and Colorado/Prime gets demolished.

Love it when a plan comes together…






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My weekly Monday look-back with 3 things that caught my eye, 3 things to watch this week and 5 best quotes of the week.

Includes offensive and defensive stats of the week, three questions for Rhule and this staff ahead of Michigan and a potential new nickname for this Nebraska style of football that sprang to my mind from my high school days.

CU should be leading the nation in sacks allowed and sack yardage (they were 2nd to last before 7 today). I don't see how Shadeur holds up over an entire season of getting crushed week in and week out.

Finishing this loaded weekend slate with a big-time conference showdown between No. 2 Nebraska (10-0) and No. 12 Minnesota (5-4) tonight at the Devaney Center. It's another late first serve as this match gets going at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

The result of this game won't derail the season for either the Huskers or Gophers, but it's a chance to build momentum that is mighty important in a brutal conference like the Big Ten. In my preview I predicted a close match and there's nothing to deter me from that prediction. Minnesota is coming off a harder-than-expected win over Iowa on the road. The Gophers needed five sets to dispatch the Hawkeyes as Taylor Landfair woke up from her early-season slump with a match-high 18 kills on a .405 clip. Setter Melani Shaffmaster was all over the court with 57 assists, 14 digs and eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage.

Nebraska comes off a dominant sweep over No. 21 Ohio State Friday at the Devaney Center. The Huskers hit .333 to record its fifth-straight game of hitting above .300 with Merritt Beason hammering a match-high 14 kills on a .458 clip. NU held the Buckeyes to a .090 team hitting percentage as All-American opposite Emily Londot was held to single-digit kills for the first time this season. Her final stat line was nine kills on 33 swings with eight errors. Here's that recap from Friday:


For a closer look at the Gophers, here's my preview of the weekend:


Head coach John Cook's What We Learned feature from earlier this week:


Then, the Players' Corner featuring Maisie Boesiger and Beason:

The score doesn't show how close that game really was and LT's athletes were by-and-large on par with ours. That kick return for a score that was called back was an indication of that.
The difference between the win yesterday and most every close, painful loss of the past 8-10 years is we finally look like a smart, hard-nosed team again that doesn't try to get cute in schemes or beat itself through stupidity. We won by 1) establishing the running game and using it to dominate the second half (and HH was a big factor in that) 2) No turnovers 3) Far fewer stupid penalties.
They were making the stupid personal foul penalties and we were not killing ourselves with turnovers. That's the difference between winning and losing games like this. We also have a good QB to run this offense in Heinrich Haarberg. I have zero doubt that if Sims would have started yesterday we would have lost that game, unless magically he improved in ball control and stopped staring down his receivers. It doesn't matter what physical attributes you have if you can't utilize them in a way that helps the team win.
I see no reason to return Sims to a starting role unless Haarberg starts to struggle. He's winning and playing smart and has the foot speed to go the distance. He's a serviceable passer and with more reps that should continue to improve.

He may or not be a great Husker QB by the end of this year, but I am willing to give him more than one game to judge him. Heck Scott Frost looked terrible in his second start as a Husker playing ASU. New offenses aren't easy for QBs to master quickly. Plus Sims OL is average and WRs probably below average. I hope you angry Husker fans have more patience with your family, friends, co-workers or employees than you do with Husker players and coaches trying their best in new system with limited talent. I think Rhule had some mistakes as did Sims but I will at least give them and the program some time. They deserve it!

Only change from last week to this week is as kick returner: Emmett Johnson listed as the starter with Tommi Hill and Alex Bullock at No. 2 and 3, respectively.

Top 5 Teams that have come to Lincoln in the 2000s:

2019 - #5 Ohio State - Unranked Nebraska lost 7-48
2015 - #3 Iowa - Unranked Nebraska lost 20-28
2008 - #4 Missouri - Unranked Nebraska lost 17-52
2007 - #1 USC - #14 ranked Nebraska lost 31-49
2006 - #5 Texas - #17 Nebraska lost 20-22
2001 - #3 Oklahoma - #2 Nebraska won 20-10

So what are your thoughts when Michigan comes to town?

I kind of like Huskers and points if defense comes to play. And a money line wager for home field.

None.

do you enjoy speculation?

i don't. i generally don't enjoy thinking about what could be, or what i think might happen, or what i hope might happen.

Penn St 26 favorite over NW
Terps 14 favorite over Hoosiers
Illinois/ Purdue PK
Ioway 10.5 favorite over Sparty.
Gophers 9.5 over Louisiana

Offensive Player of the Week
WR - Bryce Kirtz, Northwestern (SR)
- Picked up 10 receptions for 215 yards, the fourth-highest single-game receiving yard total in school history, and two touchdowns, as Northwestern overcame a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota 37-34 in overtime.
- Registered his touchdown grabs on receptions of 80 and 17 yards, with his 80-yard reception ranking tied for sixth for the longest pass play in school history
- On his second touchdown catch, Kirtz recorded a catch on all three plays of a drive that went three plays for 69 yards
- The three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree garners his first career Offensive Player of the Week award
- Last Northwestern Offensive Player of the Week: Ryan Hilkinski (Aug. 28, 2022)

Defensive Player of the Week
S - Lathan Ransom, Ohio State (SR)
- Recorded a career high in total tackles (13) and solo tackles (7) to lead the Ohio State defense in its 17-14 victory on the road over No. 9 Notre Dame Saturday
- Included in is total was combining on a fourth-and-one stop early in the third quarter with Ohio State leading 10-0
- Also recorded a quarterback hurry
- Earns the first Defensive Player of the Week honor of his career
- Last Ohio State Defensive Player of the Week: J.T. Tuimoloau (Oct. 31, 2022)

Special Teams Player of the Week
K - Nathanial Vakos, Wisconsin (SO)
- Was perfect in Wisconsin's win over Purdue, converting 3-of-3 extra points and 3-of-3 field goals
- Hit field goals from 38, 22 and 48 yards to help the Badgers pull away from the Boilermakers
- Becomes the only Big Ten kicker to have a perfect clip while attempting 5+ field goals this season and has made five field goals of 30+ yards on the season
- Garners the first Special Teams Player of the Week honor of his career
- Last Wisconsin Special Teams Player of the Week: Collin Larsh (Oct. 25, 2021)

Freshman of the Week
RB - Darius Taylor, Minnesota (FR)
- Had 216 all-purpose yards at Northwestern as he rushed for 198 yards and had 18 receiving yards
- Carried the ball 31 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns at Northwestern for his third straight game with more than 135 rushing yards
- Leads the Big Ten in rushing yards (532) and attempts (87), while tying for sixth in rushing yards per carry (6.1 ypc) and touchdowns (4)
- Earns the third Freshman of the Week honor of his career and third in as many weeks
- Last Minnesota Freshman of the Week: Darius Taylor (Sept. 18, 2023)

September 25
1513 - Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and sighted the Pacific Ocean.

1775 - Ethan Allen was captured by the British.

1789 - The first Congress adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The first ten became the Bill of Rights.

1890 - Wilford Woodruff, president of the Mormon Church, renounced the practice of polygamy. (This paved the way for Utah's acceptance as a state in 1896.)

1919 - President Woodrow Wilson collapsed after a speech in Pueblo, Colorado, during a national speaking tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

1956 - The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable officially went into service with a three-way ceremonial call between New York, Ottawa and London.

1957 - Nine black children were escorted into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas under heavily armed guard because of racial violence.

1978 - 144 people were killed when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 and a private plane collided over San Diego.

1981 - Sandra Day O'Conner was sworn in as the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court.

1992 - NASA's Mars Observer blasted off on a $980 million mission to the red planet (the probe disappeared just before entering Martian orbit in August 1993).

1994 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin began a five-day swing through the United States, hoping to encourage American investment in his country's struggling economy.

2003 - It was reported that more than 14,000 people had lost their lives in France during a summer heat wave.

2011 - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia granted women the right to vote and run for office in future elections.

2012 - President Barack Obama, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, pledged U.S. support for Syrians trying to oust President Bashar Assad, calling him "a dictator who massacres his own people."

2017 - Former congressman Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months behind bars for illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl.

2018 - Bill Cosby was sentenced to three-to-10 years in prison for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home. (After serving nearly three years, Cosby went free in June 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction.)

2020 - The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, making history as the first woman so honored in the United States.

Birthdays
20 - Bella Ramsey (actress)
26 - Antonia Gentry (actress)
27 - Joy Sunday (actress)
28 - Sofia Reyes (singer)
32 - Emmy Clarke (actress)
34 - Jordan Gavaris (actor)
39 - Zach Woods (actor)
40 - Donald Glover (actor)
42 - Van Hansis (actor)
43 - Chris Owen (actor)
46 - Joel David Moore (actor)
46 - Robbie Jones (actor)
46 - Clea DuVall (actress)
47 - Chauncey Billups (basketball player)
50 - Bridgette Wilson-Sampras (actress)
54 - Catherine Zeta-Jones (actress)
54 - Hal Sparks (actor)
55 - Will Smith (actor)
57 - Jason Flemyng (actor)
58 - Scottie Pippen (basketball player)
59 - Maria Doyle Kennedy (actress)
60 - Tate Donovan (actor)
61 - Aida Turturro (actress)
62 - Heather Locklear (actress)
65 - Michael Madsen (actor)
72 - Bob McAdoo (basketball player)
72 - Mark Hamill (actor)
74 - Anson Williams (actor)
75 - Mimi Kennedy (actress)
76 - Cheryl Tiegs (model)
79 - Michael Douglas (actor)
80 - Robert Walden (actor)
80 - Josh Taylor (actor)

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Today in Sports History - September 25
1926 - The NHL grants franchises to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

1932 - Jimmie Foxx of the Boston Red Sox hits his 58th home run of the season.

1948 - Nebraska opens the season with a 19-15 win over Iowa State.

1954 - Nebraska opens the season with a 19-7 loss to Minnesota.

1965 - #2 Nebraska defeats Air Force 27-17.

1965 - Willie Mays, at the age of 34, became the oldest man to hit 50 home runs in a single season. He had also set the record for the youngest to hit 50 ten years earlier.

1965 - Satchel Paige (Kansas City Athletics), at the age of 60 pitched three shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox.

1971 - #1 Nebraska defeats Texas A&M 34-7.

1976 - #6 Nebraska defeats TCU 64-10.

1978 - Melissa Ludtke, a writer for "Sports Illustrated", filed a suit in U.S. District Court. The result was that Major League Baseball could not bar female writers from the locker room after the game.

1982 - #8 Penn State defeats #2 Nebraska 27-24.

1993 - #6 Nebraska defeats Colorado State 48-13.

1997 - NBC sportscaster Marv Albert pled guilty to assault and battery of a lover. He was fired from NBC within hours.

1997 - The WNBA announces it will add franchises in Detroit and Washington, D.C.

1999 - #6 Nebraska defeats Missouri 40-10.

2000 - American basketball player Vince Carter jumps over 7 foot 2 Frédéric Weis in 2000 Summer Olympics, known in France as "le dunk de la mort" (the dunk of death)

2001 - Michael Jordan announced that he would return to the NBA as a player for the Washington Wizards. Jordan became the president of basketball operations for the team on January 19, 2000.

2003 - #15 Nebraska defeats Southern Mississippi 38-14.

2010 - #6 Nebraska defeats South Dakota State 17-3.

2016 - Golf legend Arnold Palmer died at age 87.

2021 - #20 Michigan State defeats Nebraska 23-20 in overtime.

Is this the worst it’s been in modern Nebraska Football

Didn't see vb thread. We looked a little sluggish from the start but came back strong. Sweep by the Big Red. GBR

Caught up with legacy Jack Limbaugh to see what he thought about his latest visit to Lincoln. I'm feeling a Big Ten battle with Iowa for him. Hit the link...

And it’s not even close IMO. They are going to be tough to stop, even for UGa.

Illinois def. Michigan State (25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13)
Wisconsin def. Indiana (25-13, 25-23, 25-18)
Ohio State def. Iowa (25-22, 26-24, 25-14)
Maryland def. Michigan (25-20, 25-12, 25-21)
Nebraska def. Minnesota (25-23, 25-20, 25-22)
Penn State def. Northwestern (25-18, 25-15, 25-21)
Purdue def. Rutgers (25-19, 25-20, 25-21)

Standings
1. Nebraska (11-0, 2-0)
1. Penn State (8-3, 2-0)
1. Purdue (8-3, 2-0)
1. Wisconsin (11-0, 2-0)
5. Illinois (6-6, 1-1)
5. Indiana (11-4, 1-1)
5. Maryland (11-3, 1-1)
5. Michigan State (9-4, 1-1)
5. Minnesota (5-5, 1-1)
5. Ohio State (4-7, 1-1)
11. Iowa (8-6, 0-2)
11. Michigan (2-9, 0-2)
11. Northwestern (6-6, 0-2)
11. Rutgers (8-4, 0-2)

Matches for Wednesday, September 27
Maryland at Rutgers
Wisconsin at Ohio State

Matches for Friday, September 29
Iowa at Indiana
Nebraska at Purdue (6:00 PM - BTN)
Michigan at Minnesota
Michigan State at Northwestern
Penn State at Illinois

He said when you play Steelers defense (or any strong defense) a QB looks at his first option WR, if not open throw it away, if you try to wait and look at WR 2 you can expect bad things- sack, int etc.

In our case we have bad o-line, so same principle may apply- many discussions on here about our QBs not going through progressions.. they may be being coached to do same thing, run, throw it away. There is no time for progressions. Standard tactics in NFL apparently- source C. Collinsworth …

Back in 2020, the fans clamored for young McCaffrey to start at QB over AMart.
Nebraska started the season 0-2 before starting McCaffrey for the Penn State game.
Nebraska responded with a win over Penn State and everybody thought we had finally turned the corner.
The following week we were expected to win easily against Illinois.
But Lovie Smith noticed something on film about McCaffrey- that he was actually a terrible QB.
And so we got our a$$es kicked by Illinois and then lost to Iowa the following week.
AMart came back and lead us to stirring victories over Purdue and Rutgers.
We finished the COVID season 3-5 and turned down an opportunity to go to a bowl game.
McCaffrey's career as a QB was over.
He transferred to Louisville and then quit once they found out that they would never play him at QB.
He then went to play a few games as QB at Rice before losing his job there too.

Unreal!

I know we haven’t faced the most stellar competition, but quite honestly, we’ve probably faced as good as most teams across the country at this point of the season. Will know a lot more about this D at this point next week.

Anybody have a link of that catch? I was driving and missed that one. Benning and Sharp made it sound like he made a great leaping catch on a poor throw.

Rutgers 1, Purdue 0
Indiana 1, Northwestern 0
Ohio State 1, Maryland 0
Penn State 1, Nebraska 0
Illinois 2, Michigan 1
Iowa 0, Minnesota 0
Michigan State 1, Wisconsin 01.

Standings
1. Indiana (9-0-2, 3-0-0)
1. Penn State (9-0-1, 3-0-0)
3. Michigan State (7-2-2, 2-0-1)
4. Michigan (6-2-2, 2-1-0)
5. Nebraska (7-2-2, 1-1-1)
5. Illinois (5-3-2, 1-1-1)
5. Ohio State (5-3-2, 1-1-1)
5. Wisconsin (6-2-3, 1-1-1)
9. Northwestern (7-2-2, 1-2-0)
9. Rutgers (5-4-2, 1-2-0)
11. Iowa (6-1-3, 0-1-2)
12. Maryland (3-3-5, 0-2-1)
12. Minnesota (4-3-3, 0-2-1)
12. Purdue (3-7-1, 0-2-1)

Games for Thursday, September 28
Iowa at Purdue
Indiana at Ohio State
Maryland at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Penn State at Michigan
Illinois at Northwestern
Rutgers at Nebraska (7:00 PM - BTN)