The title of last week’s article was the following: Nebraska Football’s Emerging Identity – Clutch, Grit, and Closing Time. It would be fair to question everything we thought we knew about this team after their dud of a performance at Minnesota on Friday night. The Big Red either thought they could just show up and win easily, or they failed to show up entirely. Either way, it made for a dreadful performance against the Gophers. 

We cover it all in the Topline Takeaways. 

CHEERS TO THAT

Special Teams. It is literally hard to find anything positive to point to after that game. That said, Special Teams continues to be a bright spot for this Nebraska team, and Mike Ekeler’s unit accounted for all of the Huskers’ points on Friday night. Additionally, Archie Wilson (who had to punt five times) looked fantastic, averaging nearly 45 yards per punt, and Jacorey Barney had a nice looking 30 yard punt return. The Huskers will need Special Teams to continue to execute at a high level as they look to rebound, both next week vs. Northwestern and beyond. 

Husker Nation. Hats off to you, Husker fans. After a strong contingent showed up against Maryland, Nebraska fans were again well represented in the Friday night tilt vs. Minnesota. In both games, you could actually hear the strong Husker fan presence in each respective stadium on TV. Nebraska fans are absolutely the best on planet earth, and they deserve much better than what this football team has shown for the last decade. The play on the field is going to turn around, and when it does, it will be well deserved by Husker Nation. 

REASONS FOR CONCERN

Not Showing Up. Head coach Matt Rhule said after the game that the team was out of whack the entire game, and that nothing he saw in practice during the week suggested that such a performance was coming. It certainly happens to teams, but it’s pretty aggravating from a fan perspective. For Nebraska fans in particular, we never seem to have the payoff of a major win over a ranked opponent, or a special season where everything comes together. It’s only “they didn’t show up” type of games. The Big Red will still have an opportunity to get some wins that would be very meaningful to the fan base, namely against USC, Penn State, and Iowa. Winning one or more of those would go a long way toward making a game like this easier to swallow. 

Sacks, Sacks, and More Sacks. At this point, the sacks are on everybody. At times, offensive linemen completely got beat by Minnesota’s defenders. Other times, quarterback Dylan Raiola held the ball too long. It’s been such a problem this season, you have to start questioning the coaching as well. What is happening with the scheme that Raiola keeps ending up on the ground? Are the offensive linemen not being coached properly? Are receivers not getting open? Is Dylan not seeing them? Why do we stick with this straight drop back game over and over? Could we not try more run-pass options, slants, screens…something to try to keep the defense off balance?!?! It’s maddening to watch, and there is absolutely more going on than just offensive linemen getting beat repeatedly. 

Run. The. BALL!!!!!! According to a tweet from Omaha World Herald reporter Sam McKewon, Nebraska called 38 pass plays and only 16 runs. This is getting really old. Nebraska is flat out not committed to the run game on a consistent basis, in a league where you absolutely have to be able to run the ball. The Huskers’ inability to run the ball played right into Minnesota’s game plan, and it is sickening to watch other teams beat Nebraska at something we used to do better than anyone: smash mouth football. Rhule has talked about being committed to the run, but that’s simply not what we’ve seen this season. 

It seems to me that Nebraska still doesn’t know what its identity is, especially on offense. I don’t want the Huskers ever to settle for being Minnesota or Iowa, but those teams know exactly who they are and how they want to win. It’s hard to say the same is true of Nebraska football. 

BOTTOM LINE

Despite all the frustration from Friday night’s loss, my Common Fan Podcast co-host MattyO made a great point the day after the game: we still have five games left, and I want to enjoy them. We only get to do this 12 Saturdays a year, and the Huskers have nearly half a season left to play. As infuriating as it was watching the game (and still is thinking back on it), Nebraska has done a lot of good things this season, and we shouldn’t write off their ability to bounce back. Win against Northwestern this week, and they’ll be 6-2, bowl eligible, and we’ll see what they can do in November. 

Speaking of Northwestern, the Wildcats will come into Lincoln at 5-2, much better than most people predicted prior to the season. They just beat Purdue (which put up 20 points on the way to almost beating Minnesota) 19-0, and this will not be an easy out for the Big Red. This is an important test for Matt Rhule’s young team. They need to get up off the mat and show that they can be the ones to throw a punch. 

As always, GBR for LIFE. 

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