Week 9 definitely threw some curve-balls as we head into the release of the CFB Playoff rankings, but it was a great day of games nonetheless. Nebraska got to open up the play book and the depth chart on their way to a 45-9 route of Bethune Cookman, and a few ranked teams fell to upsets on the road. This post will have my analysis and breakdown of the previous weekend in college football, along with a detailed look at the Huskers' big win against the Wildcats. I also encourage you to watch for a special post coming later this week. It's a must-read and will share the story of where my passion for football and the Huskers truly came from. Thank you for all the support and enjoy!
Nebraska looked very dominant on Saturday as they cruised to a 45-9 victory over the Wildcats of Bethune Cookman. Now, I completely acknowledge that Bethune Cookman is a FCS team and has no business being on the same field as the Huskers other than the fact of Nebraska needing an extra game. Nonetheless, the Cornhuskers got a lot of reps in for a lot of players, and were able to establish more of the playbook. The defense was challenged at times, but Bethune Cookman destroyed their own opportunities for points more than the Blackshirts. I was happy with the performance, but this team still has a long way to go before they're going to compete in the top spots. With Ohio State up next for Nebraska, There needs to be a lot of confidence carry over for this team heading into next week. Below is my breakdown of the Husker game with my Good, Expected and Bad method.
GOOD- The offense seems to be firing on all cylinders after a sluggish start to the season. Blocking up front is much better and Adrian is throwing the ball nicely to his receivers. There were a few throws I thought he forced, especially early in the 2nd quarter where he threw his lone interception into tight coverage. Other than just a handful of plays, I thought the decision making and execution were very crisp for this team. They seem to be really settling in to how Coach Frost and staff want them to run this offense, and many players are reaping the benefits. Devine Ozigbo has rushed for over 100 yards in 3 straight games now, with 710 yards on the ground this season. He's averaging 7.4 yards per carry and really seems to be enjoying his role as the feature back. Maurice Washington has brought a dynamic change of pace to the ground attack with his 344 yards on the ground, and has become a very dangerous weapon in the passing attack as well. It's clear Coach Frost wants to get his play-makers involved early and often in the game, setting up lots of plays to get Stanley Morgan Jr. and JD Spielman the ball. Both have over 600 receiving yards on the season and could possibly each break the 1,000 yard mark with the way this offense is improving each game. I like what this team is doing, but there's still a long way before they're tearing up defenses on the regular. Do keep in mind this was an FCS team we played, not Alabama. Great performance by the Husker offense.
EXPECTED- Obviously I expected the blowout, but the biggest expectation that was met was the improvement on penalties for the Huskers. Nebraska finished with just 5 penalties for 35 yards, cutting their season average in half. This has been the biggest issue for the team all season long, and it was nice to see some growth. It will be crucial to this team's success later in the year and moving forward. There were a few dumb ones yet again, but progress is the motto for this season. The team looked much cleaner with execution across the board and cutting back on penalties really allowed for the offense to get in rhythm. I'm hoping this is a sign for bigger things and that this trend will continue.
BAD- There is not a lot of bad you can bring up when you win 45-9, but I'm going to ride on the secondary for a bit here. Nebraska has struggled against the pass all season long, ranking 111th in the nation. Defenders have not been able to stick with their assignments and opposing QBs have had feast days against the Blackshirts with their air-attacks. Now, I do want to point out that there were some very great plays by members of the secondary in this game, especially Deontai Williams' interception in the endzone where he high pointed the ball and took it away from the receiver. Defensive lineman Peyton Newell had a nice pick off of a tipped pass as well, but that one kind of fell into his lap. Even with the good plays in mind, I don't think Nebraska should be giving up over 200 passing yards to a back-up QB on an FCS team. No disrespect to the Bethune Cookman program, but it's a simple fact of life, they are not a comparable team to the Cornhuskers. Ohio Stat is next up on the schedule and their offensive attack features one of the most accurate QBs in the nation along with an offensive line that has only given up 12 sacks all season and a group of receivers who all have a chance to play at the next level. The Blackshirt's secondary needs to really step it up during the last third of the season, otherwise Dwayne Haskins and Nate Stanley will look like hall of fame players.
Overall, I was very happy with the performance of Nebraska on Saturday. Although it was originally supposed to be a BYE week, I'm sure the guys were happy to get another game in and prep for Ohio State. It was also really special to see so many younger players and back-ups get a chance to get in the game. Football is a team game and everyone on the team wants to be out on that field. As a coach, when you get the chance to make that happen, I imagine that's one of the proudest moments you could have. I was also excited to see Noah Vedral get some reps at QB. He was the first ever recruit I gave tour to during my time as a Husker Guide and is a very accomplished individual. His football skills are evident on the field, but he was also a very genuine and good person. He told me it was always his dream to follow in his family's footsteps and play at Nebraska, so I'm very excited to see him accomplish that goal. I'm also very proud of my good friend, Jake Weinmaster, #57 for the Huskers playing linebacker. Jake is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and I'm excited to see him out there making plays. Keep up the good work boys and let's go beat the Buckeyes! GO BIG RED!
Now for some other news and reflections from around College Football:
- I may have spoken too soon on Texas being back...But I still don't think they're far off. Oklahoma State played a fantastic game and WR Tylan Wallace went off for 222 yards and 2 TDs against the Longhorns. They have the chance to bounce back against West Virginia at home this week, but the CFB Playoff might be out of reach now for Texas. Still a lot out there for this team, and a shot at the Big XII title would be a big improvement for Tom Herman in his third year.
- Purdue failed me, but more importantly, Michigan State failed me again. As I've stated before, the Spartans are the most difficult and frustrating team to make predictions on because they show up randomly and win when you really don't want them to. Solid win, but I still want to see Purdue #BoilerUp and cause some more headaches.
- Iowa's Quarterback Nate Stanley really fell flat on the big stage yesterday. I've honestly enjoyed watching this kid over the past couple years, he's a very talented kid. He's nothing amazing at the QB position, and won't be winning any awards, but he's a very solid and consistent player. However, he really stunk it up against the Nittany Lions, completing just 36.7% of his passes and throwing 2 interceptions. Penn State played a great game and is a very solid team, but Iowa's lackluster performance on offense really hurt them. Stanley let a lot of passes hit the ground before they even reached his receivers feet! The weather conditions weren't great, but leaving passes that short is unacceptable at this level. Tough game for the Hawkeyes... not that I'm entirely upset about that ;)
- Northwestern is now the Division leader in the BIG 10 West. Yeah, you heard me right. The Wildcats dominated the Badgers in a 31-17 victory, absolutely suffocating Wisconsin's offense. Alex Hornibrook did not play in this game, but they still have Johnathan Taylor to hand the ball off to, right? Well they did, but the Wildcat defense held him to just 46 yards and Taylor fumbled twice in the game. The most bizarre statistic of the game is the rushing number for Northwestern. Against Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska, the Wildcats racked up 28, 8 and 32 yards on the ground as a team in each game respectively. Now, in the past two weeks, Freshman RB Isaiah Bowser (love the last name) has taken over and accounted for 225 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. Watch out for the Wildcats this year, Notre Dame comes to Evanston this coming week followed by a trip to Iowa City. I had them as a dark horse team to watch for early in the year, and now you see why.
- Georgia looked very much like the Georgia we saw last year when they took on the Gators, especially in the second half where they dropped 23 of their 36 points. Florida has one of the better defenses in the nation, but Jake Fromm picked them apart for 240 yards and 3 TDs through the air. D'Andre Swift added another 104 on the ground and the Gator offense just wasn't quite up to the task of the Bulldog defense. I actually flipped my prediction from Friday night to Saturday morning with this game, but oh well, impressive win by the Dawgs. Georgia takes on Kentucky next which will likely determine who wins the SEC East.
- Arizona State pulled the upset on the Trojans in LA, Cal fended off 15th ranked Washington for a 12-10 victory, and Wazzu put up 17 points in the 4th to beat Stanford by 3 on the Farm. The Pac-12 is a hot mess right now, but it's fun to watch. Oh, and Arizona dropped 44 points on the Ducks in an absolute beat down. This is why this conference will not get a team in the Playoffs, way too crazy.
- Crazy Stat of the Week: 8 ranked teams lost to unranked teams on the road this week.
Thank you all so much again for reading my blog and be sure to comment if you have any CFB topics you'd like me to cover! Watch out for my special post tomorrow and please remember there is NO CFB KnowItAll radio show tomorrow, thanks for your understanding.
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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