Nebraska vs ISU report card

[NamelessHusker]

Quarterback: A+

Quarterback Zac Taylor set the tone early for this game, driving the offense 14 plays and 68 yards to the Iowa State 12 yard line before the drive stalled and end in a field goal. Zac Taylor became Nebraska leading game passer with 431 yards and attempted a school record 55 passes. Taylor finished the game 36-of-55 and a completion percentage of 65.4%. Callahan stuck to Zac Taylors strength and that was small hook and slant routes and Zac hit 8 different receivers during the game. The most important stat for Zac was 0 interceptions. Zac is ahead of last years QB Joe Dailey who threw 11 interceptions the first 4 games. Zac has thrown only 3 so far on the season

 

Running Back: A+

The ground game for over a century was Nebraska's bread and butter. Cory Ross became a wide receiver during the game, showing everyone that he not only can run the ball, but can catch and pick up huge chunks of yards. Cory Ross was the only running back to see action in the game. Ross ended the game with 168 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 70 yard touchdown gave NU a 10-3 lead

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A

The Tight ends got more work done blocking for Zac then catching balls. Zac hit 8 different receivers during the game. Nate Swift was the surprise of the group, catching 5 times for 81 yards. Other players who helped contribute were Terrence Nunn (59 yards) Grant Mulkey (60), FluEllen (40) , Mark LeFlore (23), Frantz Hardy (20), Sievers (6) and J.B Phillips (5).

 

Offensive Line: B+

The offensive line did a good job of protecting the QB. However, there were some broken plays that could have lead to negative yardage had Zac not scrambled. The offensive line allowed 2 sacks and a few hurries, but overall did a better job then the previous 3 games. The Bye week definitely helped the offensive line gel together but the offense still needs work done to it in creating holes for Ross to run (hence the reason the low rushing output)

 

Defensive line: A-

The defensive line dominated ISU's front 4. They gave up a total of 57 yards rushing. Adam Carriker, Jay Moore and Barry Turner all contributed to a game that saw Brett Meyers sacked 6 times by the Nebraska defense. The star of the offensive line was without a doubt Jay Moore who chased down Meyer on every play and did not give him room to scramble. He finished with a sack and a couple of tackles for a loss and an interception.

 

Linebackers: A

Stewart Bradley, Corey McKeon and Bo Ruud continue to dominate as linebackers. The defense was inspired by a few thousand fans who came dressed in black. The linebackers finished the game with 3 sacks, and 26 combined tackles and to top it off, half a dozen tackles for a loss. The linebackers are becoming the heart of the defense and what they do in the game pumps up the rest of the defense to play better and to their level.

 

Defensive Backs: C-

The corners played to soft, and the free safety and Strong safety had a couple of miscues on the day. The biggest mistake was Daniel Bullocks who missed a tackle that allowed ISU to get down to the NU 10 yard line after picking up 59 yards on the play. Tierre Green and Grixby still look lost on certain plays and the pass interference on Grixby, Bowman and Daniel Bullocks were killers. The Bowman Pass interference put ISU in field goal range, while the Bullocks and Grixby PI setup the ISU touchdowns. Nebraska's backfield needs some work and did not play up to par with the LB's and Defensive line

 

Special Teams: C

Jordan Congdon missed a crucial field goal that could have given NU the lead early in the game and swayed some momentum to our offense. Sam Koch was a little below his average on punts but still finished with a good game. The kickoff return and punt return units did nothing special but did manage to keep us in the game and get us good field position. Some minor work could be addressed to this unit during the week

[Hunter94]

good post, pretty much sums up the results.......i too am hoping the D backs turn it up a notch, TT will test them to the max! i am wondering if we can play a tough bump and run and throw their receivers off, really rough them up some or do we stand to get burned with that strategy? i don't know much about their receivers and their size, athletic ability, how physical they are......?? thoughts??

 

hunter

[NamelessHusker]

I will do a comparison of our db's against their TE's and WR's and where they will most likely attack us in another thread

[kramer]

Offensive line and RB's should be downgraded in my opinion. Rb to B+. Special Teams to a B, Congdon came through when he had to.

[NamelessHusker]

Offensive line and RB's should be downgraded in my opinion. Rb to B+. Special Teams to a B, Congdon came through when he had to.

You were not completly satisfied with Ross on Saturday?

[BigRedJake]

Offensive line and RB's should be downgraded in my opinion.  Rb to B+.  Special Teams to a B, Congdon came through when he had to.

You were not completly satisfied with Ross on Saturday?

Personally, I wasn't really impressed by his running. If I were doing grades on running backs, recievers, quaterbacks, etc. I would rate a runner's recieving in with the recievers. All up to the rater though, as you've got it Ross obviously deserves an A+

[NamelessHusker]

Offensive line and RB's should be downgraded in my opinion.  Rb to B+.  Special Teams to a B, Congdon came through when he had to.

You were not completly satisfied with Ross on Saturday?

Personally, I wasn't really impressed by his running. If I were doing grades on running backs, recievers, quaterbacks, etc. I would rate a runner's recieving in with the recievers. All up to the rater though, as you've got it Ross obviously deserves an A+

I gave him an A for his receiving, rushing attempts and also the numerous blocks he put on ISU defenders trying to blitz Zac. There were a few plays that Ross laid some ISU defenders on their backs. His running ability is what got that 70 yard touchdowns

[cubhusker23]

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A

The Tight ends got more work done blocking for Zac then catching balls. Zac hit 8 different receivers during the game. Nate Swift was the surprise of the group, catching 5 times for 81 yards. Other players who helped contribute were Terrence Nunn (59 yards) Grant Mulkey (60), FluEllen (40) , Mark LeFlore (23), Frantz Hardy (20), Sievers (6) and J.B Phillips (5).

 

 

I can't agree with that grade at least for the wideouts. I still counted at least five drops from the game with two of those inside the red zone. Granted one of those was dropped by a fullback but they still need to improve. I want perfection dammit.

[hoyamannn]

I honestly think you're way too generous. I would have loved your class in college!

 

Just my opinion, but here are my changes:

 

QB: B+

Good job hitting receivers, but went thru his checks way too quickly, missed some open guys, still tends to hold the ball instead of just throwing it away. "B" only because from an A+, that means there is no room for improvement, and I think Zac can definitely improve.

RB: B

Great job receiving, didn't have many run plays and the O-line didn't open holes, but still room to get better. 100yds on the ground may have garnered an A+. Also have to figure our FB in w/the RB grade, and Todd dropped a TD pass on a drive where we ended up getting 0 on the board.

OL: C

Pass blocking was definitely an A, but run blocking continues to be horrible. These guys also need to blow people off the line and get our RB's holes in the red zone.

 

I find it hard to give our offensive skill positions perfect grades and such high marks when they only scored 13 points and 1 TD in the 1st 4 quarters. Our yardage was nice, but I feel we need to put some points on the board before we start giving A's and A-pluses. C'mon Former, where you at to clown these grades?!!!

[BigRedJake]

Offensive line and RB's should be downgraded in my opinion.  Rb to B+.  Special Teams to a B, Congdon came through when he had to.

You were not completly satisfied with Ross on Saturday?

Personally, I wasn't really impressed by his running. If I were doing grades on running backs, recievers, quaterbacks, etc. I would rate a runner's recieving in with the recievers. All up to the rater though, as you've got it Ross obviously deserves an A+

I gave him an A for his receiving, rushing attempts and also the numerous blocks he put on ISU defenders trying to blitz Zac. There were a few plays that Ross laid some ISU defenders on their backs. His running ability is what got that 70 yard touchdowns

Like I said, if you take the whole package, ie. the whole player, then ya, definately A+. I just said that if I had been rating them I'd give the running backs a B, mostly for their blocking and pass protection, and the wide outs an A+ and include Ross in that number since that's basically what he was most of the game. But this is all semantics, we agree Ross had one hell of a game!