Five turnovers.
Average starting field position: Nebraska: own 21, Michigan State: own 42.
Special teams that should be re-named 'suicidal teams'.
With the Spartans holding the ball for more than 38 minutes, it comes as no surprise that the Blackshirts, with their backs to the wall all night, got worn down in the 4th quarter and let the game slip away.
The real surprise is that Nebraska was even in this game in the 4th quarter. The Huskers gained more yards than any other team has this season against the Spartans, and despite the five turnovers, still managed to find a way to make big plays and keep coming back until a 4th quarter stop and subsequent TD by the Spartan offense after a successful fake field goal put the game away.
So despite the ugliness of the loss, there were a few things to like about how the Huskers played yesterday. With two game remaining, the Huskers are out of contention for the Legends division, but there is a lot of pride to play for, and a lot of building to be done for next season.
On with the review:
Offensive MVP: Connor Cook, QB Michigan State. His stats weren't great, only 15/31 for 123 yards and that dagger of a TD in the fourth quarter, but the stats don't tell the story of Cook's gutsy throws under fire. Cook's development is the reason that Sparty is likely on their way to Indy.
Defensive MVP: Kurtis Drummond, CB Michigan State. Nebraska tried to pick on Sparty's weakest corner all night, and he rewarded Tim Beck with 10 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Drummond did give up the long TD pass to Kenny Bell, but one out of 15 passes thrown his way isn't bad.
Special Teams MVP: Mike Sadler Michigan State P. Even his bad punts bounced the right way last night. I don't even want to count how many times Nebraska started inside their ten yard line. Oh, and there was that little four yard run on a fake field goal in the 4th quarter. That turned out to be kinda big.
Freshman MVP: Sam Burtch WR. Coming into this season, nobody had heard of this kid. Last night, he led the Huskers in receiving, getting a TD against the vaunted Spartan defense. It's unfortunate that he's seeing the field so much because of injuries, but it's nice to see a small-town Nebraska walk-on have success.
Assistant Coach MVP: Ron Brown get the nod this week because he had two RBs rush for more yards than the 43 yard average the Spartans had been allowing to opposing TEAMS. Brown has cultivated Abdullah's vision nicely, and Imani Cross showed that he's more than just a power back on that 51 yard run in the third quarter. I'm excited to see what Brown can do with talented freshmen Terrell Newby and Adam Taylor in the coming years.
5 Who Stood out:
*Michael Rose MLB. The freshman played well, especially in the fourth quarter. It would appear that he's taken control of the defense and the MLB spot.
*Ameer Abdullah RB. I'm not happy he was on the field for that last drive, but he deserved that TD after becoming the first player in 12 games to rush for 100 yards against the 'Spartan Dawgs'. For Nebraska to stay in the game as long as they did was a testament to the effectiveness of the junior whose five and six yard runs through the crowd kept the Spartans loaded up in the box.
*Corey Cooper S. The junior is quietly becoming one of the most consistent playmakers on this team, showing well in coverage and filling well on most of his run fits.
*Ciante Evans NB. Evans is good in coverage, but he really shines when he comes in on those blitzes. The senior has made a living in opponents' backfields the last three games.
*The offensive line. I can't keep track of who's playing or starting anymore because of how banged up this group is, but aside from a few penalties, and Cole Pensick's forced fumble, the big uglies played well, gashing the Spartans for big runs and keeping Tommy Armstrong mostly clean in the passing game.
Key Stat: 24. Sparty scored 24 points off of five Nebraska turnovers, meaning that Nebraska essentially gave this game away.
Play of the Game: Sam Burtch's 32 yard catch and run for Nebraska's first TD signified that the Huskers would not be intimidated by the Spartan defense. To beat Michigan State's defense you have to run the ball effectively enough to force the Spartans to man up in coverage and load the box, and when they do that, one broken tackle in space can turn into six points, like it did on this play.
Play We Want Back: Pick any of the fumbles that led to short TDs by the Spartans. They were all disastrous.
Blown Call: I didn't have any complaints with the stripes yesterday until they missed that clipping call in the second half. Gotta give credit to the refs though, I don't recall ever watching a game where offensive pass interference was called twice.
Hit of the Game: Watching Randy Gregory sprint through the backfield and splatter a quarterback like he did on that second quarter sack is a real thing of beauty. Fortunately for the Huskers, he probably needs another year to gain some weight and refine his skills before he can make the jump to the NFL.
I want to see more...
*Takeways. When your offense is dropping gifts all over the field and your special teams is making it worse, you simply have to take the ball back every now and then on defense. As much improvement as the Blackshirts have shown in the last three games, they haven't snagged a single turnover in that time.
*Special teams. This area of play has been a bugaboo for the Huskers the entire Pelini area. Bo needs to find someone who can coach punt return.
*The diamond formation. This highly successful formation has been missing most of this season, but when Nebraska ran out of it yesterday, it always seemed to get good yards. Here's hoping that the Diamond becomes Tim Beck's new best friend.
*Pressure on punts. Since Nebraska can't get any blockers back to set up returns, why not try to block every punt and let the ball bounce where it may? At least then there wouldn't be any muffs...
*Third down conversions. Nebraska's offense was only on the field for 22 minutes because they were a dreadful 5 of 12 on third down. Our offense did not play complimentary football in any sense of the term yesterday.
I want to see less...
*Turnovers. The first rule of a defensive slugfest is to not turn the ball over. Nebraska had three turnovers in the first quarter and set themselves back ten points in the first ten minutes. Ridiculous. Even worse, the turnovers kept coming. Tommy Armstrong's fumble at the end of the second quarter turned a one possession game into a 20-7 game going into the half. And when you thought it couldn't get worse, Cole Pensick runs into Tommy Armstrong in the third and gives Sparty the ball at Nebraska's three yard line. There's really no excuse for such sloppyness.
*Missed tackles. The Blackshirts did such a good job recently making tackles, that it's disappointing to see guys get run through again. The Spartan ball carriers did a good job making cuts and spins to get free, but tackling is about the will to get a guy down on the ground, and the Huskers were missing that a few times yesterday, no more so than on Jeremy Langford's TD right before the half, and Langford's TD run in the 4th quarter.
*Backs in the flats. Why are opposing backs always wide open coming out of the backfield? Are the linebackers missing them or is the scheme failing to account for them? It's tiresome to see it week after week.
*Not-so-special teams. A fumbled punt, penalties in punt coverage, poor kick returns, there was something for anyone to hate yesterday, just in the first half. In the second half, our guys were blocked into our returner, Sparty had a long punt return to flip field position, and a fake field goal caused at least a four point swing. Inexcusable.
*Long third down conversions. Michigan State converted a 3rd and 6 and then a 3rd and 19 on a second quarter possession and there were several 3rd and 6-plus' converted in the second half. For the game, Michigan State was 11-21 on third down.
Armchair coach:
I guess I'm just not one for moral victories. I thought it was stupid, with all of the injuries piling up for the Big Red, to have so many starters on the field for that last drive, down 21 points. It was nice to see the TD, but it didn't really matter, and if we had lost someone else to a serious injury, Bo would be feeling even more heat today.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"I just can't believe they'd give it away like that."
Opponent Watch:
*Before they even knew what happened, Illinois was down 28-0 at home versus #3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes allowed some yards and points as the game went on, but Buckeye RB Carlos Hyde's 272 total yards and 5 total TDs carried them to the victory.
*Purdue rolled over in Happy Valley and let Penn State get their 6th win in a 45-21 rout. Purdue plays Illinois next week for the title of worst team in the Big Ten.
*#13 UCLA won a 41-31 shootout at home against Washington. Freshman linebacker Myles Jack rushed for four TDs and DE Cassius Marsh caught a TD in the win. The Bruins obviously believe that specialization is for the bugs.
*Southern Miss lost to Florida Atlantic (the same FAU team that had their coach fired a few weeks ago for smoking pot) 41-7 at home. The Golden Eagles didn't score until the 4th quarter and committed three more turnovers, including a pick six. Doesn't seem like they're even trying any more as they skid towards that dread 0-24 mark. Hard to believe they had one of the nation's longest winning-season streaks, 14 years, until 2012.
*South Dakota State got their 7th win over rival South Dakota. RB Zach Zenner had 137 yards on an amazing 31 carries in the win.
*Northwestern has the worst luck of any Big Ten team. The Wildcats lost another heartbreaker in overtime to Michigan after leading for most of a boring defensive showdown.
*Wyoming has lost four straight after their 48-7 beat-down loss to Boise State last night. The Cowboys need two wins to close the season to get to a bowl game.
Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*#17 UCF scored 10 points in the last 1:06 at Temple to keep their BCS dreams alive. The Golden Knights are 8-1 with a wins over Penn State and Louisville.
*Jameis Winston and #2 Florida State destroyed Syracuse yesterday keeping their stranglehold on the #2 spot.
*Duke pulled away from #23 Miami, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to get their second top 25 pelt of the season and move to 8-2 on the year.
*#22 Wisconsin blasted Indiana 51-3 in the rain. The surprise of that game isn't the piles of rushing yards the Badgers put on the Hoosiers, but the job that the Badger defense did it shutting down the high flying Hoosier air attack.
*When Mike Leach took over at Washington State, it was never a question of if he would turn around the worst team in the BCS, it was a matter of when. In just his second year, Leach has his Cougs sitting at a nice 5-5 with a win over Arizona yesterday. Two winnable games against Utah and Washington remain for Leach to grab the first bowl game for Wazzu since 2003.
*I'm sure by now that you've seen Auburn WR Ricardo Louis' magnificent 73 yard Hail Mary catch to beat Georgia. I wish I had turned my TV over to that game sooner, Georgia was down 37-17 with 12:39 left in the game, but actually had a lead in the closing seconds when Auburn QB Nick Marshall hit that 4th and 15 pass for 73 yards. Tough break for Georgia fans in the midst of a tough season.
*Seems like the week after I praise #4 Stanford, they go and lay an egg. This week they lost to USC and their interim coach Ed Orgeron in the Coliseum 20-17. USC now finds itself in an odd situation: Orgeron is having success, but USC probably wants to go in a different direction with their coaching search. It will be interesting to watch how they finish the season and what happens with their coaching situation.
*#5 Baylor racked up 665 yards and 63 points in their win over Texas Tech. The Bears still have two tough games against #12 Oklahoma State and Texas to boost their BCS resume.
*#1 Alabama was lackadaisical in their 20-7 win over Mississippi State. If it wasn't for their pre-season ranking, the Tide would have the weakest resume of any of the remaining undefeated teams and likely be behind Ohio State in the rankings.
*#10 South Carolina eked out a win over Florida late last night. The Gamecocks need Missouri to lose to Ole Miss or #15 Texas A&M and they'll be in the SEC title game.
Last Thought
So another season is going to pass without the Huskers hoisting a conference championship trophy. That makes 14 straight. Where does that leave the program?
There's a lot of promising young talent on this team, but many fans are weary of waiting for promising young talent to make up for the mistakes that keep cropping up year after year. Something different needs to happen in practice or meetings or in the structure of the coaching staff to get this team to the next level. After six years, it's frustrating to see so many turnovers and such lack of execution on special teams ruin good performances against good teams.
So where does that leave us? I'm not ready to say for sure. I want to see how the team reacts when they don't have anything other than pride to play for. Penn State and Iowa are both capable of beating us, but both games are definitely winnable.
If Nebraska can finish this season strong and get some momentum going into 2014 (something they haven't done the last two years), then I believe everything is going to be alright. If they lose another game, Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst is going to have to sit down with Bo and get something figured out. Over the next few weeks, Bo is going to put a stamp on this program. What that stamp looks like remains to be seen.
Fan forecast: cloudy.
"I just can't believe they'd give it away like that."
Opponent Watch:
*Before they even knew what happened, Illinois was down 28-0 at home versus #3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes allowed some yards and points as the game went on, but Buckeye RB Carlos Hyde's 272 total yards and 5 total TDs carried them to the victory.
*Purdue rolled over in Happy Valley and let Penn State get their 6th win in a 45-21 rout. Purdue plays Illinois next week for the title of worst team in the Big Ten.
*#13 UCLA won a 41-31 shootout at home against Washington. Freshman linebacker Myles Jack rushed for four TDs and DE Cassius Marsh caught a TD in the win. The Bruins obviously believe that specialization is for the bugs.
*Southern Miss lost to Florida Atlantic (the same FAU team that had their coach fired a few weeks ago for smoking pot) 41-7 at home. The Golden Eagles didn't score until the 4th quarter and committed three more turnovers, including a pick six. Doesn't seem like they're even trying any more as they skid towards that dread 0-24 mark. Hard to believe they had one of the nation's longest winning-season streaks, 14 years, until 2012.
*South Dakota State got their 7th win over rival South Dakota. RB Zach Zenner had 137 yards on an amazing 31 carries in the win.
*Northwestern has the worst luck of any Big Ten team. The Wildcats lost another heartbreaker in overtime to Michigan after leading for most of a boring defensive showdown.
*Wyoming has lost four straight after their 48-7 beat-down loss to Boise State last night. The Cowboys need two wins to close the season to get to a bowl game.
Keeping an Eye on the Rest of the College Football World...
*#17 UCF scored 10 points in the last 1:06 at Temple to keep their BCS dreams alive. The Golden Knights are 8-1 with a wins over Penn State and Louisville.
*Jameis Winston and #2 Florida State destroyed Syracuse yesterday keeping their stranglehold on the #2 spot.
*Duke pulled away from #23 Miami, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to get their second top 25 pelt of the season and move to 8-2 on the year.
*#22 Wisconsin blasted Indiana 51-3 in the rain. The surprise of that game isn't the piles of rushing yards the Badgers put on the Hoosiers, but the job that the Badger defense did it shutting down the high flying Hoosier air attack.
*When Mike Leach took over at Washington State, it was never a question of if he would turn around the worst team in the BCS, it was a matter of when. In just his second year, Leach has his Cougs sitting at a nice 5-5 with a win over Arizona yesterday. Two winnable games against Utah and Washington remain for Leach to grab the first bowl game for Wazzu since 2003.
*I'm sure by now that you've seen Auburn WR Ricardo Louis' magnificent 73 yard Hail Mary catch to beat Georgia. I wish I had turned my TV over to that game sooner, Georgia was down 37-17 with 12:39 left in the game, but actually had a lead in the closing seconds when Auburn QB Nick Marshall hit that 4th and 15 pass for 73 yards. Tough break for Georgia fans in the midst of a tough season.
*Seems like the week after I praise #4 Stanford, they go and lay an egg. This week they lost to USC and their interim coach Ed Orgeron in the Coliseum 20-17. USC now finds itself in an odd situation: Orgeron is having success, but USC probably wants to go in a different direction with their coaching search. It will be interesting to watch how they finish the season and what happens with their coaching situation.
*#5 Baylor racked up 665 yards and 63 points in their win over Texas Tech. The Bears still have two tough games against #12 Oklahoma State and Texas to boost their BCS resume.
*#1 Alabama was lackadaisical in their 20-7 win over Mississippi State. If it wasn't for their pre-season ranking, the Tide would have the weakest resume of any of the remaining undefeated teams and likely be behind Ohio State in the rankings.
*#10 South Carolina eked out a win over Florida late last night. The Gamecocks need Missouri to lose to Ole Miss or #15 Texas A&M and they'll be in the SEC title game.
Last Thought
So another season is going to pass without the Huskers hoisting a conference championship trophy. That makes 14 straight. Where does that leave the program?
There's a lot of promising young talent on this team, but many fans are weary of waiting for promising young talent to make up for the mistakes that keep cropping up year after year. Something different needs to happen in practice or meetings or in the structure of the coaching staff to get this team to the next level. After six years, it's frustrating to see so many turnovers and such lack of execution on special teams ruin good performances against good teams.
So where does that leave us? I'm not ready to say for sure. I want to see how the team reacts when they don't have anything other than pride to play for. Penn State and Iowa are both capable of beating us, but both games are definitely winnable.
If Nebraska can finish this season strong and get some momentum going into 2014 (something they haven't done the last two years), then I believe everything is going to be alright. If they lose another game, Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst is going to have to sit down with Bo and get something figured out. Over the next few weeks, Bo is going to put a stamp on this program. What that stamp looks like remains to be seen.
Fan forecast: cloudy.
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