Sorry for the late reflection post this week football fans, but as break approaches I've had a lot of assignments to take care of first! Nonetheless, this is my reflection post on last weekend in College Football and will focus on the Huskers performance up in Madison along with some other news around the College Football world. Let me know if you have any questions or comments and be sure to share the link with anyone who might be interested in reading! Thank you and enjoy!
The Huskers fell 41-24 up in Madison to the Badgers, but there were a lot of positives to take away from this game. Adrian Martinez has gone for over 400 yards of total yards of offense for the second game in a row now, and JD Spielman set a Nebraska record by hauling in 209 receiving yards. The offense definitely had it moments in this game, but once again, dumb penalties and an atrocious defensive performance led to the Husker's demise. I'll break it all down with my Good, Expected and Bad categories below.
GOOD: Offensive production and performance in this game was one of the best we've seen all season. Yes, they only ended with 24 points, but racking up 518 yards on Wisconsin is not an easy task. As I mentioned above, Martinez has now accounted for more than 400 yards by himself in each of the past two games and Spielman broke a Husker receiving record with 209 passing yards. Martinez also had the most passing yards by a Freshman QB at Nebraska, completing 57% of his passes for 384 yards and 2 TDs. Wisconsin was being stretched all around the field with the Husker's passing attack and couldn't cover Spielman if their life depended on it. Stanley also had a solid game catching 8 passes for 93 yards. The run game was MIA, but with Martinez throwing the ball 42 times, it's clear Frost wasn't going to try the Badger's Linebackers up the middle very often. Nebraska only ran the ball 24 times, with only 10 of those carries being split evenly between Ozigbo and Washington. Personally, I think both of these backs need to have more carries in the future, and there needs to be more balance on offense, but that's nit-picky. Nebraska played well and hopefully the offense can keep it up this week against a tough Wildcat defense.
EXPECTED: Johnathan Taylor and the Wisconsin rushing attack dominating the pace of the game and ultimately taking over. The Badgers racked up 370 rushing yards in the game and had a +11 minute difference in time of possession. Taylor finished with 224 yards and 3 TDs on the ground, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. The man was literally dragging Husker defenders behind him as he churned out yards. In addition to Taylor, back-up running backs Taiwan Deal and Garrett Groshek also gashed the Blackshirt defense for 74 and 73 yards respectively. Deal finished with an average of 7.4 yards per carry and Groshek averaged 8.1. Nebraska does not have a lot of depth on defense, but giving up nearly 10 yards a run to not one, not two, but THREE different running backs?! The front seven of the defense has really regressed from their opening week performance against the Buffaloes, and with more talented teams on the way, they'll need to get a push soon.
BAD: Dumb penalties and mistakes are still the issue holding this team from competing and even winning a game. Nebraska finished the game up in Madison with 10 penalties for 100 yards, double the Badgers who were at 5 for 50 yards. Nebraska has been in double digit penalties in every single game this year. This team will not get over the hump and win a game if this is not fixed. I've addressed this issue every single week, but if this isn't fixed soon, the team will continue to lose. Make them run more in practice, start holding guys more accountable for the penalties they commit, do something! I'm not sure exactly what the solution is, but it needs to be found ASAP.
Overall, Wisconsin dominated a majority of the game, as expected. But holding them to two redzone field goals is a big step. Staying competitive and being down only 10 early in the third quarter after an opening half TD is a big step. This team is starting to turn the corner (especially on offense) and will start getting some victories soon. Not just because of the competition level, but simply because things are starting to click. Hopefully Frost can start mending this team together now that the guys (hopefully all of them) who don't want to be here are gone. I have full faith in this team and in this staff, but there's still a long ways to go.
Now here's some other news around College Football from last week:
- Are Texas and Florida back? After stellar performances and wins against top 10 teams, both of these teams have a shot at making some waves, not only in their conference, but potentially even the playoff picture. These are two teams to watch for the rest of the season and definitely in 2019.
- The Florida game is just another reason why I can never trust LSU. I don't know why I even try. Tigers are the best tricksters in College Football.
- Kyler Murray is insanely fast. That sprint down the sideline late in the Red River Rivalry was incredible. It looked like he had a video game turbo boost! Even in the loss, Murray racked up nearly 400 yards and 4 TDs. His Heisman campaign shouldn't be hurt much because this dude is a freak.
- Kentucky couldn't quite make it out of Aggieland with a victory, but the OT loss proves this team is legit. Proves A&M can hang too. I think Kentucky should've ran the ball with Snell more, as he only had 13 carries, but I don't take anything away from Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies. Great game and still a lot out there for both teams.
- Alabama is the only trustworthy team in the SEC East. Auburn was just upset by Mississippi State 23-9, so the division already belongs to Bama.
- Notre Dame put a big statement win on the table against the Hokies, but they'll need some help to get into the playoff race down the road.
Thank you again for reading my reflection post and be sure to watch for my Gameday predictions for Week 7 on Saturday morning! Keep grinding through your week and GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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