What Did We Learn: BYU Edition

[Danny Bateman]

^^^ Saunders, I still can't figure out why so many analysts are in love with Hackenberg. I couldn't care less if the dude has an all-world arm ready for the NFL, he's a terrible QB.

 

I learned it's gonna be a true transition away from Beck/Bo's schemes into Riley/Banker's. Not trying to use it as an excuse, but I know for a fact Riley's offense is NOTHING like Beck's, and from what I've heard, Banker's defense is a LOT different than Bo's as well. I'm guessing we'll need a good handful of games until everything starts clicking like it should.

 

But, I saw some flashes. If I could sum up what gave me hope yesterday in one player, it'd be Alonzo Moore. You want a textbook example of the coaches actually doing what they said they'd do-- put our players in a position to succeed, and use them to their strengths-- they nailed it with Moore. He's perfectly suited to the fly sweep and short passes designed to rack up YAC. Beck always forced a square peg into a round hole, throwing deep passes to him.

Also, Young's play yesterday shows they'll actually play young 'uns if it's what is best for the team.

The tackling yesterday was so much better. Glad they practice fundamentals.

 

Excited for the future. GBR!

[hskrfan4life]

Learned I'm saying the players names wrong:

 

Josh Kalu(a)

Lane Ho-V or Lane Who-V

[NebraskaShellback]

This board after the game went...........................................................................................

 

 

 

 

 

 

[True2tRA]

Good:

 

• Dedrick Young has the makings of a star
• We are lucky to have Keith Williams teaching these receivers
• Screen plays. We've been asking for them, and we finally see how well they work. All of those to set up that fake screen to Reilly at the end was beautiful. Better throw by Armstrong and it's a touchdown.
• The tackling. Even Chris Spielman pointed out how much better we were tackling compared to our teams in the past
• 3rd down defense, held BYU 3/14 on third down.
• We didn't embarrass ourselves. Sure we lost on a hail mary, but that's not exactly embarrassing. No coaching meltdowns, we didn't get destroyed on national TV like we've been accustomed to these last couple seasons. It was refreshing in that sense.

Bad:

• Offensive line. I know it was very bad, but I'm willing to chalk it up as having 4 new guys in there. Have to give them time to gel.
• Prevent defense....I hate this defense more than anything. I went to USF and Skip Holtz ran it there as well, lost so many games because of it.
• The running game. This goes with the offensive line, we need to get Tommy Armstrong involved in the running game more though.
• Penalties, the refs were infuriating, that hands to the face call needs an explanation along with the no call on Sutton. But, 12 penalties is way way too many.
• Defending mobile QB's. I know, even Alabama has trouble with mobile QB's, a lot of teams in college do that's what makes them so special. However this game looks a lot uglier if Taysom Hill doesn't get hurt. He was killing us with his legs.

Great stuff.

 

Shout out to Gerry for making that read, dropping back into coverage and skyrocketing for that awesome interception as well. That was badass.

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

I learned that BYU is now up there with most hated teams by me. From players to coaching staff, straight up bunch of jackasses. Don't feel bad for Taysom Hill in the slightest. I know he wasn't one of those guys, but that's karma kicking you in the nuts. That team has a rep for that garbage and I don't feel bad for them having to lose their best player in the process. Play the game how it's meant to be played.

[bleedNUred]

Learned that Davie can't cover worth a crap and Kalu can. Our coaches made adjustments. Our offensive line needs to man up especially in the run game.

[The Duke]

I attended the game yesterday and wanted to refrain from making any comments or posting any observations until I came home and reviewed the tape. After watching the DVR and replaying a few key moments in the game several times here our my observations:

 

 

 

GENERAL NOTES

· We lost on a 50/50 play. No shame there…congratulations to BYU.

 

· The hands to the face penalty at the 13:13 mark in the 2^nd quarter is one of the factors that had a significant impact on the outcome of the game. It kept a touchdown on the board by calling Nebraska’s backup Defensive Tackle #55 Kevin Maurice with a hands to the face, when in reality it should have been an offsetting penalty for both teams as the Right Guard #78 for BYU also had hands to the face against Maurice.

 

· The hit by BYU’s #20 Preator to the back of the knees on Nebraska’s David Sutton was absolutely a cheap shot, and should have been flagged.

 

· Even though the ball was on Nebraska’s own 40-yard line, and we had the wind at our backs, we should have gone for it on 4^th & 1 with 13:06 left in the 4^th quarter. We had the momentum, and BYU’s defense was on their heels at that point in the game. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the momentum of the game changed after this series. BYU on the very next series had a same 4^th & 1 decision from their own 41-yard line with 10:10 left in the 4^th quarter…they choose to go for it rather than punt. They converted, thus keeping momentum on their side.

 

· If Tommy Armstrong leads Brandon Reilly just a little more on the fake bubble screen fade pass it would have easily been a touchdown, and ballgame because BYU was selling out on the run. The play call design and timing were brilliant, just needed a little bit better execution.

 

· Don’t underestimate the positive impact of having the offense use the huddle.

 

OFFENSE NOTES

· We need to develop a more dynamic running game.

 

· Offensive line looked decent in pass blocking. Run blocking, both zone schemes and power schemes need major work. There was hardly any push from that group most of the day.

 

· With that said, the offensive line is very young, so we’ll give them some more time and game experience before we begin to draw any more concrete conclusions. Just look at how young this line is: Career Starts: LT Alexis Lewis (14), LG Dylan Utter (2), C Ryan Reeves (2), RG Chongo Kondolo (1), RT Nick Gates (1)

 

· This team must find a way to average 125-150 yards rushing per half. Last season we averaged 240.2 rushing yards per game. Having 37 rushing yards in the first half just will not cut it. Tommy Armstrong had -9 rushing yards in the first half…ouch!

 

· Game management. Clock management. Too often when we had the ball with 3 minutes left we were snapping the ball with at least 10 seconds left on the game clock.

 

· Tommy Armstrong’s mechanics are greatly improved over last season. He does have to learn when to tuck the ball and run when his 1^st or 2^nd options are not available. However, I think by the end of the year he will be a very solid game manager for Nebraska.

 

· Coach Riley and Coach Langsdorf must tweek how they use Tommy in the quarterback running game. He doesn’t have the best speed for QB draws. He is a power runner. Would love to see some speed options, quarterback power, and counter-read options.

 

· Westerkamp is special. Only going to get better.

 

· Mikale Wilbon seems more adept for the type of offense Mike Riley wants to run. He’s patient. Has soft hands catching the ball out of the backfield.

· Small (5’8”) - hard for defense to find him behind the line

· But he’s got good football weight for his size. (190lbs)

 

· Newby struggled when we were under center. I think his skill set would excel much more in our spread sets.

 

· This offense will become explosive with Alonzo Moore when Pierson-El returns.

 

DEFENSE NOTES

· Hank Hughes has the D-Line playing with solid technique. Valentine & Colins are absolute monsters in the middle, but we need a more consistent pass rush from our defensive ends to take the pressure off of our secondary.

 

· Secondary must play with more aggression. Whether we were in man or zone, our corners specifically played much too passively. They were reacting instead of dictating.

 

· Dedrick Young II & Luke Gifford may be freshman, but they more than held their own. They will be solid players.

 

· Josh Banderas and Nate Gerry are going to be really good in this new defensive system. They just need a few more games under their belt to get really comfortable.

 

 

· Tackling technique is VASTLY improved over the last 7 years.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

· Drew Brown must become more consistent. Last season he was 2/6 beyond 40 yards, and 0/1 beyond 50. We must be able to secure 3 points after solid offensive drives that stall within field goal range. This will give confidence to the entire offense, but most importantly, it will help reduce Tommy’s tendency for trying to force the big play when it’s not there.

 

 

 

MOVING FORWARD

Nebraska is going to be ok folks. The huge turnaround in fundamental tackling alone should be a sign to have some optimism. However, we will not compete for championships with the type of running game we produced against BYU.

 

Our rushing offense not only needs to become more dynamic, it also has to become the focus. The coaching philosophy must flip from a pass first offense to a run first offense. With the types of winds we experienced yesterday that was one of the reasons Tom Osborne used the option. The option WAS our pass play. (And when I say option I mean when the ball is pitched. Yes, the zone-read is an option too, but it is more like a glorified handoff)

 

Two position groups to keep an eye on:

· Tight-ends and our place kicker. Riley & Langsdorf have some very smart schemes for how they utilize the tight-ends, we just have to get them healthy.

· And sadly as much as I am rooting for the young man, I think Drew Brown is about 2 more shanked field goals away from losing his job.

 

 

Overall, it was a gut-punch of a loss, but there were also some positives to take away from the BYU game as well. Bottom line…learn from it, make adjustments, move forward.

[Saunders]

DEFENSE NOTES

· Hank Hughes has the D-Line playing with solid technique. Valentine & Colins are absolute monsters in the middle, but we need a more consistent pass rush from our defensive ends to take the pressure off of our secondary.

Agree with this. It was nice seeing the DT's right on the ball instead of a yard or so off of it.

[Landlord]

Shout out to Gerry for making that read, dropping back into coverage and skyrocketing for that awesome interception as well. That was badass.

 

 

 

My favorite part of the game was when a BYU player was stretching the ball to try and pick up a 1st down (i think it was on 3rd, so there was celebration for stopping them short), and the ball popped out when it hit the ground. Nate Gerry picked it up and everyone was celebrating, the ref put his hands out for him to give him the ball, and Nate gave him a high five instead.

[4skers89]

We still have issues putting games away. Not sure at what point in the game it was but we had started running the ball well and the defense had made a nice stop. At that point I figured if we went down and scored the game would be decided. It seems like we don't capitalize on momentum. It's been a disturbing thing I've noticed for quite a few years now. I don't know if it's ability or a mentality issue. When we have an opponent on the ropes we need to put foot to throat, rip their hearts out and enjoy watching them take their last breaths while thinking about taking liberties with their women. I don't know what is wrong with these young people today if this isn't their mindset. Hopefully Riley can instill this attitude. But seriously, it does seem like a character flaw that has developed over the years and not just due to capability. It needs to change. Last time I remember seeing the was '10 Missouri.

[4skers89]

 

Shout out to Gerry for making that read, dropping back into coverage and skyrocketing for that awesome interception as well. That was badass.

 

 

My favorite part of the game was when a BYU player was stretching the ball to try and pick up a 1st down (i think it was on 3rd, so there was celebration for stopping them short), and the ball popped out when it hit the ground. Nate Gerry picked it up and everyone was celebrating, the ref put his hands out for him to give him the ball, and Nate gave him a high five instead.

As if the ref was congratulating him? That's hilarious.

[True2tRA]

 

Shout out to Gerry for making that read, dropping back into coverage and skyrocketing for that awesome interception as well. That was badass.

 

 

My favorite part of the game was when a BYU player was stretching the ball to try and pick up a 1st down (i think it was on 3rd, so there was celebration for stopping them short), and the ball popped out when it hit the ground. Nate Gerry picked it up and everyone was celebrating, the ref put his hands out for him to give him the ball, and Nate gave him a high five instead.

Haha +1. I saw that too! I even pointed it out at home when it happened.

[Saunders]

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the Miami game will tell us a LOT more about this team than the BYU game.

[sd'sker]

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the Miami game will tell us a LOT more about this team than the BYU game.

i agree. and i think this team grows a lot throughout the season.

[HuskermanMike]

I think this hasn't been brought up much but it was only one play. We were running a half back screen to Newby/Wilbon and I saw a lot of green turf in front of them. The only problem was the two lineman were in the way and interfered with him catching the pass. Both teams I thought had big breaks Jamal dropped a wide open pass and we also dropped another screen pass. Also BYU missed a third or fourth and three where they had a played wide open and he dropped it. All in all good football was played yesterday, it was the first game of the season and I was impressed with how well we handled adversity. Little things need to be fixed like o-line blocking,the field foal team, the punt team if Sam is out for a few games as well as penalties and running the ball. Also give Imani the ball to get north on third or fourth and one and get a first down which could have ended the game.