UGH. Two fumbles on back-to-back drives, go down 14-0...and it's just all downhill--wait. They...they didn't go on to lose 42-3? Nebraska....hold up, Nebraska actually ended the first half on a 21-3 run to lead 21-17 at halftime? Well I'll be damned. The boys got some fight in them finally! Granted, giving up 14 free points like that is not how you win football games. Arguments can be made about the potential 28-point swing right then and there (14 denied for Nebraska, 14 gained by Colorado). But there were a looooooot of mistakes that were made that you can point to, that could also have been the reason Nebraska lost, that quite frankly, were mistakes that you make when you're playing the first game of the season:
-Starting with the drive prior to "the" Colorado drive, there was some piss poor clock management (and yes, you CAN argue that this ended up saving Nebraska a bit). However, by not snapping the ball at the 15-20 second mark, you are effectively A) Taking more time off the clock that Colorado still needed for their comeback drive (if there was to be one), and B) Thusly, you could let them use their time outs on defense instead of letting them hang on to one or two on offense. All that said, there was the possibility of maybe 30-45 seconds to go off the clock if we assume Colorado used their timeouts. Now you get a bit more of a rushed Colorado team on offense to try to win the game on their drive and maybe a mistake or two happens on their end because of it.
-Of course, Colorado's comeback drive doesn't happen if JD makes that 3rd down catch
-But it does, and we get to Colorado's drive and on 3rd and a god damn mile, the ball is way overthrown the receiver WHY DO YOU STILL HIT HIM. You get them on 4th and Forever but noooooooo fresh set of downs (which Colorado used to win on the first play anyway)
Anyway. Simple mental mistakes that can be brushed off as the season progresses. But honestly, I still liked what I was seeing. Aside from an injured Martinez. Those second and third quarters were exactly what we were expecting to see at 100% efficiency. A blazing offense and a shut down defense. Let's just hope we get to see more of that this year.
The Big Red Breakdown:
What time is it? No it's not summer time, that is sadly coming to an end. It is however, time to get our heads in the game as Troy Bolton comes into Lincoln. Wait, nope, nevermind, it is only just Troy. But Nebraska still needs to hit this out of the park after the disappointing result that was last week. I liked to come into this season with low to modest expectations, so I wouldn't have been super sad if Colorado actually outplayed them, but man to lose like that stinks. And here comes perennial home wrecker Troy that always brings a fun fight on the road. They did get absolutely shellacked at Boise State for their season opener, and then rightfully destroyed their FCS opponent last week. So it's hard to say what the vibe is on this team exactly. My initial scouting report tells me that they're slightly better on defense, and don't sleep on them on offense. So I'm not super concerned. It is, however, a great matchup for the Brady Bunch to get his reps in as he will most likely be the go-to guy as Martinez still recovers from his knee injury.
I personally would like this situation as I would much rather have a healthy Martinez going against that Michigan defense than I would Bunch. UNLESS, Bunch absolutely shows that he's a monster. He didn't look shabby in the "oh shit I have to do this" situation that he was put in, so let's see what he can really do with a full week of practice. But boy, Gebbia really just had to soar and fly away didn't he?
Nebraska O vs. Troy D: Edge Nebraska. I think Bunch will handle himself just fine. The run game looked spectacular, although a cog will be missing without Martinez, but that just opens up the passing cog for functionality. Nebraska is always looking for new, shiny, and expensive things to showcase with. We always want more, more, more!
Nebraska D vs. Troy O: Advantage Nebraska. Damn. I knew Nebraska would have to rely on the front 7, but holy shit that was a display we haven't seen in forever. More of that, and less of the shoddy, penalty inducing secondary please.
Special Teams: I would rather see more of Spielman than of Lindsey, but that's just me.
Prediction: I can't be sleeping on the Wildcats too much this week. Oops, sorry, Trojans. They always come ready to play, and after all, they are the defending high school--damnit, Sun Belt, champions. This does make a fantastic game for Bunch to work with as it is still fairly low stakes being a non-conference game. Expect the offense to be not as flashy as against Colorado, but at the same time that's exactly what Daddy Frost wants you to think. On the other hand, losing two in a row is not a good look for a rebuilding program, especially if one is to a G5 school. Nebraska is trying to bop to the top after all.
Nebraska 34, Troy 20
(source: Bleacher Report)
The Rest of the World in College Football:
Over(rated)Watch:
#6 Wisconsin - Exposed. And just like last year, back to relying heavily on Jonathan Taylor to win. Even against fucking New Mexico? Come on. You have to let your shitty QB throw it more than 11 times against a team like that, for you know, PRACTICE AGAINST GOOD TEAMS. Because HOPEFULLY, the good teams will figure out that if you stop Jonathan Taylor, you stop Wisconsin. And I know, I know, easier said than done. But the man is fumble prone. It can be done. I believe in some teams. Maybe BYU is that team. Also to the one AP voter that keeps voting them as #1, why?
#7 Auburn - Still Being Watched. I haven't been swayed one way or another quite yet...I'm still thinking just a bit on the high side right now though. They play LSU in a fun overrated SEC matchup though.
#8 Notre Dame - Still Being Watched. Cmon you can't struggle against Ball State like that. I thought we had the new and improved Notre Dame finally. They play Vanderbilt this week
#9 Stanford - Exposed. Much like Wisconsin, they can't do much without Love. Putting up only 17 points against a meh USC team is also bad, even with your best player on the field. Defense checks out though. They play UC Davis? Bleh.
#10 Washington - Back to Being Watched. I'll relegate their status temporarily as maybe Auburn has bought them some legitimacy, but only time will tell. They play Utah in their first road game of the year.
#12 LSU - Still Being Watched. This matchup against Auburn will be telling for one of these teams, or both.
Proven their worth: #13 Virginia Tech
No teams were removed for losing
Hot Take Central:
-Still no major upsets, time is ticking on this one...
-Can't really make anything on defense yet. Maybe that one guy from Houston?
-We are now down to 6 win-less Power 5 teams and holy shit Kansas got a win. Do we get a half hot take conversion for that one?
-I was really feeling that Nebraska would hit a fake punt in the Colorado game. Then again I always think that they should try it. Oh well. 10 games left to try it
-Again, we're still in the non-conference so its hard to judge conference champions, but its currently shaping up to be pretty vanilla right now
-I now firmly believe that unless the ACC cannibalizes themselves as well (which is now likely), there won't be a representative from the Big Ten. Other than Ohio State, everyone looks equally ass, but I can see Ohio State taking a stumble down the road
-The Big 12 is gaining some steam as a possible contender to snipe the second SEC spot, but there's still time
Not feeling any new takes right now, so let's check back next week as we get some old takes to settle.
Prediction Center:
We start the year winning with a 2-1 record and a bonus point for hitting the Upset Alert!
#12 LSU @ #7 Auburn - Auburn 24, LSU 21
Man, any other day I'm taking LSU, but I can't deny Auburn at home. However, what will be proven is how equally shitty these two teams are.
#17 Boise State @ #24 Oklahoma State - Boise State 41, OK State 34
Holy shit I didn't know this was a regular season match-up that I needed in my life. Boise State will do its best Big 12 impersonation as they have destroyed the two teams they've played this year. But so has OK State. But Boise did it better.
#4 Ohio State @ #15 TCU - TCU 34, Ohio St 27
Remember how I said Ohio State would stumble? Coach-less on the road. That's how.
Upset Alert: #21 Miami @ Toledo: Since I can't double dip with Ohio State, I think Miami gets overrated and flustered on the road here.
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