Yah bro, I know it's a cloud from last season possibly. New coaching, new technique, new philosophy, different players (for the most part). I'm really getting into taking these one at a time. A good game against Va Tech could do wonders. And playing all these games at home helps with the maturation process and builds confidence for these young guys. By time those big games come along, the speed of the game will (hopefully) slow down for them. They'll know exactly what the coaches want and what they'll be responsible for doing.
I HIGHLY doubt that Bo is taking a "bend but don't break" attitude. It goes against his nature! Could you really see Pelini telling our guys "Today we're going to give them whatever they want till they get to our 25, then by god start trying to stop them!" I highly doubt it is his aproach to play this way. More than likely our secondary is not fully understanding the zone concepts as well as they should, giving opponents a lot of room to get open. Once we get in the red zone they are more apt to stick with their man, and make the QB make good decisions. Which luckily so far they haven't done to a large degree.