Nebraska-Idaho: Three Goods and Three Bads about the Huskers' Win
On Saturday, Nebraska beat Idaho 38-17 in Lincoln. Nebraska used an eight-minute burst in the second quarter to score 28 points and pull away from the outmanned Idaho squad.
Quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and tailback Roy Helu ran for 107 yards to lead the offense, while DeJon Gomes and Rickey Thenarse each returned an interception for a touchdown.
Those are the statistics. But why did the game unfold the way it did? Let's review.
THE GOOD: Death from Afar
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Nebraska scored on touchdown plays of 67, 58, 40, 47, and 20 yards (although it wasn't for lack of short-yardage opportunities, as will be discussed later).
The 'Huskers showed a lot of big-play offensive talent, with both Taylor Martinez and Roy Helu posting touchdown runs that demonstrated both toughness and breakaway speed.
Those plays don't even take into account the contributions of Rex Burkhead, possibly Nebraska's most complete and most dangerous offensive threat.
That kind of big-play threat will change the way defenses play against the NU offense, keeping them more honest and giving the offense more opportunities.
Super Secondary
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It wasn't just the two pick-six interceptions on back-to-back possessions by DeJon Gomes and Rickey Thenarse, although they were both spectacular.
Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard were outstanding in coverage and in open-field tackling. The secondary intercepted Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle five times in comparison to his 15 completions—meaning for every three passes to a white shirt Enderle threw, he gave one to a red shirt as well.
Enderle may not be the Washington Huskies' Jack Locker, but the secondary looks like they're as ready as they can be for the NFL prospect.
David Is Goliath
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Two games. Twenty tackles. One tackle for loss. One sack. Two pass breakups.
LaVonte David, a junior-college transfer who got a starting role because of injuries to Sean Fisher and Will Compton, has become the best of Nebraska's linebackers and an integral part of the Blackshirts.
While David started the season as solid depth for the expected starters, we may be at the point of Compton and Fisher being depth for David if either is able to return in 2010.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
THE BAD: Blue in the Red
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Nebraska was 2-for-5 in red zone attempts, with one touchdown and one field goal. They also had one fumble from Dontrayevous Robinson at the two-yard line.
While the game was never seriously in doubt after NU's 28-point outburst in the second quarter, the lack of ability to cash in from inside the opponent's 20 has to be an area of concern.
Yellow Makes Blue
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Nebraska committed 10 penalties for 123 yards. For purposes of comparison, a football field is 100 yards long.
Many of the penalties were of the 15-yard variety and were committed on offense, which stymied drives. One wiped out a long Martinez touchdown run, although he ended up taking the ball into the end zone later in the drive.
Between the penalties and the four (!) turnovers, Nebraska was far from sharp in its win.
No Blue Knockout
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OK, I admit it, the headline doesn't make a lot of sense, but I had to keep the whole blue theme going.
There's somewhat of a disturbing pattern emerging in Nebraska's first two games. Against both Western Kentucky and Idaho, NU jumped out to an early lead, lost focus, got sloppy, and put up a less-than-stellar second half.
Against Western Kentucky, it was the defense that got ragged, while it was the offense that got loose against Idaho.
Ultimately, it looks like this Nebraska squad hasn't figured out how to throw a knockout punch when it has an opening. Against the lesser lights they have faced so far, NU hasn't suffered from that failure. Rest assured, though, there are opponents upcoming that will be able to take NU's punch and come back for more.
...AND THE END OF THE PRESEASON
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The warmup is over. Nebraska has gotten through its first two tune-up games without any serious injuries, with two wins (looking right at you, Virginia Tech), and with some things to work on.
What we have learned about the team up to this point, though, is limited. As with last week, even after a comfortable win, Nebraska had enough rough edges to keep the team from getting too pleased with itself in preparation for its first road trip of the season. The first real test comes next week.
THE NEXT GAME
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Nebraska at Washington. Here's where the rubber hits the road. Nebraska's freshman magician takes his act to a hostile environment to face a BCS conference defense and a hostile crowd.
The Blackshirts get to test themselves against a guy who will be selected very early in next April's NFL draft.
If Nebraska is going to get out of Husky Stadium in Seattle with its perfect record intact, they will have to play a complete game, something they have failed to do yet this season. Unfortunately for Locker, Washington also has a defense that gave up over 400 yards to Brigham Young and struggled to contain a suspect Syracuse offense.
Unless T-Mart has a freshman implosion on the road, Nebraska should be singing this song next Saturday: "Knick-knack, paddy-whack, give a dog a bone, 3-0 and going home."
OK, you're right, they probably shouldn't be singing that song. But they should win.
Take a look at my pictures from the game here.
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
