Nebraska Football: Predictions for Second Half of the Season

Nebraska came into the 2011 season with a goal of making it to the first ever Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis. The Cornhuskers were believed to have the best defense in the Big Ten Conference, and new offensive coordinator Tim Beck would breathe life into a struggling offense.

The 2011 season has reached its halfway point, and what do we know about the Cornhuskers? The offense has an identity problem and the defense is nowhere close to the defense fans expected.

The second half of the season begins on Saturday against Minnesota. Under Coach Pelini, Nebraska has been a second half of the season team. Since Pelini took over as the head coach, Nebraska is 15-3 in the second half of their regular season schedule.

Nebraska needs to show improvement again in the second half of the season if they want to get back on track to reaching their goals for the 2011 season.

Fans in Nebraska have been disappointed in the play of the Cornhuskers this year. I have heard fans on local sports talk shows and read their comments in Nebraska football forums. Most fans believe this team is overrated and their future looks bleak. Not so fast, my friends!

Although Nebraska played terrible against Wisconsin and the first half of the Ohio State game was a disaster, I believe Nebraska will have a good second half to their 2011 season.

Here are some of the changes I think Cornhusker fans can expect from Nebraska in the second half of the season and my predictions on how the season will end for the Cornhuskers.

Offense

The bye week could not have come at a better time for Nebraska. The team was struggling to get the offense rolling. I believe Nebraska fans will see a much improved offense moving forward.

Nebraska has to be a run first offense, and I believe they will be. Two parts of the offense were identified in the win over Ohio State.

The first is the fact Nebraska does not only have one very good running back, they have two. Everyone knew Rex Burkhead could carry the Cornhuskers if he was asked to do it. Running back Ameer Abdullah has proven to be another piece of the Cornhuskers’ offensive puzzle. Abdullah has the moves to make defenders miss and enough speed to get through the line of scrimmage in a hurry. Burkhead and Adbullah will be a potent one-two punch in the second half of the season.

The second part of the offense that was indentified in the win over Ohio State was the fact Nebraska can run the ball on any team on their schedule. Ohio State had averaged giving up only 116 yards rushing in each game before they lined up against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers ran for 232 yards on Ohio State to establish themselves as one of the best running teams in the country.

Nebraska has found out in the first half of their season that when they are forced to pass, Nebraska will have problems. Tim Beck is in his first year as offensive coordinator. He is learning as he goes. Each week, he makes adjustments at halftime and Nebraska plays much better in the second half of their games. I believe Beck will make adjustments to the Nebraska offense in the second half of the season and the Cornhuskers will play much better offensively.

In order for Nebraska to improve, they need to be committed to the run. Too many times this year, Nebraska has abandoned the run and relied on quarterback Taylor Martinez to make plays by passing the ball. If Nebraska runs their offense through Rex Burkhead and Ameer Abdullah instead of Taylor Martinez, Nebraska will return to the top of the rushing charts in college football.

By running the ball, Nebraska can wear down opposing defenses and keep the Blackshirts off the field. I believe they will do this in the second half of the 2011 season, and this will allow Nebraska to continue their tradition of being a second half of the season team.

Defense

The Blackshirts are the part of the Nebraska team that must improve the most. Who would have thought those words would ever have been written about a team coached by Bo Pelini?

Nebraska will be without their preseason All-American defensive tackle Jared Crick in the second half of the season. Replacing Crick will be one of the major changes for Nebraska moving forward. Replacing Crick will not be done by one player. Nebraska will use Terrance Moore, Thad Randle and Chase Rome at defensive tackle in the second half of the season. None of these players are as good as Crick, but as a group, they can step in and fill the hole left in Nebraska’s defense when Crick was injured.

I believe Nebraska’s defensive line will play much better in the second half of the season even without Crick on the field. Bo Pelini has the reputation of being one of the best defensive minds in college football. I cannot see the Blackshirts defense struggling all season long. I think Pelini spent a lot of his time during the bye week studying tape of his defense. I trust that Pelini will come up with a scheme that will utilize the strengths of each player on his defense allowing Nebraska to return to a more dominant defense.

One of the players that will help Pelini make this change on defense is cornerback Stanly Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste played in his first game as a cornerback against Ohio State. Jean-Baptiste played wide receiver for the first part of the 2011 season before switching to cornerback.

In the game, Jean-Baptiste made an interception that helped turn the game around for the Cornhuskers. Jean-Baptiste is a raw player with a lot of learning to do, but I believe the bye week provided him the time to adjust to his new position. Jean-Baptiste will be one of the stars of the Blackshirts defense in the second half of the season.

Expect Nebraska to play better defensively in the second half of the season. Bo Pelini cannot have a stuggling defense all season long, can he? I do not think so!

Predictions

Nebraska has a tougher schedule in the second half of the season than they did in the first half. Nebraska must improve offensively and defensively if they hope to end their season on a high note.

Nebraska will cruise through their game with Minnesota winning by more than 24 points.

The last five games on Nebraska’s schedule will be much more difficult. I believe Nebraska will finish these five games with a 3-2 record.

After the Minnesota game, Nebraska comes home to host Michigan State. These two teams will have had two different paths to this game. Michigan State will have had tough games against Michigan and Wisconsin, while Nebraska had a bye week and what should be an easy game against Minnesota. For that reason, I think Nebraska will beat Michigan State at home and move their record to 7-1 on the season.

Nebraska will follow up the win over Michigan State with a win over Northwestern. Although Northwestern has their star quarterback in their lineup, I do not believe they are good enough to come into Lincoln and beat the Cornhuskers. Nebraska will beat Northwestern in a close game.

Nebraska will be 8-1 and highly ranked in the polls. This is when the letdown takes place. Every year, Nebraska has a game that everyone expects them to win, and they come out and lay an egg. Last year, it was the Texas A&M game. In 2009, it was the Iowa State game, and in 2008, it was the Texas Tech game. This year, it will be the Penn State game.

Penn State has looked horrible at times this year. With an 8-1 record, Nebraska fans will be looking at the Penn State game as another expected win for the Cornhuskers. Penn State will win the game in a close battle, taking Nebraska to 8-2 on the season.

After the letdown in Happy Valley, Nebraska must travel to play Michigan. Nebraska has had a hard time containing mobile quarterbacks this year. That is not a problem you want your defense to have going into a game against quarterback Denard Robinson. The Michigan game will not be close. Nebraska will lose the game the same way they lost to Wisconsin, in a humiliating effort.

The last game for Nebraska is against Iowa, or should I say, the “Heroes Game.” Losing back-to-back games will make the Cornhuskers a mad, desperate team going into the Iowa game. Nebraska will beat Iowa convincingly to put an end to an up and down regular season for the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska will miss out on their chance to achieve their goal of playing in the Big Ten Championship game. Nebraska will be invited to the Gator Bowl to play South Carolina. Nebraska will beat the Gamecocks to finish their season with a 10-3 record.

These are just my opinions. I am sure each Cornhusker fan has their own opinion, and they are probably much different than mine. No matter what your opinion is of the 2011 Cornhuskers, the fact is this team is young and has room to improve.