Howdy Football Friends, let's get this over with. As many of you are aware, the Huskers lost 41-23 against the Fightin' Illini from Illinois, and unfortunately it is now my duty to give y'all a recap and analysis. This was honestly one of the worst football performances I've witnessed, especially by Nebraska. The comments from the press conference on Monday made things even worse, which I did not know was possible. There's a lot to break down, so let's dive in. Enjoy... if you can.
Coming off of their first win of the season and wearing the freshly handed out, Blackshirt jerseys, I really thought Nebraska would come out with some momentum and be ready to win their first set of back to back BIG 10 games since 2016. Clearly I was wrong. Illinois brought the pop early and often, dominating the line of scrimmage and time of possession. This was also aided by the 5 turnovers given to them by the Husker offense. It's clear Nebraska was in no shape or form ready to play this game, and that was capped off by Monday's press conference where Captain wideout Kade Warner said the team wasn't motivated or energized at practice the week before, and admitted he and the other wideouts especially weren't even running full speed on their routes. I've got a full analysis in my GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD categories below.
GOOD - Collin Miller is okay and looking to make a full recovery. About the only good thing from Saturday comes from one of the scariest moments when Senior LB Collin Miller was carried off on a stretcher early in the 4th quarter. Scott Frost said on Monday the injury is a Spinal Concussion which will likely sideline Miller for the remainder of the season. Luckily he's not expected to have any permanent damage and was able to attend practice to be with his teammates and support them. I certainly wish him a speedy recovery and am glad to hear he's doing well.
EXPECTED - McCaffrey struggles and turnovers. To preface this, I am a big proponent of keeping McCaffrey as a focal point of the offense moving forward, especially if Frost thinks he's the future of this program. With that being said, the Redshirt Freshman did not play well, especially when throwing the ball. This is going to happen from time to time, and I've said it before, but he'll need to work out the kinks of being a starter if it's truly his job moving forward. Adrian Martinez is also one of the more talented players on this roster however, and with Mills being injured, I wouldn't mind seeing Martinez in the backfield with McCaffrey. It's clear the Huskers will not having any form of a passing attack in 2020, so if you're going to run, you might as well run with your best. There's nothing in Frost's playbook that's going to drastically change from the basic shotgun handoffs, QB draws and RPOs, so you might as well have all your best playmakers on the field.
Looking at the turnovers, that was my primary key to victory in this game. Illinois has been one of the best turnover teams in the last few years in the BIG 10, and they proved it again on Saturday with 5 takeaways from the Huskers. Some were literally handed to them (like on the first play of the game), but this is still an outrageous issue for Nebraska that needs to be fixed immediately. The Huskers have had 22 and 21 total turnovers in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Through just 4 games in this season Nebraska has 10 turnovers. Some of the interceptions are inevitable with poor QB play and a lack of a consistent passing attack, but for a team that runs so much, fumbles are not something Frost can keep living with. Especially when many are caused from miscommunication on handoffs or poor ball security by the QBs who he recruited SPECIFICALLY for running in his offense.
BAD - Everything? I honestly don't exactly know where to start with this category, especially since I'm trying to find a new issue to pick on. To take a stab at it, I want to point your attention to Monday's press conference in which multiple players including Captain WR Kade Warner admitted to not going full speed and being lackadaisical in practice during the week leading up to the game with Illinois. As a fan, football coach and former football player myself, this ticks me off more than anything. There are two sides to this coin, so we'll start with the players. In the past three years, they've had to overcome quite a bit of changes in their program and culture. They've had games canceled and odd seasons. But most importantly they have become comfortable being a bad team. It's clear some of these athletes walk around campus like they are royalty, and that's because they're treated like it. Frost and his staff have built a culture that celebrates the players as Greek God equivalents at UNL, despite just winning 10 games in the past 2.5 seasons. From an outside perspective it seems like some members of the team don't necessarily care about the wins as long as they're still treated like the royalty they're told they are day in and day out. I truly hope that's not the case, but when players are giving half-assed efforts in practice after nearly giving up their only victory in the last calendar year, there's a culture change needed...again.
The other side of the coin is back to Scott Frost and the coaching staff. I agree that the players are the ones on the field making things happen, but that all comes from knowing what to do and being prepared. I have yet to see a fully prepared Husker team under Scott Frost, and with the recent comments about practice I can understand why. When I coached 3rd and 4th graders earlier this fall it was even more eye opening compared to my playing days on how many things from practice translate to a game. There were times I had to really harp in on some kids to get focused and take what we're doing seriously so they could be ready for the games. If I can do that with 9-year olds, there's absolutely no reason Frost can't kick his players into high gear when he sees them slacking. That's one of the main roles as a coach, to keep your team focused and working to the best of their abilities and make sure they're prepared week in and week out. There needs to be some fire in this football team if they're going to win any games moving forward, and that starts with the Head Coach. If I were playing for or coaching the Huskers, I'd be ticked off more than anyone in the state of Nebraska. This team is comfortable with losing and that's got to change.
There's not much else to say about that Husker performance, other than that it needs to be forgotten quick. It'll be interesting to see who Nebraska's extra crossover game ends up being later this year, especially with Penn State falling to 0-5. That would not be a fun re-match, but the bigger fear is probably getting torched by ex-Husker QB Noah Vedral and the Scarlet Knights from Rutgers. Both are possible and both are nightmare scenarios for Frost. Time to shape up and get this team in high gear. Or at least out of reverse.
Quick hit thoughts from the rest of CFB:
- There's going to be a few of these in this section, but I TOLD YOU SO about Indiana. The Hoosiers gave Ohio State a big run for their money in the Horseshoe on Saturday as Michael Penix Jr. lit up the Buckeye secondary for 491 yards and 5 TDs through the air. Their defense picked off Justin Fields 3 times, but Ohio State was able to prevail and hold the inside track to the BIG 10 Championship.
- On Thursday night the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa completed yet another comeback victory, but in serious style this time by sending the game to overtime with a game-tying Hail Mary. They then won in overtime with a 96 yard pick six. WILD.
- Purdue was absolutely screwed by the BIG 10 Officials against Minnesota on Friday night with a horrendous offensive pass interference call that took away what likely would've been the game-winning TD pass. They missed some FGs earlier in the game and could've made other plays, but that was a bad call and should not happen. BoilerUp
- After a 2 week hiatus, the Tide were Rolling yet again and should be on their way to another CFB Playoff.
- The Gators struggled early, but Kyle Trask eventually woke up and threw the ball all over the Vandy secondary. Just another 350+ and 3 TD day at the office for the new Heisman front-runner.
- I TOLD YOU SO about Cincy being legit as well. The Bearcats survived a tough road game in Orlando to beat the UCF Knights and sit atop the American Athletic Conference standings. They're at Temple this week and then have an open week before taking on Tulsa in the conference championship. Maybe a BYU - Cincy battle in that open week? We can certainly hope!
- Speaking of the Cougars, Heisman dark horse, QB Zach Wilson had another 4 TD performance as BYU dropped 66 on North Alabama.
- Back in the BIG 10, the Wildcats made me regret not going with my gut on their "upset" win over Wisconsin. The Northwestern defense completely dominated the Badgers and forced 5 turnovers. This defense is legit and if their offense can figure out a rushing attack they have an outside shot at a Playoff spot. Nonetheless, they now have the inside track for the BIG 10 West Division with a very win-able schedule remaining.
- Chip Kelly nearly got his revenge in Autzen Stadium, but the Ducks prevailed with a 38-35 victory. UCLA is gaining momentum again though, watch out PAC-12 South.
- I TOLD YOU SO about the battle of the Bulldogs! Mississippi State nearly upset Georgia between the hedges, but easily covered the outrageous 25 point spread. If you bet money based on my blog this week you probably did pretty well. Georgia is not very good.
- Another overrated team that was exposed on Saturday would be the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. BEDLAM showed yet again who the real Oklahoma team is, and that would be the Sooners. Spencer Rattler threw for 4 TDs in a 41-13 beat down and the Sooners are back in the Big XII title hunt yet again... joy.
- Elsewhere in the Big XII, Iowa State proved they really want that title, and blanked K-State 45-0 at home. Cyclones and Oklahoma rematch would be fun!
- My last I TOLD YOU SO comes with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. They remained undefeated after beating Appalachian State for the first time in program history and are making a push for a New Year's Six bowl game.
- Liberty finally lost and LSU beat Arkansas for the Golden Boot Trophy.
- Last but not least we have a nod to my first every recruiting tour prospect, ex-Husker QB Noah Vedral and his stellar performance against Michigan. The Scarlet Knights fell to the Wolverines in triple-OT, but Vedral was phenomenal with 381 yards and 3 TDs through the air. His lone interception at the end finished the game, but it was nice to see at least one Husker QB who knows how to throw a downfield pass. Seriously, take a look at the highlights, they made me sad they're so good. Also Jim Harbaugh is bad.
Thanks for reading my Week 12(ish) reflections on the Husker game! Now to forget about that and move on to Iowa Hate week. Watch for my prediction post on Friday and GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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