It's hard to compare games across the span of years, but this one reminded me a little bit of Ball State in 2007-a plucky mid-major team comes into Lincoln and runs up huge yards and points and pushes the Big Red to the brink before falling in defeat. Needless to say, another year like 2007 would be bad for the collective health of Husker Nation, so let's hope that it doesn't come to that.
Take heart Huskers fans, the youth and athleticism we were promised on defense still has 11 games to develop. The explosive and dazzling offense we saw last year is probably hidden in Tim Beck's play book, waiting to be unleashed on a visiting UCLA team in a few weeks. As bad as the 602 yards and 34 points look, this is only week 1 and well, it could hardly get worse, right? Right?
On with the review:
Offensive MVP: Dominic Rufran WR, Wyoming. QB Brett Smith deserves a nod, but Rufran's 11 catches for 120 yards stand out among all other receivers in the game. This dude was a major thorn in the Husker's side all night long.
Defensive MVP: Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB. SJB gets the nod for causing a 14 point swing in the first half, picking off Smith at the goal line and returning the ball 42 yards to keep Nebraska out of a big hole early.
Special Teams MVP: Kenny Bell, KR. Returns of 35 and 37 yards were a huge boost to the Husker offense, and showed necessary improvement in an area of concern from last season.
Freshman MVP: Terrell Newby, RB. Newby validated every word of hype that's been swirling around the Californian since last winter. He has an impressive blend of speed and elusiveness, leaving several defenders grasping air to the tune of 5 yards per carry.
Assistant Coach of the Game: Ron Brown, RB coach. Brown's charges racked up 306 yards and 2 TDs on the ground last night, going around and through Wyoming defenders all night. Imani Cross showed us why touted freshman Adam Taylor is going to redshirt this year, showing off improved quickness and vision. Cross' development speaks to the high level of tutelage he's getting from Brown.
Key Stat: 1 for 8. Wyoming's third down failure is the reason the Lincoln is not in ashes right now.
Play of the Game: Driving down field to start the second half, Taylor Martinez handed off to Imani Cross on a zone play to the left. Cross showed his improved quickness and agility by cutting back right and bursting over the right edge of the offensive line to daylight. Of course there was a pesky safety there, but he wasn't ready for Cross' nifty double spin move and after regaining his balance, Cross glided into the endzone to give Nebraska a 10 point lead.
Raise your hand if you thought Cross was capable of a play like that.
Play We Want Back: Among the more disappointing developments of the game last night was how ordinary Taylor Martinez looked running the ball. Nowhere was that more apparent than his fumble on 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter. Instead of continuing a drive to ice the game, Martinez gave the Cowboys the ball and a shot of momentum.
Blown Call: In what universe was Randy Gregory's sack "roughing the passer"? That was absolutely the worst call in a game of bad ones.
Hit of the Game: I loved the violence with which Imani Cross plowed through the line on that 1 yard TD run. He could give the defense some lessons.
I want to see more...
*T-Magic. He had a few nice throws and some decent runs, but Martinez left us waiting for the sort of magic that should be readily available in his senior season.
*Motivation. From start to finish, the Huskers just didn't seem like they were really 'in' to the game. Hopefully this is an isolated occurrence.
*Wide receivers. Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa, and Jamal Turner were the only WRs to catch a ball last night. With all of the hoopla surrounding the depth and experience of our receiving corps, I would have expected a few more faces to be on that list.
*QB Pressure. Because of the penalty on Randy Gregory, Nebraska did not tally a single sack against Wyoming, and the few times they got pressure on Smith, he glided away with ease.
*Kenny Bell. 7 catches for 57 yards just isn't enough. I need more Fro.
*Rushing yards up the middle. Nebraska did a lot of damage on the edges, but often got stuffed when they tried to rush inside. Against an undersized defensive line like Wyoming's, that just doesn't make sense.
*Improved pass protection. The big uglies kept Martinez clean in the passing game. Granted, we're talking about Wyoming but it was still nice to see.
*Tommy Armstrong. I was really hoping this game would be over at halftime so we could see the heralded freshman. Martinez has taken every meaningful snap the past two years, so it might behoove Tim Beck to start getting Armstrong some first half snaps.
*FB traps. Georgia absolutely murdered Clemson a few times last night with this classic quick hitter. It would be nice to see what CJ Zimmerer and Andy Janovich could do.
I want to see less...
*Penalties. Holy crap, that was annoying. All over the field and at the worst times. That needs to be fixed right quick.
*Turnovers. Looking at you Mr. Martinez...
*Missed tackles. This one is starting to get pretty annoying.
*Missed extra points. What is that, the first one in 4 years? We're pretty spoiled.
*Whiffed sacks. Perhaps Brett Smith is just an ethereal, football-tossing hologram. That's one explanation for why the Huskers couldn't seem to keep their hands on him.
*Opponent passing yards. The Cowboys did plenty of work on the ground too, but Smith put on a clinic through the air. His throws on the run were absolutely spot-on.
Armchair coach: I didn't like the 4th and 1 play call. It was a long yard, and Ameer Abdullah and Co had been tearing the Cowboys up all night. I would have called on Imani Cross with an Andy Janovich escort.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Man it sucks listening to a close game on the radio."
Welcome to my childhood.
Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*I had the "opportunity" to watch the Georgia-Clemson game on my buddy's TV while keeping an eye on the Nebraska game on my computer. It was an exciting game, but like many thought, Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins were just too much for a young Bulldog defense.
*If Bama wants to 3-peat, they can't rely on their special teams and defense to outscore their opponents every game.
*Urban Meyer earned even more scorn this week by going for 2 after his team's first two TDs. Against Buffalo. That little bit of sillyness aside, the Buckeyes then proceeded to step all over themselves in a sloppy 40-20 win.
*I don't care how good Johnny Manziel is, he is cementing himself as the biggest dirtbag in college sports. He must not understand how little things like attitude can mean a lot of money on Draft day.
*Michigan looked like the class of the Big 10 in week one, rolling to a 59-9 victory over Central Michigan. An interesting week 1 development.
*Washington thumped #19 Boise State 38-6 in a rematch of last season's Las Vegas Bowl. The loss was by far the worst one of Chris Peterson's career.
*#19 UCLA exploded in the second half to roll to a 58-20 win over Nevada. The Bruins were only up 17-13 at the half, but unlike Nebraska, they maintained their second half momentum to roll to an easy win.
*Biggest upset of the week goes to Eastern Washington. The FCS Eagles knocked off #25 Oregon State, becoming just the 3rd FCS team to beat a ranked BCS team. Eagles QB Vernon Adams had 518 total yards and 6 TDs in the 49-46 win.
*Wisconsin looked great in a 45-0 beat down of UMass.
*New coach Darrell Hazell's high-speed offense was largely ineffective in Purdue's 45-7 loss to Cincinnati.
*Penn State eked out a win over Syracuse with true freshman QB Christian Hackenberg. Hackenberg's numbers were modest, but he delivered a win in a tough spot.
*Iowa continued their futility with an embarrassing season opening loss to Northern Illinois.
*#22 Northwestern rolled to a 44-20 win at Cal. The Wildcats are very capable of winning the Legends division this season.
Last thought
The Huskers did nothing to dispel any anxiety over their youthful defense. Immediately after the bowl loss to Georgia, Bo did his best to sell us all on the talent he had coming back for this season, but it's clearly too early to say whether the defense is going to be enough to deliver a Big Ten championship. It's a long season, and it's too easy to write off the season after an opening stumble, but I'm far too optimistic for that. I really want to think the first game jitters got a lot of the younger guys and coupled with a conservative offensive performance, we ended up with that flame-out in the 4th quarter.
But Nebraska is 1-0 and by the end of November, this game will be an afterthought amidst the drama of the 2013 season. A weak Southern Miss team might be the best medicine.
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