“Once the sadness dissipates, we’ll realize there’s a lot of things to build on.”
And with that quote, Matt Rhule put my recap into words. I don’t generally cheat by going to the bullet points on a recap, but a game like this with so many factors involved and the stories of two very different teams playing a 3-point game, it just seems like an easier way to break everything down. So here we go – Huskers first, just Good and Bad style.
No reason to throw Ugly in there, some times simply Bad suffices
– you can determine the level of bad for yourself.
And let’s start with bad because the way most of the second half went, folks may not be having too many thoughts of the good and there was some on display. I want to finish on a high note.
- Let’s start with an easy one – the run defense, which did not impress in the first three games, was simply bad and in more ways than one. They gave up three long touchdown runs – a 37-yarder by Bryce Underwood at the end of the 1st quarter, a 75-yarder by Justice Haynes near halftime after Nebraska had come back to tie the game at 10-10 and a 54-yarder by Jordan Marshall which extended the lead to two scores near the end of the 3rd quarter.
- Each one of those runs was defined by wide-open gaps in the Husker defense to where we were thinking touchdown before any of them were even 10 yards downfield.
- It wasn’t just scheming or being blocked into gaps. Missed tackles were just as prevalent. They happened off and on all day – again – but none more glaring than in Michigan’s 16 play 77-yard 8:46 drive in the 4th quarter which resulted in the field goal which again extended the lead to 10 with under 4 minutes to play. Over and over, the Huskers appeared to have them stopped on 3rd and long only to fail to wrap them up behind the line and watch them turn into chunk plays for 1st downs.
- Offensive consistency – Michigan had it, Nebraska didn’t. In all four quarters, the Wolverines rolled up between 90-106 yards in each. Nebraska had 253 yards at the half – but only had 43 and 55 yards in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Getting outcoached with the other team’s head coach sidelined didn’t look good.
- Rushing yards – Michigan 292 Nebraska 92 (adjusted for sacks).
- Pass protection – 7 sacks. Inexcusable. I’ll have to watch the game again where I can look closer, but the linemen appeared to be backing up straight off the snap. Giving a rushing defender a couple of free steps puts them at top speed faster – that’s not good, right?
- The defense needs more QB pressure – only one sack of their own on Underwood.
- Finally, that opening drive haunted me from the get-go. 70 yards to the Michigan 7 and then on 2nd and 3 trying a fade to the right corner. The fade infuriates me as it seems work about as often as Iowa throws downfield. Two plays later, it’s a turnover on downs inside the 10. Rhule had carped earlier on how that had to improve after a Tush Push fail and an Emmett Johnson fumble earlier. It didn’t.
- When the score was 30-27 as the clock ran down, I was thinking about that drive again. 70 yards. 0 points.
- I was thinking about some of Scott Frost’s teams who surrendered 3rd and longs a little too often. It was an absolute killer on the above-mentioned 16-play drive.
- I’m also not sure why we tried so many slow-developing sweeps. A couple of the early ones showed flashes of promise, but most were swallowed up by the quicker defense.
Okay, what as on the good side of the ledger?
- This has nothing to do with the actual game, but everyone was thrilled to see Terence “Bud” Crawford lead the team on the field Saturday. It was the worst-kept secret in Nebraska history. Matt Rhule danced around it on Thursday which convinced me it was happening. And it was fantastic – Bud, I’m pretty sure that door will never close.
- Dylan Raiola, while not perfect, was the better quarterback and played well despite running for his life some. The interception was an ill-advised throw, but his night finished at 30-41 (73%) for 308 yards and 3 TD passes. Underwood has foot speed, but Dylan, right now anyway, is on another level with his arm.
- The Hail Mary was joyous and if you say it was just lucky, I will tell you I agree and that’s my point. Luck has eluded the Huskers – perhaps since the Kellogg-Westerkamp Hail Mary. We need luck and if it’s coming back, then hell yes.
- Passing Yards – Nebraska 308 Michigan 105
- The most important thing to me was the Huskers never stopped fighting back. After the opening scoreless drive, things slowly unraveled and it was 10-0 with the boat taking on water. The defense stiffened up and a 26-yard TD pass the Jacory Barney later, they tied it up.
- Well, Michigan’s next play was Haynes’ 75-yard untouched scamper. Were the Huskers done as time wound down? Nope, timeout was called with :01 left in the half and the Hail Mary happened. Hey, you have to have the balls and awareness to call that timeout and give it whirl. Creating the opportunity is half the battle.
- When the Huskers got the ball for that final drive, the offense was on fumes having gone three and out on three of the previous four drives. Give up? Nah, go down and score with Raiola going 8-10 for 60 yards – and keep in mind that included a completion to Henry Lutovsky for -12. Slap that ball down next time, sir.
- Final thought – is Nebraska leveling up to early Tom Osborne era who crushed the weak with an iron fist, but needed a little longer to figure out how to beat the Oklahoma’s and Miami’s?
- It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world in this evolution.
Final thoughts: this was painful but in a different way. The thinking right now is how immediately fixable are the things above? Defensively, scheming and an overabundance of stunts early on would seem to be in that category. Same with the tackling, but it has to be frustrating. If you’ve been listening, John Butler has been trying to tell us this is an issue, even prior to Cincinnati.
However, the defensive backfield is looking more an more legit. Bryce Underwood broke the three-game streak of holding QB’s under 100 yards passing – because he threw for 105. And while he has speed they will utilize from time to time, his DNA is as a dropback passer.
Don’t sleep on the fight back thing. Recent Huskers teams used to play like they could sense the doom when things went south. They may have lost today, but it wasn’t because of inexplicable freak meltdowns which handed points – and wins – to the opposition. They are playing to win – not to not lose.
They have a week to work on things before Michigan State comes to town. Who wants to bet there’s some improvement in their short-term future?
