Big news for a Wednesday as Tom Osborne announced his retirement as athletic director effective January 1st. Kinda curious timing, but I suppose when you're Tom Osborne you can do pretty much whatever you want in Nebraska.
As bittersweet and as exciting as the news is, there's still 2/3 of a football season between now and January 1st, and we hope that the news is not too distracting with such a big game this weekend. Kinda makes the alternate uniforms seem unimportant, right? Let's see what's on tap:
(all rankings AP)
Nebraska
Being a former history major, I'm a big believer in the old axiom about learning from the past or risk repeating it. If last week seemed a lot like SDSU from 2010, then the game against Wisconsin definitely has parallels with the Texas game a few weeks later. A revenge game against a big name opponent? Check. The said opponent experiencing uncharacteristic struggles that have them limping into Lincoln? Check. A huge recruiting weekend planned for the big game? Check. The limping opponent upsetting a surprisingly listless Husker team? We'll see. This is the type of game that Pelini's teams have struggled with in the past. There's absolutely no reason that Wisconsin should come anywhere close to knocking the Big Red off at home, but on the roller coaster that has been the Husker program recently, there's several edgy riders ahead of this contest.
Offensively, the Huskers are the class of the Big Ten, and near the top of a lot of important statistical categories nationally. Other than a second half meltdown at UCLA, and a few annoying turnovers against Arkansas State, the offense has been fairly unstoppable on the ground, and good bordering on great through the air. If Rex Burkhead is at full speed and if Tim Beck is smart enough to rely on him, the offense should continue their success against a decent, but not great Wisconsin defense. If turnovers and/or penalties come back to haunt us, then the game might fall into the hands of the defense
If only for this game, that might not be too big of a problem. Wisconsin has been perfectly awful on offense so far this year, only managing 26 points against FCS Northern Iowa, and 10 points against Oregon State. The Badgers managed to get their offense running a little better against UTEP, but Nebraska's defense is a considerable step up from the Miners. New starting QB Joel Stave throws pretty well, but he's far from a dual threat. If Nebraska can shut down the Badgers run game (far from a given), then you have to like their chances against a pocket QB. It will be interesting to see how the Huskers adjust to a more physical, two tight end, power offense after 4 weeks of spread, but I just can't bring myself to worry much after seeing the Badgers do so poorly to start the season. I like the Blackshirts' performances at home so far, and I think we have the goods to shut down a bad Badger offense.
Las Vegas has Nebraska as an 11 point favorite, but I think the margin will be a little bigger than that. Nebraska needs to make a statement and I think they will: 31-10 Big Red plus or minus 7.
Big Ten
Week 5 and it feels like the season is already over. There's tons of negativity swirling around the Big Ten right now, but I think it will diminish as conference play gets under way. If the Big Ten champion can come through conference play 12-1 (looking at you Nebraska), then it's possible that the conference is not totally eliminated from the National Championship race if Florida State chokes away a game, and the PAC 12 does its usual cannibalistic thing. Sure it's a long shot, but hope is the lifeblood of college football.
Saturday:
#14 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State: In big games I usually pick the team with the better defense, but after watching Michigan State against Boise and Notre Dame, I just don't think they have the offensive potency to outscore Braxton Miller and Ohio State, and the Spartan's defense will wear down eventually. This game comes down to Braxton Miller vs Le'Veon Bell. Which Heisman candidate can pull his team to victory?
Minnesota at Iowa: In a study of contrasting momentum we have the rolling Gophers against the staggering Hawkeyes. The 2-2 Hawkeyes badly need this win to turn their season around and save their head coach, the 4-0 Gophers need 7 wins to make it to a bowl game, and this is one of their easier opportunities. Minnesota has won two straight against Iowa and I think they'll make it three.
Penn State at Illinois: Two 2-2 teams face off with very different levels of momentum. The Nittany Lions have won two straight and look better every week, while the Illini are exactly opposite. Adding a little spice to this Leaders division matchup is the fact that Illinois aggressively recruited Penn State players immediately after the sanctions were handed down this summer. I like coach Bill O'Brien, and I think this will be one of his easier wins this year.
Northwestern vs Indiana: Another study in contrasting momentum has the surprising Wildcats facing off against an Indiana team that looked to be improving until they lost their starting QB for the season to a broken leg. Northwestern has far more talent than the Hoosiers, and has faced much better competition, so I don't anticipate any struggle for the Wildcats to reach 5-0.
Purdue vs Marshall: The contrarian Boilermakers are the only Big Ten team playing outside of the conference this weekend, and though it should be a decent test against the Thundering Herd, Purdue needs to dominate this game to build steam for a run at the Leaders division title. There's no reason the Boilermakers can't win this game, but they have to go out and do it.
Top 25 rundown:
Bold print denotes winner
#1 Alabama vs Ole Miss
#2 Oregon at Washington State
#3 LSU vs Towson
#4 Florida State at South Florida
#5 Georgia vs Tennessee
#6 South Carolina at Kentucky
#8 Stanford at Washington
#9 West Virginia vs #25 Baylor
#12 Texas at Oklahoma State
#14 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State
#15 TCU at SMU
#17 Clemson at Boston College
#18 Oregon State at Arizona
#19 Louisville at Southern Miss
#22 Nebraska vs Wisconsin
#24 Boise State at New Mexico
Game of the Week: Lots of teams taking a week of between the non-conference and conference schedules. Still some good games this week in the SEC and Big 12. As weak as the conference has looked so far though, it's the Big Ten carrying the week 5 schedule with #14 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State and #22 Nebraska vs Wisconsin.
Most overrated team: Definitely Oregon State. Beating Wisconsin and UCLA is impressive, but both games were in Corvallis which has always been charmed against rated teams not named Oregon.
Most underrated team: Gonna go with TCU. Their defense is almost as dominant as Alabama's and I think their offense will eventually get out of its own way. Best team in Texas? We'll see in a few weeks.
3 Things you'll hear too much about:
* Tom Osborne's retirement
* Matt Barkley's struggles
* Alabama's invincibility
3 Things you won't hear enough about:
* TCU
* Northwestern
* Bill O'Brien's coaching acumen
My Heisman top 5:
1.Geno Smith, West Virginia QB:
Smith looked a little more human last week, but he's still head and shoulders ahead of everyone else at this point, his games get tougher starting this week
2. Collin Klein, Kansas State QB: His stats weren't gaudy, but Klein did a fantastic job leading the Wildcats to an upset in Norman. If K-State keeps winning he might have a chance
3. EJ Manuel, Florida State QB: Manuel had amazing stats in a win against Clemson, but he's behind Klein because his team was favored and at home
4. Aaron Murray, Georgia QB: Easily the most talented QB in the SEC, he and his Bulldogs need to keep winning and Murray will have a chance at this
5. De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon RB: Thomas didn't do much against Arizona, but he didn't have to. He needs to play more third and fourth quarters to keep his stats up and stay alive in this race
More to Prove: Johnathan Franklin, Le'Veon Bell, Sammy Watkins, Braxton Miller
Darkhorses: Manti Teo, Jarvis Jones, Rex Burkhead, Taylor Martinez
Husker NFL MVP week 1:
Not
a great week for former Huskers again as the teams with the most Huskers (Lions, Redskins) lost. Punter Sam Koch of the Baltimore Ravens gets this award for flipping the field with his 45 yard average and twice pinning Tom Brady and Co inside the 20.
That
wraps up this week's preview. Saturday is an important day for the Big Red and the rest of the nation as the appetizers are mostly finished and we get into the meat of the schedule. Time to see what each team is made of, and I'm really excited.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Around the Nation: Quick Takes Sep 23
This was a pretty decent week of football, but I wish the TV networks wouldn't stack all of the best games into the 7-8 PM time slot. Michigan-Notre Dame would have been a perfect fit at noon, and Clemson-Florida State would have been a nice 3:30 game. Too bad nobody asked me, I coulda made this a much better weekend.
#1 Alabama 40 FAU 7
Until a last minute TD drive that was aided by Alabama penalties, the Crimson Tide had held opponents off of the scoreboard for 192 minutes and 25 seconds dating back to the Michigan game. That's nuts. It wasn't a total embarrassment for Carl Pelini's Owls, but after getting stomped by Georgia last week, I'm sure the Owls are looking forward to the Sunbelt schedule.
#2 LSU 12 Auburn 10
Credit Auburn for playing it close and leading for most of the game, but if the Tigers want to prevent their inexorable slide into mediocrity, then they need to finish games like this. Credit LSU for pulling this one out, but they won't survive too many games like this in the SEC West. They've got to find some sort of offensive threat to complement their outstanding defense which allowed only 183 total yards.
#3 Oregon 49 #22 Arizona 0
Despite wearing the ugliest uniforms in the history of sports last night, the Ducks rolled up 495 total yards and 7 TDs on the upstart Wildcats. The real surprise in this one was the dominating Ducks' defense that held the Cats to 332 yards and forced 5 turnovers, and returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns. These Ducks are going to be hard to beat this year.
#4 Florida State 49 #10 Clemson 37
The top-rated defense in the nation was finally tested, and even though they won't be the top rated defense any more, they have to be happy with their second half performance, slowing down the Tiger offense enough to let EJ Manuel and the Seminole offense pull away. Manuel probably played himself into the Heisman conversation throwing for 380 yards and 2 TDs, while adding 102 yards on the ground. Clemson can't be pleased with the work of new defensive coordinator Brent Venables whose defense allowed 667 total yards as the Seminoles repeatedly gashed the Tiger D in the second half.
#5 Georgia 48 Vanderbilt 3
As good as Vanderbilt looked in their opener against South Carolina, they've been perfectly awful since, losing 2 of 3. Conversely, Georgia continues to look very good and they improve every week. QB Aaron Murray still looks like the best QB in the SEC, but games against Tennessee and South Carolina will tell us more about how strong Murray and this Bulldog team as a whole really are.
#15 Kansas State 24 Oklahoma 19
Collin Klein gets a lot of credit for turning the Wildcats around, and he deserves it, but the story of this game was the suffocating Wildcat defense. Holding the Sooners to 88 yards rushing, forcing 3 turnovers and scoring a vital touchdown in the first quarter on a fumble recovery, this Wildcat defense earned their stripes last night. Tough break for the Sooners, who have really fallen off the last few years, it will be interesting to see how they rebound against a tough Big 12 slate.
#7 South Carolina 31 Missouri 10
Anyone who thought that QB Connor Shaw would have any lingering ill-effects from his shoulder injury last week only needs to look at the 20/21 passing accuracy and see that he's probably okay. It helps to have a durable RB like Marcus Lattimore run for 85 yards and two TDs, and a dominating defense that held Missouri to 3 points until the last 17 seconds. The Gamecocks looked a little shaky to start the season, but this was a statement win in the tougher than expected SEC East.
#8 West Virginia 31 Maryland 21
If you want to beat West Virginia, you have to take away their running game, and tighten up enough against the pass to give your offense a chance to outscore the Mountaineers. Maryland managed to accomplish the first task, holding the Mountaineers to 25 yards rushing, but they couldn't stop Geno Smith who threw for 338 yards and three TDs. This is the first win for the Mountaineers against a team with a pulse, and it showed as they didn't quite have the video game numbers of their first two.
#11 Notre Dame 13 #18 Michigan 6
This was a surprising result to me. I didn't think the Irish could handle Michigan's explosive offense, but it would seem like this Irish defense is for real. It's unfortunate too, because I really hate Notre Dame and I'd prefer not to hear about how great a job Brian Kelly has done at rejuvenating this program. Unfortunately, as much as I also dislike Michigan, I really wanted them to win this game because I hate seeing the Big Ten go 0-fer-top 25 rated teams in the non-conference season.
#13 USC 27 California 9
USC did well to get the rebound victory, but WR Marqise Lee probably supplanted Matt Barkley as the Trojans' leading Heisman contender. Lee caught 2 TD passes while Barkley struggled and threw two picks. After all of the preseason hype, I'll admit that it feels pretty good to see him fail. The Trojan defense must continue to improve if USC wants to challenge for a PAC 12 title.
#14 Florida 38 Kentucky 0
After getting pretty well dominated by Western Kentucky last week, nobody really expected the Wildcats to be competitive against the rolling Gators, but this still has to hurt for the Kentucky faithful. Florida's offense pretty well did what they wanted against the Wildcats, and the Gators played opportunistic defense, collecting 3 interceptions and keeping Kentucky off the scoreboard.
#16 Ohio State 29 UAB 15
The Buckeyes struggled early, falling behind 12-7 near the end of the 1st half, but Braxton Miller took over and led 2 TD drives in the last 2 minutes of the half, and then iced the game with a 1 yard TD run late in the 4th quarter. Ohio State might be the best team in the Big Ten, but with two shaky performances in a row, it's not a runaway. Meyer's defense needs to get better in the secondary, and Braxton Miller has to become a sharper passer.
#17 TCU 27 Virginia 7
The TCU defense has allowed 13 points in three games this year, and while the offense hasn't looked overly impressive, there are plenty of teams worse off than the Horned Frogs. The Frogs get one more tune-up against SMU next week, and then we'll see if they can handle the increased strain of the Big 12 conference schedule.
Oregon State 27 #19 UCLA 20
It looks like the first year jitters finally caught up with Jim Mora's UCLA team. The Beavers were able to shut down RB Johnathan Franklin and exploit the soft UCLA secondary for big yards in the passing game. This game probably wouldn't have been this close if Oregon State hadn't turned it over twice and been flagged 9 times for 90 yards. UCLA has been exposed as pretenders, but they are more than capable of surprising anybody this year, as Nebraska found out.
#20 Louisville 28 FIU 21
You can't sleep on these little Florida schools as there's a whole lot of top level talent and speed in Florida high schools that trickles down through Florida, Florida State, and Miami, to the little guys. Louisville got a firsthand look at how that system works last night. QB Teddy Bridgewater had an uncharacteristically sloppy day going 19/36 with 2 INTs, but he also had 2 TDs and the Cards had enough in the tank to hold on for the win, and they continue to carry 100% of the Big East's pride with them when they play.
#21 Michigan State 23 Eastern Michigan 7
Credit Sparty for pulling away in the fourth quarter, but this was a 9-7 game after 3 quarters, and that's not going to get it done against the better teams on the Spartan's schedule. Michigan State's outstanding defense will keep it in every game, but the Spartans need more points when Le'Veon Bell rushes for 253 yards.
#23 Mississippi State 30 Southern Alabama 10
If the Bulldogs want to be taken seriously in the SEC West, they really need to perform better against the easy teams on their schedule. 356 total yards against an FCS team? That's not going to cut it against Alabama and LSU. The Bulldogs are 2/3 of the way to bowl eligibility at 4-0, but at some point they need to take the next step and be contenders in their division and that's not going to happen with weak performances like this.
#24 Boise State 7 BYU 6
If the touchdown had come with less than a minute left, one could forgive BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall for going for the 2 pt conversion for the win at the end of the game. But there were still more than 3 minutes left in the game, so even if they had gone up 1 point, Boise would have only need a FG in that 3 minutes to get the win. Instead, the Cougars failed to convert, and Boise State ran out the clock, stealing this game after a terrific defensive performance by the Cougars. Most will remember the call at the end, but let's not overlook the Cougar's defensive performance, holding Boise's offense off the scoreboard with an exciting goal line stand after a turnover put the ball at the BYU 1 yard line.
Northwestern 38 South Dakota 7
Nice, dominating performance by the Wildcats. The only scary moment was when starting QB Kain Colter left in the first quarter with an apparent wrist injury. There wasn't anything super impressive about this win, but it was a workmanlike performance by a team that has surprised a lot of people with their 4-0 start. Don't sleep on the Wildcats.
Penn State 27 Temple 13
Defense is definitely the hallmark of this Penn State team, and as long as they keep playing like they have so far this year, they will be a threat every week. When the Nittany Lions can restock their talent on offense, I think that Bil O'Brien has the scheme to be a yearly contender in the Big Ten, but it might be 3-5 years or so before they can recover from the crippling sanctions.
Minnesota 17 Syracuse 10
This was a good, hard fought win for the Gophers and with their 4-0 start, it's entirely possible that Minnesota can find 3 more wins and make it to a bowl game, which would be fantastic progress for second year head coach Jerry Kill. The Gophers can't afford to look too far ahead though, as they have plenty to fix on offense and defense before that can happen.
Louisiana Tech 52 Illinois 24
Yes, La Tech is one of the best non-BCS teams out there, but this was pretty ridiculous. Games like this do not help the Big Ten's image, and it certainly doesn't help the confidence of first year coach Tim Beckman's Illini. The Bulldogs scored pretty much every way possible and the Illini were embarrassed at home and sapped of any momentum as the Big Ten season starts.
Wisconsin 37 UTEP 26
RB Montee Ball proved once again that his stats last year were more a testament to his offensive line than his own skills. After fumbling early and being mostly unimpressive, Ball left the game with a head injury after his 1 yd TD run and did not return. The Badgers struggled early, but they managed to pull away in the second quarter behind new starting QB Joel Stave, and RBs James White and Melvin Gordon's 177 yards rushing and 3 TDs. The Badgers are not a good team, but it won't be easy for Nebraska next week.
Central Michigan 32 Iowa 31
The hits just keep for the Big Ten. After going ahead 31-23 with a little over two minutes left, the Hawkeyes allowed Central Michigain to score 10 points in those two minutes and sneak out of Iowa City with an upset victory. How many times does a RB go over 200 yards rushing and still lose? Of course it would happen to Iowa.
Ohio 44 Norfolk State 10
The Bobcats were pitching the shutout until late in the 4th quarter, but the Spartans were able to score twice in the last 5 minutes. That shouldn't take away from an outstanding performance by Frank Solich's team as they are a step closer to a BCS berth. The Bobcats probably need another week to break into the top 25, but once they do that, all they need to do is keep winning convincingly and hope that the teams in front of them keep losing. Their schedule isn't going to help, but it's not impossible.
Western Kentucky 42 Southern Miss 17
The Golden Eagles were dominated from start to finish by the Hilltoppers and Southern Miss opens the season 0-3. That sort of thing happens when you're still trying to juggle three quarterbacks in the fourth week of the season. This doesn't help Nebraska's strength of schedule much, and the season opener doesn't look nearly as impressive as it did a few weeks ago.
Arkansas State 42 Alcorn State 0
I don't care one way or another about the Red Wolves, but the more they win, the better it looks for Nebraska's strength of schedule. Arky State ran all over their FCS foe, and you have to give kudos to the Red Wolf defense for rebounding after getting stomped on last week. You never can tell in the Sunbelt, but I think the Red Wolves have as good a shot as anyone at winning this conference.
That wraps up a great week of football, and it only gets better from here. We're a quarter of the way done with the season already, and I can't wait for some of the conference games we've got coming up.
#1 Alabama 40 FAU 7
Until a last minute TD drive that was aided by Alabama penalties, the Crimson Tide had held opponents off of the scoreboard for 192 minutes and 25 seconds dating back to the Michigan game. That's nuts. It wasn't a total embarrassment for Carl Pelini's Owls, but after getting stomped by Georgia last week, I'm sure the Owls are looking forward to the Sunbelt schedule.
#2 LSU 12 Auburn 10
Credit Auburn for playing it close and leading for most of the game, but if the Tigers want to prevent their inexorable slide into mediocrity, then they need to finish games like this. Credit LSU for pulling this one out, but they won't survive too many games like this in the SEC West. They've got to find some sort of offensive threat to complement their outstanding defense which allowed only 183 total yards.
#3 Oregon 49 #22 Arizona 0
Despite wearing the ugliest uniforms in the history of sports last night, the Ducks rolled up 495 total yards and 7 TDs on the upstart Wildcats. The real surprise in this one was the dominating Ducks' defense that held the Cats to 332 yards and forced 5 turnovers, and returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns. These Ducks are going to be hard to beat this year.
#4 Florida State 49 #10 Clemson 37
The top-rated defense in the nation was finally tested, and even though they won't be the top rated defense any more, they have to be happy with their second half performance, slowing down the Tiger offense enough to let EJ Manuel and the Seminole offense pull away. Manuel probably played himself into the Heisman conversation throwing for 380 yards and 2 TDs, while adding 102 yards on the ground. Clemson can't be pleased with the work of new defensive coordinator Brent Venables whose defense allowed 667 total yards as the Seminoles repeatedly gashed the Tiger D in the second half.
#5 Georgia 48 Vanderbilt 3
As good as Vanderbilt looked in their opener against South Carolina, they've been perfectly awful since, losing 2 of 3. Conversely, Georgia continues to look very good and they improve every week. QB Aaron Murray still looks like the best QB in the SEC, but games against Tennessee and South Carolina will tell us more about how strong Murray and this Bulldog team as a whole really are.
#15 Kansas State 24 Oklahoma 19
Collin Klein gets a lot of credit for turning the Wildcats around, and he deserves it, but the story of this game was the suffocating Wildcat defense. Holding the Sooners to 88 yards rushing, forcing 3 turnovers and scoring a vital touchdown in the first quarter on a fumble recovery, this Wildcat defense earned their stripes last night. Tough break for the Sooners, who have really fallen off the last few years, it will be interesting to see how they rebound against a tough Big 12 slate.
#7 South Carolina 31 Missouri 10
Anyone who thought that QB Connor Shaw would have any lingering ill-effects from his shoulder injury last week only needs to look at the 20/21 passing accuracy and see that he's probably okay. It helps to have a durable RB like Marcus Lattimore run for 85 yards and two TDs, and a dominating defense that held Missouri to 3 points until the last 17 seconds. The Gamecocks looked a little shaky to start the season, but this was a statement win in the tougher than expected SEC East.
#8 West Virginia 31 Maryland 21
If you want to beat West Virginia, you have to take away their running game, and tighten up enough against the pass to give your offense a chance to outscore the Mountaineers. Maryland managed to accomplish the first task, holding the Mountaineers to 25 yards rushing, but they couldn't stop Geno Smith who threw for 338 yards and three TDs. This is the first win for the Mountaineers against a team with a pulse, and it showed as they didn't quite have the video game numbers of their first two.
#11 Notre Dame 13 #18 Michigan 6
This was a surprising result to me. I didn't think the Irish could handle Michigan's explosive offense, but it would seem like this Irish defense is for real. It's unfortunate too, because I really hate Notre Dame and I'd prefer not to hear about how great a job Brian Kelly has done at rejuvenating this program. Unfortunately, as much as I also dislike Michigan, I really wanted them to win this game because I hate seeing the Big Ten go 0-fer-top 25 rated teams in the non-conference season.
#13 USC 27 California 9
USC did well to get the rebound victory, but WR Marqise Lee probably supplanted Matt Barkley as the Trojans' leading Heisman contender. Lee caught 2 TD passes while Barkley struggled and threw two picks. After all of the preseason hype, I'll admit that it feels pretty good to see him fail. The Trojan defense must continue to improve if USC wants to challenge for a PAC 12 title.
#14 Florida 38 Kentucky 0
After getting pretty well dominated by Western Kentucky last week, nobody really expected the Wildcats to be competitive against the rolling Gators, but this still has to hurt for the Kentucky faithful. Florida's offense pretty well did what they wanted against the Wildcats, and the Gators played opportunistic defense, collecting 3 interceptions and keeping Kentucky off the scoreboard.
#16 Ohio State 29 UAB 15
The Buckeyes struggled early, falling behind 12-7 near the end of the 1st half, but Braxton Miller took over and led 2 TD drives in the last 2 minutes of the half, and then iced the game with a 1 yard TD run late in the 4th quarter. Ohio State might be the best team in the Big Ten, but with two shaky performances in a row, it's not a runaway. Meyer's defense needs to get better in the secondary, and Braxton Miller has to become a sharper passer.
#17 TCU 27 Virginia 7
The TCU defense has allowed 13 points in three games this year, and while the offense hasn't looked overly impressive, there are plenty of teams worse off than the Horned Frogs. The Frogs get one more tune-up against SMU next week, and then we'll see if they can handle the increased strain of the Big 12 conference schedule.
Oregon State 27 #19 UCLA 20
It looks like the first year jitters finally caught up with Jim Mora's UCLA team. The Beavers were able to shut down RB Johnathan Franklin and exploit the soft UCLA secondary for big yards in the passing game. This game probably wouldn't have been this close if Oregon State hadn't turned it over twice and been flagged 9 times for 90 yards. UCLA has been exposed as pretenders, but they are more than capable of surprising anybody this year, as Nebraska found out.
#20 Louisville 28 FIU 21
You can't sleep on these little Florida schools as there's a whole lot of top level talent and speed in Florida high schools that trickles down through Florida, Florida State, and Miami, to the little guys. Louisville got a firsthand look at how that system works last night. QB Teddy Bridgewater had an uncharacteristically sloppy day going 19/36 with 2 INTs, but he also had 2 TDs and the Cards had enough in the tank to hold on for the win, and they continue to carry 100% of the Big East's pride with them when they play.
#21 Michigan State 23 Eastern Michigan 7
Credit Sparty for pulling away in the fourth quarter, but this was a 9-7 game after 3 quarters, and that's not going to get it done against the better teams on the Spartan's schedule. Michigan State's outstanding defense will keep it in every game, but the Spartans need more points when Le'Veon Bell rushes for 253 yards.
#23 Mississippi State 30 Southern Alabama 10
If the Bulldogs want to be taken seriously in the SEC West, they really need to perform better against the easy teams on their schedule. 356 total yards against an FCS team? That's not going to cut it against Alabama and LSU. The Bulldogs are 2/3 of the way to bowl eligibility at 4-0, but at some point they need to take the next step and be contenders in their division and that's not going to happen with weak performances like this.
#24 Boise State 7 BYU 6
If the touchdown had come with less than a minute left, one could forgive BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall for going for the 2 pt conversion for the win at the end of the game. But there were still more than 3 minutes left in the game, so even if they had gone up 1 point, Boise would have only need a FG in that 3 minutes to get the win. Instead, the Cougars failed to convert, and Boise State ran out the clock, stealing this game after a terrific defensive performance by the Cougars. Most will remember the call at the end, but let's not overlook the Cougar's defensive performance, holding Boise's offense off the scoreboard with an exciting goal line stand after a turnover put the ball at the BYU 1 yard line.
Northwestern 38 South Dakota 7
Nice, dominating performance by the Wildcats. The only scary moment was when starting QB Kain Colter left in the first quarter with an apparent wrist injury. There wasn't anything super impressive about this win, but it was a workmanlike performance by a team that has surprised a lot of people with their 4-0 start. Don't sleep on the Wildcats.
Penn State 27 Temple 13
Defense is definitely the hallmark of this Penn State team, and as long as they keep playing like they have so far this year, they will be a threat every week. When the Nittany Lions can restock their talent on offense, I think that Bil O'Brien has the scheme to be a yearly contender in the Big Ten, but it might be 3-5 years or so before they can recover from the crippling sanctions.
Minnesota 17 Syracuse 10
This was a good, hard fought win for the Gophers and with their 4-0 start, it's entirely possible that Minnesota can find 3 more wins and make it to a bowl game, which would be fantastic progress for second year head coach Jerry Kill. The Gophers can't afford to look too far ahead though, as they have plenty to fix on offense and defense before that can happen.
Louisiana Tech 52 Illinois 24
Yes, La Tech is one of the best non-BCS teams out there, but this was pretty ridiculous. Games like this do not help the Big Ten's image, and it certainly doesn't help the confidence of first year coach Tim Beckman's Illini. The Bulldogs scored pretty much every way possible and the Illini were embarrassed at home and sapped of any momentum as the Big Ten season starts.
Wisconsin 37 UTEP 26
RB Montee Ball proved once again that his stats last year were more a testament to his offensive line than his own skills. After fumbling early and being mostly unimpressive, Ball left the game with a head injury after his 1 yd TD run and did not return. The Badgers struggled early, but they managed to pull away in the second quarter behind new starting QB Joel Stave, and RBs James White and Melvin Gordon's 177 yards rushing and 3 TDs. The Badgers are not a good team, but it won't be easy for Nebraska next week.
Central Michigan 32 Iowa 31
The hits just keep for the Big Ten. After going ahead 31-23 with a little over two minutes left, the Hawkeyes allowed Central Michigain to score 10 points in those two minutes and sneak out of Iowa City with an upset victory. How many times does a RB go over 200 yards rushing and still lose? Of course it would happen to Iowa.
Ohio 44 Norfolk State 10
The Bobcats were pitching the shutout until late in the 4th quarter, but the Spartans were able to score twice in the last 5 minutes. That shouldn't take away from an outstanding performance by Frank Solich's team as they are a step closer to a BCS berth. The Bobcats probably need another week to break into the top 25, but once they do that, all they need to do is keep winning convincingly and hope that the teams in front of them keep losing. Their schedule isn't going to help, but it's not impossible.
Western Kentucky 42 Southern Miss 17
The Golden Eagles were dominated from start to finish by the Hilltoppers and Southern Miss opens the season 0-3. That sort of thing happens when you're still trying to juggle three quarterbacks in the fourth week of the season. This doesn't help Nebraska's strength of schedule much, and the season opener doesn't look nearly as impressive as it did a few weeks ago.
Arkansas State 42 Alcorn State 0
I don't care one way or another about the Red Wolves, but the more they win, the better it looks for Nebraska's strength of schedule. Arky State ran all over their FCS foe, and you have to give kudos to the Red Wolf defense for rebounding after getting stomped on last week. You never can tell in the Sunbelt, but I think the Red Wolves have as good a shot as anyone at winning this conference.
That wraps up a great week of football, and it only gets better from here. We're a quarter of the way done with the season already, and I can't wait for some of the conference games we've got coming up.
Sunday Review: Idaho State
For the sake of writing a post that is more interesting than yesterday's game, we're just going to pretend that the game was a strong showing by the Cornhuskers, and provided them with a full head of steam as they power toward the Big Ten conference schedule. Despite the fact that they encountered less resistance than they would have faced against Millard North, the Huskers did a fantastic job just by doing everything they were expected to do against a weak opponent and escaping without any serious injuries. There wasn't anything else to really take away from a game like this, so we'll just continue with the review.
Offensive MVP: RB Rex Burkhead. He said he was feeling about 90% yesterday, but I think 60% would have been enough against the Bengals. 8 carries for 119 yards and two TDs is a good way to get back into the swing of things without overloading that soft knee. We'll need him next week, so let's hope that 90% continues to improve.
Defensive MVP: DE Eric Martin. Sure there's not a whole lot of pride to be had against such a weak team, but when all 5 of your tackles are sacks or TFLs that's a pretty darn good day. I really hope Martin can continue to assert himself as the season goes on.
Special Teams MVP: PR Ameer Abdullah. Let's ignore the defense it came against and just say that the 81 TD yard return in the third quarter was pretty dang sick. Abdullah showed agility, power, and speed on the return and reminded us all the type of returner he's capable of being.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. "Iron" Cross gets this award for the third time this season. Cross picked up another TD, and the first 100 yard game of his young career. Sure most of it came in garbage time of a garbage game, but Cross has made the most of his opportunities all season. We'll probably be seeing less of him as the games get tougher, so it's been good for him to get his production while he had a chance.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
Terry Joseph gets this award for the way his secondary shut down the Bengals yesterday. When a team is only good at one thing and you take that away from them, you're going to be successful. That's exactly what Joseph's crew did yesterday, and aside from Charles Jackson getting beat in the endzone in the 4th quarter, and a few questionable PIs, this secondary completely bullied and blanketed the Bengals WRs all game long.
Play of the Game: Rex's 61 yard TD run. The big question was whether he would be the same old Rex and Burkhead answered on his third carry showing his trademark agility, power, balance, and enough speed to get a new career long.
Play We Want Back: Surprisingly enough, there were plenty of ugly plays to choose from, but I'll take the lone Bengals TD in the fourth quarter. Charles Jackson needed to turn around and find the ball and never did, allowing the easy catch. Tough break for the true freshman, but there's probably not a better way to learn than by doing it late in a game that's been decided since the first quarter.
I want to see more...
*Offensive dominance. Sure there's no honor in smashing a bad FCS team, but I like the offense's focus in the rout. Good job by Tim Beck's bunch.
*Aggressive work in the secondary. Too many times last year, the Nebraska secondary played soft, and got beat. So far this year they've improved their physicality, culminating in 2 INTs, and 7 PBU's yesterday.
*Kenny Bell. Not just his 68 yard TD run/reception, but his attitude in going after an Idaho State defender who took a late shot at Ameer Abdullah on a punt return. This is one bad skinny dude, and he has the skills that Nebraska has always seemed to be missing at wide receiver.
*Games on the Big Ten Network. I missed most of the first half, but these were my favorite set of play by play announcers for any Nebraska game so far this year. Give credit to Damon Benning for some excellent sideline work as well.
*Andy Janovich. The true freshman walk-on FB is one beastly dude, and he looked good getting his first playing time of the year. I can't wait to see what he looks like with a whole offseason workout regimen.
*Josh Mitchell. If only he weren't so tiny, Mitchell would be getting some serious pub for his skills. He covers well, has decent ball skills, and even though he's a bit too light to make a tackle all by himself, he does a good job wrapping up and holding a guy until help arrives.
I want to see less...
*Bad FCS Opponents. I don't think either team really got better this week. I wouldn't go so far as to say that we should never play an FCS team, but if we're going to play one, it should be one with a pulse.
*Time for opposing QBs to throw. I know the secondary played lights out yesterday, but it still makes me nervous when the front four allows so much time to throw.
*Sloppy play. Sure there was a lot of mixing up the depth chart, but there were some plays on offense and defense that looked like straight doo-doo. The focuse was good for most of the game, but there were definitely some lapses.
*Bronson Marsh at QB. Sure he's used to running the scout team, but he looked downright bad on his two possessions. It was a nice gesture to let him have a shot at QB, but with Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton available next year, he should probably move to safety as planned.
*Walk-ons playing on the offensive line. It's really great that the local kids are working hard and getting playing time, but it's kinda concerning that so many are getting into the top 2 or 3 spots on the depth chart. Is the local talent that underrated, or are our recruits not panning out?
Armchair head coach:
I think it was a great move by Bo to sit DT Chase Rome for this game. Whatever his issues were that made him quit the team for a week, it would be a bad precedent to set to just let him come back without any sort of disciplinary action. If Bo really wanted to make a statement, Rome would sit next week against Wisconsin as well.
Hit of the Game:
It wasn't particularly bone-crunching, but I loved seeing Jason Ankrah bullrush that offensive tackle on top of Bengal QB Kevin Yost in the third quarter. I think that play was a microcosm of the talent differential in this game.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Babe, it's 66-0, let's watch something else."
Never. True fans watch every second, no matter how boring or painful.
Song of the Game
"It's So Easy" by Buddy Holly
"Seems so easy
So doggone easy
It seems so easy
Yeah where you're concerned
My heart can learn
It's so easy to fall in love
It's so easy to fall in love"
It will be a long time before the Huskers have it so easy again, but I think Buddy Holly would agree, it's not at all hard to fall in love with a performance like that.
Beer of the Game
Landshark Lager by Margaritaville Brewing Co, Jacksonville, FL
An easy beer for an easy game. As a rule, I generally stay away from lagers because I don't much appreciate their taste, or lack thereof. The exceptions to this rule are Landshark, Corona, Yuengling, and in a pinch, Coors Light. If you're looking for a cheaper microbrew that's easy to find, look for the dark blue fin, it won't let you down.
Best Commercial
I was never a fan of Deion Sanders as a player, but man is he a natural for advertising. I love this Directv spot with he and Eli Manning at the store. It's kinda old, but it makes me chuckle every time.
Last thought
There's no way to soften this, this was a boring game against a bad team. On the brightside, it's over and now we can finally focus on our revenge game against Wisconsin. The Big Ten has looked so bad the last few weeks, that it might be up to Nebraska to carry the League's torch, even with a one loss. We'll see how this week develops, but one thing is for sure, unlike SDSU in 2010, there will be nothing memorable about this FCS game, and that is a good. thing.
Offensive MVP: RB Rex Burkhead. He said he was feeling about 90% yesterday, but I think 60% would have been enough against the Bengals. 8 carries for 119 yards and two TDs is a good way to get back into the swing of things without overloading that soft knee. We'll need him next week, so let's hope that 90% continues to improve.
Defensive MVP: DE Eric Martin. Sure there's not a whole lot of pride to be had against such a weak team, but when all 5 of your tackles are sacks or TFLs that's a pretty darn good day. I really hope Martin can continue to assert himself as the season goes on.
Special Teams MVP: PR Ameer Abdullah. Let's ignore the defense it came against and just say that the 81 TD yard return in the third quarter was pretty dang sick. Abdullah showed agility, power, and speed on the return and reminded us all the type of returner he's capable of being.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. "Iron" Cross gets this award for the third time this season. Cross picked up another TD, and the first 100 yard game of his young career. Sure most of it came in garbage time of a garbage game, but Cross has made the most of his opportunities all season. We'll probably be seeing less of him as the games get tougher, so it's been good for him to get his production while he had a chance.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
Terry Joseph gets this award for the way his secondary shut down the Bengals yesterday. When a team is only good at one thing and you take that away from them, you're going to be successful. That's exactly what Joseph's crew did yesterday, and aside from Charles Jackson getting beat in the endzone in the 4th quarter, and a few questionable PIs, this secondary completely bullied and blanketed the Bengals WRs all game long.
Play of the Game: Rex's 61 yard TD run. The big question was whether he would be the same old Rex and Burkhead answered on his third carry showing his trademark agility, power, balance, and enough speed to get a new career long.
Play We Want Back: Surprisingly enough, there were plenty of ugly plays to choose from, but I'll take the lone Bengals TD in the fourth quarter. Charles Jackson needed to turn around and find the ball and never did, allowing the easy catch. Tough break for the true freshman, but there's probably not a better way to learn than by doing it late in a game that's been decided since the first quarter.
I want to see more...
*Offensive dominance. Sure there's no honor in smashing a bad FCS team, but I like the offense's focus in the rout. Good job by Tim Beck's bunch.
*Aggressive work in the secondary. Too many times last year, the Nebraska secondary played soft, and got beat. So far this year they've improved their physicality, culminating in 2 INTs, and 7 PBU's yesterday.
*Kenny Bell. Not just his 68 yard TD run/reception, but his attitude in going after an Idaho State defender who took a late shot at Ameer Abdullah on a punt return. This is one bad skinny dude, and he has the skills that Nebraska has always seemed to be missing at wide receiver.
*Games on the Big Ten Network. I missed most of the first half, but these were my favorite set of play by play announcers for any Nebraska game so far this year. Give credit to Damon Benning for some excellent sideline work as well.
*Andy Janovich. The true freshman walk-on FB is one beastly dude, and he looked good getting his first playing time of the year. I can't wait to see what he looks like with a whole offseason workout regimen.
*Josh Mitchell. If only he weren't so tiny, Mitchell would be getting some serious pub for his skills. He covers well, has decent ball skills, and even though he's a bit too light to make a tackle all by himself, he does a good job wrapping up and holding a guy until help arrives.
I want to see less...
*Bad FCS Opponents. I don't think either team really got better this week. I wouldn't go so far as to say that we should never play an FCS team, but if we're going to play one, it should be one with a pulse.
*Time for opposing QBs to throw. I know the secondary played lights out yesterday, but it still makes me nervous when the front four allows so much time to throw.
*Sloppy play. Sure there was a lot of mixing up the depth chart, but there were some plays on offense and defense that looked like straight doo-doo. The focuse was good for most of the game, but there were definitely some lapses.
*Bronson Marsh at QB. Sure he's used to running the scout team, but he looked downright bad on his two possessions. It was a nice gesture to let him have a shot at QB, but with Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton available next year, he should probably move to safety as planned.
*Walk-ons playing on the offensive line. It's really great that the local kids are working hard and getting playing time, but it's kinda concerning that so many are getting into the top 2 or 3 spots on the depth chart. Is the local talent that underrated, or are our recruits not panning out?
Armchair head coach:
I think it was a great move by Bo to sit DT Chase Rome for this game. Whatever his issues were that made him quit the team for a week, it would be a bad precedent to set to just let him come back without any sort of disciplinary action. If Bo really wanted to make a statement, Rome would sit next week against Wisconsin as well.
Hit of the Game:
It wasn't particularly bone-crunching, but I loved seeing Jason Ankrah bullrush that offensive tackle on top of Bengal QB Kevin Yost in the third quarter. I think that play was a microcosm of the talent differential in this game.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Babe, it's 66-0, let's watch something else."
Never. True fans watch every second, no matter how boring or painful.
Song of the Game
"It's So Easy" by Buddy Holly
"Seems so easy
So doggone easy
It seems so easy
Yeah where you're concerned
My heart can learn
It's so easy to fall in love
It's so easy to fall in love"
It will be a long time before the Huskers have it so easy again, but I think Buddy Holly would agree, it's not at all hard to fall in love with a performance like that.
Beer of the Game
Landshark Lager by Margaritaville Brewing Co, Jacksonville, FL
An easy beer for an easy game. As a rule, I generally stay away from lagers because I don't much appreciate their taste, or lack thereof. The exceptions to this rule are Landshark, Corona, Yuengling, and in a pinch, Coors Light. If you're looking for a cheaper microbrew that's easy to find, look for the dark blue fin, it won't let you down.
Best Commercial
I was never a fan of Deion Sanders as a player, but man is he a natural for advertising. I love this Directv spot with he and Eli Manning at the store. It's kinda old, but it makes me chuckle every time.
Last thought
There's no way to soften this, this was a boring game against a bad team. On the brightside, it's over and now we can finally focus on our revenge game against Wisconsin. The Big Ten has looked so bad the last few weeks, that it might be up to Nebraska to carry the League's torch, even with a one loss. We'll see how this week develops, but one thing is for sure, unlike SDSU in 2010, there will be nothing memorable about this FCS game, and that is a good. thing.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Mission Brief: Idaho State
Here's a pregame rundown for Nebraska's fourth game of the season written in Army Op-Order format:
Situation:
After a dominant win last week, the unsettling news of Bo Pelini's ambulance ride, and the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, it's almost hard to remember that there's a game this week. The fact that Nebraska is 2-1 and the game is against the lowly FCS Bengals makes it even easier to yawn and try to sell your nosebleed seats on the corner of 9th and Q. Does all this sound familiar? To me, it feels a lot like South Dakota State in 2010, and many Husker fans remember the sick feeling in their stomachs as Taylor Martinez was stuffed time and time again by the Jackrabbits defenders and the dissatisfaction with the 17-9 final score. Definitely not a Husker victory for the ages.
Take heart Husker fans, this Bengals team is certainly not as good as SDSU, and I would go so far as to say that the Huskers are a better team now than they were early in 2010. The offense possesses a powerful running game, and the passing game outside of the second half of the UCLA game, has been pretty terrific as well. The defense is not to be confused with the 2010 unit that had 6 current NFL contributors, but it's definitely good enough to beat the Bengals.
Idaho State is 1-1 coming off a win against Division II Black Hills State, and though that may not seem like a big deal, it actually is, considering the Bengals only won 2 games last season. Depending on who you ask, the Bengals are one of the 10-15 worst programs in all of Division I, but second year coach Mike Kramer has been in the game for a while, and won a few games at Eastern Washington and Montana State, so you have to think he'll have his team ready to play. Kramer and his players seem to understand that they're playing the biggest game of their lives, and you never can tell what that realization can do to a team. Obviously there's no logical way that the Bengals are even going to be competitive, but that's the beauty of football, you never can tell how the ball is going to bounce.
Mission:
This is simply a game that Nebraska should be able to just show up and win. If Idaho State is still in the game at halftime, it's a failure for the Huskers.
Execution:
Nebraska gets an easy opponent on what should be a beautiful fall day in Memorial Stadium. And everyone knows that there are very few days that can compare to a warm September day on Tom Osborne Field. Tomorrow is a day where football should be just plain fun for Husker fans.
On offense, the Huskers simply need to keep doing what they've done the first 3 games, minus the turnovers. The Bengal are small and slow on defense and there's no reason for Brett Maher to punt even once until the second and third stringers come out. The Huskers should surpass 200 yards rushing at halftime, with just enough passing to keep the Bengals honest. I expect Taylor Martinez to play a drive or two in the third quarter, and then turn the reins over to Ron Kellogg III. RKIII needs to run the full breadth of Tim Beck's offense, not just hand the ball off to Imani Cross until the time is gone. This is an important game for developing depth and getting the youngsters some real game time in what should be a fairly non-threatening situation.
On defense, the task is a bit harder, as the offensive style employed by Meyer's team is difficult to completely shut down. The Bengals like to spread the field wide and throw about every down a la Mike Leach. I would also expect Meyer to pull out all the stops and use a few trick plays in a game in which he has nothing to lose. Luckily, the Huskers should enjoy a pretty substantial talent, size and speed advantage on defense, so even though the Bengals might have success moving the ball between the 20's I will be disappointed if they score more than a few field goals on the first team defense. Again, this game is as important for getting the 2nd and 3rd stringers some playing time as it is for anything else. I think that the freshmen defensive linemen especially can benefit from a glorified scrimmage such as this.
Service and Support:
Finally, Rex Burkhead is back. The only question is: how much do we use him? Like I said the last two weeks, Nebraska does not need Rex to win this game with Ameer Abdullah playing so well, but we will need Rex to win the Big 10. It would be wise to ease him back into the game with 10 or 12 carries and then he can ride the pine.
Chase Rome decided to come back to the team after flirting with the idea of quitting. This is good news for a relatively thin defensive line, but how much damage has been done to his game with the time off, and how much trust has he lost with his teammates?
There was bad news at linebacker with emerging WILL Zaire Anderson lost for the season due to an ACL tear. This is an opportunity for David Santos to emerge, but we might also see safety Corey Cooper working at this spot too.
Thad Randle has shown that he can play on his bum leg, but with freshmen DTs Aaron Curry, Todd Peat, and Kevin Williams needing the game time, this might be a good week to get some rest.
Every other position is fairly healthy this week, and I can't foresee any major changes to the starting rotation. Again, this game is important for developing depth, so the second and third stringers should see plenty of time starting in the second half.
Command and Signal:
After Pelini's early exit from the Arkansas State game, Husker fans got to see what a solid staff he has put together in North Stadium. John Papuchis didn't seem to miss a beat taking over for Pelini on the sideline, and Tim Beck, though his offense lost 3 fumbles in that second half, called a pretty good second half, running out the clock to secure the victory.
A useful measure of a leader is the ability of his subordinates to function without him. Pelini must be pretty darn proud of how his staff pulled the team together and turned adversity into victory.
Final thoughts:
There's not much else to say. The Huskers need a dominant win to set the tone for the upcoming Big Ten schedule, but they can't think too far ahead lest the Bengals catch them napping.
If everything goes according to plan, this should be a fun way to enjoy a beautiful autumn day in Lincoln.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
College Football Week 4 Preview
The mood swing from last week to now is not the one you might expect after a dominant rebound victory. Instead of renewed optimism, there's an air of reticent mortality. In one of the most absurdly football-crazy fan bases in the country, the news of Be Pelini's ambulance ride jolted the Husker faithful and reminded us all that there's a lot more than just football in life.
But enough philosiphizing, there's still 9 weeks of football and we wouldn't want to waste it contemplating our own transience.
(all rankings AP)
Nebraska
For what it's worth (not much), Nebraska peeked back into the top 25 this week, holding down the last spot. I have mixed feelings about the mere existence of a top 25 poll this early in the season, but nobody's asking me. It's nice to have the exposure, and the farther up the poll you start, the faster you climb at the end of the season when it matters.
It almost feels like the Huskers have any additional bye this week. Not only is Idaho State an FCS program, but they're a pretty darn awful FCS program with only 2 wins a year ago, and a loss already this year to the Air Force Academy in which they were down 35-0 at halftime. Air Force is a decent team, but triple option offenses don't often score 5 touchdowns in a half, so there's some pretty easy conclusions you can draw from that. The Bengals' biggest issue on defense is probably their size. The biggest dude on their defensive line is listed as 2 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than center Justin Jackson, NU's smallest lineman. To run a 3-4 like the Bengals want, that size difference is going to hurt, especially against the run. That's probably going to be all that matters in this game as the Huskers should use Rex and Co. to go for at least 300 yards on the ground, only passing the ball enough to keep Taylor Martinez's arm fresh for Wisconsin.
On defense, the Huskers get a little bit more of a challenge. After running a gauntlet of spread offenses in the last 3 weeks, the not-quite-Blackshirts finish with a more Mike Leach style, Air Raid offense this week. The Bengals have thrown 121 passes in just two games this season averaging 443 yards in the two games. The wide receivers are a little light in the pants, but they have decent height, and the Bengals offense is predicated on spreading the field and hitting those receivers in whatever spot the defense is not. Sounds easy enough, but QB Kevin Yost is going to need time to feed those receivers, and like the d-line, the Bengals offensive line is probably a little too light to hold off the Nebraska pass rush for too long. The shotgun is going to be the Bengals best friend and it will be interesting to see what kind of pass rush the Huskers generate against another funky offensive system. I'm betting that it won't be too big an issue.
Obviously Nebraska can't afford to overlook the Bengals the way we did South Dakota State in 2010, but, this Idaho State team is not nearly as good as the Jackrabbits were. I think that the Bengals will get plenty of yards, but stall inside the 20's. Nebraska should have no trouble moving the ball on offense though, scoring at will is the order of the day. I'll take the Huskers 63-17 with plenty of playing time for the backups.
Big Ten
So here we are in week 4 and the Big Ten is for all intents and purposes, eliminated from the National Championship race. The best team in the league is not eligible for the postseason, and the Leaders division winner will likely have 2 or 3 conference losses. Good stuff.
Saturday:
#16 Ohio State vs UAB: Never say never, but I think that the Buckeyes will be motivated to improve on last week's poor showing against Cal. Ohio State is probably the best team in the Big Ten, but those annoying sanctions...I expect them to lose focus and choke away a game or two this season, but not this one.
Wisconsin vs UTEP: How bad is it going to get in Madison? Probably not bad enough to lose this one, but with a full-on QB controversy and mountains of negativity to go with all of the inexperience, you never know. The games are not going to come easy until the Badgers get their running game off the turf and pull together some semblance of a passing attack.
Iowa vs Central Michigan: I'll hedge this pick by saying that it's completely dependent on the Hawkeyes finding a RB that can stay healthy for more than a few snaps. I want Iowa to win 8 or 9 games this year, so the "rivalry" game is a little bit interesting at the end of the year, but the Hawkeyes really, really need to score more touchdowns before that can happen.
#21 Michigan State vs Eastern Michigan: The Fighting Irish exposed just how bad this Spartan offense can be when Le'Veon Bell can't get going, making the Michigan State offense look downright pathetic last Saturday. I don't expect Eastern Michigan to duplicate that success, and maybe the Spartans can get it figured out before facing Ohio State next week.
Northwestern vs South Dakota: After beating three Big 6 opponents (albeit not very good ones), the Wildcats get a breather with an FCS game. South Dakota is a pretty decent FCS program, but the Wildcats are kind of on a roll right now and I don't think the Fighting Sioux have the goods to pull off the upset. Top 25 for the Wildcats? It's a possibility.
Penn State vs Temple: Temple is one of the better teams in the MAC, but the Nittany Lions seem like they got a few things figured out on offense last week, and that defense is going to keep them in almost all of their games this year. Coach Bill O'Brien picked up his first victory, and I think that Penn State will be hungry for more. Pride is definitely a strong motivation for this team.
#18 Michigan at #11 Notre Dame: Denard Robinson owns the Irish. I think the Wolverines are far better equipped to handle the Irish's surprisingly dominant defense than Michigan State was. I think the Wolverines might give up a few more yards on defense, but I'll take Michigan offense in a shootout.
Minnesota vs Syracuse: The Orangemen have struggled so far this year, while the Gophers have looked pretty decent. I've been impressed with the Gophers so far this year and while they won't be confused for Legends division contenders, I think they've got the goods to win this game.
Illinois vs Louisiana Tech:
This is one of the better non-BCS conference teams, and Illinois is pretty inconsistent right now. La Tech scores lots of points, but they allow scores in bunches too. Illinois is still trying to make it work without QB Nathan Scheelhaase, and I don't like the Illini's chances in a shootout.
Top 25 rundown:
Bold print denotes winner
#1 Alabama vs Florida Atlantic
#2 LSU at Auburn
#3 Oregon vs #22 Arizona
#4 Florida State vs #10 Clemson
#5 Georgia vs Vanderbilt
#6 Oklahoma vs #15 Kansas State
#7 South Carolina vs Missouri
#8 West Virginia vs Maryland
#9 Stanford off
#11 Notre Dame vs #18 Michigan
#12 Texas off
#13 USC vs California
#14 Florida vs Kentucky
#16 Ohio State vs UAB
#17 TCU vs Virginia
#19 UCLA vs Oregon State
#20 Louisville at Florida International
#21 Michigan State vs Eastern Michigan
#23 Mississippi State vs Eastern Alabama
#24 Boise State vs BYU
#25 Nebraska vs Idaho State
Game of the Week: There's a few good ones this week, just not in Lincoln, NE. The biggest game this week is Florida State vs Clemson, but I think the best entertainment value will be Notre Dame vs Michigan.
3 Things you'll hear too much about:
* Florida State and Notre Dame being back
* Oregon vs Arizona
* Alabama's invincibility
3 Things you won't hear enough about:
* How overrated USC was (you can never hear enough about that)
* Northwestern's great start
* Oklahoma vs Kansas State
My Heisman top 5:
1.Geno Smith, West Virginia QB: Smith has as many TD passes as incompletions after two games. Do you know how crazy that is? We'll see if he keeps it up against better teams
2. Johnathan Franklin, UCLA RB: "Only" 168 total yards for the UCLA back this week, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his production in the PAC-12 season
3. Braxton Miller, Ohio State QB: Miller is 99% of Ohio State's offense right now, luckily it's been enough for the Buckeye's so far
4. De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon RB: He's averaging 17 ypc and 14 yards per catch right now with 7 TDs, and he hasn't played much in the second half of the Duck's three games
5. Matt Barkley, USC QB: Yeah the loss hurts, but if the Trojans can win out with Barley performing even halfway decent, he'll get an invite to NY riding his preseason hype and probable draft status
More to Prove: Landry Jones, Marcus Lattimore, Sammy Watkins, Aaron Murray
Darkhorses: Denard Robinson, Collin Klein, Jarvis Jones, Rex Burkhead
Husker NFL MVP week 1:
Not a great week for former Huskers, as the teams with the most Huskers all lost. I'll give this one to Ndamukong Suh for his 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 TFL in the Lions' crushing defeat to my mighty 49ers.
That wraps up this week's preview. Saturday is rapidly approaching and as soft as the Husker game should be, some decent highlights and an easy afternoon will make for a nice prelude to a really tough 5 game stretch.
But enough philosiphizing, there's still 9 weeks of football and we wouldn't want to waste it contemplating our own transience.
(all rankings AP)
Nebraska
For what it's worth (not much), Nebraska peeked back into the top 25 this week, holding down the last spot. I have mixed feelings about the mere existence of a top 25 poll this early in the season, but nobody's asking me. It's nice to have the exposure, and the farther up the poll you start, the faster you climb at the end of the season when it matters.
It almost feels like the Huskers have any additional bye this week. Not only is Idaho State an FCS program, but they're a pretty darn awful FCS program with only 2 wins a year ago, and a loss already this year to the Air Force Academy in which they were down 35-0 at halftime. Air Force is a decent team, but triple option offenses don't often score 5 touchdowns in a half, so there's some pretty easy conclusions you can draw from that. The Bengals' biggest issue on defense is probably their size. The biggest dude on their defensive line is listed as 2 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than center Justin Jackson, NU's smallest lineman. To run a 3-4 like the Bengals want, that size difference is going to hurt, especially against the run. That's probably going to be all that matters in this game as the Huskers should use Rex and Co. to go for at least 300 yards on the ground, only passing the ball enough to keep Taylor Martinez's arm fresh for Wisconsin.
On defense, the Huskers get a little bit more of a challenge. After running a gauntlet of spread offenses in the last 3 weeks, the not-quite-Blackshirts finish with a more Mike Leach style, Air Raid offense this week. The Bengals have thrown 121 passes in just two games this season averaging 443 yards in the two games. The wide receivers are a little light in the pants, but they have decent height, and the Bengals offense is predicated on spreading the field and hitting those receivers in whatever spot the defense is not. Sounds easy enough, but QB Kevin Yost is going to need time to feed those receivers, and like the d-line, the Bengals offensive line is probably a little too light to hold off the Nebraska pass rush for too long. The shotgun is going to be the Bengals best friend and it will be interesting to see what kind of pass rush the Huskers generate against another funky offensive system. I'm betting that it won't be too big an issue.
Obviously Nebraska can't afford to overlook the Bengals the way we did South Dakota State in 2010, but, this Idaho State team is not nearly as good as the Jackrabbits were. I think that the Bengals will get plenty of yards, but stall inside the 20's. Nebraska should have no trouble moving the ball on offense though, scoring at will is the order of the day. I'll take the Huskers 63-17 with plenty of playing time for the backups.
Big Ten
So here we are in week 4 and the Big Ten is for all intents and purposes, eliminated from the National Championship race. The best team in the league is not eligible for the postseason, and the Leaders division winner will likely have 2 or 3 conference losses. Good stuff.
Saturday:
#16 Ohio State vs UAB: Never say never, but I think that the Buckeyes will be motivated to improve on last week's poor showing against Cal. Ohio State is probably the best team in the Big Ten, but those annoying sanctions...I expect them to lose focus and choke away a game or two this season, but not this one.
Wisconsin vs UTEP: How bad is it going to get in Madison? Probably not bad enough to lose this one, but with a full-on QB controversy and mountains of negativity to go with all of the inexperience, you never know. The games are not going to come easy until the Badgers get their running game off the turf and pull together some semblance of a passing attack.
Iowa vs Central Michigan: I'll hedge this pick by saying that it's completely dependent on the Hawkeyes finding a RB that can stay healthy for more than a few snaps. I want Iowa to win 8 or 9 games this year, so the "rivalry" game is a little bit interesting at the end of the year, but the Hawkeyes really, really need to score more touchdowns before that can happen.
#21 Michigan State vs Eastern Michigan: The Fighting Irish exposed just how bad this Spartan offense can be when Le'Veon Bell can't get going, making the Michigan State offense look downright pathetic last Saturday. I don't expect Eastern Michigan to duplicate that success, and maybe the Spartans can get it figured out before facing Ohio State next week.
Northwestern vs South Dakota: After beating three Big 6 opponents (albeit not very good ones), the Wildcats get a breather with an FCS game. South Dakota is a pretty decent FCS program, but the Wildcats are kind of on a roll right now and I don't think the Fighting Sioux have the goods to pull off the upset. Top 25 for the Wildcats? It's a possibility.
Penn State vs Temple: Temple is one of the better teams in the MAC, but the Nittany Lions seem like they got a few things figured out on offense last week, and that defense is going to keep them in almost all of their games this year. Coach Bill O'Brien picked up his first victory, and I think that Penn State will be hungry for more. Pride is definitely a strong motivation for this team.
#18 Michigan at #11 Notre Dame: Denard Robinson owns the Irish. I think the Wolverines are far better equipped to handle the Irish's surprisingly dominant defense than Michigan State was. I think the Wolverines might give up a few more yards on defense, but I'll take Michigan offense in a shootout.
Minnesota vs Syracuse: The Orangemen have struggled so far this year, while the Gophers have looked pretty decent. I've been impressed with the Gophers so far this year and while they won't be confused for Legends division contenders, I think they've got the goods to win this game.
Illinois vs Louisiana Tech:
This is one of the better non-BCS conference teams, and Illinois is pretty inconsistent right now. La Tech scores lots of points, but they allow scores in bunches too. Illinois is still trying to make it work without QB Nathan Scheelhaase, and I don't like the Illini's chances in a shootout.
Top 25 rundown:
Bold print denotes winner
#1 Alabama vs Florida Atlantic
#2 LSU at Auburn
#3 Oregon vs #22 Arizona
#4 Florida State vs #10 Clemson
#5 Georgia vs Vanderbilt
#6 Oklahoma vs #15 Kansas State
#7 South Carolina vs Missouri
#8 West Virginia vs Maryland
#9 Stanford off
#11 Notre Dame vs #18 Michigan
#12 Texas off
#13 USC vs California
#14 Florida vs Kentucky
#16 Ohio State vs UAB
#17 TCU vs Virginia
#19 UCLA vs Oregon State
#20 Louisville at Florida International
#21 Michigan State vs Eastern Michigan
#23 Mississippi State vs Eastern Alabama
#24 Boise State vs BYU
#25 Nebraska vs Idaho State
Game of the Week: There's a few good ones this week, just not in Lincoln, NE. The biggest game this week is Florida State vs Clemson, but I think the best entertainment value will be Notre Dame vs Michigan.
3 Things you'll hear too much about:
* Florida State and Notre Dame being back
* Oregon vs Arizona
* Alabama's invincibility
3 Things you won't hear enough about:
* How overrated USC was (you can never hear enough about that)
* Northwestern's great start
* Oklahoma vs Kansas State
My Heisman top 5:
1.Geno Smith, West Virginia QB: Smith has as many TD passes as incompletions after two games. Do you know how crazy that is? We'll see if he keeps it up against better teams
2. Johnathan Franklin, UCLA RB: "Only" 168 total yards for the UCLA back this week, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his production in the PAC-12 season
3. Braxton Miller, Ohio State QB: Miller is 99% of Ohio State's offense right now, luckily it's been enough for the Buckeye's so far
4. De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon RB: He's averaging 17 ypc and 14 yards per catch right now with 7 TDs, and he hasn't played much in the second half of the Duck's three games
5. Matt Barkley, USC QB: Yeah the loss hurts, but if the Trojans can win out with Barley performing even halfway decent, he'll get an invite to NY riding his preseason hype and probable draft status
More to Prove: Landry Jones, Marcus Lattimore, Sammy Watkins, Aaron Murray
Darkhorses: Denard Robinson, Collin Klein, Jarvis Jones, Rex Burkhead
Husker NFL MVP week 1:
Not a great week for former Huskers, as the teams with the most Huskers all lost. I'll give this one to Ndamukong Suh for his 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 TFL in the Lions' crushing defeat to my mighty 49ers.
That wraps up this week's preview. Saturday is rapidly approaching and as soft as the Husker game should be, some decent highlights and an easy afternoon will make for a nice prelude to a really tough 5 game stretch.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Around the Nation: Quick Takes Sep 16
The big news this week is Stanford's "upset" of USC late last night, but there was a lot of good football yesterday and a few shocking games. Lets run through:
#1 Alabama 52 Arkansas 0
Who would have called this one last March? A few things happened between then and now, and one of the most anticipated games of the pre-season turned into a sloshy laugher. Even the weather turned against the Razorbacks, a downpour grounding the already hampered passing attack. The Tide roll on while the Hogs pick up the pieces of a much-hyped season and wonder what could have been. At least Arkansas can claim one of the most interesting halftime interviews ever by halftime interview expert John L. Smith.
#21 Stanford 21 #2 USC 14
The headline on ESPN.com this morning read "Can We Even Say We're Surprised?" That just about sums it up. There's no more surprise in this anymore, little 'ol Stanford has won 4 straight against the mighty Trojans and ruined another National Championship season. The Cardinal did it by holding the high flying Trojan offense to 280 yards, picking off Heisman frontrunner Matt Barkley twice. Stanford went ahead with 10 minutes left and held USC off the scoreboard for the rest of the game, despite two Heisman candidates on the other side of the ball. Now the national media is backpedaling and saying that the Trojans really weren't all that good to begin with. Priceless.
#3 LSU 63 Idaho 14
When I saw the score alert that said LSU 21 Idaho 14 midway through the second quarter, I thought to myself "What the heck? LSU?" But LSU did what LSU does, using defense and a strong running game to break away and coast to the victory. The Tigers won't be tested until October.
#4 Oregon 63 Tennessee Tech 14
Oregon's final non-conference game went pretty much the same way as the other two: lots of points, lots of yards, zero drama. It gets harder next week as the Ducks start their PAC-12 schedule with a game against a resurgent Arizona team.
#5 Florida State 52 Wake Forest 0
We still don't know just how good this Seminoles team is, but we have a little better idea after they throttled their ACC nemesis for four complete quarters. The Demon Deacons (for my money, one of the best nicknames in sports) were only able to gain 126 yards of offense and they couldn't stop Florida State's ground game, which rolled up 385 yards, 4 TDs, and an 8 yard per carry average. I'm still not sold on QB EJ Manuel as a Heisman candidate, but he was more than enough for FSU to beat a team that always seems to sneak up on them. We'll know more next week when the Seminoles welcome #11 Clemson to Tallahassee.
#7 Georgia 56 Florida Atlantic 20
Carl Pelini went to Athens and made a game of it for a quarter and a half before the Dawgs pulled away. Nothing really to be ashamed of for the Owls, but you wonder how two consecutive losses will affect the team's confidence going into the game with Alabama next week. Georgia is looking more and more like the team to beat in the SEC East.
#8 South Carolina 49 UAB 6
Quick quiz: how many active D1 coaches have 200 collegiate wins? Answer: 4; Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, Chris Ault at Nevada (yes, really), Mack Brown at Texas, and now Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. This one doesn't feel so sweet though, as Spurrier loses starting QB Connor Shaw to the same shoulder injury he suffered against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are going to need Shaw to recover quickly; Oct. 6th begins a stretch of games against Georgia, LSU, Florida and Tennessee, and the Gamecocks will probably need to win all of those games to win the division.
#9 West Virginia 42 James Madison 12
It's been three weeks and we've talked more about West Virginia than we've see them play, but what we have has been pretty darn impressive. 411 yards and 5 TDs out of QB Geno Smith are a good start, but before I become a true believer, I want to see how the Mountaineers handle a step up in competition.
#20 Notre Dame 20 #10 Michigan State 3
Michigan State couldn't handle the stress of being the only Big Ten team realistically in the National Title race, and lost in embarrassing fashion to the Golden Domers. The fast and mean Spartan defense got stop after stop in the second half, but the pathetic offense couldn't move the ball with the Irish keying on RB Le'Veon Bell, and the Spartans lost a winnable game, and the Big Ten suffered another embarrassment. Notre Dame is pretty solid on defense, but there's no reason Michigan State couldn't score more than a measly field goal. This team has a lot to figure out before they face Ohio State in two weeks.
#11 Clemson 41 Furman 7
The Tigers finally have their best player back, and WR Sammy Watkins did not take long to re-instate himself as one of the most explosive players in the country taking an inside handoff 58 yards for a score. Watkins had 110 yards of total offense and Clemson rather lazily handled an FCS team in advance of their big matchup with Florida State next week.
#12 Ohio State 35 California 28
The first real test of the Urban Meyer era was supposed to be against #10 Michigan State in two weeks, but the Buckeyes got all that they could handle from the Golden Bears and if not for 3 missed field goals and a badly blown coverage late in the 4th, the Big Ten would have endured the most embarrassing defeat yet at the hands of the PAC-12. The Buckeyes escaped thanks to another fantastic performance by Braxton Miller, who added another highlight reel 55 yard run to his Heisman resume. The Buckeyes need to get better on defense after allowing 512 yards to a team that lost to Nevada.
Pittsburgh 35 #13 Virginia Tech 17
Virginia Tech is usually one of the most disciplined teams in the country year in and year out, but they must have left the discipline on the dresser at home this week. 4 turnovers and a crushing offsides penalty that turned a Pitt field goal into a TD brought the Hokies crashing down in the upset of the week. After dropping games to Cincinnati, and FCS Youngstown State, the Panthers finally got it to click on both sides of the ball, allowing 59 rushing yards while rolling up 284 of their own. Pitt coach Paul Chryst needs this effort every week to make the most of his fairly considerable talent.
#14 Texas 66 Ole Miss 31
Who would have expected this? Texas has been pretty bad on offense since Colt McCoy left, but they exploded for 676 yards, and finally got their power rushing game going to the tune of 350 yards. Ole Miss obviously isn't the greatest team to draw a lot of conclusions from, but it has to be encouraging for the Longhorns to dominate any SEC team after their recent struggles.
#15 Kansas State 35 North Texas 21
The Wildcats probably thought they could coast against one of the worst teams in the FBS, but they got all they could handle from the Mean Green, not putting this game away until the fourth quarter. QB Collin Klein carried his team to victory with 315 total yards and 3 TDs, and if the Wildcats were peeking ahead to Oklahoma, now they can focus their full attention on the Sooners.
#16 TCU 20 Kansas 6
This was not an overly impressive debut for the Horned Frogs' first Big 12 game, but a win in the cold rain on the road is a win, even when you fumble the ball four times, twice inside the red zone. As always, TCU leaned on their stout defense, which forced 2 turnovers and shut the Jayhawks out in the 2nd half. The Frogs won't get any more easy games like this in the Big 12, but they're 2-0 going into next week's game against Virginia 2-0 with plenty of momentum.
#17 Michigan 63 UMass 13
After the first two weeks of the season, a gimme like this has to feel good for the Michigan program. QB Denard Robinson accounted for almost 400 yards and 4 touchdowns as he tries to claw back into the Heisman discussion. Michigan gets Notre Dame next, and then jumps into the Big 10 schedule. The Minutemen didn't score after halftime and fall to 0-3 in their inaugural year as an FBS program.
#18 Florida 37 #23 Tennessee 20
Tennessee has to feel like they let one slip away. The Volunteers were controlling this game at home until Florida FB Trey Burton busted loose for an 80 yard TD sprint at the end of the third quarter. At that point it was 20-20, but Tennessee threw a pick on the next series and set off an avalanche of Florida touchdowns and when the smoke cleared, Tennessee had suffered its eighth straight loss to the Gators, and a promising season seems to be in the tubes already. For Florida, the offensive woes seem to be resolving, and after two come-from-behind wins, the SEC East title looks possible.
#19 Louisville 39 North Carolina 34
At halftime of this game, Louisville was leading 36-7 after the Cards went up, down, around and through the Tar Heels for 2 quarters and it looked like a strong statement win for the Big East was in the works. 30 minutes later, the Cardinal fans were exhaling after blowing their comfortable lead and allowing the Heels to come within a dropped TD pass of victory. Credit Louisville for hanging on, but this was a true tale of two halves, and the Cardinals are lucky to be 3-0.
#22 UCLA 37 Houston 6
Houston managed to "hold" Bruins RB Johnathan Franklin to 110 yards rushing, and no TDs. Problem is, the rest of the Bruins managed to rack up 567 yards and 37 points, and the defense held the Cougars off the scoreboard until the 4th quarter as the Bruins coasted to a third win. Hard to say just how good this UCLA team is, but they have a great schedule, plenty of talent, and a nice pelt on the wall already after beating Nebraska.
#24 Arizona 56 South Carolina State 0
Rich Rodriguez has turned around this Arizona program in a hurry. I'm not sure that they're quite as good as they've looked so far, but the Wildcat faithful have to be pleased with this hire so far. The Wildcats rolled up 689 yards of total offense, while holding the Bulldogs to just 154. Nice game, but there's a much tougher test next week at Oregon.
Utah 24 #25 BYU 21
Wild finish to this one; after blocking BYU's 51 yard FG attempt, Utah fans rushed the field, BYU gets another shot because of the penalty against Utah fans, and then misses the 36 yarder. They call this game the "Holy War" and I'm betting the postgame celebration was anything but. Utah gets some fresh life to their season after dropping a game to Utah State last week. The PAC-12 is a pretty good looking conference this year.
Penn State 34 Navy 7
Penn State finally put together a full game on both sides of the ball, and it showed with a beat down of Navy and Bill O'Brien's first victory. Navy got their yards on the ground like they always do, but Penn State forced 4 turnovers, including a 76 yard fumble return for a TD in the fourth quarter, and the offense moved efficiently through the air with Matt McGloin tossing 4 TDs. Penn State usually wouldn't celebrate such a win, but they usually don't play games without Joe Paterno either, so...
Purdue 54 Eastern Michigan 16
Purdue benefited from a stable QB situation and flattened a weak MAC team. After the letdown against Notre Dame last week, this was the best possible medicine. Even if Robert Marve returns from his knee injury, Purdue should stick with Caleb Terbush, as he guided the Boilermakers to 576 yards. The Boilermakers rushed for 392 yards and the defense allowed only 7 points after halftime as Purdue cruised to the win.
Minnesota 28 Western Michigan 23
Minnesota's best player, QB MarQueis Gray was lost in the 2nd quarter, but the Gophers managed to keep it together, and rally behind backup QB Max Shortell's 3 TDs. The Gopher defense came up with 2 turnovers, and held the Broncos on a late 4th down to preserve the victory. Don't look now but Minnesota is 3-0 and they have a favorable remaining schedule. Bowl game? Don't bet against it.
Illinois 44 Charleston Southern 0
Even without injured QB Nathan Scheelhaase, the Illini had no trouble with the hapless Buccaneers. Illinois only allowed 125 yards, and rang up 479 of their own. The game lacked any real drama, and after the shellacking the Illini endured at the hands of Arizona State last week, I'm sure nobody really minded.
Northwestern 22 Boston College 13
Is there a bigger surprise in the Big Ten than Northwestern right now? The Wildcats have played three BCS schools, and have won all three contests. If you want to quibble, you can say that the Wildcats are kicking too many field goals (5 this game), but when you're the only Big 10 team beating Big 6 opponents every week, then you have a right to do it any way you want. The two QB system is working out pretty well for the Cats as both Kain Colter and Trever Siemen were effective throwing the ball. This is a dangerous team; not like 'gonna win the Legends' dangerous, but 'good enough to beat any team once' dangerous.
Iowa 27 Northern Iowa 16
Yeah it's a win, but you won't find a whole bunch of happy people in Iowa City this week. The Hawkeyes are averaging 1.3 TDs per game so far this year, and they allowed 339 yards to the Panthers. And the game was never really out of reach until late in the fourth quarter. This is shaping up to be a rough year if things don't improve rapidly.
Ball State 41 Indiana 39
Indiana probably wins this game is their best QB isn't hurt, but that's the game. There's no excuse for a Big 10 team to run up 558 yards, and still lose. The Hoosiers are not any more talented then a lot of MAC teams, and so they need to execute and win games like this if they want to get to a bowl game. It's probably going to be a long year in Bloomington, and the Hoosiers are probably the only team in the Leaders division that doesn't have a legitimate chance to win the division.
Wisconsin 16 Utah State 14
If Utah State makes that 37 yard field goal at the end of the game, you might see more than an offensive line coach get the ax in Madison. As it is, the Badgers are in a very bad state right now. They probably should have lost that game last night, and gaining only 234 yards against the Aggies is making the rest of the Big 10 defensive coordinators drool. It's a young season, and the Badgers are 2-1, but the kids are not alright in Madison.
Washington State 35 UNLV 27
Loyal readers will remember that I am a big Mike Leach fan, and it's good to see the Pirate captain back on the sidelines again. This was a typical Leach victory: lots of yards, passing and points; not so much defense. The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of offense and the Cougars came away with the win, despite starting a backup at QB. Wazzu moves to 2-1 with a chance to get a third win versus Colorado next week. It will be a year or two before Leach's teams get in gear and challenge for PAC-12 titles, but a bowl game is not out of the realm of possibility this year.
Ohio 27 Marshall 24
If Frank Solich's Bobcats want to crash the BCS party, they need Penn State to win a bunch of games, and they need to win their own games in more impressive fashion. Ohio gave up almost 500 yards and trailed for most of the game, but they scored the last 10 points, and a win on the road is always impressive. This is a talented team, but they aren't talented enough to sleepwalk through any of their MAC games.
That's all for week 3. Obviously the Huskers have plenty to worry about with Bo Pelini's health issues, but the game is larger than Nebraska and it pays to keep an eye on what the competition is doing. The Big 10 didn't do much to enhance its image this week, but every other conference had its own struggles. Alabama looks invincible, but LSU and Oregon are right there at the top as well. It's shaping up to be a fun season and I look forward to week 4.
#1 Alabama 52 Arkansas 0
Who would have called this one last March? A few things happened between then and now, and one of the most anticipated games of the pre-season turned into a sloshy laugher. Even the weather turned against the Razorbacks, a downpour grounding the already hampered passing attack. The Tide roll on while the Hogs pick up the pieces of a much-hyped season and wonder what could have been. At least Arkansas can claim one of the most interesting halftime interviews ever by halftime interview expert John L. Smith.
#21 Stanford 21 #2 USC 14
The headline on ESPN.com this morning read "Can We Even Say We're Surprised?" That just about sums it up. There's no more surprise in this anymore, little 'ol Stanford has won 4 straight against the mighty Trojans and ruined another National Championship season. The Cardinal did it by holding the high flying Trojan offense to 280 yards, picking off Heisman frontrunner Matt Barkley twice. Stanford went ahead with 10 minutes left and held USC off the scoreboard for the rest of the game, despite two Heisman candidates on the other side of the ball. Now the national media is backpedaling and saying that the Trojans really weren't all that good to begin with. Priceless.
#3 LSU 63 Idaho 14
When I saw the score alert that said LSU 21 Idaho 14 midway through the second quarter, I thought to myself "What the heck? LSU?" But LSU did what LSU does, using defense and a strong running game to break away and coast to the victory. The Tigers won't be tested until October.
#4 Oregon 63 Tennessee Tech 14
Oregon's final non-conference game went pretty much the same way as the other two: lots of points, lots of yards, zero drama. It gets harder next week as the Ducks start their PAC-12 schedule with a game against a resurgent Arizona team.
#5 Florida State 52 Wake Forest 0
We still don't know just how good this Seminoles team is, but we have a little better idea after they throttled their ACC nemesis for four complete quarters. The Demon Deacons (for my money, one of the best nicknames in sports) were only able to gain 126 yards of offense and they couldn't stop Florida State's ground game, which rolled up 385 yards, 4 TDs, and an 8 yard per carry average. I'm still not sold on QB EJ Manuel as a Heisman candidate, but he was more than enough for FSU to beat a team that always seems to sneak up on them. We'll know more next week when the Seminoles welcome #11 Clemson to Tallahassee.
#7 Georgia 56 Florida Atlantic 20
Carl Pelini went to Athens and made a game of it for a quarter and a half before the Dawgs pulled away. Nothing really to be ashamed of for the Owls, but you wonder how two consecutive losses will affect the team's confidence going into the game with Alabama next week. Georgia is looking more and more like the team to beat in the SEC East.
#8 South Carolina 49 UAB 6
Quick quiz: how many active D1 coaches have 200 collegiate wins? Answer: 4; Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, Chris Ault at Nevada (yes, really), Mack Brown at Texas, and now Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. This one doesn't feel so sweet though, as Spurrier loses starting QB Connor Shaw to the same shoulder injury he suffered against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are going to need Shaw to recover quickly; Oct. 6th begins a stretch of games against Georgia, LSU, Florida and Tennessee, and the Gamecocks will probably need to win all of those games to win the division.
#9 West Virginia 42 James Madison 12
It's been three weeks and we've talked more about West Virginia than we've see them play, but what we have has been pretty darn impressive. 411 yards and 5 TDs out of QB Geno Smith are a good start, but before I become a true believer, I want to see how the Mountaineers handle a step up in competition.
#20 Notre Dame 20 #10 Michigan State 3
Michigan State couldn't handle the stress of being the only Big Ten team realistically in the National Title race, and lost in embarrassing fashion to the Golden Domers. The fast and mean Spartan defense got stop after stop in the second half, but the pathetic offense couldn't move the ball with the Irish keying on RB Le'Veon Bell, and the Spartans lost a winnable game, and the Big Ten suffered another embarrassment. Notre Dame is pretty solid on defense, but there's no reason Michigan State couldn't score more than a measly field goal. This team has a lot to figure out before they face Ohio State in two weeks.
#11 Clemson 41 Furman 7
The Tigers finally have their best player back, and WR Sammy Watkins did not take long to re-instate himself as one of the most explosive players in the country taking an inside handoff 58 yards for a score. Watkins had 110 yards of total offense and Clemson rather lazily handled an FCS team in advance of their big matchup with Florida State next week.
#12 Ohio State 35 California 28
The first real test of the Urban Meyer era was supposed to be against #10 Michigan State in two weeks, but the Buckeyes got all that they could handle from the Golden Bears and if not for 3 missed field goals and a badly blown coverage late in the 4th, the Big Ten would have endured the most embarrassing defeat yet at the hands of the PAC-12. The Buckeyes escaped thanks to another fantastic performance by Braxton Miller, who added another highlight reel 55 yard run to his Heisman resume. The Buckeyes need to get better on defense after allowing 512 yards to a team that lost to Nevada.
Pittsburgh 35 #13 Virginia Tech 17
Virginia Tech is usually one of the most disciplined teams in the country year in and year out, but they must have left the discipline on the dresser at home this week. 4 turnovers and a crushing offsides penalty that turned a Pitt field goal into a TD brought the Hokies crashing down in the upset of the week. After dropping games to Cincinnati, and FCS Youngstown State, the Panthers finally got it to click on both sides of the ball, allowing 59 rushing yards while rolling up 284 of their own. Pitt coach Paul Chryst needs this effort every week to make the most of his fairly considerable talent.
#14 Texas 66 Ole Miss 31
Who would have expected this? Texas has been pretty bad on offense since Colt McCoy left, but they exploded for 676 yards, and finally got their power rushing game going to the tune of 350 yards. Ole Miss obviously isn't the greatest team to draw a lot of conclusions from, but it has to be encouraging for the Longhorns to dominate any SEC team after their recent struggles.
#15 Kansas State 35 North Texas 21
The Wildcats probably thought they could coast against one of the worst teams in the FBS, but they got all they could handle from the Mean Green, not putting this game away until the fourth quarter. QB Collin Klein carried his team to victory with 315 total yards and 3 TDs, and if the Wildcats were peeking ahead to Oklahoma, now they can focus their full attention on the Sooners.
#16 TCU 20 Kansas 6
This was not an overly impressive debut for the Horned Frogs' first Big 12 game, but a win in the cold rain on the road is a win, even when you fumble the ball four times, twice inside the red zone. As always, TCU leaned on their stout defense, which forced 2 turnovers and shut the Jayhawks out in the 2nd half. The Frogs won't get any more easy games like this in the Big 12, but they're 2-0 going into next week's game against Virginia 2-0 with plenty of momentum.
#17 Michigan 63 UMass 13
After the first two weeks of the season, a gimme like this has to feel good for the Michigan program. QB Denard Robinson accounted for almost 400 yards and 4 touchdowns as he tries to claw back into the Heisman discussion. Michigan gets Notre Dame next, and then jumps into the Big 10 schedule. The Minutemen didn't score after halftime and fall to 0-3 in their inaugural year as an FBS program.
#18 Florida 37 #23 Tennessee 20
Tennessee has to feel like they let one slip away. The Volunteers were controlling this game at home until Florida FB Trey Burton busted loose for an 80 yard TD sprint at the end of the third quarter. At that point it was 20-20, but Tennessee threw a pick on the next series and set off an avalanche of Florida touchdowns and when the smoke cleared, Tennessee had suffered its eighth straight loss to the Gators, and a promising season seems to be in the tubes already. For Florida, the offensive woes seem to be resolving, and after two come-from-behind wins, the SEC East title looks possible.
#19 Louisville 39 North Carolina 34
At halftime of this game, Louisville was leading 36-7 after the Cards went up, down, around and through the Tar Heels for 2 quarters and it looked like a strong statement win for the Big East was in the works. 30 minutes later, the Cardinal fans were exhaling after blowing their comfortable lead and allowing the Heels to come within a dropped TD pass of victory. Credit Louisville for hanging on, but this was a true tale of two halves, and the Cardinals are lucky to be 3-0.
#22 UCLA 37 Houston 6
Houston managed to "hold" Bruins RB Johnathan Franklin to 110 yards rushing, and no TDs. Problem is, the rest of the Bruins managed to rack up 567 yards and 37 points, and the defense held the Cougars off the scoreboard until the 4th quarter as the Bruins coasted to a third win. Hard to say just how good this UCLA team is, but they have a great schedule, plenty of talent, and a nice pelt on the wall already after beating Nebraska.
#24 Arizona 56 South Carolina State 0
Rich Rodriguez has turned around this Arizona program in a hurry. I'm not sure that they're quite as good as they've looked so far, but the Wildcat faithful have to be pleased with this hire so far. The Wildcats rolled up 689 yards of total offense, while holding the Bulldogs to just 154. Nice game, but there's a much tougher test next week at Oregon.
Utah 24 #25 BYU 21
Wild finish to this one; after blocking BYU's 51 yard FG attempt, Utah fans rushed the field, BYU gets another shot because of the penalty against Utah fans, and then misses the 36 yarder. They call this game the "Holy War" and I'm betting the postgame celebration was anything but. Utah gets some fresh life to their season after dropping a game to Utah State last week. The PAC-12 is a pretty good looking conference this year.
Penn State 34 Navy 7
Penn State finally put together a full game on both sides of the ball, and it showed with a beat down of Navy and Bill O'Brien's first victory. Navy got their yards on the ground like they always do, but Penn State forced 4 turnovers, including a 76 yard fumble return for a TD in the fourth quarter, and the offense moved efficiently through the air with Matt McGloin tossing 4 TDs. Penn State usually wouldn't celebrate such a win, but they usually don't play games without Joe Paterno either, so...
Purdue 54 Eastern Michigan 16
Purdue benefited from a stable QB situation and flattened a weak MAC team. After the letdown against Notre Dame last week, this was the best possible medicine. Even if Robert Marve returns from his knee injury, Purdue should stick with Caleb Terbush, as he guided the Boilermakers to 576 yards. The Boilermakers rushed for 392 yards and the defense allowed only 7 points after halftime as Purdue cruised to the win.
Minnesota 28 Western Michigan 23
Minnesota's best player, QB MarQueis Gray was lost in the 2nd quarter, but the Gophers managed to keep it together, and rally behind backup QB Max Shortell's 3 TDs. The Gopher defense came up with 2 turnovers, and held the Broncos on a late 4th down to preserve the victory. Don't look now but Minnesota is 3-0 and they have a favorable remaining schedule. Bowl game? Don't bet against it.
Illinois 44 Charleston Southern 0
Even without injured QB Nathan Scheelhaase, the Illini had no trouble with the hapless Buccaneers. Illinois only allowed 125 yards, and rang up 479 of their own. The game lacked any real drama, and after the shellacking the Illini endured at the hands of Arizona State last week, I'm sure nobody really minded.
Northwestern 22 Boston College 13
Is there a bigger surprise in the Big Ten than Northwestern right now? The Wildcats have played three BCS schools, and have won all three contests. If you want to quibble, you can say that the Wildcats are kicking too many field goals (5 this game), but when you're the only Big 10 team beating Big 6 opponents every week, then you have a right to do it any way you want. The two QB system is working out pretty well for the Cats as both Kain Colter and Trever Siemen were effective throwing the ball. This is a dangerous team; not like 'gonna win the Legends' dangerous, but 'good enough to beat any team once' dangerous.
Iowa 27 Northern Iowa 16
Yeah it's a win, but you won't find a whole bunch of happy people in Iowa City this week. The Hawkeyes are averaging 1.3 TDs per game so far this year, and they allowed 339 yards to the Panthers. And the game was never really out of reach until late in the fourth quarter. This is shaping up to be a rough year if things don't improve rapidly.
Ball State 41 Indiana 39
Indiana probably wins this game is their best QB isn't hurt, but that's the game. There's no excuse for a Big 10 team to run up 558 yards, and still lose. The Hoosiers are not any more talented then a lot of MAC teams, and so they need to execute and win games like this if they want to get to a bowl game. It's probably going to be a long year in Bloomington, and the Hoosiers are probably the only team in the Leaders division that doesn't have a legitimate chance to win the division.
Wisconsin 16 Utah State 14
If Utah State makes that 37 yard field goal at the end of the game, you might see more than an offensive line coach get the ax in Madison. As it is, the Badgers are in a very bad state right now. They probably should have lost that game last night, and gaining only 234 yards against the Aggies is making the rest of the Big 10 defensive coordinators drool. It's a young season, and the Badgers are 2-1, but the kids are not alright in Madison.
Washington State 35 UNLV 27
Loyal readers will remember that I am a big Mike Leach fan, and it's good to see the Pirate captain back on the sidelines again. This was a typical Leach victory: lots of yards, passing and points; not so much defense. The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of offense and the Cougars came away with the win, despite starting a backup at QB. Wazzu moves to 2-1 with a chance to get a third win versus Colorado next week. It will be a year or two before Leach's teams get in gear and challenge for PAC-12 titles, but a bowl game is not out of the realm of possibility this year.
Ohio 27 Marshall 24
If Frank Solich's Bobcats want to crash the BCS party, they need Penn State to win a bunch of games, and they need to win their own games in more impressive fashion. Ohio gave up almost 500 yards and trailed for most of the game, but they scored the last 10 points, and a win on the road is always impressive. This is a talented team, but they aren't talented enough to sleepwalk through any of their MAC games.
That's all for week 3. Obviously the Huskers have plenty to worry about with Bo Pelini's health issues, but the game is larger than Nebraska and it pays to keep an eye on what the competition is doing. The Big 10 didn't do much to enhance its image this week, but every other conference had its own struggles. Alabama looks invincible, but LSU and Oregon are right there at the top as well. It's shaping up to be a fun season and I look forward to week 4.
Sunday Review: Arkansas State
What a weird game. How often is there this much angst in Huskerville after such an unexpectedly dominant win? Obviously Bo Pelini's health issues are going to be the hottest topic this week, which is too bad because Nebraska played one heckuva game. When Tom Osborne came to the podium after the game, I could feel the pulsating anticipation through the video, and nothing except the Patriarch of Nebraska athletics could have quieted the worries of Husker nation at that moment. A lot of fluff has been written about Osborne's calming presence in the Nebraska Athletic Department, but the most trusted man in the state immediately dispelled worry and restored focus to the game. We're lucky to have this man on our side. Whatever Pelini's health scare was, and it must have been pretty serious for Tim Beck to tear up in the postgame interview, the Huskers did well to come together and close out the win against a dangerous opponent. Even though there will be plenty of questions and hand wringing this week when Bo gets back to work, the Huskers are 2-1 heading into the last tune-up before Wisconsin comes to town, and optimism has been restored for at least a week.
But for now, the review must go on.
Offensive MVP: WR Kenny Bell. Tough to pick between him and RB Ameer Abdullah after both notched 2 TDs, but I give it to Bell for the way he pumped up the crowd after hurdling the fence on the 28 yard kickoff return following Arkansas State's last FG. That sort of leadership doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but you could feel the momentum swing back to the Huskers after giving up 3 points off the turnover.
Defensive MVP: S PJ Smith. 9 tackles, a sack, 2 TFLs, and an INT for the senior. The defense played well as a team yesterday, but Smith stood out. It's nice to see Smith have such success after battling consistency issues his whole career.
Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. He wasn't asked to do much, but when he was needed, he stepped up. Hitting all 6 extra points doesn't seem like a big deal, but I cannot remember a football season in which kickers missed so many extra points. Ask Wisconsin fans how much they'd have liked an extra point right before Utah State missed a potential game winner in the closing seconds. Maher also boomed his two punts 57 and 58 yards, flipping the field on the two drives that the Nebraska offense stalled, and hit 4/7 kickoffs for touchbacks.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. I couldn't tell you why he was used earlier in the game, but the true freshman made the most of his opportunities, picking up his first TD and 66 total yards on 7 carries. Cross may lack true breakaway speed, as evidenced by him getting caught on his 44 yard romp, but he has a great burst through the line and doesn't go down without an extra yard or two.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
This has gotta go to defensive coordinator John Papuchis. Not only did his defense respond well to the adjustments made this week, but they played well in the absence of Pelini and held Gus Mahlzahn's offense to 6 points. Papuchis may have shared head coaching duties with Tim Beck, but he was the man on the field taking charge of the team. He looked like a wildman during the game, jumping around and screaming, but he composed himself in postgame interviews and came across very professional and thoughtful. Unless he has the sort of undying loyalty for Pelini that Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster has for Frank Beamer, I think we'll see Papuchis as a head coach somewhere within the next few years.
Play of the Game: The first TD pass to Kenny Bell. Bell was pretty well covered, but Taylor Martinez made one of the best throws of his career, and Bell adjusted to the ball well and was able to get into the end zone. That was the sort of big-time play we need to see more of from this offense in the Big Ten games.
Play We Want Back: Of all the fumbles, the first was probably the ugliest. I don't know if it was a miscommunication by the offensive line or just a blown assignment, but Martinez never saw LB Nathan Herrold, resulting in a textbook sack-strip, and the ball rolling into the endzone where about 30 white-clad defenders jumped on it. It didn't change the outcome of the game, but a big turnover like that could be the difference against Ohio State or Michigan.
I want to see more...
*3-4, 3-3-5, 3- whatever. Call it what you like, but it worked against the Red Wolves' quirky spread. The defense didn't give up an offensive play longer than 22 yards, and stiffened up at the right moments for a dominating win. Any time you hold a Gus Malzahn offense to less than 300 yards, it's been a good day.
*Eric Martin's stand-up role. Martin was recruited as a linebacker and moved to end last season, but he seemed to be at his most destructive yesterday as a blitzing linebacker/end hybrid. 3 hurries, a sack and a forced fumble that he recovered for the senior. I'm excited to see what happens with the 'Caveman' moving forward.
*Weight on Josh Mitchell's frame. The sophomore CB is as good a tackler as Nebraska has, but he doesn't have enough power to knock guys over, so he has to hold them until help arrives. Mitchell is one of the best corners in coverage, but he needs to bulk up to become a true difference maker.
*3rd and long. The Huskers did a much better job on first and second down this week forcing a lot of 3rd and longs. Nebraska did well on third down overall, allowing only 6/16 conversions.
*Coverage by the DBs. Most of Arkansas State's completions were short WR screens, but the downfield coverage was tight. There were some good PBUs and Smith stayed home on the WR reverse pass and snagged an interception. Good game for the DBs.
*Taylor "Manning". Maybe that's going too far, but 13/14 passing for 180 yds and 2 TDs is a great game, even if a few of those passes were low. There was even a little T-magic as Martinez bulled into the endzone on a 18 yard run in the fourth quarter.
*CJ Zimmerer's blocking. The backup FB chipped a blitzing linebacker and then got downfield to spring Martinez into the endzone. That's quality work for a backup.
*The power sets. Maybe it's because I remember the Tom Osborne offenses, but it makes my Husker heart glad to see "I" formations and 2 or 3 TEs on the field at once.
*The diamond formation. I don't think we've seen this formation before this game, but it made a comeback and there were a few decent gains out of the crazy shotgun setup.
*Ameer Abdullah's emergence at RB. Abdullah is not just a scatback, but a complete inside, outside, pass blocking, pass catching, every down running back. He broke too many tackles to count yesterday and aside from that fumbled punt return (total blown call by the refs), he had a day to remember. Obviously nobody can replace Rex Burkhead, but Abdullah softens the blow of his absence.
*Kenny Bell. The Red Wolves learned to fear the 'Fro after two fantastic TD catches. Bell is Nebraska's best WR right now, and if he keeps playing like he has, he's going to make some noise nationally. Fast, hard to tackle, good hands, decent blocking, and the right amount of attitude, Bell is the complete package.
*Ball control. This game proved that you can still dominate time of possession with a hurry-up offense. Beck's offense didn't seem to slow down a whole lot, but running the ball on 59 of 73 plays and still averaging more than 7 yards per play, while holding the ball for 34 minutes is about as perfect as it gets.
I want to see less...
*Opponent success on the perimeter. It seems like almost all the Red Wolves yards came outside the hashes on WR screens. That's probably overstating it, but the issue is there. The defense really locked down in the second half, but I was uneasy for a while.
*Defensive substitutions. Sure it worked out in the end, but I felt like Nebraska was trying too hard to get guys in and out of the game and it cost a timeout on the second play and a penalty later in the game.
*Letting the ball bounce on punt returns. The ball has not gone our way this season: it seems like every time the returners let it bounce it dies at the 1 yard line. We've gotta start fair-catching those and preventing the bad bounces like the one that "hit" Abdullah's foot.
*Turnovers. We'll ignore the punt that supposedly touched Abdullah, but 3 fumbles is too many. It's hard to fault Martinez on the blindside hit, but the miscommunication with Braylon Heard, and Mike Marrow's ridiculous fumble at the goal line need to be addressed with some disciplinary sprints or something of that sort.
*Taylor Martinez in the 4th quarter. I thought he could have come out a drive sooner, and I still want to see Ron Kellogg III throw a pass instead of handing off for the last 4 minutes.
*Braylon Heard getting blown up on swing passes. That's two games in a row that he's been tackled for loss on a quick toss outside. I don't know what the deal is, but something needs to be fixed there.
*Beth Mowlins and Joey Galloway. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic, it's just weird having a woman do the play-by-play announcing, and Mowlins didn't help her case by saying several really dumb things. Joey Galloway was more dead than alive in the box, until Pelini didn't come out after half time, and then that was all he could talk about. Probably the worst ESPN crew I've ever watched.
Armchair head coach:
Great job by John Papuchis to take control of things on the sidelines and shut down the Red Wolves in the second half. Malzahn's offense only gained 89 yards and 3 points in the second half despite being given four turnovers. That's a fantastic job, especially considering the considerable distraction of Pelini's departure. Papuchis showed plenty of fire, as well as a mastery of the defensive calls, getting his defense to tackle, cover and blitz effectively.
Hit of the Game:
Despite coming up late in coverage, safety Daimion Stafford obliterated WR Carlos McCants separating him from the ball and getting the crowd fired up. If you want to quibble, you can point out that Stafford didn't wrap up, but it was a nice play.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"What game? I was in the kitchen the whole time."
Good thing too, those carne asada tacos she made were outstanding.
Song of the Game
"Peaceful Easy Feeling" by The Eagles
"And I got a peaceful easy feeling,
And I know you won't let me down
'cause I'm already standing on the ground."
This one goes out to Bo, I hope he's feeling better and taking care of himself well, but he has to have a good feeling about his staff and their ability to get things done without him.
Beer of the Game
Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider by Angry Orchard Cider Company, Cincinnati, OH.
To me, September means apples and if you're a hard cider fan who's tired of the same old Woodchuck and Strongbow, then you might want to give this one a try. It's might be little bit too yeasty for some, but it's sweet, crisp and finishes clean. And if anyone tells you that hard cider isn't beer, then punch them in the nose and tell them that it's an American classic and it's fermented with the same yeast that most beer is, the only difference is that it uses apple cider instead of grain.
Best Commercial
If you don't live in the Savannah area, then you probably don't know who Mike Hostilo is, but do yourself a favor and watch this commercial. I don't know about you, but I don't want attorney who makes me laugh unintentionally with his TV spots.
Last thought
On the face of it, this is a good comeback win for Nebraska after the debacle at UCLA. Husker nation is in for another stressful week though, as we see what comes about with the whole Bo Pelini health scare. We all hope that Bo is okay, but it's comforting to know that his staff can handle things in his absence. There's a lot of football to play, and the Big Ten looks wide open after this weekend. Nebraska can't afford to look past Idaho State, but it does seem like this could be a nice and easy week to get ready for the Big Ten schedule. Rex should be back for at least 10-15 carries this week, and it might be a good opportunity to let the 2's and 3's get some quality work. Sound familiar? We said pretty much the same thing when South Dakota State came to town in 2010 and gave Nebraska a scare, forcing a 17-3 game that was anything but comfortable. Hopefully history doesn't repeat itself, as Nebraska needs all the momentum it can get for when Wisconsin comes to town the next week.
But for now, the review must go on.
Offensive MVP: WR Kenny Bell. Tough to pick between him and RB Ameer Abdullah after both notched 2 TDs, but I give it to Bell for the way he pumped up the crowd after hurdling the fence on the 28 yard kickoff return following Arkansas State's last FG. That sort of leadership doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but you could feel the momentum swing back to the Huskers after giving up 3 points off the turnover.
Defensive MVP: S PJ Smith. 9 tackles, a sack, 2 TFLs, and an INT for the senior. The defense played well as a team yesterday, but Smith stood out. It's nice to see Smith have such success after battling consistency issues his whole career.
Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. He wasn't asked to do much, but when he was needed, he stepped up. Hitting all 6 extra points doesn't seem like a big deal, but I cannot remember a football season in which kickers missed so many extra points. Ask Wisconsin fans how much they'd have liked an extra point right before Utah State missed a potential game winner in the closing seconds. Maher also boomed his two punts 57 and 58 yards, flipping the field on the two drives that the Nebraska offense stalled, and hit 4/7 kickoffs for touchbacks.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. I couldn't tell you why he was used earlier in the game, but the true freshman made the most of his opportunities, picking up his first TD and 66 total yards on 7 carries. Cross may lack true breakaway speed, as evidenced by him getting caught on his 44 yard romp, but he has a great burst through the line and doesn't go down without an extra yard or two.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
This has gotta go to defensive coordinator John Papuchis. Not only did his defense respond well to the adjustments made this week, but they played well in the absence of Pelini and held Gus Mahlzahn's offense to 6 points. Papuchis may have shared head coaching duties with Tim Beck, but he was the man on the field taking charge of the team. He looked like a wildman during the game, jumping around and screaming, but he composed himself in postgame interviews and came across very professional and thoughtful. Unless he has the sort of undying loyalty for Pelini that Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster has for Frank Beamer, I think we'll see Papuchis as a head coach somewhere within the next few years.
Play of the Game: The first TD pass to Kenny Bell. Bell was pretty well covered, but Taylor Martinez made one of the best throws of his career, and Bell adjusted to the ball well and was able to get into the end zone. That was the sort of big-time play we need to see more of from this offense in the Big Ten games.
Play We Want Back: Of all the fumbles, the first was probably the ugliest. I don't know if it was a miscommunication by the offensive line or just a blown assignment, but Martinez never saw LB Nathan Herrold, resulting in a textbook sack-strip, and the ball rolling into the endzone where about 30 white-clad defenders jumped on it. It didn't change the outcome of the game, but a big turnover like that could be the difference against Ohio State or Michigan.
I want to see more...
*3-4, 3-3-5, 3- whatever. Call it what you like, but it worked against the Red Wolves' quirky spread. The defense didn't give up an offensive play longer than 22 yards, and stiffened up at the right moments for a dominating win. Any time you hold a Gus Malzahn offense to less than 300 yards, it's been a good day.
*Eric Martin's stand-up role. Martin was recruited as a linebacker and moved to end last season, but he seemed to be at his most destructive yesterday as a blitzing linebacker/end hybrid. 3 hurries, a sack and a forced fumble that he recovered for the senior. I'm excited to see what happens with the 'Caveman' moving forward.
*Weight on Josh Mitchell's frame. The sophomore CB is as good a tackler as Nebraska has, but he doesn't have enough power to knock guys over, so he has to hold them until help arrives. Mitchell is one of the best corners in coverage, but he needs to bulk up to become a true difference maker.
*3rd and long. The Huskers did a much better job on first and second down this week forcing a lot of 3rd and longs. Nebraska did well on third down overall, allowing only 6/16 conversions.
*Coverage by the DBs. Most of Arkansas State's completions were short WR screens, but the downfield coverage was tight. There were some good PBUs and Smith stayed home on the WR reverse pass and snagged an interception. Good game for the DBs.
*Taylor "Manning". Maybe that's going too far, but 13/14 passing for 180 yds and 2 TDs is a great game, even if a few of those passes were low. There was even a little T-magic as Martinez bulled into the endzone on a 18 yard run in the fourth quarter.
*CJ Zimmerer's blocking. The backup FB chipped a blitzing linebacker and then got downfield to spring Martinez into the endzone. That's quality work for a backup.
*The power sets. Maybe it's because I remember the Tom Osborne offenses, but it makes my Husker heart glad to see "I" formations and 2 or 3 TEs on the field at once.
*The diamond formation. I don't think we've seen this formation before this game, but it made a comeback and there were a few decent gains out of the crazy shotgun setup.
*Ameer Abdullah's emergence at RB. Abdullah is not just a scatback, but a complete inside, outside, pass blocking, pass catching, every down running back. He broke too many tackles to count yesterday and aside from that fumbled punt return (total blown call by the refs), he had a day to remember. Obviously nobody can replace Rex Burkhead, but Abdullah softens the blow of his absence.
*Kenny Bell. The Red Wolves learned to fear the 'Fro after two fantastic TD catches. Bell is Nebraska's best WR right now, and if he keeps playing like he has, he's going to make some noise nationally. Fast, hard to tackle, good hands, decent blocking, and the right amount of attitude, Bell is the complete package.
*Ball control. This game proved that you can still dominate time of possession with a hurry-up offense. Beck's offense didn't seem to slow down a whole lot, but running the ball on 59 of 73 plays and still averaging more than 7 yards per play, while holding the ball for 34 minutes is about as perfect as it gets.
I want to see less...
*Opponent success on the perimeter. It seems like almost all the Red Wolves yards came outside the hashes on WR screens. That's probably overstating it, but the issue is there. The defense really locked down in the second half, but I was uneasy for a while.
*Defensive substitutions. Sure it worked out in the end, but I felt like Nebraska was trying too hard to get guys in and out of the game and it cost a timeout on the second play and a penalty later in the game.
*Letting the ball bounce on punt returns. The ball has not gone our way this season: it seems like every time the returners let it bounce it dies at the 1 yard line. We've gotta start fair-catching those and preventing the bad bounces like the one that "hit" Abdullah's foot.
*Turnovers. We'll ignore the punt that supposedly touched Abdullah, but 3 fumbles is too many. It's hard to fault Martinez on the blindside hit, but the miscommunication with Braylon Heard, and Mike Marrow's ridiculous fumble at the goal line need to be addressed with some disciplinary sprints or something of that sort.
*Taylor Martinez in the 4th quarter. I thought he could have come out a drive sooner, and I still want to see Ron Kellogg III throw a pass instead of handing off for the last 4 minutes.
*Braylon Heard getting blown up on swing passes. That's two games in a row that he's been tackled for loss on a quick toss outside. I don't know what the deal is, but something needs to be fixed there.
*Beth Mowlins and Joey Galloway. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic, it's just weird having a woman do the play-by-play announcing, and Mowlins didn't help her case by saying several really dumb things. Joey Galloway was more dead than alive in the box, until Pelini didn't come out after half time, and then that was all he could talk about. Probably the worst ESPN crew I've ever watched.
Armchair head coach:
Great job by John Papuchis to take control of things on the sidelines and shut down the Red Wolves in the second half. Malzahn's offense only gained 89 yards and 3 points in the second half despite being given four turnovers. That's a fantastic job, especially considering the considerable distraction of Pelini's departure. Papuchis showed plenty of fire, as well as a mastery of the defensive calls, getting his defense to tackle, cover and blitz effectively.
Hit of the Game:
Despite coming up late in coverage, safety Daimion Stafford obliterated WR Carlos McCants separating him from the ball and getting the crowd fired up. If you want to quibble, you can point out that Stafford didn't wrap up, but it was a nice play.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"What game? I was in the kitchen the whole time."
Good thing too, those carne asada tacos she made were outstanding.
Song of the Game
"Peaceful Easy Feeling" by The Eagles
"And I got a peaceful easy feeling,
And I know you won't let me down
'cause I'm already standing on the ground."
This one goes out to Bo, I hope he's feeling better and taking care of himself well, but he has to have a good feeling about his staff and their ability to get things done without him.
Beer of the Game
Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Hard Cider by Angry Orchard Cider Company, Cincinnati, OH.
To me, September means apples and if you're a hard cider fan who's tired of the same old Woodchuck and Strongbow, then you might want to give this one a try. It's might be little bit too yeasty for some, but it's sweet, crisp and finishes clean. And if anyone tells you that hard cider isn't beer, then punch them in the nose and tell them that it's an American classic and it's fermented with the same yeast that most beer is, the only difference is that it uses apple cider instead of grain.
Best Commercial
If you don't live in the Savannah area, then you probably don't know who Mike Hostilo is, but do yourself a favor and watch this commercial. I don't know about you, but I don't want attorney who makes me laugh unintentionally with his TV spots.
Last thought
On the face of it, this is a good comeback win for Nebraska after the debacle at UCLA. Husker nation is in for another stressful week though, as we see what comes about with the whole Bo Pelini health scare. We all hope that Bo is okay, but it's comforting to know that his staff can handle things in his absence. There's a lot of football to play, and the Big Ten looks wide open after this weekend. Nebraska can't afford to look past Idaho State, but it does seem like this could be a nice and easy week to get ready for the Big Ten schedule. Rex should be back for at least 10-15 carries this week, and it might be a good opportunity to let the 2's and 3's get some quality work. Sound familiar? We said pretty much the same thing when South Dakota State came to town in 2010 and gave Nebraska a scare, forcing a 17-3 game that was anything but comfortable. Hopefully history doesn't repeat itself, as Nebraska needs all the momentum it can get for when Wisconsin comes to town the next week.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
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:
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.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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