Hey everyone, sorry I wasn't able to make any posts last week, I had a lot of things I needed to get caught up on. This post will be about my reflections on the Huskers road game versus Miami. I'd also like to brag just a little bit about my 7-1 record on my Week 2 Predictions! Here we go!
Obviously a roller-coaster of a game for Husker fans everywhere. Hated foe Miami was able to survive in Overtime. Yes, the throw by Tommy wasn't his best, yes, Alex Lewis put us in a tough spot with the penalty, but we cannot count this season as a loss yet. I hate it when fans throw away a season while still in the non-conference schedule, or when they call out specific players saying they lost us the game. Neither of those are ever a possibility in football, NEVER! My family and friends often call me the eternal optimist, but I will explain why this season is not a bust. I try to look at everything in a positive light, and I will never say a season is a complete bust unless you lose every single game and none of them were close. The Huskers are 1-2 three weeks into the season. Two losses look bad, but the quality of the losses are two of the best in the nation. To lose on a Hail Mary on the final second of a game after you come back from two or more scores down is nothing to scoff at. BYU is a very good football team, with or without Taysom Hill. Tanner Mangum has filled his shoes quite well in my opinion leading them to a 2-1 start to their season with a 1 point loss to #10 UCLA. Miami on the other hand is 3-0 with their only solid win coming against the Huskers. Anyone could see that Miami has great speed and a very prolific passing game. Look for them to compete well in the ACC this year. Plus, they had to go all the way to OT to beat the Huskers after holding a 23 point lead to start the 4th Quarter! So please don't count a 1-2 start a terrible thing when our two losses are last-second, one-score games.
Secondly, all of the fair-weather fans out there need to chill out. Everyone needs to remember that these players are just college kids. Football is an emotional game and players can lose their cool at any moment. Not everyone has their best game every single time they run out on the field, I know that from experience. I had plenty of games where I missed tackles or dropped a pass, it happens. Yes, Alex Lewis made a mistake. He lost his cool after the OT interception and shoved the Miami defender to the ground. Yes, he's a captain, but everyone makes mistakes. He's still a strong leader on this team and one of our best linemen. Fans tweeting at him or calling him out after the game doesn't help the situation at all. Once again, these players are just kids, they have a million and one other things to worry about than some upset fan calling them out in front of the entire world on social media. I'm never one for negative criticism, so I always say if you're not going to try to build them up, you're only knocking them down. Fans have no idea how hurtful their words can be, I hear it from my friends on the team and a lot of the other players when I'm helping out at practice. There's really no reason to say anything mean about these kids. If you really don't think that they give their all each and every game, go back and watch the 4th Quarter in Miami. Don't just watch them throw and catch the ball, watch how they pull each other back up, how the team rallies together and how each and every one of them believe with all their heart that they can still win this game. I'll get off my Soap Box now, but I just want all the fans of College Football to remember that they are just kids playing their favorite game out there and trying their best. I have a little more background then a lot of other fans might have, but I think that everyone needs a little bit of a reminder that it's just a game and it's main purpose is for fun and entertainment. I mean c'mon, how can you not love a 23 point 4th Quarter comeback to send it to OT?!
Speaking of OT, I do need to mention Tommy's pass. Definitely not the best of his moments, but not the worst either. Should he have made that throw, probably not. However, if you go back and watch the play, he had very good reason to throw that ball. Taariq Allen was running across the back of the endzone with a 2 yard separation on the DB. Had Tommy put that ball in the back corner instead of in front, that's a Touchdown and I believe Nebraska wins the game. Sadly, it didn't quite happen that way. Since he was on the run, he was not able to set his feet and put full strength into that pass. It floated on him and that's what caused the interception. Anytime this game is brought up, everyone will talk about what a terrible throw Tommy made to lose us the game, but it is never one play that causes you to lose a football game. Think about it, had we not had those 6+ drops earlier in the game, we could've kept drives alive and possibly scored. Maybe then overtime isn't even a factor, maybe it still is. It's always a "coulda-shoulda-woulda" thing in football. Had the coaches made a few better play calls at some points in the game, it's a completely different outcome. Please don't look at Tommy and say that he lost us that game, he's one of the very few players who kept his head in it for the full 60 minutes of regulation. The plays he made with his feet, especially in the 4th Quarter, were some of the best scrambles I have seen out of any QB. He made some amazing plays all game to keep the Huskers in it. The score board didn't show us in it, but Tommy knew we were. If his receivers had helped him out a little more earlier in the game, I think that it's a completely different score. Tommy played a great game, his stats don't reflect it, but if you watch the tape, it's there. Two of the interceptions were bogus anyways. It looked like Stanley Morgan Jr. (who had a fantastic day) went the wrong way on the pick before the half, and then the other one was tipped and literally fell into the lap of the Miami defender. We will need Tommy going forward, so any fans calling him out, the only thing you should call him out for is being a fantastic leader and for always fighting.
Overall, the Huskers played very good football... for a quarter. Adjustments were obviously made at halftime which I'm very pleased to see, but we obviously have a lot of work to do if we want to be competing for championships. It's going to take time, but this is a good football team capable of beating everyone on their schedule. The two losses have showed that we are just a couple plays from a completely different outcome. The team needs to put a full game together. The only way to beat everyone is to beat everyone in every quarter, not just one or two. I can tell you that the team is hungry and ready to prove to everyone that they are better than their record shows. Please don't count this season out yet Huskers, we haven't even made it to the BIG 10 yet, and our division is wide open. If you have any questions or comments please post them and GO BIG RED!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
No comments:
Post a Comment