The Good
1. Colandrea is legit. Let's pause and just say how much more FUN he is to watch then DR. This kid is a gamer, keeps plays alive, has good feet and feels like he will give us a chance even against the great teams. There will be mistakes down the road due to him pushing the envelope - but I love this kid. College QB's should be able to do a lot of things - what a better room than having the statue back there.
2. WR's improved. So many on the board flipped out about the drops last week. I get it, but think the outrage was overdone. I didn't worry about it. 1, 2, and 3 (and Luke) are a good group. Mills and Clark off the bench bring added juice. Love that Colandrea will sling it downfield to these guys, where DR was so hesitant or unwilling to do so. Barney needs to dance less, but meh. He's good and led the team tonight.
3. Athleticism and Confidence improved: I'm not referring to the domination of a lesser team here. I'm referring to a team that looked faster and more confident in their roles and the schemes than last week. Last week we looked like a pretty slow team IMO and I wondered where the athletes were. Tonight - irregardless of the opponent, we had guys flying around and playing faster than last week. I'd still like Dawson Merritt to get more snaps. ATHLETE.
The Bad:
1. 3rd quarter. Good grief. I don't want to hear excuses that the game was in the bag. That was pathetic. It's like the staff and half the players forgot to come out for the 2nd half. Flat and ugly. PTSD that Rhule teams struggle to put in 4 great quarters even against a horrible team.
2. Penalties: I still don't like it. 9 last week, 7 this week, the national average is 5.5. Not a horrible problem but a steady problem that I don't trust Rhule to clean up anytime soon. I hope he proves me wrong.
3. Rule's carries: I admit I'm reaching here. This was a fun and positive night for Nebraska football - so my only request is to fulfill my thirst for more of this kid. 8 carries is light. They'll come....soon. Nelson is a nice compliment to Rule and makes for a quality 1-2 punch.
Overall: I want to give Geep his due with the OL, but it's too early for that. Won't know until the competition is better. But the OL already looks different even against light competition.
56 points is amazing - and YES, even against a lightweight. So many Husker seasons we would score less than 30 or 35 against a team like this. Dana loves his new QB and what he can do with the playbook now.