Now that everyone has had a day to think about the Husker's win over Arkansas State, I'd like to throw my recap and analysis of the game out to the world. Overall, I would give the Huskers a solid B if I were to grade them. Many readers might initially disagree, but there are parts of the game missing when you look at just the score and number of yards racked up. The Red Wolves challenged the Huskers in a number of ways, finding a number of holes in Diaco's defense. Most people have been quite quick to criticize the new system, and although there were things I didn't necessarily like, I am definitely still a believer. Here's why:
I'll start with the defense as I break down the Huskers' game, and we'll start up front with the DL. Lots of rotation, but not a lot of pressure. I was hoping for a bit more since ASU was starting 5 new offensive linemen, but their QB was only sacked once and hurried just a handful of times throughout the game. Part of this was due to Arkansas State playing away from their offensive weakness and using a lot of quick passes to the perimeter in order to keep the ball away from their young O-line and part of this was due to the Blackshirts still working in the new system. I was hoping for more pressure from the D-line, but they contained the QB well and held the run game in check, not a bad start. Moving to the Linebackers, speed seemed to be an issue. We were almost always in purist all game long and it seemed as though some of them had cement shoes when getting out to the edge to make a tackle. When you load the box with 6-8 guys every down, teams are going to really push the boundaries and attack the perimeter of the field. Diaco and Bray will definitely need to look at the contain with the outside backers. Overall, solid tackling, and apart from a few mismatches, I thought the LBs covered well. That's something they haven't had to do much under previous defenses, so that will be an adjustment to keep your eye on. Finally, we get to what looked to be the biggest issue for the Blackshirts, the Secondary. Giving up 415 yards through the air to Arkansas State isn't exactly the ideal way to start the season, but there are some bright spots too look at as well. The first being there were only 2 passes over 20 yards, so the big play was prevented well. Secondly, tackling was fairly solid for the Secondary as well. My biggest concern was the cushion given to the wide receivers of ASU, especially in the first half. It was clearly a scheme thing, but all of our DBs were playing 7-9 yards off of the ball, giving the Red Wolves lots of room for those quick perimeter passes to gain 8 yards a pop. There was definitely more aggression towards those in the second half, but with so much cushion, it's easy to see how QB Justice Hansen threw for 415 yards. Another issue was how easy it seemed to be for our secondary to be taken out of the play. Specifically on those quick screens, ASU's wideouts would drive the corners to the sideline and would not let off on their blocks. Great execution by the Red Wolves, poor block shedding on the outside. I know Oregon will attack the perimeter just as much as the Red Wolves, and they actually have a decent ground game to lean on with Senior RB Royce Freeman and crew, so the Blackshirts will have a lot to contain next week in Eugene. I wasn't expecting anything overly impressive with the defense, but even with a couple of young corners I expected a little more from the secondary. We'll see what improvements and adjustments Coach Diaco and Company make for this week. Overall not the best, but definitely not quite as bad as everyone might initially react. Working to prevent 3rd down conversions will be key as well, ASU had 7/13 converted, many on quick passes underneath with too much cushion.
On the offensive side of the ball, I was very happy with the performance. Tanner Lee looked good, 238 yards, 2 TDs and just under 60% completion percentage for his first game as a Husker. Many people were probably expecting him to put on a show and be damn near perfect, but you need to remember he hasn't taken a live snap in a couple of years. His deep passes were very pretty, and he hit a lot of receivers in stride. Solid performance in game 1, I'm excited to see how he handles the crowd at Autzen while managing the offense. Looking at the run game, Tre Bryant was clearly the feature back, and with good reason. the Sophomore racked up 192 yards on 31 carries and added a TD for good measure. The things I liked most about watching him was his patience in waiting for holes to open up, and his toughness. I swear Bryant broke through at least 2 tackles on every play except for the safety. He will be a force to be reckoned with if Nebraska can lean on him throughout the season. I'm hoping to see a little more of Ozigbo to mix in as well, but Bryant looked like the clear number 1 on Saturday. The O-line was about what I expected, strong run performance, decent pass protection and a lot of stupid penalties. There were a few plays where I saw some missed assignments (i.e. the safety), but overall the penalties are the biggest issue. Finally, the Wideouts. I was very happy with their performance, and believe they will cause a lot of headaches for opposing defenses. I'm hoping Riley and Langsdorf mix in some more mid-range passes rather than just quick screens and long bombs, but I can understand the play calling due to the lack of size with our guys on the perimeter. Nonetheless, speed, athleticism and raw talent will help our wideouts be a step ahead of most corners they'll face this year.
Special teams was both great and horrible. Drew Brown is automatic, that will be very useful this year, and JD Spielman is all I knew he would be and more. Caleb Lightbourn even had 3 punts downed inside the 20, so he's starting to improve as well! The bad parts came with kick coverage. The Punt Return was bad, everyone over pursued and did not cut down their angles to cut off the return man. I do want to give Red Wolves returner Blaise Taylor credit, he's their school's all-time kick and punt returner, but the Huskers definitely need to work on their coverage. Finally, the onside kick. Great kick, couldn't ask for anything better, but again, expect that to be a focus in practice this week!
I hope you all enjoyed the game and reading my review. Quick shout out to Turner Gill and Liberty for pulling the upset on Baylor! There were a lot of great games this weekend, and we're only at week 1! Remember to tune in tomorrow (Tuesday) night from 7-8 on http://krnu.unl.edu/ KRNU2 to listen to my friend Nate Muhlbach and I break down the Husker game and more on our new Radio show, The Second String. We'll be talking all about College Football from all around the nation, so you won't want to miss it! Thanks for reading and GO BIG RED!!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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