About Nebraska game, 9/22: Huskers have dangerous QB. But now he's hurt.
Scott Frost's debut game for the Nebraska Cornhuskers versus Colorado was full of promise and disappointment - culminating in a devastating 4th Quarter interception and injury to their exciting starting QB, and an exciting final drive to the Buffaloes 20 yard line with a walk-on replacement QB as time expired.
The Good:
- The "Blackshirts" are back? Held Colorado to 44 yards rushing, 1.3 per attempt and sackeddisappointing last minute loss in Lincoln to Colorado 28-33. Huskers also recorded 7 sacks.
- Nebraska has found a Denard Robinson/Pat White-like QB in Adrian Martinez (15 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs) who has a strong arm (15 of 20, 187 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)
The Bad:
- Nebraska's secondary is gonna be a problem folks. Gave up 351 yards passing, 3 TDs versus a competent QB, good receiving corps but an out-of-shape, inconsistent and rickety (shoddy) offensive line.
- Penalties! First game of the year caveats always apply, but holy Frosted crap, the Huskers gave up 95 yards in penalties on Saturday. They could have used some of those yards to keep drives alive, including the final one.
- Nebraska's Denard Robinson/Pat White-like QB left the game with a twisted angle, possibly caused intentionally by a Colorado defender.
Martinez's injury is "semi-encouraging" and is listed as "day-to-day", but won't practice today (Monday), and may miss the upcoming home game vs. Troy this weekend. Nebraska's backup QB is sophomore walk-on Andrew Bunch. No real info on his ability or performance indicators, but safe to say the drop off in production air and ground will be stark.
For Nebraska's game at Michigan 22 September, it's unknown whether Martinez will be ready to start. If he can play, then his rushing ability may not be 100%.
If Martinez cannot play vs. Michigan, then the Huskers will have to adjust out of their game plan, and lean on their beefy, experience O-line and tailbacks Devine Ozigbo (#22) and Greg Bell (#28) to run right at Michigan.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^
They looked pretty impressive. Frost will make them very scary in a few years
September 10th, 2018 at 4:00 PM ^
Agree, Frost took a team that was hot garbage last year and turned them around quickly. Their QB is a true freshman as well.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
Am I the only one who thinks the American Athletic Conference sucks? He went 6-6 in his first year then went 13-0, which is impressive but they also didn't play anyone last year. They went to a Double OT shootout with Memphis (yay) and beat Auburn in a bowl game that meant everything to UCF and nothing to Auburn.
I think he is a good coach but I'm not ready to herald him as someone who is going to cause Michigan issues for years to come. He may end up being a Pat Fitzgerald-esque level coach.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
What's your point? The WAC sucked too but Chris Peterson still dominated it. If that's your argument why should any coach from group of five conferences be hired if their conferences suck?
September 10th, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
He never argued that Frost shouldn't have been hired. But a lot of people are already convinced he's going to return them to a top-10 program nationally within a couple of years. Home-run hires almost never work out as well as expected.
September 10th, 2018 at 6:29 PM ^
I don’t think anybody said he shouldn’t have been hired or those coaches can’t be successful.
What was said is that you can’t take a coach’s success in a shitty conference and use it as a measuring stick of their coaching ability. Frost having success at UCF in no way means he will find success at Nebraska.
September 10th, 2018 at 7:12 PM ^
The other thing is that UCF was probably not really the downtrodden program that its 0-12 record in 2015 suggests. They actually won three consecutive conference titles from 2012-14. Their '15 season seems like MSU's 2016, an inexplicable one-year meltdown.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:35 PM ^
Hate to break it to you buddy but Frostbis already a WAY better coach then Pat Fitzgerald, this guy has a great offensive mind and was doing great things at Oregon. I don’t like Frost but to say he’s not gonna do anything is crazy. I’m more worried about them in the future then Wiscy or Penn St. to be honest. Wiscy has hit there peak imo and Penn St will somehow get in trouble again ala OSU and Franklin w be gone within 5 years. Frost will never leave if given the option to stay.
September 11th, 2018 at 6:51 AM ^
Frostbis already a WAY better coach then Pat Fitzgerald,
He may be a better offensive mind, but as a head coach overall, it's premature to conclude that.
September 12th, 2018 at 2:56 AM ^
He’s already proved that as well, he just took a 1-11 team to a undefeated season and a HUGE BOWL WIN! Wake up dude
September 10th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^
He'll be better than Riley, for sure, but there's no guarantee he'll turn them into the juggernaut they once were. There are advantages to UCF that Nebraska does not have, including in-state recruiting base, and a lot less program pressure.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^
I don't know what to make of NU's opener. Colorado took a big step backwards in 2017, going 5-7 (2-7 Pac-12), so it's hard to tell how quality of an opponent they were.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
I just don't care this much about Nebraska.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:42 PM ^
their offense could be decent if they manage to not get their qb killed, but that defense looked terrible - the blackshirts are emphatically not back
September 10th, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^
Troy got blown out by Boise this weekend, but they're not a walkover. I don't think Bunch can beat them, to be honest. Week 4 could be 0-3 Nebraska vs 0-4 Purdue. Then they're @ Wisconsin, @ Northwestern, Illinois, @ OSU. They finish with MSU at home then @ Iowa.
The only guaranteed win on their schedule with or without Martinez is home against Illinois. If he's hobbled or out long-term I would take the under on 5 wins.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
Given the improvement at Illinois that I have seen, I am not so sure that Illinois is a given
September 10th, 2018 at 3:56 PM ^
I fail to see how giving up 351 yds in the secondary is considered a "problem".... for us anyway. Problem for them. Low hanging fruit for us.
Light it up, Shea!
September 10th, 2018 at 11:05 PM ^
This post was written from a Nebraska point of view .
September 10th, 2018 at 4:05 PM ^
I'm not worried about Nebraska. The game is in Ann Arbor and Nebraska's defense did not look very good. There's also no indication that Colorado is any good. Montez has a lot of experience and their receivers are good, but QB-WR appears to also be a strength for Michigan this year. Plus, Nebraska was favored going into this game. The result was actually a disappointment but a lot of people seem to be spinning it as a positive.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
yea i really don't understand the spin. Nebraska played terribly. Colorado would have put up 40+ and won easily if their geriatric kicker didn't stink so hard
September 10th, 2018 at 4:18 PM ^
We can't really be too worried a True Freshman from a team like Nebraska are we? He's probably the 4th or 5th toughest QB we face if I had to guess.
Haskins --> Lewerke --> Thorson (if 100%) --> Wimbush --> Martinez (if 100%)
September 10th, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^
You forgot Hornibrook (Wisconsin).
September 10th, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
You forgot McSorley, who's probably the best QB we'll face, as well as Hornibrook. Maryland's is better than Martinez too.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
McSorley?
Hornibrook?
I saw no evidence to suggest that Martinez was better than either of those two guys.
EDit: redundant
September 10th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Yeah, I completely forgot about McSorely somehow.
I don't get the hype over a true freshman for a likely 6-7 win team.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^
I'm not a doctor, but they usually don't let you just sit on the sidelines with a bag of ice on it if it's super serious. He seemed to be in decent spirits and not a ton of pain, FWIW. My guess is he'll play, even if he's not 100%.
I want to see more before declaring their DBs a liability. Some of Montez's passes were NFL window throws. Their DL was also wrecking CO's all day, which is of obvious concern to us.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
Colorado went 5-7 last year. They were picked to be 10th in the PAC 12. CU is not a great team by any stretch.
Nebraska stuffed their run. CU only had 44 yards rushing.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:44 PM ^
I mean, take our 2017 offense and pair it with a mid-pack defense instead of a Don Brown one, and we're probably not much better than 5-7 and 10th in the B1G either. I think Nebraska is going to present a lot of problems for our offense like they did for Colorado.
I do think our defense fares much better, particularly since it's their QB's first college road game (if he even plays). I still think the margin of error is pretty damn small and if the defense gives up a couple bad TDs a la ND, our offense may have trouble digging out from the deficit again.
September 10th, 2018 at 6:00 PM ^
Colorado gained nearly 400 yards and scored 33 points on the road, all while their kicker missed two FG attempts that he normally makes. They easily could've put up 40 without the skill-position talent Michigan has, nor the advantage of playing at home. This is not going to be a close game.
September 10th, 2018 at 6:18 PM ^
Colorado won the game scoring 33 points. The Pac 12 was noticeably weaker than the Big Ten last year. 5-7 in that conference is... not good.
Nebraska’s defense appears to be somewhere between WMU and ND.
September 10th, 2018 at 10:46 PM ^
Colorado's right guard was absolutely terrible in the limited amount of game that I saw.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:47 PM ^
I don’t know how to feel as a Michigan fan about Nebraska’s performance.
1. Colorado isn’t Michigan. I have to think that Don Brown will have his defense prepared for this attack.
2. Nebraska was at home in their first game in a new regime. Adrenaline is a thing that we sometimes don’t consider. At the risk of being hated, Michigan shouldn’t have been competing with Ohio State last year on paper, but the team was “up” for that game.
3. Being that it was Frosts first game in Nebraska there was zero film on them in a game situation. Old UCF film would have given indications, but without Nebraska’s players it makes it a guess work defensively. Now there’s film. That’s got to count for some advantage too.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^
Martinez likely will start against us but I trust Don Brown and his dudes.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
Not so bold prediction: Martinez starts against us, but doesn’t finish.
September 10th, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
That's what I think. He'll rest this week and play against us, but Gary and Winovich and Co will destroy him. If Frost weren't a dick, he'd rest Martinez against us.
September 10th, 2018 at 8:22 PM ^
I feel the same way. If they want to run him like that...so be it. He is not Wimbush fast, and definitely Denard Robinson fast. True Frosh will get eaten up by this Michigan D. Is there an example of a Freshman (other than Haskins) having success against Don Brown?
September 10th, 2018 at 6:23 PM ^
There is no mystery here, whoever can run the ball is going to win.
Martinez is a weapon and can give us problems (I believe he will play and be 100% or close to it).
We will have to be able to run, period. Shea helps a ton here in that teams won't be able to just stack the box like they did last year with impunity. He will hit those one on one's over the top.
Don Brown's D is designed for a guy like Martinez. He'll break some chunk plays, but he won't be able to do it consistently enough to sustain many drives.
It definitely won't be a Western-type game, but Michigan will win.
September 10th, 2018 at 6:42 PM ^
I continue to not be worried about this game at all - no change from pre-season. Their secondary is garbage and their WRs look to have some drops issues. They won't push our DL off the ball and their best offensive player is a true freshman who just got hurt. Their front seven won't have the same success against us as they had against Colorado either.
I also don't think that Martinez can possibly be 100% in two weeks. No real information here, it just seems highly unlikely that one could 1. sustain a knee injury 2. that required help to get off the field 3. that kept him out of the rest of a tight, important, rivalry game when his backup was a major talent drop off and 4. return to 100% health.
I'm guessing that he sprained an MCL - usually a 4 week-ish injury for skill guys, but a QB can throw a brace on and play in a week or two. He will probably be fine to throw, but decidedly less mobile for us.
Edit: Guess Frost said today that there was no ligament damage, which would preclude a sprain. So, who knows. Seems strange that he had to be helped off and didn't return if there was no real damage.
September 10th, 2018 at 7:46 PM ^
They definitely looked like a different team compared to last year. I wouldn't be surprised if their in-season improvement is impressive
Once their quarterback is healthy, I'd say to not count them out.
September 10th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
Scott Frost is a great coach, so his starting QB being out won’t have an impact. No excuses, next man up.
Right?
September 10th, 2018 at 10:40 PM ^
The blackshirts are coming?
September 10th, 2018 at 11:10 PM ^
my one complaint about Don Brown's defense is mobile quarterbacks, so if he plays they better be ready for him
September 11th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
Nebraska is not a top tier job IMO. They historically did well by recruiting Texas strongly and they had a strength and conditioning program superior to almost everyone- that and the tradition of winning.
Think both of the first two edges have greatly diminished and the tradition of winning is further in the rear view mirror. Maybe Frost can recruit well in Florida, convincing kids to come to Lincoln, Nebraska, but I think that is unclear.