Another year, same story. A year after coming out strong against UCLA and then getting dominated, the exact same thing happened Saturday in Lincoln as the Bruins rolled through Lincoln and beat Nebraska 41-21. It’s another game where the fans are asking what in the hell is going on in the second half of games?

I’ll tell you what isn’t happening and that is making adjustments. After the missed sack right before half, the Bruins scored a touchdown to take the momentum heading into the locker room. They came back out from halftime and stopped TIm Beck’s offense and quickly scored another touchdown on their way to scoring 38 unanswered points.

The play calling in the second half was terrible on the offensive side of the ball. Three and out, three and out over and over. An offensive coordinator that was pressing trying to get it all back in one play (going deep) twice was not the answer at that time in the game. I feel that Beck needed to get the run game established like they did in the first half but instead he had Martinez out there trying to sling it side line to side line and picking up 3 yards at a time. Hmm, you don’t think one of the three running backs couldn’t do that the way they ran the ball earlier in the game?

Also, can we please stop calling for the option play to be ran? It is not working…

The only good and postive from the offense was in the first half when they ran the ball which setup the touchdown passes from Taylor Martinez to Enunwa and Bell. Once again, RUN THE BALL, to set up the pass.

Defensively, missed open field tackles once again led to big gains for the Bruins. Just like last year, nothing changed. Man to man on the outside, and a d-line that did not get pressure in the second half. Why wasn’t an adjustment made to bring more pressure or play some zone? ADJUSTMENTS is something this team and coaches have been unable to do.

Nebraska wasn’t the only B1G team to look like crap yesterday. Michigan also did not play good. But it was the Huskers who actually got embarrassed and it was the same exact things that have killed them the past two years. It’s time to make adjustments, or it’s time for this staff to move along…


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It was an up and down night in Lincoln for the Cornhuskers as they kicked off the 2013 season against Wyoming on Saturday night. There were times I thought that the guys would go up by 17 or 24 and never look back but a few questionable play calls and a momentum stealing penalty took that thought away. Instead it was Wyoming putting pressure on Nebraska late in the 4th qtr before Nebraska was able to hold on for a 37-34 victory.

Offense:
Bad play call on the 4th and 1 with Martinez who does not run the sneak affectively. Prior to the stoppage it was three runs by Imani Cross for 6, 2 and 1 yards. Why not again or at least a different running back?

If that first down is picked up, this game does not end up as close as it did. Nebraska either score or runs the clock down in my opinion. One bad play call turned this game around.

Out of 85 plays, offensive coordinator Tim Beck called 63 runs. Why not take some shots down the field to Quincy and Kenny? You have a senior quarterback and two senior wideouts that can make big plays. Take a shot once in a while Beck!

It was nice to see true freshman Terrell Newby be affective in the second half. He ran for 76 yards on 15 carries and was explosive. There were a couple of plays that he almost broke for very long runs. He is a nice change of pace back to go along with Ameer and Imani who should only get better.

Speaking of Imani, what a beast running the ball! But please do not run a short pass to him on a 3rd down play Coach Beck!

I sure hope that Taylor Martinez’s shoulder / collar bone is ok. He was never the same after the hit in the third quarter.

Defense:

Oh boy where do we start? I suppose I can start off with a couple of positives before we get into the negatives. Randy Gregory at DE played pretty good for his first d1 game. I still don’t quite understand the “roughing the passer” penalty even though he sacked the Wyoming QB when he still had the ball. Just another “rule” trying to soften up football by the NCAA.

Other positives were Ciante Evans and Stanley Jean-Baptiste in the secondary. Both guys stepped up and had some key plays on defense.

Onto the bad, the d-line and linebackers played like CRAP. Wyoming put up over 600 yards of offense on the “blackshirts” and it all started up front with terrible angles and missed tackles. The front four got pressure against Brett Smith at times but rarely were able to finish the play.

Once again, the line and linebackers look they are rushed and not getting the play call from the sideline fast enough. It looked like they would barely get set and Wyoming was snapping the ball. Things are going to have to fixed in that aspect before UCLA makes their way to Lincoln or it is going to be another long game for Nebraska.

Overall, fans aren’t happy with the performance. Not just by the players but also the coaching staff. They have Southern MIss coming into Lincoln for another night game on Saturday and I sure hope we some improvement from both sides of the ball as well as special teams. (Can’t be missing XP’s) It’s time for the guys to step up and that includes the coaching staff. Man up and dominate the fucking line of scrimmage and control the game for once.


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So things sure didn’t turn out how Coach Pelini, the players or the fans wanted at the end of the season. An embarrassing loss to Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship and then a tough battle against Georgia in the Capital One bowl left the Huskers with a 10-4 overall record for the 2012 season. Definitely not where the program needs to be.

It will be interesting to see where the sports betting sites list the Huskers as far as odds go. Are they still a top 3-4 team in the B1G 10? Will the odds be in their favor with the schedule pointing to good opportunities? It will be fun to see where they come out but I would think towards the top but behind Ohio State.

I do like where the offense should be. Plenty of starters are are returning and it will be another year for Tim Beck to grow as an offensive coordinator. Taylor Martinez will be back for his Senior year but will be without Rex Burckhead and the two tight ends Ben Cotton and Tyler Reed.

I am not worried at the running back position. Tight end, it would be nice to see a younger guy show up and take over the spot. The job will be open and a couple of those young guys are going to have to step up. It’s really too bad the coaching staff wasn’t able to reel in a juco tight end commitment.

Where things do get scary is when you look on the defensive side of the ball. I see open competitions at almost every position. Once again, it will be young guys that will have to be plugged in and thrown into the battle early. It’s time to get speed on the field and play the guys that can take good angles and make an open field tackle.

Can the defensive line establish some depth? I sure hope the few juco d-line guys come in in good shape and ready from the get go. We need to see a much improved d-line play and have depth behind them to really control teams in the second half.

So looking back at the 2012 season, there were definitely up and downs. The loss at UCLA hurt, come back wins were nice, but it just wasn’t that dominating season that us Husker fans wanted to see. The 14 points loss to Georgia in the bowl game wasn’t as bad as the score shows so I really hope the guys come into 2013 thinking they can play with anyone. It’s the attitude that they need to win a B1G Championship and win a BCS bowl game.

Let’s hope this is a good offseason with good conditioning and the coaching staff remain in recruiting mode. I can’t wait until Spring ball and then the start of the 2013 season. GO BIG RED!

 


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So after beating Southern Miss in the season opener 49-20 the team had a big let down on the road when they faced off against UCLA. The 36-30 loss to the Bruins has Husker fans once again thinking about the coaching staff as well as what players should be out there on the field. As a Nebraska fan, you know this happens after a loss, and it’s not really the loss that is making fans mad, but the way the loss are happened.

So where do I stand after two games?

The offense is clicking pretty good once they get a good rhythm and that means in a fast pace tempo. Taylor is making some nice plays and throws if he is given time by the offensive line. The line was a low point in the UCLA game which was surprising because against Southern Miss they played great. Were the guys not prepared for the outside blitzes that the Bruins were bringing? The say they knew  they blitzing would happen but were still unable to stop it. Hmm sounds like the coaches should have made some adjustments or changes to get the line playing better but it never happened.

Even without Rex at RB, the backs are running the ball pretty good. I’m impressed with Ameer Abdullah has he has started the season off strong. Then you have Heard and Cross behind him who can help carry the load. It will be fun to watch how the coaching staff uses all four of the backs. I think Ameer and the two other young players get the ball quite a bit in the next few weeks as Rex continues to rest his knee.

The receiving core is strong even though they have lost a couple to injuries. The guys are catching most of the balls that Taylor gets to them and are making defenders miss. For once, I can say Nebraska has a strong and quick receiving group that are also great blockers down field. Great job by every one of them.

So now to the bad. The defense can’t stop opposing teams from moving the ball and getting into the end zone. I thought that the d-line would be able to get some pressure and the secondary would be able to make some plays in the open field but so far neither of those is really happening. If a team spreads their offense out, and Nebraska is forced to spread their linebackers out or move a safety up closer, it doesn’t bode well for the Blackshirts. Lack of speed, poor angles and terrible tackling accounted for many big plays against UCLA. The speed issue can’t be fixed unless other players see the field but the poor tackling and angles can definitely be fixed.

The defense needs to improve there isn’t much more to say about that…

So where does this team go? Do they respond well as they face Arkansas State and Idaho State in Lincoln the next two weeks? They better get some things figured out because Wisconsin will be visiting town on Sep 29th to kick off B1G play and that’s when the real season starts for this team and for us fans. It’s time to get behind these guys and show them support because the main goal of winning the B1G Championship is still out there and winnable.

@NebSports is where you can follow me on Twitter for Husker talk and sports gambling information.


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Nebraska now knows what their 2015 and 2016 Big 10 schedules will look like as the conference released the information Monday morning.

2015 Nebraska Football Schedule

Sept. 5 BYU
Sept. 12 South Alabama
Sept. 19 at Miami
Sept. 26 Southern Miss
Oct. 3 at Minnesota
Oct. 10 BYE
Oct. 17 Northwestern
Oct. 24 at Wisconsin
Oct. 31 Michigan State
Nov. 7 at Michigan
Nov. 14 Indiana
Nov. 21 at Penn State
Nov. 28 Iowa

2016 Nebraska Football Schedule
One non-conference game TBA
Sept. 3 Fresno State
Sept. 10 Tennessee
Sept. 17 Wyoming
Oct. 1 at Northwestern
Oct. 8 Wisconsin
Oct. 15 BYE
Oct. 22 Minnesota
Oct. 29 at Michigan State
Nov. 5 at Indiana
Nov. 12 Michigan
Nov. 19 Penn State
Nov. 26 at Iowa

Looking things over, 2015 will definitely be a tough schedule but things should ease up in the 2016 season. Should be an exciting time for Husker football playing the likes of Miami and Tennessee as well as the Big10 games. Kinda weird how Wisconsin got back on the schedule very quickly but we do miss out on Ohio State.


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Running back Aaron Green has decided to transfer from the University of Nebraska and all signs point to him attending a school in his home state of Texas. Green carried the ball 24 times for 105 yards as a true freshman in 2011. Green was wanting more carries and you can’t blame him but sometimes you gotta be patient and wait your turn especially as a freshman.

Schools that Green may be transferring to based on reports would be Houston, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU and Texas A&M. You can’t fault the kid for wanting to play closer to home and we wish him well in the future.

Aaron’s older brother Andrew is still part of the Nebraska team and will be getting quite a bit of action in the secondary for the blackshirts.

The depth chart would now look like this at the running back position: Rex Burkhead, Ammer Abdullah, Mike Marrow.


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Three game times have been announced for conference games this up coming season as the Big10 announced their prime time schedule. Nebraska will be playing three games that will be either shows on ABC or ESPN in prime time.

The Cornhuskers will face off against Wisconsin Sep 29th in Lincoln and then again Oct 26th against the visiting Michigan Wolverines. The night game on the road will be played in Columbus, Ohio against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Getting Wisconsin and Michigan at night will be a big advantage to that Huskers. The home crowed is always more into the game after tailgating all day and it also gives the coaches more time to get recruits in for a long weekend. Expect Sep 29th and Oct 26th to be the biggest recruiting weekends for the upcoming season.

Basically it times to to put up or shut up with these games. It’s time to show the Big10 what Nebraska is about and it starts by beating teams at home under the lights.

@NebSports


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