Observations from the Florida Atlantic Game
13 comments so far
September 6, 2009 by
It feels good to wake up knowing your team is 1-0. Half of the fan bases in America feel good right now are scratching their heads (Oklahoma), while the other half are thankful to have a win (Iowa). That's my big picture thought of the day. Now, back to the last night's Husker game for a second. Even though my comrade Steve has already accurately pointed out that there really is a lot to like about NU's play in the opener, I would like to share a couple of hastily jotted observations from the game. Most are positive, and a few are not.
Before the game, all of the buzz was about Rusty Smith from FAU and NU's ability to put pressure on him. Neither was a big story line. Smith had a very pedestrian stat line and NU was unable to put meaningful pressure on him all night (just 2 QB hurries dot the stat sheet). How did this happen? For Smith, at times he was downright inaccurate. For NU, their back seven really defended well. Seldom were they out of position, and on more than one occasion, Smiths primary, secondary and third options were all well covered, so he had to just toss the throw away. So, the pass defense was led by the NU secondary... who knew?
The two positions of concern for NU in the preseason were wide receiver and linebacker. We got some answers at both. We know who NU's main three wide outs are. Holt, Paul and Gilleylen are all talented enough. They made big plays, which is very encouraging. But there were too many dropped balls. They gotta be more consistent.
At linebacker, Husker fans can breathe a bit easier than last year. The Husker backers appear very fast and physical. Most importantly, they were in position. It's going to be fun to watch Compton, Fisher and the two weakside guys (May and Lawrence) develop together.
Nice game out of Zach Lee. A good debut. He's a heck of a lot more athletic than Ganz was. His throws have a lot of zip on them. Three of his incompletions were on dropped balls. He made a bad choice and poor throw on the interception. That's a coachable moment for him, and I'm glad it came against this opponent at this time, rather than against Missouri in a close ball game.
Many many many people are talking about how NU gave up too many yards and first downs. Okay, that is fair. But, in this era of football, I can live with "hollow" yards given up in the opener. FAU has offensive players too, you know. The key is keeping points off of the board, with NU did well. They were also able to generate several 3-and-out series for the Owls (especially early in the game) which allowed NU to take control.
Other quick hit thoughts:
- Is it just me or does Howard Schnellenberger barely coach FAU? He's less involved with the game than Bowden and Paterno are, which is to say not very much.
- Roy Helu is a great person and a special athlete. He made plays I had not seen out of an NU back since, oh, Lawrence Phillips. Seriously. IF he stays healthy, he could have a special season.
- It's GREAT to see the Huskers win the special teams battle, even though they should have had two more. O'Hanlon has earned that free safety job. Larry Asante needs to catch that ball.
- The Husker special teams looked great. Adi had nice kickoffs. Henery handled punts very well. The kick coverage units were noticeably better. Niles Paul had a nice return out to the 40 yard line.
- Suh's pursuit to the ball is just un-real. The whole defensive line is just relentless to the football. All are great athletes and it is fun to see them use that and never quit on any play.
- Keith Williams not playing concerns me. Sure, coaches said he would be "fine". But remember, coaches LIE about injuries. They just do. They said he was "fine" for this game too, remember?
- The Huskers had far too many penalties. That's something that comes with the first game. But, they need to clean that up.
- Cody Green and Rex Burkhead - welcome to Nebraska. We love having you here.
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WyHuskerFan Sep 06 09
Nice win, and yes there is room for improvement. I thought as the game wore on the D line was being handled by FAU by keeping max protection for their QBs. Only two obvious D breakdowns, but the D bent and didn't break. You could see them talking over their schemes without looking to the sidelines which was nice.
Where was Dillard all night? I also thought they might get a few more or the I-backs in. I was looking forward to seeing Ward and Okafor in the 4th.
Missouri looked impressive in their win over Illinois. If the Illini QB had adjusted his sights earlier it might have been more competitive, but the Tigers looked to have reloaded.
Arkansas State will undoubtedly answer more questions than FAU. Looking forward to it.
GBR!
shane Sep 06 09
Why do you say that Arkansas State will answer even more questions? I thought FAU (and Troy) was the best in the Sun Belt? Or does Arkansas State have a more mobile quarterback or some other key, challenging difference?
Bill in Iowa Sep 06 09
I was impressed by the athleticism of both the d-line and the o-line. The o-line was pulling and getting downfield on their blocks. Also, the WR's were blocking really well, too.
Yes, the Huskers were suppose to dominiate this team, but how many openers have we watched in recent years where the offense wasn't clicking, especially rushing the football.
I think thats what made Saturday's win so refreshing. You really get a sense that both the O and D are just beginning where they left off after the Clemson game.
WyHuskerFan Sep 06 09
Shane,
Ark State is supposed to have the best defense in the Sun Belt conference. Take a look at the box score in their opener. They limited their opponent to 69 yards of total offense while hanging almost 500 yards and 61 points on them. Their QB is mobile and holds the career record for yards. A good game to get ready for VT.
GBR!
cvldfg Sep 06 09
Shane,
I understand your statement about "will ASU answer more questions", I hope they do.
By going from "The Sports Bible", Phil Steele's magazine, their stats show that they have a pretty stout defense. They only allowed 125yds/game rushing and 211yds/game passing last year against some decent schools.
Offensively, they put up about 400yds/game, with a good mix of run/pass.
They have 7 starters on off., with a QB and 8 starters on def.. It seems like they are a well organized team.
Greg Morrow Sep 06 09
The Owls were supposed to have edge speed, too. I'm sure they do, they just got matched up with, last night.
Finally.
Prince and O'Hanlon out competed people for the ball. For Prince to dart in, was nice!
A sound, satisfying dubya is a nice elixir for what was reportedly (rumored to be) an intense, competitve fall camp.
Listening to the game, it sounded like Lee took a couple of hits to the bod, on keepers. I didn't realized big Latravis played a little too. So, it makes sense now for Wats to play and prepare him for any eventuality- like backing up Green if Lee gets a little too hit up.
This team will have enough games coming up, knowing they'll be perceived "dawgs," at kickoff.
To see guys you'd hope would step up and be good- like Lee, Gilleylen and O'Hanlon, plus young guys who seemed real good leading up to the game- like Compton, Fisher, big Steinkuhler, Burkhead and Cody Green, proves Pelini's optimistic expectations (expressed through that intense gaze).
Sweet D Sep 06 09
I agree with most of those comments about ArkST. On offense, they return a balanced QB and 1000 yd rusher. Defensely, they play junk defense, pursue the ball, very decent in coverage.
Physical will win the game.
Spaceman Spiff Sep 06 09
The offensive line - in my opinion - did not 'blow' anyone off the line. The goal line was telling. We won due to lack of execution on their part more than execution on our part. This is a nice start, dont get me wrong, but lulls one into a false sense of security.
We have a long long way to go before we are top 10 material.
shane Sep 06 09
Sounds good. I just finally saw the highlights, we looked good. Were we 100% from the red zone?!
Huskerdeck Sep 06 09
Just thought I would add this. Northwestern State got beat by Houston 55-7 and Castille had 12 yards on 8 carries. You think maybe this guy realizes how much he screwed up or will he just live in denial as most of these kids that screw up do. And to think we didn't have to worry about his fumbling and I also think his short yardage efforts left a lot to be desired.
tim Sep 07 09
huskerdeck Q already admitted he messed up and does not live in denial by the way the only perfect person had holes in his hands and feet so get over it and be glad for what NU has and not what they dont
Misha Sep 07 09
Thanks for the summary. I live in Nevada and heard the game streamed on the internet. Unless you're watching it, you can't usually tell how consistently the back 7 on defense are in position. To me that was one of the biggest things lacking before Bo came - players were out of position all the time. If the Blackshirts can maintain consistency in that regard throughout the season, we're going to have a great defense.
Don Sep 07 09
I paid $29.95 pay-per-view to watch the opener. I haven't been this excited for an opener in years. Grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, live in Raleigh, NC now. I saw a whole lot of intensity and desire from these guys, right where we left off last year. Zac Lee was superb, the receivers need to catch the ball, he hit 3 of them in the numbers and were dropped. The O line protected well and the D given a B- was about spot on. Our Secondary is phenominal this year, it's been a long time coming. ASU will be a very good tune-up to the VT game. I really thought we had a shot at the win last year in Lincoln against VT, but this year I am feeling really confident after watching the spring game highlights and seeing all of the depth on the bench that got some play time against the FAU starters in the Fourth. Our run Defense needs to puck it up though VT's TT is very explosive as we found out last year, although this year he is trying to be more of a passer, which will help our gameplan with that stout Secondary. Go Big Red