As is the case in any sport after you lose, you have to hear people question how good you actually are. And it seems like the word around the College Football world is that Nebraska isn't as good as people originally thought, which is true if you thought they were National Championship material. They're chalking Nebraska's previous success up to playing weaker opponents. Don't be fooled, Nebraska is still a damn good football team, who can beat anybody, any given week.
On offense, obviously Nebraska needs to catch the ball. I believe their case of the dropsies will be cured and they wont drop more than 2 balls next week. I'd love to say that the fumbling issue has been corrected, but I don't think it has. Martinez simply has momentary lapses when he doesn't protect the ball. I think he'll need an off season of constant reminding and practice to really improve.
What I would've like to have seen last week against Texas was a change from the Zone Read running scheme. Going into the game, you had to have known Texas was going to be extremely ready for it and early on the confirmed it. Texas was absolutely geared up to stop the run. If you just had to run, put two Tight Ends in there and a Fullback and run it right at them. Get physical and establish yourself with the power run game. In the Spring, Shawn Watson said that that was still in the playbook and could be ran if need be. Well, I didn't see it last week. Texas is/was too fast for the Zone Read all day long.
What I would've like for Nebraska to do earlier than they did was try to get the passing game going. There's an old saying, "You take what the defense gives you", so why not throw it around? On that day, we might've dropped 16 balls had we done this, but I still think we should've done it. And it should've been done with Taylor Martinez in at Quarterback.
Taylor should've never been benched. He didn't really have a bad day. He didn't throw any passes that should've been picked off. He made a few incorrect reads in the running game and had a fumble that Nebraska recovered, but sooner or later he's going to have to start throwing the ball successfully. All I keep hearing is how he's actually a sufficient passer and we just haven't seen it. If that's the case, why pull him in favor of Zac Lee? When the going gets tough, Martinez needs to be in there unless you expect to pull him from every game in which he doesn't rush for 150 yards.
Defensively, Nebraska NEEDS to get more pressure with their front four. Pierre Allen has two sacks, Cameron Meredith has one, Jared Crick has three(all in the Idaho game), and Baker Steinkuhler leads the line with four sacks. That's not enough pressure, especially from the ends. You'd expect the line to be better with the way the secondary is playing, but it's not the case. Nebraska run defense can still use some work when teams decide to run right at them. The holes are just too big and the linebackers aren't filling them. Tackling was an issue against Texas. Rickey Thenarse especially needs to work on wrapping up after failing to bring down the ball carrier twice. Other than that, they're in pretty good shape.
Outlook:
Nebraska is going to come out of the Texas game with a renewed sense of urgency, purpose, and the need to prove to everyone again, that they are indeed for real. I'm not sure Oklahoma State can possibly know what's coming into Stillwater this week. Bo Pelini will have his guys fired up and looking for blood. I expect them to shock Okie State. They've got Missouri after that. Mizzou is playing some good football, especially on defense. But Nebraska has their number. They finish off their schedule with Iowa State, Kansas, Texas A&M, and Colorado who have a combined record of 11-14. Nebraska 'should' win those four.
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