Capital One Bowl: 5 Things Nebraska Needs to Improve in 2012

Nebraska lost the Capital One Bowl to South Carolina, 30-13. After taking a first quarter lead, Nebraska was outplayed and dominated in the second half.

With the bowl loss, Nebraska drops to 9-4 for the 2011 season. So now that the season is in the books, let’s take a first look back and think about what Nebraska needs to improve on in 2012.

Catch the Ball

Sure, Taylor Martinez has his issues throwing the ball. But throughout the season, he hasn’t gotten much help from his receivers catching the ball. The Capital One Bowl showed more of the same, with Tim Marlowe, Kyler Reed and Brandon Kinnie all dropping catchable balls that, if caught, could have made a difference in the outcome.

If Nebraska hopes to improve on its 9-4 record in 2012, the wide receiving corps needs to improve.

Play by the Rules

In 2011, Nebraska improved from just under eight penalties per game to just over six-and-a-half penalties. While that is an improvement overall, the second half of the Capital One Bowl exhibited a lack of discipline that has been endemic throughout the Pelini era.

With the game still in the balance, Nebraska’s offense committed seven second half penalties, hamstringing the ability of an already-sputtering attack to respond.

Find Some Depth

After the Capital One Bowl, Lavonte David and Alfonzo Dennard won’t be walking through that door to help Nebraska. Nebraska will need to find answers replacing David and Dennard, not to mention the performance of Jared Crick.

Particularly on defense, Nebraska has struggled finding answers outside of the starting lineup, going back to the Ciante Evans and Lance Thorell well time and time again even when they have not shown themselves up to the task.

For NU to succeed in 2012, Nebraska’s depth (particularly on defense) will have to improve.

Believe in Magic

There is no question that Taylor Martinez has improved as a quarterback. But there is also no question that he’s got a lot left to work on. One of the areas he needs to improve is his performance under pressure.

Once again, Martinez found himself prone to the big mistake when trying to lead Nebraska back from the brink. Martinez appears to struggle with a lack of confidence, both in his receivers and in himself in times of trouble, reverting back to the form we saw at the end of 2010.

If Martinez can replicate the form of the first half of the Capital One Bowl (assuming he holds off Tommy Armstrong and keeps the starting job), Nebraska will have a great chance at success in 2012.

Take a Punch

In Nebraska’s losses to Wisconsin, Michigan and South Carolina, NU was outscored 63-10 in the second half. In the Capital One Bowl, Nebraska fans experienced a disturbing sense of déjà vu watching NU flounder and dig its hole deeper and deeper.

Unless the opposing quarterback it Todd Bauserman, Nebraska has displayed an inability to get up off the mat when challenged by a top-tier foe. That’s got to get better in a hurry if Nebraska is going to move forward in 2012.

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