**** What did we learn - Sparty edition ****

[The Nebraskan Assassin]

'Nuff said.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I'm sick of seeing people say...."the westerkamp catch on the last drive should have been a pick six." Like it was some horrible play.

Was it close? Yes. Was it? No.

We have plays all the time that is just tipped by our DBs and I never see, "well, it should have been a pick".

Cook put some balls into some very tight coverage last night. Good for him and the receivers. Great plays.

In the fourth quarter Armstrong and our receivers started doing the same thing.

 

[TheSker]

We have the ability - but maybe not the schemes or the coaches - to get to Indianapolis.

Just the opposite. We have the scheme and coaching. We lost this game because our offensive line talent (ie. ability).

 

[MichiganDad3]

1. You usually lose when you have 4 turnovers

It is tough to be a great team when you have as many injuries as the Huskers
He has Montana's arm and Elways legs, but why can't Tommy read
Tommy cannot throw a swing pass either
Punting from the opponents 31 yard line should cause an investigation for wagering against your own team
Husker corners are not taught to look for the ball
Assigning a replacement corner to cover the opponents best WR is dumb

 

[irafreak]

You guys saying we're cruising for 9-4 again need to wake the heck up. Have a hot cup of coffee. You're being over dramatic. We're not that bad. I guarantee that's the worst game that OL plays all season.

For those of you calling for staff changes... Again. Wake the hell up. No one fires a position coach or coordinator on one game.

Quit bagging on TA for being so bad. He's got less than about a full years worth of starts under his belt and we played a defense that absolutely tail whipped our OL and completely took away his biggest asset, his legs.

But I suppose you live in a world where All American dual threat QBs who throw as well as they run our spread offense grow on trees.

Straight delusional...

You're just not paying attention to the posts. People don't want to fire coaches after one game....it's several seasons worth of games.

This offense came out unprepared. That is simply unacceptable for a big time college program to have an OC that comes out with a gameplan that bad in the biggest game of the season to date. Nothing new. Nothing unique. No play of attack just the usual "oh crap this isn't working, panic!"

Minimal halftime adjustments. Our first 3 plays were 3 of the same that had been failing all first half.

I don't want a dual threat qb. I want someone that can complete a 5 yard pass to a wide open receiver/back. A guy that in big games with the game on the line can look for his playmakers and not predetermine his throws. How the HELL do you not look for Weskerkamp at the end of the game...especially after he missed him wide open for another touchdown in the 3rd. How does Beck not stress this to his young qb? TA should not be having these issues. It's the coaches job to point these things out.

You're the delusional one believing this coaching staff is doing a good job. The Offensive coaches flat out blew it this week. Preparation. Game time adjustments. Playcalling. It was an embarrassment to be that underprepared. MSU knew our audibles and we were still using them in the second half. You'd think a competent OC could see that.

I've had a chance to sleep on this and I'm more upset now that the thrill of almost winning a game we had no business being in the 4th has worn off.

 

[irafreak]

Ill say one thing, I'm surprised by the Spartan fans, that stadium was a quarter empty for most of the game and half empty towards the end.

It's a primetime game on ABC, ranked opponent, built up as the Big 10 game of the year going in, and they couldn't manage to get the students and other fans to fill up a stadium that isnt terribly big to begin with?

Your team is the defending Big 10 and Rose bowl champions, how pathetic is that?

Add to that all the booing during two of our early injuries and MSU is building a nice reputation...

 

[TheSker]

Nope, but it'd be nice if the guy who's made 8 figures off the University actually got his team ready toplay for four quarters against a team with a pulse seven years in.

I remember a guy in a similar situation looking at real estate in Boulder Colorado.........

 

[74Hunter]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

This team will only go so far as its offensive line and play calling will take them. Nebraska before entering the MSU game was averaging something like 5 yards before contact. You don't do that without a good offensive line. At the same time, it's hard for 5 guys to block 7, and Beck needs to figure that out or hit the road.

As much as I love Ameer, and as much as heart as he shows and as much dedication he has, he's good for one game altering fumble a year. Last year it was against UCLA. This year it was last night.

Unlike recent prime time, big game performances (48-17 Wisconsin in 2011, 45-17 Michigan in 2011, 63-38 Ohio State in 2012, 70-31 Wisconsin in 2012, 41-21 UCLA in 2013), the stats will tell you that we had every chance to win this game. MSU turned the ball over 3 times in the first half, giving Nebraska starting field position about 40 yards away from the endzone. If we take advantage of one of those, we win the game.

The game was very 2009 Missouri.

As much as the result (loss) is the same, this team and the way the loss happened, the feeling is different. There's no reason to believe we can't win out and head to Indy to face MSU again.

But, let's rest our guys this weak, and be ready for another test against a reinvigorated, division leading, Northwestern.

 

[True2tRA]

We have the ability - but maybe not the schemes or the coaches - to get to Indianapolis.

Just the opposite. We have the scheme and coaching. We lost this game because our offensive line talent (ie. ability).

I agree. Nearly every issue you can spot last night comes back to the offensive line. Whether it was run blocking or pass blocking. Tommy missed some easy throws,those are on him only. That may have alleviated some pressure but I doubt it. MSU was attacking. Even when rushing four, they don't play patty cake, they shoot gaps and attack. Their ends come upfield every down, they don't try to read and react, they go.

So then you have to ask yourself, why we don't do the same things with our very talented defensive line?

You have to ask why our offensive line seems to be a real question mark year in and year out?

Then Knapps point comes into play. What is it we are asking these guys to do that makes it so hard for them to be effective? Are these guys just not talented enough? I don't know if that's the case when most of our troubles seem to come from confusion and complete whiffs on assignments. I'll put the lack of aggression on the players shoulders, very soft at times honestly, but aside from that they just look lost.

It seems to me like there is a lot of communication out there at all positions and if every position group isn't on the same page, we break down very badly. When and how will every group ever be on the same page? We aren't building an NFL roster where we can sign guys to lengthy contracts who have and will play in the same scheme. These guys graduate, move on, and roster turnover is every season. It seems almost impossible to me. In year seven, good teams are still exposing that. When we just can't purely out-muscle someone, we struggle to out scheme them. That's an issue that does lend credibility to Knapps point.

 

[irafreak]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

Had it been a truly close loss I don't think you'd see so many vultures. Our offensive coaching staff laid an egg. MSU's defense is good but not shut down good like they seemed last night. We played right into their hands and made minimal adjustments. This loss is on the offensive staff. I can't blame TA for getting rattled especially when he makes comments about the team not sure what to do. That's coaching. No gameplan. No plan of attack. No backup plan to exploit their defense. Nothing. We walked in with the same routine we have every week and expected the top defense in conference to be pushed around like Miami. The staff deserves a lot of criticism for this (and I'm talking offensive...D played great.)

 

[irafreak]

We have the ability - but maybe not the schemes or the coaches - to get to Indianapolis.

Just the opposite. We have the scheme and coaching. We lost this game because our offensive line talent (ie. ability).

I agree. Nearly every issue you can spot last night comes back to the offensive line. Whether it was run blocking or pass blocking. Tommy missed some easy throws,those are on him only. That may have alleviated some pressure but I doubt it. MSU was attacking. Even when rushing four, they don't play patty cake, they shoot gaps and attack. Their ends come upfield every down, they don't try to read and react, they go.

So then you have to ask yourself, why we don't do the same things with our very talented defensive line?

You have to ask why our offensive line seems to be a real question mark year in and year out?

Then Knapps point comes into play. What is it we are asking these guys to do that makes it so hard for them to be effective? Are these guys just not talented enough? I don't know if that's the case when most of our troubles seem to come from confusion and complete whiffs on assignments. I'll put the lack of aggression on the players shoulders, very soft at times honestly, but aside from that they just look lost.

It seems to me like there is a lot of communication out there at all positions and if every position group isn't on the same page, we break down very badly. When and how will every group ever be on the same page? We aren't building an NFL roster where we can sign guys to lengthy contracts who have and will play in the same scheme. These guys graduate, move on, and roster turnover is every season. It seems almost impossible to me. In year seven, good teams are still exposing that. When we just can't purely out-muscle someone, we struggle to out scheme them. That's an issue that does lend credibility to Knapps point.

And everything you mentioned points back to coaching.

 

[NUpolo8]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

It's like the first five games were against really really bad teams or something.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Moving the goal posts is a pretty easy thing to do apparently.

 

[74Hunter]

I learned that nothing changed.

This is the best we can expect seven years in from this overmatched substandard coaching staff. "We didn't get blown out and never mind that thing about being outmatched for three and a half quarters"

And I don't know how many more injuries to people like Bell or Armstrong we need to show that we are behind in S&C so badly it's depressing.

Anyone who gleans that "we're close" after this debacle of a game where msu was handing it to Nebraska simply isn't living in reality.

Fire Bo Pelini.

I learned that the vultures were predictably waiting in the weeds through 5 wins to jump on the first loss of the season, regardless of how close of a loss it was.

Had it been a truly close loss I don't think you'd see so many vultures. Our offensive coaching staff laid an egg. MSU's defense is good but not shut down good like they seemed last night. We played right into their hands and made minimal adjustments. This loss is on the offensive staff. I can't blame TA for getting rattled especially when he makes comments about the team not sure what to do. That's coaching. No gameplan. No plan of attack. No backup plan to exploit their defense. Nothing. We walked in with the same routine we have every week and expected the top defense in conference to be pushed around like Miami. The staff deserves a lot of criticism for this (and I'm talking offensive...D played great.)

I though it was a 5 point loss?

But anyhoo, I agree that our offense was outclassed. The OC,QB, OL, none were particularly good.

It's tough to call plays though when you can't execute short swing and screen passes.