Offense
Quarterbacks: A
Starting freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez put on a pretty solid show both in the air and especially on the ground. "T-Mobil" displayed his acceleration on multiple plays including his first collegiate touchdown of 46 yards. Cody Green also made an appearance and showed some promise with what appeared to be a more acute throwing game and a bit more comfort behind center than last year. Zac Lee saw brief playing time late in the game, but not really enough to show whether he has what it takes to lead the Huskers for a second year.
Running Backs: A-
Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead statistically speaking have room to improve, but they did their job. They both had 5 carries each and only out rushed by Martinez. Burkhead and Helu each had 1 touchdown averaging 11.4 and 5.8 yards per carry. Not a bad start for what could be a great one-two punch.
Receivers: A-
All in all, this should be a solid group of guys that we can continue to rely on. Between Brandon Kinnie and Niles Paul, we should have no issue getting the ball down field. The ball was spread out over 7 different receivers totaling 247 yards and 1 touchdown.
O-Line: A-
The line was able to move a somewhat undersized defensive line and create some big holes. Mike Caputo did an excellent job at center taking over for an injured Mike Smith. The rest of the line helped put up 289 yards of rushing with 536 total offensive yards.
Defense
D-Line: B-
If there was one area that needed a bit of improvement, in would be in the trenches. The defense gave up way to many yards on the ground. Nebraska gave up on average only 93.1 yards per game while Western Kentucky's offense tacked on a total of 179. Bobby Rainey had a career high 155 total yards against the Blackshirts.
Linebackers: A-
With all of the uncertainty created by preseason injuries in the linebacker position, the linebackers showed up to play. Lavonte David lead the Huskers with 13 total tackles. We should expect great things from him this year and the next.
Defensive Backs: B+
Our defensive backs are the most experienced part of team, but they seemed to be a little tentative. While they provided a large percent of the Blackshirts tackles, their were a few too many holes in the coverage. Although, I really don't think there is anything to worry about in this position down the road.
Offensive MVP
Taylor Martinez (were you expecting someone else?)
Defensive MVP
Lavonte David