HUSKER OPTIONS: Remember when Nebraska was a program that never seemed to throw?
Advertisement
The black jerseys are supposed to embody toughness, strength, and attitude – just like the skull and crossbones logo would lead you to believe. Newby of course is the running back to carry the load for the Huskers. “And to be playing against Nebraska now as the Miami quarterback is a pretty cool feeling”. Through two games they are averaging 242 yards per game passing, and 210.5 yards per game rushing. The Jaguars of the Sun Belt Conference managed to put up 313 yards passing.
“I’ve known he was a great quarterback since high school, ” Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week Newby said of Kaaya after Newby rushed for 198 yards in a 48-9 victory over South Alabama. So is former UM left tackle Ereck Flowers, the New York Giants’ first-round pick who waved goodbye to the Huskers fans with his middle finger.
It was designed to gain more than 7 yards, to move the chains on a fourth-down try and get the Cougars closer to one of the two satisfactory results: either a touchdown to win the game or a field goal to tie it. “We have to be more physical so teams don’t feel like they have the opportunity to take that shot”, said cornerback Jonathan Rose, who made his first appearance against South Alabama after a one-game suspension.
Everybody on the Cornhuskers’ defense knows it after South Alabama picked on Davie mercilessly last weekend. He got beat a few times , penalized more than once, and fell down at least once. Rowe’s progress at Maryland has been disrupted by two ACL tears, but coach Randy Edsall is confident the junior’s strong arm combined with new starters in WRs Taivon Jacobs and D.J. Moore can get the passing game going again. “I think the misses in the first half were explosive plays”. “He did struggle the other night. We’re going to show them we got it fixed”.
It’s not just the secondary. For the defense to be good this year, its defensive line must be good this year. Are they talented enough to get pressure on the quarterback by rushing four? C Nick Linder and G Danny Isidora are arguably the best two offensive lineman the Hurricanes have, and they need to be up to the test Vs the two monsters the Cornhuskers feature on the inside.
The counterpoint to the concern about the pass defense is looking at how the Huskers did against the run. Many of them will be making the trip to cheer on their team.
The Canes had 435 yards to the Huskers’ 456, but lost the time of possession battle 32:51 to 26:20, were on the wrong side of a 3-to-2 turnover ratio, 4-of-10 on third downs and penalized nine times for 82 yards.
A road trip to Miami is next.
“We have the great rivalry from back in the national championship, so it will be good”, Greg Jenkins said. The Huskers avoid the triumvirate of Ohio State QBs and Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg.
“…Coach Kehoe tells us stories about the old Canes versus the old Huskers, so we know what this game means for the Hurricanes”.
So what’s the right answer?
This is a different team than the one the Canes saw a year ago. I also can’t stand allowing third-and-long conversions. Three runs went for 20 or more yards.
Advertisement
“This week at practice, I felt like the big emphasis for us is going to be deep-ball coverage, then just mentally and physically getting ourselves (ready)”.
