Nebraska finally began the Scott Frost era, and unfortunately it started with a sour taste as old rival Colorado came out on top 33-28. After the first 6 minutes of play, Nebraska had two fumbles, the Buffs had a 14-0 lead and I had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach on where this game might go. The Huskers settled down and played really well throughout the remainder of the game, especially in the second and third quarters. Unfortunately, the game is four quarters long and dumb mistakes really cost Nebraska late. To break down this game I'll go with my Good, Expected and Bad categories.
GOOD- Overall, I think Nebraska played really well on Saturday, and I'm excited for this team's potential moving forward. The running game was a huge focus, racking up 329 yards on the ground with 7 different players running the ball. Martinez looked dynamic running out of the backfield and will be a major weapon for Scott Frost's offense moving forward (barring any significant knee injury). I was very impressed with the offensive line as they opened up holes and pass protected very well. They've been one of the biggest issues in recent years, so it's good to see them step up. Another aspect of the game that really stood out to me was the QB pressure on defense and tackling. Nebraska recorded 7 sacks on Saturday, which is half of the number of sack the Huskers had all last season. Defensive Coordinator Erik Chinander really has his group flying to the ball and Nebraska started to look like the Blackshirts of old on some of those drives. This team is going in the right direction and I think they're going to make some games really interesting later this season.
EXPECTED- My expected category is a bit of a neutral section and can be either the good expectations that were met and/or the bad expectations that were met. Sticking with the good, I again point to Adrian Martinez. This kid is a baller and will be one heck of a player as he develops throughout his career. He finished 15/20 passing (75% completion rating) for 187 with a TD and a pick. He had the early fumble and definitely needs to learn how to tuck the ball away, but for his first start, I was very impressed. He makes smart reads and does not force passes. The interception was a freshman mistake with locking into his wide receiver, but he was able to throw a lot of accurate passes. On the negative expectations, I turn to the secondary. I'll give them marks for defending BETTER (key word) against the deep ball, but there are still a lot of issues for a group that gave up 351 passing yards. The defensive backs are a young group, but a lot of them have substantial playing time. They struggle to stay with their receiver and are horrible at setting the edge. This is going to be a key group to watch moving forward, because they'll need to improve quickly before conference play.
BAD- The final category of my breakdown of the game is the bad. I don't want to go crazy in this section since it was only game 1 for Nebraska, but there are a few points that definitely need to be talked about. Special teams is at the top of my list for this category. Numerous penalties, missed field goal (he's a freshman, but still) and poor blocking on returns. The Special Teams units need to really step it up moving forward, because our offense cannot start inside the 20 against Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa if Nebraska wants to compete in those games. Penalties were another big issue, specifically Antonio Reed's unnecessary hit on 3rd and 24 to set up Colorado's winning TD. As one of the few veterans in the secondary, he has to know better than to make a bonehead play like that. Finally, I bring your attention to the play-calling/coaching mistakes. This is nit-picky, and will definitely be fixed with time, but there were a few instances in particular that had me upset. The first was around 7 minutes left in the game when Nebraska was on a drive and just broke into Colorado territory. The Huskers had 4th & 1 and were knocked back a yard when they tried to run with Greg Bell. Bell performed well throughout the game, but in that situation, Ozigbo should probably get the carry in my opinion. He's the bigger back and has more push then anyone else in that backfield. That halted our drive and stopped us from expanding our lead. The next questionable coaching call came just one drive later after Nebraska stopped Colorado on 4th down. The Huskers took over with 5:58 left in the game and the ball at the 50 yard line, with a one point lead. As a team, they averaged over 6 yards per carry, but decided to pass the ball. I know Coach Frost is trying to run his offense, but this is a situation where you need to work down the clock and play to your team's strength. This was Martinez's interception where he didn't see the linebacker sitting on the slant route and ultimately led to the Buffs taking the lead. My final coaching issue comes on the final drive of the game. Martinez is out, so Nebraska has backup QB Andrew Bunch in to run the offense. There's less than 1 minute left in the game and the Huskers started at their 36 yard line. Everyone knows Nebraska has to throw the ball since they're down 5 and need to get down the field as soon as possible. My problem is that every play was a play action pass from the shotgun snap. I personally don't think this was necessary (and somewhat problematic) because it does two things that do not help your offense at this point in the game; 1. It draws your QB's eyes down to execute the run fake, giving him less time to survey the defense and analyze the coverage scheme. 2. It brings your running back into the center of the pocket, making it more difficult and time consuming to help in pass protection on the edge or flex out for a possible safety net pass. Colorado knew the pass was coming and the play fakes really weren't necessary.
Now the bad section looks like a lot, but as I pointed out it's just small things that will end up making a big difference in the end. This was the team's first game under a new staff, with a new system and a lot of new faces in new positions. I've been saying all summer that this is going to be a growing season for the Huskers, and that will include a lot of growing pains. I'm very excited about what this team is going to accomplish, even in 2018. They'll learn to win these close games and as I stated earlier, this team is playing with a spark and energy that has been missing for a very long time. Besides, guess what other Husker Coach lost his opening game with the Huskers... Tom Osborne. Just keep the excitement level up Husker fans, big things are coming!
Now for some of my thoughts about some other games and teams around the nation:
- Clemson looked strong, but the Aggies really impressed me sticking with the Tigers. Even with being on the wrong side of a questionable call, Texas A&M still almost won this game and Jimbo is going to cause the SEC West Coaches a lot of headaches in the very near future.
- Ohio State will face their first real test this weekend against TCU, and I kind of like the upset here. Gary Patterson always has tough teams to beat, and don't think they haven't forgotten about the first year of the Playoffs when Ohio State leapfrogged (pun intended) them to get in. The Horned Frogs have a lot of talent and Ohio State better be ready for a fight, they're not playing Rutgers anymore.
- Kyler Murray is one heck of a player at OU, but they took a big hit losing RB Anderson for the season. This opens the door for TCU and WVU in the Big XII, but OU still has a lot of weapons. The Big XII will be a conference to watch this year.
- The BIG 10 has not looked impressive throughout non-conference play and Purdue's loss to Eastern Michigan and Sparty's loss to Herm Edwards and Arizona State are not helping that image.
- Bama looks like an even more unstoppable Bama with Tua at QB. I'm anxious to see if there's anyone in conference that can slow down this team.
Thanks for reading my reflection for Week 2 of the College Football Season and be sure to check back later this week for my game predictions for Week 3! GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
EXPECTED- My expected category is a bit of a neutral section and can be either the good expectations that were met and/or the bad expectations that were met. Sticking with the good, I again point to Adrian Martinez. This kid is a baller and will be one heck of a player as he develops throughout his career. He finished 15/20 passing (75% completion rating) for 187 with a TD and a pick. He had the early fumble and definitely needs to learn how to tuck the ball away, but for his first start, I was very impressed. He makes smart reads and does not force passes. The interception was a freshman mistake with locking into his wide receiver, but he was able to throw a lot of accurate passes. On the negative expectations, I turn to the secondary. I'll give them marks for defending BETTER (key word) against the deep ball, but there are still a lot of issues for a group that gave up 351 passing yards. The defensive backs are a young group, but a lot of them have substantial playing time. They struggle to stay with their receiver and are horrible at setting the edge. This is going to be a key group to watch moving forward, because they'll need to improve quickly before conference play.
BAD- The final category of my breakdown of the game is the bad. I don't want to go crazy in this section since it was only game 1 for Nebraska, but there are a few points that definitely need to be talked about. Special teams is at the top of my list for this category. Numerous penalties, missed field goal (he's a freshman, but still) and poor blocking on returns. The Special Teams units need to really step it up moving forward, because our offense cannot start inside the 20 against Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa if Nebraska wants to compete in those games. Penalties were another big issue, specifically Antonio Reed's unnecessary hit on 3rd and 24 to set up Colorado's winning TD. As one of the few veterans in the secondary, he has to know better than to make a bonehead play like that. Finally, I bring your attention to the play-calling/coaching mistakes. This is nit-picky, and will definitely be fixed with time, but there were a few instances in particular that had me upset. The first was around 7 minutes left in the game when Nebraska was on a drive and just broke into Colorado territory. The Huskers had 4th & 1 and were knocked back a yard when they tried to run with Greg Bell. Bell performed well throughout the game, but in that situation, Ozigbo should probably get the carry in my opinion. He's the bigger back and has more push then anyone else in that backfield. That halted our drive and stopped us from expanding our lead. The next questionable coaching call came just one drive later after Nebraska stopped Colorado on 4th down. The Huskers took over with 5:58 left in the game and the ball at the 50 yard line, with a one point lead. As a team, they averaged over 6 yards per carry, but decided to pass the ball. I know Coach Frost is trying to run his offense, but this is a situation where you need to work down the clock and play to your team's strength. This was Martinez's interception where he didn't see the linebacker sitting on the slant route and ultimately led to the Buffs taking the lead. My final coaching issue comes on the final drive of the game. Martinez is out, so Nebraska has backup QB Andrew Bunch in to run the offense. There's less than 1 minute left in the game and the Huskers started at their 36 yard line. Everyone knows Nebraska has to throw the ball since they're down 5 and need to get down the field as soon as possible. My problem is that every play was a play action pass from the shotgun snap. I personally don't think this was necessary (and somewhat problematic) because it does two things that do not help your offense at this point in the game; 1. It draws your QB's eyes down to execute the run fake, giving him less time to survey the defense and analyze the coverage scheme. 2. It brings your running back into the center of the pocket, making it more difficult and time consuming to help in pass protection on the edge or flex out for a possible safety net pass. Colorado knew the pass was coming and the play fakes really weren't necessary.
Now the bad section looks like a lot, but as I pointed out it's just small things that will end up making a big difference in the end. This was the team's first game under a new staff, with a new system and a lot of new faces in new positions. I've been saying all summer that this is going to be a growing season for the Huskers, and that will include a lot of growing pains. I'm very excited about what this team is going to accomplish, even in 2018. They'll learn to win these close games and as I stated earlier, this team is playing with a spark and energy that has been missing for a very long time. Besides, guess what other Husker Coach lost his opening game with the Huskers... Tom Osborne. Just keep the excitement level up Husker fans, big things are coming!
Now for some of my thoughts about some other games and teams around the nation:
- Clemson looked strong, but the Aggies really impressed me sticking with the Tigers. Even with being on the wrong side of a questionable call, Texas A&M still almost won this game and Jimbo is going to cause the SEC West Coaches a lot of headaches in the very near future.
- Ohio State will face their first real test this weekend against TCU, and I kind of like the upset here. Gary Patterson always has tough teams to beat, and don't think they haven't forgotten about the first year of the Playoffs when Ohio State leapfrogged (pun intended) them to get in. The Horned Frogs have a lot of talent and Ohio State better be ready for a fight, they're not playing Rutgers anymore.
- Kyler Murray is one heck of a player at OU, but they took a big hit losing RB Anderson for the season. This opens the door for TCU and WVU in the Big XII, but OU still has a lot of weapons. The Big XII will be a conference to watch this year.
- The BIG 10 has not looked impressive throughout non-conference play and Purdue's loss to Eastern Michigan and Sparty's loss to Herm Edwards and Arizona State are not helping that image.
- Bama looks like an even more unstoppable Bama with Tua at QB. I'm anxious to see if there's anyone in conference that can slow down this team.
Thanks for reading my reflection for Week 2 of the College Football Season and be sure to check back later this week for my game predictions for Week 3! GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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