In this brave new world of parity and massive weekly upheavals in college football, it was nice to see an old school beatdown of an overmatched opponent at Memeorial Stadium. Granted, these Huskers can't compare to the deified mid-90's squads, or even the fantastic 80's teams, but after finishing a perfect 7-0 at home this season, we get the sense that the Cornhuskers are working themselves back to that point.
Nothing could stop Taylor Martinez and Kenny Bell on this day. Nothing could get past Baker Steinkuhler and Will Compton. The heavens opened, and for three and a half quarters, seemingly every ball bounced NU's way. This was a retro performance in every great sense of the word, and if the Huskers can duplicate it against a woebegone Iowa team next week, they will roll into Indy on a 6 game winning streak.
But first, the review:
Offensive MVP: WR Kenny Bell. 9 catches for 136 yards and 2 TDs, and another catch that put Nebraska in business inside the Minnesota 5 yard line. Bell has transformed from a fast skinny kid into Nebraska's best playmaker on the outside. All 8 of Bell's TDs this year have come from at least 25 yards, showing you exactly how explosive he is as a playmaker. Getting up after taking a hard shot over the middle while catching a 3rd down pass showcases his toughness.
Defensive MVP: Nickelback Ciante Evans. Evans had 6 solo tackles, including a good looking sack on a nickel blitz on a 3rd and 8 in the second quarter. My only gripe with Evans' performance yesterday was the pick he dropped early in the second quarter. Terry Joseph touts his junior nickelback as the best defensive player on the team. Hard to argue.
Special Teams MVP: PR Jamal Turner. Nothing exciting or flashy about his performance, it's just really nice to see someone actually catch a punt and then hang onto it.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. "Iron" Cross struck again, picking up another pair of TDs as well as converting a 3rd and 1 to start the second quarter. The true freshman might have got another TD to end the first half, but Cross tried to leap the pile instead of driving through an admittedly small crease at the line of scrimmage. As good as he looks now, I think that Cross' future is far brighter.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
Rick Kaczenski. Nebraska's defensive line earned their share of criticism earlier this season, but they dominated the Gophers all day and spearheaded the Blackshirt's 3 1/2 quarter shutout with 3 tackles for loss, and several for 2 yards or less, Minnesota was living with 2nd and 7 or 8 all game, which is a tough start for any offense. Baker Steinkuhler, Eric Martin, Jason Ankrah, Joe Carter and Cameron Meredith consistently met the Gophers' running backs at or behind the line of scrimmage and generated a decent amount of pressure on freshman QB Riley Nelson. Nelson won't ever be confused for Braxton Miller, but the Gophers QB has some decent wheels, and the Huskers held him to a net of 4 yards rushing yesterday, thanks to the D-line's successful containment. Great day for this group.
Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's 36 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell into the wind. Despite starting with a 5 yard penalty for illegal motion, Nebraska took the ball from their own 10 yard line and in a very methodical 8 plays and 3:40, drove the field and put the Huskers up 10-0. Under no great deal of pressure, Martinez's gorgeous toss to Kenny Bell set the tone for the type of afternoon the Gophers were about to experience.
Play We Want Back: It didn't have any impact on the game, but Ameer Abdullah's inexplicable fumble in the third quarter shows us that Nebraska doesn't have everything figured out just yet.
I want to see more...
*Takeaways. The Blackshirts picked off two tipped passes yesterday, with Daimion Stafford the beneficiary of a deep pass that bounced off WR MarQuies Gray's hands, and Stanley Jean-Baptiste taking another tipped pass 48 yards for a pick six. There's rooms for improvement though, as Evans dropped an interception, and Stafford couldn't quite recover a punt that hit a Gopher's heel in the 4th quarter.
*Shutdown defense. The Gophers were 0 for their first 12 third down conversions, and didn't cross the Nebraska 35 yard line until late in the 4th quarter. The Gophers had 60 yards at halftime, and finished with only 177 total yards (90 passing, 87 rushing). The Gophers managed only 57 plays and 3.7 yards/play. It would have been nice to maintain the shutout, but you can't argue with that performance.
*WR Screens. Tim Beck called the WR screen early and often, and after several 3-7 yard gains, Bell finally broke on for a 30 yard TD. It was a nice wrinkle on a day when Nebraska couldn't get any traditional ground game going.
*Taylor Marino. Sure that's a bit of an exaggeration, but aside from a few errant throws, Martinez looked great yesterday throwing for 303 yards at a 72% completion rate. Martinez showed defensive coordinators that he can beat you with his arm when you sell out to stop the run.
*Running game. The passing game was nice, but it was a little worrisome to see one of the worst run defenses in the Big Ten hold Nebraska to their lowest rushing output of the season. Abdullah squirted free a few times, but the Gophers mostly did a good job limiting the Huskers' backs from getting past the second level.
*Discipline from the backups. Judging by Ron Kellogg III's fourth quarter performance, Husker fans better pray hard that Taylor Martinez stays healthy. Kellogg didn't get any help from his offensive line, or receivers, but his 1-4 passing performance, as well as the two fumbles on two consecutive plays, doeesn't exactly inspire confidence in Nebraska's number 2.
*Aggressive secondary. Minnesota threw a total of 28 passes yesterday. 10 were caught by Gopher's receivers, 10 hit the ground or went out of bounds, and 8 passes were in some way altered by Husker defenders. That's a pretty good game by the back 7.
*The CJ Zimmerer and Cole Pensick bulldozer. Just like we saw last week against Penn State, when Nebraska needed a yard to get a TD, Pensick pulled right and along with FB CJ Zimmerer, blew the Gophers' defenders a yard past the goal line allowing Imani Cross to walk in his first TD of the day.
*Andrew Rodriguez at fullback. With Ben Cotton lined up right behind Spencer Long, and A-Rod behind Martinez, the Huskers rushed right and Cross was able to walk in for his second TD.
*Facial hair. Jase Dean's beard looks epic. Martinez's? Not so much. Steinkuhler's is somewhere in between. If Nebraska wins the Big Ten, Bo should grow a mustache.
I want to see less...
*Turnovers. They didn't alter the outcome of the game, but Kellogg III's late 4th quarter fumble gave Minnesota a TD, and Abdullah's fumble was irritating. Nebraska still sits at -8 on the year.
*Boring 4th quarters. I understand that Nebraska was up 38-0, but if Tim Beck had been a little more aggressive in the fourth quarter and allowed Kellogg III to throw it around a little more, maybe Nebraska could have shortened the game and the 4th quarter wouldn't have taken so painfully long.
*HB Passes. The Huskers tried one in the 2nd quarter and it resulted in a 5 yard loss for Abdullah. It coulda been worse, but I don't see any reason to try a trick play at that point.
*Juggling. Credit Quincy Enunwa for making the catch at the two yard line after bobbling the throw 3 times, but he needs to secure that catch sooner. And he needs to stop extending the ball on the way to the ground, he wasn't anywhere near the goal line. Jamal Turner and Kenny Bell had a few shaky catches too.
*Late hits out of bounds. Seems like Stafford is getting flagged for this every game. His 15 yd personal foul yesterday was close, but he should have pulled up.
*Goal line fails. With two seconds left in the first half, Imani Cross tried to leap over the Gopher defense and was stuffed, ending the half on a sour note. Nebraska was up 24-0, so we didn't really need the TD, but it's always good for the team's confidence to punch it in from a yard out.
Armchair coach:
I liked the way the offense played for 3 quarters yesterday, but once Taylor Martinez and the bulk of the starters came out, the offense went into a shell and unnecessarily extended the game. Dropped passes and missed blocks played their part, but I think Tim Beck played it too safe, calling short runs and quick passes with all that time on the clock. Going into the wind, it forced short punts from Brett Maher, which allowed the Gophers to score some late TDs.
Hit of the Game:
Following Martinez's near turnover late in the third, Maher punted and as Gopher PR Marcus Jones was trying to get the sideline, Ben Cotton chopped his legs, windmilling him through the air and landing him hard. Jones was understandably shaken up, and it turned out to be the biggest play for Cotton on his Senior Day.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"They finally took my advice and played the whole game like they usually do the second half."
Good call babe.
Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*The SEC haters are awful quiet this morning. Kansas State looked hapless against a mediocre Baylor team, and Oregon wasted their best defensive performance of the year in an overtime loss to Stanford at home. If Notre Dame loses to USC next weekend, we'll probably see 2 SEC teams in the BCS National Championship game.
*Speaking of USC, they lost for the first time in 5 tries to UCLA last night. The Bruins could lose to Stanford next week and then play the Cardinal again in the PAC-12 championship game the next week.
*If Oregon wins the PAC-12, and misses the BCS National Championship game, they'll likely play in the Rose Bowl against Nebraska. That would not be fun.
*Going into the 4th quarter, #9 South Carolina was tied at 7 with FCS Wofford. The Gamecocks ended up scoring 17 in the 4th, but games like that can mean the difference in a BCS at-large berth and the Cotton Bowl.
*With Collin Klein and K-state losing, and Oregon's pathetic 14 points at home, the Heisman race is down to Johnny Manziel and Manti Te'o with 1 game left for each.
*Keep an eye on Oklahoma. Even with 2 losses, they're quietly positioning themselves for an at-larger BCS berth.
*Michigan State is now 5-6, with those 6 losses coming by a total of 30 points. Take out the Notre Dame loss, and Sparty's average margin of defeat is less than 3 points. Is there a better 6 loss team in the country? Something tells me the Spartans don't relish that distinction. They must win at Minnesota next weekend to go bowling.
*Following their OT loss to Ohio State, Wisconsin must beat Penn State in Happy Valley to avoid a 2 loss streak heading into the conference championship game in Indy.
*Unless they miraculously beat Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois is going to be 0-7 in Tim Beckman's first year in the Big Ten. 6-6 under Ron Zook doesn't seem so bad now.
*Purdue needs to beat Indiana at home to go bowling. Pretty sad for a team that had every opportunity to win the Leaders division this year.
*After getting blown out by Michgan, Iowa is only playing for pride at home against Nebraska on Friday. Whether that makes the Hawkeyes dangerous, or helpless remains to be seen.
Song of the Game
"Pressing On" by Relient K
"I think we're going somewhere.
We're on to something good here.
Out of mind, out of state.
Trying to keep my head on straight.
I think we're going somewhere.
We're on to something good here.
There's only one thing left to do.
Drop all I have and go with you.
Somewhere back there I left my worries all behind.
My problems fell out of the back of my mind.
We're going and I'm never knowing (never knowing) where we're going.
To go back to where I was would just be wrong.
I'm pressing on."
After the blowout loss at Ohio State, there were many fans who quit on this team. 5 games and 5 wins later, the Huskers are 1 win away from accomplishing Bo's "Win out." declaration, and the first phase of their goal to win the Big Ten is almost complete. If the Huskers press on and take care of business in Iowa City, then a trip to Indy and a rematch with Wisconsin is at hand.
Beer of the Game
90 minute IPA by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc. Milton, DE
Full disclosure: I don't really like IPA's. They're too hoppy, too bitter, and just not my cup of tea. However, my buddy insisted that this one was different. Smoother. He was right. Dogfish Head manages to craft a smooth, almost creamy beer that still retains the hoppy punch intrinsic to an IPA. The 9% abv gives the beer a warmth that is hard to match, and it finishes nice and clean. My only gripe: at 9 bucks for a 4 pack, this beer is too expensive for anything but special occasions.
Best Commercial
It doesn't make me want to switch to DirecTV, but this one's pretty funny.
Last thought
The Husker Train keeps rolling. One more stop in Iowa City, and then it's on to Indy. Nebraska did exactly what it was supposed to do yesterday, a refreshing anomaly in a topsy-turvy college football world. If they do exactly what they're supposed to do Friday, then they should beat Iowa handily and have an extra day to prepare for a very different Badgers team than the one the Huskers beat in September.
But that's looking too far ahead. 5 down, 1 to go. Bo and his Huskers have almost fought themselves out of the corner they backed themselves into in Colombus.
No comments:
Post a Comment