Survive, and advance.
It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure. But once again, Nebraska found a way to win the dadgummed game in the fourth quarter. “Fourth quarter Dylan” was a little late in arriving, but once again, Nebraska’s
captain delivered with the game on the line. Prior to that? Well, we’re going to nit-pick that one in a bit.
Those of you wanting to look at the game from the glass half-empty side have plenty to be concerned about:
- Pass protection, especially from the right side of the line, wasn’t very good. That being said, Nebraska only gave up one sack, and that was likely due to right tackle Teddy Prochazka’s leg giving out on the play. There’s no official word on the injury, but the Nebraska radio network reported that Prochazka was “emotional” after leaving the injury tent, and the team awarded him the game ball after the game. I’m sure we’ll get some formal announcement in the coming days. I think we all should really appreciate Prochazka to keep fighting back from injury after injury; it’s a shame that the career of such a promising prospect ends this way.
- The defense was on it’s heels much of the day; no sacks or tackles for loss. Two key interceptions, though.
- Nebraska let a 15 point lead disappear in the second half.
- Seven games into the season, it’s become painfully obvious that Nebraska simply cannot throw the ball down the field. I don’t know if this is a combination of poor pass protection, receivers not able to separate or find ways to get open, scheme issues with the offensive coordinator or, perhaps more simply, quarterback deficiencies, but you can’t shrug it off anymore. For what it’s worth, quarterback Dylan Raiola is deadly efficient with the short passing game. It simply doesn’t translate to throws more than 10-15 yards downfield, for whatever reason.
For all the concerns I have about Raiola’s ability to stretch the field, you cannot deny that Nebraska’s sophomore signal caller is clutch with the game on the line. On the game-winning drive, Raiola converted three third and sevens, followed by a third and five completion. That’s four-for-four on third down, and five for seven passing on the drive. That’s a guy you want on your side in a close game.
I’ve long been skeptical about spending large sums of money on specialty coaches for positions like a special teams coordinator. Bruce “#450k” Read and Ed Foley never were able to justify their salaries, let alone a spot on the staff when the NCAA limited the number of assistant coaches. But back up the Brinks truck for Mike Ekeler; for the first time since DeMornay Pierson-El made Iowa look silly 11 years ago, Nebraska has a return game. When you are getting this type of return for the investment, you can’t quibble about the cost. You only complain when you are paying big money for crap. Nebraska’s special teams are crappy no more.
Side note: If Ekeler’s special teams continue to deliver, Matt Rhule may want to have the entire coaching staff donning pads to properly protect themselves from Mike Ekeler’s celebrations.
Now onto the elephant in the room: Big Ten officiating. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of that absurd fourth down review ruling. Clearly, the referees did not observe Northwestern’s Hayden Eligon bobbling the catch when the play was live. That’s why we have replay reviews in college football. But the replay officials inexplicably botched what should have been an easy correction to respot the ball at the Nebraska 26 yard line. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that, depending on exactly where the replay indicated where Eligon completed the catch, it might have still been a first down. The “red line” that Fox superimposed on the screen was off by a half yard by the time the catch was made, so the question is whether the orange strip on the sideline or the actual pole on the sideline is correct. (It was weird watching the play over and over how Fox’s computer shifted the red line from the 26 yard line as the camera panned.)
If it’s the pole, it’s probably still a first down. If it’s the center of the plastic stripe on the field, it’s probably short.
In NO way should the ball have remained spotted at the 25 yard line, though. The officials seemed to take the viewpoint that since it wasn’t definitively clear from review that it wasn’t a first down, the original spot (despite being clearly wrong) was upheld. That’s an incorrect interpretation of the rule. The NCAA manual states clearly that “it is acceptable to place the ball at the known spot on the field and then measure to determine if it is beyond the line to gain.” In other words, it should have been spotted at the 26 yard line, and then if it wasn’t clear that it was or wasn’t a first down, measure it.
In any event, the mistake on 4th down doesn’t negate the penaltities Ceyair Wright committed on the next play. If not a facemask penalty, it was also a horsecollar tackle.
With that, it’s onto this week’s report card. As always, your feedback is welcome in the comments.
QB: Dylan Raiola’s fumble, on a fourth down, probably doesn’t matter. It was probably going to be Northwestern ball no matter what. The interception, though, gave Northwestern the chance to take command of the game…only to have NW’s Preston Stone throw an even worse interception right into Javin Wright’s belly. Still, not a great performance for the first 50 minutes of the game. Raiola made that touchdown throw to Nyziah Hunter much more difficult than it needed to be. Great catch, but a not so great throw. First 50 minutes was probably a C- or D+, but the last drive was a solid A. I’m going to grade this a B-, but I was awfully tempted to go C+.
I-Back: Emmett Johnson was the man on Saturday morning with 139 yards of all-purpose yards; he now leads the Big Ten in rushing+receiving yards with 1,019 yards. And for much of the game, he had to work for every one of his yards. Grade: A
Receivers: Nyziah Hunter has become Nebraska’s best receiver over the last month; I’m not sure you’ll see a better catch this season. Because I’m not sure whether Nebraska’s intermediate/deep passing issues are on Raiola or the receivers, I’m splitting the difference for now. Grade: B-
Offensive Line: I get why the right side struggled as they did, when you are having to go with your third-string right tackle and right guard Rocco Spindler playing with a club. But it might be time to bite the bullet and get Grant Brix some snaps at right tackle if Gunnar Gottula remains hobbled. One positive is that nobody said anything about left tackle Elijah Pritchett this week. Pritchett might have turned a corner. Grade: C-
Defensive Line: This was kind of a yeesh game up front, and aside from Williams Nwaneri’s quarterback hurry and Kade Pietrzak’s tip of a pass to Donovan Jones, it wasn’t good. Grade: D+
Linebacker: Javin Wright had the defensive play-of-the-day with his interception, but it was a relatively quiet day for the linebackers. Worth noting that sophomore Jacob Bower saw quite a bit of action in this game. Grade: C-
Secondary: Rex Guthrie and Donovan Jones are making the future look really bright for the secondary. Grade: B-
Special Teams: Archie Wilson crushed both of his punts…one a little too hard. No punt returns on this day, though. Only downside was Kyle Cunanan missing his 44 yard field goal attempt. Grade: A-
Overall: C+ It’s easy to sleep on Northwestern; they don’t have star power, but they are a solid, well-prepared team that simply doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. A win is a win is a win; just ask James Franklin how important playing well against Northwestern is.
Elsewhere in College Football
Minnesota: 0 The Goofers left everything on the field in Minneapolis the week before. It’s going to be a long row back up the Mississippi against the current.
Indiana: A+ OK, Curt. We get your point. And if I’m Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft, I’m having my financial people checking all of their numbers and digging into the couch to find every possible resource to still make a run at Cignetti. He might say “no”, but there’s no way that Penn State can not even try to make an offer.
CoLOLorado: 0 I don’t think AFLAC pays for that kind of loss, Deion.
Cincinnati: A Guess who’s 7-1 and tied for first in the Big XII?
