Gophers Gutted as Abdullah Garners a Grand on the Ground and Martinez Marks a Milestone
It is so nice to have a game in hand at halftime and not be looking up at a error induced deficit. Granted, the bowl-eligible Gophers are not the same caliber as the previous six games on the Husker schedule, but the game was a welcome reprieve from elevated blood pressure and cardiac related complications. The Huskers dominated for the three quarters that mattered, and they should have against an injury plagued Minnesota squad that has now lost 16 straight to Nebraska. This game was more about attempting to be more consistent and playing solid in all three aspects of the game. We still have to get better at limiting mistakes and five fumbles (losing two) is still an area to clean up, but this team is getting better with each game and are becoming a formidable foe and may be a legitimate Top Ten team before long. It is also not insignificant that the Huskers finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2001.
But this day was also about honoring 29 Seniors and the legendary Dr. Tom. I can hardly believe that this man has been associated with 500 Husker games. You can't replace him and what he represents to the program and to the state. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Tom. I also wanted to list the seniors who played their last game at Memorial Stadium. They represent Pelini's first recruiting class and they all contributed to make this team a perennial winner. On offense, defense, and special teams, the guys I will miss most are Burkhead, Martin, and Maher. Thanks to each of you and for your blood, sweat and tears invested in being a Husker. -- Kenny Anderson, Justin Blatchford, Rex Burkhead, Joseph Carter, Seung Hoon Choi, Will Compton, Ben Cotton, Jase Dean, Taylor Dixon, Sean Fisher, KC Hyland, Justin Jackson, Micah Kreikemeier, Brett Maher, PJ Mangieri, Matt Manninger, Tim Marlowe, Eric Martin, Conor McDermott, Cameron Meredith, Courtney Osborne, Steven Osborne, Kyler Reed, PJ Smith, Daimion Stafford, Baker Steinkuhler, Graham Stoddard, Brandon Thompson, and Alonzo Whaley.This was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball.
On offense, it was a career day for several guys.
- Abdullah, went back and forth but finally broke the 1000 yard mark for the season (finishing with 1,021). This is even more of an accomplishment when one would have assumed that this mark would be made again by Burkhead, not a backup. I really don't know what the Huskers would have done, had the diminutive Abdullah not stepped up with a great year.
- Martinez had a stellar game with his third 300 yard passing game (21-29 for 308) and managed the game very well. He also becomes the first 6,000 yard passer in Husker history (finishing with 6,140 passing yards). For someone who has struggled with poor mechanics, it's even more amazing. He may end up rewriting the Husker record book, given the opportunity to start for four years, but I'm looking for Martinez to take it to the next level. It's time to win a conference championship (and more). His legacy at Nebraska will ultimately be determined by his number of rings, not yards.
- Bell had a career high 9 catches and increased his season receiving yardage total to 789 yards. This breaks the record for the most receiving yards by a sophomore, eclipsing the mark of another pretty decent receiver, Johnny Rodgers (665 yards in 1970). Even more remarkable is that all 8 of his touchdown receptions have been for more than 25 yards.
- Enunwa and Reed made clutch catches highlighted by Quincy's bobbling grab, and Turner netted a career high 6 grabs as he plays the dangerous counterpart to Bell.
- Cross continues to look good in the red zone short yardage situations, but on the 4th and goal before the half, either the leap or the play call needed to change.
- The line had a solid game and dominated the Minnesota defense. Their pass protection was much improved and they also limited their penalties and mistakes.
- The poor play by the reserves was what happens when they have very limited snaps during the season. Kellogg and Long especially had difficulty connecting.
The numbers tell the story of the dominating display by the Blackshirt defense. Minnesota had 60 total yards at half and only 98 entering the 4th quarter when the reserves took over. Even the defensive mistakes worked out as Gopher receivers dropped balls or tipped them to defenders. On Jean-Baptiste's pick 6, he was not in a good coverage position, but had the tip was a made-to-order interception down the sideline. When you hold a team to 1 for 13 on third down conversions you're going to have a good day. Minnesota's leading rusher had 26 yards.
- Even though there was only 1 sack (on a nice play by Evans), there were four tackles for loss and the defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Evans played well in addition to his sack, with 6 tackles and a pass breakup.
- Compton will be missed as he continues to lead the team in tackles (10 this game and a pass breakup). As a defender, he has really matured in his play from a year ago.
- Stafford had 4 tackles to go with another pick (in which he almost killed Mitchell on his landing) and had another unfortunate late hit penalty as continues to play around the edges of control.
- Blatchford has impressed more of late and Whaley had one of his best games adding 5 tackles. There is a lot of senior talent on the defensive side that will be missed and underclassmen are going to have to grow up and fill the void.
The wind impacted special team play and I was impressed to see Maher get off solid kickoffs and punts into the breeze. He now has 40+ touchbacks on the season. What does it say about our punt return team when our best "return" of the season was the result of a 7 yard punt by the Gopher punter? Another punt was fumbled out of bounds (by Turner) and we totaled 7 return yards for the game even though Minnesota punted 11 times. Without Maher, we have zilch happening on special teams and it may cost us in the big games to come.
Bo has now managed 9 wins in each of his 5 seasons and hopefully this year we get off the four loss snide. A seemingly hapless Hawkeye squad awaits the Huskers Friday in Iowa City after having dropped their 5th game in a row. This is another game the Huskers should dominate provided they aren't looking ahead to Indianapolis. Beat Iowa and then a Badger squad who took Ohio State to overtime awaits. Nebraska is not yet in the Rose Bowl, but you can almost smell the flowers in Pasadena. The Huskers just have to stay focused on the goals before them and take it a game at a time. Go Big Red!!
It is so nice to have a game in hand at halftime and not be looking up at a error induced deficit. Granted, the bowl-eligible Gophers are not the same caliber as the previous six games on the Husker schedule, but the game was a welcome reprieve from elevated blood pressure and cardiac related complications. The Huskers dominated for the three quarters that mattered, and they should have against an injury plagued Minnesota squad that has now lost 16 straight to Nebraska. This game was more about attempting to be more consistent and playing solid in all three aspects of the game. We still have to get better at limiting mistakes and five fumbles (losing two) is still an area to clean up, but this team is getting better with each game and are becoming a formidable foe and may be a legitimate Top Ten team before long. It is also not insignificant that the Huskers finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2001.
But this day was also about honoring 29 Seniors and the legendary Dr. Tom. I can hardly believe that this man has been associated with 500 Husker games. You can't replace him and what he represents to the program and to the state. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Tom. I also wanted to list the seniors who played their last game at Memorial Stadium. They represent Pelini's first recruiting class and they all contributed to make this team a perennial winner. On offense, defense, and special teams, the guys I will miss most are Burkhead, Martin, and Maher. Thanks to each of you and for your blood, sweat and tears invested in being a Husker. -- Kenny Anderson, Justin Blatchford, Rex Burkhead, Joseph Carter, Seung Hoon Choi, Will Compton, Ben Cotton, Jase Dean, Taylor Dixon, Sean Fisher, KC Hyland, Justin Jackson, Micah Kreikemeier, Brett Maher, PJ Mangieri, Matt Manninger, Tim Marlowe, Eric Martin, Conor McDermott, Cameron Meredith, Courtney Osborne, Steven Osborne, Kyler Reed, PJ Smith, Daimion Stafford, Baker Steinkuhler, Graham Stoddard, Brandon Thompson, and Alonzo Whaley.This was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball.
On offense, it was a career day for several guys.
- Abdullah, went back and forth but finally broke the 1000 yard mark for the season (finishing with 1,021). This is even more of an accomplishment when one would have assumed that this mark would be made again by Burkhead, not a backup. I really don't know what the Huskers would have done, had the diminutive Abdullah not stepped up with a great year.
- Martinez had a stellar game with his third 300 yard passing game (21-29 for 308) and managed the game very well. He also becomes the first 6,000 yard passer in Husker history (finishing with 6,140 passing yards). For someone who has struggled with poor mechanics, it's even more amazing. He may end up rewriting the Husker record book, given the opportunity to start for four years, but I'm looking for Martinez to take it to the next level. It's time to win a conference championship (and more). His legacy at Nebraska will ultimately be determined by his number of rings, not yards.
- Bell had a career high 9 catches and increased his season receiving yardage total to 789 yards. This breaks the record for the most receiving yards by a sophomore, eclipsing the mark of another pretty decent receiver, Johnny Rodgers (665 yards in 1970). Even more remarkable is that all 8 of his touchdown receptions have been for more than 25 yards.
- Enunwa and Reed made clutch catches highlighted by Quincy's bobbling grab, and Turner netted a career high 6 grabs as he plays the dangerous counterpart to Bell.
- Cross continues to look good in the red zone short yardage situations, but on the 4th and goal before the half, either the leap or the play call needed to change.
- The line had a solid game and dominated the Minnesota defense. Their pass protection was much improved and they also limited their penalties and mistakes.
- The poor play by the reserves was what happens when they have very limited snaps during the season. Kellogg and Long especially had difficulty connecting.
The numbers tell the story of the dominating display by the Blackshirt defense. Minnesota had 60 total yards at half and only 98 entering the 4th quarter when the reserves took over. Even the defensive mistakes worked out as Gopher receivers dropped balls or tipped them to defenders. On Jean-Baptiste's pick 6, he was not in a good coverage position, but had the tip was a made-to-order interception down the sideline. When you hold a team to 1 for 13 on third down conversions you're going to have a good day. Minnesota's leading rusher had 26 yards.
- Even though there was only 1 sack (on a nice play by Evans), there were four tackles for loss and the defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Evans played well in addition to his sack, with 6 tackles and a pass breakup.
- Compton will be missed as he continues to lead the team in tackles (10 this game and a pass breakup). As a defender, he has really matured in his play from a year ago.
- Stafford had 4 tackles to go with another pick (in which he almost killed Mitchell on his landing) and had another unfortunate late hit penalty as continues to play around the edges of control.
- Blatchford has impressed more of late and Whaley had one of his best games adding 5 tackles. There is a lot of senior talent on the defensive side that will be missed and underclassmen are going to have to grow up and fill the void.
The wind impacted special team play and I was impressed to see Maher get off solid kickoffs and punts into the breeze. He now has 40+ touchbacks on the season. What does it say about our punt return team when our best "return" of the season was the result of a 7 yard punt by the Gopher punter? Another punt was fumbled out of bounds (by Turner) and we totaled 7 return yards for the game even though Minnesota punted 11 times. Without Maher, we have zilch happening on special teams and it may cost us in the big games to come.
Bo has now managed 9 wins in each of his 5 seasons and hopefully this year we get off the four loss snide. A seemingly hapless Hawkeye squad awaits the Huskers Friday in Iowa City after having dropped their 5th game in a row. This is another game the Huskers should dominate provided they aren't looking ahead to Indianapolis. Beat Iowa and then a Badger squad who took Ohio State to overtime awaits. Nebraska is not yet in the Rose Bowl, but you can almost smell the flowers in Pasadena. The Huskers just have to stay focused on the goals before them and take it a game at a time. Go Big Red!!
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....I knew Iowa had a bad offense but was surprised it was bad as the stats showed it to be 110 in the country overall....should be a win...but as you said we need to stay focused and take them out of the game early as we did Minnesota...
