General thoughts on the game

[ShortSideOption]

I haven't had a chance to re-watch the game, but wanted to give some initial 30,000 foot view opinions. Some of these are bound to be off, so feel free to let me know where i'm wrong.

My unfortunate reality was I went into this game not expecting a close score. That's frustrating in year 3. It really sucks from playing them 36-31 in year 1, to now taking moral victories with 52-17 beatdowns while you watch a team like Indiana beat Penn State. Nebraska hasn't beaten a top 5 team in 19 years, it's been awhile. Knowing all of these things, I told myself before the game that I was going to find the positives, understand there would be negatives, and not cement too many opinions after facing a team that will be in the CFP. Essentially, I was going to be happy with the positives and chalk negatives up to who we were playing. I'm not going to get too worked up how we look or didn't look against a team like that. But I do think there were some things we can look to for a huge game against the Badgers.

- First one is pretty obvious, but as i'd been stating, we were looking at ways to get McCaffrey incorporated. Not only did we try him at RB, but we put him in for a few series'. I had been saying all along that Martinez was going to be the starter game 1 and there was not competition until the season started. Now it's on. Frost was not going to have his 3 year returning starter lose the spot in practice, but he's going to give McCaffrey opportunities in games to take it from him. Both QBs looked pretty good in the passing game, but something was definitely missing..

- What was missing? We had zero downfield threat. We are in year 3 and our starting WRs were walk-on Falck and walk-on Warner with Robinson in the slot/Duck R. No wonder we can't get much going. I had made mention that we need to stretch the field in an effort to get the safeties out of there. Mills and Robinson are going to continue to be minimal factors if the safeties can play 7 yards from the LOS and backpedal to keep up with our WRs. Again, don't want to harp on it too much, first game out of the gate in a corona year could have a wide range of reasons why you don't see Manning, Brown, Betts, Fleming, etc. But what I will be looking for moving forward is if we can get these guys on the field. We need them. Once we stretch the field, Robinson and Mills will have breakout games.

- It was really good to see the TEs actively involved. Really sucks about Stoll, but I thought Allen looked good and the room is pretty deep. I didn't see as many 2 TE sets as I thought I would unless you count our iFormation we ran with Allen at FB.

- OL, I actually thought we looked pretty good here against better opponents. And like what happened with QB, I really love our staff creating competition by trying other guys when players struggle. As i've been saying on here for a year, if Ethan Piper isn't a 2 or 3 year starter for us, something went horribly wrong. They put him in for Wilson a few times and if you get a chance to watch the replay, take a look at #57 move compared to the rest of our linemen. On his pulls he's just so fluid and athletic, and he hits you hard at the point of attack. They also had Will Farniok come in for Jurgens a bit. Again, I haven't talked to anyone to know if there are injuries, suspensions with WRs, etc., but I liked the rotation. Benhart had a decent day against one of the best players he will see all year, and Jaimes did his thing. Even though our offensive output wasn't great, I liked a lot of what I saw from them.

- Defensive line I think played pretty well too. Was a bit frustrating we had to slide Robinson down to NG the third play of the game, but that was expected. I think guys like Robinson, Rogers, and Stille played really well considering their competition. You'll be able to see Robinson and Rogers get better every game since they are so young. Green came in and played a bit, but I didn't see much from Thomas. I will be curious how we look against Wisconsin on the DL front, but was encouraged against Ohio State.

- ILBs were thin and we need to get guys back for Wisconsin. I think Honas played a really good game, need to go back and watch Miller more, but I believe Honas played like the recruit we thought we were getting. The Wisconsin game is built for him, Ohio State is just a bit too fast. We need Reimer to practice this week, because correctly filling the gaps against Wisconsin is paramount. If you don't practice it, it's tough to get it right on Saturday. We are scary thin at ILB which is a weird thing to type out. Mauga-Clements got in and promptly got pancaked, but I think Snodgrass can provide some needed depth.

- We were trying everyone and their dog at OLB. Domann did Domann things, he's our best defensive player. But we threw the kitchen sink at the other spot to try and find someone. Tannor, Nelson, Henrich, and even Payne all showed flashes (side note, Payne looked extremely skinny, can't believe he was a DE and lost that much weight being sick). We need to figure out in a hurry who can help us there. I think Henrich will just get better and better each game.

- Well... DBs really struggled with the speed of Ohio State. That's to be expected. But playing the first half against Wisconsin without our two most physical DBs in CTB and DWilliams... that's not good. We are going to need some guys to step up. We are essentially starting our 3rd string corner against them and young'n Myles Farmer is going to have to be ready to lay the wood.

- Punting numbers looked good but every punt I watched they looked awful. Was it windy?

Other general thoughts:

- It was tough to get any semblance of rhythm or momentum with the refs using cement gravel as lubricant on us

- There were a few plays that against our defense in practice go to the house. But we were playing Ohio State and they run us down. I will be real curious to see how those plays look against the Badgers.

- I have been saying that our team and Duval did one of the best jobs in the nation keeping our team focused and ready during Covid-19. While everyone's eyes are different, I felt we looked pretty good athletically out there. I think you are going to see a team against the Badgers that looks very fluid out there and strong, it was just tough to see against the creatures at Ohio State they recruit.

- Sticking with that a bit, I understand the "let's just play them first and hope they are rusty". But I can also counter that with how ready we were, would have liked to play a team like Minnesota or Michigan State who literally had sent their guys home thinking there wasn't going to be a season. Our preparation was spoiled a bit playing the buzzsaw that is the Buckeyes.

- I never thought year 3 i'd be happy with a 52-17 defeat, but as i've been saying on here for a few years (and the reason that i'm not worked up about this game), quit trying to figure out how far away we are from Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State. We need to be there and beat Iowa and Wisconsin (throw Minnesota in there now). This week is a massive game. Even though the Badgers looked really good, we need to find a way to win Saturday, or we are staring 1-3 in the face and we would need to rattle off four in a row to get to 5-3. Huge game.

- I stated it up top, but with Covid I will be curious which first year WRs start making a charge through the season for playing time. Lacking spring and summer football hurt us there. Alante Brown caught that pass in the 4th quarter and looked faster than anything else we had at that position all game.

- I'm just going to say it one more time, but i'll be judging us based on Saturday against the Badgers. That's a huge game. If we lose by a couple touchdowns, I will probably turn pretty negative. I have no problem not being as good or as fast as Ohio State who has top 5 recruiting classes every year. But if we can't be as big or strong as Wisconsin in year 3, we have bigger issues. That game needs to be competitive and we need to figure out a way to beat a team that struggled with workouts during Covid. Our entire season was pushed back due to their issues.

 

[2nd and 3]

Can't argue with much of what you said. Saw some of the same things. OL showed flashes. LB showed flashes. We will see how things look against the rest of the schedule, Penn St included. No one left is head and shoulders better than the Huskers. Keep improving and they might just impress some people this season.

 

[ramsker]

What do you think was up with the lack of touches for Mills (especially) and Thompkins . . . and not getting them more into the north-south game they seem to be best at?

And what happened to the TE game? Seemed to be gouging them pretty good to start the game and then they either took it away from us or we just went away from it ourselves (or a bit of both)?

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

I come away feeling pretty much the same, even down to the punting.
One weird positive is we are currently 18th in rush yds per game, against osu, not bad.

We need those wide outs, cant agree more here, but also need to see AM respond once they arrive.

 

[2nd and 3]

What do you think was up with the lack of touches for Mills (especially) and Thompkins . . . and not getting them more into the north-south game they seem to be best at?

And what happened to the TE game? Seemed to be gouging them pretty good to start the game and then they either took it away from us or we just went away from it ourselves (or a bit of both)?

Zero vertical threat to move the safeties. Were able to play close to LOS most of the game. Affected run game and the open spaces for the TE.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Can't argue with much of what you said. Saw some of the same things. OL showed flashes. LB showed flashes. We will see how things look against the rest of the schedule, Penn St included. No one left is head and shoulders better than the Huskers. Keep improving and they might just impress some people this season.

Agree. I get we aren't on Ohio State level, might be able to put Penn State a tier above us, but Indiana most certainly isn't and they beat the Nittany Lions. We need to be 2-2 out of these first 4. Have to beat Northwestern then pick off Wisky or Penn State.

 

[ShortSideOption]

What do you think was up with the lack of touches for Mills (especially) and Thompkins . . . and not getting them more into the north-south game they seem to be best at?

And what happened to the TE game? Seemed to be gouging them pretty good to start the game and then they either took it away from us or we just went away from it ourselves (or a bit of both)?

I think a few of the reasons MIlls didn't have more touches were the reads kind of messed up. For example, Martinez's first touchdown run he actually should have handed it off to Mills, but he accidentally pulled the ball (luckily realized it) and then followed Mills who blocked the only guy in his way for a touchdown. I thought Mills would get more touches but as we did against Ohio State year 1 of Frost, we used Martinez north/south quite a bit. I believe it's due to who is reading him on the Buckeyes defense.

As someone else stated and what I wrote in my OP, we had no vertical threat so safeties kept creeping down which takes away Mills, TEs, and your slot WR. You have to have a guy like Brown get the top off the defense so there's more room to work for Stoll, Allen, and Robinson.

 

[ShortSideOption]

I come away feeling pretty much the same, even down to the punting.
One weird positive is we are currently 18th in rush yds per game, against osu, not bad.

We need those wide outs, cant agree more here, but also need to see AM respond once they arrive.

Yep, agree. I wasn't going to dig into the stats too much and play the "well take away....." but McCaffrey had a massive gain first time he was RB then they shut it down, and pretty much the same with Martinez. I'll take it. If we can run the ball on Wisky, we have a very good shot.

I don't know what it was, but i'm just not going to be mad about 52-17 against Ohio State. I guess that's where we are now, but we need to move forward not look backwards on how we got here.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

Yep, agree. I wasn't going to dig into the stats too much and play the "well take away....." but McCaffrey had a massive gain first time he was RB then they shut it down, and pretty much the same with Martinez. I'll take it. If we can run the ball on Wisky, we have a very good shot.

I don't know what it was, but i'm just not going to be mad about 52-17 against Ohio State. I guess that's where we are now, but we need to move forward not look backwards on how we got here.

I have this crazy notion we wont be the same team come the end of the season, in a good way.

 

[Full Husker]

***--always a pleasure to read your thoughts on the game, team, etc. I pretty much ignored the score, but wanted to see if we played like we belonged on the field and in my opinion we definitely did. From my arm chair, since we did not have any receiver stretching the field, I hoped even as early as the second series that Frost would put Luke for a few plays at one wideout--after his first drive run, he would have had the safety trying to cover him all the way to the end zone. The deep threat seemed to be the missing piece in what we where doing on offense. On defense, the guys at the front three held up pretty much I thought and I was impressed with Honus. I thought you might comment, even though it is a waste of time, about six missed or wrong calls. I suppose it is a case of the underdog gets flagged. Can Front or Moos get back the two guys wrongly ejected? I am curious, will we see some changes other than ones we have to make at safety with the starters this week or will the starters just be on a shorter leash? Who graded out best on the o line? And, you must have felt pride when the defense with second or third and one stopped OSU dead--that is the future I think.

 

[Husker North]

Thanks ***. Your thought on high snaps. This has been a problem since 51 transitioned. Adrian and Luke are still jumping in the shot gun. It has to be in the back of their minds and slows our play by at least a full second or more

 

[skerBob]

I think a few of the reasons MIlls didn't have more touches were the reads kind of messed up. For example, Martinez's first touchdown run he actually should have handed it off to Mills, but he accidentally pulled the ball (luckily realized it) and then followed Mills who blocked the only guy in his way for a touchdown. I thought Mills would get more touches but as we did against Ohio State year 1 of Frost, we used Martinez north/south quite a bit. I believe it's due to who is reading him on the Buckeyes defense.

As someone else stated and what I wrote in my OP, we had no vertical threat so safeties kept creeping down which takes away Mills, TEs, and your slot WR. You have to have a guy like Brown get the top off the defense so there's more room to work for Stoll, Allen, and Robinson.

Was OSU forcing us to run the QBs? I just don't see us winning consistently with Martinez and Luke being our leading ball carriers.

 

[ShortSideOption]

***--always a pleasure to read your thoughts on the game, team, etc. I pretty much ignored the score, but wanted to see if we played like we belonged on the field and in my opinion we definitely did. From my arm chair, since we did not have any receiver stretching the field, I hoped even as early as the second series that Frost would put Luke for a few plays at one wideout--after his first drive run, he would have had the safety trying to cover him all the way to the end zone. The deep threat seemed to be the missing piece in what we where doing on offense. On defense, the guys at the front three held up pretty much I thought and I was impressed with Honus. I thought you might comment, even though it is a waste of time, about six missed or wrong calls. I suppose it is a case of the underdog gets flagged. Can Front or Moos get back the two guys wrongly ejected? I am curious, will we see some changes other than ones we have to make at safety with the starters this week or will the starters just be on a shorter leash? Who graded out best on the o line? And, you must have felt pride when the defense with second or third and one stopped OSU dead--that is the future I think.

I didn't go into the calls, I think there were some blown flags (obviously), but the CTB one he literally hits the guys helmet with his helmet for no reason. To my knowledge, we aren't getting those guys back. Wisconsin would definitely appeal that decision.

I'm also curious what changes we may see. I would think WR is a spot where you may see some mix up even though I don't think Warner or Falck played poorly. We just have some talent sitting around. Will Piper start at LG? OLB we started Nelson and Domann I don't see that changing.

I don't think the players know the grades yet, but i'll be curious how the grades look for the OL and DL. There were definitely things to work with there.

The defense showed some flashes definitely. But Fields being 20/21 was tough to watch, we just couldn't hang with them player to player.

 

[CrabHusker]

I figured I'd pop in and give a quick opinion on yesterday's game myself.

I echo many of the same thoughts you had/have about the game and our overall progress. I see pieces that please me and pieces that puzzle me.

One thing everyone needs to keep in mind is regardless of OSU's losses in personnel from the 2019 team that curb stomped Nebraska (and most other teams), Ohio State is still vastly superior from a talent standpoint. It's not even close.

What I do like and what I did see is flashes of team play on both sides of the ball. The D line looked vastly better than I expected and despite giving up 45 points, the D as a whole did play pretty good football. The offensive line is improved.

No, 52-17 isn't a score that looks like we're close, but did anyone really expect a four quarter game? I know I didn't.

The best thing for this team right now is to play Wisconsin tough at home and not take steps backward. The schedule is tough, but this team looks tougher than the previous two versions under Frost. Still not where any of us want them to be, but I saw plenty of things yesterday to leave me encouraged, not distraught. 52-17 sucks, no matter who you are, but it sure didn't feel like 52-17.

 

[ramsker]

Zero vertical threat to move the safeties. Were able to play close to LOS most of the game. Affected run game and the open spaces for the TE.

That makes sense, but aren't there still some things the Huskers could do knowing/seeing that to make the defense pay? We've worked the option back into the playbook here and there. One of the plays that used to kill defenses back in the day was showing the option and then the QB pulls up and hits a TE going up the middle when everyone bites on the run. Does Frost just not have that in the arsenal or just doesn't use it?