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Michigan State: What did we learn?


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17 hours ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

Special teams is losing games for this team. Let's take that off the table for a moment.

 

It was a good game. A good game for anyone watching college football. Fox Sports probably loved it. If you watched the last two Nebraska games on prime time national television, you'd agree that no team can take Nebraska for granted. That's a big step up from where we were four weeks ago. I'll take it.

 

Both offense and defense had a plan for the #20 team in the nation, including the NCAA's hottest running back. Arguably Nebraska got better in the second half, and seemed ready to own the fourth quarter before aforementioned special teams play.

 

Maybe bad Adrian returned with the fumble and interception, but given the amount of offense running through Adrian and the decisions he made, I give him high marks for this game. He's a baller, and maybe the nation is seeing this a little better than Husker fans are right now. Our OL has it's problems, but Frost and Martinez made the adjustments so Adrian can find receivers within the three seconds he has to plant and throw. i saw a Red Zone strategy that worked --- give Adrian a run pass option on two plays, and he will convert on at least one.

 

Attitude was back. That was a pretty badass team that took a 20 - 13  fourth quarter lead when AM walked into the end zone. Defense was on fire pretty much all day. 

 

Am I tired of moral victories in losses?  Apparently not.  For the first time I can see us winning any of these upcoming games, and I guarantee you  we're starting to make other Big 10 teams nervous.  It's progress. Well, except for that special teams part. And the false start penalties. Jesus. 

What is so damn frustrating, but at the same time intriguing, is that I believe they have proven they have the talent on the team in almost every place to compete with anyone on the schedule.  Now, our O line and kickers are struggling.  So, who knows if we have the talent there or is it totally on coaching.  I'm leaning towards coaching myself.

 

You are correct about attitude.....especially on defense.  Even though the O line and kickers are making horrendous mistakes, everyone is playing very hard and it appears they come into games not fearing anyone......but themselves.

 

This team is so damn close....but yet so far away.  

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1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

This team is so damn close....but yet so far away.  

 

Exactly. That's the bottom line.

 

On our last TD drive, we used everything. I've been saying Frost's playbook and the way he's calling plays is so good right now. We're on fire with X's & O's on both sides of the ball.

 

But I cringe on every singe special teams play. Who doesn't? Every PAT, every field goal, every punt return, every punt could be that play that loses the game. 

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Ramir Johnson?  Why him?  He seems undersized for a Big 10 back.  From what he has shown us he doesn't really have a feel for the game.  He does have speed and could be utilized in certain situations, but in no way, shape or form is he going to be an every down back that will win us games.  Morrison looked pretty good in limited situations and where is Yant? (he looked the most impressive in the spring game)  Besides OL play and special teams, the use of players and their playing time is baffling

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Another thing that isn't getting much air time is also that if we just get a couple first downs on our second-to-last possession with about 4:00 left on the clock, the game is essentially over.

 

We had a couple of those situations in 2018 as well. We had the other team worn out and we're up; all we need to do is to have our offensive line get a good push and pick up four yards per play on the ground and the game is over.


But we go 3 & out and give the other team a chance. It's just about the worst possible way to watch us lose a game.

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2 minutes ago, Undone said:

Another thing that isn't getting much air time is also that if we just get a couple first downs on our second-to-last possession with about 4:00 left on the clock, the game is essentially over.

 

We had a couple of those situations in 2018 as well. We had the other team worn out and we're up; all we need to do is to have our offensive line get a good push and pick up four yards per play on the ground and the game is over.


But we go 3 & out and give the other team a chance. It's just about the worst possible way to watch us lose a game.

Agreed. We went from a nice rhythm based offense all second half to playing as slow as possible in that drive and failing immediately, then switching into an air-raid hurry-up and took that mindset into overtime. No idea why we never made it back to what was generally successful all game.

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16 minutes ago, zeWilbur said:

Agreed. We went from a nice rhythm based offense all second half to playing as slow as possible in that drive and failing immediately, then switching into an air-raid hurry-up and took that mindset into overtime. No idea why we never made it back to what was generally successful all game.

 

Yeah, and I don't think I have any problems with the play calling when we had the ball with 4:00 left to go and up 20-13. I'm pretty sure the first down play got 5 yards on the ground.

 

They were playing the run, so if we drop back to pass we're getting blitzed for sure.

 

We just didn't execute. Really just needed two first downs and then our odds of winning were probably north of 95%.

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On a three legged stool we need 3 solid legs in order for the stool not to dump us on our keester when we sit on it.  Well, we have 2 bad legs and 1 real good leg that

can't be expected to hold the weight of the team

 

We should note that the ST failures seem to be more glaring because there are fewer opportunities to do good or bad - and those failures are rightfully placed at the HCSF's  feet. However, we got to be honest, the offense side of the ball is even more at fault overall.  I believe Scott Frost's offense may end up averaging fewer points

this year than last year if the trends continue and as competition gets better. There has been a digression in points since he got here.   Overall, I think the team has improved talent wise and the Defense is the best since the days of Suh thus far.  But we don't have that killer instinct, we can't win close games. we make the same mistakes and invent new ways to lose.   IMHO, HCSF needs to bring in a experienced P5 OC - would be nice if they had Big 10 experience - to turn the O around. I think we have very good talent on O but it isn't getting done. AM is carrying the team on O, but even he can't seem to pull us through at the end of a game.

 

The article below by Derick Peterson does a good job quantifying

the ills on offense.  It is quoted in part.   He then praised the D (copied below) for holding up our butt as best they can.

 

https://hailvarsity.com/football/special-teams-gaffes-are-daggers-but-nebraskas-middling-offense-has-sharpened-them/

Quote

 

Now, no doubt Nebraska’s latest special teams gaffe was a crucial piece of a crushing loss. It was a disaster of a play. It was clearly put in the wrong spot. Call it a dagger right to Nebraska’s heart, if you want. But coaches routinely fall back on the “series of plays decide games, not just one” way of thinking to shield their players after tough losses. 

It’s curious to see Frost, whose offense has been a non-starter so often since the 2018 season ended, direct so much blame in the postgame to one specific specialist. 

Games can be won or lost on special teams, absolutely. Nebraska has proven this. Nebraska has also helped special teams mishaps cut deeper than they should. Saturday showcased that plainly. 

The following is going to read like disjointed notes about the offense scribbled in a notebook. Bear with me. My brain is broken, I think. 

Frost’s offense has been held to 20 points or less now 12 times in 37 games. Nebraska was held to 20 points or less nine times in Mike Riley’s 38 games.

Nebraska had the ball for 23 minutes and 18 seconds in Saturday’s second half, ran 48 plays against what was a clearly gassed defense, and scored 10 points. 

After going up 20-13 midway through the fourth quarter, Nebraska went three-and-out on its next two possessions with a chance to ice the game.

Under Frost, Nebraska has had the ball with at least four minutes left on the clock in regulation or in overtime, with a chance to tie the game or take a lead, on 15 different occasions. 

Nebraska has failed to score a point on 14 of those possessions. 

It has one field goal, the game-winning kick against Northwestern in 2019, converted by safety-turned-emergency-kicker Lane McCallum. 

On those 15 possessions, Nebraska has averaged 3.8 yards per play. It has an 8.8% sack rate on those possessions (the national average in 2019, the last full season, was 7.0% for context) and five interceptions. 

The thing you hear folks say about rebuilds is that a team will go through a cycle if it’s on the right track. Lose big, lose small, win small, win big. Nebraska looked a team hoping to move from the ‘lose small’ to ‘win small’ camp, and considering its performance against Oklahoma a week ago, many expected that step was right there for the taking. 

Late against Michigan State, it looked like Nebraska was taking it. 

Instead, the Huskers had three drives in the final four minutes against the Spartans with a chance to go win the game, and they averaged 3.6 yards a play, punted once, sat on two timeouts to go to overtime despite only needing a field goal, and then turned the ball over on the opening possession of overtime. 

Already this season, Nebraska has had five drives at the end of a game with a chance. It has averaged 2.9 yards a play.

The team’s inability to run the football when it needs to sticks out like a sore thumb. The offensive line is approaching the danger zone. Everything is on the shoulders of the quarterback. Adrian Martinez has to be rolled from the pocket on fourth-and-short to have a chance at making a play. Nebraska has been unusually incapable of capitalizing on opportunities. Saturday was the latest example of the defense being left out to dry. 

Adding in real possessions in the last four minutes of the second quarter to get a feel for how effectively Nebraska is operating its quick-strike offense, Nebraska has failed to produce points on 38 of 49 possessions. 

(That 49 number includes a little judgment, excluding such drives where, for example, Nebraska got the ball with 7 seconds left in the second quarter or was running out the clock in the fourth quarter.)

Tempo was supposed to be a weapon, now it only seems to draw false starts.

 

 

 

And regarding the defense:
 

Quote

 

Give Erik Chinander credit: Nebraska looks like a Big Ten defense, and a damn good one at that. 

There has been development up front, both on the line and at linebacker. JoJo Domann and Luke Reimer look like linebackers who will have long NFL careers. The Davis brothers became better players, and now it looks like Damion Daniels has followed suit. Chinander correctly identified Tony Tuioti as a guy who could make them better when they had an opening.

Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III entered Saturday night’s game leading the country in rushing output—164.3 YPG, 8.7 YPC—and was held to 39 yards on 16 carries in regulation by the Huskers. 

While you’re at it, give Frost credit for believing Chinander could do exactly what he’s done when Frost decided to bring him to Lincoln and to former Athletic Director Bill Moos for allowing it to happen. Frost has taken flack for bringing his entire staff from the AAC to the Big Ten. On defense, it has worked. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, TGHusker said:

On a three legged stool we need 3 solid legs in order for the stool not to dump us on our keester when we sit on it.  Well, we have 2 bad legs and 1 real good leg that

can't be expected to hold the weight of the team

 

We should note that the ST failures seem to be more glaring because there are fewer opportunities to do good or bad - and those failures are rightfully placed at the HCSF's  feet. However, we got to be honest, the offense side of the ball is even more at fault overall.  I believe Scott Frost's offense may end up averaging fewer points

this year than last year if the trends continue and as competition gets better. There has been a digression in points since he got here.   Overall, I think the team has improved talent wise and the Defense is the best since the days of Suh thus far.  But we don't have that killer instinct, we can't win close games. we make the same mistakes and invent new ways to lose.   IMHO, HCSF needs to bring in a experienced P5 OC - would be nice if they had Big 10 experience - to turn the O around. I think we have very good talent on O but it isn't getting done. AM is carrying the team on O, but even he can't seem to pull us through at the end of a game.

 

The article below by Derick Peterson does a good job quantifying

the ills on offense.  It is quoted in part.   He then praised the D (copied below) for holding up our butt as best they can.

 

https://hailvarsity.com/football/special-teams-gaffes-are-daggers-but-nebraskas-middling-offense-has-sharpened-them/

 

 

And regarding the defense:
 

 

Spot on.  All comments in the X ring....I just threw up......How can you read that and think that Frost has this team even remotely close to being better where it matters....In the W-L column.  We are now 5-15 in one score games......We are 105th in Red Zone scoring (including TD and FG)......Those offensive statistics point to a HC and OC way in over his head against the caliber of teams and coaches he is facing.....

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4 hours ago, Undone said:

 

Yeah, and I don't think I have any problems with the play calling when we had the ball with 4:00 left to go and up 20-13. I'm pretty sure the first down play got 5 yards on the ground.

 

They were playing the run, so if we drop back to pass we're getting blitzed for sure.

 

We just didn't execute. Really just needed two first downs and then our odds of winning were probably north of 95%.

I would have just loved to see the option one more time in that series.  I think we ran it once but it looked like it was a predetermined keeper due to the turnover chance.  Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong drive.  But the option has been virtually unstoppable up until now. It's been far more efficient then the QB draw we run every time it's late in the game and third and less than 5 or 6. Play to win.  Execute and we run out the clock.

 

Oh well, get it right this week and then the Michigan game becomes another do or die in the tenure of Frost.

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33 minutes ago, lo country said:

Spot on.  All comments in the X ring....I just threw up......How can you read that and think that Frost has this team even remotely close to being better where it matters....In the W-L column.  We are now 5-15 in one score games......We are 105th in Red Zone scoring (including TD and FG)......Those offensive statistics point to a HC and OC way in over his head against the caliber of teams and coaches he is facing.....

The offense needs to be scoring TDs. I’m not down playing that. 
 

But, I’d be interacted in knowing how we would rank in red zone scoring if we made all our field goals. 

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One stupid special teams play that doesnt happen and if the D holds at the end everyone would be talking about how great of an overall game it was how Nebraska won. How the offense was able to move the ball and maintain possession so the D didnt have to be on the field. How the D, except for one trick play, held their own. And how special teams didnt get in the way. Instead, special teams got in the way and Nebraska loses. 

 

And yet, some people are complaining about Martinez not being good enough. Does the offense need to get better? Sure. But I'm actually liking Frosts offense (needs better oline play though) more and more. Those trickles of run option. Like those. Complain what you want about scoring, but the last two teams Nebraska has played. Those aren't defenses to scoff at. 

 

The offense is getting better each game imo. Now if they dont come out and score points against an awful northwestern team. Then ya, we should be upset at the O.

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