What we learned today...

[Husker from Kansas]

If they are so talented, that shouldnt have happened, regardless of experience.

You are implying talent is more important than experience? Did you see the Ohio State or Alabama game? Ohio State replaced one offensive lineman and Buffalo bullied him. Khalil Mack and co. were all over Miller at one point and would've been down a field goal if not for a penalty called on a turnover. Alabama won 35-10 but if you watched it it was not a decisive win. They replaced most of they defense and their offensive line and from a team in VT where most picked them to get blown out in a rebuilding year they actually out gained 'Bama. Not to mentioned Vt had 153 rushing yards while 'Bama had a measly 2.5 yard rushing average. This coming from a team that consistently gets a top 5 recruiting class from a Saban coached team that always comes to play. While I respect talent, you can't overlook experience. First game jitters, the anxiety of a new football season, whatever it may be, this isn't an isolated only 'Nebraska' thing. Dear Husker Nation- It gets better.

What is the excuse for last year? A very experienced defense with the majority of starters being seniors?

That the experienced players last year had little talent. I think we all know that it takes a balance of talent and experience for a team to succeed

 

[MichiganDad3]

If they are so talented, that shouldnt have happened, regardless of experience.

You are implying talent is more important than experience? Did you see the Ohio State or Alabama game? Ohio State replaced one offensive lineman and Buffalo bullied him. Khalil Mack and co. were all over Miller at one point and would've been down a field goal if not for a penalty called on a turnover. Alabama won 35-10 but if you watched it it was not a decisive win. They replaced most of they defense and their offensive line and from a team in VT where most picked them to get blown out in a rebuilding year they actually out gained 'Bama. Not to mentioned Vt had 153 rushing yards while 'Bama had a measly 2.5 yard rushing average. This coming from a team that consistently gets a top 5 recruiting class from a Saban coached team that always comes to play. While I respect talent, you can't overlook experience. First game jitters, the anxiety of a new football season, whatever it may be, this isn't an isolated only 'Nebraska' thing. Dear Husker Nation- It gets better.

All I'm saying is that we should never and I mean never give up 600+ yds and be in a nail biter vs Wyoming. How much do we spend on football? How much does Wyoming spend on football? We should be able to beat Wyoming with our 2nd string--well, hypothetically. But, I have had to accept, this is the 'new' NE, so maybe I'm just pissin' in the wind. There's absolutely no evidence under Bo Pelini that this will "get better" as the year goes on, in fact, there's solid evidence to the contrary(see B1G CCG '12...).

No I agree. 600 yards and a 3 point win isn't something you'd expect from Nebraska. I'm not justifying that we should be alright with this I'm just saying these things happen. Bo and crew will watch the tape and see what we did wrong. For a lot of these younger guys this game is going to be a learning experience more than anything.

Bo and crew won't see what we did wrong. This is the 4th 600+ game is less than a year. What did we do wrong in those games?

 

[Karsaire]

Didn't learn much from this game. Went a little worse than expected, but not much worse. Knew Wyoming would get YARDS passing. Rushing, surprised me, as I'm sure it surprised Bo and Pap. Adjusted well at half time. D-Line is young, I'm sure they learned a lot more than they would've in practice this game. Wyoming's game plan is essentially what Wisconsins gameplan was. Motion, run/pass balance. They had a great game plan. Still don't think Josh Mitchell is worthy of starting, but meh.

*This defense is already better than last years defense and most of them are freshman or sophomores. Always knew the first two weeks would be a learning experience for these guys.

*Newby needs to be on the field more. He is going to be a great one.

*The defensive play calling needs to be more diverse. I know they've been working with "odd" blitzes, but I don't think they showed any of them today.

*Need to get more emotionally involved offensively and defensively. I think we came out way too emotional and involved, and then we toned it down completely and played with hardly any emotion

*Taylor still forces stuff.

IMO it was much worse. We were a 28 point favorite. I did not expect to give up 600 yards. I expected less than 350. This game was a disaster.

What were you expecting from a defense that features 13 freshman/sophomores in the 2 deep? Some dominant performance from them? Most of them its their first time in a college football game. The expectations are unreasonable. The jump this D will make between now and B1G play is going to be tenfold of whatever jump we've seen in previous years - because those guys, in previous years, for the most part already had game experience and knew the system in and out. These guys don't. They're learning and adjusting to the speed still. That alone is a lot.

I don't think expecting less than 600 yards is an unreasonable thing, no. I think it's safe to say we weren't expecting domination but we got our freaking asses kicked...

I said we did worse than I expected, didn't I? I had 450 yards the number of yards we would give up. Some people don't understand that Bo's defense isn't about NOT giving up yards. It's about not giving up BIG chunks of yards and TDs.

If you read the post I never attacked what you excpected....I don't think it's unreasonable for ME to expect giving up 600 yards. And I know it's not about yards, but when 34 points are attached to those yards, some of them in critical moments.....Oh speaking of giving up BIG chunks of yards and TD's we did plenty of that IMO. How many plays 10+, 15+?

 

[MichiganDad3]

Listen guys... Overreaction runs rampant around here. Things are usually neither as good nor as bad as they seem.

For a first game, that was a net positive. Sure, Wyoming gave us all we could handle and 600 yards is embarassing. But they've got a QB that is definitely the real deal and a ton of mistakes and sloppy play was expected, at least to any sane fan, when you're breaking in this many new faces in the front 7 of your defense.

Look at it this way. I'd much rather go down to the wire now so there is no sense of complacency and laziness than coast to an easy win and let our young defense get their egos inflated and start to have a sense of entitlement. That is the LAST thing you want with a bunch of freshman who are still so green behind the ears and learning.

I fully anticipate every single one of them is going to get back to work this week and will take So. Miss very seriously. Hell, I bet the upperclassmen are as embarassed as the rest of us. But I'm of the mind that this defense can still improve and be a heck of a defense this year. I think last year's D had athletically reached their ceiling. This year's edition has nowhere to go but up. Great potential.

Bo didn't forget defense. He's just got a lot to work on. Especially that damn spread clearout stuff. If they sent a RB in motion, our one backer went with him and left Smith ALONE (?!?!) to gash our D. At that point there's not a whole lot the DL can do. We need to have someone closer than 15 yards downfield watching Smith.

Once the DL learn to use their hands and work OL better, they could be SOOOOO much better than we had last year.

McMullen went largely unhearalded. I think I'm the first one to mention him. He got some good pressure on the QB last night. Loved seeing him peel off the OT and almost immediately put Smith on the turf and force a bad throw. That doesn't happen with Meredith last year. He was just TOO SLOW.

The problem is that we seem to play the best QB in college every week.

 

[Stumpy1]

People really have blinders on if they are thinking our team is going to be horrible this year, especially the defense. For most of the 2nd half, 6 of the front 7 were Freshman and were playing in their very first game. I know some guys on here are coaches, as I am one also, and they can relate with what went on with the young ones playing. I really think this defense will improve by conference and will be one of the top units. We still will probably take our lumps against S. Miss and UCLA but we will get better from it.

Good to see somebody with some optimism this morning. I personally, am not a coach, but I'd like to think when you have such a young D the times where their inexperience and adjustments from high school to college are more likely to be prevalent are in the 1st and 4th quarter. Those two quarters IMO were our worst defensively.

It will be prevalent the whole game, not just part of it. The game is so much faster at the college level then the high school level that it will take some games to adjust to it. I can excuse the mistakes from the front seven because of youth but I can not forgive the secondary for its lack of play. That was to be our strongest point of the D and it looked the worst to me. That also could have been because of the lack of play from the front 7 and the mistakes they made.

 

[DrunkOffPunch]

If they are so talented, that shouldnt have happened, regardless of experience.

You are implying talent is more important than experience? Did you see the Ohio State or Alabama game? Ohio State replaced one offensive lineman and Buffalo bullied him. Khalil Mack and co. were all over Miller at one point and would've been down a field goal if not for a penalty called on a turnover. Alabama won 35-10 but if you watched it it was not a decisive win. They replaced most of they defense and their offensive line and from a team in VT where most picked them to get blown out in a rebuilding year they actually out gained 'Bama. Not to mentioned Vt had 153 rushing yards while 'Bama had a measly 2.5 yard rushing average. This coming from a team that consistently gets a top 5 recruiting class from a Saban coached team that always comes to play. While I respect talent, you can't overlook experience. First game jitters, the anxiety of a new football season, whatever it may be, this isn't an isolated only 'Nebraska' thing. Dear Husker Nation- It gets better.

What is the excuse for last year? A very experienced defense with the majority of starters being seniors?

We weren't good. Front 7 was slow. DT position was thin due to injuries and players leaving. Still, we had an opportunity to beat UCLA and had all the momentum in the Ohio State game until we started turning the ball over. Comeback wins against Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan State. We can credit a lot of this to the offense(which deserve most of the credit) but the D had to make stops too. They made them when they counted. Not to mention we were in a good position to beat Georgia until turnovers and big plays ruined it. Look we had a BAD defense last year. But at least at they gave us a shot for the win. I'd like to think their experience came in to play there. Not to mention it's hard to keep opponents out of the endzone when your offense has a historic number of turnovers.

 

[TheSker]

I just wanted to add that my biggest disappointment from game one is Martinez' turnovers. The defense will get better with each game due to the amount of newcomers and young players. Gerry is the real deal and Gregory has a good motor. I think it's appropriate to expect more out of a senior 4 year starting quarterback than two turnovers, especially when we have the opportunity to go up 3 scores.

 

[Goal-line]

The media kept reporting that the emphasis for the team was to not make costly mistakes. Well, three stupid penalties led to sustained drives that produced scores for the opposition. Also, there was pumped up talk about athleticism and flying around to the ball. That did not happen. Not good!

Here is my report card. Not that it counts for anything, just my opinion.

Defense=F

Passing defense=F

Rushing defense=F

Linebacker play=F

DB play=C+ (thanks to Jean-Baptiste)

Pass Rush=F

Kicking (Punts)=A+

Defensive Coaching=F (Anyone notice Pelini and Papuchis huddling by themselves on the side line to figure out what to do? And, they never did.)

Offense=B

Running game=B+

Passing game=B+

Line play=C

Receiving=A

Kicking (FG/Extra points)=B+

Offensive play calling=C

 

[True2tRA]

The penalties on the offensive line on third and short have to stop. It's cost us far too many times over the last five years. No well coached team continues to make these same mistakes year after year. They just don't.

 

[True2tRA]

I saw some really good things out there.
Gregory is going to be gooood.

Macmullen was a huge man.

VV and curry are space eaters.

Bando and Gerry were flying around in the 4th. Santos will be a factor agaisnt B1G offenses.

SJB and Evans? Nuff said.

Cooper and green were all over.

Our offense was unstoppable, comsidering we only ran about 2 misdirections and same of playaction.

Special teams looked great besides a freak missed PAT. Bell was a standout, and a great example of veteran leadership.

Newby? nice!

Cross? Beast!

Abdullah? Yep!

O-line? No sacks, IIRC. Will def get better and better.

No more turnovers, less penalties. Yeah, lets iron that out for sure but really we were going into the endzone to be up 44-21, then didn't finish (SUCKED). Also, Seisay needs to clean up his game.

But I like where we're headed. Feel really good about the next 3-5 weeks of progress

Agree with all of this. Definitely some bright spots last night. Especially McMullen and SJB on defense. I also think curry and Vv are gonna work out., that sack by Gregory was phenomenal. If we let these front four go a bit more and maybe bring an extra man or two more often I,think this defense can improve. The coaches have to help,these guys succeed.

Crewe might be right, that offense could have been a lot for these young guys to prepare for. Between wyomings game plan and that QB of theirs playing lights out it was not pretty for us no matter how you slice it. We just have to keep getting better. I don't want this to be a trend. The last three games have been record setting bad for Nebraska, that's a fact you just can't argue with.

The offense looked like two entirely different teams sometimes. I don't know if we weren't trying to show our arsenal or what? Fact was though, when the offensive line out a hat in a hat and we ran the ball in the middle, it worked. Other than that the play calling was baffling at times. No doubt the talent is there. Enunwa is a freak. That TD catch showed another side to him. He does it all now, blocking, catches over the middle, and now the toe touches in the corner! Impressive as hell. Kenny bell is a true leader. Great player and teammate. Cross and Newby also phenomenal.

I was not blown away impressed with the offensive line. A lot of talk about this crew in the offseason, but where was it? The penalties up front have got to stop. It's beyond ridiculous now.

Good and bad from last night. One thing that stung me most was players quitting before the whistle. Ciante Evans could have prevented a Wyoming touchdown if he would have kept playing. He just stopped and watched the guy. He wasn't the only one but he did it a lot. To me, that's basic football amd I expect that to be pointed out during all this film room time these players do. My suggestion is they get out of the fim room and go outside and work on tackling some more.

 

[Hayseed]

I'm gonna jump in here again. It was 93 degrees and humid as hell. We played a bunch of young guys. The Wyoming coach was Pinkel's OC and probably knows us like the back of his hand. The Wyoming QB was better than the Missouri QB's we played. We won but should've won by more....the reason we didn't is because we let up on offense and 'called some bad calls/ didn't execute' at critical times. We were also getting new players onto the field while Pinkel's boy was still going full speed ahead, which made us look worse than we probably are. I think there's plenty of upside for this team.

 

[Fuzzy]

Terrell Newby looked like the best player on the team, not sure if that's a positive, but I'm serious about that.

Newby looked good, he just didn't look fast. At least not Ameer fast.

No, Newby is fast, faster than Ameer. He has track speed, plus has completely natural, great moves and some power. He's the real deal.

At no point did i see Newby running faster than Ameer. I did not say Newby wasn't fast. Maybe its just that Newby doesn't have that initial burst of speed that Ameer does when he gets the ball.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Offensively, I thought the team did very well. Defensively......

Beck needs to remember we don't need to throw the ball when leading the game...

I was happy about the lack of turnovers and also T-Mart playing pretty much mistake free football...

Aside from Beck going full Watson, the O did play pretty well. Some kinks to work out but overall I wasn't too disappointed

For the better part of the 3rd quarter, they were absolutely killing it, when they were running the ball, playing to the strengths of the team...

Absolutely! I was hoping we'd keep running it all night. Keep running the ball until they stop it then switch it up. But Beck would go full Watson and change it up when Wyo couldn't stop the run. Frustrating to the say the least

I don't understand this complaint and disagree with the observation. Other than Ameer's breathrough run, Wyoming managed pretty good containment of our running game in the first half, and we definitely needed the passing game to loosen them up. When Beck started running Newby and and Cross and the offensive line was asserting itself, we were indeed the dominant vintage Nebraska offense a lot of folks pine for. But Wyoming DID make adjustments and those big holes up the middle started closing down. We ran four consecutive times and failed to get a crucial first down. We did a deep pass on a third down and Martinez throws his only interception, but it's ridiculous to claim Beck had abandoned what was working. What works is a having a smashmouth running game supported by a legitimate passing threat. Martinez was 17 for 22 for God's sake. We rushed the ball 63 times. There will be games where we pass even more and that's what it will take to win, because most defenses make adjustments far better than Nebraska's defense.

 

[Army_Allen]

I learned that (aside from the obvious defensive issues), Tim Beck can immediately transform himself from a gambling wide open play caller into a sit-on -the ball -lets eat -the - clock turtle way too early rather than continue to try and score. And that playing not to lose can come back to bite you both attitudinally and on the scoreboard.

And THAT scares me, because ol' Shawny did the same thing...

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

What I learned: Kenny Bell is my favorite Husker player and I wish he could play every position on the field.