As we head into the 6th game of the year I have sat back and have taken a broad view of the Huskers performances to this point. From a statistical standpoint it seems like the Huskers offense is setting the Big 10 ablaze. Dylan Raiola is 5th in passing yards, 2nd in completion percentage, and 6th in overall passer rating. Those numbers look fantastic by themselves, but then you add in that Emmett Johnson is tied for 3rd in rushing yards in the Big Ten it looks even better. But upon a deeper dive you see, even though Holgorsen’s offense is built on the “make them tackle us method”, Raiola is averaging 7.7 yards a completion and Johnson has only rushed for 58 and 83 yards against Michigan and Michigan State and he’s our leading rusher. This shows a lack of ability to open holes and protect the quarterback on downfield throws.
I watched a high school team play last week (Stanton) and was amazed by their ability to open up holes on the line that led to large run plays. Their line was small yet aggressive and knew their assignments. This is the whole key to line play on both sides of the ball, as the defense seems to be figuring it out upfront, hopefully the offense follows suit. This Husker offense is high powered, but they just don’t seem to be getting enough time to execute.
On the defensive side of the ball the Huskers are performing well. Nebraska is 7th in total defense in the Big 10 but is still number 1 in the nation in pass defense allowing just 459 total yards through the air this season. That’s just 91.8 yards per game while the next closest Big 10 defense is Oregon and Ohio State averaging 124 and 123 yards though the air per game. This defensive backfield has been a menace to any air attacks all season long and set the tone against Cincinnati holding Sorsby to just over 80 yards passing, meanwhile he has shown great arm talent in every other game this year racking up over 1,200 yards passing in total.
Special teams are special. For years we looked at our special teams as a liability and held our breath with every punt, field goal, punt return or longsnap. That isn’t the case this year as the Huskers have made a huge turn around on special teams. They will block another punt or field goal this year and return a punt for a touchdown, that’s the level they are playing at.
As we roll into Maryland for a very tough opponent in the Terrapins, the Huskers still seem to be in a fantastic position to make a run at the playoffs. With every single game left on the schedule very winnable, if the offensive line play can become serviceable. If this happens the Huskers could be in the hunt deep into November. But that is a big “if”. I’ll leave you with this, in general, aggression in football can be gone without in Jr High. Aggression in football separates ok players from good players in high school, but aggression is mandatory for lineman at all levels. Play on both sides of the line is called “the trenches”, named after trench warfare. And that’s the mindset it takes when you step on the field.