Iceland12
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Though we tend to hold off on the numbers until their proper section of the column, here’s one that aptly summarizes where the Huskers sit: 13-43.
There are 16 Power Five conference defenses giving up more than 400 yards per game this season.
Their record against all the other Power Five teams is 13-43.
Nebraska is giving up 443.8 yards per game. Nebraska is 0-3 against Power Five teams.
Arizona is 1-2. Tennessee is 1-3. South Carolina is 1-4. Auburn is 1-2. Of those 16 teams, just one — Washington State — has a winning record against Power Five teams. The Cougars are 2-1, and they have beaten Oregon and Rutgers, who are also two of the 16 teams on the list. Wazzu also has a loss to Portland State.
This is not a foolproof stat every year. Oregon, for example, gave up more than 400 yards per game last year and played for the national title.
But you’d better hope you have a great offense to offset those defensive deficiencies.
And it was frankly too much to ask Nebraska’s new staff to have a great offense in 2015. Good? You hoped for that. Great? No...
Nebraska’s defense — celebrated by players before the season as simpler and more user-friendly — is ranked last nationally in passing yards allowed per game. NU is better when you break it down into yards per attempt — 7.7 yards, tied for 94th — but no offense, not even Wisconsin’s, respects Nebraska’s pass defense. And I’m not sure why you would, when so many routes are left unchallenged until receivers are 10 yards downfield.
Watching Saturday’s game again, I thought of that 2002 game against Texas, when NU’s defense was so outmatched by Texas’ offensive firepower that the Huskers essentially gave away 10-yard passes for free, hoping to make stops in the red zone. But 2002 Texas and 2015 Wisconsin aren’t the same beasts.
Why Nebraska’s secondary didn’t get up in the faces of Badger wideouts — and make Joel Stave throw into much tighter windows — is a question that hangs over several Husker games this year.
It hung over the first quarter of the Miami game, when the Hurricanes got two easy touchdowns on pitch-and-catch slant patterns. It hung over the fourth quarter of the Illinois game, when Illini receivers twice got behind defensive backs for back-breaking plays. And it hung over Saturday’s game. Wisconsin converted a third-and-15 on its first touchdown drive. Nebraska was flagged for pass interference on the Badgers’ second touchdown drive. You have NU defensive backs grabbing downfield in part because they were off the ball at the snap.
Maybe this defense is simpler. But against the pass, it’s not working yet. Maybe, in the next three weeks against bad passing teams, it will. It frankly must for defensive coordinator Mark Banker, who’s choosing to keep it positive.
“You know what’s great? We got things to work on,” Banker said. “We’re going to go out there — we wish we were doing it in another vein — and there are no moral victories. We’ve got to go back to work.”
Banker is a good quote and thoughtful guy. His unit has been stung by injuries.
But Nebraska’s secondary appears to lack confidence, tackling prowess and consistent ball skills. And if you’re going to put this much responsibility on the secondary — as Banker has chosen to — that unit has to respond in the fourth quarters of games when the front seven will naturally be tired by the wear and tear of a game.
http://www.omaha.com/huskers/mckewo...cle_e2952a6d-19d1-562e-b8c4-e97939d0e7e4.html
There are 16 Power Five conference defenses giving up more than 400 yards per game this season.
Their record against all the other Power Five teams is 13-43.
Nebraska is giving up 443.8 yards per game. Nebraska is 0-3 against Power Five teams.
Arizona is 1-2. Tennessee is 1-3. South Carolina is 1-4. Auburn is 1-2. Of those 16 teams, just one — Washington State — has a winning record against Power Five teams. The Cougars are 2-1, and they have beaten Oregon and Rutgers, who are also two of the 16 teams on the list. Wazzu also has a loss to Portland State.
This is not a foolproof stat every year. Oregon, for example, gave up more than 400 yards per game last year and played for the national title.
But you’d better hope you have a great offense to offset those defensive deficiencies.
And it was frankly too much to ask Nebraska’s new staff to have a great offense in 2015. Good? You hoped for that. Great? No...
Nebraska’s defense — celebrated by players before the season as simpler and more user-friendly — is ranked last nationally in passing yards allowed per game. NU is better when you break it down into yards per attempt — 7.7 yards, tied for 94th — but no offense, not even Wisconsin’s, respects Nebraska’s pass defense. And I’m not sure why you would, when so many routes are left unchallenged until receivers are 10 yards downfield.
Watching Saturday’s game again, I thought of that 2002 game against Texas, when NU’s defense was so outmatched by Texas’ offensive firepower that the Huskers essentially gave away 10-yard passes for free, hoping to make stops in the red zone. But 2002 Texas and 2015 Wisconsin aren’t the same beasts.
Why Nebraska’s secondary didn’t get up in the faces of Badger wideouts — and make Joel Stave throw into much tighter windows — is a question that hangs over several Husker games this year.
It hung over the first quarter of the Miami game, when the Hurricanes got two easy touchdowns on pitch-and-catch slant patterns. It hung over the fourth quarter of the Illinois game, when Illini receivers twice got behind defensive backs for back-breaking plays. And it hung over Saturday’s game. Wisconsin converted a third-and-15 on its first touchdown drive. Nebraska was flagged for pass interference on the Badgers’ second touchdown drive. You have NU defensive backs grabbing downfield in part because they were off the ball at the snap.
Maybe this defense is simpler. But against the pass, it’s not working yet. Maybe, in the next three weeks against bad passing teams, it will. It frankly must for defensive coordinator Mark Banker, who’s choosing to keep it positive.
“You know what’s great? We got things to work on,” Banker said. “We’re going to go out there — we wish we were doing it in another vein — and there are no moral victories. We’ve got to go back to work.”
Banker is a good quote and thoughtful guy. His unit has been stung by injuries.
But Nebraska’s secondary appears to lack confidence, tackling prowess and consistent ball skills. And if you’re going to put this much responsibility on the secondary — as Banker has chosen to — that unit has to respond in the fourth quarters of games when the front seven will naturally be tired by the wear and tear of a game.
http://www.omaha.com/huskers/mckewo...cle_e2952a6d-19d1-562e-b8c4-e97939d0e7e4.html
