Fitting how this game was sealed, really. A Husker heading for a touchdown. About to score. Keep hope alive. Nope. A yard short. That was the day for Nebraska football.
The stuff was working. The offensive stuff, that is. The Huskers kept moving it and moving it, but ultimately didn't finish enough to win this kind of game. It's the finishing thing that still stands in this team's way. It definitely did Saturday in a 37-21 Wisconsin win in Lincoln.
Going in, most people didn't give the Huskers a great shot against Wisconsin, and the idea of an upset probably only got more severe about an hour before the game when it was realized that NU was going to be taking on that challenge without Wan'Dale Robinson, Darrion Daniels and Carlos Davis. Those are three of the main five guys you could name that this team can't afford to be without.
So ... good luck with that.
The thing is, the Huskers actually found holes in the running game, moved the ball into Wisconsin territory over and over again, and seemed like they might cut it to a one-score game in the third quarter, then later in the fourth quarter ... two different times. They could never get there.
Just not enough finishing. Finishing drives. Finishing tackles. It wasn't a lack of effort. Nebraska gave a lot of that. The guys who played seemed to bust their tails. Adrian Martinez looked more like old Adrian Martinez for much of the day. It was actually a game that could have been had, but a handful of big plays made the mountain too steep.
Some Fast Takes.
I was shocked at how well Nebraska moved the football, and never guessed the Huskers could tear it up on the ground like they did. But too many zeroes were attached with promising drives
The Huskers had 324 yards on 42 plays after Adrian Martinez found JD Spielman for a touchdown to make it 34-21 late in the third quarter. They had almost 500 yards by game's end. Dedrick Mills was a man out there. It was a good mix of run and pass, that included averaging 6.2 yards per rush heading into the fourth quarter against a very good run defense.
And then when Mills ripped off a determined 43-yard run to the Wisconsin red zone zone early in the fourth quarter, you started to wonder if something weird might happen.
But the Huskers struggled too much inside Wisconsin's 40 all day. They came away empty on two of the first four drives in Wisconsin territory when that deep. There was a fourth-and-3 when the Huskers tried to run it with Mills against that rugged defense. Theread play had been there during the game, but on that play, in that moment, a block was blown and it got shut down and was one of those plays that bring out the groans.
They botched another drive in the third when Martinez took that big 20-yard sack after getting it to the 24. He just hung on to it too long. It got worse from there. Barret Pickering would miss a field goal. Oh, there were chances.
Like when Martinez had a one-on-one with Wisconsin stud linebacker Zach Baun to try to get a first down on a fourth-and-4 with the score 34-21. Martinez couldn't shake him. He got two. A little short.
And then again in the final minutes, when Wyatt Mazour was stopped two feet short of the end zone as Nebraska tried to make a last-ditch rally.
That was the Huskers on this day, a day when their offense had many of the right answers, until the end zone was right before them.
Whatever new toy you got, it's going to get chipped right now immediately after purchased with this team.
Nebraska had a really good first 9 1/2 minutes to this game. The offense was moving it. The Huskers got a good bounce when Jonathan Taylor fumbled and Nebraska pounced on its first recovery in Big Ten play.
And when Dedrick Mills ripped off a 12-yard run on a direct snap, hey, it was 7-0 Nebraska and the Huskers had their first lead on the Badgers in four years.
Then ... it was tied. Eleven seconds later it was tied. Aron Curichshank ran through a Grand Canyon hole, shrugged off a kicker and Cam Taylor-Britt and had an 89-yard touchdown return.
Such are the things you can't afford ever, but especially when just trying to keep one nostril above the water.
Dedrick Mills ran like a man who was fresh because he was very fresh.
He'd carried just 23 times the past three games and only had six attempts in the last game against Purdue. But without Wan'Dale Robinson in the equation, Nebraska went heavy with Mills early on.
He ran hard, and had holes. He ran to the tune of 113 yards on 13 carries in the first half and finished with 188 by game's end, which hardly anyone saw coming against a Wisconsin defense that came in giving up just 84 on the ground per game.
Give some credit to Nebraska's O-line. It wasn't a bad day of work for that group for the most part. But Mills ran through some tackles too. Not saying he's been Devine Ozigbo's equal replacement, but I think he's been a little better than some realize this year. He just hadn't racked up many touches.
He's a Husker I admire this year. He has never pouted, just kept working, and had his best day against a really tough team.
Husker tackling had to be on point Saturday, and it wasn't close to that.
A 55-yard touchdown pass should have never been that. It should have been about 20 yards. A 16-yard run by Jonathan Taylor should have been 4 on a play where multiple Huskers missed him. A third-and-10 should have been a fourth-and-3 but a cornerback and linebacker both ran themselves out of the tackle and let it be a 13-yard gain and a first down.
In part because of this, and that blown coverage on the kickoff return, the Badgers remarkably had 24 points at one point despite running just 22 plays.
Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor was a problem, because he's always a problem, but it felt like the Huskers were actually doing an OK job for 1 1/2 quarters against him. He still had 106 on 14 carries by the half. He finished with a workmanlike 204 on 25.
Nebraska's defense just gave up way too many chunk plays in that first half. A team shouldn't have 277 yards on you on just 34 plays.
You wanted young guys to get reps? They got them in this one.
It was trial by fire for some defensive linemen as Ty Robinson, Casey Rogers and Keem Green all got key snaps. Damion Daniels played a lot. Not saying any of them dominated the day. It was a tough assignment. But Nebraska did fight in the trenches and this will be an important building tool for that group of guys who will be key to Husker football in all likelihood in 2020.
No margin for error for bowl eligibility now.
To avoid missing out on postseason for a third straight year, the Huskers have to win at Maryland and beat Iowa at home. That's not beyond reason. Maryland has had a really, really rough go of it. If Nebraska comes with the same effort, the same offense, and a little more health, I like the Huskers next week.
Maybe that's a shot of caffeine on a short week to take down Iowa, which should be a close game no matter the records, and get to six.
No time to pout for this team. These are 13 important days ahead.
Maybe this isn't the right response, but it's my truthful answer: The two-year contract extension for Scott Frost sort of produced a shoulder shrug from me.
I didn't think it was necessary with five years still on the deal, but also always expected Frost to be given a good long while to try to build it how he wants. You've heard and read a lot of "If not Scott Frost, then which coach out there can fix it?" I don't ever believe just one guy can fix something, but I do think Frost is a different case than you've seen around the country with Willie Taggart and Chad Morris, who were fired in their second seasons.
For one, Frost has a recent undefeated season those guys don't have on their resumes, and also an understanding of this particular place few others could have. That doesn't mean success is a given. That sure doesn't mean unlimited time. But it does mean you give that guy support and time and get off the carousel ride of switching coaches every few years. Was a contract extension necessary right now? I don't think so, but also understood the message it was sending. There's pressure with it, of course. It doesn't matter who you are, or if you won a championship playing QB at that school. But there was the same pressure before this extension.
Whatever your opinion of the move, it seems like it should be the same after the game as whatever you thought before it. This was a big-picture move on a day when Nebraska's odds going in didn't look good to any realist. That picture still looks hazy to Husker fans. But they definitely know, not that they were doubting, who is going to be the central figure in it for years to come.
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November 17, 2019 at 02:54AM
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Fast Takes after Huskers lack finishing touch against Badgers - 247Sports
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