Matt Rhule and the Huskers finally got their first win of 2023 with an impressive performance at home over the Huskies of NIU. Unfortunately, with the breaking injury news today, the 35-11 victory came with a pretty steep cost as Nebraska's top two running backs are now out for the remainder of the season. Gabe Ervin Jr. dislocated his hip and Rahmir Johnson dislocated his shoulder. It certainly puts a damper on a much needed win for the Huskers, but there are still many bright spots to talk about and build upon. I've got a full break down of the game with my GOOD, EXPECTED and BAD categories along with highlights from around the nation. Read on and enjoy!
The Huskers can add one into the win column after their 35-11 victory against the Huskies of Northern Illinois. With Jeff Sims injured late in the Colorado game, Heinrich Haarberg got his first start as QB1 for the Huskers. The homegrown kid from Kearney made the most of his start leading the Husker offense to a season-best 382 total yards of offense and 35 points. The Husker defense was standout throughout the game and even held NIU to a field goal after a Husker fumble on the 5 yard line. A late minute TD against the second team gave NIU 11 points following the successful 2 point conversion, but a big tip of the cap to the defense in this one. Here's my full breakdown below.
GOOD - Heinrich Haarberg and the Blackshirt Defense. As mentioned above, the Blackshirts nearly pitched a shutout, but a look into the numbers truly shows how dominant this defense has been. Tony White's 3-3-5 system has been causing headaches for all opposing offenses this season, and it was in full force on Saturday. The Huskers held Northern Illinois to just 26 yards rushing and 4 of 15 on third downs. The Husky passing game was bogged down by a large number of drops by their receivers, but it was also limited due to the pass rush of the Huskers. Nebraska had 3 sacks and 4 passes deflected in this one. The defense looks to be a unit that isn't messing around this year. Tougher challenges to come, but they're certainly going to keep the Huskers in games all year long.
Moving to the offensive side of the ball, Heinrich Haarberg had a very impressive debut leading the Husker offense. First and foremost, he caught the snaps! There was the fumble deep inside Husker territory, and a couple of throws where he didn't read the coverage well, but overall his play earned him another start if not the QB1 spot for Nebraska. My favorite play of his was on the opening drive with a read option. The defensive end was left unblocked to the read and with him sitting on the outside edge it should have been an easy give to the running back. However, Haarberg noticed the defensive tackle blowing up the guard for Nebraska and that a handoff would've resulted in a loss and possible fumble, so he made a secondary read, pulled the ball and made a move on the end to run around the edge for a first down. He also had a few decisions throughout the game where he threw the ball away to avoid a sack and didn't put it in danger. Last, but not least is that he ran TOUGH. Multiple times (probably to the coaches' dismay) Haarberg opted to run over a defender by lowering his shoulder rather than sliding. He commented after the game that Nebraska fans want a QB who runs like that and he wants to be that guy. A great performance by Haarberg and hopefully not the last one we see from him.
EXPECTED - Offensive line struggles. My feelings about the Husker O-line are no secret to anyone who knows me or reads the blog, but it's frustrating knowing exactly where the issues will occur before a play starts. Multiple plays were blown up within the first few seconds as the Husker linemen were pushed into the backfield and a lot of pass plays resulted in Haarberg scrambling. There were some nice downfield blocks later in the game on run plays, especially when the Huskers go heavy with 6 linemen in their power run formation, but they're few and far between. Following the scripted series of plays on the opening drive for a touchdown, the Huskers next four drives were fumble, punt, punt and punt, including two 3-and-outs. In total there were 4 three and outs for the Huskers. It all starts up front and this is a unit that needs to be better if the Huskers want to win more games.
BAD - Husker wide receivers. Specifically the route running and separation for the wideouts, but overall this is a unit that has really struggled in the early stages of 2023. One of my main coaching points with the High School Wide Receivers I coach is that the race starts at the break in their route. My partner WR Coach Kevin Tims talks about it all the time and highlights how important separation from the defense is what truly allows receivers to make plays. The Husker receiver corps is one of the worst units I've ever seen at creating separation. Fidone is a bit of an exception due to his size, but the rest of the squad is not very crisp with their routes. There were multiple times during the game I saw Husker receivers just start blocking downfield before Haarberg took off to run because they knew they weren't open for a pass. This combined with the poor protection are key factors in the struggling passing game for Nebraska. The lack of star talent is not an excuse, good route-running and footwork is what allows you to get separation. This is an area Nebraska needs to improve on quickly. The lack of open passing routes is a major concern.
Overall a very good performance by the Huskers and good momentum to build on as they close out non-conference play with Louisiana Tech this coming Saturday. The run game will certainly take a step back without Ervin and Johnson in the mix, but Anthony Grant has proven to be a playmaker before. I'm anxious to see what QB battles there may be at practice this week, and I'm certainly not opposed to seeing Jeff Sims at RB with Haarberg at QB. Could draw up som interesting plays with that combination. Only time will tell as the Huskers turn their sights onto Game 4.
Other thoughts from CFB Week 3:
- Tennessee still has not won in the Swamp since 2003 as Florida dominated the (formerly) #11 Vols 29-16. The Gators looked like a completely different team from the first two weeks. Maybe they'll catch fire?
- Georgia started slow against the Gamecocks but flipped the script in the second half and won 24-14. Still haven't been beaten at home since 2019.
- LSU looked very impressive against conference rival Mississippi State. Wide Receiver Malik Nabers had a career day for the Tigers with 13 catches for 239 and 2 TDs. Most of that was done in the first half!
- Missouri stormed the field after hitting a walk-off game winning field goal from 61-yards to beat K-State. Big upset and big leg by that kicker.
- Watch out for those teams in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State are all part of the undefeated squad in the PAC-12. All teams are putting up big numbers on offense, this will be a fun conference race to watch.
- Speaking of Washington, if you haven't watched Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies yet you're doing football wrong. The Huskies average just shy of 500 yards per game passing, but their schedule is brutal come November. Dark horse team to make a run.
- Notre Dame has looked solid so far this year but with Ohio State next up we'll see a true test to Sam Hartman and the Irish.
- Michigan State has started the process of firing Mel Tucker for cause. Tough look for a program that offered one of the most lucrative college coaching contracts in history.
- West Virginia won the back yard brawl against rival Pitt.
- BYU with a big road win against Arkansas.
- Colorado and Colorado State was certainly the highlight game of the day. The Buffs forced overtime with a last-minute, 98-yard drive to tie the game. They prevailed to a 43-35 double OT victory, but Travis Hunter is the big storyline. He was taken to the hospital after an unnecessary and dirty hit by the Colorado State Safety. It's never great to see a player go down, but especially when its from a bad hit with bad intent. The secondary problem is that the CSU player and his family are now receiving death threats. This is where things from the field start becoming a danger to the public. Certainly hope this gets cleared up soon.
- Despite a weekend with no ranked vs ranked matchups, there was no lacking of excitement. Bama's offense struggled on the road, Boston College nearly upset Florida State with a late game comeback and Texas had a sleepy start against Wyoming.
Thanks for reading my Week 3 Reflections and GO BIG RED! Look for my Week 4 Gameday Predictions later this week. Here's a photo from the pre-4th quarter light show at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Sensational light show put on by Husker Athletics that featured the lighted drones from Volleyball Day. Can't wait to see what else they do this year!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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