Virginia Tech Post-Mortem
It was my impression that the players did exactly what the coaches asked of them on Saturday, except for maybe a small handful of plays. But perfection in any college football game is unattainable. So my question this week would be, what were the coaches asking of our players against Virginia Tech? It seems to me that Bo Pelini is trying so hard to play to our opponents perceived weaknesses, that our strengths like running the football, passing to the tight ends in the middle of the field, or pressuring the quarterback with our front four, seemed to go slightly by the wayside this past weekend.
First, let's start with a few mistakes. What a way to start a game. A kickoff returned 76 yards. It wasn't until the second quarter that my uneasiness from watching that play started to wear off. But reviewing it again only showed that Virginia Tech was so amped up, that they could have run through a brick wall on that first run back of the game. The good news is that the Hokie coaching staff saw fit to come out strong against Nebraska, and they must have properly inspired their players to do so. I just wish we were better prepared for it.
A lot of people are faulting the first and last drive of the game as the reasons that Nebraska gave this one away, but I don't see a huge issue with the defense being stuck in a short field situation. The defense would be able to stop VT on most of the drives of the day, but without a lot of field in front of Virginia Tech, it was too much to overcome. Execution in this instance was on the players on the kickoff. Beamerball strikes again. Coaches can't go out on the field and make the tackles and fill in the lanes.
Ok, so that first score is over and we get the football back, and we stall. I know three and outs happen, and I know drives stall, but I didn't see the intensity that Zac Lee had in previous games to get to the first down. Roy Helu, Jr. had that desire again on Saturday, I just wish we could have seen if Rex Burkhead had it as well. I would have liked to seen something special after Niles Paul got us into scoring position, instead that's where we see three running plays in a row. It looked like we were looking to gain a yard instead of six. I don't fault the coaches for wanting to get out of that drive with some points, but we needed to take a shot into the end zone, or at least opened the playbook past the first two pages. This would give Coach Beamer something to think about the rest of the game.
Our second drive into the red zone was also a stall, but they did it right to get there. No, my problem is the next chance with our 1st and Goal from the three. Punch. It. In. So what if they blitz and put eight in the box. You can't get one yard on three plays in a row? That's the three yards we needed to get into the end zone. Put Ndamukong Suh in there as a lead blocker, or even give him the ball, I don't care. The other place you do that is the 4th and 1 late in the game. If you trusted your defense enough to stop them after a punt, you should be able to trust them in case you don't get the yard. I just didn't understand the play calling. It was too much like playing not to lose. The last time I remember a game like that, we were at USC and Bill Callahan was our coach.
Coach Pelini looked a bit like he was out coaching himself this weekend. The play calling on both sides of the ball was a little like they were trying to catch the Hokies off their guard so much, that the play selected was not the most appropriate for the situations they were in. Situational coaching was missing this weekend. And the other thing missing was taking chances. Bo seems to be so against trick plays now that he got burned on them last year. There's got to be a healthy medium where it's OK to call that type of play. I kept expecting a Helu pass or Suh on the offense, or a reverse pass, or something at least in one point during the game. Those are more than just plays that move the offense or score points, they are used to deflate your opponent or put a nail in the coffin of a game.
I won't go into the details of our lack of execution when penalties took away our touchdown and out of scoring position, everyone knows that penalties have to be fixed. This was a game that we could not afford to make a mistake that took points off the board, and our coaches knew it. Better yet, I think Virginia Tech knew it. They've seen Tyrod Taylor get them out of jams before, and his singular effort was all that was needed. We needed a superstar player to break through and do it all themselves, instead we witnessed it on the wrong side of the ball. We had a few candidates, like Helu, but we didn't put the ball in his hands at the right time.
I see no moral victory in this game that so many others have seen. I think my colleagues here at BRN have been too positive at times about this game. I just see the same mistakes that plagued us whenever we were put into a high pressure situation. It could be the culture of big game fear is not removed, it could be that Zac Lee's first road game is a learning experience for him, or even that we had put too much on the defenses' shoulders that day. No matter which way you try to spin it, this game was a disappointment, and I expected so much more.
9/22/2009
Ask any coach and they’ll tell you that each play is designed to do one thing…score a touchdown. Execution, execution, execution.
I, too, was disappointed with the outcome and to be honest with you I haven’t heard the talk of a moral victory you talk about.
If you compare the post-game news conference from this game and the USC game you referenced in the Callahan era I think you would find two different attitudes between the two head coached. Callahan seemed to feel good about losing by multiple touchdowns where was Pelini was downright pissed about losing by a point.
Don’t blame the play calling, blame the execution. Punt on fourth down or no punt on fourth down, I can see both sides of the argument. I agree with the call. More yards chews up time…they needed a touchdown so make it as difficult as you can for them. Trick plays need to be set up and you need the defense to do certain things…maybe they had something in mind but it didn’t present itself.
Blame it on the coaches if you want to…and it seems like most of it is going that way. But I’d be willing to bet that if you asked a lot of the players behind closed doors this loss would fall on their shoulders.
9/22/2009
You didn’t see the same game I did. Neither of the teams deserved to win. We saw what Lee did in a “real” game….that’s about as close to choking as I’ve seen a college QB in a long time. What was it 9 misses in a row…and it wasn’t because of pressure….and on the other side….Taylor probably had his worst game ever since a starter. He couldn’t hit anything either….so what we had were two lethargic football teams which neither one belong in the Top 25 duke it out….too bad it didn’t end in a tie like the old days cause neither one deserved a win…certainly not Nebraska. Coach BOO BOO fits in with the Husker mindset….no risks, no gain…you better get used to it…. It’s called conservative football…Helu and Suh lived up to their billing, but they can’t carry the team… Don’t get too pumped up this weekend after another win cause of the Huskers’ patsy schedule. There was no victory and certainly not a moral victory….Huskers play like they did against VT in the Big 12….they’ll at best be 3-5 in conference….Take a deep breath…7-5 is where they are headed and don’t be suprised if it’s 6-6 if they lose at CU….Since I live in this State, I ask you Huskers to get something else going in your lives as when the Huskers lose work effeciency drops in this State and I’m tired of picking up the slack while you mope for days on end…
Can you say 3-2 when you go to sleep Oct. 8th??
9/22/2009
I absolutely agree with you on the 1st and Goal from the three. One run attempt followed by two crappy pass attempts. Give it to Helu 3 times. Give it to the fullback. Put Suh in there. I don’t care, just punch it in. And if you don’t get it in there on 3 tries. Go for it on fourth. I thought Watson’s play calling was atrocious. Anytime we got into somewhat of a rhythm, we abandoned what had been working to get us there. Some of our play calling was too cutsie. Trick plays against a defense like that can be ultra-risky. But try one just to get us out of our slump. Better than a poorly executed option to the short side of the field.
Lee didn’t help matters with his off target throws. Then when he did make decent throws, our receivers couldn’t catch. I thought our tight ends were supposed to be an advantage to us…or was that just on paper?
I agreed with Pelini punting. But at least try to draw them offsides and take the 5 yard penalty. And why have a second string running back if you don’t trust him to run the ball? All I’ve seen Rex do is fall forward for extra yards, so why not give the kid his shots? Hell I wouldn’t have minded putting Green in there for a series just to make Lee settle down. I realize you don’t want to throw a true freshman to the wolves, or hurt your already struggling qbs confidence…but we needed something. Hell put Green in at wide out, just to make the D think. There are always so many ‘what ifs’ in a game like this, but I think we may have out coached ourselves in this one.
Don’t get me wrong. I like the coaching staff we have and think they have us headed in the right direction. But this is Pelini’s second year as a head coach. He has some learning to do as well.
9/22/2009
Husker Basher. If your so worried about work productivity, what are you doing on this site at 3 o’clock in the afternoon? Shouldn’t you be working? I guess you probably have time to kill since it’s September now and lawns don’t need mowed as much. Oh and hey, you just need to hit the button once.
9/22/2009
It’s refreshing to read what Husker Basher has to say. Makes me feel better about my life.
9/22/2009
Well…what I’m about to say may get quite a bit of flack. I realize my next comments are not normal (check my posting history if you’d like), but here goes….I only see one/maybe two losses for this team the rest of the year, and I’m including the Big 12 Championship Game!
Don’t know about anyone else, but today was my first day reading, watching, analyzing, etc Saturday’s game.
I had way too many adult beverages post mortem, and didn’t recall a lot. So, today I watched. Today, I read up on stories written, interviews made, and comments given by the team. I am convinced a corner was turned sometime between the loss and Monday’s practice. It’s just the attitude, swagger, and sense of immedient-ness (don’t know if that’s a word, but it sounded right) I’ve witnessed.
That team was inches away from dominating by 3 td’s on a team that is EXTREMELY difficult to beat on their home field.
Then again…6 weeks from now, Oklahoma may make meet eat crow. For now, I’m filled up with Kool-Aid, and more positive about the season than I was back in August.
Okay..now let the contradiction begin!
9/22/2009
First of all, these players and coaches have taken Husker football in one season and three games to a very high level of play. Lets not forget so soon, how poorly this defense looked a little over a year ago. I was comparing the stats from the Alabama vs Va Tech game with our game against Tech, and as far as stats go we are not that far off the mark.
Watson is brilliant play caller and the best oc in college football. However, this time around I have to question a few key things he didn’t do.
1) Where is the full back or H back in the red zone? Watch most NFL teams on Sunday and when they get 10 yards from the goal line they are sending in their big guys and playing old fashion power football. I would love to see Suh again at full back!
2) Helu is great, but don’t exhaust the guy. Alabama won the game against V Tech in the 4th quarter with a running attack. Look at the stats, they used two backs and kept them fresh. I believe we also could have owned the 4th quarter, but I think Helu was absolutely exhausted and we were calling a lot of pass plays when it was clear Zach was not himself.
3) Young QB, 1st game getting tested? Zach you are going to be the man, but this time around you definately let the pressure get to you. That is Wats responsibility to see that and sit him for a series or two. Send Green in to run the zone read and the counter play he went 50 yards on. Helu and Green together would have been unstoppable. I am not starting a QB contraversy, I am just saying, w/ Zach in a funk, and the running game rolling, sending Green in would have gave the Va Tech defense fits!
9/22/2009
I like the idea of having Green on the field. Line him up as a wide receiver for a reverse or pitch and pass. Wildcat anyone? First time it happens it will likely cause the defensive to use a timeout. How is Lee as a receiver? Lee to Green to Lee! Worked for EC. They used Suh a couple of times last year as a FB. They have the athletes, now they need to get creative.
GBR!
Kansas City, MO
9/23/2009
Our response to this game is critical. If this game is like last year’s Texas Tech, then we get fired up and go on a tear. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering that we’ve got a quarterback learning to play in big games (on his first away game start, no less). I also have to keep in mind that Bo is still an inexperienced head coach and even the best head coaches need a couple years to learn the ropes. Maybe I’ve been a little too hard on my Huskers, but I now consider this a rebuilding year unless we get to the Big 12 Championship somehow. I just don’t see that the mistakes are going to go away.
9/23/2009
My only real criticisms of the game were on the offensive side of the ball:
-Lack of pass protection on the right side of the offensive line.
-Lack of Rex Burkhead to spell Helu
-Lack of concentration on the part of the Wide Receivers (about 1/3 of the incompletions Lee had were due to dropped balls, if I recall correctly, including two TDs)
-Lack of concentration/focus on the part of Lee.
Honestly, I’m not going to chide the defense (even the first or last series), as they were asked to do too much that day IMO—the dyke was going to give way sooner or later, and Suh did his best Little Dutch Boy impression all game. But when help doesn’t come from the offense, the dyke will eventually give way and flood the Netherlands. The dike just happened to give way in the last minute of the game, and not five, ten, or fifteen minutes sooner.
As for coaching themselves out of the game, other than the Rex Burkhead decision, I didn’t have a problem with the playcalling—we were gashing them for—what—seven yards a run on average? If you’re a coach and they don’t shut it down, then you have to take it, bottom line—it’s more reliable than going airborne, and it chews up more clock that way. Use the pass to keep the defense honest (like when they would load 8-9 defenders), pound the rock, rinse, repeat.
And Bo and Company give a ****—maybe too much sometimes, but that’s a good thing (and perhaps a rarity in this day and age). We should be so lucky to have a coach with the passion, vim, and vigor that Bo, et al have. I’ll take the throwing of the headset and the dismissive behavior with the media over a coach that doesn’t give a **** about the kids or the program he presides over. Eventually age and winning will temper these actions somewhat, but not every coach can or should be a carbon copy of Dr. Osborne.
Frankly, the reason Dr. Osborne is deified as such is because he is/was such a rarity in sports. Bo is too, and I would think we would do wise to keep rare and precious gems such as these as close as possible.
—-
Now, having said all that, I’m still confident of our eventual success this year:
-Oklahoma looks rather pedestrian (despite throttling a down Tulsa program)
-Kansas struggled early with Duke for almost a half before putting it together (and taking out a key player or two) and has only played teams that Arkansas State and FIU would throttle
-Mizzou so far looks more meek that mighty considering how poor Bowling Green and Illinois are this year so far
-Colorado, Kansas State, and Iowa State are all wins with 97.5% certainty
-Baylor can’t run block to save it’s soul
-Texas Tech looks inconsistent at best and was it’s own worst enemy against Texas
-and Texas looks rather lackluster as well; the Tech defense isn’t that great, Texas didn’t play as well as expected on offense, and Texas just looks like a teams whose rank is more than inflated.
All in all, goals of the Big XII North title, the Big XII title, and a BCS bowl are still intact. And who knows—going to a BCS bowl could pit us against Virgina Tech again this year. :)
9/23/2009
Tom,
You mention the situational coaching and I could not agree more. There were two or three drives that I would have liked to see Wat’s open it up and take a shot. After Helu had ripped a few off and we were at Va. Tech’s 40 with 1st and 10 a couple of times you could sense the blood in the water. This is where Stoops or Pete Carroll would have taken a shot at the end zone without question. All I kept thinking was ‘right here, take one’ and put the fear of god in them. Let them know were here to win this game not just blood punish each other to death in a grudge match and the last one left standing wins.
All in all though we played well and we beat this team. They somehow found a hidden dagger in the last moments or we walk out the victor….
Just my two cents
9/23/2009
For those bashing Watson’s red zone play calling I can agree on the 1st and goal from the 3. Punch that in and if it takes four downs to do it, do it. But in reality we scored two touchdowns. One was called back by a penalty on Henry and the other Holt ends up not making the play. You cannot have mental lapses in the red zone. Henry’s hold was totally unnecessary and Holt’s non catch was inexcusable. Either one of those would have sealed the game.
I’m not into moral victories so I don’t see one here but there are some serious positives to take from this game. Time to man up.
9/23/2009
PSW, don’t mean to be nit picky, but it was 1st and goal from the 6. Both TD throws were in the same series so only one would have counted. Regardless, I agree that we have to have a monster back to smash it in. I would love to see them bring the FB trap play back. Worked forever in the TO days and I see other programs running it effectively. As to the hold and drop, I agree again. Henry only needs to delay the DT not try to pancake him on a throwing down. Holt needs to learn to tuck and roll with the ball against his body. Your right, “Man up.”
GBR!
9/23/2009
Wyhf,
don’t mean to be nit picky back but….
N 1-G T03 Lee, Zac rush OL for 1 yard to the VT2 (Rivers, B).
N 2-G T02 Lee, Zac pass incomplete to Young, Dreu, QB hurry by Grimm, C.
N 3-G T02 Lee, Zac pass incomplete to Paul, Niles, QB hurry by Worilds, J.
N 4-G T02 Henery, Alex field goal attempt from 19 GOOD, clock 05:23.
It was from the 3 and then from the 2 which makes it suck that much more. I also know what your saying only one would have counted on that drive.
Could not agree more on the Henry & Holt comments.
9/23/2009
PSW, my bad. We were talking about different drives. I was lamenting about the one we went backwards on. That drive had the two TD passes, one to McNeil and the other to Holt. Shouda, wouda, couda, it still sucks.
9/23/2009
An intensely entertaining game!
I think, if anything, Nebraska respected the Hokies speed, too much.
In the Gator Bowl, it was totally about not getting run out of the stadium. Containment and great individual efforts won that game.
Saturday, Nebraska exhibited adequate speed to compete with genuinely fast teams. Physically, strength wise, they’re there. Open field tackling was good, I thought. The young ‘backers just need to get a little stronger, but that won’t happen this year. They were in position and help arrived quickly.
Since Nebraska runs a “take what they give us” offense, it seemed like Bud Foster “took” the intermediate routes, “giving” longer tosses and Nebraska isn’t a vertical team, yet.
They just need to keep working on it. Protection and catching. Pass protection is partly Lee’s job, too. He’ll have to get a feel for what he’s got to work with.
In reality, Nebraska will face one or two defenses as good as these Hokies and the offense is improving by the day.
This team is so oh close!
I got an impression of intensity, play for play, that’ll see the team through to the conference title game against Texas, December 5th.
9/23/2009
Couldn’t agree with most of your comments more. After the first half I made the same comment about “letting it all hang out” when it came to play calling. Seemed a little too conservative. I was very disappointed we didn’t see some version of the Wildcat with Cody Green lined up as QB and Zac split out wide.
9/23/2009
Tom said: “but I now consider this a rebuilding year unless we get to the Big 12 Championship somehow.”
Come on now. We lost to a ranked team on the road by 1 point. We’re not a BCS championship team. We all knew that. Hell, we ‘should’ have won.
We have a new QB, we lost 3 WRs and one of our key RBs. It was going to be a struggle on the road. It was a heartbreaking defeat for sure. But just like a loss is a loss and there are no moral victories, so too is it still just a close loss despite the way it was lost.
Is there any reason to think we can’t win the big 12 north? Missouri and Kansas will be tough games, but this game just makes us better prepared. “somehow go to the big 12 chapmionship”...nothing has changed. This game was a toss up from the beginning and we didn’t pull it out. Buck up, lots of season to go.
9/23/2009
I agree with Bill in Iowa. Two things I would like to add, that was a great throw by the VT quarterback and a great catch also. With Burkhead did you notice the tough yards he picked up after catching the pass in the game. There is no way that Wats should not be giving this kid chances to run the ball when he gives Helu a breather, I would almost be willing to bet that you will see very few negative yards with this kid running the ball. Also on another note with you Castille people, I saw a lot of time last year when he seem to tippy toe up to the line or left his feet to early and got stuffed for no gain.
9/23/2009
After watching the game again, a few things stood out to me:
-Zac Lee was rushing throws and was off-target… He was getting pressured by VT DE Worilds early and that seemed to get to him as he rushed several short, and easy throws. Zac actually should’ve been picked off an another 2 times in the game.
-VT played exactly like they’re known for playing… defense, ST, and opportunistic offense. Their defense made some great plays that game particularly Worilds and Grimm.
-WR’s had too many drops.
-Holt is not a good WR. He runs good routes to get open, but his hands suck. He should’ve had 2 TD grabs.
-O’Hanlon is a bad tackler and horrible in run support. He wiffed it on so many tackles…
-Asante is a beast. Thank god we have him in the secondary.
-Amukamara is fassst. Not so great in coverage, but he can recover quickly.
-Secondary is better than last year, but not that improved. Last year VT WR’s ran wide open on us. This year they were still open, but not by much. Only Tyrod’s (mostly) crappy passing kept us in the game.
-Our run D is good, and we can contain scrambling QBs, but we can’t contain a legitimate dual-threat QB and a running game. That means trouble for us against Kansas (and possibly Mizzou).
-Tyrod’s running ability won the game… even though he didn’t run that much, the mere threat of him running often kept our D-line from being to aggressive in their pass rush. This stood out clearly on VT’s game-winning drive.
9/23/2009
oh yeah:
-we need more offensive playmakers. Right now we only have 2: Helu and Niles Paul. McNeil isn’t making an impact like I thought he would, and Lee has shown that he is a mortal against VT.
-We need to get the ball more to Paul… if there isn’t time enough to throw for the mid/deep balls, then just throw some short passes and let him run with it.
Kansas City, MO
9/23/2009
I have been informed by my close friends and family that the point I was trying to make did not come across properly. I still think we are the clear cut leader in the North, but I was letting the worst of my feelings towards this game get the better of my analytical nature. The Huskers are a good team this year and I expect them to rebound from this loss greatly. I don’t want any potential new fans of this website to think we go around bashing the Huskers for fun. We just made enough mistakes in this game that if any one of them had gone our way, this one is chalked up as a win.
9/24/2009
HuskerBasher:
Best case scenario for Mizzou on the evening of September 8th:
Missouri enters a time machine and is somehow able to come out the other end, to a point in time after they’d managed to string together another 26-consecutive annual victories over the Huskers…as that point in time would correspond with Missouri’s ascension to the top of the all-time series record between the two teams.
So, see ya in 2035 (at best) I guess. Who knows…in the years that pass, maybe the Missouri team will even give their pitiful fanbase a reason to break the two-consecutive sellout mark a time or two in between!
Back to work for now, I guess…
Tom:
I get where you’re coming from…
But I don’t think you need apologize for any sort of “bashing”. This “we’re back” party has needed to have the house lights thrown on it for awhile now. We will be back…of that I have little doubt, but I don’t think there’s any shame in voicing your disappointment and dispensing a little light criticism toward the guys who invented “punting on fourth and goal” last Saturday. For the name of all that’s holy…someone really needs to crunch the numbers and figure out the percentage of teams that DO NOT win after holding a lead and stopping their opponent on downs in their opponent’s territory with two minutes left!?! Now I’m not a betting man…I’ve been know to throw some dice at a casino once every few years or so, but I’m still generally not a betting man. However, even I would place a princely sum on my belief that the number of teams that had found themselves in such circumstances (then losing the eventual game) would be proven to be among the fractions of one percent. So Tom, I’d certainly consider you as being of sound mind in getting these thoughts and feelings of bitterness over this Virginia Tech business out in the open in a constructive manner!
And I know I’m probably gonna be crucified for saying this, but it’s not like it’s the upmteenth time in a row or anything…to be stymied against a ranked opponent (once again, largely via our own “playing not to lose”)! I mean, guys like Orson at EDSBS make a lot of hay with this whole Pelini aura of uber-macho, tough-guy bravado…but it would have been nice to have seen some of that persona come out in his decision-making during any one of several situations last Saturday. Instead, we once again found ourselves “Callahaned/Soliched” (take your pick from his decidedly non-uber-macho-tough-guy predecessors) to defeat by playing not to lose. That’s what I found the most disappointing of the whole situation last Saturday. I mean, come on, Bo…if we’re all supposed to be expected to buy the hype about you being some sort of badass mofo who can get kids to “run through walls for you” or whatever, then go on out there and be that badass mofo and turn your dogs loose to nut up and pick up a measly YARD (singular) with the game in the balance!! (Incidentally, from an offense that’d been picking up nearly 6 times that per play all game long.)
Hey, any of you still wondering when Nebraska football is gonna be “back”, don’t worry folks…you’ll know that NU Football is back around about the time something like that happens.
As to whether or not this is a watershed, “Texas Tech ‘08” moment in time…I’ll do you one better: “1993 (94) Orange bowl vs. FSU”. Sure it’s tough to compare a bowl game to a season game for obvious reasons, but for the category of “defensive slugfests where we clearly were in control down the stretch, then managed to lose control, then won it back, then lost it for good…all in the course of about 2 minutes”—well, there aren’t many that compare favorably to that classic Orange Bowl than this latest VT episode.
9/24/2009
I didn’t even make it through one sentence without botching something up…Of course, OCTOBER 8th will be the day of reckoning for Gabbert the Elder.
Sorry about that…
9/24/2009
I’d have to consider Curenski some kind of threat. Every game this year he caught a ball for over 30 yards.