**** What did we learn - Sparty edition ****

[Danny Bateman]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

Like it or not, Ira, you're not Tim Beck. You're not running his offensive system. A pocket passer would be useless in this offense because it would totally erase the threat of the QB run game.

Seeing as how our offense is built around spread concepts and the zone read, that would be bad. It's no shock to see why a freshman Martinez could unseat a senior Zac Lee in 2010. Lee had zero mobility.

We can agree on some things. Beck got an F last night. Whatever he was trying to do, however he wanted to attack... it sucked. Once again, we've said this before, he needs to make better (any) adjustments and think on the fly better when his gameplan going in falters.

Tommy needs an actual QB coach to iron out his mechanical problems and develop him into a passer. If something has to give, move Barney to admin and spend money (big money if you have to) to get the best QB coach you can. He can coach Tommy up, help him to reach his potential, as well as provide another set of eyes to TB during games so maybe we can adjust to something. ANYTHING.

I was disgusted with his first series after half time. Quick three and out was another blow to our morale at that point.

Barney and Garrison get an F for last night. That was the absolute worst blocked game I recall EVER as a fan of this program. They flat out embarrassed our line all night. I don't envy any of those OL in the film room come Monday.

But I'm able to see the good through the bad. I don't think the rest of the coaches should be dogged on that much. Bo is responsible for getting the offense ready to go for this HUGE game. I get that. I'm sure they had a solid gameplan in place going into the game. Clearly it didn't work. They took away AA, killed the zone read, and Tommy couldn't throw well last night. It was the perfect storm for a loss.

But I cannot blame Bo for failing to fix the offensive gameplan or adjust it IN GAME. To expect a defensive head coach to suddenly commandeer the offense during the game is ludicrous IMO. He can give suggestions to Beck, but as far as I'm concerned, the complete fall on the face performance of the offense last night goes solely on TB. He gets the praise when we rush all over teams. He should fall on the sword when we struggle as spectacularly as we did last night.

I'm not delusional at all my man. This coaching staff is doing a damn good job. I credit Bo and the defensive coaches for keeping our asses in that game after the offense totally peed down their leg.

The defense played with their heart on their sleeve, especially considering the players we've lost so far. Think about it. Alexander, CJax, Rose, Avery, Davie. That's half our damn starting defense not in the game. I am SO impressed by how well they played regardless. SOOOOO glad Roach played lights out and I pray Bando is now relegated to the bench. He needs to drop some weight and get faster ASAP, IMO.

The offense is still too inconsistent. I said going in that we needed to wait and see with Beck because he's "turned the corner" before only to fall on his face later. I think I was correct on that one. He gets an F. Barney/Garrison get Fs.

I'm not calling for heads just yet, though. They've got the rest of the season to put this behind them. If find a way to make it to Indy and kick Sparty's a$$ their en route to the Rose Bowl, all is forgiven, IMO.

I don't know if my post gave off the wrong impression or what but in no way am I calling out Pelini. Other than hiring Beck and in my useless opinion not holding him accountable, the defense looked great and his teams don't quit. Come out unprepared and sometimes play uninspired but they fight and always will.

Nothing I saw offensively gave me any reason to believe Beck is the right man for the job. I've been able to give him credit when he calls good/great games but he's too inconsistent and seems to lack a lot of common sense. I'm not a coach. I don't want to be a coach. But when I casually watch a game and notice that everytime our QB changes the play the MSU linebacker gets gleefully excited and makes a hand signal (the same one every time TA makes the change) and the play gets stuffed...I don't know how your qb is still doing it after halftime. I mean pull a trick audible on them...tell tommy next time you audible we're going with a deep ball.

Be the aggressors. Make them overthink and get them out of their gameplan by analyzing what they are doing and attack the void left. MSU was a good as I thought they were after watching Oregon...we made them look elite. And honestly that's on us (mostly the OC/line coaches)

Agree 100%. I think they're a very good team. I think we made them look elite, which they are most decidedly not. Bo still owns pro-style QBs. Cooks completion percentage was mediocre, and we did force a pick with DL pressure. He just made some amazing throws into incredible windows (cred where cred is due... but boy I wish our DBs knew how to turn their heads) and nailed Lippett on one long bomb on that busted coverage.

I guess we can go and sit on the Tim Beck fence together then. You're closer to falling off onto the "fire him" side of that fence than I am (if you haven't already), but I"m willing to wait it out and see how the year unfolds.

He certainly seems to miss a lot of nuances of the game like the clapping they may have been doing to throw off Pelini or them catching up to our audibles. He seems too wrapped up in thinking ahead and about what he's setting up to pick up on that stuff. And that's sad. It's where I think a full-time QB could function as a second OC and really help us.

The QB coach could notice this little stuff and feed it upstairs to Beck. The idea of Beck coming out of the booth and down to the field has also been mentioned before.

I guess we don't really disagree that much. I'm incredibly disappointed in TB and the entire offense last night. It makes me sad that AA fell on the sword and said he didn't hit the creases hard enough to take the blame after the game last night.

That is the biggest load of crap ever and everyone knows it.

That was the worst OL performance I've ever seen the Huskers give last night. I just don't know who's more at fault... TB or BC/JG.

 

[74Hunter]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

It's like the first five games were against really really bad teams or something.

....or something.Go ahead, fire Pelini.

Keep an eye on Ann arbor.....

.....you'll look back fondly on the Pelini era.

Because we have to make a bad hire after above?
Seriously, this fable can't be laughed at harder.

I realize that you don't get it, or that you choose to ignore reality.

But, the game ended last night. We lost a close one on the road to a top 10 team.

I'd like to have this conversation with you, broseph, but it's sunny out, I've got plenty to do, my life goes on. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

[JJ Husker]

I learned (after this game) that a bunch of Husker fans can't tell what really happened on the field, during the game and simply rely on the final score to tell them all they want to know. They see only a five point loss and it looks pretty good, if that's all the deeper you look. I guess these are the "at the end of the day" people. I never did care for that phrase. I like seeing how the result was obtained and it would be nice if that result was the result of being prepared, properly coached, and acting and playing like the team knew what the hell to do.

I guess it makes for exciting games, where anything, no matter if it's deserved or not, is possible. I'd prefer a team that earns it for a full four quarters, not one that plays like a$$ for 3.5 quarters and then the other team takes their foot off our neck and makes it appear to be closer than it ever really was. The lack of quit in this team is an awesome thing but this loss is not an indicator of anything good. It is simply evidence that we were once again outclassed on a big stage. Luckily many around the country will only see the final score. It's sad that "knowledgeable" Husker fans who actually watched the ineptitude, use that score as some evidence that things are somehow different/better.

 

[shyndy]

Eh the whole "deserves it or not" argument is pretty lame. It's not less of a win if you get a touchdown on a punt return, it's part of the game. Now you can say things like we got dominated at the point of attack for about 90 pct of the game but it's downright stupid to say that if we had pulled that game off we didn't deserve it

 

[MichiganDad3]

I learned (after this game) that a bunch of Husker fans can't tell what really happened on the field, during the game and simply rely on the final score to tell them all they want to know. They see only a five point loss and it looks pretty good, if that's all the deeper you look. I guess these are the "at the end of the day" people. I never did care for that phrase. I like seeing how the result was obtained and it would be nice if that result was the result of being prepared, properly coached, and acting and playing like the team knew what the hell to do.

I guess it makes for exciting games, where anything, no matter if it's deserved or not, is possible. I'd prefer a team that earns it for a full four quarters, not one that plays like a$$ for 3.5 quarters and then the other team takes their foot off our neck and makes it appear to be closer than it ever really was. The lack of quit in this team is an awesome thing but this loss is not an indicator of anything good. It is simply evidence that we were once again outclassed on a big stage. Luckily many around the country will only see the final score. It's sad that "knowledgeable" Husker fans who actually watched the ineptitude, use that score as some evidence that things are somehow different/better.

Without DPE heroics, it is not even a close game.

 

[The Dude]

We learned our offensive line and receiving corps are a mess. We learned we really do only have a couple run plays in the playbook after all, and only one way to block them. No draws, no counters, no misdirection of any sort to take advantage of an aggressive front 7. What happened to that toss play we used to run so well?

We learned our defense is pretty good, and Randy's talent might be wasted here like Suh's.

 

[JTrain]

Beck does not trust his quarterback making reads in the passing game in big games. This is partially justified because we don't have very good passing quarterbacks. But on the the other hand, you have to take chances to beat very good teams.

This has happened before with Beck. He comes out nervous and only calls short passes, usually to the sidelines and usually with few if any reads. In some ways this seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, since the quarterback surely realizes his OC has no faith in him, causing him to play tight and lose confidence.

Then, when we fall behind by 3 or 4 scores and become desperate, Beck figures there is nothing to lose, loosens up and starts opening up the passing game. Voila! It actually works to some degree and we make some nice plays downfield. But unfortunately it's too little too late. And then we have to ponder, what if he just came out with that attitude to begin with? What if he fires down the middle of the field to Westy or Moore right after the turnover and goes up 7-0 with a confident QB? Sure, he risks Tommy not seeing a safety and throwing an interception. But looking at the alternative... it's a risk worth taking.

Dude, you are one of my favorite posters on this board. I really like your insights. Not the typical "safe" observations that most people make so the rest of the people on the board won't scream at them. Having said that, however, I have to disagree with you on this one. There were plenty of pass opportunities for Tommy. How many times can you miss a swing pass to a back by 7 yards when nobody is guarding him? Tommie was just atrocious in his throws last night. There were 5-10 throws he easily should have had for completions last night. I'm no huge Beck fan, but I think this one's on Tommy, not Beck.

I wasn't trying to be black and white in the blame game. I was just making one particular observation about Beck, which I think still stands despite the Tommy comments. I agree that Tommy had an ugly game, and I don't think he is a very good quarterback overall. But I also think his strength is throwing downfield (and we weren't going to beat MSU with short sideline throws), and by the time Beck let him do much of this, it was too late and Tommy was playing tight and without much confidence.

Somewhat unrelated, I was disappointed in how little Beck attempted to misdirect the MSU defensive line. I think Bollman really whooped him in this regard. Our offensive line looked like crap, which made this issue even more important.

 

[Undone]

All right, here's mine.

Tommy just does not have a very consistent ability to throw out-routes. Throwing the ball to the sidelines just isn't quite there for him. He did it a couple times last night well enough, but by and large, not nearly enough.

This makes opening up running lanes for Ameer difficult. Yes, our O-line was out-muscled and out-played. But i don't think I'd fire up any "FireTimBeck" hashtags just yet. He's working with a QB that has trouble throwing to the edges. That makes drawing up a game plan difficult. I don't think that's being a Tim Beck apologist, that's just looking at reality.

On the bright side, Tommy seems to have the capacity to improve in this area. There's no way he's close to peaking yet in his throwing ability.

He also seems to try to lead his throw even when his receiver is basically stationary. That happened on that last drive when he threw to Ameer in the flat. Yes, he followed that up with an amazing throw to the sideline. But it sucks to think what Ameer might have done with that ball, being ten yards wide open. Tommy's gotta stop doing that.

 

[The Nebraskan Assassin]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

It's like the first five games were against really really bad teams or something.

....or something.

Go ahead, fire Pelini.

Keep an eye on Ann arbor.....

.....you'll look back fondly on the Pelini era.

I'm not behind the whole "Fire Pelini" movement, but all I'm saying is, fear of the unknown should not be a reason to retain a coach. Last year when the team was struggling, my Top 3 replacement choices were Chris Petersen, Jim Tressel, and Rich Rodriguez. "Petersen will never leave Boise," they said. "Tressel would never come here," they said. "Rich Rod failed at Michigan," they said. Um, yeah.

 

[Mavric]

We have plenty of problems but we were this close to beating a Top 10 team on the road despite playing poorly.

Credit

 

[JJ Husker]

Eh the whole "deserves it or not" argument is pretty lame. It's not less of a win if you get a touchdown on a punt return, it's part of the game. Now you can say things like we got dominated at the point of attack for about 90 pct of the game but it's downright stupid to say that if we had pulled that game off we didn't deserve it

You chose to focus on the very least important thing. You're right, it doesn't really matter if it was "deserved" or not. But it is a sign of how we are likely to perform in future games. We have had seven years of shatting the bed in big games. This was simply the 2014 version 2.0 of the mounting evidence that we are continuing a trend instead of reversing one. Past results would indicate we likely have two or three more severe disappointments headed our way this season. To take away anything else from this game is to ignore reality and established tendencies. I understand that part of fandom is eternal optimism but overwhelming evidence to the contrary can't just be ignored.

 

[Undone]

Agreed, Mavric.

 

[California Husker]

Going for two is NEVER the right decision and WILL come back to bite you.

Could someone explain that, the numbers didn't add up to go for 2 the first time. Had we kicked the extra point both times, we could have kicked a field goal to put it into overtime.

The first time we went for 2, we had just scored from a 27-3 deficit (24 points). We want to go for 2 to cut that into 16 points (2 scores).

The second time we went for 2, it was 27-22 and a successful conversion would have cut it to 3 points (FG).

So it was the correct call in both cases.

Brilliant analysis bro

 

[TheSker]

We have plenty of problems but we were this close to beating a Top 10 team on the road despite playing poorly.

Credit

This......good post Mavric.

 

[deedsker]

We have plenty of problems but we were this close to beating a Top 10 team on the road despite playing poorly.

Credit

This. MSU played like this years Rose bowl champs. The only thing I can say about last night is that this team doesn't give up even when the other team thinks they have it in the bag.