NU vs. Iowa State: What's your answer, Husker D?
Another sunrise brings another football game. Haven’t heard a boo yet. Who knew some guys from Muncie, Ind., could cause such a ruckus?
There are wins, there are losses, there are wins that feel like losses. Rarely has a Husker win been followed with such disgust. You can thank Ball State’s 610 yards last week for that.
There were boos, emotional spiels by linebackers, Shakespearian debates: To boo or not to boo? Mostly there were questions, and questions, and … OK, it’s finally Saturday.
Do you have an answer, Husker defense? Time to answer.
This defense needs success early. A turnover. A big hit. A three-and-out. A statement game? No, statements are made against USC, not ISU. Saturday is about avoiding a meltdown.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove is taking a public lashing. Look for potential personnel changes. Look for simplification. Look for emotion. If you don’t see emotion today, you wonder when you’ll see it.
Throw it again, Sam: Having fun yet? Sam Keller is.
As discontented Husker fans left the stadium last Saturday, their quarterback stood at a podium, optimistic and cool, Mr. Gunslinger in a baseball cap.
“I’ve said before I like these kind of games. … I like a shootout.”
How many games can Sam’s arm win? We might find out. Keller is completing better than 65 percent of his passes.
His 438 yards against Ball State were a school record. The arm works. But what about the Big Red tractor? In the last three games combined, Nebraska has 260 yards rushing, averaging 2.7 yards a carry. Not good here. Not good anywhere. Right about now might be the proper time to go back to the shed and try to retrieve the run game.
Keller can wing it, but a backup plan never hurt anybody.
Third-down breakdowns: Husker coach Bill Callahan calls third down “the money down.” Nebraska was always a dollar short last week.
Ball State converted 6 of 8 third downs in the first half. Most discouraging for the Huskers is that all of those conversions came on plays of third-and-5 or more.
Callahan said the defense continually got beat on man coverage on those plays. After last week, Nebraska ranks 76th nationally in stopping third-down plays.
Watch the money down closely Saturday: If the Cyclones are moving the sticks on third down, the testiness that consumed last week might return quickly.
Drama equals trouble: After one bad performance, you can get away with saying, “We didn’t play our best. We’ll get better, trust us.” A few people will even go along with it if you say such a thing after two bad games. But there comes a point, a point we’ve now reached in Huskerland, where that explanation no longer flies.
Promises to fix “techniques” and “fundamentals” have about a two-week lifespan before people just decide a team isn’t any good. Bottom line: After two embarrassing performances, the Huskers are in their house today playing a one-win football team. If Nebraska is anything better than average, there’s no drama.
Husker players have talked about how this conference opener is like the start of a “new season.” Can a new season bring out a new Husker team?
People are grouchy. Missouri is looming. If this thing is going to turn, it best start now, or as senior linebacker Corey McKeon said, “it’ll get ugly.”
— Brian Christopherson
There are wins, there are losses, there are wins that feel like losses. Rarely has a Husker win been followed with such disgust. You can thank Ball State’s 610 yards last week for that.
There were boos, emotional spiels by linebackers, Shakespearian debates: To boo or not to boo? Mostly there were questions, and questions, and … OK, it’s finally Saturday.
Do you have an answer, Husker defense? Time to answer.
This defense needs success early. A turnover. A big hit. A three-and-out. A statement game? No, statements are made against USC, not ISU. Saturday is about avoiding a meltdown.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove is taking a public lashing. Look for potential personnel changes. Look for simplification. Look for emotion. If you don’t see emotion today, you wonder when you’ll see it.
Throw it again, Sam: Having fun yet? Sam Keller is.
As discontented Husker fans left the stadium last Saturday, their quarterback stood at a podium, optimistic and cool, Mr. Gunslinger in a baseball cap.
“I’ve said before I like these kind of games. … I like a shootout.”
How many games can Sam’s arm win? We might find out. Keller is completing better than 65 percent of his passes.
His 438 yards against Ball State were a school record. The arm works. But what about the Big Red tractor? In the last three games combined, Nebraska has 260 yards rushing, averaging 2.7 yards a carry. Not good here. Not good anywhere. Right about now might be the proper time to go back to the shed and try to retrieve the run game.
Keller can wing it, but a backup plan never hurt anybody.
Third-down breakdowns: Husker coach Bill Callahan calls third down “the money down.” Nebraska was always a dollar short last week.
Ball State converted 6 of 8 third downs in the first half. Most discouraging for the Huskers is that all of those conversions came on plays of third-and-5 or more.
Callahan said the defense continually got beat on man coverage on those plays. After last week, Nebraska ranks 76th nationally in stopping third-down plays.
Watch the money down closely Saturday: If the Cyclones are moving the sticks on third down, the testiness that consumed last week might return quickly.
Drama equals trouble: After one bad performance, you can get away with saying, “We didn’t play our best. We’ll get better, trust us.” A few people will even go along with it if you say such a thing after two bad games. But there comes a point, a point we’ve now reached in Huskerland, where that explanation no longer flies.
Promises to fix “techniques” and “fundamentals” have about a two-week lifespan before people just decide a team isn’t any good. Bottom line: After two embarrassing performances, the Huskers are in their house today playing a one-win football team. If Nebraska is anything better than average, there’s no drama.
Husker players have talked about how this conference opener is like the start of a “new season.” Can a new season bring out a new Husker team?
People are grouchy. Missouri is looming. If this thing is going to turn, it best start now, or as senior linebacker Corey McKeon said, “it’ll get ugly.”
— Brian Christopherson
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