I hope Husker nation spent the offseason working on their core, because they took a massive gut punch last Saturday. In what was probably the best game of the entire week, BYU won a back and forth battle over the Huskers 33-28, with true freshman Tanner Mangum completing a 42 yard hail Mary to Mitch Matthews for the game winning touchdown as time expired. This marks the first time since 1985 that Nebraska has lost their season opener, and it was a gut wrenching way to start off the Mike Riley era. But now the dust has settled and the tears have dried, now its time to look at what the Cornhuskers did well, what they struggled with, and what was straight up painful to watch.
Nebraska vs BYU Review
The Good
While the Nebraska Offense sputtered at times, it showed flashes of being a truly dynamic unit. Tommy Armstrong looked light years ahead as a passer, and Nebraska’s receivers, especially Alonzo Moore, looked much more comfortable in their new roles on this screen heavy offense. Speaking of Alonzo Moore..
Nebraska’s back up receivers stepped up. Nebraska knew they had a solid #1 receiver in Jordan Westerkamp, who caught 7 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, but they weren’t sure if they had any playmakers to pair with him once Demornay Pierson-El went down with a broken foot. Alonzo Moore and Brandon Reilly both showed that they were up to the task. Reilly looked healthy for the first time in 3 years and was solid, catching 5 passes for 70 yards. Alonzo Moore struggled to find his place the past two years but looked extremely comfortable in the new offense, catching 3 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, while also running for 24 yards on two carries. As long as Moore can stay healthy, he left the game with an undisclosed injury, Nebraska could have the best receiver corps in the Big 10 once Pierson-El returns from injury.
The Defense wasn’t perfect, but it stepped up in for the majority of the 2nd half. Nebraska’s defense was struggling mightily in the 2nd quarter last Saturday, as Taysom Hill was giving the Blackshirts fits due to his dual threat ability as he led BYU on four straight scoring drives. BYU took over on Nebraska’s 39 late in the first half and with a 10 point lead, but Nebraska stiffened, turning the Cougars over on downs. The blackshirts played extremely well for the majority of the second half, shutting down the Cougars run game and cranking up the pass rush pressure.
Nebraska’s young defenders showed they belonged. Dedrick Young, Aaron Williams, Luke Gifford, and Freedom Akinmoladun all true or redshirt freshmen, played substantial snaps this past Saturday. Young ha the most impressive day of the four, as the Peoria, Arizona native tallied 7 tackles and a pass breakup. Aaron Williams played primarily at safety when Nebraska ran its nickel package, and the true freshman tallied 6 tackles and showed some nice physicality when coming down against the run. Akinmoladun had a tendency to get out of his pas rush lanes at times, but the redshirt freshman showed some serious potential Saturday, notching the first sack of the season for the Blackshirts. Gifford had the toughest day of the four, as the Cougars isolated him on pass plays and had success. Despite Gifford’s struggles, the freshman defenders showed that they belonged on the field Saturday and all should develop into good players down the road.
The Bad
Nebraska’s pass defense was atrocious. BYU has some very good receivers, and the three 6’5″ Cougar receivers posed serious matchup problems for the Huskers secondary, but that doesn’t excuse the Huskers allowing 379 passing yards last Saturday. The most troubling performance of the day came from Daniel Davie. This young man was expected to be the foundation that the rest of the young cornerbacks built around, but the senior struggled mightily Saturday as the Cougars picked on him for much of the first half. Late in the second half on 4th and 1, Davie was beat out for a 50/50 ball by Nick Kurtz, a play that helped bring the Cougars within 1 and set them up for their dramatic victory.
Nebraska’s running backs struggled to find a rhythm. Husker nation knew that replacing Ameer Abdullah was going to be tough, but the early returns are still troubling. Nebraska’s three man running back rotation of Terrell Newby, Imani Cross, and Mikale Wilbon combined for 23 carries for just 91 yards, just under 4 yards per carry. All three backs showed flashes of being a solid running back on Saturday, but none f the three were able to consistently get tough yardage. This hurt Nebraska late in the second half, as the Huskers couldn’t consistently run the ball to put the Cougars away.
Nebraska’s pass rush failed to deliver. Nebraska ended up getting three sacks last Saturday, but stats don’t tell the whole story. Taysom Hill and Tanner Mangum received far to much time to throw the football Saturday, a big reason for their big passing day. Maliek Collins absorbed double teams for the majority of the game, but the rest of the Husker defensive linemen couldn’t capitalize. Nebraska also didn’t blitz nearly as much as expected once Mangum came into the game, allowing the freshman to settle in and complete some big passes.
The Ugly
Nebraska’s punt return game. Nebraska was able to weather the loss of Demornay Pierson-El relatively well on offense, but his absence was felt heavily in the punt return game. Neither Jordan Westerkamp or Stanley Morgan looked overly comfortable receiving punts Saturday, allowing the rugby punts to bounce and roll, this completely killed Nebraska’s chances at gaining a field position advantage. Special Teams coordinator Bruce Read may need to find a new punt returner, as Jordan Westerkamp’s attempt at it has to be deemed a failure.
The penalties. Nebraska ended the game with12 penalties for 90 yards. While those numbers are certainly not good, Nebraska was actually on pace for even more penalties at the half, as they were called for 8 penalties in the first 30 minutes. These penalties completely killed Nebraska’s 1st quarter momentum and were on of the main reasons for Nebraska’s disastrous 2nd quarter showing.
Nebraska’s field goal team. The game last Saturday was windy, as gusts up to 25 miles per hour were recorded. But the weather cannot be blamed for sophomore Drew Brown’s performance. After completing a fantastic fall camp where he beat out JUCO transfer Jamie Sutcliffe, Brown flopped in the season opener. Brown missed his first field goal as time expired in the first half, missing a 40 yard field goal into the wind. Late in the game, Brown had a chance to redeem himself with a 41 yard field goal with the wind but missed again. These misses cost Nebraska 6 points and ultimately the game.
Final Thoughts
This game can only be described as a gut punch to Husker Nation. It ranks up with the 2009 Virginia Tech game and the 2009 Texas game in terms of having a game won and then seeing it all disappear in the final seconds. While it will be tough for Husker nation to move on from this disappointing loss, there were some very encouraging signs. The offense looked like a true juggernaut at times and the defense showed some great fight despite missing two starters to suspension. It was ultimately penalties and missed opportunities that cost the Huskers, and they will need to regroup this Saturday against the South Alabama Jaguars.
