After Action Review: Arkansas State

We in the Army love our routines.  One routine is to do an After Action Review (AAR) after training events, classes, or combat missions.  The AAR's are invaluable for improving the functionality of our Army, and identifying potentially life-threatening weaknesses.  Throughout the season, I'll use the AAR format to provide quick feedback after Nebraska games.  Enjoy!

Nebraska 42 Arkansas State 13

WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN?
I picked Nebraska to win this game 45-28, and most prognosticators had something similar to that.  The offense was supposed to roll through a weak Sunbelt defense, and the defense was expected to give up plenty of yards and points, but come up with enough stops to win relatively comfortable.

WHAT DID HAPPEN?
Nebraska was dominant on offense for most of the game, only punting twice, and the defense really showed up to play against a talented Red Wolf offense.  This was a better than expected game on the field, but it looks like we're in for another long, distracting week after Bo Pelini left the stadium in an ambulance at halftime.

THREE SUSTAINS:

1. 347 rushing yards.  In my game preview, I said that Nebraska needed to run the ball effectively after abandoning the run game in the 2nd half last week.  Check.  Ameer Abdullah had a fantastic day, breaking tackles and sprinting for 167 yards and 2 TDs.  Braylon Heard and Imani Cross chipped in another 120 yards and Cross picked up his first collegiate TD.  Taylor Martinez added 54 yards and a powerful TD run, becoming just the second QB at Nebraska to throw for 4000, and rush for 2000 yards in his career.  All told, Nebraska ball carriers averaged 5.9 yards on 59 carries and the offense held the ball for 34:36, giving the defense plenty of rest.
2. Improved tackling.  There were still a few whiffs, but it was nothing compared to what we saw last week.  Zaire Anderson had a big sack on 3rd and 2 in the 3rd quarter, and Ciante Evans made another good stop on a WR screen when Arkansas State got the ball inside the 20 following Abdullah's questionable muffed punt.  The increased focus clearly paid off this week.
3. The 3-4 look with Eric Martin standing.  I think Nebraska confused itself a few times trying to switch in and out of this set, but it was effective against the Red Wolves' fast paced spread offense.  I'm interested to see if Nebraska sticks with this look all year, or goes back to the more traditional sets when we get into the Big Ten games.    

THREE IMPROVES:

1. The fumbles.  This one's pretty obvious, although one shouldn't really count because I don't think that punt actually hit Abdulllah's foot.  The fumbles didn't change the outcome of the game, but 4 is too many, and they led to 10 points for the Red Wolves.  Mike Marrow's fumble near the goal line was the most egregious, as that one was totally on him.  The miscommunication between Heard and Taylor Martinez caused the second fumble, and an unblocked rusher blindsided Martinez setting up Qushan Lee's fumble recovery in the endzone for Arkansas State's only TD.  There's gonna be some drills this week, and hopefully this problem doesn't re-surface.
2. Defensive confusion.  There were two timeouts used on defense today, and a penalty for too many men on the field.  It didn't change the outcome of the game, but it's been a problem in every game this year so far.  It needs to get fixed. 
3. Weakness on the perimeters.  Arkansas State relentlessly attacked the edges of the Nebraska defense from start to finish today, and averaged 4 yards per rush.  After UCLA dominated the perimeter last week, it's clear that opposing offensive coordinators have found the chink in Pelini's defensive scheme. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Though this was a comfortable win for the most part, there's bound to be plenty of angst in Huskerville again this week revolving around Bo's health issues.  Tom Osborne issued this statement regarding the coach's health:  

 “As far as I know, all news on Bo is good. Precautionary tests. Word we've gotten back from the hospital is that he's doing fine. I guess you can never say anything absolutely conclusively, but it looks as though he's in good shape. I think that's what he'd want you guys to know. We expect him to be probably back at it pretty soon.
 “The guys you really need to talk to are the coordinators, so I'll turn it over to those guys at this point. That's about all I can tell you right now. It was strictly precautionary and, so far, everything has been just fine.”

I doubt that will stop the rumor mills from turning.  I fully expect Pelini's health issues to overshadow anything that Nebraska did on the field this week, but pardon my cynicism when I say that it will probably buy a little sympathy for the coach and quiet a few critics for a week.  Sucks to say that, but we all know it's true.
Nebraska has a glorified scrimmage against FCS Idaho State next week, and unless the Bengals can conjure a little bit of the magic South Dakota State found in 2010, it should be a good recovery game for the Huskers heading into the Big Ten slate.