising season ends with a three game losing streak, and an 8-5 finish.

*I'm sure the Fiesta Bowl executives would like a mulligan. They picked Michigan over Nebraska to face Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings bowl, and the Wolverines rewarded them with a putrid performance in a 31-14 defeat. Missing QB Devin Gardner, who was out with a turf toe injury, the Wolverines could only muster 65 rushing yards and allowed the Wildcats a 35 to 25 minute time of possession advantage. Brady Hoke is officially on the clock.

*Brett Hundley and #17 UCLA went off on Virginia Tech, scoring four TDs in the fourth quarter to get the win. Hundley's 387 total yards and 4 TD's put him back on the national radar and into the 2014 Heisman and NFL Draft discussions. Jim Mora's Bruins could be unstoppable next season if Hundley stays.

*Iowa didn't win, but they traded body blows with #16 LSU deep into the fourth quarter until a late interception allowed the Tigers to steal the game. LSU very nearly gave the Hawkeyes a great chance at overtime with some classic Les Miles clock mismanagement, but in the end the Hawkeyes fell. That a middle of the pack Big Ten team could hang with an SEC blue-blood was part of a strong national statement by the non-SEC conference teams this bowl season: the SEC is not head-and-shoulders ahead of the rest of college football like they think they are.

*In one of the more exciting Rose Bowls in recent memory, #4 Michigan State overcame some serious errors and stuffed #5 Stanford on a late 4th and 1 to get the Big Ten's best win of the bowl season. Sparty has a legitimate claim to the #2 spot in the final polls, and I'm sure that Mark Dantonio will lay awake at night and wonder what could have been had he stuck with QB Connor Cook late in the game against Notre Dame last September.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*Of all the bowl games I watched this season, none was crazier than #24 Duke vs #21 Texas A&M. Duke's 38 points in the first half were three points more than the Blue Devil's basketball team had scored in the first half of their game versus Elon earlier that day. Then Johnny Manziel did what Johnny Football does: make dazzling plays. Helped by Duke's offensive self-destruction, the Aggies managed to erase a 21 point deficit, take a late lead, and hold on after Duke's last drive ended inside their 30 yard line with an interception. Crazy stuff.

*That game was an ominous sign of things to come for the SEC. #9 South Carolina and #16 LSU would sweat out physical games against Big 10 foes, #22 Georgia would lose to Nebraska, #8 Missouri was a Michael Sam strip-sack away from losing to #13 Oklahoma State, and #3 Alabama would be embarrassed by #11 Oklahoma and their freshman QB. The SEC is a respectable 7-2 in bowl games pending the BCS Championship game tomorrow, but this bowl season popped a huge hole in the idea that they are somehow on a different level than every other conference.

*No conference had a worse season than the MAC however. Pending Ball State's GoDaddy bowl against Arkansas State, the MAC is 0-4 with mostly embarrassing performances.

*Every year I take part in Yahoo's Bowl Pick'em contest, and never before has a conference screwed me like the Big 12 did this season. Texas Tech's upset win over #14 Arizona was a shock (that was my wife's favorite game of the bowl season because she discovered that TTU head coach Kliff Kingsbury is Ryan Gosling's doppelgänger), #6 Baylor's loss to #15 Central Florida was a disappointment, and honestly, who expected #11 Oklahoma to beat #3 Alabama? That's why I don't gamble.

*I hate Texas and I'm not a Mack Brown fan, but I'm also human, so seeing his face at the end of their 30-7 loss to #10 Oregon evoked something resembling pity. Tough way for the guy to go out.

*Texas' new coach Charlie Strong had an impressive final game at #18 Louisville, soundly defeating Miami behind Teddy Bridgewater's 447 yards passing. I thought Louisville would win that game, but I really expected the Canes to put up a better fight.

*If you didn't see the end of the Orange Bowl between #7 Ohio State and #12 Clemson, then you missed one of the sloppiest final 3 minutes of football you can imagine. Buckeye's QB Braxton Miller threw a potentially game ending interception, only to get the ball back a few plays later after Tiger's QB Tajh Boyd threw one of his own. Then on the very next play, with a short field and chance to drive for the win, Miller tried to thread the needle on a pass and had it picked off to effectively end the game. Ohio State has had a ton of team issues exposed in their last two games that were masked during their 24 game winning streak. Urban Meyer will earn his paycheck this offseason.

*I hesitate to write this, but #1 Florida State has a huge chance to duplicate the success of the '95 Nebraska Cornhusker team. Florida State has been so dominant this season (their closest game was a 14 point triumph over Boston College), that if they defeat #2 Auburn convincingly, then they will have a legitimate claim to being one of the greatest teams in the history of college football. Heck, Jameis Winton's legal issues create yet another parallel to the current greatest team in NCAA history. The Seminoles have a lot to play for tomorrow night, and they have more than enough talent to beat the upstart Tigers, but a football's funny shape lends itself to funny bounces, and Auburn has had a lot of good bounces this season.

Last Thought
So after the sixth season of Bo Pelini's tenure, we're right back where we left off in 2008: coming off a scrappy win in the Gator Bowl with a promising, talented team coming back next season. Bo burned every last bit of good grace with the fan base this season, but earned a little bit of it back on New Year's day. That will be important as Bo tries to build momentum for a Big Ten title run in 2014.

Everything sets up well for the '14 Huskers, the schedule is soft again, the talent should be primed for a big step forward, and there's palpable momentum that comes with beating an SEC program on what was essential their home turf. We're left asking the same question this offseason as in the past five: is next year the year the Huskers finally break through?

We'll see.

Sunday Review: Iowa

2013-12-01T13:09:00.002-08:00

The fourth quarter of that Iowa game seems like a long, long time ago. Lost in the sound and the fury of the postgame soap opera, is the fact that despite everything, Nebraska still had a chance to win into the fourth quarter, but another turnover doomed the Big Red to another offseason full of questions and dark mutterings in the recesses of the internet.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Bo Pelini's sideline antics and post-game comments overshadowed the generally poor performance by his team. The rumor and furor over the status of the head coach covered up one of the more disheartening losses of this decade. Nebraska's long list of injuries were on full ruinous display, and the inconsistent, but sharply talented defense again folded under the weight of the offensive mistakes.

And so 2013, a season that opened with a pyrrhic victory, comes to a close with a fourth bitter, self-inflicted defeat. Nebraska looks like it's headed to a pre-New Years bowl game with a 4th place Big 12 team. So where does that leave the program? Yet again, stuck in neutral with tons of promise for next year; probably Bo's last chance at turning his tenure around.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Brandon Scherff LT, Iowa. It's rare for an offensive lineman to be an MVP, but of Iowa's biggest plays of the day, they all seemed to go left and there was Scherff plowing over Avery Moss to set the edge, and then getting up-field to destroy whoever came into his path. Three TD's overall for Iowa over the left tackle, the other two came from passes, so you know he was doing his job there too.

Defensive MVP: Michael Rose LB. It's been a while since a Nebraska linebacker put forth such a valiant effort in a loss: 16 tackles, 5 for loss, and a pass break-up. If Nebraska, like Iowa, had two more linebackers playing on Rose's level, things might have ended differently yesterday. Rose needs to take the next step and start forcing turnovers.

Special Teams MVP: Connor Kornbrath P, Iowa. This game was all about field position, and Kornbrath's three punts downed inside the 20 helped force Nebraska's average starting position inside their 15 yard line in the first half. On a day when little else went right for the Cornhuskers, Kornbrath's punts always seemed to roll another 15 yards, just to rub a little salt in the wound.

Freshman MVP: Vincent Valentine DT. The redshirt freshman started the game on fire, getting a TFL on Iowa's first possession and a gorgeous sack in the second quarter. Valentine ended up with five tackles overall. Valentine is one of the chief reasons for optimism for this young Nebraska defense.

Assistant Coach MVP: Rick Kaczenski, Defensive line. The narrative for this game would be completely different if not for three turnovers, poor special teams, and some annoying penalties. Coach K's charges held up decently well against a veteran Iowa offensive line, and the difference in this group from game one until now is stark. If Coach K sticks around, I'm incredibly excited to see what Randy Gregory, Maliek Collins, Avery Moss, and Vincent Valentine will do in the coming years.

5 Who Stood out:
*Maliek Collins DT. It was Collins who was responsible for that 4th and 1 stop right after Nebraska's first turnover. The true freshman only had one more tackle, and drew that hands-to-the-face penalty after a late third down stop, but he clearly has a bright future and possesses the natural skills to be a game changer down the road.

*Ameer Abdullah RB. You never know how he gets all those yards, but lo and behold, going into the fourth quarter he was at 80 yards and should have had his 9th consecutive 100-yard game, had he not come up injured after that fumble, and had Nebraska not gone into desperation mode so quickly. Abdullah deserved a better record for all of his hard running this season, but perhaps that will come to fruition next year.

*Quincy Enunwa WR. Enunwa's freakish athleticism was on display one more time on that 15 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Enunwa's knack for the big play far outweighed his occasional stone hands this season. He will be missed.

*Ron Kellogg III QB. RKIII is far from the most talented quarterback on this team, but he shook off his poor start and kept fighting all game long, taking shots and getting up the entire game. I wish he could have had a more storybook ending to his career, but that wasn't in the cards. We'll see what happens in the bowl game, but I hope Ronnie gets a series or two.

*Drew Ott DE, Iowa. Ott, the true sophomore from Giltner, NE, helped lead the Hawkeyes defense in stuffing up the Husker's rushing attack. Ott only made four tackles, but he was all over the field all afternoon. Oh, and he should be wearing red. There's that.

Key Stat: 31.2 yards. That's the average length of the field Iowa traversed on each of their five touchdown drives yesterday. Way too short.

Play of the Game: Ameer Abdullah's five yard TD run. Nebraska came out on fire after half-time, getting chunks of yards running the ball and hitting short passes to bring the score to 14-10. Unfortunately that would be as good as it would get the rest of the afternoon.

Play We Want Back: That botched fake punt was ridiculous, and after Iowa scored on the ensuing play, Nebraska moved into full-on desperation mode on offense, despite only being down two scores with a quarter and a half to play. That was an incredibly ridiculous call, and not just because it didn't work. See more below.

Blown Call: I didn't like the pass interference call on Zaire Anderson. I didn't hate it as much as Pelini did, but I thought it was pretty ridiculous.

And of course, there's all that time that Rudock had to throw the ball most of the game. Certainly there was at least one play where there were Hawkeyes getting a bit grabby.

Hit of the Game: Abdullah got absolutely crushed on that third quarter fumble, and one can hardly blame him for fumbling. I'm not excusing his fumble, but I sure can understand it.

I want to see more...
*Discipline. Bo's getting one more year and in year seven of the Pelini era, I would love to see an even turnover margin (or just close to even), fewer game changing penalties, and just a better all around performance and mannerism about this team. That simply to happen next season.
*Takeaways. The biggest difference between Nebraska's defense and Iowa's defense yesterday was the three turnovers. In order to be truly dominant, these Blackshirts need to start forcing the issue.
*Shotgun counters. Remember when Roy Helu used to bust off big runs three or four times a game? Those deadly shotgun counters seem to have left with Shawn Watson, and that's really too bad. I think that Ameer Abdulah's skill-set is perfect for that play, and I'd like to see Tim Beck bring it back.
*Fullbacks. With our offensive line in shambles, why weren't there more power sets with fullbacks? Iowa's defense really isn't that good.
*Healthy players. I think at this point, with the sheer number of injuries the Huskers are dealing with, it has to be a strength and conditioning issue. The season ending injuries are one thing, but our players can't absorb mild hits without needing a 3 minute rest laying on the field or on the sideline. I'm thinking that that is one of the staff changes Bo will need to make in the offseason.

I want to see fewer...
*3rd and 1's. Iowa had far too many short third downs, especially early in the game. This is one of the natural issues that arise with younger, lighter players on the defensive line, especially playing a physical, run-first team like Iowa. Nebraska needed to be more creative with their run-blitzes to get better penetration.
*Turnovers. Different week, same story.
*Punt returns. Seriously, it's time to sell out trying to block every punt and let the ball roll where it may. It's just too embarrassing watching Jordan Westerkamp or anyone else muck around back there.
*Missed tackles. A big whiff by Andrew Green resulted in a 30 yard gain in the 2nd quarter, and he followed up by missing Mark Weisman on the very next play at the 5 as he went into the endzone. The defense showed nice flashes of good performance yesterday, but their small mistakes, with their backs against the wall, tipped the game
*Halftime interviews by Quint Kessenich. Bo stopped just short of calling Quint an idiot for that question about the two interceptions in the first half (and he would have been right to do so). This a week after similar questions were shot down by a stone-faced Mark Dantonio at the Michigan State-Northwestern game last week. Worst sideline reporter in football.

Armchair coach:
There was nothing right about that fake punt. Nothing at all. Bad time to call it, bad play, bad execution and horrible result. Just completely awful and inappropriate. And game-changing.
One play later, Iowa had a two score lead, and all of Nebraska's momentum vanished. After the game, Bo said that Sam Foltz was one block away from getting the first down. That assessment is optimistic.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
Jennifer went shopping and missed the game. I'm not convinced that she didn't make the better choice.

Opponent Watch:
*I don't necessarily agree with Brady Hoke's decision to go for two at the end of the game with #3 Ohio State, but after Michigan gave up a combined 379 yards rushing to RB Carlos Hyde and QB Braxton Miller, I understand that he didn't like his chances in overtime. You know Sparty feels a lot better about their matchup with the Buckeyes next week; Ohio State is far from invincible, especially on defense.

*Speaking of Sparty, the #11 Spartans ground out a win over Minnesota 14-3. Michigan State was content to bang it out on the ground and only a couple turnovers kept the win from being more comfortable. Sparty has every chance in the world of beating Ohio State next week; Michigan exposed some deeply ingrained defensive issues for the Buckeyes.

*Penn State registered the surprise upset of the day, taking out #15 Wisconsin. Freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg (who is going to be a force if he can get a few decent receivers) threw four TDs, none to all-star WR Allen Robinson, and the Nittany Lions' defense forced the Badgers into four turnovers to carry the team to a 31-24 victory.

*Northwestern preserved a shred of dignity by beating Illinois in a 37-34 shootout. The Wildcats racked up 560 yards of offense, allowing 492 to the Illini, and finish the year 5-7 after starting 4-0.

*Hapless little Purdue finishes winless in Big Ten play after a 56-36 drubbing at the hands of Indiana. The Boilermakers couldn't stop the Hoosier offense, allowing 692 total yards in defeat. The good news for Purdue is that they have some skilled young players, and it really can't get worse.

*Wyoming fell 35-7 at Utah State, finishing 5-6 and home for the holidays. The Cowboys offense, which went over 600 yards at Nebraska, managed a paltry 190 total yards against the Aggies.

*How crazy is College Football? Southern Miss blasted UAB 62-27, committing only one turnover while forcing FIVE! The Golden Eagles avoid losing their 24th straight and manage a bit of momentum going into next season.

*#22 UCLA got their second consecutive win over #23 USC, establishing a benchmark of dominance in the LA area, and probably ending Ed Orgeron's storybook run as USC's head man. As inconsistent as the Bruins have been this season, they've definitely got the pieces to be very, very good the next several years.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*It's not often that overhyped games live up to their billing, but #1 Alabama at #4 Auburn did just that. It's not going to be an easy week for Nick Saban, whose team needs a ton of help to get to the BCS Championship game after several questionable coaching decisions cost the Tide in a 34-28 defeat.
Hard to believe that exactly one year ago, Auburn fired their head coach after a 3-9 season.

*SEC defenses struggle with the triple option. Auburn repeatedly burned Alabama with their variation of the play. Georgia Southern scorched Florida with a more classic version of the play last week. And Georgia Tech nearly pulled off an upset over Georgia, losing in 2OT. For a league with such hyped defenses, it's funny that they struggle with such a simple scheme.

*Haven't talked much about #16 Fresno State this season because I knew that their utter lack of defense was eventually going to cost them. San Jose State was the team to nip the Bulldogs 62-52, costing the Mountain West millions of dollars in potential BCS money.

*#19 UCF nipped South Florida 23-20, securing at least a share of the AAC title, and keeping their BCS hopes alive. Anyone who doesn't think the Knights deserve a BCS shot need only ask South Carolina, who needed some 4th quarter magic to beat UCF earlier this season.

*Speaking of the #10 Gamecocks, they squeezed #6 Clemson 31-17 last night, potentially knocking the Tigers out of a BCS bowl. Spurrier's done some good work at USC, but he's stuck on that also-ran plateau.

*#14 Northern Illinois kept their BCS hopes alive though, beating Western Michigan handily behind QB Jordan Lynch's 341 yards rushing. No, that's not a typo. Lynch broke his own record for single-game rushing yards by a QB. The Huskies' game plan was obvious: get the game over as fast as possible. Understandable given the 17 degree temps and swirling wind.

*Florida kept it interesting for most of the first half, but #2 Florida State pulled away in the second to get a 37-7 victory. Jameis Winston probably won't win the Heisman because of the swirling sexual assault allegations, but he played well after the first quarter, throwing for 327 yards and three TDs.

*How about #24 Duke? The Blue Devils are 10-2 after edging North Carolina 27-25, and meet #2 Florida State in the ACC championship game next week. The Blue Devils have a chance to help create a fitting, chaotic finale to the BCS era if they can somehow get the win.

*Kansas State thrashed Kansas 31-10 yesterday. The Jayhawks finish 3-9 in their second year under Charlie Weis, which is clear improvement from the 2-10 mark in Turner Gill's second year. Good job, Kansas!

*I still hate #5 Missouri, but I have to grudgingly recognize their accomplishment in winning the SEC East this season. It would be interesting to go back to August and see what the Vegas odds for Auburn and Missouri being in the SEC title were. With a little help, the Tigers will be in the BCS Title Game with a doable win over Auburn.

Last Thought
So the crushing loss to Iowa is not going to be the end of the Bo Pelini era at Nebraska. Statements have been made by the Nebraska brass, Bo kind of apologized for his behavior, and the Huskers get about a month to heal, both physically and mentally.

The bowl game, wherever it is played and whomever it's played against, has a number of intriguing story lines. The starting offense could look up to 75% different than it did Friday morning if several key Huskers can recover from injuries. The starting defense, with a month to prepare for what is almost sure to be a sub-par team (especially with Wisconsin's loss) could be absolutely dominant. Taylor Martinez might get a chance to showcase a little more magic before his tenure at NU ends. Ameer Abdullah will get a chance to build up some buzz for what could be a special 2014. Yes, there's still plenty to play for.

Hopefully Husker Nation can do some healing over the month as well. Loud factions of the Husker faithful aren't happy with Pelini, and seem to be on the verge of jumping ship. The 2014 recruiting class is half-full, but has been stuck in neutral much of the season, and the recent weeks probably haven't done the Huskers any favors in that area. Regardless of how you felt about Pelini Saturday morning, he's not going anywhere anytime soon, so it's time to get back behind our team, and get the train rolling for another run in 2014.

Fan forecast: sun breaking through the clouds as the month progresses.

Sunday Review: Penn State

2013-11-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

Say this for these Cornhuskers, they don't always play well, and they don't always play hard, but they know how to scrape out a win on the road. Facing a bitterly cold wind and blowing snow, a charged up Penn State team, and the weight of their own mistakes, the Huskers eked out an overtime win in Beaver Stadium and kept the wolves off of coach Bo Pelini for at least another week.

Nebraska slogged through a sloppy offensive performance with third string offensive linemen, finding unlikely sparks from special teams, and timely stops on defense to get the win. There was really no reason that Nebraska shouldn't have won that game by a couple TDs, but turnovers and penalties took points off the board, and an aggressive Penn State defense kept the banged up offensive line guessing.

There wasn't a lot to like in the win yesterday, and sometimes it seemed as if the Huskers didn't want to play yesterday, but winning cures all, and the scoreboard shows 23-20 Nebraska.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Ameer Abdullah, RB. Don't let that ridiculous penalty stain what was one of the biggest plays of his career on that 60 yard TD. Another 147 yards rushing brings his season total to 1483, and with another decent game against Iowa, he could bring that total over 1600, the first Nebraska running back to do that since Ahman Green. Let that sink in.

Defensive MVP: David Santos, LB. Santos clearly didn't fit at middle linebacker earlier this season, but he's really come on strong at the outside linebacker position the last few weeks. Santos led the team with 9 tackles and that crucial sack of Hackenberg late in the 4th quarter inside Nebraska's 40 yard line.

Special Teams MVP: Kenny Bell, KR. Bell gets the nod over K Pat Smith for his 99 yard kick return TD right after Penn State went up following Ron Kellogg's fumble. Bell has been close on a couple other returns this season, and his speed, and hurdling ability, finally got him the big return that's been eluding the Huskers this season.

Freshman MVP: Vincent Valentine, DT. The massive freshman started in place of Thad Randle and made some really nice plays, gumming up blockers and making 3 tackles, including one for loss. The word from the coaches seems to imply that there has been some motivation issues with Valentine, but it's clear that this kid can be as good as he wants to be.

Assistant Coach MVP: Rick Kaczenski, defensive line. Working with the youngest group on the team invariably means a lot of inconsistency, but Coach K's boys are clearly improving every game. Penn State doesn't have the most talented offensive line in college football, but they run that zone blocking scheme as well as anyone and the Nebraska defensive line held up pretty well, and seemed to get better as the game went on. His work with Randy Gregory and Avery Moss is very encouraging, and seeing Maliek Collins subbing in for Aaron Curry and Valentine without missing a beat is further evidence that there is a very high ceiling for this group.

5 Who Stood out:
*Leroy Alexander, S. Like I said a few weeks ago, Alexander just plays meaner than anyone else on this defense. He's still got plenty of room to grow, but I feel pretty good about he and Corey Cooper leading a young secondary next season.

*Randy Gregory, DE. Gregory didn't have as splashy a game as he's had at times this season, but he still made his presence felt in run support getting eight tackles, and had a key QB hurry on Penn State's last offensive play, when it looked like Hackenberg might take off and get a first down.

*Ciante Evans, NB. Evans played with a hurt hand/wrist, and still made one of the nicest interceptions you'll ever see. Like Gregory, he didn't have the splashiest game of his career stats-wise, but this defense needs their leader.

*Christian Hackenberg, QB Penn State. I was really impressed with the big freshman. He has one good receiver and spotty pass protection, but he's calm, collected, and has a rocket of an arm. I'm glad that Nebraska won't likely see him again.

*Jordan Westerkamp WR. Sure he dropped a TD, but I give a lot of credit to the DB on that play. Westy made several key first down grabs in the first half last night, and one big one in the third quarter to help set up Nebraska's first field goal. I honestly don't know why he doesn't get more targets.

Key Stat: 2-2. With a swirling wind and a fierce crowd, K Pat Smith hit two (actually three counting the OT field goal that was negated by a phantom false start) field goals to tie, and then win the game for the Big Red.

Play of the Game: Pat Smith's 42 yard field goal in overtime. Not an easy kick to make with the wind and the crowd and the banged up protection team, but it was straight down the middle. The kid came to Nebraska for his senior season and he's making the most of it.

Play We Want Back: Ameer Abdullah's fumble at the Penn State one yard line in the first half was a killer. Not only did it likely take seven points off the board, but it killed all of Nebraska's offensive momentum until the third quarter. Who knows what the game would have looked like without that turnover...

Blown Call: I hated everything about that unnecessary roughness call on WR Sam Burtch. That's one of those penalties that could kinda be a penalty if you're really looking for some reason to call something. Terrible penalty.

Hit of the Game: Unfortunately, it came after a 15 yard run, but S Leroy Alexander's hit on Zwinak in the 4th quarter was the first and only time all night that Zwinak went backward. I really like what I've seen from Alexander this season.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. Penn State muffed their first punt return and the ball rolled on the turf for a good four seconds before a Penn State player jumped on it. That lack of awareness took at least three points off the board in the first quarter. Penn State fumbled twice more but recovered one and had another go out of bounds despite the best efforts of Leroy Alexander. Penn State came into this game as the only Big Ten team in the same universe as Nebraska when it came to giveaways, so only forcing one turnover just isn't good enough.
*QB Pressure. Facing a true freshman QB, the Blackshirts suddenly forgot that blitzing and hitting quarterbacks makes them throw badly. Too often Hackenberg had a ton of time to run around and make laser throws, including a shoulda-been TD that missed Allen Robinson by a few feet.
*Special Teams. Kenny Bell made yet another highlight reel play with his 99 yard kick return and then the kickoff coverage forced PSU KR Eugene Lewis to fumble, putting the Lions inside their 20. Sam Foltz was solid, having a punt downed at 1 yard line and booming kicks for a 46 yard average.
*Double coverage on great receivers. Some players are good enough to scheme around. WR Allen Robinson is one of those players. Anytime he does anything, it pays to have two guys on him. On that 43 yard catch in the third quarter, Stanley Jean-Baptiste had decent coverage, but he really could have used safety help.
*Deep passes. Last week Beck called too many, this week, with RKIII in the game, he didn't call any until the third quarter drop by Westerkamp. There was the gutsy call on third down in the shadow of our own end zone, and then that was about it for passes further than 15 yards. With the talent advantage, I really expected more from the vertical game.
*Big Ten Network commercials. It's kinda cool to see what each school is doing with research and stuff instead of the same three car commercials all game long.

I want to see fewer...
*Turnovers. You can't fault Abdullah for trying to stretch and make a play, but had he just gone down, Nebraska would have had 1st and goal inside the Penn State 1 yard line. Ron Kellogg III needed better pocket presence on that sack-strip; he couldn't feel the rush coming and it gave Penn State an easy seven points.
*Dropped passes. RKII wasn't always on the money with his throws, but I counted at least 6 dropped passes by Husker receivers yesterday, with 3 by Kenny Bell alone.
*Missed Tackles. Corey Cooper has been one of the best tacklers on the team, but his whiff along the sideline on PSU's 4th quarter TD was inexcusable. That was only the most glaring missed tackle yesterday, as Zach Zwinak ran roughshod over Nebraska's linebackers all afternoon. Bad angles, and sneaky TEs are also a continued problem for this team.
*Slow starts. Nebraska came out flat and lackadaisical on both sides of the ball yesterday, letting Penn State score first and, never really taking control of the game. Perhaps we can chalk it up to the big stage and the emotional loss last week, but we need to see more fire on Friday against Iowa.
*White RBs. You know that Iowa RB Mark Weisman will be licking his chops watching tape of Zach Zwinak repeatedly gashing the Nebraska defense for 4 yards per carry yesterday. Factoring in SDSU RB Zach Zenner's 202 yards back in September (weird ZZ coincidence, wonder if that's happened before...), the two white RBs that Nebraska has faced have run for 251 yards on the Blackshirts. Look out next Friday, Weisman has a much better O-line blocking for him than either of the other two.
*Suicidal Teams. Nebraska's special teams repeatedly shot the team in the foot in the first half, allowing a big punt return and negating our own kick return with a hold on consecutive drives in the first quarter. Even the blocked punt was more of a mistake by Penn State than a forced error by the Huskers. Field position matters, and never being able to return a punt is leaving yards on the field. Nebraska's punt return team is literally the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Armchair coach: I didn't like anything about Tim Beck's gameplan yesterday. It was clear that Beck wanted to spread out the Penn State defense with his WR's, but with the talent advantage over the Nittany Lions, I couldn't believe that Beck never lined up and ran any of the power toss plays that were so effective against Penn State last year. The slant pass to Quincy Enunwa was awesome, but Beck never came back to it. Westerkamp made five catches that all moved the chains, but he disappeared after a third quarter catch. Nebraska just can't decide what they want to do on offense and that indecision leads to ugly games like we saw yesterday.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"How 'bout them Fresno State Bulldogs? I bet they could beat Nebraska"

Jennifer grew up in Fresno and doesn't understand that they're just a decent team in a putrid conference. Not saying that they couldn't beat Nebraska, but it wouldn't be a blowout.

Opponent Watch:
*Northwestern clearly took a page from Nebraska's gameplan and attacked #13 Michigan State's vaunted defense in the seams having a lot of success moving the ball in the first half until they got the to redzone. The Wildcats couldn't find the endzone and the field goals just weren't enough to get the victory over Sparty. Michigan State, with their suddenly potent offense, wraps up the Legends Division, and Northwestern is home for the Holidays after losing their last six games. Also, see if you can find an ESPN clip of Mark Dantonio's halftime interview. That guy makes Bo look absolutely chatty.

*Iowa allowed Michigan only 158 total yards of offense yesterday, but still nearly managed to lose after surrendering four turnovers. The Hawkeyes scraped out a 24-21 win, setting up a big Black Friday contest in Lincoln next week. Trust me, the Hawkeyes really want this game.

*Illinois finally picked up the first Big Ten win of the Tim Beckman Era, edging Purdue 20-16 after two fourth quarter field goals. Purdue's last chance at a Big Ten victory comes at Indiana next week, while the Illini get a chance at offseason momentum with a wounded Northwestern team coming to town.

*Minnesota managed only 185 total yards in a soul-crushing 20-7 loss to Wisconsin. The Gophers held up decently well against the Badgers' rushing attack, but their defense couldn't weather the storm of their offense's ineptitude. The Badgers are now in position, with a win over Penn State next week, to sneak into a BCS game with a little help.

*Two pick-sixes helped Middle Tennessee State roll to a 42-21 victory over Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles need a victory over UAB next week to avoid an 0-24 mark over the last two seasons.

*Wyoming kept their bowl hopes alive with a 59-56 OT victory over Hawaii. The Cowboys need a victory over Utah State next week to get bowl eligibility.

*Zach Zenner rushed for 186 yards and two TDs and grabbed another short TD pass and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits blasted Youngstown State 42-13 to move to 8-4. The #17 Jackrabbits are in the running for an FCS playoff berth.

*#14 UCLA made a lot of mistakes and didn't play particularly well, but they were still in it until the end of their 38-33 loss to Arizona State. The young Bruins lost their chance at a PAC-12 title, but they should be absolutely scary the next few years if Jim Mora sticks around.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*I like watching #18 UCF play. Their quarterback Blake Bortles is right up there with the best QBs I've watched all season, and their defense is fast, aggressive and they hit well. Rutgers, who joins the Big Ten next season, was basically helpless in their 41-17 defeat on Thursday night.

*Another vastly underrated QB who's an absolute joy to watch is Jordan Lynch, the pilot for #16 Northern Illinois' undefeated team. You won't find a better runner at the QB position this year than Lynch who's just shy of 2500 yards passing and 1500 yards rushing already this season with 38 TDs. Too bad the Huskies are in the MAC stomping teams like Toledo, otherwise Lynch would be a shoo-in for the Heisman.

*#1 Alabama beat Chattanooga 49-0, #2 Florida State laid waste to Idaho 80-14, and #3 Ohio State blasted Indiana 42-14, officially wrapping up the most boring week 12 there's ever been for three undefeated teams ranked 1-2-3.

*#5 Oregon would have liked some of that boredom. The Duck's QB Marcus Mariota threw his first two interceptions of the season, and the Ducks were 1-3 on 4th downs, losing to Arizona by a shocking 42-16 margin. How many top 5 programs have ever rung up 500 yards of offense and still been beaten by 26 points?

*They're calling #22 LSU's 34-10 victory over #12 Texas A&M an upset, but let's be real: any team whose offense has a pulse has a 50/50 shot of beating the Aggies. LSU slowed down Johnny Manziel with great CB play, and blasted the Aggies' defense right up the middle all game long to get the win.

*Coastal Carolina coach Joe Moglia, the former football advisor to Bo Pelini, pulled his starters at halftime of his game against #11 South Carolina, and rested his players after learning that his team was going to get an automatic bid into the FCS playoffs. The Gamecocks would go on to win 70-10, but you can't deny the acumen of the former TD Ameritrade CEO.

*Liberty University, coached by Turner Gill, clinched a share of the Big South conference with a win over Coastal Carolina, and the Flames are in contention for an FCS playoff bid.

*And one more bit of FCS news: Georgia Southern, a school just down the road from me in Statesboro, got the biggest win of their season by going into Gainesville and running over Florida in a 26-20 win. The Eagles didn't complete a single pass, but their triple-option offense overcame two fumbles and rolled up 429 yards rushing to get the win. The only way Will Muschamp is coaching the Gators next year is if he somehow beats Florida State next week. I wouldn't hold my breath.

*Bob Stoops has always had a hard time beating his old boss Bill Snyder, but the #20 Sooners held off the pesky Wildcats, winning 41-31 behind their new starting QB Trevor Knight's two total TDs and RB Brennan Clay's 200 yards rushing.

*#4 Baylor twice fumbled the ball away inside #10 Oklahoma State's 5 yard-line en route to a 49-17 loss in Stillwater. So falls another undefeated team, and another Heisman candidate in QB Bryce Petty. Oklahoma State put itself in a good position to make the BCS title game with a little help. The loss to West Virginia was pretty ugly, but the Cowboys can make another statement with a big win over Oklahoma in two weeks.

Last Thought
Hard to get a good read on this Husker team, what with all of the injuries and youth, but I see a lot of promise for the next few years, especially on defense. Avery Moss and Randy Gregory are going to be stars, and there's plenty of talent to continue to build around.

The hardest thing in the world is to get 'up' for a game when all of your goals have been ruined, and the Huskers were clearly lacking motivation early in that game yesterday. I don't expect that to be a problem on senior day this week, but you really never know with this group.

Which is why there are so many questions and so much negativity surrounding this team. Nebraska is sitting at 8-3, with a decent shot at 10 wins, which is no small success for a team with the issues the Huskers have had. Obviously it hurts when you miss out on something you've worked really hard for, and it's even worse when you feel like you've ruined your own opportunities for success, but I'm not sure that that warrants wholesale change. Coming into this season, I would never have expected that so much would hinge on a game against Iowa, but here we are.

Fan forecast: tryptophan induced fog dissipates in time for a Black Friday rivalry game.

Sunday Review: Michigan State

2013-11-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

When two teams with strong defenses and weak offenses play each other, the games usually come down to turnovers, field position and special teams. Nebraska's failure in those three areas yesterday cannot be understated.

Five turnovers.

Average starting field position: Nebraska: own 21, Michigan State: own 42.

Special teams that should be re-named 'suicidal teams'.

With the Spartans holding the ball for more than 38 minutes, it comes as no surprise that the Blackshirts, with their backs to the wall all night, got worn down in the 4th quarter and let the game slip away.

The real surprise is that Nebraska was even in this game in the 4th quarter. The Huskers gained more yards than any other team has this season against the Spartans, and despite the five turnovers, still managed to find a way to make big plays and keep coming back until a 4th quarter stop and subsequent TD by the Spartan offense after a successful fake field goal put the game away.

So despite the ugliness of the loss, there were a few things to like about how the Huskers played yesterday. With two game remaining, the Huskers are out of contention for the Legends division, but there is a lot of pride to play for, and a lot of building to be done for next season.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Connor Cook, QB Michigan State. His stats weren't great, only 15/31 for 123 yards and that dagger of a TD in the fourth quarter, but the stats don't tell the story of Cook's gutsy throws under fire. Cook's development is the reason that Sparty is likely on their way to Indy.

Defensive MVP: Kurtis Drummond, CB Michigan State. Nebraska tried to pick on Sparty's weakest corner all night, and he rewarded Tim Beck with 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Drummond did give up the long TD pass to Kenny Bell, but one out of 15 passes thrown his way isn't bad.

Special Teams MVP: Mike Sadler Michigan State P. Even his bad punts bounced the right way last night. I don't even want to count how many times Nebraska started inside their ten yard line. Oh, and there was that little four yard run on a fake field goal in the 4th quarter. That turned out to be kinda big.

Freshman MVP: Sam Burtch WR. Coming into this season, nobody had heard of this kid. Last night, he led the Huskers in receiving, getting a TD against the vaunted Spartan defense. It's unfortunate that he's seeing the field so much because of injuries, but it's nice to see a small-town Nebraska walk-on have success.

Assistant Coach MVP: Ron Brown get the nod this week because he had two RBs rush for more yards than the 43 yard average the Spartans had been allowing to opposing TEAMS. Brown has cultivated Abdullah's vision nicely, and Imani Cross showed that he's more than just a power back on that 51 yard run in the third quarter. I'm excited to see what Brown can do with talented freshmen Terrell Newby and Adam Taylor in the coming years.

5 Who Stood out:
*Michael Rose MLB. The freshman played well, especially in the fourth quarter. It would appear that he's taken control of the defense and the MLB spot.

*Ameer Abdullah RB. I'm not happy he was on the field for that last drive, but he deserved that TD after becoming the first player in 12 games to rush for 100 yards against the 'Spartan Dawgs'. For Nebraska to stay in the game as long as they did was a testament to the effectiveness of the junior whose five and six yard runs through the crowd kept the Spartans loaded up in the box.

*Corey Cooper S. The junior is quietly becoming one of the most consistent playmakers on this team, showing well in coverage and filling well on most of his run fits.

*Ciante Evans NB. Evans is good in coverage, but he really shines when he comes in on those blitzes. The senior has made a living in opponents' backfields the last three games.

*The offensive line. I can't keep track of who's playing or starting anymore because of how banged up this group is, but aside from a few penalties, and Cole Pensick's forced fumble, the big uglies played well, gashing the Spartans for big runs and keeping Tommy Armstrong mostly clean in the passing game.

Key Stat: 24. Sparty scored 24 points off of five Nebraska turnovers, meaning that Nebraska essentially gave this game away.

Play of the Game: Sam Burtch's 32 yard catch and run for Nebraska's first TD signified that the Huskers would not be intimidated by the Spartan defense. To beat Michigan State's defense you have to run the ball effectively enough to force the Spartans to man up in coverage and load the box, and when they do that, one broken tackle in space can turn into six points, like it did on this play.

Play We Want Back: Pick any of the fumbles that led to short TDs by the Spartans. They were all disastrous.

Blown Call: I didn't have any complaints with the stripes yesterday until they missed that clipping call in the second half. Gotta give credit to the refs though, I don't recall ever watching a game where offensive pass interference was called twice.

Hit of the Game: Watching Randy Gregory sprint through the backfield and splatter a quarterback like he did on that second quarter sack is a real thing of beauty. Fortunately for the Huskers, he probably needs another year to gain some weight and refine his skills before he can make the jump to the NFL.

I want to see more...
*Takeways. When your offense is dropping gifts all over the field and your special teams is making it worse, you simply have to take the ball back every now and then on defense. As much improvement as the Blackshirts have shown in the last three games, they haven't snagged a single turnover in that time.
*Special teams. This area of play has been a bugaboo for the Huskers the entire Pelini area. Bo needs to find someone who can coach punt return.
*The diamond formation. This highly successful formation has been missing most of this season, but when Nebraska ran out of it yesterday, it always seemed to get good yards. Here's hoping that the Diamond becomes Tim Beck's new best friend.
*Pressure on punts. Since Nebraska can't get any blockers back to set up returns, why not try to block every punt and let the ball bounce where it may? At least then there wouldn't be any muffs...
*Third down conversions. Nebraska's offense was only on the field for 22 minutes because they were a dreadful 5 of 12 on third down. Our offense did not play complimentary football in any sense of the term yesterday.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. The first rule of a defensive slugfest is to not turn the ball over. Nebraska had three turnovers in the first quarter and set themselves back ten points in the first ten minutes. Ridiculous. Even worse, the turnovers kept coming. Tommy Armstrong's fumble at the end of the second quarter turned a one possession game into a 20-7 game going into the half. And when you thought it couldn't get worse, Cole Pensick runs into Tommy Armstrong in the third and gives Sparty the ball at Nebraska's three yard line. There's really no excuse for such sloppyness.
*Missed tackles. The Blackshirts did such a good job recently making tackles, that it's disappointing to see guys get run through again. The Spartan ball carriers did a good job making cuts and spins to get free, but tackling is about the will to get a guy down on the ground, and the Huskers were missing that a few times yesterday, no more so than on Jeremy Langford's TD right before the half, and Langford's TD run in the 4th quarter.
*Backs in the flats. Why are opposing backs always wide open coming out of the backfield? Are the linebackers missing them or is the scheme failing to account for them? It's tiresome to see it week after week.
*Not-so-special teams. A fumbled punt, penalties in punt coverage, poor kick returns, there was something for anyone to hate yesterday, just in the first half. In the second half, our guys were blocked into our returner, Sparty had a long punt return to flip field position, and a fake field goal caused at least a four point swing. Inexcusable.
*Long third down conversions. Michigan State converted a 3rd and 6 and then a 3rd and 19 on a second quarter possession and there were several 3rd and 6-plus' converted in the second half. For the game, Michigan State was 11-21 on third down.

Armchair coach:
I guess I'm just not one for moral victories. I thought it was stupid, with all of the injuries piling up for the Big Red, to have so many starters on the field for that last drive, down 21 points. It was nice to see the TD, but it didn't really matter, and if we had lost someone else to a serious injury, Bo would be feeling even more heat today.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I just can't believe they'd give it away like that."

Opponent Watch:
*Before they even knew what happened, Illinois was down 28-0 at home versus #3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes allowed some yards and points as the game went on, but Buckeye RB Carlos Hyde's 272 total yards and 5 total TDs carried them to the victory.

*Purdue rolled over in Happy Valley and let Penn State get their 6th win in a 45-21 rout. Purdue plays Illinois next week for the title of worst team in the Big Ten.

*#13 UCLA won a 41-31 shootout at home against Washington. Freshman linebacker Myles Jack rushed for four TDs and DE Cassius Marsh caught a TD in the win. The Bruins obviously believe that specialization is for the bugs.

*Southern Miss lost to Florida Atlantic (the same FAU team that had their coach fired a few weeks ago for smoking pot) 41-7 at home. The Golden Eagles didn't score until the 4th quarter and committed three more turnovers, including a pick six. Doesn't seem like they're even trying any more as they skid towards that dread 0-24 mark. Hard to believe they had one of the nation's longest winning-season streaks, 14 years, until 2012.

*South Dakota State got their 7th win over rival South Dakota. RB Zach Zenner had 137 yards on an amazing 31 carries in the win.

*Northwestern has the worst luck of any Big Ten team. The Wildcats lost another heartbreaker in overtime to Michigan after leading for most of a boring defensive showdown.

*Wyoming has lost four straight after their 48-7 beat-down loss to Boise State last night. The Cowboys need two wins to close the season to get to a bowl game.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*#17 UCF scored 10 points in the last 1:06 at Temple to keep their BCS dreams alive. The Golden Knights are 8-1 with a wins over Penn State and Louisville.

*Jameis Winston and #2 Florida State destroyed Syracuse yesterday keeping their stranglehold on the #2 spot.

*Duke pulled away from #23 Miami, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to get their second top 25 pelt of the season and move to 8-2 on the year.

*#22 Wisconsin blasted Indiana 51-3 in the rain. The surprise of that game isn't the piles of rushing yards the Badgers put on the Hoosiers, but the job that the Badger defense did it shutting down the high flying Hoosier air attack.

*When Mike Leach took over at Washington State, it was never a question of if he would turn around the worst team in the BCS, it was a matter of when. In just his second year, Leach has his Cougs sitting at a nice 5-5 with a win over Arizona yesterday. Two winnable games against Utah and Washington remain for Leach to grab the first bowl game for Wazzu since 2003.

*I'm sure by now that you've seen Auburn WR Ricardo Louis' magnificent 73 yard Hail Mary catch to beat Georgia. I wish I had turned my TV over to that game sooner, Georgia was down 37-17 with 12:39 left in the game, but actually had a lead in the closing seconds when Auburn QB Nick Marshall hit that 4th and 15 pass for 73 yards. Tough break for Georgia fans in the midst of a tough season.

*Seems like the week after I praise #4 Stanford, they go and lay an egg. This week they lost to USC and their interim coach Ed Orgeron in the Coliseum 20-17. USC now finds itself in an odd situation: Orgeron is having success, but USC probably wants to go in a different direction with their coaching search. It will be interesting to watch how they finish the season and what happens with their coaching situation.

*#5 Baylor racked up 665 yards and 63 points in their win over Texas Tech. The Bears still have two tough games against #12 Oklahoma State and Texas to boost their BCS resume.

*#1 Alabama was lackadaisical in their 20-7 win over Mississippi State. If it wasn't for their pre-season ranking, the Tide would have the weakest resume of any of the remaining undefeated teams and likely be behind Ohio State in the rankings.

*#10 South Carolina eked out a win over Florida late last night. The Gamecocks need Missouri to lose to Ole Miss or #15 Texas A&M and they'll be in the SEC title game.

Last Thought
So another season is going to pass without the Huskers hoisting a conference championship trophy. That makes 14 straight. Where does that leave the program?

There's a lot of promising young talent on this team, but many fans are weary of waiting for promising young talent to make up for the mistakes that keep cropping up year after year. Something different needs to happen in practice or meetings or in the structure of the coaching staff to get this team to the next level. After six years, it's frustrating to see so many turnovers and such lack of execution on special teams ruin good performances against good teams.

So where does that leave us? I'm not ready to say for sure. I want to see how the team reacts when they don't have anything other than pride to play for. Penn State and Iowa are both capable of beating us, but both games are definitely winnable.

If Nebraska can finish this season strong and get some momentum going into 2014 (something they haven't done the last two years), then I believe everything is going to be alright. If they lose another game, Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst is going to have to sit down with Bo and get something figured out. Over the next few weeks, Bo is going to put a stamp on this program. What that stamp looks like remains to be seen.

Fan forecast: cloudy.

Sunday Review: Michigan

2013-11-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Whew! For the second straight week Nebraska made me leap off the couch with my heart in my throat with late game heroics. It's getting pretty annoying.

The Blackshirts came out mean and aggressive last night and planted Michigan QB Devin Gardner so firmly into the turf at Michigan Stadium that his underwear had grass stains. Gardner was already shell-shocked from his nightmare at Michigan State last week, and Randy Gregory and company made sure that he would spend another week sucking his thumb under his security blanket.

Meanwhile, offensive players continued to drop like flies, but the Huskers showed that as long as someone can get the ball to Ameer Abdullah, then everything is likely to be ok. With most of the starting offensive line out, two walk-ons playing too many snaps at wide receiver, and a freshman quarterback starting in one of the most hostile environments in the Big Ten, Abdullah put the team on his stout little shoulders and carried them across the finish line. And of course the final score had to come on a short-side option play inside the 10 yard line, this sort of slobberknocking game was the reason Nebraska joined the Big Ten.

There were plenty of warts in Nebraska's performance last night, but the rush of going into the Big House, playing a physical, bone-rattling game and coming out on top will make for one sweet week in Lincoln.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Ameer Abdullah RB. The yards were much harder to come by this week, but credit Tim Beck for sticking with his junior RB. Abdullah rewarded his coach by coming through in the clutch, twice fighting and scraping his way across the goal line in must-score situations. After 27 carries for 105 tough yards, you worry that he might be worn down a little next week when Michigan State comes to town, but Abdullah is the heart and soul of the team and I'm sure the Husker coaches will get him rested up this week.

Defensive MVP: Randy Gregory DE. Three more sacks for the sophomore DE. Gregory has morphed into the beastly pass rushing machine that his JUCO highlight film promised he could be. Gregory not only smashed Devin Gardner into the turf, but he made the correct reads all night, setting the edge and allowing the linebackers to make plays.

Special Teams MVP: Mauro Bondi PK. Nobody really stood out on special teams yesterday, so give it up for Bondi, whose booming kickoffs both into and with the wind kept Michigan on their own side of the field. Solid work.

Freshman MVP: Tommy Armstrong QB. The kid from Cibolo played a clean game, making a few clutch throws and some timely runs. He left a few plays on the field (like the QB draw that would have gone for 10 more yards had he cut to the left instead of the right), but without his patience in the option game, Nebraska goes home a loser in this one.

Assistant Coach MVP: Give it to the whole defensive staff. With the exception of two drives, the Blackshirts owned the Wolverines last night, playing faster and more physical than any Blackshirt team since 2009. Let's hope they can keep the mojo of the last seven quarters going for the rest of the season.

5 Who Stood out:
*Zaire Anderson LB. Anderson had six tackles and two sacks, finally living up to the potential he flashed in limited action last season. The linebacker carousel is getting a little bit tiresome, but if Zaire can put together a few games like he played yesterday then you can write his name at SAM linebacker in Sharpie.

*Greg McMullen DE. Remember that 2nd and 20 in the second quarter when Gardner went on a bootleg and had McMullen one on one outside the pocket? Too many times in recent years that play goes for 20 yards and a devastating first down; yesterday McMullen played Gardner like a fiddle all the way to the sideline and waited for help to arrive, holding him to no gain.

*LeRoy Alexander S. Alexander played mean yesterday, sticking his nose in on run support and making some nice hits in the first half. Andrew Green had more time in the second half, but Alexander is coming along.

*Thad Randle DT. I'm among the crowd who has wondered why the coaches have stuck with Randle so long, but the senior played his best game, getting a sack and a TFL, leading his defensive line in their finest hour.

*Zach Sterup RT. When Jeremiah Sirles went down, I was incredibly worried, but Sterup validated the praise he got from coach John Garrison last week at the Big Red Breakfast. Sterup helped push the Husker offense to the finish line and didn't make any glaring mistakes in relief.

Key Stat: -0.6 That's Michigan's yard per carry as a team. I can't remember the last game in which an opposing ball carrier didn't have a rush longer than 7 yards (though one of Jeremy Gallon's 'catches' was basically a jet sweep handoff for 13 yards).

Play of the Game: Technically a pass, the five yard go-ahead option TD from Armstrong to Abdullah is another outstanding highlight in a season full of Sports Center moments.

Play We Want Back: If Nebraska hadn't scored that late TD, Jordan Westerkamp would have lost a good chunk of the fan karma he earned with that Hail Mary catch last week. Westerkamp had a 10 yard halo and still managed to muff a punt that basically gave Michigan the go-ahead field goal. Like Enunwa's fumble earlier in the game, the defense managed to rise up and make the best of a bad situation, but the freshman nearly blew a game a week after saving one.

Blown Call: I'm glad they didn't call it, but there was definitely a lot of movement on Nebraska's offensive line right before that 4th and 2. Call it karma for the missed holding calls all game long.

Hit of the Game: I don't know which of Nebraska's SEVEN sacks or FIFTEEN TFLs to choose from. Probably Randy Gregory's 3rd and 4 sack on Michigan's last drive, if I absolutely had to pick one.

I want to see more...
*3 and outs. Michigan's first two series produced -19 yards. A big stop on third (and then fourth) down saved Nebraska's 10-3 halftime lead. Nebraska had key three and outs after turnovers in the second half, and by the end of the game, the boo-birds were out in full effect to salute Michigan's offensive futility
*Games called by Chris Spielman. Spielman is far and away the most technical color commentator and his breakdowns of plays and schemes is refreshing in a broadcasting world with too many know-nothings in the booth.
*Quarterbacks hitting the turf. Nebraska brought pressure early and often yesterday and Gardner spent most of the game on the floor. Seven total sacks yesterday and 15(!) TFLs.
*4th down stops. Sacking Devin Gardner on 4th and 5 at the end of the 2nd quarter was a big statement for the Blackshirts. It was a key momentum swing after a poor punt put Michigan in prime field position.
*Takeaways. With as many times as Michigan put the ball on the ground yesterday, it's inexcusable that Nebraska couldn't get any turnovers yesterday. Extra scorn for Stanley Jean-Baptiste for dropping an interception on a third quarter 3rd down and Josh Mitchell for doing the same on the next drive. That's the final step this defense needs to take to be great.

I want to see less...
*FUMBLES. Credit Enunwa for trying to get extra yards, but getting stripped is not worth six feet. And of course there was Westerkamp's muffed punt. And of course both turnovers had to come at the worst possible moments, threatening Nebraska's precarious tie in the fourth quarter.
*Bobbled option pitches. Thank God for Abdullah's good hands as there were several of Armstrong's pitches that weren't exactly in the breadbasket. It's hard to be too harsh on Armstrong, as the option plays were the most successful yesterday, but he needs to keep those pitches under control.
*Ron Kellogg III. Yes he was the hero last week, but with Armstrong playing so well early yesterday, it seemed silly to insert a new quarterback for the fourth series. I just don't think that RKIII is a good enough passer to make up for his lack of running threat and that stymies this offense.
*Blown assignments. Michigan's TD drive to start the second half was full of missed assignments by the Nebraska secondary, culminating with a whiff on Devin Funchess coming out of a bunch formation on the TD pass. Just when you think the Blackshirts have turned a corner, they have a error-filled drive to remind us all how green they are.
*Injuries. If this offensive line sustains too many more injuries, we're going to have to start using Sam Cotton at guard and Imani Cross at tackle. It's getting ridiculous. Not to mention the dinged up wide receiving corps. Anyone else hold their breath when Abdullah lingered on the turf in the second quarter?
*Screen passes. Michigan clearly wanted to get their screen game going in the second half, and the Blackshirts were basically helpless. Thank God Al Borges didn't come back to these devastating plays in the 4th quarter.

Armchair coach:
Backed up on your own three yard line is not the time to call a bootleg. Armstrong ran into Sam Cotton in the backfield which ruined the play; thankfully he was able to break a tackle in the endzone and get back to the 1 yard line to prevent a total disaster. Nebraska still had to punt out of their own endzone two plays later and gave Michigan a short field at the end of the first half. That could have been disastrous.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I'm pretty much over Taylor Martinez. Tommy Armstrong is the best!"

Yep.

Opponent Watch:
*Minnesota moved to 8-2 with a 24-10 victory over Penn State at home. The Gophers, with some help, can win the Legends division with victories over #24 Wisconsin and #17 Michigan State; a tall order to be sure, but very possible.

*Iowa ran up 509 yards of offense at Purdue in a 38-14 win in West Lafayette. The hapless Boilermakers allowed 314 rushing yards to the Hawkeyes and, interestingly, scored on another long pass play with 51 seconds left in the blowout.

*Illinois kept it tight until Indiana scored 17 unanswered points to close out the game. The Illini have now lost 19 straight Big Ten games.

*Zach Zenner rushed for 137 yards and a TD and South Dakota State shut out Indiana State to move to 6-4 on the year.

*Wyoming jumped out to a 10-0 lead over #16 Fresno State, but then proceeded to allow 48 points in the last three quarters to earn their third consecutive loss. The Cowboys need to beat Boise, Hawaii, and Utah State to get bowl eligibility.

*Same old, same old for Southern Miss, four turnovers lead to another blowout loss to a not-so-great team; 5-4 Louisiana Tech this time. Southern Miss is looking at the very real possibility of losing 24 straight games.

*#19 UCLA found an answer to their rushing woes (no, they didn't play Nebraska again) in freshman LB Myles Jack. His 120 yards rushing along with QB Brett Hundley's three total TDs helped the Bruins hold off a tougher than expected Arizona team 31-26.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*I watched the first half of the #3 Oregon at #5 Stanford game. Other than Oregon repeatedly shooting itself in the foot, the thing that stuck out to me and probably the rest of the country was the ease with which Stanford pounded the Ducks on both sides of the ball. If not for that stumble at Utah, The Cardinal would be almost a lock for the BCS Championship game in a few months over any other undefeated team. They're still in a good spot if they get a little help.

*Take yourself back to 2003 and ask yourself if you would ever have imagined Baylor curb stomping Oklahoma the way they did the other night. The #6 Bears took a quarter to get going, but once they did the #10 Sooners were helpless as QB Bryce Petty and Shock Linwood (a third string RB) cruised up and down the field. With Marcus Mariota falling out of the race with a loss, Petty is now a viable Heisman contender should Jameis Winston struggle down the stretch.

*#20 Louisville is quietly putting together a resume for a BCS bowl bid. The Cardinals hope that 7-2 Houston keeps winning as that is the last remotely tough game on their schedule, but if they keep blowing out the teams they should blow out, they'll be in the mix come December.

*#8 Missouri blasted Kentucky 48-7 in Lexington. The Tigers need to beat Ole Miss and #15 Texas A&M to win the SEC East unless #12 South Carolina stumbles at home against Florida next week.

*How did #2 Florida State beat a Wake Forest 59-3 and only generate 296 total yards of offense? It helps to score on a pick six and a fumble return in consecutive drives, and a 97 yard kickoff return drove the total to 21 points that their offense didn't have to score. 'Noles QB Jameis Winston's Heisman hopes took a hit though, 163 total yards and 2 TDs isn't enough when Johnny Manziel and Bryce Petty are giving the scoreboards a workout.

*Speaking of Manziel, he threw 5 TDs and 3 INTs in #15 Texas A&M's 51-41 win over Mississippi State. That was probably Johnny Football's last game at College Station.

*#24 Wisconsin ground out a nice win over a tough BYU squad. The Badgers might have the best RBs in the country in James White and Melvin Gordon. Gordon led the Big Ten in rushing most of the season, but he's fallen off pace the last few weeks. No matter, James White has picked up the slack slashing the Cougars for almost 200 total yards and 3 total TDs. The Badgers are angling for a BCS at-large bid with games against Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State remaining.

*#9 Auburn should stop recruiting high school QBs. Behind JUCO transfer Nick Marshall, the Tigers are 9-1 and with a win against Georgia next week, they'll play Alabama for the SEC West on November 30.

*Virginia Tech is officially the most inconsistent team in the country. The Hokies had just lost consecutive games to Duke and Boston College before going to #12 Miami and stomping the Canes 42-24. Once again, the ACC Coastal division is a mess, with the top four teams all having two losses; this doesn't bode well for Florida State should they need a ratings bump next month.

*Pittsburgh held on to beat Notre Dame 28-21 at home. The Fighting Irish are feeling the backlash of all of those close wins last year.

*Florida got blown out at home by Vanderbilt 34-17. The Gators have injuries on top of injuries, but sitting at 4-5, they'll need a magical finish for Will Muschamp to keep his job. With remaining games against #12 South Carolina, Georgia Southern, and #2 Florida State, the Gators are a good bet to be home for the holidays.

*Kansas State, left for dead after their season opening loss to North Dakota State picked up a nice win over #25 Texas Tech. The Wildcats gave up 459 yards of offense, but forced the Red Raiders into three turnovers, including a pick six, to cruise to a 49-26 win.

Last Thought
I'm really happy today. It's been a long season, and there hasn't been too much to cheer about on defense, but they really flipped the script yesterday, showing us what speed and athleticism can do when it's all going in the right direction.

And the offense was ok too. It wasn't the 50 points-per-game that we expected coming into the year, but Tommy Armstrong proved he is a gamer and he came through in the clutch. I love watching Ameer Abdullah slash through a defensive line for 6 yards, and it's inspiring to see him emerge as the leader of this team.

Now we just have to do it again. Against the hottest team in the Legends division, and the best defense in the country. No big deal.

Fan forecast: euphoria giving way to apprehension.

Sunday Review: Northwestern

2013-11-03T11:31:00.002-08:00

It's a game of inches. That most cliche of football truisms proved itself true on innumerable plays yesterday. Bo was right when he said in his postgame presser that the difference between a great defense and a poor one (of which we saw both yesterday) was very slim, apparently all it takes is a switch at MLB.

I can think of three plays yesterday where if you added an inch here or there, Nebraska cruises to an easy victory: Stanley Jean-Baptiste's dropped pick six, Ameer Abdullah getting tackled by the turf on a wide open option play, and the 3rd and 6 on Northwestern's first drive where Kain Colter slipped through the hands of every Nebraska defensive linemen to scramble for nine yards, eventually leading to NW's first TD. And of course there's one play where an inch or two would have won the game for the Wildcats.

So while some may pessimistically gripe about Nebraska needing a lucky tip to beat a 4-4 Northwestern team (a Northwestern team that could easily be 7-1 with a little better luck), those grumps should remember that cliches are cliches for a reason, and they should just enjoy the win.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Jordan Westerkamp, WR. The kid made a few nice catches in the first half to move the chains. He did a nice job fielding punts (a skill Nebraska fans have learned not to take lightly). Nothing he does the rest of his career is likely to trump his first TD catch though. A lot of that was right place and right time, but credit the freshman for his sticky hands and nimble feet. I expect mustaches to make quite a comeback around Lincoln.

Defensive MVP: Avery Moss DE. Moss' ten yard sack was great. His pick six was better. In a game where someone needed to step up and make a play, Moss did exactly that. Moss' basketball skills were on full display as he plucked a pass out of the air and sprinted home.

Special Teams MVP: Sam Foltz P. Yes he had a shanked punt, and yes his other punts always seemed to bounce the wrong way, but it's hard to argue with his overall body of work: 35 yd average and 3 punts downed inside the 20. He was a big part of Nebraska winning the field position battle in the second half.

Freshman MVP: This one also goes to Westerkamp. If you make a once-in-a-lifetime play like that, you deserve two MVPs.

Assistant Coach MVP: Terry Joseph, DB coach. Joseph's charges accounted for six of Nebraska's ten tackles for loss. Josh Mitchell had a clutch pass breakup on a 4th quarter pass that would have been a first down inside Nebraska territory (beautifully covering two receivers on a play where Nebraska blitzed eight defenders). And Ciante Evans had one of the best games of his career, leading the team with eight tackles including a sack of Kain Colter in which he literally held on to a thread of his jersey and got the big quarterback down. Nebraska's secondary held Northwestern to 8 of 21 passing for 81 yards, and were a big part of shutting down the Wildcats' run game after the first quarter.

5 Who Stood out:
*Quincy Enunwa WR. His 23 yard catch between two DBs on that long third down in the first quarter was more like the Enunwa we've come to know the last three years. His adjustment to the lob pass he caught for a TD shouldn't be underestimated. Sure he dropped that last pass that would have set Pat Smith up for a long field goal try, but he was just setting the Wildcats up for the epic final play.

*Ameer Abdullah RB. Forget about the 132 yards rushing and another 1000 yard season, Ameer's greatest contribution yesterday came on the pass plays that last drive. Serving as the safety valve for Kellogg III, Abdullah caught three passes including a clutch 16 yard catch-and-stretch to convert on 4th and 15. And when you go back and watch that final play for the 501st time, notice what number 8 is doing in the backfield to give RKIII the time to make that final heave.

*Randy Gregory DE. Gregory will haunt the dreams of Trevor Siemian for several nights after crushing the NW quarterback as he released the ball on Moss' pick six. Gregory's not all the way there mentally as evidenced by his poor read on Treyvon Green's 4 yard TD on a zone read in the first quarter, but he's learning, as evidenced by his great read on the two yard TFL on Colter to force a field goal at the end of the game.

*Ciante Evans NB. Eight tackles, one sack and four tackles for loss. The senior played his heart out yesterday, making play after play and willing his defense to shut down the Wildcats.

*Josh Banderas MLB. The freshman's roller coaster year continued yesterday with an upswing as he replaced Michael Rose at MLB, making three tackles including a nice solo tackle on Colter to force a punt. Bando is an absolute beast physically and when he fully grasps the college game, he's bound to become the stud that he looks like.

Key Stat: 0 for 12. NW didn't convert a third down after the first quarter. That helped Nebraska in so many ways.

Play of the Game: Obviously the hail Mary TD pass. That was pretty much a textbook example of how a Hail Mary is supposed to work. I can't watch it enough times.

Play We Want Back: RKIII's interception in the first quarter. Poor throw from Kellogg, and a poor play call by Tim Beck. Two plays later, NW is up 21-7 and who knows what kind of impact that had on the game.

Blown Call: The holding call on Mike Moudy that negated a first down run by Abdullah inside the NW 30 yard line was pretty silly. Yes, Moudy had a handful of jersey, but it was hardly more egregious than the 30 holding calls they missed on both teams all game long.

And honestly, the holding call on NW's 2nd and 20 in the 4th quarter should have been offsetting penalties because Randy Gregory pretty clearly shoved his hands up in the NW tackle's nose while he was being held. Nebraska declined the penalty so no harm, no foul.

Hit of the Game: Randy Gregory made one of the best plays of his young career by tackling Kain Colter for a two yard loss on third down to force NW's last field goal. His ability to cling to Colter and get him to the ground turned out to be one of the game's most important plays.

I want to see more...
*Zone read/option plays. Sure, Armstrong isn't as likely to take it to the house, but his consistent 8 yards per carry are better than the boom or bust style of a healthy Taylor Martinez, much better than the "fall into the fetal position and fumble" style of a hurt Taylor Martinez. Having a quarterback healthy enough to be a legitimate rushing threat is an unmistakeable boost to this offense.
*Starting with a bang. Yesterday marked the 5th game in a row that Nebraska scored on their first possession. Obviously, that doesn't necessarily translate to continued success the rest of the game, but it says something positive for Tim Beck's game planning.
*Blitzing. We've had this discussion before. Nebraska started bringing more pressure on Northwestern's third drive and was rewarded with a three and out. The Huskers managed several more three and outs the rest of the game, didn't allow a third down conversion after halftime and finished with 10 TFLs or sacks.
*K.I.S.S. In the Army we use the acronym "Keep It Simple Stupid" to remind our leaders (usually lieutenants) that complexity doesn't necessarily equal success. Tim Beck's offense usually ground to a halt when he tried to do anything more than feed Ameer Abdullah or let Tommy Armstrong loose in the running game.
*Takeaways. Other than Avery Moss' beautiful pick six, Nebraska didn't get any takeaways yesterday. When your own offense throws four INTs, you need to do something to get the ball back.
*Stanley Jean-Baptitste. The senior was Nebraska's best playmaker until he got ejected from the Purdue game. Since that game, he hasn't really made any game changing plays. SJB dropped a sure pick six yesterday, and though he had some nice tackles, it was Josh Mitchell making plays in the passing game.
*Ndamukong Suh. Suh was in town during the biggest recruiting weekend of the year. Coincidence? Doubt it.

I want to see less...
*Missed tackles. Kain Colter is a good athlete, but he made the Nebraska defense look ridiculous on an early 3rd and 6. Defensive linemen grasped air, linebackers got run over and defensive backs slipped off ball carriers the entire first quarter. Terrible. Thank God the Blackshirts figured it out quickly.
*Interceptions. With the exception of the tipped ball on Tommy Armstrong's second INT, the interceptions thrown yesterday went straight to Wildcat defenders as if they were the intended receivers. Were the QBs forcing plays, or do they just have no idea how to read a zone?
*Defensive confusion. Nebraska was forced to call a timeout on Northwestern's first drive because they couldn't get lined up properly. Northwestern wasn't doing a whole lot with motion or formations either, so I really don't understand why, in week 10, the Blackshirts can't even get lined up. Things went much smoother when Banderas took over.
*Three and outs. After storming down the field on their first possession, the Husker offense stalled with three and out after Northwestern answered, forcing the tired defense back onto the field. The offense went three-and out several more times as the game devolved into a defensive slugfest.
*John Deere Gators. I don't ever remember seeing a game where the Gator came on the field twice in the whole game, let alone the first quarter. Lots of injuries yesterday, but with the exception of Will Richards, Bo didn't seem too worried about getting all those guys back.
*2:30 kickoffs. I know that they're probably the best kickoff time as far as recruiting goes, but dangit I like grilling on Saturdays and the 2:30 games always climax at dinnertime. Trying to watch a grill full of country style ribs AND an epic comeback by a 5th year walk-on quarterback is difficult. It worked out alright though:

Armchair coach: I don't like the way Tim Beck called passing plays in the second half. With beneficial field position most of the second half, and playing from a tie from the third quarter on, Beck did his young quarterback no favors by calling passes at strange times (why does he insist on calling pass plays on first dow??!!), and not giving him any of the option passes that worked well in the first half.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"You can grow a mustache if it looks like Jordan Westerkamp's."

Done.

Opponent Watch:
*Penn State pulled off another OT victory over Illinois as the Nittany Lions' freshman QB Christian Hackenberg threw a TD and then Ryan Keiser picked off a Nathan Scheelhaase pass in the end zone in the extra period. Penn State is not a great team, but they play hard and they play all the way to the final gun.

*Minnesota almost blew a 35-13 third quarter lead, but a 50 yard TD pass by Phillip Nelson with three minutes left lifted the Gophers to a 42-39 victory. The Gophers are now at 7-2 with games against Penn State, Wisconsin, and at Michigan State remaining. 9-3? A distinct possibility, but so is 7-5.

*#22 Michigan State allowed only 168 yards and two field goals in a 29-6 win over #21 Michigan. The Spartans straight dominated the Wolverines in East Lansing and they're the clear Legends division favorite.

*Iowa kept it tight until the 4th quarter at home against #24 Wisconsin, but the Hawkeyes couldn't contain James White, allowing two TDs in the final period en route to a 28-9 loss. The Badgers are one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten, and they essentially ended any outside chance Iowa had at winning the Legends.

*Hapless little Purdue got run over by #4 Ohio State 56-0 as the Buckeyes try to keep their BCS championship hopes alive by blowing out the teams they should blow out.

*Southern Miss "only" committed two turnovers but still got run over by Marshall 63-13. The Golden Eagles have now lost 20 straight games, which is silly considering they went 11-2 just two seasons ago.

*#20 UCLA got back on track after two straight losses to #5 Stanford and #2 Oregon by beating Colorado 45-23. Nothing shakes you out of a two game losing streak like a visit from the Buffaloes.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*Georgia busted out to a 17-0 lead and held off Florida for a 23-20 win. In my dreamy impossible fantasy world, Will Muschamp gets fired at Florida after going 6-6 and then Bo Pelini hires him to be his defensive coordinator. Only a few issues with that scenario...

*#9 Missouri stomped a better-than-you'd-expect Tennessee team 36-3. The Tigers have to beat Kentucky, Ole Miss and Texas A&M to win the SEC East with no help. Seems doable.

*#25 Notre Dame needed a late TD to escape Navy at home. The Fighting Irish might be one of the most hot-and-cold teams in the country and that's not going to help them down the stretch with games against Pitt, BYU and Stanford.

*#17 Northern Illinois and #16 Fresno State kept their BCS hopes alive with wins over UMass and Nevada respectively. If it came down to both teams being unbeaten, who would get in? I'd take the Huskies. Their best win over Iowa trumps the Bulldogs' best win over Rutgers.

*Most overrated 2-loss team? #12 Texas A&M in my book. Anyone with a decent defense and an offense with a pulse has a chance to beat the Aggies. UTEP, of course, isn't one of those teams, losing 57-7 last night, but I'd give Mississippi State, LSU and Missouri all at least .500 odds of beating the Aggies.

*#18 Oklahoma State further exposed #15 Texas Tech as pretenders. The Cowboys played like the Big 12 favorites they used to be, racking up 281 rushing yards and forcing the Red Raiders into two turnovers in a 52-34 beat down.

*#3 Florida State stomped all over #7 Miami 41-14. The Seminoles should move to #2 in the BCS this week, but an impressive win by Oregon over Stanford on Thursday will knock Florida State back down to #3. With #4 Ohio State seemingly a lock to go 13-0, and #6 Baylor still facing the meat of its schedule, there's all sorts of potential for chaos come December 9th. The BCS is not going to go quietly.

Last Thought

I don't think Spielberg could have scripted that any better. A third-string, 5th year walk-on senior quarterback comes into the game with a little more than a minute left and leads the team down the field with no timeouts and heaves a miracle Hail Mary touchdown to a Catholic freshman wide receiver and saves his team's season? Magic. I'll let the shine wear off a little bit before I go pronouncing any final judgements, but I think it's safe to say that yesterday's game will reside in my top 5 Husker memories for quite a while.

Also, can we get a trophy for the Northwestern game? The Wildcats have been, and will probably continue to be a thorn in the Husker's side, and while I don't anticipate any hatred coming up between the two teams (who could hate that lovable band of nerds and their classy head coach?), the series has all the other ingredients for a serious rivalry.

Anyways, enough about the Wildcats. Nebraska has a big game with a beat-up Michigan team next Saturday in the Big House. If the Huskers can scrape out a win, hold your horses folks, we got us a football season. The Huskers are likely to look pretty different next week depending on the latest twists in the ongoing quarterback drama and the expected return of Jake Long, Kenny Bell, and/or Jamal Turner.

Fan forecast: Catholic churches in Nebraska see a huge uptick in attendance.

Sunday Review: Minnesota

2013-10-27T11:27:00.001-07:00

OK. Stop. Breathe. Repeat. Survey surroundings. House intact. Internet still operating. The sun is shining. The world does not appear to have ended. Phew.

24 hours after Nebraska lost to Minnesota (that hurts to type) it appears that everything outside of the Husker universe is still just fine (or as fine as it was yesterday). That is important to note, because everything inside the Husker universe is in shambles. Or something. I don't really know. I'm about as lost as David Santos trying to cover a TE on a playaction pass.

The reality is that yesterday's loss hurt really bad. The 2013 Huskers are a weak football team. Period. They were exposed in all of their ignominy yesterday, physically, mentally, emotionally and just about any other way you can be weak, the Huskers showed it. The Golden Gophers applied smothering pressure on both sides of the ball and the Huskers caved. There's no nice way to put it: the whole psyche of Husker nation has done a complete 180 in 24 hours and instead of a Big 10 championship game in Indy, the Husker faithful (if there still are any) are now seriously concerned about making a bowl game.

We might want to pump the brakes on the doom and gloom though. There are still five games to play, and no amount of hand-wringing by the fans is going to make it any easier to beat Michigan State. This team is still talented enough to win every game on their schedule if somebody, anybody steps up and takes ownership of the team.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Phillip Nelson, QB Minnesota. Nelson came in for Mitch Leidner midway through the second quarter and led the Gophers down the field on his first drive and threw a 33 yard TD on 4th and 10 to give the Gophers a halftime lead. Minnesota had success with RB David Cobb, but Nelson's timely throws and gutsy running made the difference for Minnesota yesterday.

Defensive MVP: RaShede Hageman, DT Minnesota. Hageman did his best Ndamukong Suh impression, blowing up runs, running down screens, and making life miserable for Taylor Martinez and Mike Moudy. Hageman was credited with a sack and a TFL, but he had two other sacks negated by facemask penalties. No doubt Bo would trade any of his guys for Hageman.

Special Teams MVP: Pat Smith, K. Smith was the only Husker who did his job 100% of the time yesterday, hitting three field goals, including two from beyond 40 yards, and relieving the anxiety over his lack of attempts this season.

Freshman MVP: Donovahn Jones, RB Minnesota. The true freshman RB played an integral role in the sweep game yesterday. Even when he didn't take the ball around the end for ten yards at a time, he was consistently in motion, and the linbackers accounting for him watched David Cobb rumble up the middle for six or seven yards.

Assistant Coach MVP: Tracy Claeys, Minnesota DC. Claeys, acting as interim head coach, made several gutsy calls, and his aggressive game plan paid off as the Gophers stymied the Husker offense and blasted through the Blackshirts. Claeys is now 2-0 as acting head coach with wins over teams perceived to be at the top of the Legends division (Northwestern and Nebraska).

5 Who Stood out:
*Alonzo Moore WR. We've heard so much hype over the freshman and seeing him on the field on the first play, taking a little WR screen for 13 yards was exactly the sort of thing we've been waiting to see. He did an alright job returning kicks, but disappeared from the offense after the first quarter.

*Jordan Westerkamp WR. His 17 yard punt return in the first quarter was seemingly Nebraska's longest punt return since DeJuan Groce was back there. He got a little cocky though, taking a few shots the rest of the first half before he started calling for fair catches in the second half.

*Avery Moss DE. The freshman does a better job setting the edge and collapsing a pocket than Jason Ankrah. Why he's not starting over the senior is a mystery to me.

*Ameer Abdullah RB. 165 yards and 8.7 yards per carry. The fact that he only had 19 touches in a game like that is damning for Tim Beck.

*Sam Cotton TE. Nice job on the easy touchdown catch. The freshman TE is beginning to make the plays that will get him on the field more often, he shows well blocking, and ran his delayed route perfectly.

Key Stat: 95. Midway through the fourth quarter, ESPN flashed a graphic that showed that 95 of Minnesota RB David Cobb's 112 yards rushing came after contact. Nebraska defenders either missed tackles, or simply got run over all afternoon and couldn't get stops when it mattered.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's 42 yard pass to Kenny Bell was the one nice play that Nebraska wide receivers made yesterday. Bell adjusted to the under thrown ball, and secured the catch to set up Nebraska's first TD. Martinez tried to duplicate that success several more times yesterday, but his passes were continually under thrown and his receivers, with DBs draped all over them, couldn't find the handle.

Play We Want Back: With about four minutes left in the game, Nebraska was down four points and took over at their ten yard line. After a one yard run and an incomplete pass, the Huskers faced 3rd and 9 and Tim Beck called a QB draw. And it failed miserably. On a day of questionable play calls, this one stands out.

Blown Call: I cannot believe they waved off that personal foul penalty after Martinez's long run in the third quarter. I've seen so many light taps on the sideline draw a 15 yard penalty that it's maddening when a clear penalty gets waved off. Coupled with the missed targeting hit two plays later, it lends some credence to the conspiracy crowd. Didn't really affect the game, but it was just one more thing that went against the Big Red yesterday.

Hit of the Game: Quincy Enunwa, known for delivering crushing hits, took a shot to the ribs in the first quarter from a Minnesota safety and had to come off the field. Enunwa didn't really seem like himself for the rest of the game.

I want to see more...
*Spencer Long. The right side of Nebraska's offensive line is much softer without Long. Mike Moudy got run over several times by Rashede Hageman, and the line that allowed three sacks coming into this game allowed three in the first half (two were negated by penalties).
*Option. Martinez isn't as proficient as Tommy Armstrong, but if he can move the ball to the edge and flip it to Abdullah, this play is still one of the best in Beck's book. Too bad Beck is fixated on making WR screens work instead.
*Leadership. Nebraska is a very fragile team mentally, especially on defense. When the Blackshirts are down, nobody seems capable of making a play to take back momentum. There weren't any sacks, no turnovers, heck making a stop after only a yard would have been something.
*Flags for defensive holding. Granted the Nebraska WRs had their share of issues yesterday, but they certainly weren't helped by the constant grabbing employed by the Gopher DBs. I don't even know how to express my disgust with the overall performance of the referees yesterday.
*Takeaways. On a day when the defense is getting pounded into the ground, someone, anyone has to make a play. I don't recall anyone coming close to getting a takeaway yesterday.

I want to see less...
*Of that super annoying shadow covering half the field in the first half. Pet peeve.
*Missed tackles. And by missed tackles, I'm including all the plays where a ballcarrier ran over a Nebraska defender for 3 extra yards. Which was almost every play.
*Wide open tight ends. Memo to Ross Els: Tight ends are eligible receivers and need to be covered at all times.
*FUMBLES. Taylor Martinez got blindsided and sack-stripped, Abdullah got the ball punched out on after a 15 yard run, Martinez made an ill-advised pitch (albeit while having his facemask pulled) and the Huskers continued their ball security futility.
*Gut-busting drives. The Gophers shredded Nebraska's front seven on their first quarter TD drive, with 14 rushing plays in the 75 yard drive.
*Worn footballs. Seriously. Every game ESPN calls, they feel like they have to mention Nebraska's worn out footballs. Getting kind of annoying.
*Clock mismanagement. Nebraska's two-minute drill at the end of the first half was far from a thing of beauty. Once the Huskers got near field goal range, the play-calling became conservative and the clock management got sloppy. 15 seconds were wasted before the Husker's last timeout was called.
*Drops. Kenny Bell is the main culprit here, letting several passes, including a sure TD at the end of the first half, go through his hands. Enunwa dropped two first downs in the third quarter.
*Stupid camera angles inside the red zone. ESPN kept putting the camera behind the running backs inside the 10 yard line because you know, it's not like the goal line view is important or anything. So annoying.

Armchair coach:
With Abdullah averaging 7 yards per rush, Beck called 3 straight passing plays in the first quarter. When Nebraska fell behind by 11 in the third quarter, Beck forgot about the running game altogether until Martinez busted off a nice 35 yard zone read. On Nebraska's last drive that mattered (the one that started at their own 10), Abdullah was tackled after a one yard gain, and Nebraska immediately went to a pass (incomplete) and a QB draw on third and 9 for a two yard loss. And so it was, that Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 165 yards rushing yesterday, was a complete non-factor on the most important offensive drive of 2013. Ridiculous.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I think the defense is protesting Martinez's comeback."

Makes as much sense as anything else...

Opponent Watch:
*Iowa beat Northwestern 17-10 in an overtime slugfest. Northwestern was still missing it's best offensive weapon in Venric Mark, and fell to 0-4 in the Big Ten. Iowa on the other hand, is looking good after taking Ohio State to the brink and beating the former Legends division favorite. The Hawkeyes play tough defense and run the ball pretty well, so pump the brakes on any thoughts of another Black Friday beat down.

*Michigan State continued it's offensive renaissance at Illinois scoring six TDs (all by the offense!) in a 42-3 shellacking. The Spartans remain the best statistical defense in the nation, allowing 128 total yards to the Illini.

*#4 Ohio State seems to have got the memo about needing to win more impressively to improve their BCS standing, and they proceeded to crush Penn State in a 63-14 bloodbath. Penn State turned the ball over three times and allowed 686 yards to the Buckeyes. Penn State hasn't been beaten so badly since a 64-5 beatdown by the Duquesne Athletic Club in 1899. Fun fact.

*Zach Zenner had 106 yards and a TD as South Dakota State eked out a 37-34 overtime victory over Northern Illinois.

*Southern Miss was down 41-7 at home against North Texas and went on to lose 55-14. The Golden Eagles committed five more turnovers and managed a measly 39 yards rushing against the mighty Mean Green.

*Wyoming lost a 51-44 shootout to San Jose State and falls to 4-4. If the Cowboys don't make a bowl game, how bad does that Aug 30th game look?

*#12 UCLA kept it tight through three quarters, but a 21 point 4th quarter onslaught by #3 Oregon led to a 42-14 win for the Ducks. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota still has yet to throw an interception this season.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*Two more unbeatens fell last night as #5 Missouri and #10 Texas Tech fell apart in the 4th quarter of their respective games against #21 South Carolina and #15 Oklahoma. #7 Miami needed a one yard TD in the last minute to win at home versus Wake Forest and remain unbeaten. The winner of the Miami-Florida State game next week should be one of four unbeaten teams in the top four 3/4 of the way through the season. I can't wait for the visceral outpouring of BCS hate if they're still unbeaten the first of December. And watch out for #8 Baylor lurking just outside should one of the top 4 go down.

*And of course there are the BCS Busters. #17 Fresno State eked out an overtime win over San Diego State, while #18 Northern Illinois blasted Eastern Michigan 59-20. It's likely that only one of those two can get into a BCS bowl if they stay undefeated, so style points really matter.

*#1 Alabama continues to roll, this time through a helpless Tennessee team in Tuscaloosa, 45-10. Not much to say about the Tide, they play great defense, run the ball and score lots of points.

*Coaches always downplay the revenge angle, but you know that #2 Florida State had to enjoy leaping out to a 35 point lead in the first quarter of their grudge match with NC State. The Seminoles eased off the rest of the game, cruising to a 49-17 win in their final tune-up for the Miami game next week.

*#14 Virginia Tech lost a 13-10 snoozer to Duke at home. Both teams threw four interceptions and were flagged six times each, but Duke K Ross Martin hit 51 and 53 yard field goals while his counterpart hit only 1 of 3 field goals to doom the Hokies.

*Remember Boise State? The Broncos fell to 5-3 last night with a 37-20 loss to BYU. The hardest part of the schedule is behind the Broncos, so their 9th consecutive 10 win season and their 4th consecutive berth in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl is still a distinct possibility, despite their numerous injuries.

*TCU was on the wrong side of a 30-7 beat down at home versus Texas. The Frogs are now 3-5, so maybe Gary Patterson will be looking for a defensive coordinator job in December...

Last Thought
So what do we do about these infuriating Cornhuskers? At 5-2 the season is hardly over, but looking at the stretch of games remaining, it's easy to imagine a 7-5 finish. Or 5-7. Or 10-2.

We just don't know, and that's the most maddening part of this season. There's nothing that this team can hang it's hat on, no identity. Yesterday, Ameer Abdullah was clearly the best player on the field, but it just seemed like Tim Beck wanted to put the game in Martinez's hands, and he simply was not capable of making plays to win. Where does this team go?

Depends. Tim Beck needs a dose of humility. He might need to put a little more Alabama into his offense and take out a bit of the Texas A&M. Perhaps the future is now for Tommy Armstrong or Ron Kellogg. Abdullah and Imani Cross need at least 5 more touches per game each.

And John Papuchis needs to go. I'm not saying that a midseason firing is in order, but there is no reason he should still be around in January. Bo needs to take control of the defense now and figure something out; the defense is good enough to survive the rest of the season while leaning on the offense. Come January, we need some fresh blood. Will Muschamp might be available. So too might Gary Patterson. Perhaps someone from the Nick Saban tree. Bo made a huge mistake not wooing Mike Stoops to town when he had the chance, and now he needs new ideas and new methods because his current staff is clearly at a loss. I'll reserve judgement on the head man until the end of the season, but he's officially on notice now, and he needs to make some bold moves.

Fan forecast: stormy, cold and bitter.

Sunday Review: Purdue

2013-10-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been so worried after a 37 point win? Despite the dominant defensive performance, there are plenty of concerns heading into the bye week.

It all starts up front. All-American G Spencer Long went down with a knee injury in the first quarter and for the rest of the game, the Huskers struggled to move the ball with anything resembling consistency. After the game, Coach Pelini couldn't put our worst fears to rest, saying only that he would wait for the medical staff to make a full evaluation before commenting on the injury. The tone of his voice wasn't comforting. Then he mentioned the impending MRI, and the collective hearts of Husker nation sank under the depressing reality of another all-star senior getting his career cut short.

As if that weren't enough, freshman phenom Tommy Armstrong played so poorly that even the staunchest haters will be calling for Taylor Martinez to hurry back. If you think about it, Armstrong actually did us all a favor, picking the best possible week to struggle and pop a hole in the burgeoning quarterback controversy. With the bye next week and a perfectly placed road trip to Minnesota, T-Magic can rest another week and then have a nice warm-up game to get back in the groove for a rugged November.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Ameer Abdullah, RB. Another 126 yards, a TD and those astoundingly quick cutbacks. The yards were harder to come by, but when his team needed him Abdullah made plays.

Defensive MVP: Randy Gregory, DE. This one's a no-brainer. If it weren't for the late Purdue TD, Gregory could have single-handedly outscored the Boilermakers with his third quarter safety. Add another sack (and another that was negated by a penalty), and a fumble recovery and it adds up to the sort of game that we envisioned when he signed with NU out of junior college last winter.

Special Teams MVP: Sam Foltz, P. Nothing too special from the freshman punter, but he did what he was asked and consistently put Purdue deep in their own territory the entire game.

Freshman MVP: DeAngelo Yancey WR Purdue. Tip your hat to the kid, he played hard and was rewarded with a long TD to avoid the shutout. 5 catches for 146 yards and a TD. The Huskers are likely in for a few more years of getting burned by this kid.

Assistant Coach MVP: Rick Kaczenski, DL. Coach Kaz's boys (and I mean boys) continued to improve, taking a big step forward in West Lafayette. The front four got the best pressure I've seen since Jared Crick was in the trenches, racking up 4 sacks, all from first year players. Throw in LB Josh Banderas' sack, and you have promising development from the Husker youth.

5 Who Stood out:
*WR Quincy Enunwa. We'll excuse the drop that would have bailed Nebraska out of a 3rd and 19, and the one that went through his hands on Armstrong's last pick because Enunwa was Nebraska's most consistent WR and made electrifying plays all afternoon.

*RB Imani Cross. He's really good at closing out drives and getting those short TDs. Really good. Cross is also coming along as an every-down back too, making a few nice open field moves and geting yards in chunks.

*LB David Santos. The Sophomore led the Huskers with five tackles and earned unsolicited praise from Bo after the game. The early season benching lit a fire under Santos and he's come on strong the last two weeks.

*CB Mo Seisay. He took over for Nebraska's best defensive player after Stanley Jean-Baptiste was ejected, and played solidly in relief getting a pass break-up and locking receivers down in the seocnd half.

*QB Ron Kellogg III. The offense suffers from his lack of rushing ability, but there's a lot to be said for his accuracy, and arm strength. RKIII didn't win the backup job yesterday, but he certainly closed the gap.

Key Stat: 1.3 yards per rush for the Boilermakers. Two freshman QBs in this game, and both of them were mostly awful. The biggest difference between the two? Armstrong got a lot more help from his offensive line and running backs than Danny Etling did.

Play of the Game: Late in the second quarter Quincy Enunwa took a short pass and decided to do his best Barry Sanders impression, hurdling, spinning, and straight up powering through the entire Boilermakers' secondary for a 35 yard gain. I can pretty much guarantee that Bo would like to go back in time and redshirt Enunwa back in 2009. As it is, Enunwa is building a fantastic case to be Nebraska's first wide receiver drafted in the first two rounds since Irving Fryar.

Play We Want Back: I lost count of how many deep passes thrown by both QBs went just a liiiitle bit too far for their wide receivers to get under. It's a game of inches, and with a few more inches under a couple throws, Tommy Armstrong's stat line looks much better than 6 of 18 for 43 yards and 3 INTs.

Blown Call: I'm going to sound like a homer when I say that SJB's hit wasn't targeting, but dangit, He's a 6'3" corner screaming downfield to tackle a 5'9" running back in the flat. When you watch the play in slow motion of course it looks like SJB dropped his head, but when you think about the situation, it's the only thing that made sense for him to do: he had to get low and make a good tackle because there was nothing but green for the RB if he had missed. That's the maddening part of the new rule. Harvey Jackson made essentially the same play on Purdue's next drive, but because TE Justin Sinz is 7 inches taller, Jackson's helmet bounced harmlessly off of his shoulder.

I'm all for player safety, but rules that make it impossible to play defense aren't the way to do it.

Hit of the Game: When offensive line coach John Garrison said that Purdue's safeties were some of the hardest hitters in the Big Ten, I though it was lame coach speak. Ask Cethan Carter, Terrell Newby, or Ameer Abdullah if they think the same thing after taking some serious shots yesterday.

SJB deserves credit for his suplex sack on Etling in the first quarter. To pull that off without committing a penalty is smooth stuff.

I want to see more...
*Option. Last week it was Abdullah who burned Illinois off a pitch, this week, Armstrong, with those fantastic fakes, gets a TD from four yards out. The only other time the Big Red ran the play, freshman DT Evan Panfil blasted into the backfield and dropped Armstrong for a four yard loss. Two option runs aren't enough.
*Spencer Long. How good is Spencer Long? Let's just say that Nebraska might have gone North of 400 yards rushing had they had the same success rushing the ball as they did on their first drive, when Long was in the game.
*Three-and-outs. The Blackshirts started the game with three 3-and-outs and an interception in Purdue's first four drives. Though they only managed one more three-and-out the rest of the game (not counting the safety that happened on 2nd down), the 14-0 lead the offense built would be all the points the Huskers would need. Hopefully this game is a springboard for the rest of the season.
*Fourth down guts. It's sort of ridiculous that it took four downs to move three yards at the end of the first quarter, but I love the decision to go for it on 4th down. The offensive line (and Imani Cross) imposed their will on the Boiler's defense, and finished a 12 play drive with six points.
*Ron Burgundy Dodge commercials. It's been a bad year for commercials, but Will Ferrell is single-handedly rescuing the advertising industry with his hilarious Durango commercials.

I want to see less...
*FUMBLES!!!! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills watching this offense. Jordan Westerkamp and Imani Cross are the latest offenders. Westerkamp committed one of the most mind-numbing fumbles I've seen since Niles Paul's goal-line drop in '09; luckily he threw it out of bounds. Cross earns my ire for failing to secure the ball all the way to the ground on a third quarter run near the goal line. We didn't lose any this week, but that is small consolation with the schedule we have coming up.
*Missed opportunities. The Big Red Offense's average starting field position was their 41 yard line. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic, but I expect more than six TDs with only 59 yards to travel. Armstrong's three interceptions definitely hurt, but the offense went three-and-out too many times and were a weak 11-21 on third down overall.
*DeAngelo Yancey. The freshman from Atlanta made several nice plays all afternoon, not the least of which was the one-handed grab in double coverage while he was being interfered with. And there was that little play right at the end of the game too. That huge body and his speed is going to give us a few more headaches for the next two years at least.
*RB rotation. I never thought I'd say that Ron Brown was rotating his running backs too much, but lo and behold, after three years of criticism of riding one back for too many carries, causing two heralded backs to transfer, Brown went too far the other way. I swear, no back had more than three carries in a row yesterday, and on a day when Armstrong was struggling, I thought we should have seen at least 5-7 more carries from Abdullah.

Armchair coach:
Yes, Josh Mitchell (who played an awful 4th quarter, committing two stupid penalties) got absolutely roasted by freshman wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey, but why in God's name did we squib that last kickoff and set the Boilermakers up at midfield? Mauro Bondi has one of the best touchback percentages in the NCAA, and even if he didn't get the TB, our kickoff coverage has been excellent so far this year. You might think I'm being a little bit greedy considering we won by 37 points but dangit I really wanted that shutout.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
Jennifer took the kids to Roca Berry Farm yesterday, and missed the game. She'll be back with her takes when the Huskers travel to Minnesota.

Opponent Watch:
*Indiana kept it close in the first half, but Sparty's offense blew it open in the third quarter to cruise to a 42-28 win. Indiana's defense is so bad that it's hard to know for sure, but if that Spartan offense is for real, then they're unquestionably the favorite in the Legends division.

*#19 Northwestern really missed injured RB Venric Mark at Wisconsin. The Wildcats couldn't move the ball on offense, and were run over on defense in a 35-6 loss. Wisky coach Gary Andersen looks like the real deal.

*I didn't see much of #18 Michigan's loss at Penn State until the end of the first overtime when Michigan K Brendan Gibbons had his 40 yarder blocked. What followed was the most intense three periods of overtime that I can imagine, complete with missed kicks, converted 4th and short and a controversial pass interference. I was rooting for Penn State to pull off the upset, but I can't say that I am pleased with how the Legends division has performed so far. It's anyone's division at this point.

*Wyoming nearly managed to blow a 21 point lead to New Mexico, but QB Brett Smith racked up 140 yards on the ground, scoring the deciding two TDs in the 4th quarter. Wyoming is sitting at 4-2 and an eight or nine win season is within reach.

*Zach Zenner and South Dakota State got back on track, beating Western Illinois in a Missouri Valley Conference game. Zenner racked up 133 yards and 2 TDs. That's right, Western Illinois' defense did a better job of shutting down Zenner than the Blackshirts.

*#11 UCLA coasted to a 37-10 victory over Cal late last night. Brett Hundley racked up 410 yards of passing with three TDs and no interceptions. The Bruins travel to Stanford next week.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*Upset Saturday this week, let's start with the least surprising one. Missing 4 of their 5 best playmakers, #7 Georgia welcomed #25 Missouri into Athens, and the Tigers slapped the Dawgs around for four quarters. I told my buddy not to worry about the Tigers because of Gary Pinkel's penchant for not showing up in big games, but I'll eat my words and give the Tigers (one of my least favorite teams) their due. That's a scary defensive line they have and a good offense. #17 Florida limps into Colombia next week, and # 14 South Carolina the week after that. If the Tigers win those games, then their November 30 tilt against #9 Texas A&M will be the new biggest game in school history.

*And the one that shocked everyone: #5 Stanford dropping a nail-biter at Utah. The Cardinal's normally outstanding defense surrendered 414 yards and their offense lost two turnovers to give the Utes the upset. Remember how I said I thought Stanford would be the team opposite the SEC Champ in the national championship game? More words I have to eat.

*I can't explain it, but I had a feeling that Mack Brown might pull out a win in the Red River rivalry, because that's the sort of infuriating inconsistency that's defined the last 5 years of Texas football. Is the win enough to save his job? Probably, but it shouldn't be. Texas is still trending down, and there's really no excuse for it.

*They didn't get the win, but credit Kansas State for being the first team to hold #15 Baylor to less than 60 points. The Bears proved themselves capable of overcoming adversity after losing a comfortable lead in the third quarter, scoring two late TDs and getting defensive stops to ice the game.

*#3 Clemson almost got caught napping by a tough Boston College team, but the Tigers were able to get the win and set up the ACC's dream matchup with #6 Florida State next week.

*Another near upset that's going to get a lot less time on ESPN was #23 Northern Illinois' 27-20 squeaker versus Akron. The last time we saw the Zips, they were three yards away from beating Michigan. Yesterday, Terry Bowden's team was 55 yards away from tying the Huskies. Read into that what you will.

*I watched #17 Florida get beat at #10 LSU, and I have to wonder why the Gators' are so insistent on talking smack, especially on offense. The Gators are the very definition of offensive ineptitude, and their schedule doesn't get any easier with games at Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State still to go.

*#1 Alabama took a full quarter to get going at Kentucky, but when they did they couldn't be stopped, racking up 668 yards in a 48-7 win. The Tide allowed only 170 yards to the Wildcats, and have to more tune-ups against Arkansas and Tennessee before LSU comes to visit.

*#2 Oregon took #16 Washington's best shots, but still managed to pull away in the second half for a comfortable 45-24 win in Seattle. If the Ducks get by Stanford and UCLA, I'm not convinced that any SEC team can slow them down. QB Marcus Mariota is Johnny Manziel-like with an uncanny ability to fit footballs in tight places on the run. And he does alright running the football too.

*Ole Miss gave #9 Texas A&M a scare, but Johnny Football was just too much for the Rebels in the end and the Aggies iced the game with a field goal as time expired. Johnny Manziel reminds me a lot of Taylor Martinez when he runs (read: he carries the ball like a loaf of bread) but he has laser-like precision when he throws that Martinez couldn't begin to duplicate. I'm not saying that he won't be a great NFL quarteback, but if he gets picked up by the Jaguars and is forced to take a beating, I'm not sure his slender frame can handle it.

Last Thought
Pass me an icepack and a bottle of Motrin. Grab some for Spencer Long too.

Yesterday was the sort of physical, hard hitting football that everyone expected going into the Big Ten. The game didn't feature the sort of physical torture of an SEC tilt, but there was plenty of pads popping and paint trading going on to satisfy the soul of old-school fans. The Boilers are perhaps the worst team in the Big Ten, but they didn't lack for effort and nasty physical defense. I suspect that they will be a much stiffer test next season, but there's plenty of other things to worry about until then.

Like toes and knees. So many Husker dreams hinge on the health of their two captains, and if they're both back in time for a road trip to Minnesota, let's just say that the remaining schedule looks far less daunting today than it did Saturday morning.

Fan forecast: another bye week with much better games (Clemson-Florida State, Stanford-UCLA) and much better feelings than last time.

Sunday Review: Illinois

2013-10-06T11:54:00.001-07:00

Once again, the Huskers gave us what we all expected coming into this year: great offense and a shaky defense capable of making timely stops. If this is what we get for the remainder of the Big 10 slate, then things don't look nearly as apocalyptic as they did after the UCLA game.

Plenty of questions remain, and the program will have to batten down the hatches for a full-blown quarterback controversy over the coming weeks, but I think the Huskers took a big step forward in their Big 10 opener, nowhere more than on their much-maligned defense.

To sum up the game: Tommy Armstrong still looks like the second coming of Tommie Frazier, Ameer Abdullah looks even better, and the defense seems to be coming along.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Ameer Abdullah, RB. 225 yards and 2 TDs rushing and a clutch 15 yard reception tell you most of the story, but his reaction in the post-game finishes it. Abdullah went out of his way to mention his line, receivers, and even the fullbacks for their outstanding blocking, essentially saying that his career game was simply the result of his teammates' hard work. Great back, and great teammate.

Defensive MVP: Ciante Evans, CB/NB. Evans didn't do much in coverage, but he shined as a blitzer, ending one Illini series inside the Nebraska 10 yard line, getting another TFL, and forcing a fumble after a big run. On a young defense, it's about time the man with the most experience steps up.

Special Teams MVP: Nebraska's kickoff team. Facing the best returner in college football, these Huskers answered the bell and shut V'Angelo Bentley all afternoon. Nothing spectacular, but always solid.

Freshman MVP: Tommy Armstrong, QB. There aren't any of the outlandish stats or the big plays that defined Taylor Martinez's freshman campaign (though his field-reversing option play was pretty nice), but there is that indescribable calm that fills the stadium when Tommy is at the helm. We still have yet to see how he reacts to a big turnover in a tight game, or how he rallies the team when the Huskers are behind in the 4th quarter, but you get the sense that he might handle it better than most kids his age.

Assistant Coach MVP: John Garrison, OL coach. When your team racks up 335 rushing yards (219 of which came in the second half), you know that the offensive line is doing a lot of things right. It's also worth mentioning that the Huskers haven't had a single false start in two games.

5 Who Stood out:
*Jason Ankrah. Nebraska fans have rightly been hard on the senior so far this year, but he responded with one of the best games of his career yesterday. Ankrah had a sack and a TFL and led the defensive line in a much improved effort.

*Quincy Enunwa. Another TD and some timely grabs accompanied his always fantastic downfield blocking. There's nothing flashy about Enunwa, but he's one of the Husker's most consistent and valuable performers.

*Sam Cotton. There were more than a few grumbles when the youngest Cotton was the only Nebraska high school kid offered a scholarship in 2012, but Sam finally got the chance to show us why that was the case. His downfield blocking was reminiscent of his big brother, and seeing him drag defenders for five extra yards on his lone reception was incredibly gratifying.

*Michael Rose. Rose was flying around all afternoon yesterday. He wasn't always in the right spot, but he made a few nice stops and led the team with11 tackles. It seems the future is bright for the freshman.

*Avery Moss. The young DE doesn't show up as much on the stat sheet, but he crashes the pocket better than any other defensive end currently on the roster. If Nebraska's defense can survive this season, their future is bright in the front seven.

Key Stat: 11.2. That's Abdullah's yards-per-carry average on 20 carries. That's amazing.

Play of the Game:
I just couldn't decide between:

The option run for a TD by Abdullah, which was a thing of beauty. Good job by Tommy Armstrong stretching the play outside and making the accurate pitch to Abdullah while he was running at full speed. Abdullah did an outstanding job reading his blocks downfield and made an amazing cutback to take the ball into the endzone. Maybe not a perfect play, but darn close.

And of course Kenny Bell's leaping one-handed grab for a TD was pure magic. And it came at a good time with the Husker's offense seemingly stalling inside Illini territory. It was a perfect statement play for Bell who had a rough game against SDST and hadn't done much up to that point against the Illini.

Play We Want Back:
I don't like to question the Almighty Beck, but when you have 3rd and 11 at your own 3 yard line, that is not the time to make Imani Cross run laterally. Terrell Newby or Abdullah maybe, but not Cross. You gotta play to your player's strengths, and when you don't, you get bad plays like that safety.

Blown Call: Pretty good game by the stripes overall but I'm seriously starting to wonder if our defensive line needs to work on some sort of flopping technique (as if they need one MORE thing to work one) in order to start getting some holding calls. It's getting a little bit ridiculous, and it makes it that much harder to set the edge on those gashing perimeter runs that were killing us yesterday.

Hit of the Game: I almost threw something at the TV when Illinois WR Steve Hull caught that ball on 4th and 11, but praise Rex for CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste and his hard hitting prowess. He's unquestionably been the Blackshirts' best playmaker this season.

I want to see more...
*Jack Hoffman. ESPN reported late Friday night that little Jack is in full remission and his father is hopeful that it might be for good. Jack will still have to get regular MRIs to monitor his tumor of course, but he's done with chemo and he will get a chance to be a little boy again.
*Tommy Armstrong. Several of his throws went high yesterday, but we'll chalk that up to the wind. What we can attribute to the young quarterback is a calm sense of control over this offense and the ability to move the football (with the exception of the 2nd quarter safety). If I'm Bo Pelini, Taylor Martinez sits against a bad Purdue team and has 2 more weeks to heal before the all-important November stretch.
*The option. Seemed like every time the Huskers ran those speed option plays, it went for big yards. There's no better way for a quarterback and an offensive coordinator to endear themselves to the Nebraska fans than running the plays that won those now mythical championships in the 90's. Extra credit to Tommy Armstrong for the bags of ice on his shoulder in the post game news conference. Some of my first Husker memories are of Scott Frost and those bags of ice on his shoulders after a game. That's Saturday romance at its best.
*Soul crushing drives. Nebraska took over with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter at their own 4 yard line with an opportunity to mount a long drive and take a four score lead into the second half and get the ball back. Instead, the Huskers get conservative and Cross is tackled in the endzone for a safety. A big return set the Illini up at midfield with the potential to steal the momentum going into the half. Gregg Easterbrook often writes of the disaster that comes with being too conservative at the end of football games, and his rule held true yesterday.
*Jamal Turner. Other than a pretty block to spring Abdullah for a few extra yards, Turner had a quiet day yesterday, and hasn't done much this season. Theres's a tweaked hammy at issue, but hopefully he has a breakout game soon that gives him a boost for the rest of the season like his TD catch in the Northwestern game did last year.
*Blitzing. Imagine that, a quarterback under pressure repeatedly makes hurried, inaccurate throws...

I want to see less...
*Missed tackles. The Blackshirts did an OK job yesterday, but there were several plays in which the Nebraska defenders either lost the handle on the ball carrier, whiffed completely, or mystifyingly got turned around as CB Jonathan Rose did late in the 3rd quarter.
*Fumbles. Fortunately Nebraska didn't lose any yesterday, but Abdullah and Newby seemingly lost the ball every time they went out of bounds or after they hit the ground, and the law of averages (and past experiences) states that eventually, those balls will come out at less opportune times and be recovered by the other team. Something different needs to happen in practice.
*Free running RBs. Illini RB Josh Ferguson repeatedly gashed the Blackshirts around the edges, averaging 6 yards per carry. Add to that his 82 yards receiving and there's plenty of teaching points for these Huskers this week.
*Miscommunication and substitution errors on defense. I counted 4 substitution penalties and even late in the game, you got the feeling that the Blackshirts were really discombobulated between snaps. That falls on the coaches, and it's something that needs to get fixed before Northwestern comes to town.
*Missed XPs. With an ongoing competition at kicker, the last thing you wanna do as a place kicker is miss an extra point, wind or no wind. Which is exactly what both kickers managed to do yesterday.
*Catches out of the backfield. Nathan Scheelhaase continually burned the Husker linebackers with swings to his RBs, notably on a 4th and 5 conversion in the 3rd quarter.
*Ron Kellogg III. I hate to even write this because of all that RKIII has done for the program as a backup, but there's a reason that Armstrong is starting in front of him. When Kellogg III was on the field yesterday, the offense just seemed stale because he wasn't a running threat. I love the kid and his selfless attitude, but his greatest contributions come on the sideline and the attempts to get him in the game yesterday seemed forced and didn't amount to anything.
*Boring 4th quarters. Sure the game was sort of out of reach, but neither team showed even a whiff of urgency to close out the game yesterday. That was disappointing.
*NASCAR. Seriously ESPN? NASCAR at 3:30 on an October Saturday afternoon?

Armchair coach:
I wanna talk a little more about the safety, because it was a classic example of Tim Beck outsmarting himself:

With Ameer Abdullah averaging 9 yards per carry around the edges, Beck decided that it was a good time to put Cross in the game to bang it inside. I can understand that conservative philosophy down near our own goal line-I don't agree with it, but I can understand it- what I don't understand is that mystifying decision to run Cross around the left edge of the offense on third and 11. Granted, Cross made a poor decision not getting upfield faster, but that wasn't a good play call by any stretch of the imagination.

The Huskers can get away with that against teams like Illinois, but that sort of blunder will cost us against Michigan.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I think that Martinez's turf toe might be the best thing to happen to Nebraska this year."

Opponent Watch:
*Penn State was granted a reprieve from their Draconian scholarship reductions a few weeks ago, but that isn't going to help them this year. They have some nice pieces, but there isn't enough depth to put together a full game against a decent team, as evidenced by their 44-24 loss to Indiana, the first loss to the Hoosiers in program history.

*I was one of those predicting a 10-3 score from the Iowa-Michigan State game, but the Spartans actually managed a bit of offense and beat the Hawkeyes by a sound 26-13 score. If Sparty can keep that progress going, they're a real threat in the Legends.

*Minnesota kept it tight early, but #19 Michigan pulled away in the second half and cruised to a 42-13 win. It still looks like the best way to beat the Wolverines is to make Devin Gardner throw the ball.

*#12 UCLA survived a 34-27 scare at Utah while you slept Thursday night. The Bruins are good enough to beat every team in the PAC 12, but they're not good enough to sleepwalk against any of them.

*Southern Miss squandered their best opportunity to win their first game in 17 tries, taking on one of the worst teams in the NCAA in Florida International and losing 24-23. Turnovers continue to kill the Golden Eagles as they gave the Panthers a pair of fumbles and a couple interceptions in the loss. Southern Miss has lost 19 turnovers in 5 games.

*South Dakota State lost to Southern Illinois 27-24. Yet another FCS team managed to hold SDST RB Zac Zenner to less than 4 yards per carry...

*#4 Ohio State benefited from some *ahem* generous officiating to eke out a 40-30 win (with the last six coming on the Wildcat's botched final play) at #16 Northwestern. The Big Ten is officially on notice: if you want to beat the Buckeyes, don't leave the game in the hands of the officials.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*I watched the 4th quarter of the Iowa State-Texas game the other night, and even though Iowa State had some questionable calls go against them, they weren't egregious. Texas may be a shell of what they once were, but they're still going to get the benefit of the doubt with refs in the Big 12. What should be of greater note was the way the Cyclones, with their undersized and much slower athletes, whipped the Longhorns on both sides of the ball. I can't think of any reason Mack Brown should be on the sideline next season.

*Spoke too soon on Virginia Tech. I thought the Hokies were in for rough season after that OT scare against Marshall, but they've rebounded nicely with relatively easy wins against a good Georgia Tech team and a decent North Carolina squad.

*#3 Clemson is quietly dominating opponents and staying out of the spotlight after their season opening win against Georgia. There's a potential trap game against Boston college next week and then a mammoth test against Florida State the week after.

*Put #25 Maryland firmly under that "pretender" label. The Terrapins surprised us all with that 4-0 start, but were quickly and soundly brought back to Earth at #8 Florida State, losing 63-0, which is the worst beating a ranked team has ever taken. The Seminoles' sensational freshman QB Jameis Winston threw for almost 400 yards and 5 TDs to keep his Heisman campaign alive.

*I can't help but be impressed with #17 Baylor's third consecutive 70 point game against West Virginia. The Bears racked up 864 total yards and for the fourth game in a row, they scored four TDs in the first quarter.

*On the topic of impressive offenses, #2 Oregon shook off a sluggish start to blast Colorado 57-16. The Ducks scored three TDs in the last 5 minutes of the first quarter after Colorado had taken a 10-8 lead.

*When the Heisman voters are deciding which QB is going to get the award this season, I hope they take into account everything that Georgia QB Aaron Murray has had to endure early this season. No, I'm not talking about the three games against top 10 opponents in September. At Tennessee, Murray was already missing his best RB and WR, then lost his second best RB and two more of his top 5 receivers through the course of the game, and still managed to put together a TD drive to force overtime and get the win. Murray needs to keep winning, but through six weeks, he's got my vote.

*Speaking of the Georgia-Tennessee game, you feel for Tennessee RB Alton "Pig" Howard, whose fumble out of the endzone essentially gave the overtime win to the Bulldogs. Of course one play doesn't win or lose a game, of course your teammates support you, and of course tomorrow will come, but dang. Ya kinda blew it in the worst way possible dude.

*#5 Stanford got away with one against #15 Washington. The Cardinal were outgained 489-279 by the Huskies but got a kickoff return TD and timely defensive stops to get the win.

Last Thought
So I'm on record saying that Taylor Martinez should sit against Purdue. Let's face it: the Boilers are the worst team in the Big Ten, and they provide a perfect opportunity for Tommy Armstrong to cut his teeth on the road. Nebraska gets another bye week and then a trip to Minnesota presents a perfect opportunity for Martinez to work out the kinks before Northwestern comes to town.

I still believe Nebraska is capable of winning every game left on the schedule, especially if the defense continues to improve, but proper management of the incredibly fortuitous midseason schedule is going to be the key.

Fan forecast: Wind-burnt cheeks heal up in time for a smile-inducing road trip to West Lafayette.

Sunday Review: South Dakota State

2013-09-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Anybody else tired?

Coming off one of the most draining weeks that Nebraska football has ever endured, the Blackshirts treated fans to one of the most tiring performances in recent memory. The Husker defense allowed 25 first downs and 465 yards to the FCS Jackrabbits, including 202 rushing yards to a thick running back by the name of Zach Zenner.

Fortunately, the offense that drew comparisons to the '83 Scoring Explosion in the preseason finally decided to show up. Moving up and down the field at will all game, the Husker offense, led by backup quarterbacks Tommy Armstrong and Ron Kellogg III, calmly answered everything their Jackrabbit counterparts threw at them, and started to pull away in the second quarter. Aside from a few penalties, and the omnipresent fumbles, there wasn't much to gripe about with the Husker O.

So Nebraska sits at 3-1 with a bye week before getting into the "JV" part of their Big Ten slate. There's plenty of questions to answer and kinks to fix, both on the field and off, but there's also abundant hope for the future. After the week Husker Nation just endured, it's impossible to say for sure what the Huskers will look like when Illinois rolls into town in two weeks, but suffice to say, there's not going to be any lack of intrigue.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Zach Zenner, RB South Dakota State. Yes the Husker offense had a great day, but when you average 9.6 yards per rush and finish with 223 total yards and 2 TDs, it doesn't matter if your team lost, you're an MVP in my book. Zenner's running style reminded me a lot of Rex Burkhead: up the field in a hurry and always falling forward for extra yards.

Defensive MVP: Stanley Jean Baptiste, CB. The senior had another pick (his 4th), a hit that jarred a completed pass out of the receiver's hands, and a 1-on-1 tackle just short of the sticks on 4th down. When the Blackshirts need a play, SJB is going to be the man this year. If only he could be more consistent.

Special Teams MVP: Kenny Bell, KR. Bell has done an outstanding job returning kicks this year, always a step or two from breaking a big one. Bell had returns of 34 and 29 yards yesterday and the Huskers first two possessions started on the right side of the 30 yard line.

Freshman MVP: Tommy Armstrong Jr, QB. This kid looked like the real deal yesterday. Granted the Jackrabbits' defense is never going to be confused for Michigan State, but Armstrong was precise passing, and authoritative running the ball, plus he was absolutely in control from the first snap. The future looks bright for this kid.

Assistant Coach MVP: Joe Ganz and Tim Beck, QBs. One of the hardest things in football is preparing a backup quarterback, and it's even harder to rotate two quarterbacks in the same game. Beck and Ganz did a fantastic job preparing Armstrong and Kellogg for action this week and got great looks from both guys. Each QB brings a different skill set to the table, but both of them showed themselves capable of running the show in a game in which the pressure was on to score on every drive. Both quarterbacks are better throwers than Martinez, especially when they need to get the ball farther than 15 yards, and if Martinez needs more than 2 weeks to heal that turf toe, I don't think too many Husker fans are worried.

Key Stat: After that disastrous 1st quarter, the Blackshirts managed to hold SDSU to 1-8 on third downs the rest of the game.

Play of the Game: There was so much to love about Nebraska's first TD. First of all, it was an option play. Second, Tommy Armstrong executed it beautifully, challenging the defender before pitching to Imani Cross. Finally, it had to be a huge confidence boost for a young quarterback who hadn't played any meaningful snaps yet. Gorgeous play.

Play We Want Back: Kenny Bell's dropped TD pass. That was honestly one of the most beautiful passes I have ever seen a Nebraska quarterback throw and it was unfortunate that Bell let it go after he hit the ground hard.

Blown Call: There must be something wrong about the technique that Nebraska's defensive linemen use to rush quarterbacks, because opposing offensive lineman almost never get called for their blatant holding. I don't remember the specific play, but Randy Gregory's jersey was almost torn off after rushing Austin Sumner on one play. Makes me go hmmmm...

Hit of the Game: If you stayed tuned to the 4th quarter, then you saw S Charles Jackson crush Trevor Wesley inside the 5 yard line on a late punt return and then a few plays later Jackson put a helmet on the ball on a pass play forcing a fumble. Why we don't see more of him?

I want to see more...
*Option football. When Taylor Martinez runs the option, I cringe. When Armstrong runs the option, especially on that first touchdown, tears well up in the corner of my eye from the sheer beauty of it all.
*Backups. They played early and often yesterday on both sides of the ball, and that's a good sign. Bo hasn't always been good about getting backups in the game.
*Imani Cross. Seriously, this kid is invincible. If you want a textbook example of a RB having the will to find the endzone regardless of bad blocking or defensive penetration, then look at Cross' second TD of the day.
*Who's that guy catching the ball? Sam Burtch caught another TD, Tyler Wullenwaber caught a TD, Alonzo Moore got his first catch as a Husker, Brandon Reilly, Jake Long, Cethan Carter and Jordan Westerkamp all got in on the action too. It's a good sign of the depth of our receiving corps when you have to dig your roster out nearly every play to see who just made a catch.
*Unstoppable offense. Sure, it was against an FCS team, but there's something to be said about scoring 50 points in three quarters without punting. This is the offense we all hoped we would see going into the year.
*Randy Gregory. That pick six was neat, and I like the way he was used as a hybrid linebacker. Did you see him plow over the offensive tackle on that play when Aaron Curry got a sack? If he can just get to the point where his dominance is an every down thing, he'll be scary.
*Terrell Newby's surprising power. His first TD as a Husker was memorable for the way he crawled on one arm for the last 5 yards to get across the goal line. You can't coach that kind of desire.
*QB pressure. The 5 sacks are pretty deceiving, Austin Sumner had way too much time to throw for most of the game and he repeatedly gashed the Blackshirts with short and long passes.
*Jack Hoffman. Yesterday was the first time I've seen that huge scar on his head, and it was the second time that tears shot into my eyes. There are so many things bigger than football, and Jack reminds me to be thankful for my two healthy kids. Hopefully he'll be sitting next to Ms. Nebraska at games for years to come.

I want to see less...
*Powderpuff defense. Counting the UCLA game, Nebraska allowed 55 points in a 4 quarter span. Credit the Blackshirts for tightening up following that goal-line stand at the end of the first quarter, but that number is ridiculous.
*Running backs running free. Zach Zenner averaged 10.9 yards per rush in the first half. 10.9 yard on 15 carries. And don't even get me started on the wide open swing passes. I have a hard time believing that Nebraska can't do better.
*Kenny Bell's dropsies. Bell dropped one of the most gorgeous passes a Nebraska quarterback has ever thrown in the first half, and fumbled after his 100th career reception in the second. Tough game for a tough kid. He'll have to bounce back because we'll need him ready for the Big Ten slate.
*Fumbles. Yikes. Week after week this keeps cropping up and with the exception of Ameer Abdullah, it's different guys fumbling every week. It needs to be a point of emphasis during the bye week.
*Zaire Anderson in coverage. Is there any way we can move this kid to defensive tackle? Anderson can tackle better than most of the Blackshirts, but he repeatedly gets lost when trying to cover receivers. With Nebraska's struggles in getting quarterback pressure, perhaps Anderson can be a permanent blitzer...
*Taylor Martinez on the sideline. I don't know if I've ever seen a more miserable looking human being than Martinez on the sideline yesterday. It was like seeing a yellow lab in a cage facing a lake full of ducks. So sad.

Armchair coach:
I'm becoming more and more convinced that Nebraska needs to radically alter their defensive approach. The 2-gap simply isn't working, and I'm dang tired of watching quarterbacks take 8 seconds to get rid of the balls.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Who is this Sam kid that keeps catching touchdowns?"

Opponent Watch:
*Minnesota is 4-0 for the second straight year, cruising through a weak non-conference schedule. We'll see how good the Gophers are next week against Iowa.

*Speaking of the Hawkeyes, I'm grudgingly impressed with their 59-3 win over 0-4 Western Michigan, but I'd be surprised if they win more than three Big Ten games this year.

*Michigan State's Mark Dantonio is going to need a power washer to get all the egg off of his face this week. Aside from the thousand pass interference penalties whistled against his DBs, there was the head scratching decision to switch quarterbacks on the last possession of a 4 point game. Same old, same old from the Spartans.

*#18 Northwestern had its weakest game so far against Maine and still managed to win by a couple touchdowns.

*#15 Michigan was sleepwalking again, needing a late field goal to squeak out a win at 0-3 Connecticut. The Wolverine's inconsistency over the past 2 games is as striking as it's dominance in their first two.

*Penn State looked impressive in a 34-0 shutout of Kent State. It was important for the Nittany Lions to rebound after the loss to UCF last week.

*Purdue was helpless against Melvin Gordon and #24 Wisconsin, surrendering 3 TDs to the junior. I'm sure Husker fans can relate.

*#13 UCLA picked up where they left off last Saturday, rolling through New Mexico State 59-13.

*This week on the How-Good-Is-Wyoming tour: Brett Smith has 373 yards and 4 TDs as the Cowboys trample a tough Air Force squad 56-23.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*What a dull week. No big upsets, no big games. Just boring. Next week will be better.

*If you've never seen Georgia Tech's offense play football, you need to get your life together. Especially for a Nebraska fan whose first football memories were of Tommie Frazier and Ahman Green, watching the Yellow Jacket's flexbone triple-option offense grind a defense down in the 4th quarter in the rain like they did against North Carolina in a 28-20 win was absolutely beautiful. Inside dives, outside pitches, and the triple option plays are nearly impossible to defend for four quarters, and just when the defense is at the breaking point, BAM! playaction pass. Gorgeous.

*#9 Georgia held off a surprisingly game North Texas team in a sloppy win. Not surprisingly, Georgia fans are panicking and calling for Mark Richt's head. Sounds familiar...

*Frank Beamer is the latest coach to stay in coaching too long. Don't get me wrong, Beamer is a future Hall of Famer and a coach whom I respect as much as any still in the game, but his teams seemed to get consistently worse the past 5 years or so, and after a 2-1 start and an ugly overtime win versus Marshall, it might be best for the Hokies' administration to start getting a succession plan in place. Beamer deserves to go out on his own terms, but it might be time for the Virginia Tech administration to 'encourage' him to retire.

*#4 Ohio State's defense rebounded from an awful performance at Cal with a nice shutout of Florida A&M. The Rattlers had 80 total yards, while the Buckeyes ran 80 plays. The schedule gets much harder next week against #24 Wisconsin.

*Both #1 Alabama and #10 Texas A&M looked worn out in easy, but lackluster wins against Colorado State and SMU, respectively. That's the hangover effect in full view.

*Mack Brown gets a temporary reprieve for his 31-21 win over Kansas State last night. That's his first win over the Wildcats in the last six tries. He needs to beat #14 Oklahoma in two weeks to have even the slightest chance of saving his job.

*Remember about a year ago when Dana Holgorsen, Geno Smith, and West Virginia were the hottest team in the country? They just lost 37-0 to Maryland on the road yesterday.

*#5 Stanford is my favorite for the title game opposite the SEC champion. The Cardinal play nasty defense and knock 'em dead offense as evidenced by their 39-7 third quarter lead over #23 Arizona State. The Cardinal have yet to play 4 solid quarters, but when they put it all together, they're going to be hard to beat.

Last Thought
So with 4 games in the books, we're just about where we thought we'd be with this Husker team: young and athletic defense that has frustrating lapses, but gets bailed out by an explosive and efficient offense.

Except who could have foreseen all of the other junk? Too much ink has already been spilled over all the drama that went on in Husker Nation last week, but suffice to say that the schedule could not be more fortuitous for this frustrating Huskers team. The bye week comes at a perfect time. It gives the team a chance to heal up, drill fundamentals, and barring any more surprise audio recordings, re-focus on the still-attainable goal of winning a Big Ten title.

Fan forecast: tornado-force winds as millions of Husker fans use the bye week to take some deep breaths and relax.

Sunday Review: UCLA

2013-09-15T10:11:00.002-07:00

Is this the worst loss of Bo Pelini's tenure? If you're talking sheer stats, then no, not by a long shot. But if you think about all of the build-up to this game, the fast start and yet another epic defensive collapse on National TV, then I'd argue that this one is right up there with the Big Ten Championship beat down.

Where was the explosive veteran offense that was supposed to be the safety net for the young and inexperienced defense?

It takes a special kind of ineptitude to give up 28 points in a single quarter, but the Husker lack-of-Defense keeps looking for new lows to fall to. I've been on the fence about Pelini all summer, but now it's clear to me: he's lost his defensive genius card and he needs to do something drastic to get it back. If that means shaking up his staff, then that's what needs to be done. Quickly.

Of course the season isn't over, and of course all of our goals are still in front of us. There's 9 games left, most which are very winnable, but it's all starting to get a tiring. Nebraska took another step toward irrelevance yesterday and nothing less than a Big 10 championship can salvage this season now.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA. After shaking off some early rust, the sophomore put on a show, sticking in the pocket when he needed, scrambling when he had to, and picking the Husker defense apart for the last 37 minutes of the game.

Defensive MVP: Anthony Barr, LB UCLA. 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, and 3 forced fumbles for the senior. He was in Taylor Martinez's grill all day, and led the charge in shutting down the Husker's ground attack.

Special Teams MVP: Sam Foltz, P. It was a rough day for the freshman punter trying to kick into the wind, but he did a good job for the most part. Sadly, he was the Husker's most consistent weapon.

Freshman MVP: Myles Jack, LB UCLA. The young LB only made 5 tackles, but he was a beast in coverage, getting one breakup and effectively shutting down the middle of the field for the Bruins.

Assistant Coach MVP: Lou Spanos, UCLA Defensive Coordinator. After getting chewed up for much of the first half, Spanos pressed the right buttons and shut down the Nebraska offense, just as the Bruins offense started rolling. Not many coordinators have stonewalled Tim Beck like that.

Key Stat: 3-14 on third downs. If you're looking for a reason the game started to turn in the second quarter, then look no further than the Husker's abysmal third down percentage.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's 28 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell was the most beautiful play of the day for the Huskers. Unfortunately, it was also the last beautiful moment for the Big Red.

Play We Want Back: Hundley's 3rd and 12 conversion before the half. Instead of a punt and almost 2 minutes for Taylor Martinez to extend the Husker's three score lead, Avery Moss' missed tackle allowed Hundley to get the first down and UCLA gets their first TD of the day and the momentum that carried them to the easy win.

Blown Call: Corey Cooper's roughing the passer penalty pretty much summarizes everything I hate about all these new "protecting the player" rules. Nothing about the tap that Cooper gave Hundley was flagrant or egregious, but nowadays, if it can be called it will be. Credit Hundley for the nice flop though.

Hit of the Game: Sam Foltz's touchdown saving tackle before the half only delayed the inevitable, but it was a nice play by the freshman punter.

I want to see more...
*Alternate uniforms. I like the once-a-year, alternate uniform rhythm. This year's version is far superior to the red pajamas from last year; my only issue was with the prison-style numbering. All in all, I think once a year is perfect and I'd like to see it continue.
*SJB. After the first quarter interception, I don't remember seeing Stanley Jean-Baptiste the rest of the game. That's not good.
*Running game. Probably the biggest worry about the Husker offense right now centers around the lack of run game we saw yesterday. 128 total yards is kinda pathetic and it really cost us.
*Quincy Enunwa. Coming into the year the senior had 3 career TD catches. Three games into 2013, the big-bodied WR has 5 already. The UCLA defenders got away with a lot of holding on Enunwa in the second half, basically taking him out of the game.
*Soul killing drives (by our offense). It's nice to get the ball with a short field, but there's something purely awesome about an offense taking the ball 90-plus yards in 6-plus minutes for a score, like the Huskers did in the first quarter. Unfortunately we couldn't duplicate that success the rest of the afternoon.
*Jordan Westerkamp's mustache. I've been disappointed by the freshman's lack of touches through three games, but there's nothing disappointing about that 'stache.
*Kenny Bell's moves. When you combine Bell's speed with his ability to make dudes miss in the open field and run guys over for an extra yard, that's a scary WR for the other team to match up with. Too bad the Bruins took him out of the game in the second half.
*T-Magic. Martinez's inability to do anything on the ground this year has been a big concern for me. Chris Spielman beat it to death, and he's right: Nebraska's offense isn't complete if Martinez can't make the big plays with his legs, and he just can't do it this year.

I want to see less...
*Dropped passes. Bell and Enunwa dropped catchable balls on the very first drive. Tyler Wullenwaber dropped a first down catch late in the third. With all of the other issues we had yesterday, why did this suddenly have to be one of them?
*Un-Fielded punts. It's not the biggest issue on this Husker team, but if you ask me, it's the most irritating. Seriously, high school teams do a better job fielding punts than these Huskers.
*Missed tackles. There were a few in the first half, but after the Bruins got going in the second half, it seemed like the Husker defense was missing at least one tackle on every play. Why are freshmen Josh Banderas and Nathan Gerry the best tacklers on this team?
*Inconsistent pressure. Randy Gregory and Co. made life hard on Hundley in the first 25 minutes or so, but after that third down scramble, they tried too hard to keep him in the pocket, to the detriment of the defensive backs. It was sickening to see Hundley take 8 seconds to throw without needing to move his feet.
*Blown leads. Remember when Nebraska was ahead 21-3 in the second quarter? Inexcusable.
*3 and Outs. After Bell's TD, the Huskers had 10 possessions, five 3-and-outs, and zero points. Remember when Tim Beck's offense was going to be unstoppable this year?
*Open receivers. This goes back to the pressure issue. When Hundley had 8 seconds to find a receiver, we ended up with plays like the 28 yard bomb to Shaquelle Evans where the one step he had on Josh Mitchell was 2 steps too many.
*Rolling over. After UCLA took the lead, you could see the wind come completely out of the Husker team. That's on the coaches and that's unacceptable. I felt like I needed a shower after watching that third quarter.
*Balls on the ground. This one is getting pretty old. Nebraska is lucky that of their 600 fumbles yesterday, they only lost 1.
*Penalties. Too many personal fouls, and they all came as the game was slipping away.

Armchair coach: This one's pretty obvious. Calling a fake punt is fine, but why on Earth do you put the ball in the hands of a defensive lineman? Dumb call that really comes across as desperation.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I hate watching games with your dad."
Everyone does. Nobody is harder on refs, players and coaches than my grumpy Old Man.

Opponent Watch:
*Michigan clearly suffered an emotional let-down from the Notre Dame game last week and it nearly cost them against Akron, coming 3 yards from their most embarrassing defeat since the RichRod days.

*Michigan State's offense is finally out-scoring their defense, and it looks like Sparty has finally found a QB in Connor Cook who threw for 3 TDs in the first half. Then again, they were playing Youngstown State, so...

*Minnesota struggled early against Western Illinois, before pulling away for a 29-12 win. Gopher's coach Jerry Kill was sent to the hospital after suffering another seizure, and it make you wonder how much longer he's going to be around.

*How good is Southern Miss? Not good enough to score more than 3 points against Arkansas. The Golden Eagles now have 12 turnovers in 3 games. Ouch.

*Purdue led #21 Notre Dame 10-7 at the half, but a 4th quarter collapse prevented the Boilermakers from pulling off the upset. If Purdue gets 5 wins this season they should consider themselves lucky.

*#17 Northwestern struggled early against Western Michigan, but managed to pull away in the second quarter for a 38-17 win. That game looks tougher every week.

*Illinois put up a good fight at #19 Washington. The Illini are much improved over last year's 1-11 debacle, and they might not be the easy win that many predicted going into the season.

*Penn State lost a somewhat surprising shootout to Central Florida. This is one of those games where the Nittany Lions' lack of depth hurt them. Not going to be any better for a few years.

*Iowa eked out a win over a bad Iowa State team. There's a little hope in Iowa City.

*Next stop on the How-Good-Is-Wyoming tour: a 35-7 beatdown of FCS Northern Colorado. The Cowboys didn't run away with this game until the 4th quarter, but they were never in serious trouble either.

Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*Butch Jones is making an immediate impact at Tennessee. Even though his Vols didn't get the win at #2 Oregon, they weren't intimidated by the moment, stuffing the Duck's first two drives and taking an early 7-0 lead. How many teams in the last 5 years can say that? After a decade of decline, things are looking up for the Vols.

*Don't let the 34-20 final score fool you, #5 Stanford was in firm control for most of their game at Army. It's hard for those West Coast schools to come all the way across the country for an 12:00 kickoff (even UCLA took 20 minutes to get going). The Cardinal are a good looking team.

*#14 Oklahoma seems to have found a starting QB. The Belldozer threw for 413 yards and 4 TDs against Tulsa. That breeze you feel is a millions Sooner fans breathing a sigh of relief.

*Did you see the Boise State Broncos Friday night? For those vocal Husker fans with delusions of Chris Petersen wearing a Husker headset next season, there's plenty of ammunition just from that tilt with Air Force. When the Broncos have rough moments, like they did against the Falcons, they almost always fight back for the win. Let's reserve judgement until after they play the mighty Wyoming Cowboys though.

*Should #4 Ohio State worry about the 500 yards and 34 points they allowed to Cal last night? Cal's offense is such that they should be able to score on anyone, but the Buckeyes should worry more about the health of Braxton Miller who has now missed most of their last two games.

*Much was made of the fact that neither #20 Wisconsin or Arizona State had allowed a single point coming into their matchup last night, but it was the Sun Devils whose defense managed to win the war of attrition, holding the Badgers out of the endzone on a late two-point conversion to seal the win.

*I don't mean to toot my own horn (yes I do), but I totally called it with #6 Texas A&M. You don't give up almost 550 yards rushing to Sam Houston State and Rice, and then expect to beat Alabama. Until they get a defense that can stop a wet paper bag, all the Johnny Footballs in the world aren't going to make them much better than a 10-3 team. I expect LSU to do exactly the same thing Alabama did to the Aggies unless they have a midseason defensive renaissance.

Last Thought
I'm still not sure what to think about the loss yesterday. I hate the fact that Nebraska is only able to play one and a half good quarters of football in the third game of the year, but I'm still tempted to give the defense one last thread of slack on account of their youth.

One thing is painfully obvious though: something about Bo's defensive game plan needs to change. There's just too many wretched games to draw any other conclusion. The torch and pitchfork gang should hold off until the end of the year, but if Bo wants to live to see another spring camp, he needs to make moves now.

What moves? Heck, I don't know. I have opinions, but I'm not the one being paid $3 million per year to figure that out. I do believe that his defensive staff could use some fresh blood -someone from the Nick Saban coaching tree would be nice- perhaps someone in the box who can see what the current staff isn't seeing right now, and make the adjustments that nobody seems capable of making right now. Until that happens, it's going to be really tough to get back to 10 wins, and anything less than that plateau is going to make for some uncomfortable times in Lincoln.

Week 4 fan forecast: chemical dependency, and much needed rehab against South Dakota State.

Sunday Review: Southern Miss

2013-09-08T10:50:00.001-07:00

That was much better. Nebraska played the type of football we expected to see this season: unstoppable offense with an inconsistent, but athletic defense. There were plenty of mistakes made last night, as evidenced by several sideline shots of an unhappy Bo Pelini, but it didn't appear that the Huskers were sleep walking like they did last week.

The story of the night is the Husker secondary, which nabbed four picks, two of which were returned for TDs, and played much better in coverage against a fairly talented Southern Miss receiving corps.

The offense still looked a bit lackadaisical, although the Huskers opened up the playbook a little and threw down field more. That vanilla play calling is to be expected with a big game against UCLA looming next week, and it was helpful that the defense outscored Southern Miss all by themselves, preventing any need for a shootout.

On the whole, the young guns on defense took a nice step forward and Husker Nation was treated to the fun sort of blowout everyone expected last week.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Ameer Abdullah, RB. Abdullah had a nice game last night, piling up another 116 yards and scoring his first two TDs of the year. I wonder if Imani Cross' big game last week motivated Abdullah a little bit, because the junior ran like his life depended on it last night.

Defensive MVP: Ciante Evans, NB. Evans had 2 INTs and returned one for a TD. He also looked sharp in coverage and managed to get his secondary into the right position most of the night.

Special Teams MVP: Sam Foltz, P. Whatever Nebraska kids are doing to develop into such great punters and kickers, it needs to continue. Foltz's 60 yarder from his own endzone was gorgeous, but his last punt, a floating pooch that was downed inside USM's 5 yard line was something special. If Foltz keeps it up, he'll be next in the long line of NU punters in the NFL; it'll be nice to have him for 4 more years.

Freshman MVP: Greg McMullen, DE. This kid really showed up Saturday night, grabbing 4 tackles, 2 for loss, and forcing a fumble. With so much inexperience on the defensive line, the Huskers are going to need performances like that consistently from the young guns.

Assistant Coach MVP: Terry Joseph. 2 Pick-sixes, 4 INTs, and generally tight coverage all night made for a nice bounce back game for the Husker secondary. This is what we expected to see from the most experienced group on the Husker defense. Stanley Jean-Baptiste and Ciante Evans have looked impressive so far this season and if Joseph can get the safeties going in the right direction, the defense will continue to improve.

Key Stat: 6.2 When your offense is averaging better than six yards per carry, you know you're in for a fun night. The Golden Eagles had a few nice plays on defense, but Ameer Abdullah and Co were impressive on the night.

Play of the Game: Stanley Jean-Baptiste's pick six. With all of the negativity swirling around the defense the past week, fans were on the edge of their seats for all the wrong reasons to start the game. On the third play of the game, SJB made a beautiful jump on Allan Bridgford's pass and it was a clean run into the endzone. Suddenly, everything was right with Husker football again.

Play We Want Back: That 41 yd TD pass to Rickey Bradley was the result of a blown coverage. After last week, those sort of plays are a worrisome occurrence.

Blown Call: It looks like "tackling too hard" is going to be a problem for Nebraska this season. Charles Jackson got hit with a questionable personal foul on a kick return in the third quarter that mystified everyone in the booth.

Hit of the Game: Josh Mitchell and Stanley Jean-Baptiste both had highlight TFL's in the flats, which if missed, would have resulted in big gains. That sort of high-level tackling from the corners is going to come in handy next weekend.

I want to see more...
*SJB. The light seems to have come on for the senior corner. SJB has been Nebraska's most consistent defender so far and if he continues to improve, the NFL will come calling.
*Shutting down the run. USM managed only 62 net yards rushing. That'll do.
*4th quarter fire from Coach K. Nebraska was up 49-13 in the 4th quarter but cameras caught DL coach Rick Kaczenski greeting his charges with fiery and enthusiastic zest as they trotted off the field.
*QB Pressure. Bridgford was only sacked once last night, but he got to know DE Randy Gregory pretty well. The Blackshirts look a lot better when opposing QBs don't have time to set their feet and throw the ball.
*Mike Moudy. The fact that the junior was playing in the first half means that the second and third team linemen are developing to the point where they can spell the 1's early in the game. That was the hallmark of the best offensive lines in the 90's and it's encouraging to see that depth finally returning.
*Kenny Bell. That dude just plays football. He knifed the Eagles with a 21 yard TD catch before halftime and he stole the momentum back after USM's second half TD with a 63 yard kickoff return. Add to that his edge blocking and tackles on special teams and Bell could well be Nebraska's most valuable player overall.
*T-Magic. Aside from some nice scrambles, there wasn't anything magical about Taylor Martinez running last night. Hopefully he's saving it up for UCLA.
*Backups. According to the official participation report everyone, including the waterboys, got into the game. Playing the last 25 minutes of a live game is indispensable for the youngsters, especially the linemen. Bo's been criticized in the past for leaving the starters in too long, but I think he did a good job last night.
*Skill position depth. Seven wide receivers or tight ends caught balls last night, and 5 different backs got carries. King Frazier and Graham Nabity looked good getting carries late, and redshirt freshman walk-on WR Sam Burtch caught a TD from Martinez. You can't buy that sort of depth (unless you're Ole Miss).
I want to see less...
*Busted coverage. There were a few missed throws by Bridgford that could have been big gains. The improved QB pressure made a difference, but tighter coverage is going to be a priority against UCLA.
*Penalties. A couple stupid ones in this game, most notably Gregory's roughing the passer; that was a completely ridiculous move on his part.
*Wasted Drives. Nebraska had three 3-and-outs last night. I'll give them a pass on the drive that started at the Nebraska 1 yard line, but I was pretty irritated at the slow start after halftime.
*Missed throws. You will never see anyone more wide open than Cethan Carter was on a playaction fake in the second quarter and Martinez just plain missed him. He knew it too; after the game all he could do was shake his head in the press conference.
*Turnovers. Terrell Newby is a stud, but he's a young stud. Young studs eventually learn that there's things they got away with in high school that won't cut it in college. Ball control is one of those things. Side note: Nebraska is +3 in turnovers for the first time in forever.
*Page not responding. Because Northwestern vs Syracuse was the game picked for my region, I was forced to go to BTN2GO which, of course, was down for most of the afternoon. Luckily, there are websites of questionable legality on which I was able to watch the first half.

Armchair coach: Why did it take until late in the third quarter to see Imani Cross? After the game he had last week, I would have expected Ron Brown to put Cross in early and often to compliment Abdullah's slashing style with a bit of blunt-force trauma.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"What take? I was working all day!"

Sucks to suck.

Opponent Watch...
*ESPN announcers joked that perhaps Michigan State DC Pat Narduzzi should take over as offensive coordinator as well. Not a bad idea. In a 21-6 win over South Florida, Narduzzi's DE Shilique Calhoun scored two TDs compared to the offense's one. That's the same South Florida team that gave up 53 to McNeese State (whatever that is) last week. Sparty's got some issues.

*Color me impressed by Illinois' fast start in that win against Cincy. Tim Beckman needs wins like that to keep his job.

*Both Iowa and Purdue struggled in wins over FCS teams. One of those teams will have a new coach next year if things don't improve.

*Penn State true freshman QB Christian Hackenberg shook off an early fumble returned for a TD and threw for 311 yards and a TD as Penn State rolled 45-7 against Eastern Michigan. Bill O'Brien is clearly building for the future with his young QB, who will be a senior when the Lions are eligible for the post-season again.

*Minnesota dominated another weak team on the road. The Gophers are nothing to sleep on, but they're not worth losing sleep over either-yet.

*#17 Michigan looked OK in a nice home win over #11 Notre Dame. Devin Gardner looked good-minus that disastrous 4th quarter pick six-but that pass defense needs to tighten up.

*#19 Northwestern had little trouble with Syracuse, winning 48-27. They're looking like a tougher out every week.

*Wyoming blasted Idaho 42-10, and the Cowboys were up 42-0 going into the 4th quarter. It's a good first step in proving last week wasn't a fluke.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*How good is former NU Tackle Tyler Moore? To my eyes, he was #12 Florida's best lineman against Miami, consistently locking down ends while pass blocking and driving guys off the screen in the run game. He got busted on at least 3 penalties though, so you know he's sticking to his Nebraska roots. Also, Florida has the same problem as Michigan State: a hideous offense that ruins great defensive performances.

*Miami, still under the cloud of an NCAA investigation, looks like they're ready for a serious run. Their next big test comes Oct. 5 against Georgia Tech, and avoiding Clemson during the regular season is a boon.

*Brett who? #21 Wisconsin stuck to the run game and strong defense to record their second consecutive shutout over Tennessee Tech. Gary Anderson gets his first true test against Arizona State next week, but he's made a strong first impression so far.

*Speaking of Brett Bielema, his Hogs had to sweat it out yesterday. They were down 21-17 going into the 4th quarter against Samford.

*400 yards and 4 TDs for Teddy Bridgewater and #8 Louisville against Eastern Kentucky. Bridgewater needs these sort of performances to keep his name at the top of the Heisman list, because he doesn't have many marquee games to showcase his considerable talent.

*#2 Oregon took less than two minutes to score their first TD against Virginia and they rolled to a win wearing their worst helmet yet.

*Braxton Miller missed most of #3 Ohio State's game against SDSU this week. Kenny Guiton might be the most experienced backup QB in the country, and he proved he can win if Miller is out for a long while.

*Contrary to what "Tyler in Atlanta" might think, #11 Georgia's season is not over. One of the ESPN announcers said on the broadcast that he would take Jadeveon Clowney over JJ Watt. He looks pretty silly, after Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley gashed the Gamecocks all afternoon.

*#7 Texas A&M has a great offense, but it might be time to start worrying about that D after they gave up 4 TDs to Sam Houston State.

*Who wants to be Mack Brown this week? Another baffling loss ruins another season before the end of September. OK, it's probably too early to say that for sure, but after all of the unjustified hype (including a certain World-Herald writer pegging them at #3 in his AP ballot), Texas must regroup quickly with Ole Miss and Kansas State coming to town the next two weeks.

*How about #22 Baylor's 781 yards of offense against Buffalo? Art Briles appears to have built a machine in Waco, starting his 3rd QB in 3 years with no dropoff. After Okahoma and Texas' struggles, the Bears might be the favorite in the Big 12.

*If you haven't seen Western Kentucky's 5 turnovers in 6 plays, get your life together and go to ESPN's college football page. It's awesome because it happened to Bobby Petrino.

*As much as I loved Mike Leach before, I love him oh-so-much more this morning after finding out that his Washington State team knocked off USC late last night. Surprisingly, the Cougs did it with defense, holding the Trojans to 54 passing yards and forcing 2 picks. Can't sleep on any team coached by Mike Leach.

*#5 Stanford was a little sloppy in their opener vs San Josed State, but if they can beat Oregon like they always inexplicably seem to do, I like the Cardinal to

Last Thought
Two games into 2013, we have two very different Nebraska teams. Which is the real Husker defense? Is the Nebraska offense the unstoppable juggernaut we expected in August?   Is every other play going to be a disaster followed by a celebration?

With such a small sample size, it's impossible to say for sure, but one thing is certain: we'll have a better idea by 3 PM next Saturday.   UCLA comes to town and it looks like a perfect storm of Bo Pelini's demons: ranked opponent, mobile QB, and a national TV audience. Will the young Nebraska defense rise to occasion, or is it going to be another soul crushing day to be a Husker fan? We'll see but I definitely feel better about it than I did last Sunday. We'll see how I feel next Sunday.

Sunday Review: Wyoming

2013-09-01T19:13:00.001-07:00

So yeah...that was weird. After another long off-season, one that saw anguish slowly dissipate and make way for extravagant hope and dreams of championship glory, the Huskers were rudely awakened by a motivated Wyoming team that was wholly unfazed by the record home crowd.

It's hard to compare games across the span of years, but this one reminded me a little bit of Ball State in 2007-a plucky mid-major team comes into Lincoln and runs up huge yards and points and pushes the Big Red to the brink before falling in defeat. Needless to say, another year like 2007 would be bad for the collective health of Husker Nation, so let's hope that it doesn't come to that.

Take heart Huskers fans, the youth and athleticism we were promised on defense still has 11 games to develop. The explosive and dazzling offense we saw last year is probably hidden in Tim Beck's play book, waiting to be unleashed on a visiting UCLA team in a few weeks. As bad as the 602 yards and 34 points look, this is only week 1 and well, it could hardly get worse, right? Right?

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Dominic Rufran WR, Wyoming. QB Brett Smith deserves a nod, but Rufran's 11 catches for 120 yards stand out among all other receivers in the game. This dude was a major thorn in the Husker's side all night long.

Defensive MVP: Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB. SJB gets the nod for causing a 14 point swing in the first half, picking off Smith at the goal line and returning the ball 42 yards to keep Nebraska out of a big hole early.

Special Teams MVP: Kenny Bell, KR. Returns of 35 and 37 yards were a huge boost to the Husker offense, and showed necessary improvement in an area of concern from last season.

Freshman MVP: Terrell Newby, RB. Newby validated every word of hype that's been swirling around the Californian since last winter. He has an impressive blend of speed and elusiveness, leaving several defenders grasping air to the tune of 5 yards per carry.

Assistant Coach of the Game: Ron Brown, RB coach. Brown's charges racked up 306 yards and 2 TDs on the ground last night, going around and through Wyoming defenders all night. Imani Cross showed us why touted freshman Adam Taylor is going to redshirt this year, showing off improved quickness and vision. Cross' development speaks to the high level of tutelage he's getting from Brown.

Key Stat: 1 for 8. Wyoming's third down failure is the reason the Lincoln is not in ashes right now.

Play of the Game: Driving down field to start the second half, Taylor Martinez handed off to Imani Cross on a zone play to the left. Cross showed his improved quickness and agility by cutting back right and bursting over the right edge of the offensive line to daylight. Of course there was a pesky safety there, but he wasn't ready for Cross' nifty double spin move and after regaining his balance, Cross glided into the endzone to give Nebraska a 10 point lead.

Raise your hand if you thought Cross was capable of a play like that.

Play We Want Back: Among the more disappointing developments of the game last night was how ordinary Taylor Martinez looked running the ball. Nowhere was that more apparent than his fumble on 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter. Instead of continuing a drive to ice the game, Martinez gave the Cowboys the ball and a shot of momentum.

Blown Call: In what universe was Randy Gregory's sack "roughing the passer"? That was absolutely the worst call in a game of bad ones.

Hit of the Game: I loved the violence with which Imani Cross plowed through the line on that 1 yard TD run. He could give the defense some lessons.

I want to see more...
*T-Magic. He had a few nice throws and some decent runs, but Martinez left us waiting for the sort of magic that should be readily available in his senior season.
*Motivation. From start to finish, the Huskers just didn't seem like they were really 'in' to the game. Hopefully this is an isolated occurrence.
*Wide receivers. Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa, and Jamal Turner were the only WRs to catch a ball last night. With all of the hoopla surrounding the depth and experience of our receiving corps, I would have expected a few more faces to be on that list.
*QB Pressure. Because of the penalty on Randy Gregory, Nebraska did not tally a single sack against Wyoming, and the few times they got pressure on Smith, he glided away with ease.
*Kenny Bell. 7 catches for 57 yards just isn't enough. I need more Fro.
*Rushing yards up the middle. Nebraska did a lot of damage on the edges, but often got stuffed when they tried to rush inside. Against an undersized defensive line like Wyoming's, that just doesn't make sense.
*Improved pass protection. The big uglies kept Martinez clean in the passing game. Granted, we're talking about Wyoming but it was still nice to see.
*Tommy Armstrong. I was really hoping this game would be over at halftime so we could see the heralded freshman. Martinez has taken every meaningful snap the past two years, so it might behoove Tim Beck to start getting Armstrong some first half snaps.
*FB traps. Georgia absolutely murdered Clemson a few times last night with this classic quick hitter. It would be nice to see what CJ Zimmerer and Andy Janovich could do.

I want to see less...
*Penalties. Holy crap, that was annoying. All over the field and at the worst times. That needs to be fixed right quick.
*Turnovers. Looking at you Mr. Martinez...
*Missed tackles. This one is starting to get pretty annoying.
*Missed extra points. What is that, the first one in 4 years? We're pretty spoiled.
*Whiffed sacks. Perhaps Brett Smith is just an ethereal, football-tossing hologram. That's one explanation for why the Huskers couldn't seem to keep their hands on him.
*Opponent passing yards. The Cowboys did plenty of work on the ground too, but Smith put on a clinic through the air. His throws on the run were absolutely spot-on.

Armchair coach: I didn't like the 4th and 1 play call. It was a long yard, and Ameer Abdullah and Co had been tearing the Cowboys up all night. I would have called on Imani Cross with an Andy Janovich escort.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Man it sucks listening to a close game on the radio."
Welcome to my childhood.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*I had the "opportunity" to watch the Georgia-Clemson game on my buddy's TV while keeping an eye on the Nebraska game on my computer. It was an exciting game, but like many thought, Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins were just too much for a young Bulldog defense.
*If Bama wants to 3-peat, they can't rely on their special teams and defense to outscore their opponents every game.
*Urban Meyer earned even more scorn this week by going for 2 after his team's first two TDs. Against Buffalo. That little bit of sillyness aside, the Buckeyes then proceeded to step all over themselves in a sloppy 40-20 win.
*I don't care how good Johnny Manziel is, he is cementing himself as the biggest dirtbag in college sports. He must not understand how little things like attitude can mean a lot of money on Draft day.
*Michigan looked like the class of the Big 10 in week one, rolling to a 59-9 victory over Central Michigan. An interesting week 1 development.
*Washington thumped #19 Boise State 38-6 in a rematch of last season's Las Vegas Bowl. The loss was by far the worst one of Chris Peterson's career.
*#19 UCLA exploded in the second half to roll to a 58-20 win over Nevada. The Bruins were only up 17-13 at the half, but unlike Nebraska, they maintained their second half momentum to roll to an easy win.
*Biggest upset of the week goes to Eastern Washington. The FCS Eagles knocked off #25 Oregon State, becoming just the 3rd FCS team to beat a ranked BCS team. Eagles QB Vernon Adams had 518 total yards and 6 TDs in the 49-46 win.
*Wisconsin looked great in a 45-0 beat down of UMass.
*New coach Darrell Hazell's high-speed offense was largely ineffective in Purdue's 45-7 loss to Cincinnati.
*Penn State eked out a win over Syracuse with true freshman QB Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg's numbers were modest, but he delivered a win in a tough spot.
*Iowa continued their futility with an embarrassing season opening loss to Northern Illinois.
*#22 Northwestern rolled to a 44-20 win at Cal. The Wildcats are very capable of winning the Legends division this season.

Last thought
The Huskers did nothing to dispel any anxiety over their youthful defense. Immediately after the bowl loss to Georgia, Bo did his best to sell us all on the talent he had coming back for this season, but it's clearly too early to say whether the defense is going to be enough to deliver a Big Ten championship. It's a long season, and it's too easy to write off the season after an opening stumble, but I'm far too optimistic for that. I really want to think the first game jitters got a lot of the younger guys and coupled with a conservative offensive performance, we ended up with that flame-out in the 4th quarter.
But Nebraska is 1-0 and by the end of November, this game will be an afterthought amidst the drama of the 2013 season. A weak Southern Miss team might be the best medicine.

Sunday Review: Georgia

2013-01-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

You felt it, I know you did. When Nebraska charged out of the gate in the second half and went up 31-23, you felt something big brewing; Nebraska was going to get the biggest win of Bo Pelini's career and erase the nightmare in Indy. We were finally going shake the big game blues and restore the Big Ten's image against a team that was 5 seconds from playing for the national championship. You could feel it.
But then, those same old Huskers came back. Another long passing TD. Another crucial turnover. Another long passing TD. More backbreaking penalties. Another long passing TD. And suddenly that feeling was replaced by the familiar hollow realization that these Huskers aren't there yet.
The 2012 season will probably not be remembered for very long, except by those who played it, but if you're seeking a theme, it probably goes something like "More of the same." Not the season that coaches, players, and especially fans were hoping for, but certainly not a waste. 10 wins, but no palpable sense of progress in the form of a title or marquee win. The 2012 Huskers showed progress and potential, but bad losses in big games once again defined the team. The excruciating offseason has begun in earnest, and hopes are high in 2013, but first let's give the final word on 2012, and the Capital One Bowl:

Offensive MVP: Georgia QB Aaron Murray. Murray shook off two early interceptions to throw for 427 yards and 5 TDs, and 3 of those TDs were perfectly placed deep balls. If you want to beat Nebraska's defense with the passing game, you have to throw the deep ball, and Murray put on a clinic, torching Bo's defense like no one has since Oklahoma's Sam Bradford in 2008.

Defensive MVP: Georgia LB Alec Ogletree. 13 tackles, a sack, 3 TFLs and the all-important forced fumble and recovery that turned the tide against the Big Red. Ogletree gets overshadowed by Jarvis Jenkins, but he's every bit the linebacker as the future top 10 draft pick.

Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. This is more of a default award, but credit Maher for his nice punts (minus the one that was blocked) and solid kickoff work. Maher's missed 47 yard field goal didn't end up hurting us, but the points would have been nice at the time.

Freshman MVP: Georgia RB Todd Gurley. The freshman was as good as advertised, racking up 127 yards and a TD on the ground, and complementing Murray's stellar passing. The Blackshirts mostly shut Gurley down in the second half, but accounting for the freshman hurt the Big Red on several long play action passes.

Assistant Coach of the Game: Rick Kaczenski had the toughest job imaginable, coming off the Wisconsin disaster and going into this game against a huge Georgia offensive line without his best defensive linemen. Coach K's boys acquitted themselves well though, overall. The pass rush left a lot to be desired, and the big boys whiffed on a couple run plays, but the defensive line was not the reason the Huskers lost this game. I'm sympathetic to Coach K's plight this time, but with another year to work in Bo's system and a chance to recruit his own players, I expect a big improvement next year.

Key Stat: 48 yards. That was the average length of Georgia's 6 TD's, all but one through the air and none shorter than 24 yards. Ouch.

Play of the Game: Will Compton's 24 yard pick-six. Not only was it simultaneously the best play of Compton's career and the worst of Murray's, but it also gave the Huskers a huge momentum boost, and a short-lived lead.

Play We Want Back: With a tied game and a gassed Georgia defense, Nebraska drove from their own 14 yard line to the Georgia 40 yard line, and faced a 3rd and 1. Easy, peasy, handoff to Ameer Abdullah for 2 yards and a first down. Except Abdullah fumbled, and Jake Cotton, if he did in fact jump on the ball, didn't hold onto it and Georgia got the ball back long with the momentum and went on to score 14 unanswered points and hoisted the Capital One Bowl trophy while Nebraska was left with yet another heartbreaking loss. It's hard to pin a game on one play, but this one sure hurt.

I want to see more...
*Taking advantage of breaks. Nebraska received several breaks against Georgia, and the only one they really took advantage was Compton's pick-six. After PJ Smith's interception, the Huskers went 3-and-out and had a punt blocked for a safety (that should have been a TD; another break). Taylor Martinez worked his magic to escape pressure in the backfield, but missed a wide open Jamal Turner in the end zone, and Nebraska settled for a field goal. After Ameer Abdullah's fateful fumble, the Bulldogs went 3-and-out, but the Husker's promptly did the same. Once the fourth quarter hit, the Husker's luck dried up, and the Bulldogs made quick work of the beleaguered Blackshirts to put the game away.
*Rex Burkhead. It just doesn't seem fair Rex, we hardly knew ye. After missing most of the season with a knee injury, Rex rides off toward the NFL leaving a stellar, if unfulfilled career in his wake.
*Baker Steinkuhler. Does Nebraska win if Stein plays? Hard to say, but having the big rock in the middle wouldn't have hurt our chances. Here's hoping he can find an NFL team that can use his talents.
*Kyler Reed. The theme of Reed's career is under-utilization. Credit Georgia's speed for taking away one of Nebraska's best weapons, but it didn't seem like Reed was part of the gameplan.
*Batted balls. Something needs to change in the coaching of Nebraska's DB's. They couldn't locate the ball in the air, and thus were burned by Murray's precision deep throws.
*Pass blocking. Especially from the tackles. If I'm Barney Cotton, I would move Andrew Rodriguez back inside, as he is a constant liability with his penalties and poor pass blocking technique. As for Jeremiah Sirles and Brent Qvale, they need a lot of technique work, as they struggled against elite pass rushers this season, and the young pups behind them need to be groomed. Having Tyler Moore back wouldn't hurt, but unfortunately that ship has sailed.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. Two poorly thrown interceptions, albeit under duress, and a killer fumble. Same story as it's been the whole season. Tim Beck needs to hunker down and figure out how to make this turnover problem go away; it's the only thing holding his offense back from true greatness.
*Penalties. They always crop up when they hurt us most. Holding, false starts, and personal fouls bit us hard when we needed to come back in the fourth.
*Jarvis Jones. The Georgia linebacker was as good as advertised, constantly in Martinez's face and ruining several plays in the backfield. He figures to make a lot of money in April.
*Cameron Meredith at DT. I love the kid's heart, but it just wasn't fair to put him in the middle against the mashers he faced the last two games. I hope he gets his shot at the next level, and I hope we can find someone a lot bigger to plug in next season. Cough, Vincent Valentine, cough, cough.
*Big plays. Bo's defensive system is predicated on shutting down the big play, so it was discouraging to see Georgia gash us for 8.3 yards per play. The big plays in the running game cast a shadow on the dramatic improvement the defense showed since the Big Ten title game.
*Dropped passes. Quincy Enunwa on Nebraska's first drive and Ben Cotton in the fourth quarter both dropped first down catches, which is huge in a game in which Taylor Martinez didn't have enough time to throw perfect strikes. The Huskers showed huge improvement catching passes this season overall, but those two dropped passes could have gone a long way towards a victory.

Armchair coach:
I understand why Bo called a blitz on 3rd and 12 with Georgia at their own 13 yard line in the fourth quarter, but I really wish he wouldn't have sent everyone, and I really, really wish safety Daimion Stafford hadn't cheated inside on the play. The 87 yard TD was the nail in the coffin for the Husker defense and the final blown defensive assignment in a season full of them.

Hit of the Game:
South Carolina DE Ja'Deveon Clowney's destruction of Michigan RB Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl was heard all the way from Tampa to Orlando, so I'm giving him the nod. If you somehow haven't seen it, do yourself a favor.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"They played really well, but I'm really sad they lost. I still love Sexy Rexy."

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*What the heck SEC? If you'd have told me a month ago that LSU would lose to Clemson, and that Florida would get blown out by Louisville, I'd have told you you were crazy. With another loss by Mississippi State, and close wins by Georgia and South Carolina, the SEC's image was definitely tarnished until Ole Miss and SEC-newby Texas A&M posted blowout wins. Still, if Notre Dame upsets Alabama tomorrow night, the league's image of invincibility will be destroyed for a year. Which would be nice.
*What about the Big Ten? Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan all showed well in losses. Northwestern had the best win over the SEC's Mississippi State, and Michigan State got a nice win over TCU. Purdue got blasted by Oklahoma State, but everyone expected that to happen. The league gained face nationally, even though they lost more games than they won.
*Never bet against Boise. The Broncos won their 11th game with a stirring victory over Washington a few weeks ago. That was the best bowl game I saw this season, but then again I didn't watch the Michigan-South Carolina thriller.
*Biggest surprise of the bowl season? Easily Louisville's beat down of Florida. Big East teams aren't supposed to do that to SEC teams. Teddy Bridgewater put himself in the Heisman top 5 for next season, and OC Shawn Watson put himself back in the mix for some head coaching jobs next year.
*Remember back in August when USC was going to walk through the PAC-12 and beat an SEC team for a National Championship? They got walked over by Georgia Tech's triple-option attack, and it's going to be a long 9 months for Kiffin and Co.
*Former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich's Ohio Bobcats destroyed ULM and secured their third straight 9 win season.
*Former Nebraska QB Cody Green led Tulsa to 11 wins, a conference title, and a bowl win over Iowa State. Good to see him having success, and it will be interesting to see if he can play his way into a draft pick next season.
*Speaking of former Huskers, former defensive coordinator Craig Bohl won his second consecutive FCS National Championship at North Dakota State.
*UCLA got wiped out by Baylor, and now coach Jim Mora is receiving a lot of interest from the NFL. Things might get interesting in LA the next few weeks.
*Unfortunately, the season ends tomorrow with that game you might have heard about. 9 months is a long time.

Beer of the Game
Agave Wheat by Breckenridge Brewing Co. Denver, CO

I love a well done wheat beer more than almost anything else in the world, and this offering from Breckenridge is a terrific hefeweizen. The agave nectar is sorta exotic, but it's a nice change of pace from the citrus heavy world of wheat beers. This beer is difficult to find, and pretty expensive, but if you come across it, it's definitely worth a buy.

Best Commercial
I'm a big fan of the Allstate Mayhem commercials and I think this one is especially appropriate. Nothing funnier than a streaker.

Best Fan Rant
I was in Lincoln for the holidays, but I had planned to exchange text message trash talk with my friend Joe who is as big a Georgia fan as I am a Nebraska fan. Unfortunately, my phone died right before the game so I thought this idea was out the window until I plugged my phone in Tuesday evening and got 6 text messages at once. The following are the text messages I received from Joe throughout the course of the game:

"Scoreboard."
"We suck. All is lost."
"This is shameful. The Braska [Joe's preferred name for The Cornhusker State] is playing with heart and UGA is just going through the motions."
"I hate UGA"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaand scoreboard."
"Who won? I didn't catch the end." (Yes he did. Joe is not a gracious winner or loser.)

Seems like Nebraska fans aren't the only ones who live and die a thousand times on gameday.

Last thought
I'm not into moral victories, but I would be lying to you if I thought that Nebraska would have played Georgia that closely. Although Georgia's talent and speed advantages were clearly seen, Nebraska used a good game plan, and several lucky breaks to match the Bulldogs blow for blow. Until the fumble. But enough about that. It's time to look toward 2013, and the incredible opportunity the Huskers have to make a run at a conference title, or more.
Even Bo was in a rare good mood after the game, and he is outwardly excited for next year's team, and (secretly I'm sure) the lighter schedule. If the head man is happy, then he knows that all is not lost after his third straight bowl defeat. Bo was right, Nebraska was a few plays away from knocking off a top 10 SEC team with what amounts to an NFL defense and one of the best offenses in the country. No, not a moral victory, but certainly not the crushing defeat that the Big Ten Title game was.
2012, if it is remembered at all, will be remembered for the same wild swings in performance and momentum that characterized Bo's first 4 years. The 10 wins were nice, but once again, the Huskers have very little to show for it. The offense showed amazing progression, while the defense showed baffling regression. Maybe 2013 is the year Bo can finally put it together. It's 9 excruciating months until we find out.

Sunday Review: Big Ten Conference Championship Game

2012-12-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

It's all a little tiring, isn't it? Nebraska pushes it's boulder to the brink of the pit, only to watch it roll back down. Actually it crashes back down. And explodes. Bo's Sisyphean horror show continues.
When the Badgers moved 79 yards in 4 rushing plays and 1 minute, to go up 42-10 at halftime, my buddy sent me a text that read: "We have them right where we want them!"
Alas, not this time. Wisconsin kept their foot on the pedal, and kept running around, through, and over the "Blackshirts" and when it was all over, 6 games worth of football karma had bitten Nebraska hard.
There's not a lot more that needs to be said, so we'll just forge on with the review.

Offensive MVP: Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon. Before he took those last few meaningless hand-offs in the fourth quarter, Gordon was averaging better than 40 yards a carry. He scored from 56, had a 60 yard run to set up another TD, and was a terror around the corner all night, finishing with 216 yards on 9 carries.

Defensive MVP: Wisconsin CB Marcus Cromartie. Cromartie snatched a pass that went through Kenny Bell's hands and took it back 29 yards for a TD to put Wisconsin up 14-0 and get the rout started. Cromartie had 2 more pass break-ups and 7 tackles on the night.

Special Teams MVP: P/K Brett Maher. 19 yard shank aside, Maher was the only Husker to perform up to standard last night. For whatever it was worth.

Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. Cross' 26 yard TD at the end looked exactly like a lot of Wisconsin's TDs last night: straight up the middle, break a tackle or two, accelerate to the endzone.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Wisconsin's O-Line coach Bart Miller. The Omaha native coached his offensive linemen to a stunning success last night. Badger offensive linemen blew Nebraska's defensive linemen off the line, and decimated the linebackers, forcing Nebraska's secondary to make tackles they were incapable of making. Miller was a graduate assistant at the beginning of the year, but he figures to get quite the raise at the end of the season.

Key Stat: 10.9. Wisconsin averaged 10.9 yards on 50 carries. Madness.

Play of the Game:
One of the worst things about this loss is that it overshadows the greatest play I've seen since Eric Crouch's 95 yard run at Missouri. Under extreme duress, Taylor Martinez zig-zagged, cut, and sprinted 76 yards for a TD to answer Cromartie's pick six. If Nebraska gets back on track, and wins the Capital One Bowl, plays like that will fuel a Heisman run in 2013.

Play We Want Back:
If I had to pick one, it would be Gordon's first TD, a 56 yard jet sweep in which he broke the tackles of both safeties and sprinted into the endzone. That play provided a preview of the night our defense was in for. The Huskers couldn't shut down the perimeter runs, and Wisconsin exploited that weakness over and over.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. In order to force fumbles, you must first tackle. In order to get interceptions, you must first force your opponent to throw. Nebraska did none of those things.
*Ground game. Nebraska had success early, but after falling behind, Tim Beck abandoned the run game in favor of fruitless passing. Wisconsin deserves credit for knocking Nebraska off it's game, but our offensive performance left a lot to be desired.
*Baker Steinkuhler. It's impossible to say for sure how big a difference the senior DT would have made, but let's just remember that Wisconsin had a net of 56 yards rushing the last time these teams met.
*Punt returns. Yes, Wisconsin did punt yesterday, and Nebraska's pun return woes continued, even with Rex Burkhead back deep. When Nebraska doesn't field punts, they roll back for a mile, when Nebraska does field punts (that one time...), Rex lost a yard. At least we didn't muff any.
*Breaks. All of the breaks that the Huskers received in the 6 game winning streak vanished last night. Bell's tip-six, Tim Marlowe's first down catch reversed, Jamal Turner's TD called back. Wisconsin LB Chris Borland said it best after the game: "Unlike 5 other times this year, the ball bounced our way."
*TD toss winner Brad Walker at QB. The winner of Dr. Pepper's halftime promotion couldn't have done any worse.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. Martinez doesn't get a pass because the defense was playing poorly. I would think by now that Taylor would be so tired of ball security drills that he wouldn't dream of fumbling. His first interception was mostly Bell's fault, but the second was a desperation heave that he shouldn't have thrown. When your defense is getting torn to shreds, the last thing you want to do is put them in bad field position.
*Penalties. You can't say that penalties changed the outcome of the game, but dangit, how are guys supposed to play football if they get flagged every time they make a nice hit. The personal foul on Daimion Stafford was bad, but the call on Bell was just plain stupid. I'm not quite ready to commit to making personal fouls reviewable, but I'm more in favor now than I was a week ago.
*Missed tackles. On Gordon's 56 yard TD to start the game, Stafford missed him at the line of scrimmage, and PJ Smith whiffed about 20 yards downfield. On Montee Ball's 57 yard TD run, he spun out of Jason Ankrah's hands and used a stiff arm to put Ciante Evans on his butt. That was the most pathetic display of tackling since the UCLA game. Something needs to change.
*Defensive confusion. On most plays, the Husker defenders were scrambling around before the snap in the the most confused way possible. Don't think Wisconsin didn't notice, dialing up plenty of motion, formations, and trick plays to keep the Huskers off balance.
*Trick plays. Wisconsin ran about a thousand last night and they all worked. That's just the sort of night the Huskers had.
*Offensive line miscommunication. When the Badgers started showing their Pittsburgh Steelers stand-up defensive line, the Husker offensive line wilted, and pass rushers came free. Martinez was scrambling all night.
*Games on FOX. I said this after the UCLA game and I'll repeat it again. Everything from the poor production quality, to Gus Johnson's WWE-style commentary irritates the heck out of me.
*Late season losses. It's far better to lose early than late. We're headed for another long, negative offseason.
*Brett Bielema's fat face. Seriously. Every time I see that arrogant squinch in Bielema's piggy eyes, I want to kick puppies. Ugliest coach in football.

Armchair coach:
If I'm Bo Pelini after a loss like that, I'm not picking fights with Dirk Chatelain in the postgame news conference. Yes, Dirk was asking a douchey question, but Bo was not in a position to take offense to anything. He used up all of the goodwill he earned in that winning streak with yet another blowout loss, and he needs to circle the wagons and rebuild some optimism.

Hit of the Game:
Kenny Bell gets this award for his epic de-cleating of Devin Smith. If you missed it because you'd already turned the game off, shame on you, but here it is. Watch it again. And again.
Devin Smith should hide his face, not just for getting cartwheeled by a 180 lb wide receiver, but also for the penalty. That was very necessary roughness.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"That was absolutely the most painful game I've ever watched."
She nailed it again.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*There was another conference championship game in Atlanta, perhaps you heard about it. Alabama's ground game was too much in the end, and Georgia's bungled redzone opportunity was salt in the wound for Bulldog fans. When I saw my friend Joe at church this morning, he gave me a hug and said "We both need this."
*Kansas State continued their uncanny dominance over Texas, and they'll probably finish right behind Oregon at #5 in the BCS. Great season for Bill Snyder's squad.
*Northern Illinois won a wild OT thriller over Kent State in the MAC championship and might have secured a BCS bid. Coach Dave Doeren then promptly signed on as NC State's new head coach. A step down in my opinion.
*Had we beaten Wisconsin, we would have played a stronger, faster Wisconsin with a better QB in the Rose Bowl. Stanford's rise as a power on the West Coast is nothing complex: strong running game, physical defense, smart QB play. It's sort of refreshing after Nebraska's game last night.
*Florida State needed a late red zone stand to hold off Georgia Tech in the ACC title game. I hate the Seminoles.
*Oklahoma held off TCU, but they might get bounced by Northern Illinois for a BCS berth.
*Mark Stoops is in at Kentucky, and Skip Holtz is out at South Florida. The coaching carousel continues to spin.
*Who is the only team with 10 wins every year since 2006? Boise State. The Broncos locked up another 10 win season with their victory over Nevada.

Song of the Game

"Holland Road" by Mumford and Sons

"But I'll still believe though there's cracks you'll see,
When I'm on my knees I'll still believe,
And when I've hit the ground, neither lost nor found,
If you'll believe in me I'll still believe"

The Huskers have suffered the worst loss (in every sense) of the Bo Pelini era, and fans are jumping ship. The more level headed among us realize that one game, no matter how disastrous doesn't have to sink a program. The Huskers have failed in their primary goal for the season, but there's still a Capital One Bowl to be played against a big bad SEC opponent. No time for moping.

Beer of the Game
Shiner Bock by Spoetzl Brewing Company, Shiner, TX

Shiner Bock is an American institution, and proof that not all things in Texas are evil. Shiner tastes crisp and finishes clean like a good lager should. If you happen to travel in Texas, Shiner Bock is ubiquitous, but it's available for a decent price pretty much everywhere.

Best Commercial
Maybe it's because I have a keen memory of how I was when I was a little kid, but this AT&T commercial really cracks me up. I can't wait until my son says stuff like this.

Last thought
I still can't quite believe what happened last night. Teams don't run for 539 yards on anybody, let alone Nebraska. Honestly, I think Nebraska somehow overlooked Wisconsin and paid the price in a heartbreaking fashion.
Still, the season isn't over. There's an SEC opponent waiting in Orlando, and Bo desperately needs a bowl win to pacify the civil war that's brewing in the fan base.
Fans need to take a step back and get a little perspective. Nebraska is 10-3, and headed into a pretty decent bowl game. No, we didn't meet our goals for the season, but that doesn't mean that the year was a waste. Nebraska is in the hunt for several program changing recruits, and with a good offseason, the Husker's are still poised for a National Title run next year. Sure, the road to a conference championship will never be easier, but there's nothing that happened last night that a nice string of wins won't erase.
On to Orlando.

Sunday Review: Iowa

2012-11-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

With the regular season all wrapped up (What?! Already?!), we finally have a handle on this Nebraska team. We know for sure that they're always going to play ugly, physical football, and they're never going to panic or quit. We know that the defense is not talented enough to dominate opponents, but they're speedy, and tough enough to make the stops they need when it counts. We know that the offense can shoot itself in the foot a thousand different ways, but still outsprint the other team to the finish line. Most of all we know that this team, like their coach, is one ugly, beautiful piece of work, and the Big Ten is lucky to have them carrying the conference's flag into the post-season.
On another blustery day with an Arctic bite in the wind, the Big Red outslugged a surprisingly plucky Hawkeye team, warming the hearts of Husker fans with a 10 win season, a Legends division title, and a trip to Indianapolis for a rematch with Wisconsin.

Offensive MVP: RB Rex Burkhead. 16 rushes for 69 yards and a TD doesn't sound overly impressive, but it was the way in which Rex got those yards, and the timing of his carries that earn this award for the rugged senior. Coming out of a sluggish first half, the Husker offense needed something to fire them up on a frigid day, and Burkhead didn't disappoint. Breaking tackles and literally carrying the entire Hawkeye defense (and by extension, the entire Husker offense) on his back, Burkhead provided the boost that Bo hoped he would, and partially vindicated his lost season.

Defensive MVP: DE Eric Martin. Cavemen don't mind the cold. Martin set up camp in the Hawkeye backfield, sacking James Vandenberg once, stripping him once, and hitting him two other times. Throw in 3 tackles for loss, and 7 overall and you have a career day for the senior. Martin seems to be peaking at the right time, and with the serious injury to Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska will need another big game next week.

Special Teams MVP: P/K Brett Maher. Considering the gusty, swirling wind Friday, Maher might have played the best game of his career. 3/4 kickoffs for touchbacks, a 26 yard field goal into the wind, a 52 yarder with the wind, and a 43 yard punting average with 2 inside the 20. Maher's ups and downs this season have been well documented, but his performance Friday was sweet redemption.

Freshman MVP: FB Andy Janovich. Yes, he dropped a pass, and yes he caused a fumble, but Janovich had some crushing blocks on Friday that would have made Joel Makovicka proud. Nebraska's walk-on program has turned out some gems, but I can't remember the last time a true freshman walk-on had this big of an impact. What a steal.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
John Papuchis. On a day when Nebraska's offense was struggling to move the ball, or even to hold on to it, Papuchis' defense made the plays it needed to, and the Huskers were able to walk out of Iowa City with an important win.

Key Stat:
138. After a 62 yard touchdown drive on their first possession, Iowa only managed 138 yards on 11 drives after that. That's 12.5 yards per possession, and 0 points.

Play of the Game: Rex's 3 yard touchdown run. This was the kind of play that Nebraska hasn't been able to make all season at the goal line. Rex did what no other back on the roster can do: slide around the tackle, lean forward, and squirt through tacklers into the end zone. Rex can't make up for the season he lost, but saving the Huskers' hide is a nice way to go out.

Play We Want Back: Early in the second quarter with Iowa leading 7-3, the Blackshirts forced a 3 and out inside the Hawkeyes 10 yard line, forcing a punt into the wind from the Iowa endzone. Ameer Abdullah had an opportunity for a fair catch at the Iowa 41 yard line, but the ball went right through his hands and was recovered by an Iowa defender. Instead of a first down in Hawkeye territory, the Husker defense returned to the field and Iowa would move the ball into Nebraska territory before giving the ball up on downs, costing the offense 20 yards of field position and several minutes of possession.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. It seems like every turnover is sweeter than the last. Ciante Evans made one heck of a play batting Vandenberg's pass into the waiting arms of Daimion Stafford. Eric Martin made a good looking sack-strip that Vandenberg managed to fall on, but still forced an Iowa punt. Alonzo Whaley made the best play of his career jumping that slant route like he was Darrelle Revis. The Blackshirts seem to be playing with more confidence every series, and that confidence is showing up on the stat sheet as turnovers.
*Shutdown defense. For the second week in a row, Nebraska dominated an opposing offense, especially through the air. Vandenberg won't be confused with Jim Kelly, but he has a big arm that was almost entirely useless against an aggressive secondary and a certain Caveman that was in his face all game. The Blackshirts are peaking at the right time.
*Sexy Rexy. The most eligible bachelor in Lincoln swooped in and saved the perception of the Husker's season with his Herculean runs Friday afternoon. Rex isn't the fastest or the strongest running back in the country, but show me another back who does what Rex does. It's a lucky NFL team that picks him up next April.
*The diamond formation. Nebraska's longest runs of the day (including a 15 yard run by Braylon Heard in the 4th quarter that was called back on a questionable clipping call) came out of this hybrid pistol/wishbone formation that Beck debuted last season. Unfortunately, opposing teams have taken notice of this formation's utility, with Michigan starting their game with a long run by Denard Robinson out of the diamond on Saturday.
*Mark Pelini. No, not the head coach, the backup center who came on cold and played most of the game for the injured Justin Jackson. Pelini missed a block or two, but his snaps were crisp and he got some valuable playing time towards next season. It'll be interesting to see if he or Cole Pensick starts in Indianapolis next week.
*Braylon Heard. The true sophomore averaged 11 yards on his 4 carries, including a 16 yard run on a zone read that set the Huskers up on Iowa's 7 yard line prior to Rex's TD. Heard's lack of playing time has been a mystery all season, but he got the most playing time he's seen all season in Iowa City.
*Ciante Evans. Bo said this week that Evans is the best DB in the Big Ten, and Evans backed his coach's words with a nice performance Friday, batting a pass to Stafford, making 3 solo tackles, and blanketing Hawkeyes all day without getting flagged. The one play where Evans was clearly beat, the receiver dropped the ball, so evidently Evans possesses a corner's best skill: luck.
*Daimion Stafford. Stafford played lights out yesterday, snagging his 4th INT in 5 games, breaking up a TD pass (with an assist from the wind), and cutting down Mark Weisman for a 1 yard loss in the 3rd quarter. Stafford is another defender who is peaking at the right time.
*Kenny Bell. Nebraska's most explosive weapon had 0 touches, and only 2 targets, both batted away. Obviously the wind was a big factor in the passing game, but Nebraska didn't try any of the screens that were so effective last week, or any end-arounds to get Bell the ball in space. At least he'll be rested for next weekend.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. You have to think that Nebraska lost at least 6 points with their two fumbles inside Iowa territory in the second quarter. And don't think I forgot about the interception that was somehow dropped by Omaha native Tanner Miller on an ill-advised deep throw. Once again, the Huskers found a way to win despite their turnover issues, but the problems are the same ones we've seen since the UCLA game: muffed punts, mishandled handoffs, and crazy, inexplicable collisions between ballcarriers and blockers that end up with the ball on the ground.
*Punt return blunders. Seriously. I've never seen anything so comically horrible as Nebraska's punt return team. I don't presume to know what needs to be changed, but something needs to happen before one of those muffed punts, or the balls downed at the 1 yard line really hurt us.
*Injuries. Other than Rex, Nebraska has been pretty lucky with injuries this year, but within a few plays Friday, the Huskers lost Baker Steinkuhler and Justin Jackson, the cores of their offensive and defensive lines. Mark Pelini, Cam Meredith, and Chase Rome filled in nicely, but the loss of those two seniors was definitely felt. Bo said both will be out until the bowl game, but lets hope that doesn't turn out to be the case.
*Penalties. There weren't as many Friday afternoon, but both of them erased long gains by the Big Red. The clipping call on Jeremiah Sirles was bogus, and on the opposite side of the field from Braylon Heard's big run. An Illegal forward pass called on Martinez erased a 9 yard gain and a first down by Abdullah.
*Shiftyness in the pocket. Martinez's biggest improvement this season had been his vastly improved pocket presence, but for some reason he looked mighty uncomfortable in the pocket Friday. Martinez took 2 bad sacks when he had time to throw, and couldn't escape when he needed to scramble. Hopefully this was just an aberration on an otherwise impressive year.
*Wind. That's three games in a row that were significantly affected by the wind. Playing in Lucas Oil Stadium next week will be nice. I hope they keep the roof on.
*Commercials. The 2 long drives in the first quarter had ABC running commercials every chance they could in the second. It was pretty tiresome.

Armchair coach:
There's many things the Iowa fans have a right to be disappointed in their coaches for, but the pre-halftime clock management was possibly the worst I've ever seen. Taking over at Nebraska's 42 yard line after a 30 yard punt return with 1:34 left and 2 timeouts, Iowa inexplicably used short passes over the middle, and short runs up the middle to move to the 19 yard line; a drive complete with mishandled snaps, wasted time between plays, and an illegal shift penalty. Iowa then missed a 42 yard field goal into the wind with :04 seconds left on the clock.
Consider this: Kirk Ferentz makes 3.65 million per year, which is about $300,000 per game, which is about $5000 per game minute. So for that bungled 1:34, Ferentz earned $7500.

Hit of the Game:
On the aforementioned pre-halftime drive, with Iowa facing 3rd an 15 at the Nebraska 19, Eric Martin came screaming in and smashed Vandenberg as he released the ball, which went fluttering harmlessly away. Iowa missed the 42 yard field goal on the next play and, Nebraska went to halftime only down 7-3.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Rex Burkhead is a beast, is it too late to rename our son?"

Not too late, too expensive. If he delivers a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl win, I might think about it a little harder...

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*Moral conundrums don't get more complex than this: does one cheer for Notre Dame to win and go to the National Championship game, or for Lane Kiffin and USC to win and virtually assure another all-SEC NC game? I found myself weakly rooting for the Irish. My conscience hurts.
*As it is, the SEC is likely to finish the regular season #2, #3, #4, #7, #9, and #10. Unless there's some epic bowl upsets, it's gonna be a fun offseason hearing how great the SEC is.
*Stanfod handled UCLA in round 1. Round 2 is set for next weekend. Who would you rather play in the Rose Bowl?
*It was nice to see Texas get knocked around at home by TCU. If the Longhorns can beat Kansas State in Manhattan, then Oklahoma will win a back door Big 12 championship (provided they beat TCU in Dallas).
*Auburn finishes 3-9, and 0-8 in the SEC with 6 of those SEC losses by 17 points or more. Two seasons after winning a National Championship. Toss in an NCAA investigation into his staff's recruiting habits, and it will be no small miracle if Chizik is around next season.
*Remember how impressive Nebraska's season opening win over Southern Miss looked back in September? The Golden Eagles just finished 0-12 with a 18 point loss to 4-8 Memphis. Ellis Johnson will be lucky to be on the sidelines wherever the game is played next year.
*Kent State is 11-1? Whaaaat? The Flashes' win caps a 3 game skid for Frank Solich's Bobcats. Also, the MAC has 4 teams with at least 9 wins. The Big Ten has 3.
*If you didn't see Washington State's comeback win over Washington, you missed out. Not only did it make Mike Leach's first season, but it ruined Steve Sarkisian's. Awesome.
*Ohio State won "The Game" the same way it won so many this season: ugly. The Wolverines committed 4 turnovers allowing the Buckeyes to overcome 9 penalties and 2 turnovers of their own, and close out a back-and-forth game. So now Ohio State is 12-0 and we're doomed to 10 months of hearing how great Urban Meyer is.
*Worst team in the Big Ten? Easily Illinois after their blowout loss to Northwestern leaves them 0-8 in the League. Second worst? Probably a tie between Iowa and Indiana; each won games they shouldn't have, and lost games they should've won.

*I'm sure Jim Delany is thrilled that his Leaders division representative in the Big Ten title game finished 3rd in the division standings with an 8-5 record. Wisconsin is dangerous, but they're not a great team, Nebraska should handle them a little easier this time around.

Song of the Game
"Winter Winds" by Mumford and Sons

"As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts
Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms
Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night?
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt"

Emerging from the frozen wastelands of Iowa, Nebraska is the undisputed Legends division champion, and riding a wave of momentum into the warmer confines of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This isn't the best Nebraska team, but it just might be the mentally toughest Husker team in memory. If mother nature can't beat down the Big Red, do the Badgers stand a chance?

Beer of the Game
1554 by New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO

This beer was allegedly brewed using a centuries old recipe from a Belgian monastery; apparently the brewers had a difficult time with the antiquated measurements and tranlations. However they figured it out, New Belgium hit it out of the park with this beer. Imagine a perfect mix of Guinness and Newcastle, and you'd have this rich, bold, but still clean tasting beer. Another great offering by New Belgium.

Best Commercial
People outside of the South are really missing out on some great local commercials. I featured a Mike Hostilo commercial earlier this season, but the man keeps cranking out the gems. I can't believe that anyone would hire this tool to represent them for anything.

Last thought
We gotta bring back those "Bo Knows Football" t-shirts. Bo said it best, when he made his "Win out." pronouncement, we all looked at him like he was a 'crazy man.' It probably had somehting to do with the 30 point loss we had just witnessed and the fact that his defense couldn't stop a geriatric running back on a scooter with a dead battery. Win out? Nonsense. We would be lucky to win 3 of the 6 remaining games. Winning 6 straight is something that Bo's teams just don't do.
Until they did. After so many questions about his ability to break through the inconsistency that mired his first 4 seasons, Bo seems to have willed his team through the glass ceiling in year 5. Win or lose in Indy next week, Nebraska has a season to hang its hat on, showing grit, determination, and no small amount of luck during its 6 game winning streak. The most encouraging thing? The players' actions after the win at Iowa. No parades, no overblown celebration.
The players know that the 6 game winning streak doesn't mean much if the Huskers lose a game they should win next week. It's back to business against a completely different Wisconsin team, without 2 key pieces of the offensive and defensive lines. Nebraska can and should win this game, but like everything else this season, it probably won't come easy. It's been 13 years since the Huskers' last conference championship, maybe that's our lucky number.

Sunday Review: Minnesota

2012-11-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

On a day in which the entire college football world turned upside down thanks to upsets, coaching changes, and new realignment rumors, Nebraska treated its fans to a stunning bit of normalcy. Tom Osborne, in his 500th game at Nebraska in some official capacity, and his final game in Lincoln, led the players onto the field where Bo Pelini took over and coached his team to a blowout so workmanlike, it was almost boring.
In this brave new world of parity and massive weekly upheavals in college football, it was nice to see an old school beatdown of an overmatched opponent at Memeorial Stadium. Granted, these Huskers can't compare to the deified mid-90's squads, or even the fantastic 80's teams, but after finishing a perfect 7-0 at home this season, we get the sense that the Cornhuskers are working themselves back to that point.
Nothing could stop Taylor Martinez and Kenny Bell on this day. Nothing could get past Baker Steinkuhler and Will Compton. The heavens opened, and for three and a half quarters, seemingly every ball bounced NU's way. This was a retro performance in every great sense of the word, and if the Huskers can duplicate it against a woebegone Iowa team next week, they will roll into Indy on a 6 game winning streak.
But first, the review:

Offensive MVP: WR Kenny Bell. 9 catches for 136 yards and 2 TDs, and another catch that put Nebraska in business inside the Minnesota 5 yard line. Bell has transformed from a fast skinny kid into Nebraska's best playmaker on the outside. All 8 of Bell's TDs this year have come from at least 25 yards, showing you exactly how explosive he is as a playmaker. Getting up after taking a hard shot over the middle while catching a 3rd down pass showcases his toughness.

Defensive MVP: Nickelback Ciante Evans. Evans had 6 solo tackles, including a good looking sack on a nickel blitz on a 3rd and 8 in the second quarter. My only gripe with Evans' performance yesterday was the pick he dropped early in the second quarter. Terry Joseph touts his junior nickelback as the best defensive player on the team. Hard to argue.

Special Teams MVP: PR Jamal Turner. Nothing exciting or flashy about his performance, it's just really nice to see someone actually catch a punt and then hang onto it.

Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. "Iron" Cross struck again, picking up another pair of TDs as well as converting a 3rd and 1 to start the second quarter. The true freshman might have got another TD to end the first half, but Cross tried to leap the pile instead of driving through an admittedly small crease at the line of scrimmage. As good as he looks now, I think that Cross' future is far brighter.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Rick Kaczenski. Nebraska's defensive line earned their share of criticism earlier this season, but they dominated the Gophers all day and spearheaded the Blackshirt's 3 1/2 quarter shutout with 3 tackles for loss, and several for 2 yards or less, Minnesota was living with 2nd and 7 or 8 all game, which is a tough start for any offense. Baker Steinkuhler, Eric Martin, Jason Ankrah, Joe Carter and Cameron Meredith consistently met the Gophers' running backs at or behind the line of scrimmage and generated a decent amount of pressure on freshman QB Riley Nelson. Nelson won't ever be confused for Braxton Miller, but the Gophers QB has some decent wheels, and the Huskers held him to a net of 4 yards rushing yesterday, thanks to the D-line's successful containment. Great day for this group.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's 36 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell into the wind. Despite starting with a 5 yard penalty for illegal motion, Nebraska took the ball from their own 10 yard line and in a very methodical 8 plays and 3:40, drove the field and put the Huskers up 10-0. Under no great deal of pressure, Martinez's gorgeous toss to Kenny Bell set the tone for the type of afternoon the Gophers were about to experience.

Play We Want Back: It didn't have any impact on the game, but Ameer Abdullah's inexplicable fumble in the third quarter shows us that Nebraska doesn't have everything figured out just yet.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. The Blackshirts picked off two tipped passes yesterday, with Daimion Stafford the beneficiary of a deep pass that bounced off WR MarQuies Gray's hands, and Stanley Jean-Baptiste taking another tipped pass 48 yards for a pick six. There's rooms for improvement though, as Evans dropped an interception, and Stafford couldn't quite recover a punt that hit a Gopher's heel in the 4th quarter.
*Shutdown defense. The Gophers were 0 for their first 12 third down conversions, and didn't cross the Nebraska 35 yard line until late in the 4th quarter. The Gophers had 60 yards at halftime, and finished with only 177 total yards (90 passing, 87 rushing). The Gophers managed only 57 plays and 3.7 yards/play. It would have been nice to maintain the shutout, but you can't argue with that performance.
*WR Screens. Tim Beck called the WR screen early and often, and after several 3-7 yard gains, Bell finally broke on for a 30 yard TD. It was a nice wrinkle on a day when Nebraska couldn't get any traditional ground game going.
*Taylor Marino. Sure that's a bit of an exaggeration, but aside from a few errant throws, Martinez looked great yesterday throwing for 303 yards at a 72% completion rate. Martinez showed defensive coordinators that he can beat you with his arm when you sell out to stop the run.
*Running game. The passing game was nice, but it was a little worrisome to see one of the worst run defenses in the Big Ten hold Nebraska to their lowest rushing output of the season. Abdullah squirted free a few times, but the Gophers mostly did a good job limiting the Huskers' backs from getting past the second level.
*Discipline from the backups. Judging by Ron Kellogg III's fourth quarter performance, Husker fans better pray hard that Taylor Martinez stays healthy. Kellogg didn't get any help from his offensive line, or receivers, but his 1-4 passing performance, as well as the two fumbles on two consecutive plays, doeesn't exactly inspire confidence in Nebraska's number 2.
*Aggressive secondary. Minnesota threw a total of 28 passes yesterday. 10 were caught by Gopher's receivers, 10 hit the ground or went out of bounds, and 8 passes were in some way altered by Husker defenders. That's a pretty good game by the back 7.
*The CJ Zimmerer and Cole Pensick bulldozer. Just like we saw last week against Penn State, when Nebraska needed a yard to get a TD, Pensick pulled right and along with FB CJ Zimmerer, blew the Gophers' defenders a yard past the goal line allowing Imani Cross to walk in his first TD of the day.
*Andrew Rodriguez at fullback. With Ben Cotton lined up right behind Spencer Long, and A-Rod behind Martinez, the Huskers rushed right and Cross was able to walk in for his second TD.
*Facial hair. Jase Dean's beard looks epic. Martinez's? Not so much. Steinkuhler's is somewhere in between. If Nebraska wins the Big Ten, Bo should grow a mustache.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. They didn't alter the outcome of the game, but Kellogg III's late 4th quarter fumble gave Minnesota a TD, and Abdullah's fumble was irritating. Nebraska still sits at -8 on the year.
*Boring 4th quarters. I understand that Nebraska was up 38-0, but if Tim Beck had been a little more aggressive in the fourth quarter and allowed Kellogg III to throw it around a little more, maybe Nebraska could have shortened the game and the 4th quarter wouldn't have taken so painfully long.
*HB Passes. The Huskers tried one in the 2nd quarter and it resulted in a 5 yard loss for Abdullah. It coulda been worse, but I don't see any reason to try a trick play at that point.
*Juggling. Credit Quincy Enunwa for making the catch at the two yard line after bobbling the throw 3 times, but he needs to secure that catch sooner. And he needs to stop extending the ball on the way to the ground, he wasn't anywhere near the goal line. Jamal Turner and Kenny Bell had a few shaky catches too.
*Late hits out of bounds. Seems like Stafford is getting flagged for this every game. His 15 yd personal foul yesterday was close, but he should have pulled up.
*Goal line fails. With two seconds left in the first half, Imani Cross tried to leap over the Gopher defense and was stuffed, ending the half on a sour note. Nebraska was up 24-0, so we didn't really need the TD, but it's always good for the team's confidence to punch it in from a yard out.

Armchair coach:
I liked the way the offense played for 3 quarters yesterday, but once Taylor Martinez and the bulk of the starters came out, the offense went into a shell and unnecessarily extended the game. Dropped passes and missed blocks played their part, but I think Tim Beck played it too safe, calling short runs and quick passes with all that time on the clock. Going into the wind, it forced short punts from Brett Maher, which allowed the Gophers to score some late TDs.

Hit of the Game:
Following Martinez's near turnover late in the third, Maher punted and as Gopher PR Marcus Jones was trying to get the sideline, Ben Cotton chopped his legs, windmilling him through the air and landing him hard. Jones was understandably shaken up, and it turned out to be the biggest play for Cotton on his Senior Day.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"They finally took my advice and played the whole game like they usually do the second half."
Good call babe.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*The SEC haters are awful quiet this morning. Kansas State looked hapless against a mediocre Baylor team, and Oregon wasted their best defensive performance of the year in an overtime loss to Stanford at home. If Notre Dame loses to USC next weekend, we'll probably see 2 SEC teams in the BCS National Championship game.
*Speaking of USC, they lost for the first time in 5 tries to UCLA last night. The Bruins could lose to Stanford next week and then play the Cardinal again in the PAC-12 championship game the next week.
*If Oregon wins the PAC-12, and misses the BCS National Championship game, they'll likely play in the Rose Bowl against Nebraska. That would not be fun.
*Going into the 4th quarter, #9 South Carolina was tied at 7 with FCS Wofford. The Gamecocks ended up scoring 17 in the 4th, but games like that can mean the difference in a BCS at-large berth and the Cotton Bowl.
*With Collin Klein and K-state losing, and Oregon's pathetic 14 points at home, the Heisman race is down to Johnny Manziel and Manti Te'o with 1 game left for each.
*Keep an eye on Oklahoma. Even with 2 losses, they're quietly positioning themselves for an at-larger BCS berth.
*Michigan State is now 5-6, with those 6 losses coming by a total of 30 points. Take out the Notre Dame loss, and Sparty's average margin of defeat is less than 3 points. Is there a better 6 loss team in the country? Something tells me the Spartans don't relish that distinction. They must win at Minnesota next weekend to go bowling.
*Following their OT loss to Ohio State, Wisconsin must beat Penn State in Happy Valley to avoid a 2 loss streak heading into the conference championship game in Indy.
*Unless they miraculously beat Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois is going to be 0-7 in Tim Beckman's first year in the Big Ten. 6-6 under Ron Zook doesn't seem so bad now.
*Purdue needs to beat Indiana at home to go bowling. Pretty sad for a team that had every opportunity to win the Leaders division this year.
*After getting blown out by Michgan, Iowa is only playing for pride at home against Nebraska on Friday. Whether that makes the Hawkeyes dangerous, or helpless remains to be seen.

Song of the Game
"Pressing On" by Relient K

"I think we're going somewhere.
We're on to something good here.
Out of mind, out of state.
Trying to keep my head on straight.
I think we're going somewhere.
We're on to something good here.
There's only one thing left to do.
Drop all I have and go with you.
Somewhere back there I left my worries all behind.
My problems fell out of the back of my mind.
We're going and I'm never knowing (never knowing) where we're going.
To go back to where I was would just be wrong.
I'm pressing on."

After the blowout loss at Ohio State, there were many fans who quit on this team. 5 games and 5 wins later, the Huskers are 1 win away from accomplishing Bo's "Win out." declaration, and the first phase of their goal to win the Big Ten is almost complete. If the Huskers press on and take care of business in Iowa City, then a trip to Indy and a rematch with Wisconsin is at hand.

Beer of the Game
90 minute IPA by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc. Milton, DE

Full disclosure: I don't really like IPA's. They're too hoppy, too bitter, and just not my cup of tea. However, my buddy insisted that this one was different. Smoother. He was right. Dogfish Head manages to craft a smooth, almost creamy beer that still retains the hoppy punch intrinsic to an IPA. The 9% abv gives the beer a warmth that is hard to match, and it finishes nice and clean. My only gripe: at 9 bucks for a 4 pack, this beer is too expensive for anything but special occasions.

Best Commercial
It doesn't make me want to switch to DirecTV, but this one's pretty funny.

Last thought
The Husker Train keeps rolling.   One more stop in Iowa City, and then it's on to Indy. Nebraska did exactly what it was supposed to do yesterday, a refreshing anomaly in a topsy-turvy college football world. If they do exactly what they're supposed to do Friday, then they should beat Iowa handily and have an extra day to prepare for a very different Badgers team than the one the Huskers beat in September.
But that's looking too far ahead. 5 down, 1 to go. Bo and his Huskers have almost fought themselves out of the corner they backed themselves into in Colombus.

Sunday Review: Penn State

2012-11-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

Seriously, somebody needs to step up and make better pregame speeches. Nebraska has come out sloppy in their last two games and had to rely on second half comebacks from two score deficits to win key Big Ten games. Sure, you like the Husker's resolve, but at some point you wonder when the luck is going to run out. With 2 relatively easy games left to go, the Huskers sit at 8-2 and first place in the Legends division, 2 games away from a rematch with Wisconsin at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Huskers emerge from a murderous 6 game stretch in better shape than most expected in the preseason, but 10 games into the season, we still have grave questions about this teams ability to come out of the gate and beat any team for 60 minutes. Any team but itself that is. Credit Bo Pelini and his staff for simplifying the defensive calls in the second half, and shutting down Bill O'Brien and Matt McGloin's tricky, quickie offensive attack. Credit Tim Beck for simplifying the offense in the second half and pounding out 21 points to give the Huskers another comeback win. But why the heck do we need all of this halftime simplification? Nebraska is entirely capable of dominating teams like Penn State from start to finish, but the Huskers seem like they'd rather try to out-scheme them first. It's all a little tiring.
Of course a win is a win, and like Bo said, that's 4 down and 2 to go. Two games against teams in the bottom third of the Big Ten. Two games against teams that shouldn't be able to hang with the Huskers for even 5 minutes. Two games that have no business being closer than 17 points. Can the Huskers put together two 60 minute games and lock up the Legends division?
That's a question that'll have to wait 6 days. Let's continue with the review:

Offensive MVP: RB Ameer Abdullah. 31 carries, 116 yards, 4 catches for 29 yards and no turnovers. Just another day at the office. Of course we'd like to have Rex Burkhead back, but Abdullah has taken almost all of the sting out of his loss.

Defensive MVP: S Daimion Stafford. After a rough first half that included a sideline 'discussion' with Bo, Stafford came out and picked McGloin's first throw of the second half and returned the ball to the PSU 4 yard line. Stafford broke up another pass in the third quarter, and jumped on Lehman's fumble in the endzone to end PSU's final scoring threat. Stafford plays better every week and if he keeps improving, he'll be making big plays in the Rose Bowl.

Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. 3 field goals, 3 extra points and a 69 yard punt that pinned Penn State at their own 2 yard line make up for a few short punts into the wind that put the Husker defense in a bad position. The 33 yarder to ice the game was nice to see after all of the senior's inconsistency this season.

Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. "Iron" Cross finally got an opportunity to showcase his most valuable skill: short yardage running. Cross plowed 3 yards past the goal line twice in the second half, and even though he was stopped on a late 3rd and 1, you get the sense that the coaches finally trust the freshman when the game is in the balance.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Ron Brown. Once again, the RBs racked up big yards the whole game, and committed 0 turnovers. Braylon Heard continues to average 8 yards per carry off the bench and Imani Cross is finding his niche as a short yardage back. My only beef is that Ameer Abdullah had 31 carries while Heard only got 3. Does he have bad practice habits or something?

Play of the Game: Apparently, Jamal Turner likes catching game winners. Down 23-20 at Penn State's 5 yard line, where the Huskers had struggled all day, Turner ran an inside slant and hung on to a quick throw from Martinez to put Nebraska ahead for good. After 1 1/2 seasons without a TD, Turner has cashed in with the two most important TDs of the season.

Play(s) We Want Back: On Nebraska's first drive, Turner caught a pass from a scrambling Martinez and set the Huskers up at the Penn State 6 yard line. The next three plays were a microcosm of Nebraska's woes in this game: Abdullah -6 on a zone read, Abdullah -2 on a toss, Martinez -1 on a scramble. Nebraska would get a field goal from Maher, but it wouldn't be until the 3rd quarter that Tim Beck would remember that he had a viable power option in Imani Cross when the Huskers got inside the 10 yard line.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. The Huskers forced three timely turnovers that erased at least 10 points off the board for Penn State and directly led to 10 points for the Huskers. Alonzo Whaley forced another fumble that rolled out of bounds at the PSU 23. This is the sort of effort we need to see every week.
*Breaks. Tom Shatel wrote last week that Bo's teams are due for some breaks after so many things went awry his first 4 years. I agree. If pressed, I would say that Penn State probably should have been given the TD on Matt Lehman's catch, but that wasn't the call. It adds more spice to this burgeoning Big Ten rivalry.
*Will Compton. The senior is playing pretty good football right now. Like the rest of the defense, he got crossed up a few times in the first half, but he led his Blackshirts back in the second half, and finished with 10 tackles, a fumble recovery, and two pass breakups.
*Baker Steinkuhler. The gentle giant made some nice plays yesterday, none better than his sack right before Stafford's INT where he blew through the guard and smashed McGloin.
*Cole Pensick. Pensick pulled right and along with FB CJ Zimmerer, he blasted through the Penn State defensive line to make Imani Cross' second TD a walk-in.
*Kyler Reed. Often underutilized, Reed had another huge catch yesterday, taking a short throw 56 yards to set up Jamal Turner's go ahead TD.
*Resolve. For the 4th time this season, Taylor Martinez and the Husker offense have shrugged off mistakes and won games for this team. Credit the Blackshirts for shutting down the Penn State offense for most of the second half.
*Power tosses. For most of the second half, Nebraska ran up and down the field sweeping left then right to deliver a victory over the gassed Nittany Lion defense.
*Punt returns. Nebraska has to figure something out here. The punt return game has gone from bad to just plain silly. When our returners do attempt to catch the ball, they drop it. When they don't, the ball rolls back 20 yards. I've never seen anything so pathetic.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. Taylor Martinez fumbled at the Penn State 5. Tim Marlowe muffed a punt. Business as usual for this team. Unfortunately.
*Field goals. Credit Maher for hitting all three of his attempted field goals, but Nebraska needs more TDs when they get inside the ten yard line.
*Tackles for loss. Penn State had 12 TFLs yesterday, including 3 by freshman DE Deion Barnes. Most of the blame goes to the offensive line, but PSU DC Ted Roof clearly had Beck's number a few times, blitzing right into Nebraska's running plays.
*Penalties. Several bad ones on the Nebraska O-line, including an iffy late hit on Jeremiah Sirles that erased the only good screen play Nebraska's run this year. Eric Martin had a potentially back-breaking facemask while he ran McGloin out of bounds on a key 3rd down in the Nebraska red zone. The infamous "review" made up for the mistake.
*Defensive timeouts. Bo used all three of his timeouts in the first half because he couldn't get his guys lined up correctly against Bill O'Brien's fast paced offense. If O'Brien stays at PSU, he's going to be a tough out for Bo every year.
*Zach Zwinak. The unheralded back carried the entire Nebraska defense all over the field yesterday. He finished with 141 total rushing yards and 1 TD, but I'm sure he'll remember his first quarter fumble at the NU 5 yard line.
*Dropped passes. Jamal Turner dropped one after getting rocked by a safety, which is sort of excusable, but it still deserves a mention. Will Compton let a potential INT hit him in the face right at the end of the game.
*Wind. That 40 mph breeze wreaked havoc on both teams yesterday, but never more so than on Brett Maher's punts. Punts of 35, 30, and 16 yards put the Nebraska defense behind the eight ball in the second quarter. Martinez didn't have a whole lot of luck throwing the ball against the wind either.
*Time for opponents to throw. Sure the Blackshirts got 3 sacks yesterday, but too often McGloin had all day to throw, and made the defense pay for it.

Armchair head coach:
Give credit to Tim Beck for finding the weakness on the edge in two consecutive opponents, but Beck deserves a stern finger in his face from Bo for making 3 trips inside the Penn State 10 yard line without a TD. Instead of turning to his power game, Beck fell into the same trap that so many spread offense coaches do in the red zone, and his offense too often back-pedaled inside the 10 yard line.
Beck was also too conservative after Nebraska took the lead in the 4th quarter. I'm not saying that Martinez should have been chucking it around in such a close game, but Penn State had long since adjusted to his power sweeps, so he needed to try something else.

Hit of the Game:
Nebraska's offense took the ball into the endzone to open the second half, and on the ensuing kickoff Alonzo Whaley blasted Jesse Delle Valle at his own 19 to bring the crowd back to life. Three plays later, Daimion Stafford picked off McGloin, and a little more than 5 minutes into the second half, Penn State's 14 point lead was gone.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"It's like they're an entirely different team in the second half."
Yep.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*Alabama loses at home to a first year head coach and a freshman QB? I had to see it to believe it.
*Kansas State will likely take the #1 spot in the BCS this week. Texas looms large in 2 weeks.
*No SEC team in the National Championship game? Notre Dame, Oregon and Kansas State will all need to keep winning impressively to hold off Alabama and/or Georgia after conference championship week.
*Louisville had a good run, but they're still a young team and the Big East is still the Big East.
*Louisiana Tech keeps inching their way towards the top 12. Their 2 point loss at Texas A&M looks better every week and they have the offense to bust the BCS in a big way.
*Nebraska should have a 1 game cushion in the Legends division right now, but thanks to Northwestern's punter, and a miraculous 53 yard, one-handed catch by Michigan WR Roy Roundtree, the Wolverines escaped the Wildcats in OT, and Nebraska needs to stay perfect in November to guarantee a trip to Indy.
*Wisconsin rose to the occasion in Bloomington. Facing a de facto Leaders division elimination game, the Badgers blasted Indiana 62-14 and punched their ticket to Indy. Jim Delany is breathing a huge sigh of relief.
*Illinois is obviously the worst team in the Big Ten, but Iowa is probably second worst following their loss to Purdue yesterday. Kirk Ferentz shouldn't survive this offseason.
*Minnesota had to sweat out a win at lowly Illinois, but don't think the Gophers can't pull a shocker in Lincoln next week. Bo hasn't lost his annual game to an unranked team at home yet, so you can consider Nebraska officially on upset alert starting now.
*Carl Pelini and FAU picked up their 3rd win over Western Kentucky.

Song of the Game
"The Wind" by Zac Brown Band

"Where the wind blows babe, you can bet
I'll be riding high with it
Holdin' on for my dear life just like I always did.
Close your eyes babe, take a breath
Say my name and I'll be there
My love will find you anywhere
Anywhere my love"

40 mph wind? No problem, Nebraska rode the wind to a victory over the last realistic obstacle on the way to Indy.

Beer of the Game
UFO Hefeweizen, Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA

Call me a snob, but I think if you're going to use the German term for a wheat beer, you should use it correctly. Harpoon's offering only barely qualifies as a true cloudy hefeweizen by looks, and it tastes more like a krystallweizen. This beer is too light, it lacks a balanced hops taste, and it has an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. If you're looking for a good unfiltered wheat beer, stick with Boulevard or Shock Top and pass on this one.

Best Commercial
I guess I don't 'get' the whole Clay Matthews hoopla that's choking up the advertising world right now, but it sure is funny. Like this Fathead commercial. Matthews does the tongue in cheek perfectly.

Quick Shout-Out
From one veteran to another, happy Veterans Day to Ed Guthrie the 94 year-old Pearl Harbor survivor who was honored at midfield yesterday.

Last thought
Like any red-blooded man, I like to play with fire. Maybe one more squirt of lighter fluid on my charcoal. Maybe one more firecracker tied to my GI Joe. Maybe one more log in the fireplace. It's fun to play with fire, to let it get just a little bit bigger. To see just how big it can become before it gets out of control. Thing is, the fire always wins. I always lose some hair on my arms, and my wife gets to say "I told you so."
Nebraska has played with fire the last 6 games. We got burned at Ohio State, but we've inexplicably pulled victories from the jaws of defeat in the other 5. Now the Huskers are likely sitting inside the BCS top 15, atop the Legends division, and staring at a trip to Indy if we can just take care of business in the two easiest games since September. Time for Bo and Beck to put the lighter fluid down and take the prize that's dangling in front of their faces.

Sunday Review: Michigan State

2012-11-04T15:19:00.001-08:00

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Down ten points early in the 4th quarter, Nebraska is driving inside the opponents' 10 yard line. Taylor Martinez makes a bad read and throws right to the opposing cornerback, who picks it off and weaves 96 yards to score and put the game away, ending Nebraska's chances of a comeback, and throwing a huge wrench in Nebraska's designs for the Legends division championship. Sound kinda familiar?
Sorry, but this isn't 2011. Nebraska caught a break with a personal foul that put Michigan State back on their own 10 yard line, forced the three and out, and went on to score two TDs and steal a road win and remain in the proverbial driver's seat in the Big 10.
In a messy, physical game, the Huskers took better advantage of their breaks than Michigan State did, and down three points near the end, Martinez, Kyler Reed, Kenny Bell, and Jamal Turner needed only 1 minute and 14 seconds to make everything all right again in Husker Nation. The Spartan players and coaches, understandably hurt by the turn of events, cried foul against the refs, but nobody can deny the immense fortitude and mental toughness of this Husker team. Halfway through Bo Pelini's "Win out." gauntlet, we've discovered that it's never going to be easy or pretty, but you can never count out the Huskers until the clock says 0:00.
Now that I'm not having a heart attack, any more, let's review:

Offensive MVP: QB Taylor Martinez. With Rex Burkhead on the sideline in sweats yet again, Nebraska needed every bit of T-Magic the junior could muster. Obviously, there were plenty of T-Muggle moments yesterday, with 3 entirely awful INTs and some bad sacks, but Martinez willed his team to victory in the final minute, and completed his third 4th quarter comeback of the year for the win. And to top it all off, he's already the school leader in career total yards with 1 1/4 seasons still to play, passing Eric Crouch in the first quarter yesterday.

Defensive MVP: Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard. There's some good cornerback genes in the Dennard family. Alfonzo's cousin picked off 2 of Martinez's passes yesterday, snagging a long ball, and jumping a slant intended for Ben Cotton. Had the other corner, Johnny Adams, not leveled Kenny Bell from behind, Dennard's weaving 96 yard INT return would likely have put the game away early in the 4th quarter. The pass interference called on Dennard right before the game winner was iffy in slow motion, but at game speed, it looked like a decent call. Dennard is still my vote for Big 10 defensive player of the week.

Special Teams MVP: Michigan State P Mike Sadler. This dude's got a leg. Sadler put 3 of 7 punts inside the 20, and constantly flipped the field, keeping Nebraska's field's long. If he had taken just a little bit off his last punt and put Nebraska inside their own 5 with a minute left, we might have had a much different result. Good game overall for the kid.

Freshman MVP: LB David Santos. He was only credited with one tackle, but the freshman LB was instrumental in holding Michigan State's best pass catcher, TE Dion Sims, to one catch for 10 yards. Santos is playing for next year, and his future looks brighter every game.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Tim Beck. Beck made some bonehead calls, and the Huskers never seemed to settle into a rhythm, but you have to give the head guy credit, he has molded Martinez into a clutch QB, and he clearly knows how to move down the field quickly when we need a score in a hurry. To put 313 yards rushing on Michigan State's bruising defense shows Beck's emerging skill as an offensive mind.

Play of the Game: The only logical choice is Martinez to Turner for the win. Perfect play call, perfect pass, perfect catch, perfect end to a crazy game. Is there a better way to catch your first career TD?

Play We Want Back: Since we can't have the entire 3rd quarter back, I'll go with Kenny Bell's dropped TD. Inside the red zone and facing 3rd and 6, Martinez wafted a beautiful pass that dropped right into Bell's hands as he fell into the endzone. Problem is, the ball kept dropping, right through Bell's hands, hitting the turf between his feet. Maher missed a 30 yard field goal on the next play, and instead of 14-7 Nebraska, 2 minutes later it was 14-7 Michigan State. How different would the game have turned out if Bell hangs onto that pass? We'll never know, but it's easy to think that Nebraska uses the momentum to cruise to a more comfortable win.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. Yep, this one's still here. Technically Nebraska recovered two fumbles yesterday, but I'm not going to count the lateraloosky on the final kickoff. When a QB only completes 33% of his passes, is it crazy to expect at least 1 INT? Stanley Jean-Baptiste was in good position, but he let Tony Lippett beat him to the ball for a 46 yard TD in the second quarter. Penn State plays much better football than the Spartans, so the Blackshirts will need to be more aggressive next week.
*Credit for Taylor Martinez. The ESPN crews keep talking about him like he's on a lower tier than Braxton Miller and Denard Robinson. The reality is that Martinez is every bit as talented as the other two, but suffers from Nebraska's team breakdowns the last 3 years. If T-Magic finishes his career with a couple Rose Bowl wins, he'll get his due.
*Ameer Abdullah. The super sophomore did a fantastic job beating the ends to the corner and getting 12 yards a pop on several plays. He didn't have as much success inside, but his 110 rushing yards were a great compliment to Martinez's career day. One question: why didn't Braylon Heard and/or Imani Cross get a shot to contribute?
*Justin Jackson. He did a much better job snapping this week, with a few exceptions, but he makes his money pulling, and he was a bulldozer yesterday. Jackson kicks out fast and gets effective blocks to set the edge. Good game for the senior from what I saw.
*T-Magic. Runs of 71, and 70 yards were vintage, but I like that he audibled into the 71 yard TD run (and got a crushing block by Kenny Bell) and stayed composed after 3 INTs and several dropped passes to make some nice throws on the final TD drives. For the record, Tom Brady couldn't throw that end zone slant any better. He's obviously maturing with every game and he's painting an ever more impressive masterpiece to close out the season.
*Blackshirts. Everyone's talking about Michigan State getting robbed with bad calls, but the flags flew both ways yesterday, and Nebraska did a better job responding to the adversity than the Spartans. Aside from a few missed tackles, the Husker's did a decent job shutting down Le'Veon Bell and minus the 46 yard TD to Lippett, Andrew Maxwell didn't have a whole lot of luck either. The Blackshirts buckled down in the 4th quarter after being on the field for most of the 3rd, and gave their offense the time they needed to get the win.
*Games decided before the 4th quarter. I took an aspirin before Nebraska's final drive. I did not have a headache. Good thing my wife knows CPR, I might need it if the Huskers keep this up.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. Yep, this one's still here too. 3 INTs and a fumble that Jeremiah Sirles was fortunate enough to fall on for a 15 yard gain. How many other teams would be 7-2 with such a disastrous turnover margin?
*T-Muggle. As great as he was at times last night, Martinez made some bad decisions too. On his first interception, he had Quincy Enunwa open shallow, and Bell open deep, but he threw right to the Michigan State defender between them. On his second INT Martinez made a poor decision to throw deep to a well-covered Enunwa, and later he made another poor decision to force a throw to Ben Cotton that was nearly a 96 yard pick six. Martinez also fumbled, and compounded his error by trying to scoop it up and run with it; luckily Sirles was there to bail his QB out. Throw in several other off-target throws and a few bad sacks, and it was a pretty schizophrenic day for Martinez.
*Missed tackles. Safeties Daimion Stafford and PJ Smith combined for 23 tackles, but they both missed on Le'Veon Bell and allowed him to go for big gains. The safeties aren't the only guilty ones, but since they're the last line of defense, they stick out when they miss.
*Dropped Passes. This old bugaboo reared it's ugly head for the first time this year. I suppose we can blame the chilly air just this once.
*Jet Sweeps. Kenny Bell and Jamal Turner both lost yards on this play, while the Spartans had some success early in the game hitting a few sweeps for quick yards.
*Whatever the heck happened in the 3rd quarter. Nebraska had 8 plays for 4 yards in the period as well as the second of 3 interceptions. Defensively, penalties extended Spartan drives (including the egregious call on Stafford for late hit out of bounds), but the Blackshirts forced a fumble, and got a stop inside the 10 yard line, to minimize the effect of the offensive collapse.
*Marks on my wall. Several frustrating turns of events left my walls a little worse for wear. Better the walls than my TV I suppose.

Armchair head coach:
If I'm Bo Pelini, facing 2nd and 10 at the MSU 20 yard line with 27 seconds left, I would have had Martinez run to the middle of the field, take a knee, and then spike the ball with about 5 seconds left. That would have been a conservative way to take the game to overtime, and given the way our defense had shut the Spartans down, I'd like to think it would have worked. Bo played it considerably more aggressive, and I don't fault him for that.

Hit of the Game:
PJ Smith got absolutely leveled by Le'Veon Bell in the 4th quarter, very similar to what happened on Bell's first TD, but this time Smith somehow managed to hang on until help arrived and held Bell to a three yard gain. Pretty sure he's still feeling it right now.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I'm glad Nebraska won, but I don't appreciate what they did to my husband's mood all afternoon."
Yeah, things were a little tense in the Burruss house for a while. I scared the bejeebers out of my one year old son with my reaction to Turner's game winner. I had to change a diaper soon after.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*So Alabama isn't invincible, but if you're an SEC team the only stat that matters is the final score.
*Kansas State had another dominant game against a ranked opponent. I agree with Lee Barfknecht, the Wildcats look a lot like some old Tom Osborne teams. I don't mind cheering for them now that they're no longer ripping Nebraska quarterbacks' heads off.
*Being on the East Coast, I don't get the chance to see Oregon play football often, but I saw a bit of their victory over USC last night, and holy crap. That offense is fast, and they are talented. USC isn't on the same level as Alabama defensively, but I think the Ducks could give the Tide a good game.
*Notre Dame didn't do itself any favors with their 3 OT win over Pitt. The Irish need to win their games decisively to have a chance of leapfrogging Oregon and K-State.
*Georgia has only to beat Auburn on the road to secure their spot in the SEC title game. Sucks to be Florida, who need the Bulldogs to lose that game to get a shot at Alabama.
*Penn State looked really good at Purdue, but a trip to Nebraska should be far more taxing. Bill O'Brien's offense looks like a third string version of the New England Patriots, and his defense is tough, but they'll need some luck in Lincoln.
*Michigan looked good with Devin Gardner at Minnesota. Makes you wonder why he didn't at least get a shot at Nebraska.
*If Indiana beats Wisconsin at home next week, both teams will be 3-3 in the league. Wisconsin finishes with Ohio State and Penn State, the Hoosiers play Penn State and Purdue. A 6-5 Indiana team in the Big 10 championship? It's looking mighty possible.
*Navy rushed for 250 yards on Carl Pelini's FAU Owls, winning 24-17.
*Frank Solich's Ohio team got back on track with a 45-14 beatdown of Eastern Michigan. There's 4 MAC teams with only 1 loss. The Big Ten would kill for that.

Song of the Game
"I'm Coming Home" by Diddy Dirty Money ft. Skylar Grey

"I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Tell the World I’m coming home
Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday
I know my kingdom awaits and they’ve forgiven my mistakes
I’m coming home, I’m coming home
Tell the World that I’m coming..."

Cheesy, I know. But Nebraska is perfect at home this year and they'll need all of that mojo to beat a better-than-you-think Penn State team next weekend. After 3 of the last 4 games on the road, it will be nice to be in the friendly, imposing confines of Memorial Stadium.

Beer of the Game
Amber Ale by Bell's Brewery Inc. Comstock, MI

I figured since the team was going to be in Michigan, my beer taste might as well make the trip as well. This Amber Ale is far superior to the more popular Fat Tire. I like the way the bitterness is balanced with a hint of sweet and most importantly, it finishes clean. This is a really good beer, and at 7 bucks for a 6 pack, you can't argue with the price either.

Best Commercial
Every now and then, a commercial comes along that makes you realize that the things you do are pretty darn hilarious. Like this Volkswagen commercial. I do this all the time, I hope nobody's watching...

Last thought
I really, really hate close games because they make me grumpy. Especially when you see the sort of miscues that we saw yesterday. As long as we're winning however, I will endure. Bo said "Win out." He backed himself into that corner, and we should have known that his teams play their best when they're fighting out of a corner. This team can take all sorts of shots and make all sorts of mistakes and find a way to win. I like that, but now it's time to play a clean game from start to finish and dominate every quarter instead of just the fourth. Can the Huskers do that against a decent Penn State team? We'll see.

Sunday Review: Michigan

2012-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

With the huge variety of storylines that can be taken from Nebraska's big win yesterday, I'm going to follow Bo Pelini's lead and and stick with the 'Enjoy the win, but get ready for next week.' mantra. This was undoubtedly the biggest win so far this year for the Huskers, but it won't mean much if we come out flat in East Lansing next Saturday. Nebraska has to get back to the 0-0 mentality that they've shown the last 2 games and avoid the letdown. Bo thinks the idea that Nebraska is 'in the driver's seat' in the Big Ten is a bunch of crap, but truthfully all Nebraska has to do is win out, and they're going to Indy in a month for a probable rematch with Wisconsin. Finishing 10-2 would take a lot of sting out of some poor performances earlier this year, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
For now, let's just review:

Offensive MVP: RB Ameer Abdullah. With Rex Burkhead on the sideline in sweats, Abdullah pounded out 24 carries for 109 yards and the game clinching TD in the fourth quarter with none of those pesky fumbles. Abdullah was shut down pretty well in the first half getting 21 yards on 8 carries, but he came alive in the second, grinding, twisting and juking for 5.5 yards per carry. On his best run of the night, Abdullah sat behind C Justin Jackson on a long developing shotgun sweep that went 11 yards for the TD and put the game away. Yeah, our best player is hurt, but there isn't a lot you don't like about Abdullah's relief work right now.

Defensive MVP: LB Sean Fisher After all of the injuries and junk he's been through, Fish played the game of his career last night, stuffing Fitz Toussaint pretty much every time he tried to get the edge. 7 tackles, 2 TFLs and decent work in coverage were a vindication of sorts for the senior. If he's your doctor someday, ask him about tonight's game and you can be sure he'll remember it fondly.

Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. It's been an up and down year for the senior from Kearney, but he was all 'up' last night. 3 field goals right down the center, including the rocket from 51 yards that would have been good from 61, and a solid 42 yard average on those funky rugby punts. Minus the kickoff out of bounds, it was a great night for Maher.

Freshman MVP: LB David Santos. This is a long time coming, as we've heard so much about this redshirt freshman since he arrived last fall. Santos finally showed us what the talk was about, racking up a team leading 10 tackles; 6 solo, and 1 TFL. Santos fills holes well, hits ball carriers really hard, and he provides some of the speed we've been missing since Lavonte David graduated. I don't know what took him so long to get on the field, but if he plays like he did last night, we shouldn't have to wonder any more.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Ross Els. Nebraska's linebackers have been consistently inconsistent so far this season, but they had a marvelous game last night racking up 30 of the team's 71 tackles last night. Other than a few moderate gains on some WR sweeps, Michigan had very little success running the ball, and the LBs got excellent penetration all night. If this keeps up, Nebraska defense will be hard for any of the remaining opponents to pierce.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's deep pass to Kenny Bell for the first TD in the second quarter. Decent enough throw, great route by Bell, even better rub by Tim Marlowe to spring Bell loose, and a fantastic adjustment, catch, run, and leap by Bell for the TD. Best WR in Nebraska history? He's making a solid case right now.

Play We Want Back: Martinez's interception to open the second half. He was on the run and he had Marlowe wide open for the third down conversion, but Martinez just didn't get the ball high enough, and it was tipped and picked. It didn't end up hurting us because Russ Bellomy threw a pick 3 plays later, but if Nebraska had scored on the opening drive of the half, I don't think Michigan would have hung around so long.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. It was really nice to get the three picks off the freshman backup QB, but sadly enough, it doubled our total INTs for the season. We need to take a little momentum from this week and get a lot more takeaways down the road.
*Taariq Allen. Bo said his knee injury was pretty serious after the game, but here's hoping we see him on the field soon.
*Cam Meredith at DT. Meredith has the strength to play the position, and it's worked fairly well two weeks in a row now. Let's keep it going.
*Ending the game on the field. Nebraska took the ball at their 20 yard line with 6:50 left in the game, and they ground out the final 7 minutes with a good mix of Imani Cross, Abdullah and Martinez on the ground. Abdullah had an amazing twisting, lunging 3rd and 6 conversion around midfield, and Brady Hoke didn't bother calling his timeouts. Martinez took a knee to kill the last 40 seconds showing that even in Tim Beck's fast paced offense, the Huskers can still eat some clock.
*Improved safety play. Daimion Stafford and PJ Smith took a beating on and off the field at Ohio State, but they each got a pick last night, and showed well in coverage and against the run. They won't be confused for Matt O'Hanlon and Larry Asante, but they're improving.
*QB pressure from the front four. Asked after the game, Bo tried to deny that his front four were playing to keep Denard Robinson in the pocket, but it was clear that they had no intention of letting him slip out, even if it meant giving him 30 seconds to throw. It worked okay, but it still rankles my inner Christian Peter to see such a conservative strategy. Even after Robison left the game, Nebraska had to blitz to get any serious pressure.
*Martinez's toughness. Taylor tweaked both ankles in the second and third quarters, but he kept coming, eventually breaking a 29 yard run in the fourth quarter that set up Abdullah's 11 yard TD. For all his faults, he's every bit as tough as Eric Crouch and Scott Frost were.
*Eric Martin. The Caveman had another sack, 2 TFLs, a batted pass and a QB hit last night. He's so much better at rushing the passer than every other defender the Huskers have, that I don't expect him to leave the field at Michigan State next week. Martin eats pocket QBs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. 2 more yesterday, both by Martinez (though he looked like he was down on the fumble), and both within a few minutes of each other. Key difference this game: 0 points off turnovers for Michigan. I don't know what it will take for Martinez to stop putting the ball on the ground, but he needs to figure out in a hurry.
*Shallow kickoffs. I'm not sure why Maher was kicking shallow, but Michigan was close to breaking a few returns, and it seemed like they always started at their 30.
*Penalties. 8 for 105 yards. That looks much worse than it was, as at least half were questionable at best. The targeting penalty on Josh Mitchell was beyond ridiculous, ditto on the pass interference in the endzone on Andrew Green. At least the refs were consistent, the hit out of bounds on Martinez was far from egregious, but the refs flagged Michigan 15 yards anyway. Poor calls aside, Nebraska needs to be a little more disciplined in the weeks to come, we don't need future refs to look for calls based on reputation.
*Unblocked defenders. I remember 5 or 6 plays getting wrecked last night because a LB or DE wasn't touched getting into the backfield. Those sort of plays kill drives.
*Time of possession for the opponent. Take away the 4th quarter, and Michigan held the ball for 28:03 compared to 16:57 for Nebraska. I appreciate the Husker's fast paced offense, but that's too long for a defense to be on the field in most games. The Huskers have to do better than 4/12 on third down.
*Fair catches on punts. Abdullah didn't seem like he was even trying to make a return, which might have been wise given his fumbling struggles. I realize I'm being a bit greedy, but I want ball security AND long returns.
*Snapping issues. Justin Jackson was chucking 'em high all night, and if not for Taylor's good hands, we'd have lost a couple. LS PJ Mangieri put his first snap at Maher's ankles, but Brett managed to get the punt off. That's gotta get fixed.
*Dropped passes. It hasn't been a huge issue this year, but last night Kyler Reed dropped a TD pass that was admittedly a little low. Jamal Turner let another TD pass get lost in the lights and sail past his face. It didn't hurt us last night, but I don't want to see any more.
*Field goals. 3 trips to the red zone and only 1 TD? Laaaame. If I'm Tim Beck, I'd like to pound the ball in from the 4, but he clearly doesn't have as much confidence as he should in his power game. Once again, it hasn't been as big a problem this year, but I don't want to see it again.
*Joe Ganz's pink hat. C'mon dude.

Armchair head coach:
If I'm Brady Hoke (and I'd have to gain 70 pounds to be even close), I would have been in Al Borges' ear to make him find a running game. The Wolverines had some early success attacking the perimeter on some WR jet sweeps, but once Denard was hurt they mostly stuck to attacking the middle to no avail. A redshirt freshman QB with precious little game experience gets thrust into a big game at Memorial Stadium at night with no running game? There's no way that ends any differently than it did.

Hit of the Game:
This one's easy: Baker Steinkuhler for his seemingly innocuous tackle that put Denard Robinson out of the game. I won't go so far as to say that we won because Robinson was hurt, but it made things a whole lot easier. There's a cautionary tale here for Husker fans, how would our offense respond if Martinez couldn't come back into a game?

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"OK it's over, turn it to the World Series!"
Being from Fresno, Jennifer is a huge Giants fan and she spent the whole game watching the World Series gamecast on espn.com.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*Alabama looks pretty darn invincible. I don't see anyone beating them this year outside of an epic choke in Baton Rouge or the SEC title game.
*I watched most of the Florida-Georgia game, and it looked like both teams indulged in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party before the game. It was ridiculously sloppy. On a sidenote: if you hate the way Bo Pelini can go off on a player, watch Georgia DC Todd Grantham some time. He almost beheaded a Georgia player after a dumb penalty.
*Kansas State has scored 50 points in back to back games against top 15 teams. Collin Klein has 11 TDs in those games. Only an epic choke keeps them out of the National Championship game.
*If you haven't seen Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas return a punt 73 yards vs Colorado watch it now. That was cool. You think Scott Frost enjoys putting 56 on Colorado at halftime?
*Notre Dame just won't be beat. It's never pretty, but it's always a W. Makes me sick.
*Can we stop talking about Matt Barkley now? Without Marqise Lee, he's barely an average QB.
*If you wonder why the Big East doesn't get any love in the polls, just look at Rutgers' 12 point loss to Kent State at home.
*I feel sorry for Frank Solich losing to Miami (OH), but that's what happens when you don't put winnable games away early.
*Carl Pelini's FAU Owls got a nice win over Troy yesterday.
*Penn State is the latest to fall victim to the Braxton Miller bug. Actually, Ohio State's defense did the most damage to the Nittany Lions; Matt McGloin has definitely hit his ceiling.
*After losing at home to Michigan State, Wisconsin faces an unexpectedly big game at Indiana next week. If the Badgers lose that game, they'll need to beat Ohio State or Penn State to clinch the Leaders division.
*Don't ignore Northwestern in the Legends. If the Huskers stumble twice, the Wildcats can sneak in if they win out.

Song of the Game
"Everything is Alright" by Motion City Soundtrack

"I used to rely on self-medication,
I guess I still do that from time to time.
But I'm getting better at fighting the future,
"Someday you'll be fine.."
Yes, I'll be just fine.

Tell me that you're alright,
Yeah everything is alright.
Oh please tell me that you're alright,
Yeah everything is alright."

If only for another week, everything is still alright in Lincoln, NE.

Beer of the Game
Red Hook ESB by Red Hook Brewing Company, Portsmouth, ME

If you're looking for a beer that's smoother than a porter, but bolder than a brown ale, you want a classic British Extra Special Bitter. Red Hook's attempt at an ESB is very drinkable, but still full-flavored and delicious. At 7 bucks for a 6 pack, it's easy on the wallet too.

Best Commercial
Not a lot of good ones to choose from until this gem from Sportscenter in the 4th quarter. Matt Stafford is not a funny guy, but he sells this one well enough.

Last thought
I just saw Alfonzo Dennard get his first NFL interception. It's nice to see him work through his off field issues to contribute at the next level.

Anyways, I will argue to the death with anyone who thinks this win was cheapened by Michigan's loss of Denard Robinson. Nebraska's best player sat on the sidelines all night, and the Huskers managed to get it done without him. As many hits as Denard Robinson takes, it's really inexcusable for the Michigan coaches not to have a reliable backup.
In any event. Nebraska sits atop the Legends division with a tie breaker over 2nd place Michigan and 3rd place Northwestern. Typically, this is where Bo's teams manage to choke away a game or two. Michigan State is more than capable of causing that choke, as are Minnesota, Penn State or Iowa. Nebraska absolutely has to stay composed and focus on winning every game left on the schedule. Even if they manage to limp into Indy after dropping another game, the torches and pitchforks are going to be at Bo's door, Nebraska simply must win out.
Good thing we're 0-0 going into this weekend.

Sunday Review: Northwestern

2012-10-21T17:52:00.001-07:00

Immediately following yesterday's game, Bo Pelini aptly summarized the contest as "Good for TV, not for the heart." in an interview with Maria Brown.
Now that everyone's blood pressure has had a chance to normalize, let's all take a moment to forget everything else that happened in yesterday's game and just admire the Husker's gumption in finding a way to win a road game that had no business being that close. Ready? Okay, go...
Now that that's out of the way, yikes. What the heck was all that about? Why do these Huskers insist on trying to lose a game for three and a half quarters before squeaking out a win? How can we play so brilliantly most of the game and so poorly in small patches that lead to opponents carving out big gains and tons of points? That 'C' word that we've been waiting for, the consistency that the program desperately needs, still eludes us, and I fear that even though Bo made a step in the right direction towards his "Win out." proclamation, we're just being set up for a disappointment next week versus Michigan.
But that's still a week off, let's keep plugging with the review:

Offensive MVP: WR Quincy Enunwa. Kenny Bell is still the teams' best receiver, but it was Enunwa who got the offense fired up with 4 key grabs late in the 4th quarter. Big time performance by the junior: 6 catches for 110 yards, setting up both of Nebraska's last 2 TDs with clutch receptions including the beautiful 31 yard grab that set up Taariq Allen's TD catch.

Defensive MVP: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste. Yes, he got beat on a 26 yard TD pass right before halftime, but SJB was picked on all afternoon, and he rewarded the Northwestern QBs with 5 pass break-ups for their trouble. Sure he dropped an interception, but so did practically everyone else in the back 7. This was a great performance by one of the biggest corners in college football.

Special Teams MVP: Northwestern P Brandon Williams. No his 38 yard average wasn't great, but his wobbly punts were muffed twice, and twice took ridiculous bounces and died inside Nebraska's 10 yard line. And you can't ask for more from your punter than to flip the field and pin the other team at their own 24 with 4 minutes left, clinging to a 5 point lead.

Freshman MVP: WR Taariq Allen. Allen's contributions this year have mostly been limited to blocking when Enunwa needed a break, but the redshirt freshman made an outstanding 8 yard grab above his head in the corner of the endzone to pull the Huskers within 5 points. If you're going to have 1 catch for 8 yards in a game, it might as well look like that one.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
Rich Fisher. Nebraska's wide receivers made some terrific catches, some nice yards after catch, and did a solid job blocking on the perimeter. The wide receivers were a liability 2 years ago with plenty of poorly run routes and dropped passes. Under Fisher's guidance, they're the strongest position group on the team.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's magnificent laser to Ben Cotton for the go ahead score. After all that went wrong yesterday, the 7 yard perfectly placed pass to the middle of the end zone was a breath of fresh air to Husker fans everywhere.

Play We Want Back: Ameer Abdullah's muffed punt. Nebraska's first turnover came right after the Cats had gone 3 and out, and instead of a chance to build on a great start defensively, the Huskers fall behind 7-3 after NW quickly moved the 15 yards to score the go-ahead TD. To have any chance of making Bo's "Win out." proclamation a reality, the Huskers have to stop giving away points.

I want to see more...
*Takeaways. This is going to remain a bullet point until the Huskers do something on defense to affect that horrendous -12 turnover margin. PJ Smith twice dropped interceptions that he had two hands on, at least 1 of SJB's pass break-ups should have been picked, and let's not forget Daimion Stafford's ridiculous personal foul that negated Ben Cotton's recovery of a NW muffed punt. I want to see somebody, anybody step up and make a play.
*Points. Teams that roll up a balanced 543 yards of offense (201 rushing, 342 passing) should probably get more than 4 TDs and a field goal. Nebraska gained 108 yards per score, which means that the poor field position, penalties and lack of third down conversions left a lot of points on the field. That's gotta improve in a hurry.
*3rd down success. Holding your opponent to 5/20 on third down is great. Converting 3/14 of your own is disgusting. Failing to convert a bunch of third and shorts is even worse.
*LB David Santos. Not a perfect game from the freshman by any means, but his tackle for loss was sweet and he was usually in good position. I like his speed compared to Alonzo Whaley.
*Eric Martin's improvement against the run. This was the most complete game I've seen from the senior. He didn't get any sacks, but he got decent pressure, and more importantly, he stuck his arms out and nabbed NW's ball carriers several times as they burst through the line.
*Imani Cross and Braylon Heard. If Rex is going to be hurt, I'd like to see these two spell Abdullah more than they did. Heard is a fantastic North/South runner, and Cross is too talented to be wasted on the sideline.
*Kenny Bell. The skinny kid from Boulder, CO did some great work yesterday. 6 catches, a TD, a 50 yard kick return (negated by a penalty of course), a timely tip that turned a touchback into a punt downed at the 1, and several key blocks including a nice chip block that helped protect Brett Maher on his last punt . He did enough to make up for the muffed punt.
*Clap and snap. Martinez took a page out of Braxton Millers' handbook with this funky snap count, and you can't argue with zero false starts.
*Press coverage by the corners. This aggressive sort of coverage opens the defense up to deep balls and penalties, but it was an absolute nightmare for Northwestern's short passing game. If we could just get a good pass rush...
*Red on the Road. Really Husker fans? You can only fill 50% of the opponents stadium? Pathetic.
*Big smiles on Bo's face. Bo had a priceless expression after NW missed that field goal; relief, joy and pride replaced the usual detached grimace. It's a good look on him.

I want to see less...
*Busted plays. The difference between a good defense and a great defense is that great defenses don't allow big plays like the 80 yard run by Venric Mark in the third quarter. Santos, and Stafford were both caught up in the middle of the field and couldn't compensate for Mark's speed. Credit the Husker defense for manning up instead of folding like they did against Ohio State, but two of NW's TDs came on big, busted plays, and that needs to change quick with Denard Robinson coming to town next week.
*Turnovers.   3 more yesterday. And two throws in a row that should have been picked before Enunwa's long catch. I don't know what this staff is or isn't telling their players, but it's not working.
*Short fields for opponents. The Cats scored from 15 yards out, and from midfield after muffed punts. That disturbing trend needs to stop.
*Sustained drives by opponents. Northwestern had a good march to start the 4th quarter, converting 2 third downs, and a 4th and inches to put the Cats up 28-16. That could have been a backbreaker.
*Offensive meltdowns. You know the one I'm talking about. Beginning of the 4th quarter, Martinez is sacked twice in a row, but on third down he escapes, makes a nice throw and forces a pass interference for the first down. But Seung Hoon Choi was too far downfield and the penalties offset. Then there's a sideline interference penalty that makes 3rd and 19. No problem, Martinez escapes and makes another nice throw to Turner to convert, but Jeremiah Sirles was lined up a foot too far back making 3rd and 24. Martinez can't convert this one and Nebraska was forced to punt. The ghost of Shawn Watson came back to haunt us.
*Players without names on their jerseys. The roster says #36 is Eddie Ridder. I've never heard of him, but he did a good job getting downfield to stop Tony Jones, who had just fumbled Maher's punt with 8 seconds left.

Armchair head coach:
I'm all for aggressive play, but I probably would have taken a chance at the field goal instead of going for a 4th and 3. It would have made an 8 point game midway through the 3rd quarter, instead a confusion in the blocking scheme had Kyler Reed running into the pulling guard, resulting in a 10 yard loss.
I'm not as against the 2 pt conversion try, as some fan are, but in retrospect it probably was a little early to chase those points.
Both plays would look daring and cavalier if they'd have worked.

Hit of the Game:
This award goes to Ciante Evans who jammed Kain Colter just enough to get him to drop a late 4th quarter pass on 3rd and 4. The three and out gave Nebraska the ball back with plenty of time to run down the field. The ESPN announcers thought Evans should have been called for pass interference, but it was typical of the aggressive play by the Nebraska corners yesterday.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"They need to play the whole game like they did the second half."
Yep.

Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*Alabama, Florida, Oregon, and Kansas State all get enormously impressive wins this weekend, and are a clear top 4. We'll see how it shakes out, but if Oregon and Kansas State win out, it'll be another controversy in December.
*While we're on the subject of the Wildcats, my Heisman top 5 looks like this: 1. Collin Klein; 2-5. Not even close.
*Lots of relieved faces in church this morning as Georgia squeaked out a win at Kentucky. That would have been a tough one for Mark Richt to explain.
*Ohio State was lucky to escape two weeks in a row against inferior teams. Purdue finally made them pay for their reliance on Braxton Miller by knocking the QB out late in the third quarter, and only a late collapse kept the Boilers from getting back in the Leaders race. Wisconsin can likely clinch the Leaders with a win over Michigan State next week.
*Speaking of the Spartans, they've got to be the best 4 loss team out there. That defense is too good for their offense to be so bad.
*Michigan is on a roll coming into Lincoln, but it will be interesting to see what kind of success they have against the best offense they've seen so far.
*Bill O'Brien is everyone's pick for Coach of the Year because he's done so much with so little. Penn State might be the toughest game remaining on Nebraska's schedule.
*The rest of the Big Ten is hardly worth writing about, Indiana lost their one of thier last winnable games to Navy, Illinois lost to BYE (kidding...kind of), and Iowa and Minnesota keep playing down to their skill level.
*Carl Pelini's Florida Atlantic team lost a heartbreaker in 2OT to Southern Alabama. The battle continues uphill for him.
*Southern Miss is 0-7 after getting blasted 59-24 by Marshall.

Song of the Game
"Breakdown" by Tom Petty

"It's all right if you love me
It's all right if you don't
I'm not afraid of you running away
Honey, I get the feeling you won't

There is no sense in pretending
Your eyes give you away
Something inside you is feeling like I do
We've said all there is to say

Baby breakdown
Go ahead and give it to me
Breakdown honey take me through the night
Breakdown now I'm standin' here can't you see
Breakdown it's all right
It's all right
It's all right
Breakdown"

Tom Petty is right, we Husker fans could run away, but we won't. Husker fans filled Northwestern's little stadium, survived several Husker breakdowns, and were treated to an exciting, if a little disappointing, back and forth football game.

Beer of the Game
Georgia Brown Ale by SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA

I wish it hadn't taken me so long to try this fantastic local brown ale. I judge all brown ales against the Newcastle standard, and Sweetwater exceeds that standard. Easy to drink, and a little bit sweeter than most brown ales, the Georgia Brown Ale stills retains the warmth you'd expect from a darker beer and finishes clean. I'm not sure how widely available it is outside of Georgia, but if you see it in a store somewhere, it's definitely worth the money.

Best Commercial
I guess this Fiat Abarth spot is an older commercial, but it's still pretty funny. By the way, it's a total coincidence that all of my best commercial awards go to the ones with pretty girls. Total coincidence.

Last thought
A win is a win. I said that after the Wisconsin game and it's no less true after the sloppy showing in Evanston. In any event, it's one down and five to go.
Michigan rolls into town with all sorts of momentum and another mobile quarterback. And by mobile quarterback, I mean the best pure running quarterback maybe ever. Denard Robinson is simply magical on the run, and the Huskers need to play the game of their lives to shut him down or outscore him at home. It's possible, but it will require a much cleaner game than the Huskers have played recently. Oh, and it will likely decide the Legends winner. No pressure.

Sunday Review: The Bye Week

2012-10-14T16:07:00.002-07:00

It's nice to take a week off. The Huskers get a break after the "Clobbering in Colombus" and the time was put to use 'getting back to fundamentals' and healing both body and mind after a bipolar first half to the season. The Huskers are in the midst of the toughest stretch of any team in the Big Ten with games at Northwestern, vs Michigan, at Michigan State, and home against Penn State. The Huskers better have got their rest this week, because there is a long grinding stretch ahead with different challenges every week, and nothing remotely resembling a 'gimme' the rest of the season. The two losses really hurt Nebraska's confidence, but every game the rest of the way is winnable, and the Huskers are still in the driver's seat in the Legends division. Bo set the standard with his "win out" statement after the loss at Ohio State, and though the Huskers might not need to do that with all of the chaos in the Big Ten this year, it would certainly be nice, and it might make the fanbase forget the early season struggles for a bit. Before we start that journey though, let's review the season so far:

Offensive MVP: Kenny Bell, WR. I give Bell this award for his consistency. A reliable receiver whether we need a short, mid-range, or long reception, Bell has also improved his blocking, and overall strength, getting some tough Yards After Catch already this season. The most impressive thing about Bell's game this year might be the way he's held onto the ball while taking some hard shots. Certain quarterbacks on this team could learn a lesson from Bell.
Honorable Mention: Ameer Abdullah, RB

Defensive MVP: Josh Mitchell, CB. Week in and week out, Mitchell has probably been Nebraska's most consistent defender. He's been good in coverage, but I think his most endearing asset is that despite his size, he's been the best tackler on the team through 6 games. When I think of Mitchell, I think the play in the 3rd quarter versus Wisconsin, with Nebraska down 17 points, Mitchell comes screaming in on a corner blitz, throws all 155 pounds of his 5'10 frame, and smacks 210lb Montee Ball down for a 3 yard loss. That's an MVP type play that the Husker linebackers could learn from.
Honorable Mention: Eric Martin, DE

Special Teams MVP: Ameer Abdullah, KR/PR. Fumbles aside, Abdullah has been a consistent threat whenever he gets the ball in his hands on the return. His punt return for a TD against Idaho State was nice, but I really liked his long return against Ohio State (even though he was tackled by the punter). Nebraska will need a few more of those down the stretch.
Honorable Mention: Brett Maher K/P

Freshman MVP: Andy Janovich, FB. Some would argue that Imani Cross deserves this award, but I'm giving it to the walk-on from Gretna for working into the starting line-up and playing fairly clean in the time he's been given. If you like what Janovich has shown so far, then you have to be excited for what the future holds for the freshman.
Honorable Mention: Imani Cross, RB

Play of the Year: Taylor Martinez's 92 yard sprint at UCLA. It sucks to have lost, but this was vintage T-Magic and it put Nebraska up for a bit in this game.
Honorable Mention: Martinez's 42 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell vs Arkansas State

Play we want back: Taylor Martinez sacked in the endzone for a safety at UCLA. The Bruins broke the tie with this play as Martinez made a horrible read and had no room to improvise as he was devoured by the Bruin DE. Nebraska's defense couldn't stop a statue at the Rose Bowl that night, and the offensive mistakes ended up spelling doom for the Big Red's chances.
Dis-Honorable Mention: Braxton Miller's 72 yard second quarter run in Columbus.

I want to see more...
*Consistency. In every phase of the game; in the coaching, in the execution, and in the week to week performance, this program is starving for any semblance of consistency. Roller coasters are only fun if the ride ends before you lose your lunch.
*Defensive heart. As bad as the execution has been this year, the defense hasn't shown a lot of motivation in losses to Ohio State and UCLA. In wins over Arkansas State and Wisconsin, you saw plenty of fire, but it was fleeting at best in the two losses, and in the opener against Southern Miss. Somebody, anybody needs to get these boys fired up and keep them fired up.
*Defensive performance. Are the coaches putting them in the wrong position or are the players failing to execute? Wherever the blame falls, it needs to be fixed in a hurry with tough games every week from here on.
*Takeaways. This defense has only 9 so far on the season, and I can't think of a single one that could be considered a game-changer. The Huskers are 109th in the country in turnover margin and unless that improves fairly drastically, the next six weeks are gonna be pretty rough
*Offensive consistency. For all of the yards, points, and big plays I don't think there's too many fans who are absolutely comfortable with the offense right now. Turnovers, penalties, and head-scratching play calls keep this offensive attack from being among the greatest in the country.
*Rex Burkhead. He missed the better part of the first 3 games, and then missed most of the second half against Ohio State. If Rex isn't injured, I don't think the Huskers lose to UCLA. Rex played a valuable role in the comeback against Wisconsin, and in the first half at Ohio State and he's been more explosive in limited time this year. In this six week stretch run, Tim Beck would be wise to lean on the senior from Plano, TX.
*Power Running: Tim Beck gets too cute sometimes, and though it's worked for some nice plays, it's also resulted in backbreaking turnovers and sacks. Beck has a powerful offensive line, a deep running back corps, and a soft defense. It's time to chew some clock, grind out some drives, and keep the opposing offenses on the sideline.

I want to see less...
*Turnovers. The biggest reason the Huskers rank in near the bottom of the nation in turnover margin, and the biggest reason they're not 6-0, is that the offense has put the ball on the turf 17 times, losing 10 fumbles and thrown another 5 INTs. Martinez alone has turned the ball over 5 times in two Big Ten games and both Wisconsin and Ohio State were particularly adept at turning those mistakes into points. This absolutely must stop if the Huskers want to win any of the next six games.
*Despair. Both the fan base and the team seem to get down easily, and things just snowball. This in on Pelini and his staff, as they're responsible for keeping the team on an even keel.
*Helplessness against mobile QBs. Both Brett Hundley and Braxton Miller abused the Nebraska defense, scrambling for big yards, and taking advantage of the safeties creeping up to hit big play-action passes. Poor tackling and poor containment have led to big gains, 2 losses, and embarrassing stats against mobile QBs and with Kain Colter, Denard Robinson, and MarQuies Gray still on the schedule, the problem isn't going away.
*Road struggles. The Huskers are as bad on the road this year as they were in losses to Wisconsin and Michigan last year, and with big games at Northwestern, Michigan State and Iowa still to play, we really need some of the road magic the Huskers showed in 2010 when they beat Washington, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State on the road.
*Swiss cheese defensive line. The Huskers are 93rd in the nation against the run in large part because they get so little production from their front four. Opposing offensive lines generally push the line of scrimmage forward 3 yards, and on the few plays the ends and tackles get any penetration, they've showed an annoying tendency to miss tackles. Something needs to change here.

Armchair head coach:
If I'm Bo Pelini this week, I would make some drastic changes to the defensive scheme because nothing he's done this year has been overly effective against a good mobile quarterback. The 3-4 look the Huskers have toyed with already this season deserves a long look, and it might be worth it to go back to the 1-5-5 look the Huskers employed with success against Michigan State last season. The talent on this defense is not on the defensive line, so it makes sense to drop Eric Martin back with the linebackers and using him to spy these mobile QBs. Something fundamental is wrong with this defense, and it's on Bo to swallow his pride and change his game.
Bo might also try to rein in Tim Beck a little bit. I know the offense is the strength of the team, but they've been just as harmful to Nebraska's defense with turnovers and three and outs as they are to the opposing defense. Beck needs to stop trying to out-scheme everyone, and just let his offense run the ball down the other team's throat.

Hit of the season: This goes to Alonzo Whaley for his 4th down stop against Wisconsin. I like Whaley's determination, fighting through some rough patches in his career, and he's rewarded with a career defining stop to ice the game against the Badgers.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions:
"Taylor Martinez needs to stop throwing like a girl. And I hope Rex Burkhead gets better soon."

Song of the Week:
"Carry On" by fun.

"If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on"

The Huskers certainly are lost right now, but there's nothing a six game win streak wouldn't fix. All things considered, the only thing the Huskers really can do right now is carry on.

Beer of the Week:
Caguama Cerveza by Cerveceria la Constancia, San Salvador, El Salvador

I was making fajitas this week, and went to the store to grab some Corona (Mexican food needs Mexican beer), and saw the turtle and thought "What the heck, it's a little cheaper." There's a reason for that. Caguama tries really hard to taste like Corona, but it ends up tasting like the cheap knock-off that it is. Throw in a lime wedge, and it's a little easier to swallow, but you're better off just paying another 2 bucks for a six of Corona.

Commercial of the Week:
Maybe its because my son looks so much like the e-trade baby, but I really like e-trade commercials and this one is no exception.

Final Thought:
I'm really glad that the bye week is over. The negativity and despair that are swirling around the program need an outlet, and the only outlet is another game. I'll admit that I really like Bo Pelini, and it makes me cringe to see his team struggle because I thought he would have more success here at Nebraska. Bo needs to circle the wagons with his team shut out all of the negativity, and focus his efforts toward beating Northwestern Northwestern is a pretty good team, but there's no reason they should beat Nebraska, even with all of the defensive struggles. This is one of the most important six game stretches in Nebraska football history. The whole trajectory of the program are riding on Bo meeting the standard he set to "win out."

Coastal Cornhusker Rankings: Week 7

2012-10-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well that was a crazy weekend. Husker game aside, this was one of the best weeks of college football that I can remember, and there's plenty of movement in the rankings this week. Let's get after it:

Top 25:
AP Rank in parentheses
#1 Alabama (1)
#2 Oregon (2)
#3 South Carolina (3)
#4 Florida (4)
#5 Kansas State (6)
#6 Notre Dame (7)
#7 West Virginia (5)
#8 Ohio State (8)
#9 LSU (9)
#10 Oklahoma (13)
#11 Florida State (12)
#12 USC (11)
#13 Clemson (16)
#14 Georgia (14)
#15 Oregon State (10)
#16 Stanford (17)
#17 Texas (15)
#18 Mississippi State (19)
#19 Cincinnatti (21)
#20 Rutgers (20)
#21 Louisville (18)
#22 Louisiana Tech (23)
#23 Iowa State (NR)
#24 Boise State (24)
#25 Michigan (25)

*Alabama and Oregon both have minefields to navigate, but they appear to be the two best teams by far right now
*South Carolina goes to LSU this week and Florida next week, if they emerge from that gauntlet unscathed and they'll probably jump to #2
*Florida skyrockets up the polls while Georgia freefalls, this is a good year for the SEC East after being dominated by the SEC West recently
*Florida State is penalized for their loss more than LSU because of the nature of the opponent, but the 'Noles will have a much easier time climbing back into the top 5
*USC and Oklahoma quietly creep back up the rankings
*TCU falls from the polls after they were dominated at home by Iowa State
*Louisiana Tech is the leading contender to bust the BCS, especially if they beat Texas A&M this week and move to 6-0
*Michigan is the only two loss team here, because their two losses are to two top 10 teams; one was close, the other not so much. Denard Robinson will always look great against anything but the best defenses in the country

Big Ten:

Legends:
1. Michigan (3-2, 1-0)
2. Iowa (3-2, 1-0)
3. Northwestern (5-1, 1-1)
4. Michigan State (4-2, 1-1)
5. Nebraska (4-2, 1-1)
6. Minnesota (4-1, 0-1)

Leaders:
1. Ohio State (6-0, 2-0)
2. Penn State (4-2, 2-0)
3. Wisconsin (4-2, 1-1)
4. Purdue (3-2, 0-1)
5. Indiana (2-3, 0-2)
6. Illinois (2-4, 0-2)

Power Rankings:
1. Ohio State: The Buckeyes put an emphatic stamp on this ranking in the Horseshoe last weekend. Braxton Miller is the Big Ten's only Heisman contender left standing and for what it's worth, the Buckeyes are the only undefeated team in the conference.

2. Michigan: I give them the edge over Penn State because of the talent differential. The Wolverines were hurt by the losses to Alabama and Notre Dame, but they demolished Purdue on the road and now carry the torch for the Legends division.

3. Penn State: This team is figuring it out at the right time. They don't have a lot of talent, but they play harder than any team I've seen this year and you have to give it to Bill O'Brien, he's squeezing every last drop of ability he can out of his offense.

4. Nebraska: As bad as it got in Columbus Saturday night, the Huskers still possess more than enough ammunition to win this league, but can Bo swallow his pride and make the necessary bye week adjustments to get his defense on track?

5. Wisconsin: The Badgers looked good in their beat down of Illinois, and with Purdue's struggles, they're the clear frontrunner in the Leaders division. The Badgers can't afford any more chokes if they want to control their destiny.

6. Northwestern: The Wildcats couldn't hang late in their game with Penn State and the bubble finally popped on their perfect season. The Wildcats remain a darkhorse in the Legends race, but they're capable of surprises, ask Nebraska.

7. Michigan State: Credit the Spartans for the comeback, but there was no reason for them to be trailing lowly Indiana at any point of the game. Things are kinda shaky in East Lansing right now and it will be interesting to see how those things shake out.

8. Purdue: The Boilermakers were pathetic Saturday allowing Denard Robinson to dance all over them to the tune of 235 yards, and failing to score against the soft Michigan defense. The Boilermakers can't afford any more breakdowns if they want to go to Indy.

9. Iowa: The Hawkeyes come off the bye week and get a struggling Michigan State team in East Lansing. If Kirk Ferentz can pull off the upset, he just might salvage the pieces of a broken season.

10. Indiana: The Hoosiers get off the bottom with their strong showing against Michigan State last Saturday. The win would have been nice, but if the Hoosiers can parlay the momentum into a strong performance against Ohio State...there's a reason they call these letdown games.

11. Minnesota: The Gophers were off last week, and will try to catch Northwestern in a funk from their loss at Penn State.

12. Illinois: You couldn't write a worse opening act for new coach Tim Beckman. It get worse with a trip to Michigan this week.

Sunday Review: Ohio State

2012-10-07T17:14:00.001-07:00

So...that sucked. After the first quarter, I had that pleasant sense of surprised optimism. At halftime, that turned into cautious optimism that the Huskers could turn it around, and after the punt return for a TD in the 3rd quarter, that turned to "Oh no, not again." I'm not going to join the growing throng calling for Bo's head, but I confess, I'm getting pretty gosh darned tired of this. I didn't think the Huskers had a great shot of winning going into this game, but for the love of Grant Wistrom, what in the heck is going on with this defense? After Braxton Miller's 70 yarder in the second quarter, the wheels came off this defense and the Huskers didn't stop the Buckeyes again until a late, meaningless fumble in the fourth quarter. Thank goodness for the bye week, because the Huskers' season is only half over, and Bo backed himself into an unrelenting corner when he made his "We gotta win out." declaration in the post game. Bless his soul for the optimism, but if the Huskers can't figure out how to stop a mobile QB, then wins at Northwestern, and versus Michigan will be asking a lot.

On with the review:

Offensive MVP: Who else? Ohio State QB Braxton Miller. The sophomore survived an ugly start, and was nearly unstoppable from the second quarter on. 186 yards, and a TD rushing, 127 yards and a TD passing, and more pertinently for this game: no turnovers. He played himself into Heisman consideration last night.

Defensive MVP: Ohio State CB Bradley Roby. Roby tied Ben Cotton as Taylor Martinez's third leading receiver last night. Credit Roby for being in the right spots, but Martinez threw two incredibly ugly balls right to him last night. And who knows how the game might have been changed without his pick six in the first quarter? Does Nebraska go up 17-0? 24-0? Hard to say.

Special Teams MVP: Ohio State PR Philly Brown. Nebraska was only trailing 11 points when they punted away to Brown early in the 3rd quarter. Brown passed through the first wave of defenders nearly untouched and turned on the jets down the sideline to put the dagger in the Huskers' heart.

Freshman MVP: FB Andy Janovich. The true freshman walk-on from Gretna gets the nod for his overall strong play last night, and for the lack of competition for this award. Janovich made some good blocks, and had a 5 yard catch. There's a bright future for Janovich if he can continue to progress within Tim Beck's system.

Assistant Coach of the Game:
This goes to Ron Brown. Rex Burkhead had a career long 73 yd run, and 119 yards on the ground yesterday. Braylon Heard, Ameer Abdullah, and Imani Cross added 73 yards and 2 TDs and there were no fumbles from the running backs. This loss can't be put on Brown's outstanding running back corps, as they often had to make their own holes.

Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's pinball 9 yard TD run in the second quarter was not only really sweet, but it briefly put the Huskers up 24-21 with halftime approaching. For all of Martinez's flaws last night, you have to give him props for this nice TD run right after a false start penalty.

Play We Want Back: Braxton Miller's 70 yard run in the second quarter was a sign of things to come for the Husker defense. After such a dominant first quarter, you felt like Miller needed to do something amazing to break open the game, and he did. After cutting into the middle, it looked like Alonzo Whaley and PJ Smith had Miller contained for about a 7 yard gain, but Miller cut right, faking Whaley out of his jock strap, and outsprinted the whole defense down the sideline until Ciante Evans tracked him down at about the 5. The defense never recovered their confidence and were lit up time and again by Miller, Carlos Hyde and the TE seam routes.

I want to see more...
*3-4 sets. Nebraska doesn't have 4 good D-linemen right now, and even though we don't have the best personnel for a 3-4, the two or three times we ran it last night, it seemed like it was always a negative play for the Buckeyes, except for the time at the beginning of the 4th when Eric Martin missed a sack and let Miller escape for a third down conversion.
*Corner blitzes. They worked in the first quarter, but after Miller's long run, Nebraska was too fixated on Miller to try anything fancy. Not that that fixation helped at all.
*Want-to from the defense. Especially on that last TD, the Huskers gave up and went through the motions in the second half. They better get that figured out during the bye week.
*Imani Cross. I think the freshman could have blown through some of those tight holes better than Nebraska's other backs, but he didn't get a chance until the last play of the game.
*Play action out of the Diamond-Bone formation. That sweep to Braylon Heard worked great the first time, but when Nebraska tried again, Ohio State ate it up. The play action scored 3 or 4 TDs for us last year, but we haven't seen it yet this season.
*Goal line creativity. Letting Rex take the snap was a nice wrinkle, and it worked twice, but Beck should have tried a pass the third time, as the Buckeyes D ate it up.
*Pass interference calls go our way. The Buckeyes were pretty...physical with the Nebraska receivers last night and in my opinion, it there were at least 4 or 5 pass interference calls that the refs missed. Bo seemed to agree with me.
*Kyler Reed. Where the heck was the senior TE? He's too talented to be off the stat sheet.
*Performance by the tackles. Buckeye DE John Simon had his way with Jeremiah Sirles and Brent Qvale to the tune of 2 sacks and 5 TFLs. Andrew Rodriguez had several flags against him, and there wasn't a lot of running room on the edges most times. Barney Cotton better light a fire under these guys next game.

I want to see less...
*Gashing runs. Nebraska couldn't stop a QB counter to save their lives last night, and as soon as they started keying on Braxton Miller, Carlos Hyde was getting 6-10 yards per rush. A lot of people are comparing last night's performance to a Cosgrove defense. Seems about right.
*Alonzo Whaley and Sean Fisher against the spread. Yeah, they both played outstanding against Wisconsin, but as soon as the Buckeyes put that third receiver on the field, Whaley and Fisher became huge liabilities because they aren't fast enough to cover the perimeters. I thought that was a lesson we learned against UCLA, but I guess not.
*TE's busting our seams. I counted three play action passes to TEs in the middle of the field that went for a total of 85 yards and a TD. Good job holding Buckeye WRs to 3 catches for 35 yards, but you can't forget the TEs in today's game.
*T-Muggle. Martinez reverted to his old self last night, no more so than on his last interception, a floater off his back foot when he was under almost no pressure. He did a serviceable job running the ball, but he took bad sacks, including another sack-strip, threw three atrocious interceptions, and did nothing to rally his teammates as the mistakes snowballed. Martinez is likely to break all sorts of records this season, but he won't endear himself to any fans' memory with more performances like this.
*Rex Burkhead on the sideline. Not his fault, but this offense isn't the same without Rex. Get well soon Superman.
*Three and outs. This is becoming a weekly theme. I counted 4 three and outs, while Ohio State had one after the first quarter.
*Turnovers. Another weekly gripe. There's really no excuse for it at this point; all 4 can be directly attributed to Martinez. He needs to be held accountable for his bonehead plays. On the defensive side, we need to figure something out to get more than 1 meaningless fumble per game. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Armchair head coach:
Late in the 1st half, Nebraska gets the ball down 28-24 with 3 minutes left. We're getting the ball back to start the 3rd quarter, but it would be nice to get another score to grab some halftime momentum. Penalties on the kickoff put Nebraska at the 10, and instead of using the power game to get out of the shadow of their own endzone, Beck dials up a zone read, and Martinez fumbles when he's hit at the line of scrimmage. Cotton recovers, but a 3 yard run by Burkhead, and a 2 yard swing pass to Burkhead make it a quick three and out, forcing Brett Maher to punt from the back of the endzone, and give Miller a minute and a half to score another TD that gives the Buckeyes an 11 point lead at halftime. That sequence doomed the Huskers as much as any in this shootout.

Hit of the Game:
Freshman Charles Jackson set the tone on the opening kickoff, chopping down the Buckeye returner at the 15. Too bad Ohio State changed the tune later...

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Why can't they ever just lose, why do they have to suck so bad?"
We're all wondering that.

Song of the Game
"Shattered" by the Rolling Stones

"Don't you know the crime rate is going up, up, up, up, up
To live in this town you must be tough, tough, tough, tough, tough!
You got rats on the west side
Bed bugs uptown
What a mess this towns in tatters Ive been shattered
My brains been battered, splattered all over Manhattan"

Mick said it all.

Beer of the Game
Nimbus Brown Ale by Nimbus Brewing Company, Tucson, AZ

I discovered an amazing liquor store in Savannah that has, conservatively speaking, at least 650,000 different beers on their shelves. I kinda threw a mental dart with my eyes closed and picked this beer. I judge brown ales with Newcastle as my baseline, and this one falls a little short. Too earthy, and lacking Newcastle's sweetness, Nimbus isn't terrible but I won't get it again. Hopefully we can say the same about Nebraska's performance.

Best Commercial
There's so much to love about Marisa Miller's Buick commercial. Marisa Miller's in it, it's kinda funny, Marisa Miller's in it...

Last thought
The season isn't over. The optimist in me wants to say "Hey, take away the three interceptions and the punt return for a TD and Nebraska is right in this game." But the cynical side of me can only connect the dots with the games at Wisconsin and Michigan last season and conclude that Bo needs to try something radical with his game plans against mobile QBs, because he's just not getting it done. We're going into the most important bye week in quite some time. Bo needs to show his new boss that he can hold it all together and win a division title. His teams are usually at their best when they're in the corner. Time will tell.

Around the Nation: Quick Takes Oct 7

2012-10-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Great week of football with several surprises. Let's get right into the rundown:

#2 Oregon 52, #23 Washington 21
No surprises here, just Oregon doing what Oregon does. Year in and year out, the Ducks are outrageously explosive on offense and good enough on defense to let their offense outrun their opponents. Coach Chip Kelly moves to 40-6 in his 3 1/2 years in Eugene, with 2 of those losses coming in the Rose Bowl and the BCS National Championship game. That's just silly.

North Carolina State 17, #3 Florida State 16
Wait, what? Yeah this happened. The Wolfpack converted two 4th downs on their game winning drive, including the go ahead TD, erasing a 16-0 halftime deficit and pulling off the biggest upset of the year so far. The same EJ Manuel who was so good in 5 wins this year, was 17/29 passing for 1 TD and 1 INT. Manuel was sacked and hit the entire second half, and finished with -16 yards rushing. This is probably the end of Florida State's national title hopes, as there just isn't enough strength of schedule left to climb back into the polls unless they can shock Florida in Gainesvile.

#10 Florida 14, #4 LSU 6
LSU gets a lot of credit for their physicality and toughness, but the Gators played magnificently at home, knocking the Tigers around and sending about a dozen of their players to the sidelines with injury. If not for some untimely turnovers, I think Florida wins this game at least 17-3, if not more. Les Miles needs a new offensive gameplan, because if you can stop the Tigers' rushing attack, and Florida only allowed the Tigers 43 yards, LSU becomes completely useless on offense, and relies on their defense and special teams to get points, which didn't happen yesterday.

#6 South Carolina 35, #5 Georgia 7
Gamecock QB Connor Shaw might just be the best QB in the SEC after lighting up the Dawgs for 240 total yards and 3 TDs. RB Marcus Lattimore also fueled his Heisman hype after rushing for 109 yards and a TD as the Gamecocks blasted the Bulldogs in Columbia. Georgia QB Aaron Murray was held to 11/31 passing for 109 yards and an INT in the loss, and only a late cosmetic TD prevented the goose egg for the Bulldogs. With Florida's win over LSU, the SEC East may come down the the Gator's tilt with South Carolina in two weeks.

#7 Kansas State 56, Kansas 16
Kansas hung around in the first half, but they were never really in this game. K-State woke up in the second half and blew the Jayhawks away, finishing with 346 rushing yards. QB Collin Klein and RB John Hubert both finished the game over 100 yards, and both averaged better than 10 yards per rush. Decent warm up game for the Wildcats, they get a good looking Iowa State team next week.

#8 West Virginia 48, #11 Texas 45
Playing against the best defense they've seen by far, Geno Smith was nearly as awesome as he's been all year, throwing for 268 yards and 4 TDs, but the real MVP in this game was RB Andrew Bule who gashed the Longhorns for 207 yards and 2 TDs. The Mountaineers actually improved on defense holding Texas to a little over 400 yards at home (and only 45 points!), and forced QB Nick Ash to try keeping pace with Geno Smith without a lot of help from his ground game. With the ubiquitous nature of the spread offenses in the Texas high schools that fill his roster, I wonder why Mack Brown is so insistent on mimicking Alabama's run-first power game? It certainly hasn't worked for the Longhorns as they endure the worst 3 year run in recent memory

#9 Notre Dame 41, Miami (FL) 3
The latest version of Catholics vs Convicts was hardly as stirring as the 1988 classic. Nothing secret about how Brian Kelly has turned the Irish around: strong defense (285 total yds allowed), strong rushing attack (346 total yds) and mistake-free football (0 turnovers, 4 penalties). As much as it pains me to say it, I've been really impressed with Notre Dame's composure winning consecutive games over Michigan State, Michigan, and Miami. If they keep it up, the Nov 24th game at USC could be for a BCS title berth. That will make for a loathsome offseason of hearing how great the Irish are. Ick.

#13 USC 38, Utah 28
Matt Barkley redeemed himself a little bit with a 303 yard, 3 TD performance, but he was again outshined by his receiver Marqise Lee who caught 12 balls for 192 yards and a TD. 14 penalties and 2 turnovers are a concern for the Trojans, but at this point, the Trojans just need to be happy with the win, and circle the Nov. 3rd game with Oregon as their best chance to win back respect in the polls.

#14 Oregon State 19, Washington State 6
Hmmph. I'm still not overly impressed with the Beavers, but they did well to hold Mike Leach's Cougars to 227 total yards and force 5 turnovers (4 INTs). Lots of people are jumping on the Beaver Bandwagon, but I won't ride until the Beavers can beat a bad team by more than a couple scores.

#15 Clemson 47, Georgia Tech 31
Defense appears to be optional in Clemson as the Tigers allowed Georgia Tech's tricky triple option attack to roll up 339 yards and lead 31-30 in the fourth quarter. Luckily, Clemson can score on anyone eventually, and QB Tajh Boyd was able to shake off two INTs to throw for 397 yards and the go ahead TD in the fourth. Clemson is a dangerous team, but they're not true contenders until they start getting a better return on their pricey investment in defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

Iowa State 37, #15 TCU 23
Down 30-23 with 8 minutes left, the Frogs appeared to have momentum after stuffing the Cyloclones on a three and out, but on third down, Iowa State DE David Irving did his best Ndamukong Suh impression, batting a pass into the air, intercepting it, and returning the INT 21 yards for a TD, pushing the Cyclone lead to two TDs and deflating the Frogs for good. Does this upset happen if TCU's starting QB Casey Pachall wasn't suspended for a DWI? Doesn't matter. He was, and Paul Rhoads gets yet another program defining upset on the road.

#17 Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 20
Lots of talk this week about how this Texas Tech team turned a corner under third year coach Tommy Tuberville, and how the Sooners were in deep trouble with the trip to Lubbock. Well, it was all for naught as the Sooners rode a strong defensive performance to victory on the road, and it churns up a little momentum for the Red River Rivalry game next week. Bob Stoops doesn't have a National Title caliber team right now, but he's got enough to beat anyone in the Big 12 on a given Saturday.

#18 Stanford 54, Arizona 48 F/OT
The Oregon game aside, Arizona has successfully translated Rich Rodriguez's spread offense into big yards and points all season long. Unfortunately, the defensive woes that sunk Rodriguez at Michigan have come back to bite him in Tucson. Stanford ran up 618 yards on the Wildcats and came back from 2 TDs down in the fourth to prevent their second straight loss. The Cardinal have plenty of work to do, but the win matters more than the ugliness right now.

#20 Mississippi State 27, Kentucky 14
Not a great performance by the Bulldogs, but against Kentucky, that's good enough. If the Bulldogs want to truly get out of the SEC West cellar, they need to win at least 2 of their next three games against Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and Alabama. If the Bulldogs win all three, they're in the running for a trip to Atlanta in December.

#22 Rutgers 19, Connecticut 3
The Scarlet Knights are looking to make some noise in the Big East, and snatching 4 picks, including a 25 yard pick six, from the Huskies helped offset a poor offensive performance. It's a three team race with Cincinnati, and Louisville right now in the Big East and if Rutgers wants to take the crown, they need to get better than 280 total yards and 13 points from their offense.

Penn State 39, #24 Northwestern 28
Leading 28-17 going into the 4th quarter, the Wildcats gave up 3 unanswered TDs in the final period, and the Nittany Lions celebrated coach Bill O'Brien's first win over a ranked opponent. I like this Nittany Lions team, they play fantastic defense (the three TDs by the Wildcats notwithstanding) and have an offense that grinds out wins with heart and determination. O'Brien will have plenty of success here if he sticks around.

California 43, #25 UCLA 17
Cal didn't necessarily shut down the Bruin's explosive offense, they simply used that offense to their advantage, stealing 6 turnovers and parlaying them into touchdowns to put the Bruins away. A lot of people were ready to anoint the Bruins after they beat Nebraska, but an ugly loss at Oregon State, and the loss last night prove that the Bruins were probably more lucky than good in that game. Or maybe Nebraska is that bad...

Michigan State 31 Indiana 27
The Hoosiers discovered the Achilles heel to this Spartan defense: no huddle offenses that play sideline to sideline. The Spartans gave up almost 200 yards in just the first quarter, before waking up in the second half and roaring back to steal a road win from the Big Ten's worst team. If Mark Dantonio was unhappy after letting Ohio State off the hook, he has to be furious after his team nearly blew their whole season Saturday afternoon. After a game against Iowa next week, the Spartans enter a critical 3 game stretch at Michigan and Wisconsin, then against Nebraska. Michigan State fans can't be too optimistic about those games right now.

Wisconsin 31 Illinois 14
Solid win for the Badgers, as they rebound from the heartbreaker in Lincoln. The Badgers needed a strong win to re-establish themselves as the favorite in a wide open Leaders division, and they didn't disappoint at home. The Illini scored first, but then not again until the game was long decided in the 4th quarter. Taking a 10-7 lead into the 4th quarter, Wisconsin scored 3 TDs in the fourth, putting the game away on a 19 yard run by Montee Ball with 3 minutes left. The season hasn't gone as planned for the Badgers, but their goals are still in front of them.

Michigan 44 Purdue 13
Denard Robinson rushes for 235 yards, the Wolverine defense shows signs of life, and now Michigan looks like the best team in the Legends division after Nebraska gets blown out, and Michigan State struggles at Indiana. It was a good performance by the Wolverines, but I'll admit that I'm surprised and disappointed in the Boilermakers who played well below their talent level in the loss. Now Wisconsin looks like the most likely team to win the Leaders division with a third place finish behind ineligible Ohio State and Penn State.

Boise State 40 Southern Miss 14
The Golden Eagles start the year 0-5 after getting slaughtered at home by the Broncos. On the bright side, the quarterback competition appears to be down to 2 guys after the Eagles were rotating 3 in their first 5 games. Boise State was outyarded 424-310, but managed to put down Southern Miss with the help of 5 turnovers and a 23-0 halftime lead. The Broncos have been hovering outside of the top 25, but they should re-enter the polls after the dominant showing.

Arkansas State 34 Florida International 20
The Red Wolves played a pretty strong game against their Sun Belt foe, racking up 421 total yards with a good balance of run and pass and moving to 3-3 on the year. Western Kentucky looks like the class of the Sun Belt, but with Gus Mahzahn at the helm, Arkansas State is capable of making a solid run, which is a nice bump for Nebraska's strength of schedule.

Ohio 38 Buffalo 31
Clearly, the MAC is not going to roll over and let Frank Solich and Ohio roll through the conference unimpeded. Luckily for the Bobcats, that win over Penn State is looking better every week, and as long as Ohio doesn't lose any of these close games, they still have a chance to get a BCS bowl if they get enough help. They need to stop allowing 500 yards to weak teams though.