What a great game for Husker fans! That was a very fun game to watch and I am beyond excited for our team and staff for getting that victory. Tommy played great, the run game was phenomenal, and apart from a few drives, the defense completely shut down a dynamic Bruin offense. Josh Rosen was constantly under pressure from blitzes and the coverage downfield was the best we have seen all season (not saying a whole lot, but it's worth noting). Nebraska had 326 yards rushing in this game, the only 300+ rushing game of the season. They controlled the clock and kept the ball away from Josh Rosen. The O-Line was opening huge holes and the backs were running with a purpose. That's one of the most dominant running games I have seen in a while, especially out of Nebraska. Apart from one drive early in the 4th, and a few other plays, I thought that Langsdorf & Riley called their best offensive game of the season. I was very happy to see that they only had Tommy Armstrong pass when he needed to. Throwing only 19 times was very nice to see. There's no reason to be dropping back 30-40+ times per game. If Nebraska can continue this kind of production on the ground next year, things will be very different.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Blackshirts came to play. They got pushed around early in the game as UCLA drove right down the field, but after the third TD, the defense seemed to settle in and not give up anything after that. The defensive pressure was key in this game as they rattled Josh Rosen and the Bruin offense early, and kept them from doing very much of anything for half the game. The Blackshirts held UCLA to just 67 yards rushing and 5-12 on third downs. UCLA only had two drives in the 3rd quarter, and both were 3 and outs. The defensive play helped the offense to control the time of possession. Still a lot of work to do in the secondary, but 2 INTs on Josh Rosen is a good start.
I was very happy to see Tommy have a solid game. He really took that Iowa loss hard, and it's good to see that he's still fighting to prove that he's the QB to lead this team. The game plan helped Tommy and the Huskers succeed, and I'm hoping that is a good sign for next season. I'm anxious to see how the Huskers look under Coach Riley's second year. Obviously this season did not go as planned, but I am certain that another year in the system and getting another recruiting class in will do wonders for this team. Apart from back to back games in Madison and Columbus, the schedule sets up well for a possible 10-11 win season and maybe even a West Division Title and trip to Indianapolis. We can always hope, but we'll have to wait and see next year for the Huskers! I'll do my best to post updates on recruiting after all the bowls are done.
A quick note on the Nate Gerry Targeting call... HORRIBLE! I honestly have never seen a better tackle. I appreciate what the Targeting rule is trying to protect with player safety and concussions, but there is too much grey area. I think that the NCAA needs to go back and look at the way the rule is written. I agree that if a player deliberately tries to bash his head against someone else's that he should be ejected. But for a hit like Gerry's, or just any big hit in general, a player should not be ejected. Football is a hard hitting game, just because someone de-cleats another player doesn't mean that he was trying to bash his head in and give him a concussion. I think that the rule needs to be looked at and edited. Players heads are going to move in a tackle, that doesn't mean that they were intentionally targeting the opponent's head. The officiating crew on Saturday night was not up to par, and they made a terrible call by ejecting Nate Gerry. He turned his head to the side for pete's sake! Just ridiculous, hopefully someone sheds light on this rule soon. Thank you & GO BIG RED!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
No comments:
Post a Comment