3 hours Ago By Sam McKewon World-Herald Sports Editor
LINCOLN — Three things we learned and three things we still don't know about the Huskers coming out of Nebraska's loss to Iowa. * * * 1. A chilly Black Friday night still produced a robust, noisy crowd at Kinnick Stadium.
Any concerns that a primetime kickoff on a frigid night (21 degrees!) might deter a strong turnout from Hawkeye and Husker faithful were dispelled when Nebraska’s offense took the field and reporters as loud of roar as they have all year. While there were a few empty seats in one corner of the south end zone, the atmosphere crackled with throaty anger. Good to see rivalry didn’t lose any vinegar moving to colder temps.
2. Dana Holgorsen can kill a decent drive with a pass out of the blue, too. While it makes sense to throw the ball while you’ve got the wind in the first quarter, NU twice had second-and-five when Holgorsen dialed up pass concepts with deep routes that, if completed would have put the Huskers in Iowa territory.
On one, Dylan Raiola overthrew an open Thomas Fidone. On the other, Raiola ignored an open Emmett Johnson in the flat for a modest gain only to be sacked for an eight-yard loss. Both possessions ended in a punt shortly thereafter.
3. NU coach Matt Rhule still gets a little ponderous on fourth downs. Nebraska inexplicably took a delay of game penalty from its own 33 when Rhule dithered about whether to go for it on 4th and 1 or punt.
He eventually chose to punt, but it threw off NU’s rhythm as punter Brian Buschini hit a rugby-style runner off his foot. On a subsequent drive, NU appeared ready to go for a 4th and 1 at its own 28 only draw a false start penalty. Rhule was decisive in making the decision to line up, but NU appeared primed to play the “hard count” game at the line of scrimmage.
1. When Nebraska will have a return game like Iowa’s. The Hawkeyes have an elite returner (Kaden Wetjen, who came into Friday leading The Big Ten in both kickoff and punt returns) and the schemes to both pressure a punter and set up a return.
Wetjen made his impact felt immediately with a 32-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard punt return. NU wants Jacory Barney to be that kind of guy. By next year, maybe he’s a threat in both.
Wetjen is electric, and Iowa’s punt return rush is nasty, too. 2. What Iowa would look like if it ever had passable play at quarterback.
Jackson Stratton, who started the year as the No. 4 guy on the depth chart, didn’t jump off the page before the game off the field once it started. The funky sidearm motion led to multiple passes getting batted down, and he showed no more awareness of the pass rush as Raiola, who often loses where he is on the field.
The Hawkeyes have lots of laudable pieces and consistently appear to be the special teams in college football. But they consistently rank among the Big Ten’s worst pass offenses, too, with five years of QB play that’s below standard for a power four conference team. 3.
If this Nebraska offensive line, confident and controlling the line of scrimmage, is a glimpse of things to come. Some of NU’s runs on Friday night prompted spontaneous praise for the blocking. The tight ends were.
The tackles might have even been better. And the interior offensive blocked best. NU continually pushed the pile of a stout Iowa front seven.
And the Hawkeyes wisely just tried to get out of the way of double blocking duo of Ty Robinson and Elijah Jeudy. >>When Nebraska will have a return game like Iowa’s. The Hawkeyes have an elite returner (Kaden Wetjen, who came into Friday leading The Big Ten in both kickoff and punt returns) and the schemes to both pressure a punter and set up a return.
Wetjen made his impact felt immediately with a 32-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard punt return. NU wants Jacory Barney to be that kind of guy; by next year, maybe he’s a threat in both. Wetjen is electric, and Iowa’s punt return rush is nasty, too.
>>What Iowa would look like if it ever had passable play at quarterback. Jackson Stratton, who started the year as the No. 4 guy on the depth chart, didn’t jump off the page before the game off the field once it started.
The funky sidearm motion led to multiple passes getting batted down, and he showed no more awareness of the pass rush as Raiola, who often loses where he is on the field. The Hawkeyes have lots of laudable pieces and consistently appear to be the special teams in college football. But they consistently rank among the Big Ten’s worst pass offenses, too, with five years of QB play that’s below standard for a power four conference team.
>>If this Nebraska offensive line, confident and controlling the line of scrimmage, is a glimpse of things to come. Some of NU’s runs on Friday night prompted spontaneous praise for the blocking. The tight ends were.
The tackles might have even been better. And the interior offensive blocked best. NU continually pushed the pile of a stout Iowa front seven.
And the Hawkeyes wisely just tried to get out of the way of double blocking duo of Ty Robinson and Elijah Jeudy. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
