Nebraska fans (well,
a segment anyhow) are certainly notorious for their “sky is falling” mentality
but Saturday’s 36-30 road loss to an improved but still not great UCLA club is
definitely cause for concern as questioning whether the Huskers will be elite
any time soon.
Well, at least this
year they didn’t until October to lose one they were “not supposed to lose.”
Heck, it even happened in September on the road as opposed to home like the 9-7
loss to Iowa State in 2009, the 20-13 loss to Texas in 2010 and the 28-25
defeat to Northwestern in 2011. I guess Nebraska outdid itself this time.
UCLA definitely
earned the win, no ifs, ands, or buts but losing this game is a blow to the
Huskers. Would winning the game have suddenly made them elite? No. However,
losing this game distances them from becoming elite any time soon.
In the first half,
the Nebraska offense was looking like the one we saw against Southern Mississippi
in a 49-20 season opening win, then UCLA made adjustments, and the Huskers didn't.
Nebraska abandoned the run and became very one dimensional. Even though Taylor
Martinez is improved in his mechanics, he is still not the best option to
simply throw it around. Going away from Ameer Abdullah wasn't the right move, in
my opinion, but with how the offensive line started to play (very 2011-esque),
maybe it was the right decision. It was a hit and miss game for offensive
coordinator Tim Beck.
The defense played very undisciplined. In fact, I wouldn’t hand out Blackshirts until Christmas, if I handed them out at all. Does the phrase “finish tackles” mean anything? Not to mention the phrase “make adjustments?” I can't believe how many times we saw UCLA use that wheel route/hook screen, and it worked every time. There were too many blown coverages. The defensive line didn't get any push, and the linebackers kept missing tackles.
The special teams performance was up and down. I think Brett Maher's confidence is shaken this season, he almost got it back with the 54 yarder, but then missing another simple 37 yarder later just crushed it again. The coverage was better this game, that's for sure.
I also think there was a lack of effort and heart from the players. That shouldn't be the case, there were arguably more Husker fans than Bruin fans in the stadium, and this was as good as any road game to come out fiery and inspired. The team fell flat in that area. Some players showed a lot of heart, especially linebacker Will Compton but even with all the effort in the world, the fundamentally unsound play on both sides of the ball will get you beat.
So while I think the players are lacking in talent (can we please just get some speed on the defense?), I think a lot of this comes down to coaching. All these fundamentals problems can be fixed with proper coaching. I'm starting to have serious doubts about this staff with the amount of talent we've pulled in with the last couple recruiting classes, sometimes it feels like 4-star talent with 2-star coaching.
I'd like to chalk this game up as an aberration, move on, and come out strong the rest of the season but two games in, the defense has serious questions, the defensive line specifically, the offense is on and off, and the special teams are struggling.
The defense played very undisciplined. In fact, I wouldn’t hand out Blackshirts until Christmas, if I handed them out at all. Does the phrase “finish tackles” mean anything? Not to mention the phrase “make adjustments?” I can't believe how many times we saw UCLA use that wheel route/hook screen, and it worked every time. There were too many blown coverages. The defensive line didn't get any push, and the linebackers kept missing tackles.
The special teams performance was up and down. I think Brett Maher's confidence is shaken this season, he almost got it back with the 54 yarder, but then missing another simple 37 yarder later just crushed it again. The coverage was better this game, that's for sure.
I also think there was a lack of effort and heart from the players. That shouldn't be the case, there were arguably more Husker fans than Bruin fans in the stadium, and this was as good as any road game to come out fiery and inspired. The team fell flat in that area. Some players showed a lot of heart, especially linebacker Will Compton but even with all the effort in the world, the fundamentally unsound play on both sides of the ball will get you beat.
So while I think the players are lacking in talent (can we please just get some speed on the defense?), I think a lot of this comes down to coaching. All these fundamentals problems can be fixed with proper coaching. I'm starting to have serious doubts about this staff with the amount of talent we've pulled in with the last couple recruiting classes, sometimes it feels like 4-star talent with 2-star coaching.
I'd like to chalk this game up as an aberration, move on, and come out strong the rest of the season but two games in, the defense has serious questions, the defensive line specifically, the offense is on and off, and the special teams are struggling.
I refuse to accept
consistent 9-4 seasons, because I know they can be better than that.
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