• Nebraska’s 2012 Recruiting Class
• Huskers fall 30-13 in Capital One Bowl
• Nebraska vs South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl
• Nebraska gets hammered in Michigan
• Huskers fall 28-25
• Blackshirts are back after 24-3 win over Michigan State
• Nebraska rolls by Minnesota and eyes Michigan State next
• Second half pushes Nebraska past Ohio State
• Thoughts after loss in Madison
• Nebraska heads into Big10 play 4-0
• Huskers improve to 2-0
• Huskers open up with 40-7 win
• Bubba Starling signs with the Royals
• Nebraska and Iowa to play in the “The Heroes Game”
• New Nebraska Football Gloves from Adidas

Ouch, that wasn’t the way Nebraska wanted to end the 2011-2012 football season. South Carolina pulled away in the second half to defeat the Cornhuskers 30-13 down in Orlando at the Capital One Bowl. It was a crazy game that saw a blocked PAT that was returned for a two points, two future first round draft picks ejected and many missed opportunities for the Huskers.

The game turned on Nebraska when Gamecocks receiver Alshon Jeffery leaped over the Nebraska defenders and then launched himself into the end zone on a hail mary pass to put South Carolina up 16-13. That play gave all the momentum to South Carolina and they came out in the second half and punished Nebraska up and down the field.

After the game, there was talk about communication problems in the second half as the team went to a silent count. Nebraska had nine penalties, including four false starts and one delay of game while only picking up five first downs in the second half. Martinez said he was unable to get the cadence calls to the line in time due the crowd noise. Hmm maybe that should have been practiced a little bit more between Martinez and the line? Or have the coaching staff possibly signal it in with the play?

Not a whole lot to talk about on the positive side of things unfortunately. It was down right en embarrassing game for coaches, the team and also the fans. It’s going to be another long break that will have many Husker fans wondering which direction this team is headed. I’m hoping for a good ending to the recruiting class and then some good spring practices. There is plenty of people coming back on offense that there should be no reason the offense won’t put up better numbers. I think the question will be how will the defense play after losing Alfonzo Dennard, LaVonte David and Jared Crick…

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Saturdays game @ Michigan was a big let down for the fans, players and coaching staff. It seemed like from the opening kick off things weren’t going to be good and that was the case with turnovers, ticky tack penalties called and missed opportunities. The 45-17 loss knocked the Huskers out of contention for the Big10 Championship as well as a possible berth in a BCS bowl.

It is hard to argue that you will win a game when you have two special teams turnovers and also get called for a roughing the punter. Those three plays were crucial in the game and ones that we have not seen the special teams make this season. When things go bad, they really go bad.

What was up with the offense not getting in any sort of rhythm? The defense was gassed and yet play calling made it hard for the offense to stay out on the field in the first half. When you are stuck in 2nd and long situations and you attempt passes which are not the the strength of the offense, bad things are going to happen. I feel that Taylor has improved as a passer, but as a group the offense just isn’t clicking on those long downs. Rex is simply banged up and a step slower and the coaches don’t seem to want Aaron Green out on the field to take a few of those snaps. Ameer Abdullah got a couple of carries but what I want to see more of is the diamond formation. What did they run it on Saturday a total of two times? That should be one of the main formations for this offense. We have speed and healthy guys that can run it, give them the chance!

Defense was once again led by Lavonte David who running all over the field. David chased down Denard Robinson multiple times or the game would have been even more ugly. It’s really too bad we don’t have more guys like David on defense. Playmakers, not guys out there just filling positions. But the young speedy guys in and see what they can do in the secondary. It can’t get much worse can it?

Iowa is up next on Friday. Short week but something that might help the team. Hell it will help out the fans who are already calling for changes on the coaching staff. Time to move on and forget about it. I’ll be headed down Wednesday morning for the game. You gotta love those 7 hour drives from Western Nebraska..

@NebSports on Twitter.

Wow, that wasn’t the way I thought last Saturday’s game against Northwestern was going to go. The Huskers struggled from the very beginning and was never able to overcome bad defense as they lost 28-25 on their home field to Northwestern. The loss once again has the Huskers needing help from other teams if they want to play in the first Big10 championship game.

First off, I have to wonder why we did not see more of a rotation at running back. Rex Burkhead carried the ball 35 times the previous week and then rolled his ankle on the third play of the game Saturday yet the coaches kept running him out there and rarely did he take a play off. Sure Rex said he was ok, but you could see that he was clearly a step slower than his usual self and at some point the coaches have to see what the trio of freshman can do. It sure can’t hurt to try especially with Burkhead on a bum ankle.

The defense played like crap partly due to being so thin on the line. Two defensive tackles aren’t going to cut it and they admitted that there was no way they can play a full game with out getting gassed. Injuries happen and that is why you did not see Chase Rome out there as well as Thad Randall who will be out for at least a couple more weeks. Without Rome and Randall you seen Justin Jackson get some playing time.

As bad as the d-line played (minus Baker), the defensive backs played like crap. Pick plays / brushes killed the secondary as they were confused out there it seemed like. Could that have been because Will Compton was not in that often to get the play calls in to the other guys quickly? Just a thought as I observed the game. Too many times the defense wasn’t even ready when Northwestern snapped the ball.

I do have to say that Taylor Martinez played a very good game. He threw the ball very well and minus a few misses on the zone reads I thought led the team like a quarterback should.

In the end it was a loss that left the fans wondering “wtf just happened?” and the message boards to run wild. Now Michigan State once again has control of the division and if the Huskers want any shot at the Big10 championship they are going to need the Spartans to lose to Iowa and for the big red to win out. Will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine.

@Nebsports on Twitter

I won’t talk much about the Minnesota game on Saturday as it was basically one half of play and then a glorified scrimmage in the second half. It was kind of hard to see how the team improved as the Gophers are one of the worse D1 teams right now. Things that I did like was getting Rex going early on in the game. Pound the rock to Burkhead and good things are going to happen. The quick bubble / jail break screens on offense were nice to see as well. Hopefully we see a couple of those attempts to Jamal Turner against Michigan State. The one play that stood out for most was the double reverse to Kenny Bell however. Bell took the ball and raced 80+ yards down the sidelines making the last two defenders miss and he scored the longest touchdown run my a Freshman in school history.

The defense played well all the way around I thought. A few missed tackles but that will happen in game. Again it was the same case of the Minnesota offense just not being very good so it was hard to see how well the guys improved on the defensive side of the ball.

The 41-14 win was nice to see and it could have easily been 60 something to 14 but you could tell things slowed way down in the 4th quarter. Good win coming off a bye week and kept the momentum going into the Michigan State game.

Now it’s time we look ahead towards Michigan State. The team leading the division and fresh off a upset of Wisconsin. The Spartans have been playing good ball this season and with a seasoned quarterback like Kirk Cousins, they are expecting a trip the Rose Bowl. Nebraska is about the only team standing in their way of that Rose Bowl trip. Nebraska is still in the hunt for a Rose Bowl birth but it all comes down to Saturday. Gotta beat Sparty and then probably win out the rest of the way in my opinion.

So what are the keys to beating Mich St? I think it will the offensive line and running backs picking up the multiple blitzes that Michigan State will be using. Sparty blitzes something like 60% of the downs so the guys on offense are going to have to be quick and Taylor is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid the sacks. Hopefully we see a lot of Rex getting the ball early on and some more of the diamond formation which puts a lot of speed for the defense to worry about. Guys are simply going to have to make plays on offense whether it is catching a wide open pass or keeping a simple block going without getting called for holding.

On defense, it is all about stopping the rushing attack which I think Nebraska will have good success doing. Coach Pelini usually does not have a problem coming up with a game plan to stop a pro style attack like the Spartans run. Cousins is not as mobile as other quarterbacks the defense has played so don’t expect much scrambling out of him. I think the defensive ends will be pretty active as Carl and Bo should not have to worry about the rushing quarterback and they should be allowed to push straight through the line rather than have to contain the edge on every play.

I expect Mich St to really try and run the ball. Look for LaVonte David to have a big game at linebacker as he racks up the tackles on the running backs. When Cousins does attempt to go deep, the db’s are going to have to be in position and not be getting caught looking in at the running backs.

Nebraska is currently a four point favorite in the game. I’m going to predict a 35-30 game with Nebraska coming out on top and keeping their Big 10 championship hopes alive.

@NebSports

Well Husker fans, the team is sitting at 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Big10 play but there are still plenty of questions to be answered with the team and coaching staff but lets be happy for the victory and the way things played out on Saturday night.

Things didn’t start off good in the first half as the Huskers almost looked lost once again on both sides of the ball. Ohio State used up half the clock on their opening drive in the first quarter as the defensive line could not make the initial tackle.

Austin Cassidy almost stopped the bleeding towards the end of the first quarter but was unable to haul in what looked to be like an easy interception had he not jumped for the ball. Instead the Buckeyes scored would later score a td on the drive and go up 10-3.

As for the the offense in the first half, they pretty much sucked it up. Especially the offensive line. The line just couldn’t get any holes opened up for Taylor Martinez or Rex Burkhead.

I also have to mention the stupid play calling on the last drive of the first half for the Huskers. There was 40 seconds left in the half and 2nd down. Coach Beck calls for Taylor to throw over the middle of the field which I thought was stupid. Sure Kyler Reed was open but Taylor over threw him and the Buckeyes picked off the ball and then went down and kicked a field goal right before half time. Basically gave OSU three points when Beck could have easily called a run play and went into half time.

The second half of the game is where things started clicking for Nebraska. LaVonte David stripped Miller of the ball with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Miller had picked up the first down to extend the drive before David stripped the ball away. Martinez would then score two plays later out of the diamond formation and you could see the momentum starting to pick up for the Big Red.

On Ohio State’s next drive, Miller would roll his ankle and be done for the game. The Buckeyes could not move the ball with the backup quarterback and it seemed that the offensive line, Martinez and Burkhead could do nothing wrong after that.

It was first down after first down for Martinez and Burkhead. Martinez would also hit his open receivers including Burkhead on checkdown plays. Burkhead made one defender look silly as he took a swing pass to the end zone that tied up the game in the fourth quarter.

It was awesome to see Stanley Jean-Baptiste’s interception. He actually turned around and looked for the ball and had perfect position to pick it off. Great play for a guy that had only been playing corner back for three weeks.

It was a win, and a nice bounce back win for the guys as they head into the bye week. Time to get a little bit of rest and heal up some of those little injuries. Up next will be a road game at Minnesota on Oct 22nd. Gotta win those road games and pick up another conference win!

@Nebsports

I’m finally back from Las Vegas after attending a conference and staying over the weekend. Had some fun at the Bellagio Sportsbook on Saturday as I watched football all day long and wagered on games. Came out far ahead on wagers and yes, that included the Wisconsin vs Nebraska game. I didn’t have good thoughts heading into the game for Nebraska but also didn’t think they would look as bad as they did.

I thought the game turned in the second quarter when Ciante Evans barely missed an interception and Wisconsin completed the a long pass play. Had Evans been able to pick it off, Nebraska would have got the ball back with a little bit of momentum and it would have kept the Badgers from putting another touchdown on the board. Instead, the Badgers score, and offensive coordinator Tim Beck decides hey, lets start throwing the ball 15 out of 21 plays even though we have a stud running back that can move the chains. Yep, you all know how the passes went with with a total of three interceptions. Including one on the first play of the second half that was a stupid play call in my opinion. No reason to come out from halftime and throw the ball.

Beck and company need to slow down up on the press box and think things over a little bit. Stop trying to score 21 quick points with the way the offense is currently going. Slow things down and let the guys actually think the plays through.

The defense played as I expected them too. Russell Wilson and company did anything they wanted to. Wilson knew exactly where to throw the ball and his receivers did a great job of out running the coverage or sitting down and making a nice grab in front of the Nebraska defenders. It seemed like the Huskers tried to get pressure with some blitzes but besides the first drive of the game, they were not working and it left linebackers and safeties trying to run all over the play defending.

I hope things get simplified a little bit for both the offense and defense and they come out and have a better performance on Saturday against Ohio State. There is no reason that the Huskers cannot win the game by 10 points which is the current point spread. Move the ball by handing it off to Rex and throwing some quick screens to Jamal Turner. Screw this chucking the ball 40 yards down the field in to double coverage crap. Four yards at a time with Rex and 8-10 yards a time with Tuner until the Buckeyes can actually stop it.

Prediction, Nebraska 21 Ohio State 14

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.

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.

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!

I’m not going to do much for a game recap after the 9-6 loss to Texas A&M Saturday night but I do want to hit on the subject of Bo Pelini and his temper. First off, you can’t explode on your player like that on the sideline. You know damn well that the cameras are on you in the middle of every play do to your reactions. That butt chewing should have happened in the locker room, I don’t care what was said or what was done. Certain things just need to be taken care of behind closed doors.

We all know Bo has a temper but things are not going to change in the next two games. Refs know he has a temper, they know Eric Martin lays guys out on kickoffs. It’s time scale things back a notch and play smarter. Even if a hit is legal, with what has happened in the past the refs are going to have their hand on their flag during every play and all it takes it one little thing and that yellow bean bag will be being tossed towards a Nebraska player. Enough of the crying, that’s just going to be how it is.

Bo might have taken the first step in calming things down Sunday night when rumors started to fly around that Taylor Martinez was quitting the team. For a good three hours these rumors were being spread around blogs, twitter and facebook. Finally things were put to rest when Bo told the Omaha World Herald that Taylor is still part of the team and Taylor’s high school coach said that he has just spoken to him and he did not quit the team. It’s time for both parties to calm down, grow up and act better. It’s what the players need and it’s best for the team.

It will be a short week of practice as Colorado comes into Lincoln for a game on Friday. Win this one, and you are right back in the Big 12 Championship which is the number one goal for this team. Forget about the A&M game, it’s time to beat those buffaloes and look forward to Dallas.