Week 12 Reflections

     It's mid-week football fans, and I've collected all my thoughts about the previous weekend in college football as well as the Huskers' loss to Wisconsin. Nate and I also recorded a new podcast episode laying out the path to the playoffs for the remaining teams. Click on the link at the bottom to listen to our latest episode and read on to see my thoughts on CFB Week 12.


     It's honestly disgusting that I have to say this loss wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but that's where we're at this season with the Huskers. Nebraska did play quite well against the Badgers, but were unable to execute well on offense once crossing the Badger 30 yard line. On the defensive side, Wisconsin broke tackles left and right as they rumbled to 320 yards on the ground, with 204 and 2 TDs coming from Jonathan Taylor (I predicted 215 and 2 TDs). I've broken down my main thoughts of GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD in the categories below.

GOOD- The Husker Offense. Nebraska racked up 493 yards and 23 first downs against the Badgers' top 5 defense. The Huskers moved the ball well, throwing for 220 and rushing for 273 with a very balanced attack. Running Back Dedrick Mills and the offensive line easily had their best performance of the year as numerous holes were opened up and Mills averaged 11.1 yards per carry with 188 and 1 TD on the ground. Unfortunately he was only given the rock 4 times in the second half, but the play calling overall was much better than previous weeks. Even without Wandale Robinson, Nebraska showed some impressive flashes on offense against a defense that many teams have been demolished by. Hopefully this production sticks around and can turn into points in the future.

EXPECTED- Jonathan Taylor dominance. As mentioned previously, I was not far off with my 215 yard and 2 TD performance for the Badgers running back, not far off at all. The Junior Heisman hopeful averaged 8.2 yards per carry as he rumbled through the Blackshirt defense quite easily for the third year in a row. In his 3 games against the Huskers, Taylor now has 674 yards rushing with 7 TDs and a 9.1 yard per carry average. You can never be disappointed watching a performance like Taylor gives, it was quite impressive watching him DRAG multiple Husker defenders an extra 7 yards once he was hit. Everyone knew Jonathan Taylor would get his, which is why Nebraska really needed to take advantage of their opportunities when they got into the Redzone against the Badgers. As expected, just another day at the office for Jonathan Taylor.

BAD- Tackling. I don't know how many times I've mentioned how bad the tackling is with the Blackshirt defense, but I promise you it's far from the number of missed tackles against Wisconsin. Husker defenders are rarely in the right position to begin with, but when they are, you can count on them missing the ball carrier nine times out of ten. The secondary and linebackers are by far the worst offenders, and usually struggle to remember they have arms to use rather than just trying to shoulder bump people. Tackling is one of the core fundamentals of football, and this issue needs to be addressed IMMEDIATELY. Break down, wrap up and bring the man to the ground. You're not going to make every tackle, especially against someone like Jonathan Taylor, but at least make it look respectable. Senior Captain Linebacker Mo Barry is constantly getting trucked over and he's supposed to be the best one out there! I can tolerate a lot of things as a Husker fan, and a football fan. However, when a team can't accomplish one of the basic fundamentals of football, I get annoyed quickly. This is the BIG 10 Conference, tackling is a must.


     Again, I do believe Nebraska played fairly well against the Badgers, as I thought the game would be much worse. However, time and time again this team proves how much growth is still to come as they continue to shoot themselves in the foot, giving their opponents easy opportunities to seize momentum and take over a game. The Huskers need to win out to go bowling, and this team better not overlook Maryland. They've only won one game on the road under Coach Frost, and that one was by a very slim margin. Let's hope for the best Husker fans!

Now for some quick hit news and thoughts from elsewhere around College Football:

- Alabama ROLLED over Mississippi State, but unfortunately lost their star QB Tua Tagovailoa for the season with a terrible hip injury. This hurts all of college football as Tua is one of the most dynamic players to watch, let's hope for a speedy and full recovery!

- Joe Burrow continues to re-write the LSU record books, now owning the most consecutive completions as a Tiger with 16 in a row. The Heisman front runner now has 3,687 yards on the season with 38 TDs and just 6 picks. If only he would've followed his father's footsteps and been a Husker....

- Clemson's defense held Wake Forest to 3 points. This doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment, but the Demon Deacons' offense was 13th best in the nation heading into that game. Don't sleep on the Tigers!

- Georgia held off a late comeback charge by a dangerous Auburn team and have clinched their spot in the SEC Championship for the third straight year.

- No one has noticed, but Oregon and Utah are looking really good. The PAC-12 Title game will be a fun one to watch.

- Indiana held their own against a tough Penn State team in Happy Valley, do you know what that means? It means Ohio State is going to CRUSH the Nittany Lions like everyone else on their schedule. But kudos to Indiana, they'll be a tough bowl opponent.

- Staying in the BIG 10, Northwestern put up 45 points! Yes, it was against the worst defense in the nation (seriously, UMass is rated 130th in total defense), but the Wildcats are looking for small victories right now.

- A big victory in the BIG 10 came for the Hawkeyes as they knocked off the previous unbeaten Gophers. Minnesota had their chances, but Kinnick Stadium proves to be difficult yet again. I don't think you've seen the last of the Gophers though.

- Michigan put up 44 on their "little brother", but are the Wolverines ready for the Buckeyes in a couple weeks? Hint: No, no they are not.

- Oklahoma completed the largest comeback in school history after being down 28-3 against Baylor early in the second quarter. They'll likely face the Bears again in the Big XII Championship, and you never want to play a team twice.

- Texas lost to the Cyclones after giving them a free first down from an offsides on a missed ISU field goal. Always a good day when that happens!

- Last comment about the Big XII: watch out for the Pokes in that BEDLAM game. OSU is a sneaky 3 loss team and has the nation's leading rusher.

- Everyone keeps talking about Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts battling it out for the Heisman, but keep your eye on Justin Fields. The Sophomore stud for the Buckeyes does not get nearly enough love and he's accounted for 41 TDs so far this season.


Thank you for reading my week 12 reflections and be sure to listen to the latest episode of The 2nd String, my Husker and College Football Podcast with my roommate and friend Nate Muhlbach. Week 13 Predictions will be posted soon, GO BIG RED!

#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando