Oklahoma: What did we learn?

[gossamorharpy]

20 minutes ago, TGHusker said:

 

I learned:

1 OU is not the 3rd best team in the nation 

2 Nebraska isn't as bad as most of us have been complaining about (sound a bit like Tom Osborne talking to then MSU coach Nick Saban - look up the quote)

3 AM has big shoulders.  He needs more help.  He played one of his best games yet as a Husker. 

4 Manning and Betts can be great along wt Toure.  Combine that with the passes to the TEs and this offense has great potential

5 The potential is there IF the OL gives AM time to throw.  But it rarely does

6 The running game is still non-existent -  We have talent at RB but it is wasted talent if the OL can't block effectively.

7 Austin needs to be shown the door - see # 5&6

8 Having Dawson coach the ST isn't working.  I fail to see the connection of the preseason talk about the intense work they are putting on in ST practice and what I see on the field.  

9 Line backers are playing well.  Relieve Dawson of ST coaching and let him concentrate on the LB.   Get rid of Coach V and hire a dedicated ST coach who can recruit well - Sean Snider (I believe that is his first name) needs to be on a one way ticket ride to Lincoln Monday morning. 

10  Frost can complain all he wants about the circus of mistakes and if it is going to end, but ultimately it is on him. The team is undisciplined and that is the result of coaching. 

11 The D looks like the real deal. Proud of how they played.  They played well enough to win.  My concern is for next year when we have to replace all of those super seniors.  But that is a worry for another day (Matt 6:34)

12  I don't believe in moral victories- but hopefully the team can build on this and have some confidence going into MSU next week. 

 

 

 

 

 

Great summary. I will say on Dawson tho he hasn’t had an actual recruiting cycle yet…. He also shouldn’t be double timing tho I guess with 2 LB coaches it’s doable. He’s working with a s#!t talent pool to say the least, I’m of the belief you can kind a kicker in one recruiting cycle 

[thexyz]

Too me, it seems the team played better with some of the pressure off of them.

 

Aside from the kicking element, the game was encouraging. I'll have to watch the highlights again to form an opinion on the offensive line play. Not where we need to be with blocks. The general sense I got was that it was better. Considering the quality of the opponent, that would be notable. Those penalties certainly were frustrating.

 

Martinez played well. Was good to see Manning make some big contributions.

[Dogs In A Pile]

After watching MSU take care of Miami pretty easily today I have a feeling next week in East Lansing may actually be a tougher game to win than what we saw today. MSU is playing good ball.

[Undone]

1 hour ago, ZRod said:

I think that got an audible "dayum!" out of me. Shades of Mo Purify or T Nunn just snatching balls out of the air. Omar could be something special if we can keep him on the field. He could be a good possession guy for us with those hands and his size.

 

I almost have to do a double-take when the camera pans to Betts & Manning jogging back after a play is over with how much taller they are than the guys we've been used to like JD & Wan'Dale.

 

The other big thing I've noticed about Omar even going back to the spring game is his potential for yards after catch, too.

 

I also think that Toure was being locked down after OU had scoured the film of the first three games and this let other guys get open. Frost is pretty awesome with X's & O's; he just needs to get the special teams stuff cleaned up and he's got a football team.

[Scarlet]

It's amazing how effective a scheme looks when receivers are making plays and extending drives, not having key drops at inopportune times.  I'm trying to think back on a flat out drop.   J.D Spielman would be proud .

 

That's playing to win, not to not lose which seems to have been haunting us for how long?  Maybe being an underdog suits this team.

 

 

[Archy1221]

19 minutes ago, Toe said:

 

Worth remembering that in the last couple seasons, he hasn't exactly had receivers that you'd wanna be throwing 50/50 balls to...

Which is kinda why I said I hope this gives him confidence to be able to do this.  He has the talent now.  

[Jason Sitoke]

31 minutes ago, Cy the Cyclone said:

I learned another interesting way to give up a safety...knew it was possible but had never seen it before.

Stick around a little longer, and we’ll teach you about some other modern marvels. The airplane. Or the recipe for ice cubes. 

[UniversalMartin]

33 minutes ago, Toe said:

 

Worth remembering that in the last couple seasons, he hasn't exactly had receivers that you'd wanna be throwing 50/50 balls to...

I think we all agree on that, this year though, he does...time to incorporate that more

 

After today, I have a "buy" rating in the group

[UniversalMartin]

10 minutes ago, Jason Sitoke said:

Stick around a little longer, and we’ll teach you about some other modern marvels. The airplane. Or the recipe for ice cubes. 

What bark is made out of...you know, cool s#!t

[mwj98]

I wont bash this team anymore. They need a couple changes and it will make a huge difference. Manning’s TD was impressive as well as betts long pass. This team has the tolls. Need a kicker. Thats it 

[whateveritis1224]

Offense and O-Line hasn't been good, but they've made progress in one area, IIRC zero fumbles by the first unit since Adrian's fumble at the end of the first half against Illinois (it was a big fumble). Even more, the first team only has a single meaningless INT as a turnover since that fumble also (I know Smothers had one against Fordham).

 

The special teams has been hot garbage, especially field goal kicking and punt returns, but the offense is taking care of the ball better than they have in past seasons.

[HuskerNation1]

3 hours ago, Otterpop said:

So after playing the #3 team in country and beside Ohio St away more talented team then anybody else on our schedule to a 7 point game  you see 4-8 . I think if we play this hard and clean up a couple penalty we can play and beat anybody left on the schedule .

 

If this were season 2 and we were losing close games, I see your point.  But this team has a history of losing close games due to dumb penalties, poor play calling, etc..  That is what makes Year 4 different than prior seasons.  This should be cleaned up by now and the excuses of us being close is getting very old.  Here is a breakdown of how many close games we have lost (8 points or less):

 

2018 Season-Five of the teams losses were by less than 7 points

2019 Season-Four of the teams losses were by less than 7 points

2020 Sesason-Three of the teams losses were by less than 8 points (shortened season)

 

In all cases, winning half of those "close" games would have made the team bowl-eligible.  I do not see the team suddenly stopping the penalties and self-inflicted wounds, but I will keep hoping that happens.  I do agree that we have the talent to win every game on the remainder of the schedule, but utilizing past data/results, I do not see us winning enough games to finish above .500.  I really hope the team proves me wrong.

[Enhance]

My three big takeaways:

 

1) Outside of scrounging out a win, that was about the best result this team probably could've hoped for, so I'm not too down on the overall performance. AM played really well. The defense was REALLY good (sans a pass rush..) I expected a four touchdown loss. They made enough plays to be in positions to win and just couldn't capitalize. What's important for me is how do you build on this? They've been "close" many times before and we heard Scott say it again today. If this Nebraska team can take the next step from today's performance then they'll beat MSU next week. Take that next step.

2) Greg Austin has to be on the hot seat and I think Ryan Held's is heating up. OU has a pretty talented defensive line but NU's o-line largely got worked today, particularly Benhart. They had five penalties as a unit (the one on Jurgens down the field was a bad call IMO, but I digress). The group certainly had some key successes but I think the excuses have run out at this point. That unit just isn't good enough and it's been like this for four years. (As for Held, I don't understand his position group and I haven't for four years. Sure, he's a "good recruiter," but their constant rotation of bodies and inability to consistently identify and coach up a number one back is troubling.)

3) Special teams is horrendous, another lingering problem after four years that's going to continue to cost this team games along with the offensive line play. Culp has got to be benched and I think they need a dedicated ST coach. Something has to change there.

[C-4]

Manning, Betts, Toure, Allen

 

That’s as good of a top 4 receiving group as I’ve ever seen at NU.

[Hedley Lamarr]

4 minutes ago, Enhance said:

My three big takeaways:

 

1) Outside of scrounging out a win, that was about the best result this team probably could've hoped for, so I'm not too down on the overall performance. AM played really well. The defense was REALLY good (sans a pass rush..) I expected a four touchdown loss. They made enough plays to be in positions to win and just couldn't capitalize. What's important for me is how do you build on this? They've been "close" many times before and we heard Scott say it again today. If this Nebraska team can take the next step from today's performance then they'll beat MSU next week. Take that next step.

2) Greg Austin has to be on the hot seat and I think Ryan Held's is heating up. OU has a pretty talented defensive line but NU's o-line largely got worked today, particularly Benhart. They had five penalties as a unit (the one on Jurgens down the field was a bad call IMO, but I digress). The group certainly had some key successes but I think the excuses have run out at this point. That unit just isn't good enough and it's been like this for four years. (As for Held, I don't understand his position group and I haven't for four years. Sure, he's a "good recruiter," but their constant rotation of bodies and inability to consistently identify and coach up a number one back is troubling.)

3) Special teams is horrendous, another lingering problem after four years that's going to continue to cost this team games along with the offensive line play. Culp has got to be benched and I think they need a dedicated ST coach. Something has to change there.

I just want to know why we brought in Stepp at this point.