Good morning everyone, sorry for the lack of game recaps the past couple of games but I’ve been pretty busy and haven’t been able to blog as much as I would like to.  It sure is nice to head into Big10 play with 4-0 record even though the wins haven’t been pretty and a lot of fans are wondering what is going on.

We will know a lot more about this team after Saturday’s game against Wisconsin. The Badgers come into the game undefeated as well but the difference in their wins is that they are blowing out their opponents compared to Nebraska who has had to pull away late in the games to secure their wins. ESPN Gameday will be live in Madison and you can expect their fans to be plenty loud when kickoff happens.

So what does Nebraska have to do to pull out a victory in Madison? First and foremost is fix things on defense. The d-line has got to get pressure on Russell Wilson and also make a tackle when they hit the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. The linebackers need to keep an eye on Wilson as well because he will take off and run the ball when needed. The secondary will have to play their best game of the season. No more blown coverages or being slow and getting beat right at the line of scrimmage. Get physical and play your man while securing the tackle.

Of offense it’s HOLD ONTO THE BALL! The Huskers are fumbling so much that one of these times they will lose four of them and it’s going to result in a loss. Taylor will need to hit his receivers in stride against the Badger zone that everyone expects them to play. Receivers need to catch the ball and then turn to get up field.

Rex Burkhead needs to be the main guy on Saturday night for the offense in my opinion. Rex can keep the ball in the Huskers hands and keep Wilson and the Badger offense on the sideline. Hoepfully the O-line can block well and Rex can put up some good numbers while taking a lot of time off of the clock.

Currently Wisconsin is favored by -9.5 points. The spread opened up at -7 in Las Vegas at the Wynn and after 30 minutes it hit -8. I’ll be in Las Vegas for the game this weekend, so hopefully I’ll see the Huskers pull off the upset and improve to 5-0 on the season.


0 Comments | Write Comment
 

I didn’t get to pay attention to the game as close as I would like and haven’t had time to watch the full game replay yet so don’t have a detailed game recap but Nebraska improved to 2-0 on the season with a 42-29 win over Fresno State. It was a very slow / sloppy first half but then the offense turned things up in the second half and Ameer Abdullah ran back a kickoff for a 100 yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for good.

Some things that were disappointing:
The lack of a defensive rush / pressure from the front four
Defense overall playing slow and not getting after the Fresno guys
Defense being on the field so much (Due to quick scores and 3 and outs)
First half for the offense
Interceptions

Some things that looked good:
Ammer Abdullah and Jamal Turner with the ball
Offense coming together in the second half
Taylor Martinez breaking some long runs
Rex Burkhead when he was given the ball to keep the clock ticking late

It doesn’t sound promising that Alfonzo Dennard will be back for the Washington game. once Dennard is back expect the defense to pick things up as a few players will move around and be able to be in better position to make a play. I hope to see more improvement and a complete game from the offense against Washington. If not, things are going to get ugly as BIG 10 plays isn’t too far off.

 


0 Comments | Write Comment
 

Well the season opener as come and gone and Nebraska has a 1-0 record after beating Tennessee Chattanooga 40-7 on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln. It’s always good to get a win the first week of the season no matter who the opponent is but I thought that the offense left a lot to be desired and after reading comments from Coach Beck I was left thinking if he is ready to be a big time offensive coordinator?

The offense struggled for pretty much the whole game I had though. Terrible option plays, terrible line play and terrible blocking on the outside led to three and outs and fans wondering where the heck the new offense was that had been greatly talked about all off season. Coach Beck said he would get in a position where he wanted a play to succeed so badly that he just kept calling it even though there were probably better play calls that could have been made in those decisions. Yeah, like not running the option when your line is getting blown off the ball and the spacing between quarterback and running back is not where it needs to be.

Can we please get Jamal Turner the ball more than 2-3 times a game? The talented Freshman wowed the crowd with his one reception and he could be a big time play maker if given the ball more. The same could be said for Ameer Abdullah who flashed around on punt returns. I love his Turner’s and Abdullah’s running styles and they can really spark the offense if given the chance I think.

I’m hoping for a much improved offense and hopefully a more relaxed offense when Fresno State comes to Lincoln on Saturday night. If not, the Bulldogs just might make a game out of it.

The bright spots I thought were was the defense and special teams. The blackshirt defense held Mocs to just seven points and pretty much controlled the game from the get go. I thought that Cameron Merideth really stood out on defense and made some big plays including two sacks and an interception. Lavonte David had a team high nine tackles while fellow Senior Jared Crick finished with five tackles (two being for losses).

Special teams was led by Brett Maher who converted four out of four field goals. Maher connected from 50, 48, 34 and 21 yards out. Maher looked great out there and answered the question of who would fill in for Alex Henery who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Overall the defense is there and will play even better once Alfonzo Dennard is back. The offense has a lot of work to do both from the players and coaches perspectives. Coach Beck needs to move away from plays that are not working and also work with Taylor Martinez to read through his progressions as well as spacing throughout the option plays. Hopefully the two can figure it out!


0 Comments | Write Comment
 
Popular Tags
 
Husker Fan Sites
 
Husker News Sites
 
Archives
 
Syndication