Sunday Morning Thoughts -- Post Bowling Green

[justino52]

Great game. Offense was smooth. Defense played fast.
Not super concerned about the 3rd quarter. Nebraska was 3 and 4 deep along the DL in the 3rd.
Speaking of....who were #57 and #39 on the DL? No names on the jerseys but played early so not sure if it was players using different jerseys or guys deep down the depth chart. Didn't find them on huskers.com roster.

Only issue for me were the holds. Nebraska better get those calls as well.

 

[Doc Fumble]

I just noticed- Doc didn't even enter the Guess the Score contest. I'm beginning to think he doesn't have the same passion for Husker Football that the rest of us do.

I was halfway to downtown yesterday when I realized I'd forgotten to post my prediction before leaving. For the record, I would have nailed our score -- but embarrassingly -- I predicted 14 points for Bowling Green instead of 7.

One thing I learned today was that our true freshman, former five star recruit -- Danny Odem -- had 21 snaps in the secondary yesterday and had a strong PPF grade. Like our RB Rule, I'm thinking he's another star-in-waiting that may hit the starting line-up come conference time.

 

[Uenth]

....and Uenth, don't you EVER show up in the Shoutbox after the first half. "I didn't have running water nearby" is the most bs excuse I have ever heard.

LOL PD! I can post a video next time of me making at least 5 trips up and down the basement steps with pots/pans/cutting boards/etc. Trust me on this, the 23rd and installation of countertops/sink/getting pipes connected in the kitchen cannot get here soon enough. I haven't even started canning tomatoes yet because the thought of making all those trips back and forth from the upstairs bath to fill my ginormous hot water bath pan has me quaking in my boots.

It really was irritating that I missed the entire 1st half and a 35-0 thrashing. Can't believe it's another stinkin' night game next week. I did manage to stay awake for the entire second half though and that doesn't happen very often.

 

[Husker99]

My thoughts, post Bowling Green...

1. Sorry to be the party pooper...oh wait, that's the Oklahoma player.

2. As per Chris's post on page one calling Aurich a "transformational hire" I agree but then the pessimistic part of me says let's not get carried away singing his praises. We haven't even started conference play and there is a chance that B1G offenses expose our defense.

3. Bowling Green in the 3rd Q having a possession that went for 11? plays and a TD isn't too concerning because: a) Nebraska was up by 35 points and b) it was a mix of the 2nd and 3rd DL with a few backups in at LB and in the secondary in the game. After that touchdown drive by BG, the backups settled in and from what I could tell played much better.

4. I was briefly concerned the unthinkable...you know what...not going to say it because I don't want to jinx it.

5. I love Jacory Barney, but to tackle him, all you have to do is lightly touch his ankle or shoe and he'll stumble and fall. I haven't seen a Husker player consistently tackle himself like that since Dan Alexander. All Barney has to do to fix this is run behind his pads and stay over his center of gravity.

Random: Ohio State was up 23-3 and Texas scored 21 4th Q points to come back and win 24-23. Crazy. I have never seen any Ohio State team in memory collapse like that. Very "Scott Frost at Nebraska like".

6. Was it Hunter or Gilmer who made that insane toe drag, touchdown catch? That was the play of the game!!

7. I still don't know how Nebraska will fare in their B1G slate, but I am cautiously optimistic that they'll be better than 6-6.

8. I would be remiss if I didn't remind people that while yesterday's win was great, it still was vs a greatly over-matched team. Next week vs North Dakota will be much of the same. We'll find out soon enough if what we've seen vs Ohio and Bowling Green will translate to the B1G, but I like what I see thus far.

 

[Nebraska99]

Coaches poll is out, Huskers get a few votes.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

 

[Husker99]

Coaches poll is out, Huskers get a few votes.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

Probably from Steve Sipple and/or Sean Callahan.

 

[Doc Fumble]

Random: Ohio State was up 23-3 and Texas scored 21 4th Q points to come back and win 24-23. Crazy. I have never seen any Ohio State team in memory collapse like that.

I remember one!!!!

 

[KansasRed]

Notes, not all Husker-related:

1) Loved the BG beatdown. Wish it had been a shutout. Eat that, Eddie.
2) Michigan vs OU - I couldn't lose since I hate both, but a day with an Okie loss is always a good one. And I've hated OU longer.
3) Ryan Day did the worst "last few minutes" coaching job I've ever seen.
4) I don't really care for Okie Dokey State either, but I didn't mind seeing the Ducks go down.
5) I used to like Kyle Whittingham; at Utah I always thought he did more with less than about any coach out there. But now that he's with Mythigan I guess I'll have to rethink it.
6) Ditto Matt Campbell. If there's really such a thing as a "second favorite" team mine has been Iowa State. But Matt's dead to me now.
7) Colandrea has the "it" factor.

 

[Removed Spleen of Jordan]

Covered the 30.5 point spread. No one got hurt. Good day.

 

[Uenth]

Notes, not all Husker-related:

6) Ditto Matt Campbell. If there's really such a thing as a "second favorite" team mine has been Iowa State. But Matt's dead to me now.

Bite me Campbell. I was kind of hoping that he'd land at DONU but he's dead to me.

 

[Husker99]

I remember one!!!!

Touche. I don't know how how I didn't remember that game.

 

[MadRat]

What??!??! Are we watching the same quarterback?

I'm guessing Gilmer's drops whobbling like a tickle me Elmo doll were on him. Colandrea loses the control of the tip of the football more than he controls it. TJ has truly elite footwork and release. So yeah, you see whatever you want to see. My concern is that these bad habits all conspire at some point to break our O. I do not like to see such loose play like he's getting away with against nobodies.

 

[Doc Fumble]

So yeah, you see whatever you want to see.

Will do.

 

[Doc Fumble]

Notes, not all Husker-related:
5) I used to like Kyle Whittingham; at Utah I always thought he did more with less than about any coach out there. But now that he's with Mythigan I guess I'll have to rethink it.

Agreed with all seven of your points, KR.

Regarding Kyle Whittingham, near the end of yesterday's Michigan-Oklahoma game, the TV cameras focused on him as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The announcers then said something that I think applies to Rhule's tenure here at Nebraska.

They said something like, 'This is a big win for Whittingham. When you take over a Blueblood program, an early signature win like this one is really important.' That's the issue with Matt. He hasn't really had what any of us would call a "signature win" in his three plus years here. There's a reason for it: The program Rhule took over from Frost sucked--we were one of the worst programs in the Big Ten.

But we've been improving. This season will give him with plenty of opportunities to get his signature win.

 

[Uenth]

Agreed with all seven of your points, KR.

Regarding Kyle Whittingham, near the end of yesterday's Michigan-Oklahoma game, the TV cameras focused on him as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The announcers then said something that I think applies to Rhule's tenure here at Nebraska.

They said something like, 'This is a big win for Whittingham. When you take over a Blueblood program, an early signature win like this one is really important.' That's the issue with Matt. He hasn't really had what any of us would call a "signature win" in his three plus years here. There's a reason for it: The program Rhule took over from Frost sucked--we were one of the worst programs in the Big Ten.

But we've been improving. This season will give him with plenty of opportunities to get his signature win.

I like your thought process!

 

[Huskergod84]

That's fair, Blatz. I was just trying to come up with something to describe our three-headed RB beast.
I agree with your assessment of all three. BTW, I forgot to mention one of last night's highlight plays: Nelson's hurdle OVER a defender!!! I recall Maurice Washington doing it once (I think it was the snowy Sparty game) but Mekhi's leap was much cooler IMO!!!

I thought it was Hunter with the hurdle.

 

[Huskergod84]

My thoughts, post Bowling Green...

1. Sorry to be the party pooper...oh wait, that's the Oklahoma player.

2. As per Chris's post on page one calling Aurich a "transformational hire" I agree but then the pessimistic part of me says let's not get carried away singing his praises. We haven't even started conference play and there is a chance that B1G offenses expose our defense.

3. Bowling Green in the 3rd Q having a possession that went for 11? plays and a TD isn't too concerning because: a) Nebraska was up by 35 points and b) it was a mix of the 2nd and 3rd DL with a few backups in at LB and in the secondary in the game. After that touchdown drive by BG, the backups settled in and from what I could tell played much better.

4. I was briefly concerned the unthinkable...you know what...not going to say it because I don't want to jinx it.

5. I love Jacory Barney, but to tackle him, all you have to do is lightly touch his ankle or shoe and he'll stumble and fall. I haven't seen a Husker player consistently tackle himself like that since Dan Alexander. All Barney has to do to fix this is run behind his pads and stay over his center of gravity.

Random: Ohio State was up 23-3 and Texas scored 21 4th Q points to come back and win 24-23. Crazy. I have never seen any Ohio State team in memory collapse like that. Very "Scott Frost at Nebraska like".

6. Was it Hunter or Gilmer who made that insane toe drag, touchdown catch? That was the play of the game!!

7. I still don't know how Nebraska will fare in their B1G slate, but I am cautiously optimistic that they'll be better than 6-6.

8. I would be remiss if I didn't remind people that while yesterday's win was great, it still was vs a greatly over-matched team. Next week vs North Dakota will be much of the same. We'll find out soon enough if what we've seen vs Ohio and Bowling Green will translate to the B1G, but I like what I see thus far.

The 11 play drive ended in a blocked punt. It was the next drive that went for a TD

 

[Uenth]

The 11 play drive ended in a blocked punt. It was the next drive that went for a TD

Yup, that is correct. Didn't register until you posted it. But yeah, relief that we blocked their punt and it seemed about 30 seconds later, longer I know, BG scored a TD.

 

[Hunchback Johnny]

I'm guessing Gilmer's drops whobbling like a tickle me Elmo doll were on him. Colandrea loses the control of the tip of the football more than he controls it. TJ has truly elite footwork and release. So yeah, you see whatever you want to see. My concern is that these bad habits all conspire at some point to break our O. I do not like to see such loose play like he's getting away with against nobodies.

I'm not going to argue TJ appears to be a very polished QB, maybe even more so than Colandrea. What I see in Colandrea is an intangible that is hard to describe, but I'll try. He has "grit." Since Adrian Martinez was brought on board several years ago, the Huskers have had, in my opinion, slow blinkers. I don't just mean on the football field. It's a "cool" image that 2AM, Raiola, and now Lateef all display. Watch their post-game interviews. They all have the "look how calm and cool I am," kind of sleepy-eyed vibe to them. Colandrea is not that at all. He has an intensity both on and off the field that is easy to see. While I give Coach Matt a hard time more often than I should, I think Coach saw the same thing the first time they met.

I'll put it in basketball terms. Years ago (late 70s early 80s), before AAU and club basketball teams began playing all over the country, guys would meet on Saturday mornings and play on asphalt courts for hours. Winner kept the court. When teams were picked, there was always a 6'4" guy with a smooth as silk jumper, and there was a 5'8" inch guy with shorts past his knees, that perdy much lived at the rec center. Guess who you wanted to run with if you wanted to stay on the court. Hint...it was not the smooth operator. He would be filling it up on O but wasn't too keen on getting back and playing defense. That is 2AM, Raiola, and Lateef. Poetry in motion. Now guess which team never left the court? The guys running with the 5'8" energizer bunny. Dude would will his team to win every time. I see that in Colandrea.

The Huskers have been missing that fire for more than a decade. I think Nebraska would be fine if Lateef had to take over the starting role due to injury, but for now, Colandrea gives this team a competitive edge we haven't seen in years.

 

[Cigarman]

I was happy with the game. Looked better on both sides of the ball. Hopefully that means development and growth. I know the opponent had something to do with that, but I'll drink the Kool-Aid anyway. Both QBs looked good, the backs ran well. When a tough yard was needed, they lined up and enforced their will. It reminded me of the old time Huskers. The game was never in doubt, everyone played and the fans stayed until the end. Another plus, how long has it been since we played a game where we never punted even once?