Tag: Nebraska Cornhuskers

Big Ten, big ’20s: Nebraska football

Nebraska football in the 2020s

When considering the biggest question facing Nebraska Cornhuskers football in the 2020s, the focus naturally shifts to Scott Frost. Will the favored son, the people all Husker fans loved for a long time, be the man who can turn around the program?

It is true that Nebraska fans will embrace a revival no matter how it comes, but it would obviously mean so much more if the Huskers can return to prominence under Frost, whose return to Lincoln a few years ago was met with universal enthusiasm — not just because he had just conquered college football at UCF, but because he was a Nebraska man who played for a national championship team under Tom Osborne and therefore represents a strong connection to Nebraska’s glory days. Emotion, nostalgia, sentimentality, and coaching quality (at UCF) were all part of the euphoria felt in the Nebraska community when Mama called, and Frost came home.

Here we are, two seasons into the Frost era, and Nebraska hasn’t yet made a bowl game under Frost. Moreover, Nebraska didn’t make a bowl game this year even though Northwestern and Purdue endured brutal seasons in the Big Ten West. What happens when the Wildcats and Boilermakers improve, as they almost surely will? Plus, Minnesota now seems to be a factor in the Big Ten West, another impediment to Nebraska’s rise. Nebraska’s ceiling is, at least at the moment, very low.

How will Frost raise that ceiling? One answer comes from Parrish Walton, who said on a podcast with me that Nebraska needs to recruit the state of Ohio better and get the kinds of players Ohio State doesn’t want. Kentucky has been getting a number of those players to stay relevant (and a bowl team) in the SEC. Nebraska, Walton says, would do well to adjust its recruiting strategy in that and other ways.

That ultimately leads me to the central question for Nebraska football entering the 2020s: It’s not so much whether Frost himself leads a revival; it’s more about whether a revival will happen under any coach or any set of circumstances. The key is finding a recruiting formula which works.

Ever since the move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, Nebraska’s recruiting in the state of Texas has fallen off. Nebraska wasn’t competing with Texas A&M or Texas for recruits anymore. Finding the right path in recruiting and getting better “dudes” is the key challenge the Cornhuskers need to respond to if they want happy days to return to Lincoln, under Scott Frost or anyone else.

10 for 20: Nebraska basketball

Nebrasketball in the 2020s

For decades, Nebraska had an advantage over Northwestern in the realm of college basketball. Sure, Nebraska was not a Big Ten member until the start of this decade, but even as a Big Eight and then Big 12 program, Nebraska — in a head-to-head comparison with Northwestern — was objectively better and more successful than the Wildcats. Nebraska had made the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern had not.

Then came 2017. Northwestern not only made its first NCAA Tournament; the Wildcats then won their first NCAA Tournament game over Vanderbilt before losing to Gonzaga in the round of 32. Suddenly, in the battle of the two “NUs,” (that’s a real debate, by the way, over which “NU” is the REAL NU when Northwestern and Nebraska fans are in the same room…) Northwestern had overtaken Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are now the ONLY Power Five conference program without an NCAA Tournament victory. It defies all description. It doesn’t seem remotely possible. Yet, it is true, and that is the big challenge facing Nebrasketball in the coming decade of Big Ten hoops.

Remember this about Nebraska on the hardwood: The Cornhuskers were once a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They were not only supposed to win their 3-versus-14 first-round game; they had a real shot to make the Sweet 16 and do some damage in their bracket. However, coach Danny Nee’s team was ambushed by one of the masters of the NCAA Tournament upset in that era of college basketball history, Xavier’s Pete Gillen. Nebraska was a 6 seed in 1994, but No. 11 seed Pennsylvania knocked off the Huskers in Long Island, New York. Not once since the creation of the NCAA Tournament in 1939 has Nebrasketball been able to get over this particular roadblock.

This season, Nebraska is in complete rebuilding mode. The Huskers did just beat Purdue, but their collection of really bad early-season losses makes them highly unlikely to reach the Big Dance this coming March. Nevertheless, optimism runs high in Lincoln. Fred Hoiberg had an unpleasant tenure as the coach of the Chicago Bulls. He is back in his natural ecosystem, college basketball, coaching Nebraska after previously guiding Iowa State to the Sweet 16. It does seem like only a matter of time before Nebraska, under Hoiberg, wins that elusive first NCAA Tournament game. Yet, given how snake-bitten Nebraska has been, one should always allow for the possibility that a banana peel could emerge in the middle of the road, and that Nebraska might slip on it.

Great Wisconsin moments of the 2010s: 2015 Nebraska

Wisconsin-Nebraska 2015

Beating Minnesota yet again in 2015 — continuing what was then a 12-game winning streak over the Golden Gophers — certainly rated as a big highlight of Wisconsin’s 2015 season, the first under Paul Chryst. The best win might have been over USC in the Holiday Bowl, a game we looked at as part of our bowl memories series at Badgers Wire.

Yet, if one was to identify the most important win of the year — at least in terms of giving the program a continued sense of stability, something Badger fans have come to count on ever since Barry Alvarez established a true foothold — the win at Nebraska is probably the best answer.

Remember the 2012 season, the last one under Bret Bielema? That 2012 team did lose a bunch of games, but it wasn’t a 6-6 team which missed out on the Big Ten Championship Game in a year when Ohio State wasn’t eligible for postseason play. Wisconsin took advantage of the opportunity other Big Ten teams could have pounced on, but didn’t. That Wisconsin team found a measure of stability by beating Utah State early in the season. We noted that Wisconsin had just lost a 10-7 game to Oregon State and needed a confidence boost.

What might have happened if the Badgers hadn’t beaten Utah State in 2012? One shudders to think of the answer. It was similar in 2015 with the Nebraska game.

The week before going to Lincoln, Wisconsin lost 10-6 at home to Iowa, the team which would make its only Big Ten Championship Game appearance to date on the strength of that victory in Madison. Wisconsin might not have won the Big Ten West in 2015 had it beaten Nebraska, but in terms of maintaining the Barry Alvarez Wisconsin standard in Paul Chryst’s first season, that road trip to Lincoln was immensely important.

It was hardly an easy ride. Wisconsin was outrushed, 196-147. Joel Stave threw 50 (!) passes and completed only 24. Kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed two field goals… but he made the one that counted, a clutch 46-yard boot with 1:03 left for a 23-21 lead. The defense was able to thwart Nebraska in the final minute and preserve the kind of win which tells a first-year coach, “Hey, my kids will go to the wall for me. We got this.”

A total of 50 months have come and gone since that game. Paul Chryst has Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and a very solid place. Yes, I’d say 2015 Nebraska was a darn important game in the past decade of Badger football.

Great Wisconsin moments from the 2010s: 2011 Nebraska

The 2011 Wisconsin-Nebraska game

We already wrote about the 2011 Big Ten Championship Game here at Badgers Wire, recalling the first time the Big Ten moved to two divisions and played a neutral-site conference championship showdown in Indianapolis. Russell Wilson starred in that game, the biggest win of Wisconsin’s 2011 season. The victory sent the Badgers to the Rose Bowl, where they played the Oregon Ducks.

Hey, that sounds familiar. Wisconsin will do that all over again when it reunites with Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl.

On the road to Pasadena, Wisconsin needed to beat Michigan State in Indianapolis. Before that, however, the other especially great moment from the 2011 UW regular season was Nebraska’s first-ever conference game as a member of the Big Ten.

Nebraska lost to Oklahoma in the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska’s next conference game was in Camp Randall Stadium roughly 10 months later, on October 1, 2011. This wasn’t an ease-your-way-into-the-Big-Ten opener for Nebraska, against Illinois or pre-Jeff-Brohm Purdue. This was Wisconsin, the Big Ten co-champion from 2010 which was reloading and would eventually put two players — Russell Wilson and Montee Ball — in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting for the 2011 season.

This was a sexy game played under the lights in prime time. How would Nebraska answer the moment, and how would Wisconsin welcome the new member of the Big Ten?

After 17 and a half minutes, Nebraska had to like its chances. The Huskers survived the early storm and took a 14-7 lead with 12:45 left before halftime. It was reasonable at that time to expect a closely fought game. Nebraska was the runner-up in the Big 12 in 2010. This was not the NU program we see today under Scott Frost; the Huskers weren’t an elite team, but they were very good at the start of the decade.

In many ways, this game contained powerful symbolism as a harbinger of what was to come: The roof caved in.

Wisconsin scored 20 points in the second quarter to take a 27-14 lead. Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez threw three interceptions to fuel the Badgers’ surge. Wilson, in the first really big game of his Wisconsin career after transferring from North Carolina State, didn’t throw a ton of passes (20), but the ones he completed were big gainers. Wilson’s 14 completions went for 255 yards, or just over 18 yards per completion. Wilson hit Jared Abbrederis on a 36-yard touchdown pass, and Nick Toon on a 46-yard scoring strike, to blow the game open. Before the third quarter was over, Wisconsin had built a 41-14 lead. The Badgers had scored 34 straight points. Nebraska’s Big Ten opener had turned into a clear and vivid sign of what was to come in the remainder of the decade for the Cornhuskers.

In the fourth quarter of the blowout — the final score was 48-17 — Wisconsin fans serenaded Nebraska with a simple chant. It didn’t need to be any more complicated:

“BIG TEN FOOT-BALL! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!”

“BIG TEN FOOT-BALL! CLAP CLAP! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!”

That was a mic-drop moment for Wisconsin football, part of a very successful decade for the Badgers on the gridiron.

CFB 150: Top college football dynasties

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg discusses three college football dynasties that stand out from the past 150 years.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg discusses three college football dynasties that stand out from the past 150 years.

Iowa kicker drills 48-yard game-winner, wags finger at Nebraska bench

This kicker is savage.

With bowl eligibility on the line, Nebraska erased a 14-point deficit at home against No. 17 Iowa on Friday, but a field goal in the final seconds by Iowa’s Keith Duncan dashed the Cornhuskers’ postseason hopes. Duncan, who hit a 49-yarder earlier in the game, drilled a 48-yard game-winner with just one second remaining on the clock – after being iced by Nebraska coach Scott Frost – to seal the Hawkeyes’ ninth win of the season.

In a savage move, Duncan celebrated his kick by wagging his finger at the Nebraska bench, Dikembe Mutombo style, and then blowing his opponents a kiss.

According the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow, Duncan was informed that he will become a scholarship athlete after the game.

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Iowa at Nebraska odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Friday’s Iowa Hawkeyes at Nebraska Cornhuskers sports betting odds and lines, with college football betting picks and best bets.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten West) do battle with the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-6, 3-5) Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET in Lincoln, Neb. We analyze the Iowa-Nebraska odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Iowa at Nebraska: Three things you need to know

1. The Cornhuskers need a victory or they’re going to be home for the holidays rather than bowling.

2. Iowa ranks 13th in total yards allowed (306.5), and it’s 19th in the nation against the pass (191.3), 22nd in rushing yards allowed (115.2) and fifth in points allowed (12.2 PPG).

3. After starting out 2-5 against the spread, Iowa has posted a 3-1 ATS mark across the past four. The Under is 8-1-1 across the past 10 after an Over result in the opener vs. Miami (Ohio).

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Iowa at Nebraska: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 3:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Iowa 26, Nebraska 18

Moneyline (ML)

Iowa (-228) should be able to pull off its ninth victory of the season while securing a spot in an upper-tier bowl game. Nebraska (+185) handled a defensively-challenged Maryland side last week to give itself a chance at a bowl trip, but Iowa is a great defensive club which will give the ‘Huskers fits. Nebraska has just one victory against winning teams this season, and it’s 0-5 ATS in such situations.

New to sports betting? Every $1 wagered for Iowa to win outright will return a profit of $4.40.

Against the Spread (ATS)

IOWA (-5.5, -115) is a near-elite side, especially defensively, and Nebraska (+5.5, -106) won’t roll over the Hawkeyes like they did last weekend against the Terrapins. Iowa’s offense isn’t terrible, either, as QB Nate Stanley can make the throws to be a difference-maker.

Over/Under (O/U)

PASS. The projection of 44.5 is a strong total, and Iowa’s defense has me leaning to the Under. However, the over is 9-3 in Iowa’s past 12 road games, and 14-6-1 in Nebraska’s past 21 Big Ten affairs. The Over is also 5-1 in the past six meetings in this series.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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Why Wisconsin fans shouldn’t worry about the Nebraska performance

An explanation of why fans of the Wisconsin Badgers should put the performance against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in perspective.

Yes, the Wisconsin Badgers played below-average defense against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday. Yes, the Badgers’ defense is thin at safety, due to multiple injuries. Yes, backups are being thrown into the mix and can’t be expected to perform at the same standard established earlier in the season. Yes, other Big Ten teams seem to be improving while Wisconsin is treading water — surviving, but not really getting better.

Wisconsin’s best and most locked-in performances of 2019 came in the first half of the season. The second half — which included a week off, a time to hopefully sharpen some instincts and polish some imperfect habits — has not created a meaner defensive unit. Jack Coan is not making steady progress. He is also playing at the same B-minus/C-plus level he displayed against Illinois a few weeks ago. This team isn’t deteriorating, but neither is it peaking at the right time.

That last point is what I wish to explore: No, Wisconsin isn’t peaking… and that is part of why fans shouldn’t be too worried about what’s happening at the moment, two weeks before the huge Minnesota game which is likely to decide the Big Ten West. I will frame my argument around a larger reality which pervades the national scene in major college football.

Look at Georgia’s mid-October siesta, when the Bulldogs played two bad games in a row against South Carolina and Kentucky. Look at Ohio State basically taking the last three quarters off against Rutgers on Saturday. (Rutgers nearly played OSU even on the scoreboard for a few quarters, following OSU’s onslaught in the first 11 minutes.) Look at LSU giving up a ton of points to Ole Miss and a boatload of yards. Look at Clemson playing like a bored team in the first half of the year, especially versus North Carolina.

So many very good teams have played games or sequences of games (or both) in which they weren’t dialed in. Focus was lacking. Energy was inconsistent. This happens. This is NORMAL, not aberrational. Kids aren’t going to have the same razor-sharp focus every week.

Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney are better than most at getting relatively consistent performances from their teams each week, but they aren’t airtight gods. They still get at least one if not two games a year in which their players drift through a Saturday.

This, I submit, is what Wisconsin is going through now. Wisconsin was shaken by the Illinois loss and then kicked to the curb by Ohio State. This created an emotional tidal wave the Badgers are still absorbing. This team played with such confidence and decisiveness in the first half of the season that a two-game losing streak was a thunderclap of disruption. Wisconsin is still trying to find its bearings, and not being able to control its fate in the Big Ten West race might have played a small but real part in keeping this team depressed — maybe not to a huge extent, but small margins can matter when explaining why one-on-one tackles in open space are being missed instead of made.

Now that Wisconsin controls its fate in the Big Ten West once again, you might see this team perk up. You might see the vibrant, optimistic, relentless identity seen in September. It’s not a guarantee, but I think some Badgers are ready to come out of hibernation. Let’s see if this thesis is proven to be correct. If it IS correct, some Gophers are about to be pushed into a deep, dark hole on Nov. 30 in Minneapolis.

Twitter reactions: Wisconsin takes down Nebraska 37-21

Here are some of the most notable Twitter reactions from the Wisconsin Badgers’ 37-21 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Madison.

It wasn’t easy by any stretch, but No. 14 Wisconsin ultimately took care of business and earned its seventh straight victory over Nebraska, taking down the Cornhuskers 37-21 yesterday afternoon in Lincoln. As a result, the 8-2 Badgers remain in the hunt for a Big Ten West title with two games left to go.

The events that took place at Memorial Stadium yesterday elicited a flood of reactions and takes throughout the Twitterverse, both during the game and after. Here are some of the most notable:

With its confidence back after last week’s thrilling victory over Iowa in Madison, Wisconsin appeared to be in high spirits in pre-game warmups.

However, that mood didn’t last long.

After marching down the field with ease into Nebraska territory on their first drive of the game, Jack Coan threw an errant pass to Jonathan Taylor out of the backfield. The All-American running back managed to haul it in with a sensational one-handed grab, but just couldn’t hang on and got the ball knocked out. Nebraska recovered and quickly seized the game’s momentum, going up 7-0 on Wisconsin after running back Dedrick Mills’ 12-yard touchdown run.

Unfortunately for the Cornhuskers, Wisconsin kick returner Aron Cruickshank immediately took the wind out of their sails on the ensuing kickoff, taking the kick all the way back for an electrifying 89-yard touchdown and tying up the game once more. It was the speedy sophomore’s first return touchdown of his career, and likely will not be the last.

While Wisconsin would end up claiming victory, many Badger fans are understandably concerned about the performance of this defense moving forward. It gave up a total of 493 yards against the Cornhuskers, the most the Badgers have allowed since the 511 it gave up in last season’s matchup with Nebraska at Camp Randall. Most concerning were the 273 yards it gave up on the ground, including a whopping 188 on just 17 carries from Mills.

A key factor in the defense’s woes yesterday? Missed tackles. A lot of them.

Overall, the unit’s performance was reminiscent of its awful outings against Illinois and Ohio State, a major red flag with the regular-season finale against Minnesota that will likely decide the Big Ten West looming

The next major galvanizing moment from the Badgers following Cruickshank’s touchdown return came about midway through the second quarter. Down 14-10 after a 5-play, 73-yard touchdown drive from the Cornhuskers, Coan hit A.J. Taylor over the middle on an easy pass. The senior wide receiver proceeded to break multiple tackles and scamper all the way into the end zone. At 55 yards, it was the longest pass play for Wisconsin on the year, and it gave the Badgers the lead for good in this one.

Taylor’s reception was part of a broader effort from Paul Chryst and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph to get their weapons at wide receiver more involved in the offense this week, both to discourage Nebraska from loading the box against Jonathan Taylor and simply because they are talented playmakers.

Speaking of JT, he made history against the Cornhuskers by breaking the legendary Herschel Walker’s record for rushing yards in the first three years of a career on a run early in the fourth quarter.

Another week, another massive goal-line stop from this Wisconsin defense. Last week, it was Chris Orr stuffing Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to keep the Hawkeyes down 24-22.

This week, it was Reggie Pearson’s turn. The redshirt freshman safety essentially sealed the victory for Wisconsin by making an incredible tackle on Nebraska running back Wyatt Mazour on the one-yard line on a 4th-and-goal attempt.

That was an enormous play by Pearson, who had a fantastic day overall by leading the Badgers with ten tackles. However, as usual, the day belonged to Jonathan Taylor, who racked up over 200 yards against this Nebraska program for the third straight season. He finished with 204 and two touchdowns on 25 carries, bringing his career totals against the Cornhuskers to 644 yards and seven scores.

Nebraska deserves credit for giving the Badgers quite the scare, but Wisconsin managed to close out the Cornhuskers and maintain possession of the Freedom Trophy for the seventh straight time in this rivalry.

We’ll close with this gem from Oakland Raiders linebacker Will Compton, who played at Nebraska from 2009-12 and has some thoughts on Wisconsin’s dominance of this rivalry over the years that Badger fans should enjoy.

Wisconsin-Nebraska highlights the need for better tackling in space

Reviewing one aspect of the Wisconsin Badgers’ 37-21 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

It is true that the Wisconsin Badgers continue to be dogged by injuries. It is true that injuries matter, and that one shouldn’t expect the same high level of performance from backup players. Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, against Iowa, against Ohio State, this idea remains relevant and necessary.

One can question the performance of specific backups if they have gained a lot of snaps in the past, and have been demoted due to poor play. One can raise questions about the trajectory or development of specific players. Yet, for the most part, backups are backups for a reason, and starters are starters for a reason.

One thing starter-level players do better than backups is play sound assignment football. They aren’t out of position as often. They don’t get confused as often. They know where they are supposed to be. This point leads into an analysis of Wisconsin’s defense on Saturday against Nebraska.

One can note the injuries to UW’s defense and yet point out that a lot of the failures on this side of the ball are not flowing from defenders being out of position. Inexperience — due to Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson getting hurt on Saturday — certainly played a part in shaping this defensive performance. Those injuries are relevant in assessing the Badgers. However, they can’t be allowed to tell the whole story of this game against the Huskers.

Many times on Saturday, Wisconsin defenders weren’t out of position. They weren’t caught off guard. They weren’t failing to diagnose a given play or action. They simply didn’t make the tackle.

How many times on Saturday in Lincoln was a Wisconsin defender one-on-one with a Nebraska ballcarrier in open space, and unable to make a sure tackle? How many times did the Badgers have a chance to get off the field in third down, only to fail to make a play Jim Leonhard and Paul Chryst would expect them to deliver? How many times were linebackers or safeties wondering how a Nebraska rusher slipped away?

One can chalk up some of these missed tackles to inexperience, but a lot of them were much less about football IQ and more about not trusting one’s athleticism and instincts. Wisconsin can’t remain on its heels to this extent when it plays defense. What’s worse is that the Badgers’ poor fourth quarter against Iowa ought to have led to a lucid, energized display in the first 30 minutes against Nebraska. Yet, that first half was as poor a half as Wisconsin’s defense had played all season.

Has the depth chart on this team gotten a workout this season? Yes. Has there been a lot of injury-based attrition this season? Yes. However, Wisconsin defenders were in position to make plays against Nebraska, and they simply failed. Wisconsin got away with it this time. It won’t get away with it against a good opponent. The task is clear for the remainder of this season, especially against Minnesota in a few weeks.