Blowout Loss In the Light of Morning
17 comments so far
September 16, 2007 by
I held off posting my reaction to NU blowout home loss to USC last night, because I was afraid I might say something rash, or that I might regret. Make no mistake, watching NU get wholloped at home creates a sickening feeling and it is not one I ever intend to get used to. That being said, I don't want this forum to turn in to one that makes a tough situation worse. There is plenty of well-earned criticism that is sure to come to NU this week. But, NU played a very tough opponent last night, and the sun rose in the morning. Hopefully, a shower and my morning coffee have taken the venom from my impressions of this game, and the observations that follow can be useful.
Tackle!
To borrow a phrase from Mike Tyson...NU got gutted like a fish last night. Seriously, the poor NU run defense was the part of the game that I'm sure bothers most fans, myself included. Yeah, I'd say we miss last year's starters along the defensive line, to say the least. USC's offensive line moved us around all night. They did to NU what NU did to Nevada. Now that is saying something.
But, poor tackling was the #1 cause of last night's rout in Lincoln. Watching that shoddy tackling might actually be worse than getting dominated at the point of attack. I don't know what is going on down there in Lincoln, but we looked like one of the poorest tackling football teams in America last night. I don't know if it is just the players not executing or if they are being taught this "high and hard" tackling junk from coaches. Either way, it has got to stop.
Until further notice, I don't want to hear about what a "big hitter" Larry Asante is, or how fast Steve Octavien is. Unless somebody is willing to get low behind their pads and tackle, the defense won't get better. And, NU won't have a great football team until they have a great defense.
Don't Blame Keller
For a lot of good reasons, NU fans are obsessed with the new offense and the new trigger man Sam Keller. He was certainly the storyline going in to the game. I'm here to tell you folks, Keller is a baller. You don't open a game 15-of-20 against a team like USC without both talent and will. Yes, his two interceptions in the third quarter were a dagger to NU's chances of winning. One came off of a tipped ball. The other one was ugly. But, again, I am reluctant to blame the QB. He took hits in the game and kept playing hard. And, he was in there slinging the ball around until the very end. It was admirable.
In a related issue, Purify also showed why he is NU's #1 wide receiver. He got the better of USC defensive backs several times. Nate Swift was also impressive last night, coming up with huge catches. Peterson showed guts late in the game. Nunn contributed in his typical "stat line but no impact" way. My question is where are the NU young receivers? Can't any one of them beat out Frantz Hardy?
The running game was nowhere to be found, which is sad. I thought Lucky ran hard and contributed as a receiver. It was good to see Cody Glenn pound in some touchdowns when called on.
What NU Aspires To Be
Hats off to USC. NU got seriously outclassed last night. It is obvious why Callahan's Huskers aspire to be like the Trojans. It's not about schemes, folks. It is about players and executing. NU runs those exact same stretch plays that USC gutted the blackshirts with. They just run them better and with better athletes. Those waggle QB plays that Booty completed? Yep, same stuff NU runs. That is why NU's colossal breakdown on defense is so maddening. Husker defenders see those blocking schemes and routes every day in practice.
Speaking of defense - the blackshirts need to take some cues from USC. Our vaunted linebacking corps isn't that less talented than USCs. They just play much less disciplined football.
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Josh Sep 16 07
Darren,
I couldn't agree more.
Our tackling was atrocious. Hit the ball carrier below the belt, wrap-up, and bring him to the turf, for Pete's sake!!
McKeon played as poorly as I've ever seen him play. He was out of position all night. The run defense was Bohl-esque. I think it's time to give Dillard the starting nod.
I hope Tierre Green is okay (injured late in the game), but he needs to ride the pine. He is average at-best. Eisenhart may not have as much natural ability that Green has, but I'd rather have him in there than Green. He is a more fundamentally sound football player than Green.
Make no mistake, USC was far more talented than NU across the board (our heralded Byford was no match for Ellis, for example). But, for our D-Line to get blown up the way we did by an relatively inexperienced USC O-Line is pathetic.
ze Sep 16 07
Violets are blue
Roses are red,
Coz sucks--
'Nuff said.
Nick Sep 16 07
My question is, did everyone walk away from playing USC when Reggie Bush was there screaming about how their team couldn't tackle? I mean, I saw missed tackles all over the place last night, but I also saw a rusher who had exceptional vision behind his exceptional line and downfield blocking and was able to combine that with crazy moves and explosiveness. I will agree though, that it was frightening to see how lost our linebackers looked in the clutch, and wonder what part Cosgrove has to play in all this. Its tough for me to know in a game like this when to give credit to a better opponent, and when to criticize your own team.
Todd Sep 16 07
Isn't this type of a blowout loss the reason we fired Solich? It wasn't acceptable then and after 4 years it shouldn't be acceptable now. There are some major problems and at the very least it's time for a new defensive coordinator. Cosgrove had a poor track record at Wisconsin and he brings nothing to the table here.
darren Sep 16 07
Nick - nice dose of reality. Yes, USC is a superior opponent. Those holes just didn't "happen". But, there is no denying the arm tackles we saw Saturday. Hit them with your pads, then wrap up.
Many people are calling on Coz in this situation. I'm unsure of whether that has merit or not. Clearly not all is well with our rush defense. Is it a "McBride" situation, or a "Bohl" situation? I honestly don't know. But, don't go having a "Bo-gasm" quite yet, please.
ze Sep 16 07
I would have been thrilled had our defenders been close enough to the ball carrier to attempt ARM tackles. As it was, on numerous occassions the holes were so big that the rusher was more or less untouched until he got 10 yards down field, then the 'tackling' was attempted!
This whole deal about tackling, being in a reasonable position to make a tackle is begging the question IMO. What the frick do these guys do in practice; how long have they been playing/coaching football for god's sake?!
FB 101, 101, 101! It's just unacceptable the 'level' of defensive play displayed last night. There should never be these types of lapses/meltdowns that we, unfortunately, are growing accustomed to. "We're gonna look at the film and fix it." What a lame rationalization! Fix what? Oh, you know, those dump truck sized wholes that SC was gashing us for all night. C'mon, I mean SC DOES have superior talent across the board, but not THAT superior. This is poor coaching, poor discipline. Whatever happened to Barry Turner anyway--does he still play? Oh, yeah, his stats are listed just behind Henery(the friggin' kicker) in tackles/assists: 1 tackle assist!!!
On a positive note, I thought Keller and the passing game 'represented' pretty damn well, all things considered. Keller was our only chance, notwithstanding the INTs. Of course our rush offense was typically nonexistent vs a good opposition. Lucky and Glenn are simply servicable backs, no more, no less. Where was Castille? From the film I've seen, I doubt Jonas Gray will be much better.
Never thought I'd be saying this, since I'm a Callahan backer in general, but:
WELCOME TO MEDIOCRACY!
Dwayne Sep 16 07
I agree with ze. Probably the most important thing as we all know is stopping the freaking run. We didn't do that last night. The talent is there. My worst fear is becoming somewhat true. Our rushing stats aren't as important to me as if this was the old offense, but the ability to stop the run still has to be top priority. To me the defense's attitude takes on the personality of it's coaches. The missed tackles in the Wake game was eye opening and I was hoping that this would be addressed. After further review, it is my estimation that this is something that isn't taught or practiced, but a mind-set in each individual re-inforced by the staff. I've always felt our linebackers have been over-rated except for Octo. I would like to see more Thenarse on defense because he seems to be a ball-hawk on kick coverage. SC is good, but if you would've told me we would score 31 and lose, I would've wanted to bet the house. My wife luckily wouldn't have allowed it. I still like Keller at qb and picks are going to happen. But to see a Husker defense lay over like that makes me sick. The fans won't stand for that out of the blackshirts. Offense is one thing, but to get ran without challenge is embarrassing. I recommend the defense to view the "tradition" video that was posted earlier. And Ellis can make any play when nobody puts a body on him.
Josh Sep 16 07
I was mowing the lawn this afternoon and thinking about last night's game. A couple of things came to mind.
First, USC didn't do anything "sexy" last evening. They just lined up and beat us man on man - sort of like the '94 & '95 Huskers. They remind me of the New England Patriots from a few years ago (poised, fundamentally sound, etc.). No one superstar, just a lot of really doggone good players. Plus, they do the little things right like the Patriots did (and still do). Granted, we're talking college versus pro football, but one can hardly argue with my comparison.
Second, Suh is still for real. I still believe Suh is a marquee player. But, USC had a game plan for him - double team him - which, they did. Steinkuhler is average and we really are missing Carriker and Moore. More than anything, the D-Line needs to remember one basic D-Line fundamental. That being, if you're getting blown off the ball, drop to the the ground, create piles, and start grabbing for legs.
Finally, USC not only has superior talent, but an superior coaching staff to that of NU, and of most every other team in the nation. Pete Carroll is a master motivator and his players respond to him. Steve Sarkisian was two steps ahead of Cosgrove on most every play.
Face it, folks. We were outcoached and outplayed badly.
doombob Sep 16 07
I wanted to wait until Monday to post this, but it's Sunday night at 7:30, and I've got to get this out there. Athletically speaking, (sans Grixsby) our players are in the same class of speed, strength, and size as USC. USC players played smart and relaxed football. When you looked at our players before snaps, we had intensity - emotion waiting to boil into a big hit or major play. Emotions were over-riding the thinking. What USC players had was focus. They were like robots. They knew more about what to do on every play than the Huskers. Can that be taught, or is it instinct?
It was mentioned in another post that it was poor execution, not bad coaching that led to this loss. I'll have to admit that the execution was poor, but I disagree about the coaching. If you give Carroll (or Stoops, or Mack Brown, etc.) and Callahan the same team and same playbook, Callahan loses right now. Callahan needs a superior team in order to beat these opponents. His "positional" play calling is atrocious. There is a time and a place for Misdirection, Screens, Fades, and everything in the book. I think he needs to learn to apply those properly, and adjust as well.
What I'm really afraid of is that this is the beginning of the perpetual "next year's": we'll get 'em next year, wait till we get that five star recruit next year, wait until all of Solich players are gone next year, wait til we get rid of our Defensive Coordinator next year...
doombob Sep 16 07
Man, Josh, we must have posted at the same time. I should have just waited 10 minutes and posted "me too".
ze Sep 16 07
Somebody agreed with me? That's a switch. :)
As far as being outcoached by Sarkisian, it's like, yeah I suppose so, but what did the guy really have to do? They kept their offense as vanilla as one would in a spring scrimmage breaking in a new QB. I could have called that game: '...trap left, trap right, trap up the middle, left zone dive, right zone dive......repeat that sequence'(sit back and have a brewsky)!
They faked a few of those reverses that Wake does, probably thinking, 'why waste the energy'. Thank god for that, since if they'd opened up their play book we're looking at 60+ points for the the mighty men from Troy. I credit Carroll for putting in his scrubs early, running the clock, and not completely embarrassing NU.
"Patriots?" I live in MA; thank god I have them to root for, even though I don't like Beli-cheat so much.
Randy Sep 16 07
I would like to see Callahan call plays like he did the last 7 minutes of the 4th quarter all the time. Of course we should run the ball as well, but I want to see intermediate and long passes more often. Keller throws the ball so hard that the receivers need to get further down the field so that they can catch the ball (and by receivers I mean Hardy and Nunn, Purify could catch a bullet with his teeth from point blank range).
As far as the defense goes, all that can be said has been said. The tackling was horrible and we got dominated on the line. I would have liked to see Cosgrove adjust to the counter play USC continued to run. Each time they put the right receiver in motion the ball carrier was going left, each time. It was embarrassing that we couldn't stop it.
Ron D Sep 17 07
Oh Darren, I had to hold off my input here. I was scorching mad Saturday night. Yes, USC is way out of our league and proved it. Hats off to Pete Carroll and his staff. They came in and gave it to us good.
The laundry list of things to fix is long. But I think one think that is going to keep us from winning the Big 12 championship is the lack of a Defensive Coordinator. Cosgrove's head should be rolling down the gutter today. 2 weeks in a row now, a team can run one play, yes, one play and just kill our defense with it. No adjustments were made at half time. (I think he was watching the band as usual). Coach Bill needs to send his long time friend packing his bags. Because he will never ever win anything big here at Nebraska with Cosgrove running the defense. Again, I agree that USC is the better team. But Defense wins championships, and ours looked poor. I know we have talent on that side of the ball. We just have a complete moron guiding them.
Great work guys... The best site is only getting better.
Ron
scott Sep 17 07
How good does Bo Pelini look right now?
Jason Sep 17 07
Careful Scott. It looks like you're close to a Bogasm. :)
ze Sep 17 07
COZ: ".....the compooo-ter sez naaa-oo...."
BO P.: "...the compooo-ter sez........YEZZZ!!!"
OBOY Sep 18 07
THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD COMMENTS ALREADY MADE ON THE SUBJECT AND IN PARTICULARY RON D IS RIGHT ON. I DO HAVE A QUESTION - IS THERE ANY ONE OUT THERE THAT CAN AT LEAST GET THAT MESSAGE TO CALLAHAN.