Week 6 Reflections

     Hi everyone! I apologize for the late post on the reflection of the Husker game, but I've had a crazy busy week thus far! I will again post the link to my YouTube page with the podcast of this week's episode of The 2nd String, my radio show that talks all about Husker and College Football with my good friend Nate Muhlbach. I'll give my normal analysis, but for a more in depth take on the game, be sure to listen to our discussion on The 2nd String! Here's my reflection on the Wisconsin game, enjoy!

     On what felt like the perfect night for an upset, Wisconsin rumbled away with a 38-17 victory over the Huskers. I, like most of you, was not only disappointed with the outcome, but more so with the consistent mediocrity of our team. The Huskers played fairly well up until the mid third quarter. That's when Wisconsin decided to just run the ball over and over again, wearing down a defense that was left on the field far too long. Yes, it's obvious that Wisconsin is just a stronger team, but Nebraska had countless opportunities to take over and win this game. Let's dive into the details...
     Starting with the offense, I don't think I've ever seen a team start a game by throwing a pick six not once, not twice, but THREE times in a season, let alone half of a season. A fabulous opening drive was ruined yet again by one of the most pointless plays in the Husker playbook, the bubble screen. Don't get me wrong, I've seen bubble screens work and I've ran them myself, they can be deadly... but only if blocked well. We don't have stellar blocking on the edge like we did back when Quincy Enunwa and Kenny Bell were around, so the play is a gamble out of the gate. The other issue apart from blocking is how easy the play is to read. That's how the Northern Illinois pick six happened. Regardless if they get the interception or not, being able to read a play so quickly allows the defense to attack from early on in the play. That's when its left up to the blockers and how quickly they can get set up to create a lane. It hasn't been working and will continue to not work for the foreseeable future. STOP TRYING IT!! Especially within our own 20 yard line, it's just not a good play for Nebraska. They can't seem to run it correctly, yes Zig probably should've caught it, but no matter what, this play has been pure poison for the Huskers all season long.
     Looking at the rest of the game for the offense, pretty mediocre. The run game was okay, not great by any means, but Ozigbo did finish with 112 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Tanner looked okay as well, throwing for 262 with 1 big TD to Stanley and the pick six. His completion rating was only 50%, but you can chalk that up to some drops by his wideouts. In my opinion, he played well enough for Nebraska to win the game. However, the inability to finish drives ended up killing that dream. Nebraska punted 5 times in this game, and I'm positive at least 3 of those were on Wisconsin's side of the 50. The Huskers consistently moved the ball until they reached the 35-40ish yard line of Wisconsin, and then stopped. Anywhere near mid-field seems to be similar to the Bermuda Triangle when it comes Nebraska's productivity on offense, because it disappears. I think play-calling is a big part of the issue, but between the 40s, the offense needs to improve drastically. The inability to sustain drives leaves the defense on the field for too long, and against a team like Wisconsin, they'll wear down eventually.
     Switching to the defensive side of the ball, I thought the Blackshirts played a damn good game (apart from the 75 yard run right before half time). Yes, they wore down in the end, but that 4th Quarter wasn't even fair for them. Nebraska's offense only ran 6 plays for the entire 4th Quarter. Wisconsin had the ball the rest of the time. Looking back at the defense, they played well, but not great. They too missed a number of great opportunities to capitalize on and take this game over. The first being the aforementioned 75 yard TD run for Johnathan Taylor and the second being after they had just gotten a pick six on Hornibrook and tied the game at 17. Wisconsin is not a team that makes many mistakes, let alone penalties, but they had 8 in this game. A couple of those penalties lead to the Badgers being pushed back to their 7 yard line immediately following the pick six by Aaron Williams with a tie game and Memorial Stadium rocking. As a defender, I cannot imagine a better scenario to step up and take over this game. This was my big turning point in the game, the defense needed to make a stop. From this point onward, Wisconsin only ran 2 pass plays for the rest of the game, both on this drive. One for a 3rd down completion where Lamar Jackson fell down covering his receiver on a crossing route and the other on the touch down where Eric Lee Jr. fell down covering his man in the endzone. Apart from that the Badgers just ran over, around and through the Blackshirt defense. Again, some of this was due to getting worn out by their offensive line that late in the game, but to give up a 93 yard touchdown drive with big chunk runs all the way down the field after you had just tied the game is not how you keep the momentum. They'll be challenged yet again this week with Ohio State, so we'll see what happens. Our safeties were the leading tacklers in the game against Wisconsin, showing that Taylor was not getting touched until the second and third levels. Right now, we can only hope for the best.
     Overall, a solid performance early on in the game, but a lack of capitalizing on opportunities and a lack of consistency defeated the Huskers yet again. We'll see how they look this week with another big one at home. Thanks for reading and GO BIG RED!

#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando

Week 6 Predictions

     Good morning Football fans!! I hope you're all ready for another fantastic day of College Football as we move into October and the heart of the season. There may not be a lot of big ranked games this weekend, but there are some great match ups and a lot of potential for upset! Here are my big games to watch today and who I think is going to get the win. Enjoy!

#4 Penn State at Northwestern

     Yes, Penn State has been rolling through the majority of their competition. However, Pat Fitzgerald is known for causing headaches in games like this. Northwestern has not looked great yet this year, but seemed to find something good last week as they nearly came back against a tough Wisconsin team on the road. Clayton Thorson needs to take care of the ball in this one, and make smarter choices. Taking that sack for a safety last week destroyed all their chances at the comeback. If they can attack the Nittany Lion defense early, they may be able to keep this one closer than most people think. My only key is to get the ball to RB Justin Jackson as much as possible. Northwestern is lacking a lot of dynamic weapons, but Jackson is easily the best player on their team. He only has 273 on the ground and 103 through the air this season, but has recorded 4 TDs this year and is very dangerous in the return game. Speaking of return game, apparently Saquon Barkley likes to return kicks now as he opened last week with a 98 yard kick return for a TD. Barkley has proven that he can do just about anything short of cure cancer, so expect Penn State to keep living through him. The Wildcats did hold Wisconsin's Johnathan Taylor to just 80 yards on the ground last week, but containment out of the backfield will be the biggest key to watch with Barkley. He's an incredible receiver out of the backfield and I think he has yet another incredible performance. Northwestern is 14 point underdogs at home, but with an early kick and some resurgence, I think they'll keep it just under that. Penn State still wins without any big issues. Nittany Lions 31, Wildcats 20.

#5 Georgia at Vanderbilt

     Vandy has not lived up to the hype I gave them over the past couple weeks, and this is arguably their last chance to make something big happen with their season. The 5th ranked Bulldogs walk into Nashville after back-to-back blowout wins against Mississippi State and Tennessee. Their defense has been immovable so far this season, giving up 244 yards per game on average and just under 10 points. Vandy QB Kyle Shumur will look to lead his team back to they spotlight they want to be in. He has 985 yards with 11 TDs and just 1 pick so far this season, but has not had much help. Their run game is practically non-existent, averaging just 79.2 yards per game. Plus, the Commodores are giving up 200+ on the ground per game, so they're loosing the Time of Possession battle as well. Vandy ranks 103rd while Georgia ranks 30th in that category. It won't be as bad as Bama, but Georgia should look solid in this game. Bulldogs win it on the road 39-17.

#13 Miami at Florida State

     At the begging of the season, this looked like one of the biggest games the ACC would see this season. Injuries and tough losses has diluted this rivalry to the national eye, but no matter what, the 'Canes and the 'Noles always have a great game. Miami rolls into this game after man-handling Duke on the road last week 31-6. Mark Walton, RB for the Canes, has been a 1 man wrecking crew this season, with 403 rushing yards, 91 receiving yards and 3 TDs. Because Florida State's secondary is the biggest strength of the team, look for Miami to run Walton quite a bit. The 'Noles have been strong on defense all together, only giving up an average of 333 yards per game, but their offense has been the issue. They're averaging under 100 yards per game rushing, and Freshman QB James Blackman has been sacked 9 times in just two starts thus far. Protection will be crucial if Florida State wants to win this game. Now all these stats are nice, but since it's a Rivalry game, you can throw out most of it and just ask who wants it more? Miami hasn't beaten the Seminoles in 7 years, so look for Mark Richt's squad to come out ready. Everyone has written FSU off of the map this year, so we'll see if they can bounce back. I'm sticking with the U though, Miami 27, FSU 24.

LSU at #21 Florida

     Is Ed Orgeron coaching for his job? Yes, yes he is. After the Homecoming loss to Troy last week, LSU is reeling after hiring Orgeron after his interim season in 2016. I said it before and I'll say it again, Orgeron was not a smart hire. Nonetheless, he's there, and a $12 Million buyout will likely keep him there for a while. The wounded Tigers limp into the Swamp to take on the re-surging Gators who are looking to keep pace with Georgia in the SEC East. Neither team has been very impressive this season, but I think Florida has it slightly more put together. LSU either comes together as a team or falls apart in this game. I expect both teams to stick to the rushing attack in this game because Danny Etling has not been good for LSU at QB and Florida will be going with Felipe Franks full time now after the injury to Luke Del Rio. I personally think Franks is the better option, but with LSU only giving up 184 through the air per game, the ground game will be crucial. Troy ran for 206 on the Tigers last week, so Florida will be following their game plan closely. There is just a 1 point spread in this game, but I don't think LSU has it together. Gators win it in the swamp 27-21.

Michigan State at #7 Michigan

     The Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy will take place under the lights for the first time a the Big House. Sparty is coming in off a solid performance against Iowa at home and the Wolverines are coming off a BYE. They Maize and Blue will be without starting QB Wilton Speight as he is out for a while with his injury. John O'Korn will be his replacement and honestly could be an upgrade for the Wolverines. He won't have many weapons, but I expect this to be a defensive game regardless. Michigan & Michigan State have two of the toughest defenses in the nation giving up 203 yards and 248 yards per game on average respectively. Both teams also give up an average of under 20 points per game. I think the X factor in this game will be MSU QB Brian Lewerke. He's been a dynamic weapon for the Spartans, throwing for 963, 8 TDs and 2 picks while also leading the team in rushing with 248 yards and 2 TDs. Michigan has yet to face a dual threat QB like Lewerke this season, so he could cause some headaches. You never want to assume anything in a Rivalry game, especially one like the Big Brother- Little Brother one. I think this will be a tight one, but I like Michigan's defense at home. Wolverines win it 23-20.

#11 Washington State at Oregon

     Wazzu had the game of the week in week 5 after their big upset on USC. The Cougars are playing really well this season, and I think it's primarily because of their defense. Yes, we all know Luke Falk and the high-powered offense, but the Cougars are playing much better defense than they have in previous seasons. They are only giving up 275.2 yards per game on average and just 20.2 points. Oregon will be without starting QB Justin Herbert, so their offensive production could take a hit. The Ducks are also giving up nearly 240 yards through the air per game, and I think Luke Falk could hit that in the first half. I think Wazzu lives up to the hype and Mike Leach has them ready to play in this one. I'm taking the Cougars on the road, because if I don't pick them, I'm scared their DT Hercules Mata'afa will come and destroy me. Watch #50 for the Crimson on defense, he's a game changer! Cougars eat up the Ducks 35-17.

#23 West Virginia at #8 TCU

     College Gameday headed down to Fort Worth, TX for this Big XII match-up between the Mountaineers and the Horned Frogs. Two QBs reviving their careers from the SEC have found their way to WVU and TCU. Will Grier has looked very solid for the Mountaineers so far this season, passing for 1,374 yards, 13 TDs and just 3 picks. He also has 131 yards on the ground and has only been sacked 4 times this year. WVU's offensive line has done a fantastic job protecting Grier and giving him time to throw. They'll need to keep up that success today because TCU has 11 sacks and 30 Tackles for Loss already this season. They'll be coming after Grier early and often. The other QB reviving his career is Kenny Hill. The star QB has been playing really well for the Horned Frogs this season, leading their high-powered offense with 965 passing yards, 9 TDs and just 3 picks as well. With all the talk of QBs in this game, people may forget about the running backs. Justin Crawford (WVU) and Darius Anderson (TCU) have been phenomenal so far this season for their respective squads. Crawford is averaging 7.4 yards per carry and has 6 TDs while Anderson isn't far behind with 6.3 ypc average and 6 TDs of his own. Both defenses will be challenged with how balanced these two offensive attacks are. One more player to watch for is WVU wideout David Sills V. He's the infamous 13 year old QB Lane Kiffin offered a scholarship to, and now he's one of the Mountaineers leading receiver with 396 yards and 7 TDs! At 6'4, he's a very big target for Grier who is very difficult to defend. This is going to be a great game to watch this afternoon, and I like the Frogs at home. They went into Stillwater and shutdown Mason Rudolph and the Pokes. I think their defense is tough to move on and they create a lot of opportunities for their dynamic offense. Horned Frogs win it at home over the Mountaineers 38-28.

#9 Wisconsin at Nebraska

     The best game of the week will obviously take place in Lincoln, NE as the Badgers travel to take on the Cornhuskers! This is arguably the biggest game of the season for Nebraska, and they need to start winning if they're going to make this Rivalry for real. In my opinion, this game will likely decide the BIG 10 West Division. Wisconsin is the clear favorite in this game, but I'll give you all the reasons on why the upset is going to happen! First off, the Huskers are honoring the REAL 1997 National Championship team (Michigan is trying to do the same, but we all know Nebraska was better). When you bring back a team like the 1997 Champs, you'd better show up to your game. Second, Nebraska is not a fun place to play for opponents, especially at night. The Huskers have a nation-leading 20 game home night game win streak, and the last time they beat Wisconsin? 2012 at home under the lights! Looking at the game, both teams will be getting some key players back from injury. Wisconsin will get star TE Troy Fumagalli back from injury, who causes headaches for every defense he faces. Fumagalli has 236 yards and 3 TDs on the season even with missing last week, he'll be a big boost for the Badgers. For Nebraska, most of their help returns on defense. Linebacker Marcus Newby, Safety Josh Kalu and even Corner Chris Jones could make an appearance! I'm not too confident in Chris Jones playing a lot of minutes, but just to have him suited up on the sidelines will help that secondary and their confidence. Both teams will look to establish a solid ground game, so containment is key for the Blackshirts. Northwestern held their RB Johnathan Taylor to just 80 yards on the ground last week, forcing Alex Hornibrook to make throws to beat them. Nebraska needs to do much of the same. Hornibrook is consistent and smart with his throws. Applying pressure in passing situations will be crucial for the Huskers. Finally, to stop Wisconsin, you need to TACKLE! Nebraska has struggled all season with tackling, and if they struggle with that today, it won't look pretty. On offense, Nebraska needs to live through the run. Eat up as much clock as possible and keep the ball away from the Wisconsin offense. Protection is still crucial and improved last week against Illinois. However, Wisconsin's front seven is much more formidable than the Illini's. If Tanner Lee has time, he'll need to make smart throws and play calling will be crucial. Consistency on offense and getting the ball to their play makers will give Nebraska the best chance of winning. Feed Ozigbo and Wilbon as much as possible! I'm excited for this game and there's nothing quite like Memorial Stadium under the lights! Get ready for the Blackout and GO BIG RED! Nebraska pulls the upset 24-23!

Here are some Quick Hit games to watch that could get interesting:

Iowa State at #3 Oklahoma- If this was in Ames, IA, I would be more inclined to pick the upset, but I think Oklahoma at home is too much. The Cyclones can score some points though, look for them to cut into that 32 point spread. OU wins it 41-20.

Wake Forrest at #2 Clemson- Does Clemson fall asleep in this one? Wake nearly pulled the upset on FSU last week but was too conservative, we'll see if they pull any surprises on the Tigers. That defense is too much though, Clemson should be fine. Tigers 37, Demon Decons 10.

#21 Notre Dame at North Carolina- The Tar Heels have issues across the board and give up 220+ on the ground per game. Notre Dame averages over 300 on the ground alone, Irish will roll. Notre Dame wins this easy 38-10.

Minnesota at Purdue- A lack-luster match-up in the BIG 10 West, but it could be fun to see how these teams respond to their recent losses. I say Boiler-UP and that offense gets rolling. Boilermakers 35, Golden Gophers 23.

Stanford at #20 Utah- The Utes have been very quite all season, but are sitting at 4-0. They have the improved Stanford Cardinal coming in and they're lead by RB Bryce Love. With the QB change, I think Stanford is back on track and I'm not sure Utah can contain Love. This is their first major opponent and I think Stanford runs away with this one. The Trees take it 33-21.

I hope you enjoyed all my game picks and are ready for a fantastic Saturday of College Football! Thanks for reading and GO BIG RED!

#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando

Week 5 Reflection

     I hope everyone is having a good start to their week and enjoyed another great  weekend of College Football! With the Huskers playing on Friday night, I was able to watch a lot more games over the weekend, and there was a lot to talk about on my radio show The 2nd String with my friend Nate. I've attached our latest episode, so if you missed the show you can listen to it below! Now onto my reflections of the Huskers' win at Illinois!

     By far the best performance of the season for the Huskers resulted in a 28-6 victory over the Fighting Illini on Friday night. This is hopefully a sign of what's to come for Nebraska as they head into the bulk of their schedule and come home to face #9 Wisconsin and #10 Ohio State in back to back weeks. For now, we'll focus on the win, and I'll preview Wisconsin in my predictions later this week.
     Starting with the offense, Nebraska looked much improved from the past couple weeks. Tanner Lee had some protection, and although he wasn't (and probably never will be) the QB everyone imagined him to be, he didn't look too bad when he had time. Lee finished with 246 yards on 17-24 and 3 TDs. There were a few drops that you can take away, but there were also some inaccuracies. The most notable was the near interception that was broken up by TE Tyler Hoppes. Lee obviously still has a lot of improving to do, especially if he's going to lead Nebraska to victory against some of the tougher defenses coming up. Nonetheless, his performance against Illinois should give him, and the offense some much needed confidence. The other thing that the offense did well is run the ball. Again, still a lot of room for improvement, but having a consistent rushing attack will be crucial as the Huskers move deeper into conference play. Devine Ozigbo finished with 106 yards, giving him 2 straight 100+ yard performances. Mikale Wilbon also added 60 rushing yards, and the team finished with 165. Not great by any means, but they were consistent and wore down Illinois late in the game. I was especially pleased with the end of the game where the Huskers drove for the final 6:54 of the game on a fantastic 13-play game winning drive. That's how you put a game out of reach, and drives like that are going to be crucial in the tight games to come ahead. The Wideouts looked good, but drops were yet again an issue. The worst offender was easily Stanley Morgan, who was also one of the best in the game catching 8 passes for 96 yards and 1 TD thanks to one incredible Stiff-arm. However, that doesn't make up for the easy balls he dropped, he'll need to fix that issue heading into Wisconsin. Overall, very good performance from the offense.
     On the defensive side of the ball, I cannot say enough about their improvement and consistency over the past few weeks. Since the 2nd half of the Oregon game, the Blackshirts have only given up 23 points. They have not played the most high powered of offenses, but the improvement is there nonetheless. The Blackshirts kept consistent pressure on Chayce Crouch and recorded 10 tackles for loss as well as 5 sacks. Easily the best game statistically for them as a team as they gave up only 93 yards on the ground and 199 total yards in the game. The Linebackers had a very solid game, and Redshirt Freshman Ben Stille even received BIG 10 Freshman of the week honors for his performance! Stille has appeared in the last two games for the Huskers and looks to be pushing for a starting position after his 4 total tackle, 3 solo, 3 TFL and 1 sack performance against Illinois! Be sure to watch out for #95. Regardless of their performance, there are tougher challenges ahead and the tackling issue needs to be addressed. The Blackshirts missed far too many tackles last week against Illinois, and that issue will not fly against teams like Wisconsin and Ohio State. Eric Lee Jr. and Lamar Jackson are two of the biggest offenders, but overall I think everyone needs to practice tackling this week.

Thanks for reading my analysis of the game and be sure to checkout the podcast of my radio show The 2nd String with my good friend Nate Muhlbach. Feel free to make comments on any games or teams you'd like me to go in depth on and GO BIG RED!

#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando