Nebraska Football: Report Card Grades for Washington vs. Nebraska

Just another average, hum-drum defensive showdown in Lincoln, right? Sure, it’s refreshing to see Nebraska scoring points like Tommie Frazier was prowling the sidelines in Lincoln. But it’s also disturbing to see Nebraska surrendering points like Kevin Cosgrove was wearing a headset again.

So what’s going on? Let’s take a look at the grades for each Nebraska unit, and see if we can get a better idea.

Quarterback: B+

Hey, who was that guy running Nebraska’s offense? Sure, he’s still not the world’s most accurate passer, he still looks a little sketchy running the option, and he still makes some questionable decisions in throwing the ball.

But against Washington, a game manager started to come out in Taylor Martinez. We saw him check out to effective plays. We saw him go through his progressions and eat the ball rather than attempt a Favre-like throw. We even saw him sliding to protect himself rather than running headlong into contact.

Oh, yeah, and we saw him account for three touchdowns, too. An explosive, game-managing Martinez is definitely something for Nebraska fans to be encouraged about.

Running Backs: A

The game ball went, rightfully so, to Rex Burkhead and his 120 yards and two touchdowns. But we also saw the three freshman tailbacks (Aaron Green, Braylon Heard and Ameer Abdullah) get into the game and do some damage as well. As the season wears on, the fresh legs and the speed Nebraska is going to be able to rotate in behind center could well be a turning point against some tired defenses.

Receivers: B

The contributors in Nebraska’s receiving corps are starting to step up. Kenny Bell and Jamal Turner are starting to make their presence felt, and Quincy Enunwa and Kyler Reed are emerging as safety blanket possession receivers for Nebraska. Brandon Kinnie has yet to emerge, but we know from last year he has the talent to be a contributor as well. Passing may not be the primary focus of the Tim Beck Offensive Experience, but there does seem to be developing weapons to make that part of the game dangerous.

Offensive Line: B

Don’t look now, but it appeared that Nebraska was actually putting a few drives together. Especially late in the game, Nebraska leaned heavily on the ground game to put Washington away (again, and again, as it turned out), and the offensive line provided the space for Rex and the Burkheads to gain some ground and chew some clock. Giving up two sacks is a downgrade on an otherwise solid (if not spectacular) performance.

Defensive Line: C

So, when does it become a pattern? Robbie Rouse of Fresno State eclipses the century mark, then Chris Polk of Washington turns around and does the same thing the following week. The defensive line did a better job of generating a pass rush than last week (including bagging two sacks), but still allowed Washington to his quick-strike scores late in the game to prevent NU from salting away what should have been a comfortable win.

Not to worry, says Bo Pelini. These are fixable problems. For Nebraska’s sake, they’d better be. Wisconsin’s running attack isn’t that far away.

Linebackers: B-

Consistently the best performing of Nebraska’s defensive units, the linebacking corps, at least punched their weight against Washington. Tackling, disturbingly enough, was not as solid as it has been in games and years past, which is certainly an area the Pelini brothers will be focusing on.

NU’s linebackers have also been frequently put into situations where they are covering quicker, smaller receivers one-on-one, and opponents have been able to take advantage of their mismatches.

Secondary: D

It’s getting hard to sugar coat the deficiencies in Nebraska’s secondary. Freshman Andrew Green and sophomore Ciante Evans got picked on and abused for two weeks in a row. Washington’s ability to get quick scores and hang around at the end of the game could be attributed directly to NU’s inability to leave its corners on an island and bring pressure on the quarterback. And the safety play, particularly after Daimion Stafford suffered an injury, left much to be desired.

Yes, having Alfonzo Dennard come back will help. But he can only play one corner position. Either Green or Evans will be starting opposite Dennard. Green and Evans better grow up in a hurry, and get some help from their safeties, or Nebraska is going to need a lot of points from the offense.

Special Teams: B

Brett Maher continues to do his best Alex Henery impression, excelling in both punting and placekicking. When Maher trots onto the field for a field-goal attempt, the Children of the Corn are beginning to get the same “yeah, we got this” feel they had when Henery was roaming the sidelines.

Kick coverage was still an issue, though. Yes, Washington didn’t break one off for a score, but the Huskies were still able to improve their field position as a result of questionable kick coverage.

Coaching: B-

Tough area to grade this week. Nebraska’s offense showed demonstrable improvement in terms of their consistency and their ability to produce against a BCS-conference opponent. But the leaky defense, which Bo Pelini pronounced as “fixable” after Fresno State, looked in some ways worse against Washington.

Pelini has earned a lot of credibility for his ability to put the defense right over the years, of course. But B1G Conference play is around the corner, and Nebraska fans would feel much better if some of those defensive holes got plugged up in Laramie next week.

Intangibles: B+

If you think about it, in a way these non-conference games couldn’t have worked out much better for Bo Pelini. Most importantly, Nebraska is 3-0, and now rated ninth in the country. The new-fangled offense from rookie coordinator Tim Beck is scoring for fun. And the defense is struggling, meaning that the Pelini brothers will have the defensive unit’s full attention as Nebraska prepares for the meat of its schedule.

If NU is able to right the ship defensively, and is able to continue the growth shown on offense, all the teeth-gnashing from Nebraska fans in September could turn into a very exciting October and November. 

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