Cincinnati: What Did We Learn?

[Slow yer Roll]

Ive seen this movie before.

 

[CheeseHusker]

Certainly wasn't sure what I was going to see.

Very happy with kicking game. Archie Wilson did his job. Kicker nails a 52 yarder on his first attempt of the year. I thought maybe the return game could have been better, but overall special teams looks vastly improved.

I am very concerned about the running game. I did not expect to be outrushed especially by a 2-1 margin. 110 rushing yards is not going to get it done against the better opponents on our schedule especially in colder weather. Emmett Johnson ran well and was a workhorse, but there's not much behind him and if he should get hurt we could have some problems. The O-line blocked poorly. I have mixed feelings about the play calling; I felt like there was too many instances of trying to force the run against a loaded box. I also would have liked to have seen some misdirection. They tried one or two gadget plays with Barney and one nearly broke for a TD, then they didn't go back to it.

Barney looks dangerous but I worry about his body frame; I feel like he could get absolutely crunched at some point.

We got away with a couple of fumbles that we recovered. Rub of the green won't always be that kind; gotta clean that up.

Passing offense is our strength; Raiola played a terrific game both statistically and from a game management perspective. Dane Key is gonna be a reliable weapon all year. And I really liked what we did with the tight end.

I wasn't a big fan of the D-line either. There were times where they got in the backfield but they missed sacks and tackles and they got gashed a few times.

Are we better than last year? Maybe a little bit. I think some of these pundits having us in the playoff need to pour cold water on that, right now, this performance won't get them there. But there's time.

Overall this might be exactly the game they need to start. If the natural progression of a rebuild is to lose big > lose close > win close > win big, then I guess we are progressing.

 

[GSG]

I learned that there was a trophy, and that it appears to be a giant cooking pan.

 

[VectorVictor]

Mmmk Scott Frost. How many years have we been on the wrong end of that!? Let’s just freaking wait and see. It was game one. It wasn’t like we were playing a nobody.

We were playing a team that is likely not bowl-bound who plays in a decidedly weak Big XII and will be sacking their coach at the end of the season.

We should be much better than we are at this point.

— — —

Our defense got zero pressure, the defensive play calling was very suspect, in hurry up situations the defense looked lost, and really our secondary was getting away with stuff all night until Herzog got called for the (deserved) defensive holding right before the end of the game.

Yes we won with a defensive stop, but that was more a product of the other coach being inept and not sticking with what worked (running the ball) than going with something that had been poor all night (long pass attempts).

Offensively, we have great starters and little depth it seems. Playcalling was mostly pedestrian compared to last year but this was probably by design.

It’s year 3 and with NIL…we should be better than this.

 

[Waldo]

Yes we won with a defensive stop, but that was more a product of the other coach being inept and not sticking with what worked (running the ball) than going with something that had been poor all night (long pass attempts.)

I really don’t know why people are calling out the long pass from Cincinnati to end the game. They were attacking our least productive DB multiple times that drive. There was 39 seconds left when it left the QBs hand. If they kept running the ball, at best they make it to OT with a FG and at worst, they miss the FG.

Not the greatest throw but I didn’t hate the play call when factoring who they were throwing at.

 

[gobiggergoredder]

We are still better at interviews and creating social media videos than we are football.

The Husker crowd impacted the game.

Getting into and out of arrowhead was a miserable cluster F.

 

[lo country]

EJ was solid. No depth after him. Coaching or talent?

WR’s looked good. Still having issues hitting receivers in stride.

Raiola stats were solid. Dig deeper his average throw was approx 6 yards. Average after catch was about 7.5. We need to get vertical.

OL looked better.

Play calling was vanilla with no ebb or flow. I didn’t see a genius OC. Ditch the east west running game. Go north and south.

D was on the struggle bus for sure. Cincy showed how to beat us. Run it right down our throats.

ST’s much better. Archie for Heisman. Wish we’d set up blocking on punt returns.

One player did what he’s always done. Costly mistakes and then makes a great play.

Going for it on 4th and 2 almost cost us the game. That was Scott Frost onside kick stupid. Unsure about the time out in the 4th.

I don’t see us being Indiana. Or going 10-2. Continue like last nite and we won’t go bowling.

In Rhule’s year 3 did he has a big coaching turnover going into it like we just did?

Incredibly negative post. I just expected more tbh.

We did kick the one score monkey in the face again. Guys didn’t quit. Some players shined. OL held up against a legit DT in Corleon. We got a win. 5 more to bowl eligibility.

 

[olddominionhusker]

To everyone complaining about our defense, take a look at the game stats. I'll agree they're was times it looked rough but overall pretty stellar stats. If we do that all year, we will win a lot of games.

Idk. I do t think giving up 200+ on the ground is stellar. Secondary looks pretty good tho

 

[SuperBigFan69]

We barely held on to win by three against a team that had 33 passing yards in the first 57 minutes of the game.

This game was so statistically dominated by NU that it makes me want to feel good about things but at the same time this is exactly why the crappy teams in this crappy conference end up so crappy, they all play so safe and conservative that they never really put teams away so they all end up just hoping for that magical 8 win season as they all look up to OSU as their Big Brother.

This game should have been "over" at the 10 minute mark of the 3rd quarter.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

The only visible improvement is our special teams which was expected given we had no special teams coach last two years. Our offense is no different than last year. Our defense is visibly worst than last two years. If we end the season 8-5, I call that major progress. I bet cincy doesn’t make a bowl this year. Matt has no more excuses.

Statisically, after week one, the defense will look like one of the best in the country. They let up no passing yards and not a lot of points.

But sadly, with game film now, it is going to be a mess

 

[Undone]

Just from what I saw last night and nothing else, I'm really liking what Holgorsen has brought in for us. The play mix, formations, and concepts take advantage of Raiola's skills and get guys into space.

To me it seems like the plays develop way faster that Satterfield's concepts - which is good. Guys dart out into space really fast. There were passing lanes that were open all night, and I think it was pre-snap design and route concepts that did that. I love to see that.

Raiola was put into good positions all night on passing plays. The play design had the check-down man in good spots, not just in a position where if we checked down we'd get smashed right on the line of scrimmage.

And how about Teddy Prochazka? Are people talking about him? I thought he did great! Love that for him for sure, holy cow what an insane ride for that kid.

 

[Hagg]

Well.... uh... kind of a "same-ole same-ole" thingy kickin' in I guess.

Not terrible. Certainly not good. Hell, I don't even know if there's anything to "unpack" about it. Probably not. But we'll all try.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

We were playing a team that is likely not bowl-bound who plays in a decidedly weak Big XII and will be sacking their coach at the end of the season.

We should be much better than we are at this point.

— — —

Our defense got zero pressure, the defensive play calling was very suspect, in hurry up situations the defense looked lost, and really our secondary was getting away with stuff all night until Herzog got called for the (deserved) defensive holding right before the end of the game.

Yes we won with a defensive stop, but that was more a product of the other coach being inept and not sticking with what worked (running the ball) than going with something that had been poor all night (long pass attempts).

Offensively, we have great starters and little depth it seems. Playcalling was mostly pedestrian compared to last year but this was probably by design.

It’s year 3 and with NIL…we should be better than this.

Amen! With NIL and total free agency there should almost be zero starters that are suspect.

 

[MyBloodIsRed16]

We opened on the road and beat a power 5 opponent. You can say it was a home game but they still had to travel and over the last decade anytime that has happened the record isn't that great. D-line was the biggest disappointment. Looked un athletic as hell. 2nd play of the first possession Jeudy got manhandled like he just played his first snap of football. O-line was ok. Still pissed about the false start on the goal line. EJ looked solid. Across the board the WR played well. Even made some guys miss after catching the ball. Hunter caught a contested TD and didnt have the ball ripped out of his hands so that's promising. Score was disappointing but we won and I dont think we will face a team with a running QB like that for a while

 

[Mavric]

To me it seems like the plays develop way faster that Satterfield's concepts - which is good. Guys dart out into space really fast. There were passing lanes that were open all night, and I think it was pre-snap design and route concepts that did that. I love to see that.

We ran a TON of slow-developing run plays.