Wistrom Disciple

Exactly, we rushed into bad plays (outcomes) hence #3. If the players can't handle up tempo very well, we need to manage the clock better and give the defense a break. Turning their heads while playing defense is crucial and can be taught. Both Illinois TD passes came with our DBs chasing and face guarding the whole time. To be a turnover focused defense, that seems like one of the more simple details to work on fixing and should be stressed hard with the young guys for future years. Not necessarily just playing more Nebraska born kids because they are hopefully more passionate but some prove to be better than those ahead of them on the depth chart. Henrich & Reimer are great examples where they've proven to be clear improvements over Mo Berry from last year. I wouldn't be surprised if Isaac Gifford could compare favorably to Dismuke now. Our best teams in the past were able to mix in talent from within the state or very nearby with those who hailed from other areas. In addition, Nebraska kids seeing other Nebraska kids playing can help in the recruiting game as well. Henrich, Nelson and Betts were huge additions in that regard. Would be nice to see us try and use Hickman more.

Short term 1. Start Martinez at QB and ride him. Though less crafty than Luke, Adrian is more skillful at distributing the football and is a better game manager which is what our team needs at this point. Many fans thought Luke was fantastic when he got in at the end of the Northwestern game in slinging passes left and right. Most probably didn't catch on that Northwestern's defense was playing our receiver 10-15 yards off the line and the receivers were wide open. When pressed, the receivers weren't nearly as open and Luke didn't trust his arm... which led to 26 carries. 2. Use our runningbacks as intended. We have quite a bit of talent at the position and we have been reluctant to give them opportunities except for a few games in previous years. Mills, Scott, Johnson, Morrison and Thompkins are skilled players, we should try and give them more opportunities until proven to not work. Mix in Wandale & Luke as runningbacks/wildcat QBs and be creative in that regard as well. 3. In conjunction with #2, focus on controlling the game clock and not rushing into bad plays just to be up tempo unless near the end of quarters. We are not skilled at being up tempo well enough yet and it seems to have led us into several poor decisions or penalties so far this season. 4. Teach the defensive backs to look back for the football when a receiver has their hands extended and their heads turned back. Cam is the only starter that I have seen do this so far this season. Long term 1. Consider revising the offensive strategy. We are no closer to having an identity today than we had on day one with Frost & Co. Therefore, we should revise our plan and become a run first program again. I'm not saying we need the I-formation back full-time or run 60 times a game but we cannot rely on screen passes and QB scrambles as a means of sustained success. The offense is supposed to compliment the defense, if the offense is sluggish and not scoring, the defense we've assembled will not work. 2. Insert Nebraska-raised players into the game more often. In reviewing the two-deep, we have roughly 10-12 Nebraska-born players in the top 44 or so on the depth chart. It may not seem like a big deal but I believe playing for pride can go a long ways towards avoiding such embarrassing performances like last weekend or last year at Minnesota where passion was visibly lacking on camera. Though the walk-on safety from Yutan/McCook/wherever might be a couple inches shorter, a step or two slower, etc. They know that when they go back to their hometowns, they will hear it from friends, family and the mailman about why it looked like the team didn't care. I don't know if we have a Brandon Rigoni in the wings but I'd be surprised if there isn't a safety/linebacker on the team that would be able to give their all and thereby push others on the team to excel. 3. Keep the coaching staff intact unless absolutely obvious to move along. I know this is controversial but there are no quick fixes and a merry-go-round of assistants hasn't seemed to help us very much in 20+ years. Continuity was a big factor in building sustained success at several programs. It will be frustrating at times but keeping the staff as together as possible should yield better outcomes in the future as was proven at Iowa, Kansas State and us a few decades ago.

Would really appreciate Martinez resuming the starting role and we get Luke mixed in as a Hybrid back & receiver. It was obvious that Luke needs more practice and seasoning if he hopes to be a constant starter at this level as a Quarterback. Martinez isn't perfect but the past two weeks have hopefully showed him some things he might not have seen as the starter. As for the leadership, couldn't agree more. Hoping Ty Robinson, Benhart and some of the young guys start owning this team. They've already beat out seniors for their starting spots, no one in their way for being the voices of the team. Doesn't hurt that they are some of the most physically imposing guys either.

We're all disappointed as this season has been very frustrating for everyone. Frost isn't going anywhere unless he decides to leave and for our sake I hope he stays. Every coaching change (including coordinators) seems to cause us to hit the reset button that sets us back several years. It hasn't worked since we had Bo a decade ago. That said, we could use improved playcalling and more player leadership. I don't know if we have anyone in the two-deep that is the firecracker we used to enjoy having on our side of the field. Obviously the Peter brothers aren't easy finds, but we don't seem to have an Eric Martin, Richie Incognito, hell even a Nick Gates that will play with a mean streak. I am hoping that Nash will bring a spark for us at some point but it looks like he might be a year or two away. We don't seem to have guys that want to take ownership of the program as of today and that is something Frost & Co. should develop ASAP. Playing for pride alone won't bring titles but hopefully it helps avoid the embarrassing blowout losses. Side note: I would really appreciate it if the offensive linemen would start helping our skill guys off the ground after tackles. If they aren't going to block well, the least they could do is show some teamwork and help the guys up.

Not today but I think your straw argument about rankings telling the story is wrong. Is this what you do, spend hours going back on a message board and question opinions? Hmm... I must have missed your apology one from last week where the defense won us the game... Thanks bud.

I will be disappointed if Martinez is not our starting QB next game. Still bring in Luke as a RB/WR but he's just in over his head at this point in his career.

We did, had the hands to the face penalty that gave them a first down.

No, it wasn’t a hold. Defender went to a knee and made no effort to return to the play.

Agreed that we are playing poorly and that the refs have had some questionable calls/no calls. That said, I would like to see us come with a sustainable drive where we aren’t asking our QB to run every other play. Scramble when coverage is good or designed once in awhile. Having Luke run 15+ plays by design a game is asking him to get hurt. Need to start trusting our stable of running backs and line until they give reason not to trust them. Not every play will be a home run. Defense needs to wake up while we’re at it. Looking lost out here

What a difference a year makes... last season that is a minimum 20 yard gain. I've been very pleased with Miller's development and the rest of the linebackers over the past year. That position group has been the most impressive to me given how poorly they performed last season. I really hope the defensive staff sticks together as they appear to be functioning in unison together now. Now we just need the offense to start playing complementary to the defense's aggressive nature and control the game better.

Daniels was in the Penn State player's face after the next play when he was back on the field and several members of the Dline were crowding him before the refs stepped in. Thankfully our guys didn't do anything dumb and the series ended. Penn State also did pull him for the second half if I remember correctly.

Agreed with this entirely. As for Luke's first start, I thought Luke played ok but I didn't see how it was any better than Martinez starting games. Both QBs tend to start games well with the scripted set of plays but struggle beyond that. I'll cut some slack for being the first game started but will need to see some strides of improvement to justify switching horses. Defense won us this past game, thankfully the offense did just enough to not cost us this one.

Bingo! I really think Austin's title change this offseason was nothing more than lip service. Doesn't feel like we're any closer to having an identity.

I believe he was benched for the half as I didn't see him out there for a large part of it.

Also curious why we haven't really tried to go back to an I-formation mix like we did against Ohio State last year for a drive. Just something to mix up what the defense is expecting. We don't have a ton of surprises and seem to like running our smallest back (Wandale) into the teeth of the defense repeatedly. We have to be able to mix some things up or else we're going to be stagnant a lot.

Agreed, at this point, we just need some sort of threat beyond 10 yards. And I would prefer that to be a receiver as a Tightend trying to outrun and then out jump defensive backs 20 yards downfield doesn't seem like it would yield success. We have to be able to stretch the field to make the short stuff work as it did at UCF & Oregon.

That works too, they just need to get creative. Having Luke sit on the sidelines for nearly three quarters, no Brown, limited Manning, Betts and Fleming really pulls back the potential. I'm sure Falck and Werner are solid individually, but they don't come across as deep ball threats. Therefore, the defense is compressed within 10-15 yards of the line of scrimmage and our QBs have to then become precision passers or Patrick Mahomes in order to get receivers open with space. It is one aspect we have been reluctant to try since Bo would do so with Armstrong and Quincy Enunwa. Sure the throw can be risky but we have to have threats down field if our read options, draws, screen passes are going to work. It would be nice to see us try Hickman, Manning, Betts run Go routes and then toss one up every once in awhile. Takes the corner out and likely pulls a safety which opens up much more of the field for the run game and passes to Wandale in the slot.

Frost has also harped on #2 since the first season. One thing I have noticed is that there have been few and far between video shots where receivers were wide open at any point. Yes, Martinez is thinking and worrying about making mistakes too much but I do think he should remain the starter. However, Frost needs to get creative with Lubick to find ways to have both QBs on the field together. They are two of our top five playmakers on offense.

Thank you for the response. I would point out that they did watch the transfer portal and have added at least 6 guys in the past year (Falck, Martin, Bubak, Nouili, Culp & Miller). I think they have been fairly solid with scanning the transfer market. I think we will have to disagree about Ramsey the NW quarterback. He did not impress me as any better than either Martinez or McCaffrey last weekend. His fit into our system would not have been very good, given what Frost asks of his QBs. As Frost pointed out early on, he's trying to build the program up in the right way. Could he have had Burrow? Sure, but he would've had Joe Burrow, the third year transfer out of Ohio State who had not cracked the lineup. Burrow didn't reach his full potential until he had a shot down at LSU. I think it worked out best for him the route he took and hopefully we don't miss out on the next opportunity of a hidden stud again.

Agreed, I also like what Payne and Heinrich have added so far. And I've been pleasantly surprised to see Miller & Honas making plays they missed last year. Looking much more sound defensively.

To which part? Rankings tell the whole story or that our defense has noticeably improved over last year? I wouldn't get too caught up in rankings numbers yet. As one of our two games was against a top 5 team in the country and we looked much more stout up front this year compared to last year's embarrassment against them. We still have some breakdowns that I really hope the coaches figure out and clean up but overall, I think Chins and the defensive staff have improved quite a bit. I really wish I could say the same for the offensive side.

It is the coaches job to put the best players (talent) in place to win regardless of graduation year or recruiting stars. Yes, we will as saying we have less talented players than most of the league is wildly inaccurate.

You think those rankings tell the whole story? If you don't see noticeable improvement for the defense this year over last year, I don't know what to tell ya.

Chinander has done a better coaching job than Walters/Lubick/Frost's offense so far. Offense has way underperformed in the three year period except for a few games.

No, not by a mile. Last year we had to make a last second FG to beat a 3-9 Northwestern squad. Objectively the worst performing NW team in almost 20 years. They did not have more talent on the field than us last year and they also didn't have more talent on the field than us this year either. Outcoach Frost will get outcoached at some points sure, every team goes through that at some point or other. That said, this is his third year in the conference now and we've overhauled the roster. At some point, the offensive gurus need to start earning their hype and we cannot give into the idea that we have less talented players than middle of the road programs in our division.