knapplc
International Man of Mystery
So, ISU was (hopefully) our low-water mark of the season. We trailed much of the game, we had those eight horrific turnovers, and overall it was just a terrible effort.
Turnovers
Since that game we've played Baylor, Oklahoma, and now Kansas. In 12 quarters since the ISU game we've had a combined three turnovers (2 vs. Baylor, 1 vs OU, 0 today vs. KU). That's a dramatic improvement, especially considering how formidable Oklahoma's defense is. No matter how you look at it, our ball security has improved. Paul made a couple of catches in traffic, and all of our WRs took contact after the catch, yet none dropped the ball. Helu, Lee and Robinson were all very secure with the ball (with Lee's lone fumble recovered by Helu as the exception). Averaging one turnover per game isn't bad. Nebraska is +6 in turnovers since ISU.
Playing With the Lead
Since the ISU loss, we've played a total of 180 game minutes. In those 180 minutes we've trailed for exactly one minute, six seconds. We led throughout the Baylor game, throughout the Oklahoma game, and led for all but one minute of the KU game, and then buried them with 15 unanswered points. We've outscored our opponents 61-30 in that stretch.
In 2008 we seemed to turn a corner defensively in the middle of the season. From Texas Tech on (with a bizarre hiccup against Oklahoma) the defense stepped up their game dramatically. Sure, we gave up a bunch of points still, but the level of play improved noticeably.
Let's hope the ISU game was a turning point for the offense. Yes, we scored only 13 points against Baylor and ten against OU, but those were baby steps, and they were in the right direction (or at the least, not in the wrong direction).
Let's hope the offense builds on these wins, and powers up for our final two regular-season games. We need to win them both.
Turnovers
Since that game we've played Baylor, Oklahoma, and now Kansas. In 12 quarters since the ISU game we've had a combined three turnovers (2 vs. Baylor, 1 vs OU, 0 today vs. KU). That's a dramatic improvement, especially considering how formidable Oklahoma's defense is. No matter how you look at it, our ball security has improved. Paul made a couple of catches in traffic, and all of our WRs took contact after the catch, yet none dropped the ball. Helu, Lee and Robinson were all very secure with the ball (with Lee's lone fumble recovered by Helu as the exception). Averaging one turnover per game isn't bad. Nebraska is +6 in turnovers since ISU.
Playing With the Lead
Since the ISU loss, we've played a total of 180 game minutes. In those 180 minutes we've trailed for exactly one minute, six seconds. We led throughout the Baylor game, throughout the Oklahoma game, and led for all but one minute of the KU game, and then buried them with 15 unanswered points. We've outscored our opponents 61-30 in that stretch.
In 2008 we seemed to turn a corner defensively in the middle of the season. From Texas Tech on (with a bizarre hiccup against Oklahoma) the defense stepped up their game dramatically. Sure, we gave up a bunch of points still, but the level of play improved noticeably.
Let's hope the ISU game was a turning point for the offense. Yes, we scored only 13 points against Baylor and ten against OU, but those were baby steps, and they were in the right direction (or at the least, not in the wrong direction).
Let's hope the offense builds on these wins, and powers up for our final two regular-season games. We need to win them both.
