Final Game thoughts:
Doctor, doctor . . . give me the news. I’ve got a bad case of Colorado blues. I need you, to soothe my head--And return hope to the Husker red.
No pill is gonna cure my ills.
How about a prescription?
Okay, how about some home cooking? How about Scott Frost’s first night game at Memorial Stadium? How about a stout defense, some explosive plays on offense, and some special team magic? How about a game where NU can finally check some boxes?
What boxes you say? Read on to find out.
NU with a much needed 44-8 win over Northern Illinois—a team that pretty much sealed Mile Riley’s fate at NU two years ago.
This game was never really in doubt. But Husker fans doubted pretty much all the way into the late stages of the third quarter.
To be fair, even extra points were an adventure in this game. The first half featured 5 blocked kicks, a failed fake punt, a kickoff out of bounds, and an ill-fated onside kick.
Normally, when Nebraska fans read something like that, they brace for the worst. However, NU was actually on the right side of many of those miscues for a change.
But let’s get to those boxes.
Let’s get some receivers involved, okay?
Check. Kanawai Noa is finally healthy and caught his first three passes for 51 yards and a nifty TD catch before halftime. Spielman with 4 catches for 76 yards. Robinson with 3 catches for 48 yards. Stoll with 2 catches for 38 yards. Mike Williams with a catch for 26 yards. And some other players involved later in the game.
Let’s get the running game going and specifically get Mills going.
Check. Mills 116 yards on 11 carries and a nice 24 yard TD run. His 61 yard run in the first quarter was great to see but his fumble on the next play was his only real mistake in the game. Meanwhile, Maurice Washington finished with 63 yards on 4 carries but his 60 yard TD run was a thing of beauty. He also took a 21 yard pass play to paydirt as well. Hopefully, the safety he took will be a learning experience—sometimes you have to plant, lower the shoulder, and go. In all, NU rushed for 287 yards.
How about the team play a whole game for a change.
Check. Did anybody notice that goal line stand in the fourth quarter?
Could we just please put a team away and take our starters out and play some reserves?
Check. Nebraska played much of the fourth quarter with reserves in the game. And as a bit of extra credit, the reserves didn’t do too bad. Noah Vedral looked sharp in leading the Husker to their final score. And in doing so, more receivers got involved—see checkbox number one. Noah completed passes to Darien Chase for his first career catch and also Kurt Rafdal and Jaevon McQuitty. Then Vedral ran it in for a touchdown from three yards out. Nice.
Also, Rahmir Johnson saw his first action with 3 carries for 9 years.
The backup offensive line looked solid including Bryce Benhart.
On defense, there were so many names, it was hard to keep up.
The defense was really the story tonight as they kept Northern Illinois out of the end zone for the whole game giving up just two FGs. The defensive line gave NIU issues all night and spent much of the first half in the backfield harassing the QB. A lot of players flashed tonight but it really was a total team effort.
Martinez meanwhile had a bit of an up and down game, oddly missing on some throws and reads but overall having a strong game statistically. He just seems to be pressing to me but with the blowout, the whole team seemed to relax in the second half. He finished 16-27 for 257 yards and two TDs. And he ran for 44 yards and a TD as well.
Some kudos to some folks not already mentioned.
Austin Allen was all over the place tonight. He was the player who stopped the fake punt. He recovered the first blocked punt and had a chance to recover the second one but the ball slipped through his hands—a TD would have likely been the result. But his best play was recovering the fumble by Stoll on the TD drive in the 3rd quarter. With nothing but white shirts all around, the ball took a fortunate hop toward Allen. We have seen before players sort of flop on the ball and muff it around. But Allen kept his cool and calmly fell on the ball and secured it. Make no mistake—that was a big play that won’t merit a statistic in the record books.
For two years, I have been hearing that Isaiah Stalbird is going to be a good one. For three weeks, we have been seeing it. Tonight he had two block punts (okay one was a bit of a gift) and looked good on defense when given a chance.
In tonight’s game, Braxton Clark did what Dicaprio Bootle hasn’t been able to do his whole career—he intercepted a pass. Of course, it helps when the QB throws it right to you.
Kudos to Lane McCollum, perhaps our new PAT kicker. The sophomore safety was perfect in his kicks and made a play or two on the final drive.
Simon Otte with a monster hit on the final kickoff.
Reid Karel looked good on defense with several nice plays.
Okay, there is some bad news. Nebraska suffered two injuries tonight that are concerning. Early in the game, Cam Taylor-Britt with a bad looking injury to the shoulder area. Don’t have a good feeling about that one.
Meanwhile, the late injury to LT Brendon Jaimes could be a season changer if it is serious. Granted, Broc Bando did well replacing him, but this team absolutely cannot afford to lose Jaimes. Cross your fingers, Husker fans.
If Taylor-Britt is out, the secondary is really depleted--especially at safety. Remember, we graduated 3 seniors last year and two freshmen transferred out. In addition, Deontai Williams was hurt in the first game and word is that he may end up taking a medical for this season. We moved JoJo Domann to LB. So if Cam is out, it is getting pretty lean back there.
We also need to get our kicking straightened out. Tonight was almost comical, but if the injuries to Pickering and Jorgensen continue to linger—then it will get pretty serious going forward.
Okay, we are now 2-1. Last year we were 2-6—after a two game winning streak. You can see the progression.
Is this a great team? No.
No doctor has the magic pill to cure what ails this team. The depth is shallow. Any injuries are going to be tough to overcome. We have some guys out there who probably shouldn’t be out there—at least not quite so much. Some young guys are learning under fire. The team hasn’t learned yet how to loosen up and play to their potential.
And the offensive line is not where it should be—although with every game Jurgens and Hixson gain more experience.
This team is going to have to fight for every win this year.
But . . . is this team as bad as they showed in the second half against Colorado?
No.
Is this team as good as they looked in the first half against Colorado?
Maybe. Tonight looked closer to the first half than the second half last week. But the opposition is going to get much tougher going forward.
Give NIU credit. They played hard. They were sound. They took some chances that backfired, but they were playing to win and those things happen. But defensively, they stood up well to Nebraska but losing their safety on the targeting penalty really hurt them. But they never stopped battling.
So now Nebraska goes on the road next week to play Illinois—a very winnable game. Scott Frost hasn’t won a road game yet at NU. But until tonight, he had never won a night game either.
3-1 coming home to Ohio State sounds pretty good right now—and possible. Just what the doctor prescribes. Let’s go get it.
Take care all.
