Sunday Review: UCLA

I knew I'd have to write a review of a Nebraska loss eventually but I didn't expect it to come until after the Ohio State game.  Loyal readers might recall that I predicted Nebraska to roll over the Bruins much like they did Southern Miss last week.  Instead, the Huskers merely rolled over and took a thrashing at the hands of an inferior team.  Can I even say an inferior team after last night?  I don't know.  I still choose to believe that the Cornhuskers are a much better team than they showed last night, but they were outplayed and outcoached by a much more motivated Bruins team last night.  The Huskers looked slow and lackadaisical on offense and completely hapless on defense.  Sketchy play calling on both sides of the ball certainly didn't help matters, and if not for a couple breaks, and a ton of penalties on UCLA, this could very well have been an ugly blowout.   It's going to be a long ugly week in Lincoln, but if the Huskers can fix the mistakes, our primary goals are still intact and there's a long season ahead to forget all about this one.

On with the review.

Offensive MVP: UCLA RB Johnathan Franklin.  Franklin tore through the front 7 of Nebraska on the ground and through the air for 280 total yards.  Is he a great RB?  Who knows, but I don't think he had a single touch in which he didn't break 3 tackles. 

Defensive MVP: UCLA DE Datone Jones.  3 tackles for loss including the go-ahead safety.  Big time play in a crucial moment.

Special Teams MVP: UCLA P Jeff Locke.  4 punts inside the 20 put the Nebraska offense in bad position most of the game.  Locke also booted 5 of 7 kickoffs for touchbacks.

Freshman MVP: UCLA C Jake Brendall and RT Torian White.  The two redshirt freshmen starters helped UCLA plow through the Black-and-blueshirts for 653 yards.  Get these big boys some steaks.

Play of the Game: The safety.  With the ball at the 5 yard line, why did Nebraska try to run the zone read after some effective power running on the previous drive?  Bad play call aside, Taylor Martinez badly misread this one.  Ameer Abdullah had a hole and a lead block on the play, Martinez had Datone Jones right in his face.  It ended up being the final turning point of the game as UCLA wouldn't lose the lead again.

Play We Want Back: Too many.  I'll pick the 3rd and 2 FB dive early in the 4th quarter in which Mike Marrow was stuffed for no gain.  The game was tied at 27, but Nebraska had powered down the field on their only good drive of the second half.  Brett Maher would miss the field goal on the next play, and Nebraska abandoned the power game for the rest of the game.

I want to see more...
*Power game.  The only sustained drive of the second half came when the Huskers leaned on the Bruins out of the I formation.  They never came back to the smash mouth game though.
*Third down conversions.  Nebraska was 0-fer on third downs until the fourth quarter missing on third and long and third and short alike.  That's not going to get it done.
*Pass rush.  Two weeks in a row where the front 4 has generated almost no push up front and allowed QBs all day to pass or squirt around the end for 10 yards.  When Nebraska blitzed, a quick swing pass would usually go for 20 yards.
*Ameer Abdullah and Braylon Heard.  The duo only got 19 carries, but they gained 140 yards on the ground.  Why weren't they given the ball more in the second half?
*Leadership.  Where's the guy that pumps the defense up after a big play?  Where's the fiery offensive lineman who carries the whole offense emotionally?  Nebraska took a shot in the mouth and wilted.
*T-Magic:  The 92 yard run was nice, but Martinez looked like a scared redshirt freshman throwing the ball high and wide again most of the night.  Tough night in a hometown game.  It's not going to be a great week in the media for him.
*Capitalizing on big breaks.  UCLA fumbled in the first quarter and Huskers went three and out.  Penalties took points off the board for UCLA, and Nebraska couldn't capitalize.  When you're having a bad night, you gotta take advantage of your breaks to win.  The Huskers didn't.
*Pass breakups turn into interceptions.  Josh Mitchell, Daimion Stafford and Ciante Evans all had great PBUs, but there were zero INTs on the night.  PJ Smith dropped a sure INT in the endzone that would have taken 3 points off the board.  This has been a problem for years now.
*Imani Cross.  Where was the bruising freshman?  I think he could have had some success inside against the Bruin defense.
*Rex Burkhead.  Pelini said that the senior RB wouldn't have made a difference in the game, but I disagree.  Rex makes 5 yards where Abdullah makes 3, and I think the coaches trust him to carry the load when the Bruins shut down Martinez.  Nothing against Abdullah, but I think the Huskers win if Rex plays.


I want to see less...
*Missed tackles.  This is the big story on defense, and it has to be fixed before the Big 10 schedule rolls around.  Heck, it has to be fixed before Arkansas State comes to town.  I'd say, conservatively, that Nebraska's front seven missed 350 tackles last night.
*7 and 8 yard gains on first down.  All night long UCLA made their money on first down and put the defense on their heels.
*Tackling by the secondary.  Turns out, Ciante Evans and Daimion Stafford are the best tackers on the team.  Too bad UCLA had usually gained 10 yards by the time they got to the ball carrier.
*Swing passes for 20 yards.  Franklin had 3 catches for 59 yards.  RB Damien Thigpen caught 2 for 47 yards.  Take those passes away and UCLA's passing game amounted to one blown coverage for a 50 yards, and a few outstanding (read: lucky) catches by TE Joseph Fauria and Damien Lucien. 
*Missed TFLs turning into 10-20 yard gains.  Eric Martin missed sacks on two nearly consecutive plays in the second quarter and UCLA QB Brett Hundley ran for gains of 20 and 8 yards and 2 first downs.
*Will Compton in coverage.  He's a total liability, and I think he'd do better blitzing almost every down, since the front 4 can't get any push.  
*Passes in the hands of defenders.  Martinez only threw 1 pick, but he should have thrown at least three more.  Terrible day for the junior throwing the ball.
*Jamal Turner trying to reverse field.  It worked once, but he got stuffed the second time.  It won't work against Ohio State.
*Dropped passes.  Speaking of Turner, he dropped a sure 1st down on third and 8 in the 2nd quarter.  Kyler Reed dropped another on 3rd and 3.  Abdullah dropped one on the first drive.  Granted Martinez wasn't throwing well, but when you get two hands on it, you gotta pull it down.
*Three and outs.  The way this offense is built, a three and out is almost as bad as a turnover in terms of the pressure it puts on the defense.
*Confusion.  The offense looked lost on a lot of plays against the 3-4 set employed by the Bruins.  The defense was completely baffled by all of the motion the Bruin offense used.  How many times did the RBs sneak out of the back field for a long reception?
*Football on FOX.  I'm no fan of ESPN, but everything from the ditzyness of Erin Andrews and Julie Alexandria to the WWE style commentating of Gus Johnson made me crave Brent Musberger. 

Armchair head coach:
*The second half was eerily similar to the 2010 Big 12 Championship game where Martinez stayed in the shotgun and threw pass after futile pass into the Oklahoma secondary and lost the game.  Tim Beck called an awful game for most of the second half, playing like Nebraska was losing big and dialing up too many passes.  After we had success in the power game in the early 4th quarter, we went away from it.  Bad Tim Beck.  The offense needed to keep the ball out of the Bruins' hands this game and they failed miserably.

*I don't know if it's talent or coaching, but our defensive line is awful right now, so why doesn't Bo and Co dial up smarter blitzes or...something, anything?

*Jim Mora did a great job crafting a plan to shut down the Nebraska offense, but he made a dumb call on the fake field goal.  UCLA did as much to keep Nebraska in the game as anything the Huskers did.

Assistant Coach of the Game:  
I think that Ron Brown's RB's had the best game out of any position group, but there's not a lot of pride to be had in that. 

Hit of the Game:
After the weird fumble/INT that wasn't right at the end of the first half, Quincy Enunwa absolutely destroyed the UCLA defender that ended up with the ball.  Let's put him at linebacker.

Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Taylor Martinez throws like a girl again"

Song of the Game
"Slow, Slow Tune" by My Morning Jacket

"You decide the pace, you set the tone
Your future now your own
This slow, slow tune
Slow, slow tune"

This sorrowful, slow song is the perfect theme for a lousy game.  The Huskers looked incredibly slow the whole game, and that needs to change-fast.

Beer of the Game 
Anchor Steam Beer by Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA





This amber ale is a refreshing brew that gets better with each drink.  It tastes like a hoppier Newcastle, but it's not too bitter to drink.  The Anchor Brewing Company was started by a German immigrant to San Francisco in the late 1800s and they out out some quality product.  Expect to pay about 10 bucks for a 6-pack though.

Best Commercial
I'm going with the Nissan Altima "Enough" commercial.  It's a pretty dumb feature for a car company to highlight with a TV ad, but the commercial itself is pretty funny.

Last thought
Whew!  That one sucked to write, but it's over and I'm glad.
 There's a lot of chatter in Huskerland about whether Nebraska's season is over already, but the primary goal of a Big 10 championship is still intact.  This week is probably the most important week of practice in a few years, and there will be tons of negativity swirling around the program.  Bo and Co need to review the film, and then dump all the negativity and bad feeling, circle the wagons and come out on fire next game.  Luckily Nebraska gets 0-2 Arkansas State at home next week and FCS Idaho State the week after.  We should still be 3-1 heading into the Big 10 schedule, and then it's a whole new season.  If the defense doesn't improve next week, and the game ends up closer than 17 points, the dark clouds over the program are going to become cataclysmic.