Minnesota- What did we learn?

lo country said:
I'd let Held go.Our RB room is and will continue to be a joke.  No development at all.  After SEVEN GAMES we finally have a RB with more than 100 yards.....ON THE SEASON.  See ya.
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I'm keeping Held.  Recruiting alone he stays for me.  My biggest question is would we be having this thought if there was any kind of consistency,  You know a dedicated attack straight at a crap defense(like today) with the same back getting multiple series to get in a rhythm.  It was only last year against Wisconsin that a constantly fed Mills kept NU in that game by himself pretty much using the aforementioned formula.  I think it is like we've discussed in game threads all year that SF is overthinking things and trying to be too cute with stuff.  So I am not sure what Held could actually do more with the way games are being called

 
Just pumping the brakes for a sec.

The easiest target in a game like this is Martinez. Next is Chinander (for some reason). But really the thing is, our problem is still mainly turnovers & penalties.

When McCaffrey went in, Frost should have just ran three straight hand-offs to Mills or called keepers for Luke...shouldn't have even had him try to throw. Then we have a punter out of the game (WTH?!) and the next man up shanks an 8 yarder that gives them starting field position at midfield. 

On and on and on it goes with this kind of stuff. Just work on polishing up the basics and we'll be fine next year. Condition your team mentally to avoid the stupid penalties.

 
Ahh... what can we really say at this point, I guess? It's a bad team making bad mistakes at the end of its third season with the same head coach. It's abysmal and it feels like treading water. I can't tell a difference between the team I saw today and the team I saw in Frost's first season.

My two takeaways from the game (can't take full credit for the first one):

  • Targeting should be evaluated like Flagrant 1 and 2 fouls. I think this is a great idea. Give the refs (and players) room to operate within the rules and get rid of the current practice, which basically always puts the defensive player at fault. 9 times out of 10, players are going to make that tackle the same way Cam did, and he shouldn't have been ejected for that hit IMO.
  • Swing/lateral passes. They struggle to make this play work at the best of times, and yet it was the first play of the game netting a 9-yard loss. By now, it should be abundantly clear that that particularly play call is ineffective, but they keep trying it. Even the idea of calling it to 'have the players execute and gain some momentum' is hardly a defense for it at this point.
 
Decoy73 said:
So Thompkins, Morrison, Scott, Johnson and Mills are or have been injured?  Basically the whole room. Not buying it.  Johnson didn’t look injured today.  He looked undeveloped.  Same with Scott.  Granted, they hardly get any game touches so there’s that.   But pretty much every running back on every team we’ve faced looks head and shoulders better than our entire room, with the possible exception of a 100% Mills. It’s on the coaches for either not playing them and thus allowing them to develop or just not developing them adequately in the first place.   Inexcusable.  Especially at Nebraska.  
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Inexcusable is a fun word.

But yes, basically the entire RB room has been injured at points during this season.  The injuries are why Johnson has been given more snaps the past few weeks 

And except for Mills, they are all redshirt or true freshmen 

 
PaulCrewe said:
I'm keeping Held.  Recruiting alone he stays for me.  My biggest question is would we be having this thought if there was any kind of consistency,  You know a dedicated attack straight at a crap defense(like today) with the same back getting multiple series to get in a rhythm.  It was only last year against Wisconsin that a constantly fed Mills kept NU in that game by himself pretty much using the aforementioned formula.  I think it is like we've discussed in game threads all year that SF is overthinking things and trying to be too cute with stuff.  So I am not sure what Held could actually do more with the way games are being called
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Held is a great recruiter for sure. I'm just sick of NU not having that bell cow RB. I was extremely excited when Austin was named running game coordinator and his comments about old school NU running being a staple and not a gimmick.  I was not thinking option, but 2 back sets or some counters/traps and dives with PA off those.  His comments about how his guys (OL) do better N and S....I was hoping that we'd start seeing that like we did last year against Wisky. Line up, hat on hat and get yardage......No way does Austin have any input in the run game.  The Austin title change was really what I was most excited about in the off season.  

These are the discussions that make things difficult.  The OL would look lite years better hat on hat.  So would the running game IMHO.  DB's would look better not giving a 10 yard cushion.....So if the position guys have no real input then it's the coordinators...And that's Chin and Frost.  

Collectively, we just seem like a bunch of parts that function.  Sometimes working together and sometimes in opposition.   

 
PaulCrewe said:
I'm keeping Held.  Recruiting alone he stays for me.  My biggest question is would we be having this thought if there was any kind of consistency,  You know a dedicated attack straight at a crap defense(like today) with the same back getting multiple series to get in a rhythm.  It was only last year against Wisconsin that a constantly fed Mills kept NU in that game by himself pretty much using the aforementioned formula.  I think it is like we've discussed in game threads all year that SF is overthinking things and trying to be too cute with stuff.  So I am not sure what Held could actually do more with the way games are being called
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Agreed.   This leads me to why is Frost so stubborn that he won’t match his offense to the personnel he currently has on the roster.   An I formation downhill run style fits Mills, probably fits a young line better, and would be less confusing for AM who is not good in this passing game.   AM could take advantage of better play action and boot leg passing game. He sucks at the shotgun, sit there and read defense passing game.   Just doesn’t read fast enough to get to the second or third option in the window they are open. 

 
TheSker said:
Inexcusable is a fun word.

But yes, basically the entire RB room has been injured at points during this season.  The injuries are why Johnson has been given more snaps the past few weeks 

And except for Mills, they are all redshirt or true freshmen 
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You can excuse how we are using (or not using) our RBs if you want.  Maybe you have insider info.  I don’t and to me it looks clearly mismanaged.  Is that on Held?  I don’t know, but why do the QB and Wandale get the bulk of the carry’s every game?   Maybe it’s a consequence of the no transparency on injuries policy, but as a long time fan who’s growing tired of hearing excuses, QB passing and running backs are the clear weaknesses of this offense. 

 
PaulCrewe said:
Look at the stats the last 3 games last year.  They had a bell cow.   Who's to blame for not riding it to the fair
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I posted this in another thread - I wonder if in practice when the offensive 1's go up against the defensive 1's if our run game just gets owned? Feels like Frost doesn't have confidence in the interior rushing game. 

When you look at Mills' YPC numbers this season, they're not great.

I don't know exactly what to make of it, but I tend to not think it's just Frost being stubborn because he wants a certain ratio of play mix in there, if that makes sense.

 
Decoy73 said:
...but as a long time fan who’s growing tired of hearing excuses, QB passing and running backs are the clear weaknesses of this offense. 
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The clear weakness of this offense is absolutely, beyond literally any shadow of a doubt, the offensive line.

 
Undone said:
Condition your team mentally to avoid the stupid penalties.
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Not going to hold my breath on that one

105th

18th

116th

116th

72nd

These are the penalty yards per game rankings for all of SF coached teams.  One of these things is not like the others.  The second number would be last season. 

 
That Frost is still not the guy to get us to a Championship of any kind.  I honestly believe that if we gave Frost 10 years, his ceiling would be a 9 win season and maybe a mid-tier bowl win.  We hired Frost and gave him a truck load of money to win championships. 

I was 19 years old in 1999, the last time Nebraska won a 'Championship' (albeit conference).  I am now 40 years old.  I am thankful that I got to see the Huskers go 3-5 in National Championship games.  Most fan bases can only DREAM of seeing their team play in five National Championship games even if it meant losing them all.

I would rather roll the dice and gamble on a new hire getting us to a championship than continue to see this broken record continue to play on for years to come. 



 
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