Welcome to Bowl Season football fans... or at least, what's left of Bowl Season. The wacky and crazy 2020 season pushes on with a bowl game this afternoon! Before we get to that prediction though, I must recap a busy Conference Championship weekend and a Husker victory first. Let's do this!
Despite every effort in the first half to give the game away to Rutgers, Nebraska was able to battle back and actually play better in the second half to win 28-21 on the road in Piscataway. With 620 yards of total offense, the Huskers dominated the line of scrimmage in one of their most impressive performances under Scott Frost, even with 4 turnovers and 9 penalties. This was a much needed high note to end the 2020 season for the Huskers and I've got your full breakdown below with my GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD categories.
GOOD - Dedrick Mills, the offensive line and second half play-calling. These all go hand in hand, but whoever convinced Scott Frost to give the ball to Dedrick Mills in the second half and actually stick with it needs to get a raise, promotion, as many Christmas presents as possible and I will personally bake them cookies. With what looked to be an adjusted play script in the second half, Mills ran absolutely WILD. The "bell-cow" finally was given a chance to live up to the title with 25 carries for 191 yards and a staggering 7.6 yard per carry average. The man was gashing the Scarlet Knights defense in every direction, and this was thanks to a big push up front. A tip of the cap to the offensive line, especially with some new pieces and young guys getting some game action due to injuries and Brenden Jaimes sitting out to prepare for the draft. They Husker O-line had easily one of their best games of the last couple seasons rumbling for 365 yards on the ground. They did give up 3 sacks early in the game, but settled down in the second half to give Martinez time to throw. This is a big piece of the offense that has been missing under Scott Frost, and after a performance like this you have to wonder why Mills wasn't used against Minnesota when he was back last week. The only issue is that he didn't get a touchdown on the night, but that will be discussed in a section below. Good job running the ball Huskers, I hope to see more of that consistency next year.
EXPECTED - The two types of Adrian Martinez and a stout defensive performance. It's well known by now that we may never know which Martinez we'll get to start each game, and that same QB can change before the game ends. The Huskers went into half time with nearly 250 yards of total offense but just 7 points to show for it. Six of the first seven drives by the Huskers were split between a Martinez turnover and a punt. He ran well, but fumbled twice in the opening quarter. He took some hits to cause the fumbles, but if he's going to run like he does, the ball has to be secured. The first interception was a phenomenal catch by Rutgers DB Christian Izien, who would later get another. However, the ball was just a hopeful heave by Martinez who was trying to make something out of nothing after hitting Wan'Dale Robinson for a 38 yard gain just one play before. With so many early mistakes, it felt like another dreadful day for the Husker offense, and Luke McCaffrey wasn't available, standing on the sidelines in street clothes. However, Martinez calmed down and was able to find some rhythm in the second half. He eventually finished the game with 412 total yards and 3 TDs. Martinez was 24/28 with the two picks, but was able to hit open receivers downfield with some nice throws. He showed flashes of his old self with this performance, especially in the second half. I hope we get more of the second half Martinez in 2021, but overall it was nice to see his talent shine through.
Switching to the defense, they've been solid all year and once again put up an impressive performance and stat line. I had serious doubts about this unit coming into 2020, but they proved me (and many others) wrong with an impressive season, keeping the Huskers alive in almost every game. Against Rutgers, they had to deal with a short field for most of the first half, but were able to hold the Scarlet Knights to just 14 points. In the second half, the Blackshirts completely shut down the Rutger offense and created havoc in the backfield, recording 2 sacks and 8 tackles for loss throughout the game. Cam Taylor-Britt was stellar yet again and the defensive line forced Rutgers QB Art Sitkowski to struggle throwing the ball all night long. Great game and even better season by the Blackshirts defense.
BAD - Noah Vedral not being able to play and just about everything the Huskers did in the first half and goalline offense. While I'm glad he didn't have a chance to go crazy and beat the Huskers in a revenge game, it would've been really fun to watch the QB battle between Vedral and Martinez. The Ex-Husker was sidelined with an ankle injury from their game against Maryland, and you could tell how badly he wanted to play. First of all, the injury from the Maryland game was similar to the Colorado ankle twist on Martinez in his freshman year, so that's just terrible all around. Nonetheless, Vedral has been a special spark to the Rutgers offense this season, and I think he and the Scarlet Knights could turn some heads in 2021. I gave Noah one of his first recruiting tours to UNL during the Riley era and it was clear how excited he was just to play college ball. All the best to him in a speedy recovery.
Now looking at the issues on the Huskers' sideline, the first half was a disaster. I was able to correctly call 5 out of the first 6 Husker plays the offense ran, and the easiest one was the dreaded swing pass to open the game. I've been saying it all year long, but the offensive playbook is way too predictable. Separate of the 3 first half turnovers, Rutgers forced 3 first half punts by the Huskers. Frost either needs to give up the play-calling duties to Matt Lubick (that's why he was hired) or start re-designing some of his opening drive scripts. Most importantly, the goalline offense needs a complete overhaul. As I mentioned earlier in the post, Dedrick Mills dominated the game with 191 rush yards, but was left without a TD, why and how is that possible? Well that's because whenever he would carry the offense on his back inside the 5 yard line, he would be pulled from the game. Now I understand the need to give a guy a breather for a play or two, but you should not take your "bell-cow" running back out of the game when you are trying to score. The bigger issue was watching 180 pound Wan'Dale Robinson run into the middle of a pile of lineman, getting smashed back for a two yard loss while trying to punch it into the endzone. Why would you not run Dedrick Mills (who's shown his tremendous ability to break tackles and run through defenders) at the goalline? Robinson nearly got a concussion on his first TD as a Linebacker popped him as he fought in for the score. My Tweet from Friday night accurately sums up my feelings (and probably Mills') for the situation, but there has to be a factor of common sense here. It's a bummer he was injured for a good part of the season, but it's even more of a bummer knowing he was healthy last week against Minnesota and wasn't given the opportunity to make an impact, much like other games. If he does decided to come back for a 2021 campaign, this kid needs to be a focal point of the offense, not a compliment. Re-worked play design will certainly help the 2021 Huskers, and it will fix a number of the consistency and penalty issues that continue to plague this team.
Quick hit thoughts from around College Football:
- The Ducks upset previously undefeated USC on Friday night to claim back-to-back PAC-12 Title games, despite not even technically winning their division. With Washington out with Covid-19, Oregon was able to slid in and force Kedon Slovis into 3 costly turnovers for a 31-24 victory.
- In some under the radar games over the weekend, both UAB and Ball State pulled upsets in the C-USA and MAC Conference Championship games over the heavily favored Thundering Herd of Marshall and Bulls of Buffalo.
- In a Saturday full of Playoff implications, we got what we expected. The Final Four Playoff teams remained the same due to some impressive title game performances.
- Ohio State erased a small halftime deficit by doing what Scott Frost learned on Friday night and ran the ball to victory in the second half. Buckeye RB Trey Sermon set a BIG 10 Title game record, rushing for 331 yards and 2 TDs, demolishing what was the 5th best run defense in the nation. Northwestern certainly had their shots to put this game away, but the lack of offensive firepower and bad turnovers by Peyton Ramsey in the second half led to their demise. Ohio State gets into the playoffs with just a 6-0 record after their 4th straight BIG 10 Title.
- Over the in the Big XII, the Cyclones were looking to make a statement for their CFB Playoff push, but had to square off against the Sooners for the second time this season. One of my biggest rules in College Football is that you never want to play a team twice, and with a 24-7 halftime deficit, it was looking like Iowa State was out early. Matt Campbell lost his mind and went ballistic on the refs after a number of unfavorable and questionable calls in the first half. Unfortunately for Campbell, the second half comeback wasn't meant to be as Purdy's late game heave was intercepted to seal the Sooner's 5th straight Big XII Title.
- Texas A&M played a game, but it really didn't matter, no matter how much Jimbo argued about their record, Ohio State was still going to get in despite playing 3 fewer games.
- The game that did cause some hubba was the rematch between Clemson and Notre Dame for the ACC Title. Notre Dame was looking to get their first ever conference title in program history as they are traditionally independent, but Clemson wasn't ready to let their streak die. Trevor Lawrence had some feelings to let out after not being able to play in the first game, and the Tigers rolled the Irish 34-10. Lawrence showed yet again why he's (arguably) the best player in the nation, totaling 412 yards and 3 TDs by himself. The Clemson offense racked up nearly 550 yards of total offense while their defense (back at full strength) held the Irish to just 263 total yards and sacked Ian Book 6 times with 10 total tackles for loss. Despite the beat down, Notre Dame only fell to #4 and hung onto the final playoff spot to face Alabama.
- Speaking of the Tide, they finally faced someone with a top 30 offense and were actually challenged a bit! The Gators put up an impressive fight, especially being doubled up 35-17 in the first half. Their defense came out strong in the second half, but a 17 point 4th quarter by the Tide was too much as Florida lost by 6. Both QBs had Heisman-worthy performances, but Alabama looks unstoppable and the Clemson-Bama saga will likely continue in the Championship game down in Miami.
- Cincy hit a late field goal to seal their American Conference Championship and 11-0 season, but it's been clear the Playoff Committee couldn't care less. There needs to be some changes and this year really highlights some of the issues the CFB Playoff is going to need to look at.
- San Jose State won their first ever conference title behind the arm of Nick Starkel. The ex-Mississippi State Bulldog threw for 453 yards and 3 TDs to help beat the Broncos of Boise State 34-20.
And last but not least, bowl games do start today so I need to make sure I get my prediction out!
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Appalachian State vs. North Texas
There's not too much to say about this game when the Mountaineers are favored by 21, but if you like offense this could turn into a bit of a shoot out! The Mean Green average just over 35 points per game while App State puts up 31.8. Both teams have solid QBs, but the running back battle will be the key to watch. Camerun Peoples for App State averages over 5.5 yards per carry and UNT will need to find a way to replace their top RB DeAndre Torrey. The Mean Green will also be without wide receiver Jaelon Darden, who's 3rd in the nation with 1,190 yards and leads the nation with 19 TD catches. I would expect a lot of points, and North Texas to cover the spread, but App State gets their 6th straight bowl victory with a 45-35 win.
Thanks for reading my game reflections and Myrtle Beach Bowl Prediction! We've got more bowl games all this week so watch for more posts soon. GO BIG RED!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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