Coming off an emotional and all too familiar finish for the Huskers in their 21-17 loss to #23 USC last Saturday, the Huskers head out west to take on the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl.
The Huskers looked to be in a good spot against the Trojans in the second half, leading 14-6 with 12:04 to play in the third quarter, before starting quarterback Dylan Raiola went down with what we now know is a season ending broken fibula.
True freshman quarterback T.J Lateef was tasked with replacing Raiola and like any true freshman making his third career appearance and first big ten appearance, he just wasn’t ready.
The Huskers offense looked completely immobilized from the moment Raiola went down and the blackshirts defense that had been playing its best football of the season, seemed drained from there on out.
Defensive coordinator John Butler’s unit took a massive step in the right direction last Saturday, holding the nation’s 8th ranked scoring offense to just 21 points and the nation’s leading passer Jayden Maiava to 135 yards and an interception.
The Huskers are going to have to bury that loss and prepare for another dog fight, the Bruins are led by interim head coach Tim Skipper, who has won three of his first five games as interim, but the biggest name in this game is newly promoted Bruins offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel.
The Bruins are averaging 26.6 points per game with Neuheisel calling the plays and so far through just four games, the Bruins offense looks far and away better than it did in the first half of the season.
Despite a poor performance against the #2 Indiana Hoosiers back on October 25th, Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava is playing his best football, having combined for nine total touchdowns in the Bruins last four games, compared to the five touchdowns that Iamaleava scored during the Bruins 0-4 start.
Neuheisel loves to run the ball and is very creative when doing so, which should sound alarms off for a Husker defense that allows 172.4 rushing yards per game.
Key #1: Run the Football:
It can’t be stressed enough just how important it will be for the Huskers to lean on the nation’s number two leading rusher in Emmett Johnson, who has ran for 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
The Bruins rank 120th in the country in rushing defense, allowing 195.5 yards per game on the ground and for Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, this has to be a match made in heaven.
Not only do the Huskers have Johnson, but they now have a true dual threat quarterback leading the offense.
Lateef has shown off his rushing ability and athleticism in all three of his appearances this season, so expect some designed quarterback run plays from this Huskers offense.
Key #2: Get your playmakers involved:
The perfect way to get your true freshman quarterback ready and settled down in his first career start is to get the ball in your playmakers hands and let them work, but that is something that we haven’t really seen this year from the Huskers.
Wide receivers Jacory Barney Jr. and Dane Key absolutely need to be a major part of this offense on Saturday, so far this season the leader out of the pack has been sophomore wide receiver Nyziah Hunter.
Since the Huskers loss to #21 Michigan back on September 20th , Barney and Key have seemingly disappeared from the passing game, totaling just 19 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown combined between the two.
There’s no doubt that his offense has elite weapons on offense, they just need to get them the ball.
As many screens as we see get thrown to Hunter, I’d love to see similar plays and concepts to get Key and Barney involved and change the game.
Key #3: Game Management:
The clock and game management that we saw from head coach Matt Rhule was head scratching and frustrating.
Faced with a 4th and 1 with 5:23 left in the third quarter, with a 14-6, Rhule opted to attempt a 52 yard field goal instead of leaning on his All-Big Ten running back and it backfired instantly, with the Trojans driving 66 yards in five plays to tie the game at 14 after sophomore kicker Kyle Cunanan missed the kick.
I fully understand having the trust in Cunanan, who has been solid for the Huskers this season, but when you have Emmett Johnson who finished the game rushing for 165 yards with a 5.7 yards per carry average, why take the ball out of his hands?
Prediction:
Many people will tell you that the Huskers will lose this game, especially with a backup true freshman quarterback, but this Huskers team is far and away better than the Bruins.
The Bruins are finding their strides at the right time, but I just think the Huskers have too many athletes for the Bruins to keep up on both sides of the ball.
I think the Huskers come out of the gates feeling like the underdog they are, they have a massive chip on their shoulder and will have a massive following of Husker fans behind them.
Go ahead and remember this if things go south, but I truly believe the Huskers blow out the Bruins in Pasadena.
Nebraska: 35 UCLA: 14