The morning after

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

I thought we would lose to Michigan in a close game and we did. Not saying this to brag, but to highlight why I am not crushed by this loss. Disappointed? Hell yes. We once again had a chance to beat a ranked team and pissed it away. But I am not despondent. Some takeaways:
1. We are close. We are a good team. Now we need to finish strong.
2. After Iowa got lucky (Sean Clifford was ripping them) and beat PSU there was little hope of us winning the West anyway. So now we play for a bowl invite. I just hope the players don’t lose heart.
3. Martinez reminds me of Tommy Armstrong because, like Armstrong, it is feast or famine. Tommy was an incredible athlete and made some amazing plays. He was also a turnover machine and often made brain fart mistakes. Ditto Martinez. He was good enough last night to win that game for us. He also lost it for us with that stupid as hell fumble. Just like his interception in overtime against MSU. Inexcusable.
4. Our play calling was, once again, puzzling and frustrating. We wasted too many plays trying to run Rahmir up the gut and right into Michigan’s greatest strength: defensive line run stopping. And why was Yant not used more, especially inside the 10? In my opinion our tight ends were also under utilized. Maybe Michigan had them covered. I don’t know. I also wonder why we did not run more option plays. They were working. Fear of turnovers perhaps? Finally, I know rolling out your QB on designed rpo plays cuts the field in half and limits throwing options. But crimony, Martinez is our best running threat and often busts long running plays. Granted, that is usually when he is scrambling to avoid the rush, but I still think rolling him out could have sprung him loose.
5. I bet at the end of the game Frost wished he had kicked the field goal on our first drive. Culp has settled down and my hunch is he would have made it. Still… part of me likes the fact we went for it. Make a statement early. Hindsight is 20/20.
6. Our defense clearly got tired. So did theirs. It was a physical game. But it does make me wonder if our defensive line depth is as improved as we have been led to believe.
7. We will lose to Ohio State. That will give us five losses. But we have the ability to go 7-5 and make some noise. I hope Iowa keeps winning. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than ruining their perfect season on Black Friday. They have a good defense. But Clifford was killing them until he got injured. In my opinion, had he not gotten hurt PSU would have won by two touchdowns. So Iowa is beatable.
8. If we finish strong, losing only to OSU, and perhaps Iowa, we end 6-6. If we do I think Frost stays. We have a ton of players coming back next year. And an easier schedule.
8. Don’t lose heart Husker nation! GBR!

 

[glaciersx]

Frost deserves to stay unless we drop all remaining games. we are not going to get better by hitting reset again. let the ball roll.

 

[tro80]

IMO, next year all depends on whether AM comes back. If he does it will be de ja vu all over again; another season full of ifs and buts and aunts with balls.

 

[WHCSC]

I thought we would lose to Michigan in a close game and we did. Not saying this to brag, but to highlight why I am not crushed by this loss. Disappointed? Hell yes. We once again had a chance to beat a ranked team and pissed it away. But I am not despondent. Some takeaways:
1. We are close. We are a good team. Now we need to finish strong.
2. After Iowa got lucky (Sean Clifford was ripping them) and beat PSU there was little hope of us winning the West anyway. So now we play for a bowl invite. I just hope the players don’t lose heart.
3. Martinez reminds me of Tommy Armstrong because, like Armstrong, it is feast or famine. Tommy was an incredible athlete and made some amazing plays. He was also a turnover machine and often made brain fart mistakes. Ditto Martinez. He was good enough last night to win that game for us. He also lost it for us with that stupid as hell fumble. Just like his interception in overtime against MSU. Inexcusable.
4. Our play calling was, once again, puzzling and frustrating. We wasted too many plays trying to run Rahmir up the gut and right into Michigan’s greatest strength: defensive line run stopping. And why was Yant not used more, especially inside the 10? In my opinion our tight ends were also under utilized. Maybe Michigan had them covered. I don’t know. I also wonder why we did not run more option plays. They were working. Fear of turnovers perhaps? Finally, I know rolling out your QB on designed rpo plays cuts the field in half and limits throwing options. But crimony, Martinez is our best running threat and often busts long running plays. Granted, that is usually when he is scrambling to avoid the rush, but I still think rolling him out could have sprung him loose.
5. I bet at the end of the game Frost wished he had kicked the field goal on our first drive. Culp has settled down and my hunch is he would have made it. Still… part of me likes the fact we went for it. Make a statement early. Hindsight is 20/20.
6. Our defense clearly got tired. So did theirs. It was a physical game. But it does make me wonder if our defensive line depth is as improved as we have been led to believe.
7. We will lose to Ohio State. That will give us five losses. But we have the ability to go 7-5 and make some noise. I hope Iowa keeps winning. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than ruining their perfect season on Black Friday. They have a good defense. But Clifford was killing them until he got injured. In my opinion, had he not gotten hurt PSU would have won by two touchdowns. So Iowa is beatable.
8. If we finish strong, losing only to OSU, and perhaps Iowa, we end 6-6. If we do I think Frost stays. We have a ton of players coming back next year. And an easier schedule.
8. Don’t lose heart Husker nation! GBR!

AM was held up and stripped. Not his fault.

 

[Husker88]

We played great last night. Good enough to win. Beating good teams is hard, and we are knocking on the door.

We can play with and beat anybody on our schedule. Competing in games like this is a huge step forward. I hate saying we are close, but we really are.

That was the best OL/DL combo we'll face all year, and we stood up pretty well against them. I see Michigan as the B10 favorites right now.

@ Minnesota in 6 days. They got a BYE this week, so will be healthy and ready.

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

IMO, next year all depends on whether AM comes back. If he does it will be de ja vu all over again; another season full of ifs and buts and aunts with balls.

That is possible. I think Martinez has hit his ceiling. In my opinion, Frost should hit the QB transfer portal. But he won’t. I think he is happy with his QB room.

 

[BHeinDaHuskers]

Frost said Yant was benched for going wrong way on a play. I guess some guys can play forever while making mistakes & others are never allowed to make a single one. This is another reason why I believe Frost will never be a.good head coach at Nebraska, he plays favorites.

 

[Joedaly]

The playcalling was puzzling. I'm not sure why Frost was using Rahmir up the middle when we have big guys like Yant and Stepp. Maybe he was hoping that Rahmir would be able to break a long run if he got free compared to just pounding the big guys.

I'm not sure Frost trusts himself or his players enough yet and still has too much ego that is hurting him from making better decisions. He also throws people under the bus and plays favorites. If he can't improve and learn from those things, then he won't last much longer here.

We should beat Purdue and Minnesota. Iowa and Wisconsin are beatable. Best case scenario we end up 7-5. If Frost shoots himself in the foot again, worst case is losing those four games and having half the board want him gone.

 

[antirowboat]

All I wanted to see this season, besides wins, is just seeing progress happening. It's Frost's roster now, his developed players, his adjusted schemes now that he has been in the Big Ten for 3 years, etc, and we are finally now starting to see more consistent play, fewer mistakes happening, schemes have been adjusted, etc. It's great to finally see the right changes happening.

Now the program just needs to start winning. All of the adjustments, better mental prep, etc,....all of that had to happen first.

I'm very happy today. I feel good about the future now.

 

[Husker88]

IMO, next year all depends on whether AM comes back. If he does it will be de ja vu all over again; another season full of ifs and buts and aunts with balls.

We lose by 2 or 3 TDs last night without Martinez. He is the toughest QB in the conference to defend as he can make big plays down the field and with his feet. No other QB in this conference is that kind of threat.

 

[dand84]

You are like a battered wife who stays too long. I see the same excuses in this thread I’ve been seeing since day 1 after the first CU game. The simple fact is HCSF lost again. He got out coached again. He made the same stupid mistakes he has been making since his first game here. We got to watch a QB that does not perform in big games lead his team to another loss. Same as always, year after year. Bottom line is that this is another HCSF signature loss.

 

[antirowboat]

You are like a battered wife who stays too long. I see the same excuses in this thread I’ve been seeing since day 1 after the first CU game. The simple fact is HCSF lost again. He got out coached again. He made the same stupid mistakes he has been making since his first game here. We got to watch a QB that does not perform in big games lead his team to another loss. Same as always, year after year. Bottom line is that this is another HCSF signature loss.

What excuses? You can't see the improvement happening?

 

[RiLLLLLLLLey]

AM was held up and stripped. Not his fault.

Don't forget about that Michigan douchebag DL who straight-up did a handiman jump at Martinez's knees.

 

[Husker88]

You are like a battered wife who stays too long. I see the same excuses in this thread I’ve been seeing since day 1 after the first CU game. The simple fact is HCSF lost again. He got out coached again. He made the same stupid mistakes he has been making since his first game here. We got to watch a QB that does not perform in big games lead his team to another loss. Same as always, year after year. Bottom line is that this is another HCSF signature loss.

We were down 13-0 at half against a Top 10 team last night and absolutely nothing was going our way.

Bad and poorly coached teams simply roll over and die at that point.

This team fought and scratched their way back and took the lead. Yes, we're all tired of losing close games and making excuses nearly every Saturday.

This is a good football team. A foundation is being built.

 

[RiLLLLLLLLey]

You are like a battered wife who stays too long. I see the same excuses in this thread I’ve been seeing since day 1 after the first CU game. The simple fact is HCSF lost again. He got out coached again. He made the same stupid mistakes he has been making since his first game here. We got to watch a QB that does not perform in big games lead his team to another loss. Same as always, year after year. Bottom line is that this is another HCSF signature loss.

I would agree with you about the coaching in most other circumstances this season. This one wasn't on Frost. I thought it was a well-coached game. And, seriously, if you think the officiating didn't f*ck us last night, then I don't know what to tel you. We can't use the benefit of hindsight (fg) this time.

 

[Redscarlet]

I’m still pissed when it was 6-0 and Michigan was handed a gift with a pass interference call that was clearly not a interference call… Officials made terrible calls most of the night and plenty had to be over turned.,.

In my whole entire life I’ve never heard of a joint position call on the fumbled punt what a joke..

 

[Clevinger_rivals246724]

Frost said Yant was benched for going wrong way on a play. I guess some guys can play forever whole making mistakes & others are never allowed to make a single one. This is another reason why I believe Frost will never be a.good head coach at Nebraska, he plays favorites.

Like our center?

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

Like our center?

Good analogy a year ago. But not this year so much.

 

[Clevinger_rivals246724]

Good analogy a year ago. But not this year so much.

I just see him as the classic example, alongside Martinez, as a Frost favorite that had the opportunity for endless mistakes.

I thought we could have used Yant last night.

 

[tro80]

We lose by 2 or 3 TDs last night without Martinez. He is the toughest QB in the conference to defend as he can make big plays down the field and with his feet. No other QB in this conference is that kind of threat.

either you win or you lose. AM will finish as the all time losingest four year starting quarterback of all time for a reason. Another year is more of the same, and he won’t have the defense he has this year to keep us in games

 

[redwine65]

there has to be a morning after

 

[otismotis08]

I am at peace with this team. We are highly competitive and fun to watch. Losing sucks but sucking altogether is not watchable.

 

[Cedric_rivals191091]

I thought we would lose to Michigan in a close game and we did. Not saying this to brag, but to highlight why I am not crushed by this loss. Disappointed? Hell yes. We once again had a chance to beat a ranked team and pissed it away. But I am not despondent. Some takeaways:
1. We are close. We are a good team. Now we need to finish strong.
2. After Iowa got lucky (Sean Clifford was ripping them) and beat PSU there was little hope of us winning the West anyway. So now we play for a bowl invite. I just hope the players don’t lose heart.
3. Martinez reminds me of Tommy Armstrong because, like Armstrong, it is feast or famine. Tommy was an incredible athlete and made some amazing plays. He was also a turnover machine and often made brain fart mistakes. Ditto Martinez. He was good enough last night to win that game for us. He also lost it for us with that stupid as hell fumble. Just like his interception in overtime against MSU. Inexcusable.
4. Our play calling was, once again, puzzling and frustrating. We wasted too many plays trying to run Rahmir up the gut and right into Michigan’s greatest strength: defensive line run stopping. And why was Yant not used more, especially inside the 10? In my opinion our tight ends were also under utilized. Maybe Michigan had them covered. I don’t know. I also wonder why we did not run more option plays. They were working. Fear of turnovers perhaps? Finally, I know rolling out your QB on designed rpo plays cuts the field in half and limits throwing options. But crimony, Martinez is our best running threat and often busts long running plays. Granted, that is usually when he is scrambling to avoid the rush, but I still think rolling him out could have sprung him loose.
5. I bet at the end of the game Frost wished he had kicked the field goal on our first drive. Culp has settled down and my hunch is he would have made it. Still… part of me likes the fact we went for it. Make a statement early. Hindsight is 20/20.
6. Our defense clearly got tired. So did theirs. It was a physical game. But it does make me wonder if our defensive line depth is as improved as we have been led to believe.
7. We will lose to Ohio State. That will give us five losses. But we have the ability to go 7-5 and make some noise. I hope Iowa keeps winning. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than ruining their perfect season on Black Friday. They have a good defense. But Clifford was killing them until he got injured. In my opinion, had he not gotten hurt PSU would have won by two touchdowns. So Iowa is beatable.
8. If we finish strong, losing only to OSU, and perhaps Iowa, we end 6-6. If we do I think Frost stays. We have a ton of players coming back next year. And an easier schedule.
8. Don’t lose heart Husker nation! GBR!

Glad to hear this from you. You've really been negative lately

 

[z28craz]

I’m encouraged. I hate to say it, but this is OJT for Frost. We may think NU is not an OJT gig, but that’s what we have with Frost and it seems he’s starting to figure it out. This team is literally a step away from a breakthrough. A breakthrough big enough to put us in the Top 25 and talking about a trip to Indy. After the Illinois game I thought this season was a flop and Frost would be gone. But based on the last 4 weeks, this team is turning the corner and I think Frost is going to get the opportunity to complete the turn. Get to 6-6, get a bowl and the extra practice. And we’re in position to make some serious noise next year.

 

[BringItOnHome]

I’m encouraged. I hate to say it, but this is OJT for Frost. We may think NU is not an OJT gig, but that’s what we have with Frost and it seems he’s starting to figure it out. This team is literally a step away from a breakthrough. A breakthrough big enough to put us in the Top 25 and talking about a trip to Indy. After the Illinois game I thought this season was a flop and Frost would be gone. But based on the last 4 weeks, this team is turning the corner and I think Frost is going to get the opportunity to complete the turn. Get to 6-6, get a bowl and the extra practice. And we’re in position to make some serious noise next year.

I'd like to think the same thing as you do about next year, but we're losing a lot of guys on defense that will be hard to replace. If we go backward on D, I just don't think the O will be able to make up for it. Maybe more confidence helps them win 1-2 of these close games, but I wouldn't expect us to challenge for the west just yet.

If Smothers is our QB next year, then I think we go backward on both sides of the ball which makes getting to a bowl game a reasonable goal. Bummer.

 

[timnsun]

My two cents… I was nervous all day leading up to the game, and was waiting for the 2-3 TD loss. This is now 4 games in a row where we have given ourselves a chance to win. 1-3 sucks in those games, but we will be in every game the rest of the way, winning more than we lose.

I’m as disappointed as everyone else, but man, I’m also excited about the direction. I know, we lost again, just like we have every other loss. It doesn’t appear as if anything has changed. But the eyes don’t lie, and against 3 undefeated top 10 teams we went absolutely toe to toe with them. We are close. Let Frost see if he can complete the turn.

 

[timnsun]

I'd like to think the same thing as you do about next year, but we're losing a lot of guys on defense that will be hard to replace. If we go backward on D, I just don't think the O will be able to make up for it. Maybe more confidence helps them win 1-2 of these close games, but I wouldn't expect us to challenge for the west just yet.

If Smothers is our QB next year, then I think we go backward on both sides of the ball which makes getting to a bowl game a reasonable goal. Bummer.

My response is our offense put up 29 points against a very good defense last night. The offense does look better. Loads better. If AM is gone, can Smothers be what AM is for us now? Maybe not, but the rest of the offense returns, which is a bonus.

 

[GeorgeFlippin]

The losses to OU and Mich State were ones where this team could have folded but didn’t, we saw that again last night. Now it will be interesting to see if the team starts to lose that fire we saw I last night, or they keep that edge and battle hard again this coming weekend.

 

[swihawkeye]

We played great last night. Good enough to win. Beating good teams is hard, and we are knocking on the door.

We can play with and beat anybody on our schedule. Competing in games like this is a huge step forward. I hate saying we are close, but we really are.

That was the best OL/DL combo we'll face all year, and we stood up pretty well against them. I see Michigan as the B10 favorites right now.

@ Minnesota in 6 days. They got a BYE this week, so will be healthy and ready.

Gophers have no chance with their #2 RB in there. Mohamed Ibrahim was a monster. They haven't been the same without him. Huskers will blow them out.

 

[timnsun]

I’ve watched every home game for minnesota this year, and unless we lay an egg next week, I think we will more than take care of business against minnesota. They have not been impressive in games against bowling green and Miami of Ohio. Yes, they blew out Colorado at Colorado. But they don’t look good, especially without Ibrahim. Their backup running back has been hospitalized in Indiana for the last week as well, due to a mystery illness.

I hope I don’t jinx it, but I have a good feeling for next week. And I’ll be at the game cheering loud!

 

[timnsun]

Gophers have no chance with their #2 RB in there. Mohamed Ibrahim was a monster. They haven't been the same without him. Huskers will blow them out.

Trey Potts was hospitalized for a week in Indiana after the Purdue game. Moved back to twin cities Friday. Not sure what’s going on there. But I doubt he plays next week.

 

[Headcard]

You are like a battered wife who stays too long. I see the same excuses in this thread I’ve been seeing since day 1 after the first CU game. The simple fact is HCSF lost again. He got out coached again. He made the same stupid mistakes he has been making since his first game here. We got to watch a QB that does not perform in big games lead his team to another loss. Same as always, year after year. Bottom line is that this is another HCSF signature loss.

So do you think the best thing for Nebraska is to fire Frost? I ask because when I see posts like those that it my assumption, but it often isn’t the case. I feel like we either need to support him or move on from him.

 

[Headcard]

Gophers have no chance with their #2 RB in there. Mohamed Ibrahim was a monster. They haven't been the same without him. Huskers will blow them out.

Man I hope you are right.

 

[swihawkeye]

either you win or you lose. AM will finish as the all time losingest four year starting quarterback of all time for a reason. Another year is more of the same, and he won’t have the defense he has this year to keep us in games

He better transfer to Iowa then...

 

[9and4_rivals188421]

He better transfer to Iowa then...

Nobody looks good in yellow, not even Adrian.

 

[timnsun]

Mum’s the word on the backup RB in Minnesota…

Potts injured…

 

[BCDHawk]

IMO, next year all depends on whether AM comes back. If he does it will be de ja vu all over again; another season full of ifs and buts and aunts with balls.

Who will replace AM? Wasn't AM hand selected by Frost to build this offense around?

 

[timnsun]

Who will replace AM? Wasn't AM hand selected by Frost to build this offense around?

This is college. They don’t last forever. AM will be gone either next year or the following year. Next man up after that.

 

[oldjar07]

Frost deserves to stay unless we drop all remaining games. we are not going to get better by hitting reset again. let the ball roll.

Frost is a loser head coach with a loser quarterback. We're not winning games against good teams until they're gone.

 

[ivan brunetti]

Gophers have no chance with their #2 RB in there. Mohamed Ibrahim was a monster. They haven't been the same without him. Huskers will blow them out.

Yeah, I think if Nebraska plays to their ability and doesn't turn the ball over, you beat Minny by 20+. Although, the Gophers are this weird team that looks like Northwestern one week and then like Iowa the next.