Same idea as last week, Im just gonna put my morning-after thoughts up on each one of the facets of the game without looking at the stats too much. Im also adding what Im looking for next week.
Before I get into all that though this team needs to clean up the unforced errors. We had an interception in the endzone where the ball should have gone to a lucky fan to throw back in, we had at least 3 personal fouls after the play that I can remember (how did Gerry get a penalty but the QB didnt btw?) and a turnover on downs on a fake punter that only the punter knew was a possibility apparently. All of these give the other team momentum and 2 of the personal fouls extended drives for Wyoming, you better believe good teams turn those into points. We also had 2 TD's called back on penalties so thats could be an issue going forward too.
Rushing Offense: Not much to evaluate here kinda like last weeks passing game. Wyoming consistently had 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop Ozigbo and Armstrong. No big plays in the run game to this point in the season is odd for the Huskers but not really anything to worry about as the season goes on. The big plays will come if we can get a hat on a hat and have a running back hit the whole and make a man miss.
Passing Offense: Outside of the interception in the redzone, on a first down there is not too much to complain about here. The screen game looked really good on Saturday and I really like Newby catching the ball in that area. Tommy broke the record for Td's in a career and we thre for 400-some odd yards. It was really cool to see that Westy caught the record breaker and that the walk Rahn got a TD from Ryker as well. If I had to find something to complain about it was the fact that DeMornay and Stanley Morgan werent more featured. But we have 6 All-Conference level pass catchers (Westy, Reilly, Moore, Morgan, Pierson-El and Cethan Carter) and not all of them are gonna get their fair share every week.
Rushing Defense: This is where I am most proud of the team at this point in the season. We were good on the ground last year but we lost our 2 top tackles so there were some question marks but Dzuris and Freedom have really gotten better at containing outside run and, Carlos Davis looked like a future star plugging the middle, Maurice played well like he normally does and the LB's cleaned up anything that got past the front four. Wyoming thought they were gonna be able to come in and pound the rock but the Blackshirts really held their ground this week. The only concern here is that we didnt do great against the quick sweep to motion men. Something Oregon will take advantage of
Passing Defense: I think the second and first part of the third quarter was more of a case of Josh Allen doing no wrong than our defense giving up too much. Im sure there were some where we were out of position like Wyomings first TD over Chris Jones and Nate Gerry to close out the first half, but on a replay Jones slipped and couldnt get back in time and Gerry was covering a different receiver and never had time to make the adjustment. When Josh Allen finally came back down to earth he threw a total of five picks (2 Gerry, K Williams, Jones, A Williams) including 1 pick-six thanks to a great block from Josh Kalu.
Special Teams: Same story as last week, Im not in the fire Bruce Read camp as the mistakes were not with strategy or scouting report but were mistakes that players made in the moment. The fake punt was apparently a decision Caleb Lightbourn made in the moment and not one he will be making anytime in the near future from his interview. The lack of punt returns again is concerning but I dont think Wyomings punter gave us a chance either.
Next Week: Oregon is gonna get yards and put up points. Theres not many defenses who have bottled up Oregon very well the last few years. The recipe is to have linebackers and db's that can set the edge and make tackles in space. Oregon tries to take advantage of the 1 on 1's on the outside and trust their guys to make plays. If we can contain the screen game and the fly sweeps then we have a really good shot to keep them under 24-30 points next week. Just watching the game against Virginia last night I think this is a team we should be able to score between 38-45 on. Will win the game? Im not sure. But its not gonna be a blowout and we have a better chance than many here think we do.
I would be really surprised if Kieron Williams doesnt get his Blackshirt this week. I would think Carlos Davis should get his by the end of the year too.
Before I get into all that though this team needs to clean up the unforced errors. We had an interception in the endzone where the ball should have gone to a lucky fan to throw back in, we had at least 3 personal fouls after the play that I can remember (how did Gerry get a penalty but the QB didnt btw?) and a turnover on downs on a fake punter that only the punter knew was a possibility apparently. All of these give the other team momentum and 2 of the personal fouls extended drives for Wyoming, you better believe good teams turn those into points. We also had 2 TD's called back on penalties so thats could be an issue going forward too.
Rushing Offense: Not much to evaluate here kinda like last weeks passing game. Wyoming consistently had 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop Ozigbo and Armstrong. No big plays in the run game to this point in the season is odd for the Huskers but not really anything to worry about as the season goes on. The big plays will come if we can get a hat on a hat and have a running back hit the whole and make a man miss.
Passing Offense: Outside of the interception in the redzone, on a first down there is not too much to complain about here. The screen game looked really good on Saturday and I really like Newby catching the ball in that area. Tommy broke the record for Td's in a career and we thre for 400-some odd yards. It was really cool to see that Westy caught the record breaker and that the walk Rahn got a TD from Ryker as well. If I had to find something to complain about it was the fact that DeMornay and Stanley Morgan werent more featured. But we have 6 All-Conference level pass catchers (Westy, Reilly, Moore, Morgan, Pierson-El and Cethan Carter) and not all of them are gonna get their fair share every week.
Rushing Defense: This is where I am most proud of the team at this point in the season. We were good on the ground last year but we lost our 2 top tackles so there were some question marks but Dzuris and Freedom have really gotten better at containing outside run and, Carlos Davis looked like a future star plugging the middle, Maurice played well like he normally does and the LB's cleaned up anything that got past the front four. Wyoming thought they were gonna be able to come in and pound the rock but the Blackshirts really held their ground this week. The only concern here is that we didnt do great against the quick sweep to motion men. Something Oregon will take advantage of
Passing Defense: I think the second and first part of the third quarter was more of a case of Josh Allen doing no wrong than our defense giving up too much. Im sure there were some where we were out of position like Wyomings first TD over Chris Jones and Nate Gerry to close out the first half, but on a replay Jones slipped and couldnt get back in time and Gerry was covering a different receiver and never had time to make the adjustment. When Josh Allen finally came back down to earth he threw a total of five picks (2 Gerry, K Williams, Jones, A Williams) including 1 pick-six thanks to a great block from Josh Kalu.
Special Teams: Same story as last week, Im not in the fire Bruce Read camp as the mistakes were not with strategy or scouting report but were mistakes that players made in the moment. The fake punt was apparently a decision Caleb Lightbourn made in the moment and not one he will be making anytime in the near future from his interview. The lack of punt returns again is concerning but I dont think Wyomings punter gave us a chance either.
Next Week: Oregon is gonna get yards and put up points. Theres not many defenses who have bottled up Oregon very well the last few years. The recipe is to have linebackers and db's that can set the edge and make tackles in space. Oregon tries to take advantage of the 1 on 1's on the outside and trust their guys to make plays. If we can contain the screen game and the fly sweeps then we have a really good shot to keep them under 24-30 points next week. Just watching the game against Virginia last night I think this is a team we should be able to score between 38-45 on. Will win the game? Im not sure. But its not gonna be a blowout and we have a better chance than many here think we do.
I would be really surprised if Kieron Williams doesnt get his Blackshirt this week. I would think Carlos Davis should get his by the end of the year too.
