1) The offensive line generated more of a push against a better rated front 4, but not near enough to be able to perform and succeed running the ball through the gap in the B1G. Remember, this unit has yet to be called for a holding penalty and to me, this is why they aren't exactly generating as good of a protection as they could be.
2) Taylor Martinez is fast. However he still hasn't and probably won't this year master the QB position that most Husker fans want to see (that is staying in the pocket and waiting for things to happen rather than just take off running when receivers aren't open. Taylor is still going through a growing phase and it was evident at points throughout this game. For example, the PA pass in the first half (second quarter maybe) when he rolled out and decided to just throw it to Cotton which wound up being intercepted just looked like he was going to Cotton no matter what. He needs more time and eventually it will come to him.
On that note:
3) Taylor has matured to the point where he has the ability to make the right reads. For example, the option play which gave us our 6th TD, that was a beautiful decision to keep the ball and take off. I don't think he would've made that play last year. He also made great passes to Jamal Turner and some other passes which were slightly overthrown. Yeah he does lob it and it takes a while for the deep ball to get there, but let's face it, he's not a throwing QB and never will be. He may have the ability to throw, but it won't be like Blaine Gabbert or Landry Jones or Kellen Moore ability. It's the best he's got ATM and that's what we're stuck with.
4) Rex Burkhead can be tough to stop even when running the ball up the middle. He's shifty enough to make LBs miss and that will prove to be very useful come conference play. I want to see him to get more carries rather than have Taylor run it all the time. There were times where he was oh so very close to breaking a big run.
5) WRs haven't proven that they have improved. Still dropped catches, but maybe we can't expect them to be perfect. WRs aren't a strong part of the team and that's something we're going to have to live with it.
However:
6) Jamal Turner is showing that he could be a bright spot operating out of the slot and I hope that we keep him in that position for the rest of the year. 2 big BIG catches for him setup two very VERY crucial TDs.
7) Kyler Reed has once again proven that opposing defenses can not sleep on him. That call to go deep to him was nice to see, although it reminded me of the Watson years, but I digress. That was a play I enjoyed greatly.
8) Defensive line didn't generate as much pressure as they normally should. I don't know if that's a concern or if it was just a bad match up against a team who runs an offense which exploits and eliminates certain aspects of our games. Hard to tell.
9) Same thing really goes with our LB core as well. I don't know if it was the opposing offense which gave us problems. I know Robbie Rouse (sp?) is a highly underrated running back and we're going to face more RBs like him in the B1G, but I think it was his (Rouse's) ability to run the ball as well as the style of offense which Fresno State played that gave the LBs and DLine problems. Again, only time will tell.
10) Secondary needs Dennard back. Aaron Green (dunno if that's the right Green) will then be pushed to the 3rd spot giving Ciante and Dennard the 2 and 1 spot respectively. I think that will help the secondary lock down the WRs more successfully.
But, with that:
11) Fresno State has a hell of a QB who made all the right throws. That's not something we're going to see every week in the B1G, and he is certainly one of the better QBs we'll face all year. He knew how to run the offense and anytime a QB knows how to do that, it makes things difficult on the opposing team.
12) And let's not forget that Fresno State is a highly overachieving team and coach Pat Hill always finds a way to get his guys to match their opponents skill levels. This game was our hardest non-con test and we passed it. Things could have gone much worse.
13) Tim Beck has the ability to play with what the defense gives him and makes the defense adjust to his play calling. I thought he called a fantastic second half and I don't think Shawn Watson would've been as successful at trying to shake things up after halftime. Games like these against Fresno State are games we would've lost in the prior 2 years, but we won and that is really comforting to see.
And finally:
14) This team proved that it is resilient and can come back from a less than stellar half and play their hearts out. Like I said, games like this against Fresno State are ones we would have lost in the past 2 years. Miserable first half turned into a fantastic second half offensively.
15) Personally, I would rather have our defense be the unit that needs to be fixed rather than the offense. Watch for this team to come out, perform like it did in the second half against Fresno State in the first half, and then shut the Huskies down offensively.
Oh yeah:
16) Ameer Abdullah is my hero. Love that guy on special teams play
And to note the stadium:
17) Fantastic atmosphere throughout. I thought the crowd (the whole stadium, not just the student sections) was loud for the entire game, urging their team onto victory. I thought that was great and I hope that that same intensity is repeated next Saturday against Washington.
That's what I've learned from the Fresno State game, a very positive experience and result for our team.