Kenny Larabee, NRG Media
Rohr’s Four: Four reactions, impressions, reflections, concerns and questions after Nebraska’s 48-23 win over Maryland.
1-Colandrea the gamer
Saturday’s game won’t go in the books as Anthony Colandrea’s best, especially throwing the football. He missed several open receivers and threw his first truly bad interception of the year, a worry coming into the season. And yet, he found a way to get Nebraska a win. Even with his aim somewhat off, he was still taking shots downfield and he was able to run the offense reasonably well, to the point where the Cornhuskers put up 48 points, albeit against one of the Big Ten’s weaker defenses.
But it was his running game that truly energized the Nebraska offense. He was the Huskers’ leading rusher with a career high 103 yards on 10 carries. His hurdling, weaving run in the second half will be etched on highlight tapes the rest of the year. We’ve heard Colandrea’s moxie and leadership touted by the Nebraska coaching staff since he signed with NU last December. On a day that was tougher than most expected it would be, that leadership showed up. And beyond what was showing up in the stat sheet, there was Colandrea lowering his shoulder into piles, pushing stopped ball carriers forward and trying to gain extra yards for himself. That has to be a shot of adrenaline for the offense.
He has been close to the best version of what we pictured for him this season. The completion percentage has been maybe a touch low in a couple games (he fell short of Dana Holgorsen’s stated goal of 70 percent against the Terrapins, but just barely, 67 percent), but otherwise, he’s been an eager runner, he’s pressed defenses downfield and he’s protected the football fairly well. With that said…
2-Lighten Colandrea’s load
Right now, Colandrea is totally carrying the offense. The running-back driven ground game that complemented Colandrea so well in non-conference play has seemingly dried up, not coincidentally with the injury to freshman running back Jamal Rule. Colandrea has had double-digit carries each of the last two games, and with neither Mehki Nelson nor Isaiah Mozee stepping up their production with more carries, it’s been Colandrea driving the offense both when he runs it and when he throws it. The Huskers can’t live this way. We’ve seen what happens when the quarterback seemingly has to do it all for an offense. Ask Adrian Martinez. When quarterbacks have to both run the ball and throw the ball, along with running the offense, they tend to turn the ball over, both with fumbles and interceptions.
The fumbling part is what really worries me. As little as teams hit in practice any more, ball carriers aren’t as used to securing the ball through contact as they used to be. But with quarterbacks generally wearing green, non-contact jerseys in practice, they’re usually even less prepared to hang on to the ball when they’re hit, leading to fumbles, leading to devastating giveaways that ruin drives. Then you add into the equation Colandrea’s size, listed at 6-foot, 200 pounds. Most of the defenders on the field are bigger than him. If Nebraska continues to ask him to carry the ball 10 times a game, as they have, the cumulative effects will wear Colandrea down. This Nebraska offense with either TJ Lateef or Daniel Kaelin at the controls is a deeply compromised unit.
The key is to get Rule back on the field. Hopefully, the outlook is brightening to that end. Rule went from doubtful to questionable on the Big Ten’s injury report during the week, and participated in warmups before the Maryland game. You get the sense that he could’ve gone if absolutely needed. Happily, instead, he gets the full week of recovery to gear up for Indiana and Oregon. The Huskers will need him if they have any chance of pulling off the upset against either of the national championship contenders.
3-16 flags over Lincoln
Matt Rhule didn’t mince words in the postgame press conference regarding Nebraska’s 16 flags in the game, calling it “ridiculous”, both from his team’s perspective and from the official’s perspective. That remark will likely cost Rhule some money. But he wasn’t wrong. 28 total enforced penalties in the game made what should’ve been a happy Homecoming Saturday in Lincoln a slog, stretching nearly four hours.
Surely, some of the jump in penalties is dependent on the officiating crew. There’s no way these two teams were so misguided on this day that they could barely run a play legally. It has felt this year like Big Ten officials have been challenged to find as many penalties as possible. It has not added to the entertainment value of Big Ten football.
But it’s troubling that a roster with as much experience on it as this one has and in year four of Rhule’s tenure at Nebraska has been guilty of committing so many penalties. The Huskers have had the second-most penalties of any Big Ten team, and rank in the top 10 in the nation for most penalties and penalty yards. I’m sure there were plenty of questionable calls Saturday. 28 penalties gives you lots of chances to question calls. But this team has had a penalty problem all season too.
4-Big game week?
So in comes the Indiana Hoosiers. The defending national champions, the No. 7 team in the nation. Nebraska didn’t make it into the top 25 themselves, though they received plenty of votes in both polls. Do you see this as a big game? And that alchemy is different than “Is Nebraska facing a good opponent?”. There’s no doubt about that here. Indiana is really good. The game against Northwestern looks more and more like a hard-fought win against a good conference foe and not a letdown game or a sign that IU is slipping.
But for this to truly be a big game, the Huskers have to be ready to return fire. They have to appear ready to at least hang in with the current standard of the sport. And I just don’t know if they’re there right now. Without Rule, the offense has appeared inconsistent at best. Facing the Hoosiers, you worry that moving the ball will be very, very tough. The Indiana offense has blazed up and down the field as well, and for all of Maryland’s flaws, they were able to hit big plays and carve up Nebraska’s defense at times. Indiana has a much stronger running game and a fierce receiving corps.
The first five games this season told us a lot about this team’s floor. They can beat average teams with both the pass and run on offense. They have been able to muster a pass rush at times. The defensive backfield has generally been able to control good receivers. The special teams, while maybe not as sharp as last year, are still at least passable and can occasionally turn in the big play. This team has enough to win the so-called “winnable” games. Barring a rash of injuries, they’ll make bowl season, and maybe even improve on last year’s win total.
But if your barometer for success this season is winning a “big game”, whether it’s this one or the Oregon game or the November matchup against Ohio State, I don’t know if this team is ready for that step yet.
Perhaps I’ll be wrong. After all, I’m wearing plenty of egg on my face after thinking Florida was back, only to see them get blasted at Mizzou and picking Mississippi State against Alabama only to see the Tide roll into Starkville (though MSU did have a couple key injuries). But the penalty problems didn’t just show up Saturday. Rule’s return (if it happens) will improve the offense, but the running lanes that were there seemingly at will during non-con play have thinned down. It’s going to take a lot going the Huskers’ way for them to grab what would undoubtedly be a signature win.