EZ-E
All-American
Here we are again fellas. Hump day of gameweek of the biggest game of the year thus far. Ill start by saying that I am going to be in town and I am trying to get either a tailgate or a bar crawl going. I am not sure if I am going to the game, if you'd like to watch it on TV at one of the bars with me, I will post where I am at and any and all are welcome. Even Paul Crewe. Here is why I have told a lot of people that I believe this one to have a big time impact on the rest of our season and here are my keys to the game.
The Impact
Lets not sugarcoat this guys. Our schedule isn't exactly what anyone would consider tough. To be taken seriously early on in the season we need to win this football game. We don't have a chance to prove we are for real after this one until NW comes to town. If we get to NW undefeated it puts more of the media spotlight on that game and the Big Ten is fighting for a night game IMO because of the impact of that football game.
Confidence. If we can get passed UCLA what do you think that is going to do to our young freshman?
Fan Faith. A lot of us are growing very impatient. I understand that and I have tried to get people to be more patient because I believe the 10-20 decade is going to be a very special decade for our program. This win would absolutely unite the fanbase and make (some) doubters once again Bo-lievers. There wont be much you could take away from a victory like this as a fan.
Signature Win. Have we had one without an astrisk besides it since maybe Arizona? That one was only considered a signature win because they had no chance once we stepped off the bus. Even as being a Pelini supporter in every aspect I can't say we have ever had one.
Media Attention. Not even Desmond Howard will be able to take anything away from our win if we do get it done. The AP and the Coaches will take notice as well. Ciante Evans won't have to answer as many questions about our defense as he has basically in what? The past year?
Recruiting. One of the biggest parts of your program. What do you think a win like this will do when the coaching staff sits down with a kid in Southern California? We already have TMart and Newby plus a handful of other Cali kids. This win, plus those guys as leverage make a trip to SoCal to recruit a ton easier.
This is a big one Ladies and Gentlemen. No way to downplay it at all. Our guys know it and our coaching staff knows it. However, I will say in bolded letters, our program isn't in shambles if we lose and our season is far from doomed if we do as well. I would just really like to see our guys seize this opportunity and win this football game.
The Keys to the Game
NU offense/UCLA Defense - It is imparitive to get off to a quick start in this one. I expect to see a new level of hurry up. I want to see us get the ball to our fast play makers like Newby, Ameer, Bell, Turner, and even Alonzo Moore out in space on the edge. We haven't seen Beck really utilize much of our speed and I believe there is a reason for that. Then when they least expect it we line up in the diamond and plunge it up the middle with Cross.
Taylor Martinez. Buddy, we need a big time game from you. Notice that he has made some reads where he could have kept the ball on the zone read play and went up the middle for about 80 yards? I am wondering if he predetermined his read or if he wasn't trying to set something up. That zone read play has not really been that great thus far and we need it to be there. Next, when UCLA is only in a one-high safety look or if they creep them down into the box because they have to respect the running game, GO DOWN THE FIELD TO KENNY BELL!!!!!!!!!!
OL - Need the biggest game of the year. You guys have gotten better with every snap of the football, but we haven't played anyone like UCLA yet. They did a wonderful job at points last year against UGA and that was against basically NFL talent across the board. What you guys say they put together four quarters and do it all football game? Need to identify where Barr is and our running backs need to help with this if we are in an obvious passing down.
UCLA Offense/NU Defense - Shaq Evans and Devin Fuller are very scary football players guys. Watching them on tape I don't know how you exactly go at them. I think we are going to have to put SJB on Shaq and I don't know if you go with Ciante on Fuller or you go with Mitchell. Either guy on Fuller is going to need help over the top because I have never been impressed with either of our guys ability on the deep routes. SJB I am not worried about. James their new running back I will admit is a kid with a lot of talent. The play that I mentioned in a thread earlier this week that Paul also mentioned is the tight end picking the LB when we are in man to man and then James getting out in the flat. I will also like to point out that James doesn't have the ability to break as many tackles as Franklin, but he is a very talented young guy. Our safties are going to have to play the best game that they have so far. Haven't been terribly impressed with their ability in run support and that is still scary to me especially with a kid like Hundley.
DL - This is where we need our freshman to grow up and do it in a hurry. UCLA has four starters coming back from last year and we have one. Not that it is all bad, but VV needs to demand a double team every play and we need to be able to collapse the pocket and get to Hundley with our front four. If we have to blitz and creep up that safety into the box all game long it becomes increasingly difficult to win the game. I see us rushing Gregory from the left end a lot to flush Hundley out that way so he has to roll to his left and throw with his right. Not many high percentage throws come from that type of motion.
LBs - This could be the position that most concerns me. UCLA runs more swing passes and crossing routes than really any team that we saw last year and a majority of the times we had a ton of opportunities with our safeties or our linebackers to make plays for minimal gaines or losses and we didn't. We need to make those one on one tackles because our LBs will be called upon to make those plays. When we do dial up blitzes, GO WITH A PURPOSE!! I remember thinking in the first game that Bando was blitzing from the Mike spot and it didn't seem like he thought he was going to get there when he first started! Go young man!!!
Secondary - As I mentioned above they have some very good WRs. Fuller, I would love to have on our ball team like I thought we would have. He doesn't have that JT ability where the first guy never tackles him, but that drag route across the field we have had trouble defending with him scares the crap out of me.
Special Teams - We can't keep getting pinned in our own territory on our first drive. I don't exactly know how to fix it against that rugby punt. But we need to figure it out. Bondi, keep kicking it out of the endzone bro. Sam Foltz, we know he is fast. Dude ran a 48 second 400 meters in High School. I would not be surprised to see us call a rugby punt and give him the option to either kick it or run it at a momentum swinging part of the football game.
To wrap this up, this is one that we should have had circled on our calendar from the start of summer workouts. I expect to see a gameplan that is specifically designed to stop this type of offense and hopefully get helmets around the football. Do we have a gameplan that we have been working on all summer and fall like we did for Mizzou in '10 and MSU in '11? Maybe, or maybe not. We will find out when the boys in Red, I mean BLACK take the field at 11am in Lincoln on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Impact
Lets not sugarcoat this guys. Our schedule isn't exactly what anyone would consider tough. To be taken seriously early on in the season we need to win this football game. We don't have a chance to prove we are for real after this one until NW comes to town. If we get to NW undefeated it puts more of the media spotlight on that game and the Big Ten is fighting for a night game IMO because of the impact of that football game.
Confidence. If we can get passed UCLA what do you think that is going to do to our young freshman?
Fan Faith. A lot of us are growing very impatient. I understand that and I have tried to get people to be more patient because I believe the 10-20 decade is going to be a very special decade for our program. This win would absolutely unite the fanbase and make (some) doubters once again Bo-lievers. There wont be much you could take away from a victory like this as a fan.
Signature Win. Have we had one without an astrisk besides it since maybe Arizona? That one was only considered a signature win because they had no chance once we stepped off the bus. Even as being a Pelini supporter in every aspect I can't say we have ever had one.
Media Attention. Not even Desmond Howard will be able to take anything away from our win if we do get it done. The AP and the Coaches will take notice as well. Ciante Evans won't have to answer as many questions about our defense as he has basically in what? The past year?
Recruiting. One of the biggest parts of your program. What do you think a win like this will do when the coaching staff sits down with a kid in Southern California? We already have TMart and Newby plus a handful of other Cali kids. This win, plus those guys as leverage make a trip to SoCal to recruit a ton easier.
This is a big one Ladies and Gentlemen. No way to downplay it at all. Our guys know it and our coaching staff knows it. However, I will say in bolded letters, our program isn't in shambles if we lose and our season is far from doomed if we do as well. I would just really like to see our guys seize this opportunity and win this football game.
The Keys to the Game
NU offense/UCLA Defense - It is imparitive to get off to a quick start in this one. I expect to see a new level of hurry up. I want to see us get the ball to our fast play makers like Newby, Ameer, Bell, Turner, and even Alonzo Moore out in space on the edge. We haven't seen Beck really utilize much of our speed and I believe there is a reason for that. Then when they least expect it we line up in the diamond and plunge it up the middle with Cross.
Taylor Martinez. Buddy, we need a big time game from you. Notice that he has made some reads where he could have kept the ball on the zone read play and went up the middle for about 80 yards? I am wondering if he predetermined his read or if he wasn't trying to set something up. That zone read play has not really been that great thus far and we need it to be there. Next, when UCLA is only in a one-high safety look or if they creep them down into the box because they have to respect the running game, GO DOWN THE FIELD TO KENNY BELL!!!!!!!!!!
OL - Need the biggest game of the year. You guys have gotten better with every snap of the football, but we haven't played anyone like UCLA yet. They did a wonderful job at points last year against UGA and that was against basically NFL talent across the board. What you guys say they put together four quarters and do it all football game? Need to identify where Barr is and our running backs need to help with this if we are in an obvious passing down.
UCLA Offense/NU Defense - Shaq Evans and Devin Fuller are very scary football players guys. Watching them on tape I don't know how you exactly go at them. I think we are going to have to put SJB on Shaq and I don't know if you go with Ciante on Fuller or you go with Mitchell. Either guy on Fuller is going to need help over the top because I have never been impressed with either of our guys ability on the deep routes. SJB I am not worried about. James their new running back I will admit is a kid with a lot of talent. The play that I mentioned in a thread earlier this week that Paul also mentioned is the tight end picking the LB when we are in man to man and then James getting out in the flat. I will also like to point out that James doesn't have the ability to break as many tackles as Franklin, but he is a very talented young guy. Our safties are going to have to play the best game that they have so far. Haven't been terribly impressed with their ability in run support and that is still scary to me especially with a kid like Hundley.
DL - This is where we need our freshman to grow up and do it in a hurry. UCLA has four starters coming back from last year and we have one. Not that it is all bad, but VV needs to demand a double team every play and we need to be able to collapse the pocket and get to Hundley with our front four. If we have to blitz and creep up that safety into the box all game long it becomes increasingly difficult to win the game. I see us rushing Gregory from the left end a lot to flush Hundley out that way so he has to roll to his left and throw with his right. Not many high percentage throws come from that type of motion.
LBs - This could be the position that most concerns me. UCLA runs more swing passes and crossing routes than really any team that we saw last year and a majority of the times we had a ton of opportunities with our safeties or our linebackers to make plays for minimal gaines or losses and we didn't. We need to make those one on one tackles because our LBs will be called upon to make those plays. When we do dial up blitzes, GO WITH A PURPOSE!! I remember thinking in the first game that Bando was blitzing from the Mike spot and it didn't seem like he thought he was going to get there when he first started! Go young man!!!
Secondary - As I mentioned above they have some very good WRs. Fuller, I would love to have on our ball team like I thought we would have. He doesn't have that JT ability where the first guy never tackles him, but that drag route across the field we have had trouble defending with him scares the crap out of me.
Special Teams - We can't keep getting pinned in our own territory on our first drive. I don't exactly know how to fix it against that rugby punt. But we need to figure it out. Bondi, keep kicking it out of the endzone bro. Sam Foltz, we know he is fast. Dude ran a 48 second 400 meters in High School. I would not be surprised to see us call a rugby punt and give him the option to either kick it or run it at a momentum swinging part of the football game.
To wrap this up, this is one that we should have had circled on our calendar from the start of summer workouts. I expect to see a gameplan that is specifically designed to stop this type of offense and hopefully get helmets around the football. Do we have a gameplan that we have been working on all summer and fall like we did for Mizzou in '10 and MSU in '11? Maybe, or maybe not. We will find out when the boys in Red, I mean BLACK take the field at 11am in Lincoln on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
