Watch Adam’s postgame Gut Reaction show by hitting the play button below. Scroll down for a some excerpts.
Well, that was frustrating! I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to sit here and talk about Nebraska finally getting a win over a ranked opponent, the Huskers finally winning a Big Ten opener and Matt Rhule winning a one-score game.
There are some frustrating things from this game for sure, I actually also believe that there are some positives to take away from this game as well. Let’s start with the frustration, shall we! Michigan ran the ball for almost 300 yards and averaged almost 9 yards per carry. They had rushing touchdowns of 75 yards, 54 yards and 37 yards. At halftime they were averaging over 12 yards per rush and they had three running backs who were averaging over 10 yards per carry.
Nebraska on the other hand ran the ball for 43 total yards, 0 yards in the second half and averaged 1.4 yards per carry. Also, Michigan sacked Nebraska seven times. Michigan beat Nebraska and the trenches and also tackled better than the huskers did, especially as the second half wore on. Michigan beat Nebraska in the basics and fundamentals of football, blocking, getting off blocks and tackling. The things you teach kids and Pop Warner, Michigan is just better at right now, unfortunately.
Nebraska also left points on the board again this game. Their first two drives into Michigan’s red zone. They walked away with zero points. Those are some of the frustrating things.
The positives are despite all of that, Nebraska lost by three points and was an onside kick away from having a chance to tie and or win the game. That’s not a position you wanna be in, an onside kick, because the odds are definitely not in your favor.
Nebraska played inspired football and every time they were down and Michigan could’ve pulled away, Nebraska fought back. … Even down 30 to 20 at the end of the game Raiola led the Huskers down for a touchdown to get them within one score. Now does this sound like a moral victory? Possibly. But there are plenty of recent Husker teams in the past half decade where the game would’ve gotten ugly with them. I can see why Matt Rhule likes this team mentally. He flat out called last year‘s team entitled and whiny at various points throughout this off-season. He genuinely likes this team and what we saw from them today when it comes to playing inspired and mentally tough football, is why.
There’s a lot of things they need to get better at, but there’s a reason for optimism right there. Also, Dylan Raiola played very well, I feel like we have a legit quarterback. … He had no run game to help him and very little pass protection as well. Despite that, he completed almost 75% of his passes and threw for over 300 yards.
Jacory Barney is a stud. He’s the first 100 -yard returner Nebraska has had since 2019, when that was JD Spielman. That’s good for Jacoury in this team, and also indicates how bad our special teams have been for too long as well. Jacory had two touchdown catches today, including the Hail Mary reception, which he actually caught at the 1 yard line. He had to fight and claw to get his way into the end zone.
There’s still very much on the table. Nebraska may very well be favored over the next four opponents as well. Nebraska absolutely needs to get better at certain things, there’s no doubt about it! But stay tuned, Husker fans, this season is far from over. Go Big Red, and always remember to throw the bones!
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