Alright Husker fans, I’ve avoided it for long enough… it’s time to reflect on Ireland. In another (seemingly impossible) tragic season opener, Scott Frost and crew have snatched yet another defeat from the powerfully clamped jaws of victory. The Huskers gave up not one, but two 11-point leads in this game to fall to the Wildcats 31-28. The Nebraska-Northwestern games are often close, and no one should ever count a Pat Fitzgerald team out until the very end, but the Huskers had multiple opportunities to put this one away. This post breaks down my GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD from the game last week, enjoy!
GOOD – First half Casey Thompson and Anthony Grant. An extra nod goes out to the starting wideouts as they ran some great routes and were creating good separation all game. Starting with QB1, Thompson looked good out of the gate. Now I will put a small asterisk by the opening drive because it was a fully scripted set of plays, all with very high success rate percentages, however he was extremely accurate all throughout the first half. This did have to do with the lack of pressure he was feeling, but accuracy must start somewhere and if he can throw that well in a clean pocket, there’s a good base. From the initial look he has a talented group to throw to as well. Trey Palmer clearly has the speed and Isiah Garcia-Castanda is a very reliable pass catcher. Looking to the ground game, Anthony Grant emerged as the feature back with little competition as Gabe Irvin and Rahmir Johnson were held out of the game. The rumors and sources I’ve heard from say they got in a fight at a casino while in Ireland. Regardless, I thought Grant was an impressive runner, but didn’t get much of a chance to get going despite his 46-yard dash to the endzone early in the third quarter. I was surprised to find out he had 19 carries. The Huskers need to feed him the rock some more, he’s a good talent in the backfield.
EXPECTED – No rushing attack and the inevitable poor coaching decision and collapse of the team. This one is a bit negative and pointed, but it’s ridiculous at this point. This team still crumbles at any sign of diversity. Northwestern made some adjustments in the second half and dialed up the pressure on defense. The Husker O-line couldn’t hold them back and Casey really struggled to throw the ball. His throws were not on target and the Husker offense sputtered. There was no run game established, so nothing to fall back on and no way to keep the ball out of Northwestern’s hands. We all expected a lack of focus in the rushing attack, but that was almost like cutting it out cold turkey. You’re not going to win many games in the BIG 10 throwing the ball 42 times unless you’re Ohio State.
BAD – Tackling and the onside kick. The special teams blunder is obvious, but this one is especially bad in my book because for the first 4 seasons as the Husker Head Coach, Scott Frost refused to hire someone to oversee and coach this unit. Now, in his 5th season, he finally has a Special Teams Coordinator on staff, yet still this unit delivers back breaking plays for the wrong side at the wrong time. No, the onside kick is not the only play that lost the Huskers the game, but it is yet another bad blunder on special teams that heavily contributes to the loss. The other primary factor in this loss was the lack of tackling. I will admit, I expected the “Blackshirts” to have some first game jitters with so many new faces and not much chemistry. I was upset but understanding of the safety miscommunication on the deep ball TD in the first half. But the horrendous display of tackling, especially by the veterans, that’s unacceptable. This is Division 1 College Football; tackling is the most fundamental aspect of the game. You cannot arm tackle a BIG 10 running back (especially one following behind an experienced offensive line) and expect to bring him down. This issue needs to be addressed immediately.
Overall, it was a very frustrating game to watch because there were so many flashes of how talented this team is and how much they could truly accomplish. However, in the end, the poor decision making and game management lead to another heartbreaking Husker loss. Hopefully things pick up soon because this can’t possibly go on much longer.
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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