Nebraska vs. Miami: Game Grades, Analysis for Cornhuskers and Hurricanes

Miami beat Nebraska in overtime, 36-33, but left Saturday's game with more questions than answers after nearly blowing a 23-point lead.

The Hurricanes led 33-10 with less than 10 minutes to play, but a series of poor coaching decisions, targeting penalties, turnovers and general mindlessness opened the backdoor for Nebraska to come back.

Huskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong played well in the fourth quarter but threw a crippling interception in overtime that arranged Miami's win.

"I don't know what happened, to be honest with you," Miami defensive end Trent Harris said after the game, per Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post. "I was too into the game."

Let's see if we can sort through the madness.

	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	C	B
Run Offense	B-	C+
Pass Defense	D	C-
Run Defense	A	B
Special Teams	C-	C
Coaching	C	B-

Nebraska Cornhuskers Grade Analysis

Pass Offense: As former B/R colleague and Hail Varsity writer Erin Sorensen points out, Armstrong did not lose this game. He made the play that sealed the loss in overtime, but before that he played incredibly. There were a few too many mistakes, but he, Jordan Westerkamp, Stanley Morgan Jr. and Brandon Reilly made plays down the field and in crunch time.

Run Offense: Nebraska gained consistent chunks of small yardage on the ground. I was surprised to see it rushed for 153 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry because it never felt like it was doing much in the running game, but at least it kept plowing forward. Without Ameer Abdullah, this run offense is a lot less explosive, but Terrell Newby keeps it efficient. 

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Pass Defense: The secondary is a mess. Cornerback Daniel Davie struggled against South Alabama, and Miami had him circled from the first play of the game. The Huskers allowed 379 passing yards and nine yards per attempt, although they did stiffen up in the red zone. Regardless, they are lucky to play the Big Ten West, where not many teams can exploit this the way Miami did.

Run Defense: Nebraska's front seven held its own in the dreaded Miami heat. The line looked gassed at certain moments in the first half, but it regained its wind and played admirably. Miami still found modest success (33 carries for 132 yards) and had a pair of long touchdowns negated by holding penalties, but this still looks like the strength of the defense.

Special Teams: Sam Foltz isn't healthy. The normally reliable punter shanked multiple first-half attempts, although he found his groove later in the game. Kicker Drew Brown picked up the slack with a 49-yard field goal that sailed over the bar with 10 yards to spare. Morgan Jr. and Westerkamp performed decently as returners, though neither can replicate De'Mornay Pierson-El.

Coaching: Miami threw haymakers early. Nebraska looked unprepared in pass defense and generally just seemed listless. A big part of that blame goes on head coach Mike Riley, although the way Nebraska responded in the fourth quarter earns him similar credit. He needs to do a better during the week—but man, can he rally the troops.

	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	A+	A-
Run Offense	C-	B
Pass Defense	A-	B
Run Defense	B	B
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	A	C

Miami Hurricanes Grade Analysis

Pass Offense: Brad Kaaya played his best game of the season and continues to look like a franchise quarterback. His deep balls were on point, and he stood tall when the pocket collapsed. Receiver Rashawn Scott, whose career had been derailed by injuries and suspensions, continued his breakout season with nine catches for 151 yards. Stacy Coley remained quiet, but young weapons such as Tyre Brady played well to combat that.

Run Offense: The run offense was decent but underwhelming. Joseph Yearby ran hard and flashed power in the open field, but Mark Walton suffered bad luck behind him, breaking a pair of long touchdown runs that were negated by holding penalties. The running back position is loaded, but Miami needs to clean up the line play.

Pass Defense: This secondary has so much talent and started the game on a roll. But the wheels came off in the second half when safety Deon Bush, the most talented player on the defense, committed a stupid targeting penalty and was ejected from the game. The individual pieces played well, but the whole was less than the sum of the parts. Hopefully the secondary can coalesce during conference play; if it does, it has a chance to be special.

Run Defense: Solid. That's the only way to put it. Miami held Nebraska's running game in check, and although the Huskers still got theirs on the ground, they never owned the line of scrimmage. The Canes lost linebacker after linebacker after linebacker to ticky-tack injuries but still flashed the depth to hold their own. Depth up the middle remains an issue, but for tonight things looked fine.

Special Teams: Special teams probably won this game. Kicker Michael Badgley made 5-for-5 field goals, including the game-winner in overtime, and punter Justin Vogel averaged 52 yards per attempt. Coley and Corn Elder nearly broke some big returns, looking quick despite modest numbers for the game. More than anything, Miami avoided screwups, which helped it take a big lead when Nebraska couldn't punt in the first half.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Coaching: Where do we even begin? I wrote about Al Golden in the last post of my live game blog, but he's by far the biggest story after this game. Red-zone playcalling cost Miami a chance to put the game away in the first half, and then dumb clock management (why not run with the lead!?) and a 15-yard penalty for arguing a running into the kicker call allowed Nebraska to come back in the second half.

Golden is the reason this game ended up in overtime. He's the reason it was a blowout to begin with, but still—what was he doing?