ADVERTISEMENT

Rewatching the Northwestern game...

Hoosker Du

Nebraska Football Hall of Fame
Dec 11, 2001
19,610
6,230
113
and am reminded how many times Chinander's defense let Frost's offense down last year. That game was a miserably painful example of how a repeatedly bad defense can steal defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Up by 14 with app. 12 minutes left, and then again up by 10 with less than 3 minutes left...and still lost the fricken game!! Grrrr..

Chinander still needs to prove to me that he can be trusted as our DC. He hasn't remotely done so yet.
 
Agree - the defense pissed it away but I would argue that in reality

Scott Frosts defense let down Scott Frosts offense

Frost is the head coach and is responsible for the defense.
 
Agree - the defense pissed it away but I would argue that in reality

Scott Frosts defense let down Scott Frosts offense

Frost is the head coach and is responsible for the defense.

Chinander is the Defensive Coordinator and is responsible on game days calling the defense and variety of blitzes..

SF is just as guilty losing that game not making a 4th and 1 or 2.. can’t remember which..
 
But another year of S&C will make all the difference. Like other teams don't have these same programs. Tired of hearing this.

SF is the head coach and calls the plays, he hired Chins to run all aspects of the D and allows him to do that. Yes, ultimately SF is responsible for everything including kids getting into trouble but D is Chins sole responsibility.
 
But another year of S&C will make all the difference. Like other teams don't have these same programs. Tired of hearing this.

SF is the head coach and calls the plays, he hired Chins to run all aspects of the D and allows him to do that. Yes, ultimately SF is responsible for everything including kids getting into trouble but D is Chins sole responsibility.

When the team wasn't required to participate in S&C in previous years, yeah I think it will make a difference. You guys want to act like this is a video game...call a better play, get better results. But if you don't have the experience in a system to execute without breakdowns or the talent at certain positions to make plays, then what can Chins do? Give things time. The defense was significantly better at the end of the year. Another year in the weight room can help the dline to stop the run better, freeing up the back 8 for coverage and blitz packages. Couple that with more experience in the system learning their responsibilities....there is good reason to be optimistic we'll be better. Probably not great, but better.
 
Frost has made it known in a variety of ways that he and Chins are on the same page, think the same etc.

While this defensive scheme has never sat well with me, it is what Scott wants.

Whether or not it will work well in the B1G long term remains to be seen, but it’s only been 1 season.

I think it’s ok to moan and grown from time to time, but I’m not down with calling out coordinators and trying to lay blame.

We should see marked improvement this year in all facets of the game.
 
Frost has made it known in a variety of ways that he and Chins are on the same page, think the same etc.

While this defensive scheme has never sat well with me, it is what Scott wants.

Whether or not it will work well in the B1G long term remains to be seen, but it’s only been 1 season.

I think it’s ok to moan and grown from time to time, but I’m not down with calling out coordinators and trying to lay blame.

We should see marked improvement this year in all facets of the game.

The defense should improve.
We have the best player at by far the most important position in game in the conference
NW-Wisc-Purdue starting QBs are gone.
We have NW-Wisc- Iowa at home.
We have the easiest cross div schedule.

We should win our division.
 
Lack of talent on defense has been a big problem for the past several years. For one thing, there was no one who could put significant pressure on Thorson in passing situations. We basically had the same players on defense last year as we had the year before and it showed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: timnsun
But another year of S&C will make all the difference. Like other teams don't have these same programs. Tired of hearing this.

SF is the head coach and calls the plays, he hired Chins to run all aspects of the D and allows him to do that. Yes, ultimately SF is responsible for everything including kids getting into trouble but D is Chins sole responsibility.
This. Did we give Callahan a pass and say “it isn’t his fault it is Cosgrove’s”? Nope. We fired his ass. He was the one who hired Cosgrove and stuck by him even as the defense melted before our eyes.

I think Frost is a great coach. Getting him here was HUGE. But ultimately, the buck stops with him for ALL aspects of the team.

All that said... I think Chinander will turn out to be a good DC. Our lack of a true nose tackle last year, and solid linebackers, was not his fault. Furthermore, we were installing a new defense and had a bunch of poison apples on the team that hurt chemistry. So... in year two I hope to see marked improvement. I will reserve all negative judgments toward Chinander after I see us play this Fall. If our defense is as porous as last year’s, then we can raise some red flags. I am cautiously optimistic. “Cautious” because we still lack linebackers. Hopefully, some of the young talent can step forward.
 
Frost has made it known in a variety of ways that he and Chins are on the same page, think the same etc.

While this defensive scheme has never sat well with me, it is what Scott wants.

Whether or not it will work well in the B1G long term remains to be seen, but it’s only been 1 season.

I think it’s ok to moan and grown from time to time, but I’m not down with calling out coordinators and trying to lay blame.

We should see marked improvement this year in all facets of the game.
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t Wisconsin run a 3-4 defense too? They seem to hold up in the B1G.
 
Who were the “poison apples” on defense?
Good question Tuco. As I typed that I asked myself the same question and almost refrained from making my comment for that reason. But wouldn’t you say that the two units (offense and defense) are ultimately one team? There is one locker room. So my thinking on this is that the bad apples on offense could have generated a bad vibe for the whole team. Your thoughts?
 
This take is scorching hot.


1. Nebraska was forced to play Northwestern with basically 4 defensive linemen. Mick did not play vs. NW which left them without a Nose again, exposing the defense. And by the 2nd half they were really down to three because Carlos Davis was banged up. Peyton Newell, a fifth year senior, basically played his first real Big Ten snaps in the second half. That was by default as the Husker Dline was dead. No Power 5 DC in the country can sustain that absence of depth.

2. Nebraska's pass rush consisted of one player: Luke Gifford....
JoJo Doman returned to the field vs. NW after missing the previous 5 games, but he wasn't ready to see regular snaps for the next two weeks and only played special teams. Ty Ferguson was also injured and could only play a few snaps. Alex Davis sucks and literally didn't record a tackle. northwestern threw 65 passes. Gifford had a sack and Ben Stille got a sack.

3. The absence of a pass rush has ZERO to do with coaching. It's predicated upon talent and depth. This means you have to manufacture a blitz which leaves you exposed on the back end.

4. I alluded to playing with only 4 healthy Dlinemen. Mo Barry and Dedrick Young played every defensive snap. After Honas went down vs. Purdue, Colin Miller was the only other option. His pass coverage skills are non existent which makes him virtually useless vs a team like NW.

5. Northwestern had 93 offensive snaps in regulation, counting dead ball penalty plays. Nebraska, by default, was forced to defend that much action with basically 3 exhausted defensive Ends, none of which are a true Nose guard, and two inside linebackers. Bill Bellicheck would've been screwed crafting a defense in that scenario.

6. I won't blame the game on penalties, but Nebraska had 9 for 100 yards. Northwestern had 1 for 5 yards. I will Argue NW actually won the division because of their Penalty disparity all season. I bring it up because that does revolve around coaching, and it's a fair observation.


Blame Chinander all you want, but Nebraska's defense was bad last season for personnel reasons moreso than anything. That absence of depth is inexcusable at the Power 5 level. In 2019, they will be much deeper everywhere with the exception of inside linebacker.

And I can't stress this point enough:

Nebraska's biggest addition in 2019 is Derrion Daniels. This team has played the 3-4 the past two seasons without a true experienced nose guard. That's like playing three on three basketball with a midget on your team.
 
This take is scorching hot.


1. Nebraska was forced to play Northwestern with basically 4 defensive linemen. Mick did not play vs. NW which left them without a Nose again, exposing the defense. And by the 2nd half they were really down to three because Carlos Davis was banged up. Peyton Newell, a fifth year senior, basically played his first real Big Ten snaps in the second half. That was by default as the Husker Dline was dead. No Power 5 DC in the country can sustain that absence of depth.

2. Nebraska's pass rush consisted of one player: Luke Gifford....
JoJo Doman returned to the field vs. NW after missing the previous 5 games, but he wasn't ready to see regular snaps for the next two weeks and only played special teams. Ty Ferguson was also injured and could only play a few snaps. Alex Davis sucks and literally didn't record a tackle. northwestern threw 65 passes. Gifford had a sack and Ben Stille got a sack.

3. The absence of a pass rush has ZERO to do with coaching. It's predicated upon talent and depth. This means you have to manufacture a blitz which leaves you exposed on the back end.

4. I alluded to playing with only 4 healthy Dlinemen. Mo Barry and Dedrick Young played every defensive snap. After Honas went down vs. Purdue, Colin Miller was the only other option. His pass coverage skills are non existent which makes him virtually useless vs a team like NW.

5. Northwestern had 93 offensive snaps in regulation, counting dead ball penalty plays. Nebraska, by default, was forced to defend that much action with basically 3 exhausted defensive Ends, none of which are a true Nose guard, and two inside linebackers. Bill Bellicheck would've been screwed crafting a defense in that scenario.

6. I won't blame the game on penalties, but Nebraska had 9 for 100 yards. Northwestern had 1 for 5 yards. I will Argue NW actually won the division because of their Penalty disparity all season. I bring it up because that does revolve around coaching, and it's a fair observation.


Blame Chinander all you want, but Nebraska's defense was bad last season for personnel reasons moreso than anything. That absence of depth is inexcusable at the Power 5 level. In 2019, they will be much deeper everywhere with the exception of inside linebacker.

And I can't stress this point enough:

Nebraska's biggest addition in 2019 is Derrion Daniels. This team has played the 3-4 the past two seasons without a true experienced nose guard. That's like playing three on three basketball with a midget on your team.

All reasons we shouldn’t have cowered on 4th and 1 with the game on the line
 
  • Like
Reactions: SkerInCo
The defense should improve.
We have the best player at by far the most important position in game in the conference
NW-Wisc-Purdue starting QBs are gone.
We have NW-Wisc- Iowa at home.
We have the easiest cross div schedule.

We should win our division.

NW has a 5* transfer coming in Hunter Johnson and won’t be noticeable losing Thorson ..

Purdue has veteran Elijah Sindelar
coming back from injury, the jury is still out if he can withstand the whole year without going down with a injury..

NW has only 2 returning starters on the O-line and lost some talent on the defensive side..

Only time will tell if Mertz is as good as his star rating but I would expect him to be the starter by the time the Badgers come to Lincoln in November..

Nebraska 2 biggest games and must wins are Wisconsin and ioway..
 
NW has a 5* transfer coming in Hunter Johnson and won’t be noticeable losing Thorson ..

Purdue has veteran Elijah Sindelar
coming back from injury, the jury is still out if he can withstand the whole year without going down with a injury..

NW has only 2 returning starters on the O-line and lost some talent on the defensive side..

Only time will tell if Mertz is as good as his star rating but I would expect him to be the starter by the time the Badgers come to Lincoln in November..

Nebraska 2 biggest games and must wins are Wisconsin and ioway..


Discussing personnel and logic as it pertains to Northwestern is futile. One could honestly argue NW went 8-1 in the Big Ten last season with the worst QB play in the West, the worst running game, the worst kicker, and a below average defense.

They were the 1st Big Ten Division champion ever to give up more yards, first downs, and sacks per game. They were also the first division champion where the starting QB had a 1 to 1 TD to int ratio. And they were the first Power 5 division champion ever to average less than 3.5 yards per carry on the season.
 
Def Coordinator has to make do with what he has and call the game accordingly. That has not happened under Chinander so far. It would not have mattered at times if the defense had 11 All Big Ten performers because they were not put in a position to succeed! That is all on Chinander and hopefully that changes this year. I am hopeful but have seen nothing so far to be confident at all!
 
Chinander is the Defensive Coordinator and is responsible on game days calling the defense and variety of blitzes..

SF is just as guilty losing that game not making a 4th and 1 or 2.. can’t remember which..

I disagree. You don't give up 10 points in less than 3 minutes. And if I remember correctly, Northwestern scored their last TD after starting on their 1-yard line. A 99-yard drive to tie it up in the remaining seconds of regulation. Ughhhh..
 
Lack of talent on defense has been a big problem for the past several years. For one thing, there was no one who could put significant pressure on Thorson in passing situations. We basically had the same players on defense last year as we had the year before and it showed.
Freedom was a liability at DE. Generally you count on your seniors to be the strength of your defense and other than Gifford, our seniors struggled a bunch. I expect a large improvement from our defense although Gifford will be missed more than people think.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pennsyhusker
I disagree. You don't give up 10 points in less than 3 minutes. And if I remember correctly, Northwestern scored their last TD after starting on their 1-yard line. A 99-yard drive to tie it up in the remaining seconds of regulation. Ughhhh..
What are you disagreeing with?
 
I disagree. You don't give up 10 points in less than 3 minutes. And if I remember correctly, Northwestern scored their last TD after starting on their 1-yard line. A 99-yard drive to tie it up in the remaining seconds of regulation. Ughhhh..

Would have not been in that position at the end of the game if SF went by his motto no fear of failure and been more aggressive on 4 and 1....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bigred_b1624
Freedom was a liability at DE. Generally you count on your seniors to be the strength of your defense and other than Gifford, our seniors struggled a bunch. I expect a large improvement from our defense although Gifford will be missed more than people think.
Pelini left the cupboard bare when he left. Riley didn’t do much to improve it.
 
Here's what's needed on defense this year compared to last:

Reduce total yards given up by 80 per game

Get at least one more turnover per game

Try to get at least 2 less penalties per game

Sizeable order to be sure, but if this somehow comes about, the defense will be fine.

And get those special teams a bit better as well.
 
This take is scorching hot.


1. Nebraska was forced to play Northwestern with basically 4 defensive linemen. Mick did not play vs. NW which left them without a Nose again, exposing the defense. And by the 2nd half they were really down to three because Carlos Davis was banged up. Peyton Newell, a fifth year senior, basically played his first real Big Ten snaps in the second half. That was by default as the Husker Dline was dead. No Power 5 DC in the country can sustain that absence of depth.

2. Nebraska's pass rush consisted of one player: Luke Gifford....
JoJo Doman returned to the field vs. NW after missing the previous 5 games, but he wasn't ready to see regular snaps for the next two weeks and only played special teams. Ty Ferguson was also injured and could only play a few snaps. Alex Davis sucks and literally didn't record a tackle. northwestern threw 65 passes. Gifford had a sack and Ben Stille got a sack.

3. The absence of a pass rush has ZERO to do with coaching. It's predicated upon talent and depth. This means you have to manufacture a blitz which leaves you exposed on the back end.

4. I alluded to playing with only 4 healthy Dlinemen. Mo Barry and Dedrick Young played every defensive snap. After Honas went down vs. Purdue, Colin Miller was the only other option. His pass coverage skills are non existent which makes him virtually useless vs a team like NW.

5. Northwestern had 93 offensive snaps in regulation, counting dead ball penalty plays. Nebraska, by default, was forced to defend that much action with basically 3 exhausted defensive Ends, none of which are a true Nose guard, and two inside linebackers. Bill Bellicheck would've been screwed crafting a defense in that scenario.

6. I won't blame the game on penalties, but Nebraska had 9 for 100 yards. Northwestern had 1 for 5 yards. I will Argue NW actually won the division because of their Penalty disparity all season. I bring it up because that does revolve around coaching, and it's a fair observation.


Blame Chinander all you want, but Nebraska's defense was bad last season for personnel reasons moreso than anything. That absence of depth is inexcusable at the Power 5 level. In 2019, they will be much deeper everywhere with the exception of inside linebacker.

And I can't stress this point enough:

Nebraska's biggest addition in 2019 is Derrion Daniels. This team has played the 3-4 the past two seasons without a true experienced nose guard. That's like playing three on three basketball with a midget on your team.

Sigh.. We held them to 21 points through 57 minutes, and gave up 10 in less than 3 minutes, including a 99-yard drive.

Maybe you can come up with some more excuses for the rest of season, where we finished 94th in Total Defense and 88th in Scoring Defense.

Scorching hot indeed. Sheepling..
 
A side note to defense in college football today, it's not even close to what it was back in the 80's and 90's, offense rules the game today.

Look at Oklahoma, all kinds of talent on defense, yet they gave up 454 yards per game, lost two games, came close to losing a few more, and gave up a ton of points in their last 9 games. Of course, they have much better talent across the board right now than does Nebraska, but they and many other teams don't have great defense.

Hopefully Nebraska can do what I jotted down above, that will be a good start.
 
Sigh.. We held them to 21 points through 57 minutes, and gave up 10 in less than 3 minutes, including a 99-yard drive.

Maybe you can come up with some more excuses for the rest of season, where we finished 94th in Total Defense and 88th in Scoring Defense. Sheepling..
Do you remember the cu games in 97 and 99? Nebraska had comfortable leads in both those games, only to see Colorado comeback with maybe 5/6 minutes in each game and almost win. It happens in college football a lot these days, defense just isn't what it used to be, unless you're a few southern teams that stockpile NFL talent, and even they give up some big yards and points quite a few times. I believe Alabama gave up 320 ypg, that's not exactly stellar, but it's offense that is the show these days.

I think with another year of players and coaches being together, Nebraska will see improvement on defense, hopefully enough to win the games like Northwestern.
 
  • Like
Reactions: saluno22
Sigh.. We held them to 21 points through 57 minutes, and gave up 10 in less than 3 minutes, including a 99-yard drive.

Maybe you can come up with some more excuses for the rest of season, where we finished 94th in Total Defense and 88th in Scoring Defense.

Scorching hot indeed. Sheepling..
The killer was the big play we gave up for a first down when we had them I think at 3rd? and long from inside the 5. That 99 yard drive should have never happened. That was just an awful collapse.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scarletred
This take is scorching hot.


1. Nebraska was forced to play Northwestern with basically 4 defensive linemen. Mick did not play vs. NW which left them without a Nose again, exposing the defense. And by the 2nd half they were really down to three because Carlos Davis was banged up. Peyton Newell, a fifth year senior, basically played his first real Big Ten snaps in the second half. That was by default as the Husker Dline was dead. No Power 5 DC in the country can sustain that absence of depth.

2. Nebraska's pass rush consisted of one player: Luke Gifford....
JoJo Doman returned to the field vs. NW after missing the previous 5 games, but he wasn't ready to see regular snaps for the next two weeks and only played special teams. Ty Ferguson was also injured and could only play a few snaps. Alex Davis sucks and literally didn't record a tackle. northwestern threw 65 passes. Gifford had a sack and Ben Stille got a sack.

3. The absence of a pass rush has ZERO to do with coaching. It's predicated upon talent and depth. This means you have to manufacture a blitz which leaves you exposed on the back end.

4. I alluded to playing with only 4 healthy Dlinemen. Mo Barry and Dedrick Young played every defensive snap. After Honas went down vs. Purdue, Colin Miller was the only other option. His pass coverage skills are non existent which makes him virtually useless vs a team like NW.

5. Northwestern had 93 offensive snaps in regulation, counting dead ball penalty plays. Nebraska, by default, was forced to defend that much action with basically 3 exhausted defensive Ends, none of which are a true Nose guard, and two inside linebackers. Bill Bellicheck would've been screwed crafting a defense in that scenario.

6. I won't blame the game on penalties, but Nebraska had 9 for 100 yards. Northwestern had 1 for 5 yards. I will Argue NW actually won the division because of their Penalty disparity all season. I bring it up because that does revolve around coaching, and it's a fair observation.


Blame Chinander all you want, but Nebraska's defense was bad last season for personnel reasons moreso than anything. That absence of depth is inexcusable at the Power 5 level. In 2019, they will be much deeper everywhere with the exception of inside linebacker.

And I can't stress this point enough:

Nebraska's biggest addition in 2019 is Derrion Daniels. This team has played the 3-4 the past two seasons without a true experienced nose guard. That's like playing three on three basketball with a midget on your team.
Don't tell this guy that:
;)

2450178400000578-2889900-image-m-27_1419850268152.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cornicator
Sigh.. We held them to 21 points through 57 minutes, and gave up 10 in less than 3 minutes, including a 99-yard drive.

Maybe you can come up with some more excuses for the rest of season, where we finished 94th in Total Defense and 88th in Scoring Defense. Sheepling..

I don't need to make any excuses. Everything I pointed out illustrates reasons for those numbers.

Let's revisit this thread in 6 months after Chin has a chance to utilize real depth, and they can actually play with a rotation along the defensive line.

Then again you have a constant agenda and I doubt your terrible takes will change.
 
Nebraska couldn’t run the ball against Northwestern. So the 95 plays that the defense had to defend was also due to the offense and the inability to pick up yards on the ground.


Nebraska ran for 250 yards vs. NW. But they did fail to execute in the 4th. That's a reflection of focus and likely thinking the game is over.
 
NW game was a good measuring stick as much as any other game in my opinion. (basically we weren’t ready to win).
As mentioned in several posts it was year 1 and personnel issues played some role.
Year 2 MUST show significant improvement. Chinander has to be held accountable if he can’t make that happen. He has enough pieces to put together a solid D (still some depth concerns).
I’m optimistic, but some of that is a blind optimism in Chins ability.
If defense can’t play well this year then I think it’ll be valid to discuss making a change for D coordinator, and Frost’s loyalty to Chin better not exceed loyalty to the team.

But it shouldn’t come to that because blackshirts are gonna bring it in year 2 under Frosty and this message board is gonna explode with Blackshirt Mania come fall. Buckle up boys!
 
The killer was the big play we gave up for a first down when we had them I think at 3rd? and long from inside the 5. That 99 yard drive should have never happened. That was just an awful collapse.
Wasn’t that a third and long where they threw an incomplete pass but Khalil Davis got called for roughing the passer?
 
The defensive breakdowns in the last 3 minutes were really bad. There was one play I broke down on here after the game with Dismuke.....no clue wtf he was doing that led to a huge gain by that Flynn guy for them.
 
The games against Colorado,Troy and Northwestern were all frustrating. I’m not sure which was the most frustrating. Probably Northwestern, but Colorado was right there also.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT