PYB apologizes for the lateness of this recap, but we were out of town last weekend and too hungover to this point to comment on the Cornhuskers' come-from-behind win at Kansas Saturday. We would like to dedicate this column to Andy in Ohio for whining enough to motivate us to put it on paper. Let's go back to the A-F grading scale...
Quarterback--B+
This is not your father's B+. This is a B+ when considering how shitty Zac Lee had been before this game. He actually completed a few passes....or should I say jump balls to Niles Paul? Actually, it is amazing how running the ball and using play action passes can even help the shittiest/slowest receivers get open. The option pass was nice. The option, where he fired the ball at Roy Helu like Nolan Ryan for the second straight game, was not. Maybe this spark of confidence will help NU open up the offense. Or maybe they will start Cody Green, since there has been no rhyme or reason to the QB rotation to this point.
Running back--A-
Roy Helu closed another game, somehow turning the corner on the go-ahead touchdown. Then he added another for good measure. He looked a bit tentative when finishing runs in the first 3.5 quarters, but when it mattered, he went hard and got to the end zone. The only reason this is an A-, is because he seemingly missed a few cutback holes early in the game. But given how many assignments his line blows and the fact that his shoulder clearly still hurts, we'll cut him a break.
Offensive line--B-
Two nice drives at the end. But still too many missed assignments. Drive killers. They gave Lee enough time to pass for the most part. It was great to see Bo Pelini tearing into Barney Cotton's ass. Hopefully, they fire him. But likely, they'll sign his daughter to a full-ride scholarship to play a position to be named later.
Wide Receiver--B+
Since only Niles Paul really impacted the game, we'll give him a decent grade for winning the jump balls he got. Four for 154 is a nice number. Brandon Kinnie had a great one-handed catch. Next mission: get open consistently followed by catch a ball in stride.
Defensive Line--C+
This C+ is relative to the line's performance prior to this game. Not a lot of game-breaking plays, but this unit can't do it every day. And Ndamukong Suh was double-teamed constantly. If NU had at least one true impact defensive end, it would open up the DTs tremendously. This could be a concern in a bowl game against a top-15 team. Reesing showed that with his 54 rushing yards, most coming from scrambles when receivers weren't open.
Linebacker--B
Phillip Dillard wasn't as omnipresent as he was the past two weeks, but a solid effort. Nothing great here, but nothing terrible. In fact, Dillard is the only one rated here, since NU rarely plays another backer. Matthew May was the only other LB to record 0.5 tackle, and that was on special teams.
Defensive Backs--B
The vivid memory will be the fact that Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg gave up a lot of completions on crossing routes and slants. But the bottom line is, with an experienced QB (not great, but experienced) and above-average receivers, these are hard to stop. Surprisingly, Reesing was only 19/41 for 236 yards. The longest completion was 28 yards. So hardly a great day, but once again, the defense was in control of the game. The offense took its usual nap, but this time it was shorter than usual---2.5 quarters.
Gomes, Alfonzo Dennard, Prince Amukamara and Hagg were NU's top four tacklers. Larry Asante won't be missed next year. Either will Matt O'Hanlon, unless you're a 70-year-old farmer who still believes Frank Solich got screwed when he got axed. It is nice to see DBs that can cover and also can come up and hit someone.
Special Teams--B
Pluses: Niles Paul's kickoff return, Tim Marlowe's kickoff return (how easily would Deion Sanders have scored that ball?), and Alex Henery's three field goals. PYB is just thankful he didn't have to try that 52-yarder to take the lead.
Minuses: As usual, punting sucked. Averaging 38.8 yards will eventually bite you in the ass. With another subpar effort, NU fell to 100th in the nation in net punting. Let's hope someone can take over for Henery next season.
In this day & age, any road win in conference is a good one. The positive is that we walk away thinking the defense played poorly, but NU surrendered only 349 yards and won by 14 points on the road. The offense will get a lot of credit for waking up, but the fact they didn't get a TD, just FGs, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters is concerning. But, the Cornhuskers have a chance to give a big F YOU to Rabbit Teeth Snyder on Saturday and punch their ticket to Dallas. The game is extremely winnable. But as we learned against ISU, this team can't just show up and win. But with two more weeks to go, the mantra is: Just win, baby......somehow.
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