After so many close, heartbreaking losses, the Huskers drop-kicked the Golden Gophers with a 53-28 victory on Saturday afternoon. Adrian Martinez was absolutely phenomenal in this game and the Husker offense followed suit. The Blackshirts even showed up for a while, holding the Gophers to just 5/14 on 3rd down. They nearly gave away all the momentum to open up the second half when the Gophers pulled to within 6, but played very well to close out the game. Special teams and dumb penalties are still an issue, but I know Husker Nation will take the win nonetheless. Below I'll break down the game with my Good, Expected and Bad analysis.
GOOD- Adrian Martinez and the Husker offense. After gaining steam over recent weeks, you knew this offense was in for a big day soon. I'll be honest, I definitely did not expect 53 points, but that was really special to watch. Everything was clicking as the Huskers racked up 659 total yards, averaging 9 yards per play. Martinez was extremely efficient, completing 86.2 % of his passes for 276 yards and 3 TDs. The 86.2% completion rating broke a Nebraska school record for single game completion percentage with a minimum of 20 attempts that stood for 44 years until Saturday. However, it was the 3-headed rushing monster that truly dominated in this game. Martinez, Ozigbo and Washington all went over the century mark as the Huskers racked up 383 yards on the ground. Ozigbo lead the way with 152 and had two long TD runs of 40 and 59 yards. The O-line was opening up holes all over the place and Martinez's scrambling ability left the Golden Gophers defense in pieces. This is definitely the offense Scott Frost promised, and I cannot wait to see it at full strength. This is just the 7th game in folks, they're only going to get better and Martinez will be a great weapon for the Huskers as he moves throughout his career. The best and most impressive drive of the game was at the beginning of the 4th quarter after Nebraska had just stopped Minnesota on 4th and Goal. The Huskers took over at their own 3 yard line and proceeded to drive all the way down the field to the Minnesota 15 before kicking a Field Goal. This drive was 14 plays long, covered 82 yards and took 7 minutes off the clock. This shows that Frost's offense, even with the high-octane tempo, can slow down and work the clock. This was an incredible performance by the Huskers' offense and I'm excited to see what they do in upcoming weeks.
EXPECTED- Honestly, I expected the win. I expected this team to come out and play like they wanted it more than anything else and I was not disappointed. This team has been beaten in every possible way over the last couple seasons and they really needed to get this monkey off their back. This win will give them a special piece of confidence that has been missing and I know they'll have a few more by the end of the season. I expected this to be a closer game, but I'm happy they broke that expectation. The defense really impressed me and I think the nation got to see what direction this team is truly headed in. Great win Huskers, this one is special.
BAD- I pick on them every week, but the Special Teams unit is atrocious. Most of the penalties came on Special Teams yet again and poor tackling allowed a couple of big returns that could've swung the game. Punting seemed to regress in this game, even when the wind was at their backs. I'm not sure what the issues are, but this unit is a legitimate mess and needs to be fixed ASAP. Returners look like they've been told just to fair catch the ball to limit penalties and it still doesn't work. Nebraska looks like they'll have an offense to keep up with anyone, but that's not here yet. Special Teams can flip momentum quicker than any other aspect of the game, and field position is crucial when games are tight. I want to see some serious changes in how this unit is run.
Now, I acknowledge that Minnesota isn't the best team out there, but a win is a win and this team really needed one. Besides, the best part about this win is that Nebraska has taken back the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy! There's a long ways to go before this team is playing like this against the likes of Michigan, Wisconsin or Ohio State, but they're on their way. Great win by the Huskers!
Now for some other highlight news from elsewhere around College Football:
- Purdue upset Ohio State for their first victory against a top 5 team since 1999. The Boilermakers were absolutely lights out, dominating the Buckeyes in a 49-20 route. Having watched this team in person and calling the game on radio, this is a very talented team. I knew they were dangerous heading into this season and there's more to come. The best part of the weekend was seeing the interview with Purdue fan Tyler Trent who is battling terminal cancer. He was able to watch this game in person and it was a very special night for him. This is what sports are truly made for, Boiler Up.
- Jim Harbaugh and Michigan finally get a big win over a rival as they beat Sparty 21-7. The scuffles before the game led to some chippy antics on the field, but the Wolverines remain perfect in conference play with another strong defensive performance.
- Wazzu up in the Palouse knocked off the Ducks in a great game under the lights. Senior QB Gardner Minshew torched Oregon's defense, but the Cougars' defense is what I was impressed by. Wazzu is now the only hope for the Pac-12 to get a team in the playoffs. Also, the Gameday crowd in Pullman was incredible. I was getting excited about it just sitting on my couch, kudos Coogs.
- LSU looked impressive against their second straight group of Bulldogs. They have a BYE week next as we look ahead to the showdown with Bama. We'll see how their defense holds up against the kid who has 25 TDs, 0 picks and has yet to play a single snap in the 4th quarter. Also, the Tigers strength coach is scary, he headbutted a player with a helmet multiple times without one on himself and ended up with a huge cut on his head... and he was smiling.
- The Pac-12 South is an absolute mess, but even UCLA has a shot at the division crown. This will be interesting to watch during the second half of the season. As I stated in my preseason predictions post, watch out for the Utes!
- The weirdest finish to a game you will ever see happened when Old Dominion took on the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Old Dominion's only win coming into this game was the upset against Virginia Tech. Well with under a minute left, they drove down the field and tied the game with 8 seconds left. Overtime seemed imminent, but the Hilltoppers had 8 seconds left. They moved down the field best they could, but their drive was stopped by an incomplete pass as time expired. However, there was roughing the passer call on the play, leading the first untimed down of the game. WKU decided to line up for a long field goal into the win and left it short by about 12 yards. Going to overtime now right? WRONG! Old Dominion had 12 men on the field which leads to untimed down #2 for the Hilltoppers. They move closer and try another field goal, but ODU put a man back to receive it after seeing how short the other kick was. The return man fielded the kick and nearly pulled off a Kick 6 until being pushed out of bounds. Now overtime... right? Wrong again, as the return man was pushed out of bounds, there was a personal foul face mask and a 3rd untimed down was awarded, this time to the Monarchs. They used it for their own field goal opportunities and won 37-34 after being down 34-27 with less than a minute left. Crazy finish, go look it up.
Thank you all for reading my reflections post on Week 8 of College Football and click below to listen to the latest recording of my radio show, CFB KnowItAll. GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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