Rohr’s Four: Four reactions, impressions, reflections, concerns and questions after Nebraska’s 24-6 to Minnesota.
1-The definition of insanity
Nebraska was already struggling to protect Dylan Raiola, early in the game against Minnesota. Then Rocco Spindler, the Cornhuskers’ best offensive lineman went down. Then Elijah Pritchett, Nebraska’s left tackle, was ejected. Things went from bad to atrocious. Raiola was sacked a total of nine times. He’s been sacked 24 times in four Big Ten games.
But this is not to bury the Huskers’ offensive line, beyond to say that Nebraska needs to be better there. Even as the line was being ravaged, even with the game close, Dana Holgorsen continued to call deep dropback after deep dropback. Why not lean on the run game, especially with Emmett Johnson coming off his best game as a Husker? Why not get the ball out of Raiola’s hands with short drops and simplified reads?
Holgorsen has renounced his Air Raid roots. And yet, deep in his gut, given the choice between running and passing, it seems Holgorsen would rather drop back Raiola and throw it. You can’t blame him for that stance; the offense’s strength is its wide receiver corps. But this line simply is not providing Raiola enough time to read complex pass concepts and make the right read.
Seven games into the season, the line is what it is. The personnel change most likely to help it has been made, and it had little effect. It’s time for Holgorsen’s playcalling to reflect what Nebraska is, even if it means not using Raiola to the full extent you were hoping to. Otherwise, this Husker offense will keep banging its head against the wall, with the same approach, hoping for a different result.
2-Players, not plays
Nick Saban said that, in tight moments, he would try to think of players, not plays. As in, don’t think you’re going to outsmart the other guy, just get the ball in the hands of your best players. With that in mind, there’s no way that Jacory Barney, Jr., should have only one touch (and only one target!) in a game in which he’s fully healthy.
Maybe it would be too much to use him like Nebraska used Wandale Robinson, as a slot receiver some plays, a running back others, a traditional wide receiver others. But why not have it in the repertoire? At least have a couple different lines in the gameplan in which Barney is highly likely, if not guaranteed, to get the ball. And at least entertain the idea of simply handing him or pitching him the ball. You’re not taking touches away from a viable No. 2 running back. It guarantees he gets the ball. He’s the best player on your offense. He’s an emotional leader in the locker room as a sophomore. Get him involved, early and often. One touch is just too few for him, especially in a game where nothing else seems to be working offensively.
3-Losing the trenches
Rare is the occasion when such a longstanding run of dominance by one conference foe over another can be so easily explained. Especially when the victim of the run has more resources, which should ensure better talent. Yet, as Nebraska tries to recover from a seventh loss in eight games against P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota, it’s obvious where his teams have beaten Nebraska: In the trenches. The lines.
In some ways, it’s tough to project offensive and defensive line recruiting. The high school stud getting a four-star ranking as he signs may have completed his development. Maybe he isn’t getting any taller, is carrying all the good weight he can, or is winning strictly on size rather than footwork and positioning. But still, with how much more the Huskers have to work with than Minnesota, how is it that Nebraska’s lines lose this battle basically every year?
We’ve detailed the offensive line’s struggles. But the Gophers, a team which was averaging a putrid 44 rushing yards per game in Big Ten play, was able to churn out 186 yards against the Blackshirts, a healthy 5.3 yards per carry. Even acknowledging that those stats were bolstered by Darius Taylor’s 71-yard run, it seemed Minnesota could dial up any run they wanted and stay on schedule with four yards.
If the trenches were a boxing match, the Gophers won by TKO. And even before the departures on Spindler and Pritchett, Nebraska was definitively losing the line of scrimmage. That’s a scary, scary sign entering the homestretch of Big Ten play, where the trenches always hold more sway.
4-The Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
And, for all that, the game was still a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter. Nebraska did nothing to seize the game, but it was there for them if they could execute. Amid the chaos in the perpetually collapsing pocket, Raiola made some astonishing plays, too. Just not enough for the Huskers to be in this game.
You never want to waste a loss. Plenty of issues that the fourth quarter comebacks against Michigan State and Maryland wallpapered over were laid bare Friday night in Minneapolis. Yet, if those are fixed, or tweaked, or better-hidden, a great season is still very much within grasp. If there’s one thing this season has taught us, it’s that consistency in college football is elusive.
That was about as bad as Nebraska can play. Sure, they did not turn the ball over, but there plenty of penalties, many missed tackles, and not many blocks. I’ll be truly worried about the direction of the season if the same issues crop up with the same frequency against Northwestern, but while the loss at Minnesota was jarring, it feels like it can be explained with wretched execution and Minnesota hammering the Huskers’ weakness. A good week of practice and a locked-in mindset against the Wildcats could cure a lot of ills.
And for heaven’s sakes, get Jacory the ball!