UCLA loss bad but Huskers can't backslide

It only took until Week No. 2 but the Nebraska football team’s season is already at a crossroad after its 36-30 road loss to UCLA on Saturday.

It was not only a defeat that could give the Bruins a much needed boost in a town where USC has reigned supreme the last dozen or so years but a loss that raised questions on Nebraska’s end.

Granted, beating an improved but, still to this point, middle of the road Pac 12 team would not have suddenly made Nebraska elite but losing the game begged the question of the Huskers being no closer to a program in select company than when head coach Bo Pelini arrived in Lincoln in December 2007 after Bill Callahan was fired. In fact, the loss only sounded alarm bells of being further away from elite status.

The Huskers still have their public goals of winning a Big Ten title alive and as shaky as most of the conference looks it can still happen. Seriously, don’t laugh. However, if the Husker defense couldn’t slow down Jordan Franklin and Brett Hundley what makes you think they will slow down Wisconsin running back Montee Ball and Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller?

The good news is that for all of Pelini’s shortcomings as a head coach, and more seem to be surfacing as time progresses, Nebraska has bounced back well after losses under Pelini. The Huskers are 10-4 under Pelini after a defeat. Nebraska hosts Arkansas State and Idaho State the next two weeks. The Huskers enter the Arkansas State game as a 24-point favorite but considering their performance against UCLA it’s hard to envision a scenario of the Huskers winning that decisively.

We have heard rumors of personnel changes such as getting younger and faster players like David Santos and Zaire Anderson on the field. After all, Will Compton can only do so much. There is even a possibility of going from a 4-3 to a 3-4 with the departure of defensive tackle Chase Rome.

Pelini told reporters after practice Wednesday that Rome’s “personal goals and personal perception of where he should be on this football team doesn't match the team goals.”

 

Rome's departure comes after the Cornhuskers' defensive line played poorly in a loss at UCLA on Saturday. Defensive coaches said early in the week that personnel changes were being considered at several positions. Rome, who is a sophomore from Columbia, Mo., had four tackles in the first two games.

 

The next two weeks on the surface are winnable before entering the Big 10 opener at home against Wisconsin. Arkansas State, which competes in the Sun Belt, is 1-1 with a 57-34 loss at No. 5 Oregon and a 33-28 win over Memphis. Arkansas State, however, has a potent offense led by quarterback Ryan Aplin. It should also be pointed out that all 34 of Arkansas State’s points against Oregon came after the Ducks fashioned a 29-0 lead after one quarter. Idaho State, which competes in the Big Sky Conference has lost to Air Force (49-21) and defeated Black Hills State (38-3).

 

Husker fans and media alike, including this corner, have had doubts surface. While there is not much Nebraska will do over the next two weeks to regenerate belief, the Huskers can ill-afford to stub their toe, win or lose, the next two weeks.

Husker change must start with attitude

As I reflect on the two games Nebraska has had so far, I see what everyone else is seeing. I see a swiss-cheese defense, a suspect offensive line, a quarterback trying to break away from two years of heavy scrutiny and a team steamrolling toward another four loss season -- or worse.

It got me thinking about the Huskers and how they seem to lack that particular instinct. The team I watched seemed robotic, listless and borderline....dare I say...scared.

I'm usually the first to voice my opinion about former players from the mid-90's spouting off about the good old days and how THEY used to do it and how it should be now. The one thing that is indisputable is the fear they put into other teams. They had a nasty streak. They were the fighter you didn't want to get into the ring with but this team is nothing like that.

This team can land punches but does it have a knockout punch? Does it have the mentality to go four full rounds with the heavyweights? Right now, I say no. Last year, same thing. I see a squad that can push around the teams they are supposed to beat but occasionally get "Buster Douglas-ed" by the likes of Northwestern. And this isn't just about UCLA. This is a disturbing pattern. We are seeing a carbon copy of the same team (with a few subtle changes) year after year.

So what's missing and what will it take to get it? This team looks the part coming out of the tunnel but as soon as the music fades, they seem to wander off, especially in the big games. Texas, Oklahoma, Northwestern, South Carolina, UCLA, Washington. Many games the Huskers should have won and where the great teams are separated from the good teams. Then there are the blowouts. Wisconsin and Michigan come to mind. The unexplained lopsided back alley butt kickings that should never happen to this team. In all of those games, and over the past few years, the light seemed to go out of their eyes. When they were against the ropes, they ducked and covered instead of fighting back. Bring up Ohio State all you want, but without Braxton Miller, that game goes in the loss column.

I think this team has talent and a good head coach. But this team lacks fight and leaders with that instinct. How we get it is another problem. It has to come from somewhere. But where?

 

 

 

Loss to Bruins a red flag on Husker path to greatness

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.  

I refuse to accept consistent 9-4 seasons, because I know they can be better than that.

 

 

Will Saturday be the first of two trips to Pasadena?

The Huskers are headed to the Rose Bowl. The question is, will Saturday’s game against UCLA be their only trip or the first of two?

If Nebraska wins its first conference title since 1999, a return trip to Pasadena would likely await them.

Nebraska had a solid season-opening performance in a 49-20 home win over Southern Mississippi but the Huskers must continue that forward momentum if they are to continue to have visions of having a breakthrough season.

Yes, UCLA appears to be better under head coach Jim Mora but they are still a fair-to-middling Pac 12 club who is college football ticket # 2 in Los Angeles behind USC.

Although the Nebraska defense struggled at times, the Huskers won in large part because of what appears to be the “new and improved” version of quarterback Taylor Martinez, who went 26-for-34, passing for 354 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. The only downside was that running back Rex Burkhead left the game in the first quarter to an MCL sprain and is listed as questionable for the game against UCLA. Wide receiver Tim Marlowe will also be out until late October with a broken clavicle.

UCLA, meanwhile, blasted Rice 49-24 on the road as redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley at went 21-for-28 for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. Hundley’s debut started in electrifying fashion as he rushed a 72-yard touchdown. Running back Jonathan Franklin rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns, and UCLA compiled 651 yards of total offense against the Owls.

This matchup certainly has intrigue and importance for both clubs. For Nebraska, the game is an opportunity to go on the road and establish itself as a legitimate top-10 team by beating what has been a talented but underachieving UCLA squad on its homefield.

For UCLA, if it can upset Nebraska it would be an opportunity to generate some momentum for what had become a downtrodden program. the game has the possibility to set a positive tone for new head coach Jim Mora, Jr. Yes, the Bruins represented the Pac-12 South in the inaugural conference championship game but that was more reflective of USC being on probation than anything the 6-8 Bruins did.

While it is easy to point to the quarterbacks, Martinez and Hundley will once again play vital roles in the outcome of Saturday’s contest. Even though Martinez looked dynamite as a passer against Southern Mississippi, teams are likely to still make sure to shut down the Nebraska ground game (even if Burkhead is out) and make Martinez beat them.

As for Hundley, it is no secret that mobile quarterbacks have given the Huskers fits. Hundley is definitely mobile as he carried 15 times for 84 yards against Rice.

The Nebraska offense that took the field last week in Lincoln will also need to be present in Pasadena. While Martinez’s numbers were tremendous, the Huskers also looked like a much different offense from last season, running out of the no-huddle with far more efficiency.

With the addition of fullback Mike Marrow and true freshman running back Imani Cross, Nebraska now has a between-the-tackles threat to compliment a speed threat posed by Ameer Abdullah and Braylon Heard. However, Abdullah runs between the tackles more than his 5-9, 175 pound frame would suggest. If the Nebraska offensive line can perform as it did a week ago, the offense will be difficult to stop. What stood out was that not only did the Huskers run and pass block well but avoided the untimely penalties that had hamstrung the offense in the past.

On the defensive side, Nebraska, Pelini teams versus mobile quarterbacks has become a mixture of punch-line and cliché. The notion against mobile quarterbacks is usually a mixture of “keep them in the pocket” or “rush four and drop seven.” Pelini usually prefers the latter approach, the problem is that Nebraska lacks the personnel its front four. In the win over Southern Mississippi, Nebraska’s best pass rush involved blitzing. However, I’m of the mind that even against a mobile quarterback the “keep them in the pocket” or “rush four and drop seven” is not necessarily the best approach because if a quarterback is on the run, he’s not going through his reads.

The Huskers last trip to the West Coast against a Pac-12 team thought to challenge NU ended in a rout, with Nebraska beating Washington 56-21. UCLA’s offense should be good enough to keep up and put points on the board but UCLA’s defense, which gave up 347 yards and 24 points to Rice, should struggle to stop Nebraska's offensive diversity.

In the Pelini era, the Huskers have lost one game per year against a team they have “no business losing to,” but those losses have normally come at home (see Iowa State 2009, Texas 2010, Northwestern 2011).

 

Being cautious with Burkhead would be the right thing

It sounds like the mystery of Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead’s status for Saturday’s game at UCLA will not be much of a mystery.

The senior running back sat out of practice Wednesday for the third straight day, recovering from a sprained MCL in his left knee.

However, “He's doing his work,” Nebraska running backs coach Ron Brown said. “He’s not just sitting still, doing nothing. We’ll see what happens during the rest of the week. He tends to be a fast healer, and when he comes back, he comes back strong. He doesn’t come back trying to feel his way through again.

“The main thing is, we want what's best for his health, obviously.”

Hopefully, head coach Bo Pelini learned from the situation surrounding quarterback Taylor Martinez in 2010. Then a freshman, Martinez’s early season play was drawing comparisons to former Husker great Eric Crouch (the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner). However, as Nebraska was on its way to beating Missouri 31-17, Martinez sustained a high ankle sprain and later turf toe. He sat out just two games, perhaps because Pelini did not feel like he could trust backup Cody Green, but was not the same player in part because the coaching staff’s insistence on playing him ensured that Martinez never healed sufficiently.

If Saturday’s game is any indication, sophomore Ameer Abdullah (15 carries, 81 yards) and freshman Imani Cross (11 carries, 62 yards) might afford the luxury of being cautious with Burkhead. The senior running back is co-main cog in the Husker engine along with Martinez.

I’m not surprised the Huskers are at least publically taking it cautious with Burkhead and think it is for the best since Nebraska appears to have a deeper of very good young running backs.

Even if you took Burkhead’s injury out of the equation, I felt Burkhead should be used judiciously until conference play began anyway. I think the Husker offense will still be able to produce without him. That’s not to say that he isn’t a valuable asset, but just that there is quality talent behind him.

Rice had over 300 yards of total offense against UCLA. I have to believe that NU will put up substantially better numbers even without Rex.

Granted, UCLA’s defense will never be mistaken for Alabama but Rice’s offense won’t draw any comparisons to Oregon either.

 

Husker defense cannot rest

I've seen a lot of posts and comments regarding the performance of Nebraska’s defense in the Huskers 49-20 season-opening win over Southern Mississippi.

Granted, the Huskers gave up just 260 yards of total offense but forced just one takeaway and allowed 7 of 14 third down conversions, not the stuff of championship defenses. However, it is also important to understand why certain things are done. Linebackers Will Compton and Alonzo Whaley showed signs of greatness

First, there is a lot to be cleaned up:

Defensive line lining up off the ball: I’m just giving people reasons for things. You don’t have to like them, I just think it’s important that people know so it can make you somewhat less mad when you see it. When running a 2-gap, it’s important that you are able to get to whatever side you want to of the offensive linemen. If you are too close to them, they can wall you off and you essentially lose one of your gaps you are responsible for and give the other linemen a clean path to the linebacker that is responsible for the running back. Nebraska’s front seven will never be confused with Alabama’s version. Baker Steinkuhler and Chase Rome aren’t going to be chasing down quarterbacks like Alabama’s front four, so the comparisons to them and how their guys lines up are apples to oranges. Also, they don’t run a 2-gap. Now, you can make the argument that Nebraska shouldn’t run 2-gap against heavy run teams or mobile quarterbacks, but the Huskers showed a little wrinkle when Anthony Alford was in the game of going to three down linemen and shifting defensive end Cameron Meredith to a linebacker. Think of the possibilities when Eric Martin isn’t hurt?

The big holes:  Much of this comes back to missed tackles and getting caught up in traffic by our guys responsible for the running back or the motion man across the quarterback’s face. Look no further than the first play from scrimmage of Compton getting reached by a guard that Rome was doing a heck of a job occupying. Compton and Whaley can’t get reached by those guys because the guy eating the two blocks is essentially taking himself out of the play trading 2 for 1. What is encouraging is they didn’t really push Nebraska off the ball, what is concerning is when we had someone in the hole they didn’t make the tackle and we relied heavily on our safeties to come up and make the play. That is going to have to change moving forward, as you just can’t miss tackles. Alford is not as good as Dennard Robinson and Braxton Miller without the experience, but has the same speed and less weapons. Bottom line, the holes are going to be there against 2 gap, it’s up to good/great linebacker play.

Rushing yards and third down conversions: I don’t understand why everyone is so down on how many rushing yards we gave up, but I definitely understand being a little worried about their 50% conversion percentage. In the 2-gap scheme, you aren’t going to stop both run and the pass. They tried running on Nebraska still when the Huskers were up four scores, Pelini will stay in 2-gap all day if they are going to continue to do that. Nebraska is not going to have defensive stats like they did in the 1990s because this defense doesn’t play behind the line of scrimmage. That being said, they need to blitz on first and second down sometimes rather than only waiting on third. They converted those screens a lot, like they one step ahead of on third down blitzes. If you can blitz a little on first and second down, put them in 2nd and 3rd and long, you will see that percentage fly downwards.

The defense gave up 13 points and held them under 100 yards passing, exactly what a 2-gap scheme is designed to do. I don’t care what they gave up rushing. If you hold someone to 13 points on defense I'll give up 400 yards rushing. But there are some definite glaring things that need fixed; I think the tackling was good when they got our hands on them.

I know it can be frustrating seeing the defense line up far from the line of scrimmage, or not blitzing and being behind the line of scrimmage as much as Alabama or LSU, but Nebraska have different athletes and are trying to play to those strengths. I think it’s important to understand why they do things, and why things happen. I will say this, they jumped out of 2-gap a couple times and went to a blitzing safety and/or linebacker and it looked real effective when they didn’t run that screen.

Solid win for openers but bigger goals lie ahead

The opening game is always a very special time filled with much uncertainty and nervous anticipation. This year the biggest questions were surrounding third year starting quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Without a Spring Game to gauge progress, we were left with rumors that Martinez had worked on and shown some improvement in his footwork and throwing motion. After game one, there appears to be some basis to those rumors. Granted, this Southern Miss defense returned only four starters from last year and will never be confused with Alabama, let alone Michigan State but a 49-20 season opening win that saw Martinez complete 26 of 34 passes for 354 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions is a tremendous way to open the season.

Even more than his improved footwork, Martinez had more zip and accuracy on his passes as he distributed the ball to ten different receivers. I know Husker fans love seeing their team pound teams into submission with the run but the pass can set up the run just as well if not better than the run setting up the pass. Martinez also seemed to have a much better presence in the pocket going through his progressions and reading his receivers better than ever before. It also helped that his receivers cooperated by catching about anything thrown close to them.

The biggest downside is the knee injury to running back Rex Burkhead, who left the game with a sprained MCL, which at its worst can sideline a player for eight weeks, at its lightest, only a few days. Husker head coach Bo Pelini said the sprain is the lowest grade, meaning, that Burkhead could be available for Saturday’s game at UCLA.

Burkhead’s injury came on his third carry of the game, a 9-yard run, when the Nebraska I-back was tackled by Southern Mississippi defensive end Jamie Collins. The good news was that sophomore Ameer Abdullah carried 15 times for 81 yards and caught four more passes for 39 yards including a touchdown.

Losing Burkhead is really a tough blow, but his being out may have been fortuitous in that it allowed other backs the opportunity to get needed game experience. Abdullah seemed to run stronger the longer he played. Braylon Heard also improved as he played and as the Southern Miss defense began to really tire. Imani Cross is a man-child. This kid will only get better. Mike Marrow is a load and it’s nice to see the fullback get some touches. Seven touchdowns distributed to seven players and very nice play by both the wide receivers and tight ends. Kenny Bell continues to improve, Quincy Enunwa is a stud, and Jamal Turner is exciting every time he touches the ball. Catch of the game, though, goes to Steven Osborne for his touchdown grab falling out of the end zone. Finally, the big boys up front who gave Martinez time to throw and opened holes to generate 632 yards of total offense deserve huge props. Most importantly, there were no false starts and only one offensive penalty to go along with no turnovers.

The defense showed why the Blackshirts have yet to be distributed. The good news is that the defense only gave up 13 points to a reasonably talented offensive unit. With Southern Miss having a new coach and new personnel, Pelini and defensive coordinator John Papuchis had to prepare for a little of everything. The defense, however, continues to be extremely vulnerable to mobile quarterbacks and giving up big chunks on third down. I don’t remember a three and out all day. Defensive end Cameron Meredith seemed slow trying to track down their QB. Cornerback Ciante Evans looks much improved over last year, and in general the secondary looked solid. When Southern Miss had to pass, the defense shut them down. I’ll take 7 for 19 for 75 yards from the opponents all year long. Linebacker Alonzo Whaley looked good and bad at times. Fellow linebacker Will Compton was generally solid, but the linebackers and defense in general were whiffing and trying to arm tackle way too much. We have a lot to clean up before we play a very capable UCLA offense with a very mobile quarterback next week in Pasadena.

We all know that the worst part of the game for the Huskers were the special teams which were anything but special. The 100 yard kickoff return was inexcusable and as everybody seemed out of position, it makes one wonder if they practiced at all during fall camp. Preseason All-American Brett Maher doesn’t need to worry about his press clippings in the near future. He left six points on the field with misses of two very makeable field goals and the shanked punt and kickoff out of bounds made me wonder what happened to disrupt his pregame preparation. He is much better than he showed and I am looking forward to him getting out of his two field goal misses in a row slump and performing like the star he can be. One highlight on special teams was reasonably decent punt and kickoff returns setting up good field position.

There are many things to be excited about with this year’s version of the Huskers. There are talented players on both sides of the ball and special team potential. We won handily on a day when many other Big Ten teams struggled (including Wisconsin). Every week we will learn a little more about how special this team can be. I’m also looking forward to the offense building on their sterling performance in the opener and the defense and special teams cleaning up the miscues.