What a way for the Huskers to end their season in Memorial Stadium! A very tough Michigan State team found an even tougher Husker squad as they braced the frigid winds and snow of Lincoln, Nebraska this past Saturday. Senior day for the Huskers resulted in a 9-6 victory where not a single touchdown was scored. Nebraska's high-octane offense found it difficult to move against the Spartans top-ranked rush defense, so the Special Teams and Defense took their chance to own the spotlight. Yeah, you read that correctly, Nebraska's Special Teams and Defense were the difference in this grudge match. Prior to the game, there was a small ceremony honoring the late Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler, which was very special as this was the first meeting between the teams since their tragic deaths. If you haven't read my tribute post to Sam Foltz from a couple years ago, I highly recommend it, he was a great person to have at this University. I had a blast at my final Husker game of my college career, and it was even more special to bring my fellow tour guide Fernando to his first game! Celebrating the second-half comeback was made even more special standing with one of my best friends, Alaina. We've gone to a number of games together during our careers here and I can't wait for next season! With the snow, I know my Mom was loving every minute of it from above, and I cannot think of a better last Husker game as a Student. Now onto my breakdown of the game!
GREAT- I've decided to create a new category for this week, because the Defense played one of the best games I've seen in a long time. Now Michigan State is not the most dynamic offenses in the nation (110th in the nation), but even with that in mind, the Blackshirts stepped up in some of the most crucial times of the game. Keeping it close and giving their team the chance to ultimately win the game. Spartan QB Rocky Lombardi finished the game 15-41 for 146 yards and 1 Mick Stoltenberg interception. Their offense added another 143 on the ground, but were stopped in the redzone multiple times throughout the game. Mohamed Barry and Dedrick Young led the team with 8 tackles each, and the Blackshirts racked up 7 tackles for loss and 2 turnovers with the pick and a beautiful QB hit-fumble combo. The Spartans were held under 50% on third down conversions and brought great pressure with their blitz packages. The defense has been one of the biggest issues all season for Nebraska, and while there will continue to be a steep learning curve for the unit, this is a huge building block. I'm anxious to see how they follow up their performance against Iowa this week, but nonetheless, GREAT game by the Blackshirts. Definitely saw some flashes of old when watching this game.
GOOD- Barrett Pickering gets the GOOD award of the week, after going 3/3 on Field Goals and winning the game for the Huskers with a clutch 47-yard career long in the wind and snow. For a kid from Alabama, I guarantee this is the absolute worst weather he's ever played football in. Pickering struggled early in the season, but has quietly made his last 8 FG attempts, including the 3 on Saturday. While Special Teams has been a struggle this season, Pickering stepped up at the biggest moment. Husker fans finally got to see what I learned about this kid a couple years ago on his recruiting tour. This was the game he needed to boost his confidence going into next season, and I know he's going to keep improving. Still work to do, but our kicking game is on the rise, mark my words!
EXPECTED- The strength of Michigan State's defense is about what I expected coming into this game. I admit, I got a little point-crazy with my prediction, but regardless, the Husker offense struggled once faced against a top tire defense. Adrian Martinez and crew mustered up just 248 total yards and were 4/14 on third down. Martinez finished 16/37 for 145 yards and no scores or picks. The weather did play a major factor, but missing pieces like JD Spielman were also not helpful. Yes, Michigan State does have the number 1 rush defense in the nation, but I thought Nebraska needed to push that a bit more. There weren't many yards to be had in this game, but with so much wind and a young Quarterback, nearly 40 passes is a bit much. Either way, Nebraska played well enough to win and when the offense needed to move the ball to get into Pickering range, they did so. I expected this to be a tough, chippy, BIG 10 grudge match and was not disappointed. It's always a great game when these two teams meet.
BAD- Ball security. While only 2 fumbles were lost by the Huskers, 3 more hit the turf on Saturday and it's clearly an issue as it as been all season. Yes, the weather was bad, but it's not like the wind blew the ball out of their hands! Having played football in South Dakota, I understand bad weather and cold games. The Huskers really need to focus on keeping the ball in tight, especially in nasty weather. Michigan State is a tough, opportunistic defense, they take every chance they can to force you into a mistake. Adrian Martinez, as much as I love watching him run, is one of the worst offenders. High and tight boys, high and tight.
Overall, I cannot say enough about how much this team has grown since the start of this season. It was a rough beginning, but Nebraska is becoming a team who no one wants to play again, and that's when games get really fun. I can't wait to watch them knock off lousy Iowa (it's rivalry week people, get trash-talking) and to see how next season is going to look. This team is moving in the right direction and will be a force to be reckoned with.
Now for some other interesting stories and thoughts around CFB from Week 12:
- Ohio State narrowly escaped a major upset at the hands of Maryland. The Buckeyes fought back to win it in Overtime after Maryland missed a wide open 2-point conversion pass. They are set up for The Game with rival Michigan this week, and the winner will face Northwestern in the BIG 10 Championship.
- West Virginia falls to the Pokes of Oklahoma State and have fallen out of the Playoff race. Will Grier did his best, but didn't have quite enough magic at the end of the game. Kudos to Mike Gundy and the Cowboys for building the comeback in the second half, great game. Now West Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma all have a shot at the Big XII title game, but it depends on the outcome of West Virginia and Oklahoma this weekend. That's going to be a wild shootout and I can't wait!
- The Citadel tied Bama 10-10 at halftime, and that was about the biggest highlight in the SEC last week. We're just praying for crazy upsets in order to shake up the playoff mix.
- Notre Dame took care of Syracuse up in Yankee Stadium. Orange QB Eric Dungey went down with an injury early, likely contributing the the 'Cuse's 3 point performance, but the Irish played a complete game, definitely looking like a playoff team.
- Colorado has fired Head Coach Mike MacIntyre after losing their last 6 games after starting 5-0.
- Kansas dropped 40 on Oklahoma, proving yet again how terrible their defense is. Kyler Murray can make up for most of that on his own, but West Virginia could light up the score board against them.
- UCF jumped Ohio State for the #9 spot in the College Football Playoff, but we all know it won't mean much. They are one of the best teams and could hang with anyone in the nation. McKenzie Milton should be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony, but won't... again.
- Speaking of the Heisman, why is no one talking about Wazzu QB Gardner Minshew?? The Mustache Man has lead the Cougars to a 10-1 record and threw a school record 7 TD passes to 6 different receivers on Saturday night. His stats are out of this world, completing 70.4% of his passes for 4,325 yards with 36 TDs and just 7 picks. Add in 3 TDs on the ground and you wonder why he's not being mentioned at all. Take notice of the team out on the Palouse, the Cougars are playoff material.
- Colorado State lost their game against Utah State in the most heartbreaking fashion. First off, I thought the Aggies would dominate this game, so kudos to the Rams for having a shot at the completed Hail Mary. Unfortunately the receiver had stepped out as he ran down the field, making him ineligible to be the first man to touch the ball, thus ending the game with an Aggies victory.
- Maurice Washington's hurdle over the Spartan defender was incredible. All the memes are even more incredible.
Hot Take Predictions:
1. Big XII will not get a team in the playoffs
2. Wazzu should be higher ranked than LSU and probably Oklahoma. They are playoff material but won't get in, sad.
3. I'd like to see Michigan prove me wrong for the conference's sake, but I don't think the BIG 10 will get a team into the playoffs...again.
Thank you all for reading my week 12 reflection post! Be sure to watch for my Rivalry Week Predictions coming out on Friday! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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