Hey everyone, sorry for my late post, I've had a very busy week with tours and two tests! Going all the way back to last weekend, I'm going to give my thoughts on the Husker's sold win over Rutgers. I was very happy to see that Rutgers Center Derrick Nelson was released from the hospital the day after the game. Hopefully he can get healthy and back onto the field soon. Now onto my reflection.
On the offensive side of the ball, the first quarter and a half were incredible. The offense was doing whatever they wanted and had the Scarlet Knights' heads spinning. The Huskers were running the ball, and spreading it around. Around the middle of the second quarter, they started to trip up as Tommy threw two bad interceptions. The first coming when he over threw a wide open Lane Hovey in the middle of the field, and the second one on a high floater that was ten yards short of intended target Stanley Morgan Jr. Tommy's fantastic day came to a bit of a screeching halt with those two INTs before halftime. In the second half, he threw another TD, and another bad INT on a horrible screen play. I have never been a big fan of the screen game, although I will admit they are deadly when run correctly, but I feel like Langsdorf & Riley rely on them a little too much. Tommy made some great plays throughout the day, but the interceptions definitely hurt his performance. Nebraska can afford that against a lackluster Rutgers squad, but when Iowa comes to town, that is not going to be good. Iowa takes advantages of mistakes like those too easily. As for the run game, Nebraska totaled 174 yards rushing. I believe that it easily could've been more, but definitely not the worst outing we have seen this season. Imani Cross lead the way again with 90 yards, but Cethan Carter stole the show with his 32 yard end around for a TD. Carter had a career day against Rutgers with 57 yards receiving and 2 TDs. The Huskers will have a much tougher test against Iowa's run defense. Hopefully the bye week will give them some time to come up with a plan to get through Iowa's defense. The run game will be a big factor against Iowa. I think it will be a close scoring game, and TOP will make a big difference.
On the defensive side of the ball, that was by far the Huskers' best performance all season. The defense had a lot of help with some tough field position provided by Sam Foltz. The Blackshirts held Rutgers to only 89 rushing yards. They also had a solid performance on pass defense finishing with 2 INTs and holding Laviano to only 170 yards. Both interceptions were fantastic plays on the ball as Chris Jones and Nate Gerry went up high to snatch the ball away before any receiver had a chance for it. The defensive line played an amazing game as well. The Blackshirts recorded 6 sacks through out the game, and held Rutgers to only 3 out of 14 3rd Down Conversions. It definitely helped that Leonte Caroo wasn't quite 100%, but this performance will still give the Husker's defense confidence heading into their showdown with the Hawkeyes. I was very impressed by the way the Blackshirts last week, and I cannot wait until the Iowa game. I know the team will be vamped up and ready to play.
This past week I went 5-4 with my predictions. Not quite where I wanted to be, but I was definitely surprised by some of the games. It looks to be a crazy finish to this College Football Season, and we still have a couple weeks left! One of my favorite weekends of the year is almost upon us too. Next week, not only because of Thanksgiving, but because it's Rivalry Week! By far the best week in CFB, and I cannot wait to see all the big games being played! First let's get through this week, let me know if you have any teams you'd like me to reflect on or special picks for this week! Thank you, and GO BIG RED!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
No comments:
Post a Comment