Report Card: Huskers 48, Maryland Terrapins 23

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Going down at halftime and finally able to connect to Nebraska’s barely functioning wifi in Memorial Stadium, I came across this tweet that made me wonder if I was at the same game.

Not that his stats were wrong, mind you. It’s just that Maryland accounted for 196 of those yards on five broken plays. Maryland’s other 33 first half plays? 104 yards.

Another fun stat: Maryland’s offense had 93 yards of offense in the second quarter. The Blackshirts had 91 yards on two interception returns… basically a net of two yards gained with their offense on the field

I’d argue Mike Locksley had to be grateful to only be down by 5 points at halftime with Maryland’s “Boom or Bust” offense, and all that credit goes to Maryland’s defense stacking the line and daring Nebraska to beat them through the air.

Oh, and that the Big Ten’s replay center officials have apparently never, ever watched volleyball. It was pretty obvious on the HuskerVision stadium replay that Jeremiah Charles deflected Maryland’s first punt that went (check official stats) 24 YARDS. The field level HuskerVision replay showed the ball suddenly rotating 90 degrees with Charles’ deflection, and Charles’ hand likewise shifting position, much like a volleyball player’s finger during a touch.

Another question: Did fans in the stadium get a better view of this play on HuskerVision than Fox provided viewers (and the Big Ten)? Well, that’s not a question; that apparently a fact. For as much money as Fox spends for the rights to the Big Ten, they sure don’t invest it in their coverage. ABC/ESPN, CBS and NBC each do a better job with their broadcasts than Fox/FS1. (I’d argue that BTN’s coverage is slightly better than their big parent as well.)

Bad call on Nebraska put the defense back on the field…and on their heels. The next two plays were two of Maryland’s five big plays on the day, and suddenly they have the ball at the Husker 9 yard line.

It took Nebraska’s offense about a quarter to figure out what Maryland was doing. A crappy first quarter led to 157 yards in the second quarter, 113 in the third and 139 in the fourth. Meanwhile, Maryland had 207 yards in the first quarter, and 188 the rest of the way. Again, with 196 of those on just five plays; four in the first quarter.

In the end, it was not a great performance for the Huskers, but good enough for a win this week. Next week, that’s a completely different matter. The defending national champions could put the game out of reach if the Huskers have another bad quarter this upcoming Saturday. But if Nebraska gives Indiana a four quarter effort, the Big Red has a punchers chance this week.

With that, it’s on with the report card, and as always, your feedback is welcome in the comments.

QB: Anthony Colandrea didn’t have a great day passing. The numbers were OK (26 for 39), but there were a few throws that receivers had to dive unnecessarily for. Plus, throwing the ball towards Jacory Barney when he’s double covered was asking for trouble. That being said, he made up for it with several runs to keep drives alive, including a sparkling 51 yard scamper. Grade: B

I-Back: How much does Nebraska miss Jamal Rule at running back? It showed this week. Mekhi Nelson was serviceable in the second half, but there just wasn’t room to run. Grade: C-

WR: Kwazi Gilmer had a huge day, and worked hard for it as well. The rest of the receiver room was quiet. I think Nebraska needs to get Nyziah Hunter involved with more than the horizontal passing game. Grade: B

OL: Paul Mubenga missing most of the game brought Tree Babalade into the game, and while the protection was fine…running room was not, though that likely had more to do with Maryland committing their linebackers up front on run support. Grade: C

DL: Kade Pietrzak made the splash play with the interception, but the defensive line overall kept things bottled up. Anthony Jones led with three tackles. Grade: B

LB: Owen Chambliss had eight tackles to lead while Vincent Shavers has been really improving the last couple fo weeks; a big sack and a forced fumble. Grade: B

Secondary: Dwayne McDougle deflated all of Maryland’s hopes with his 81 yard interception return. Donovan Jones had eight tackle to lead the secondary. Danny Odem continues to learn on the field, with a pass breakup, but also a costly (at the time) holding call away from the play on third and long. But if Odem doesn’t get flagged, McDougle doesn’t get the opportunity for his Pick-Six a few plays later. Can’t make those mistakes the next couple of weeks. Grade: A-

Special Teams: Jeremiah Charles blocked two punts, no matter what the referees tried to claim, and that was the good. The bad? A missed extra point. (Why didn’t the roughing penalty result in a rekick?) A missed 52 yard field goal. (Why not let John Hohl try the long kicks.) And Nebraska returned four kickoffs for a net loss of 10 yards, compared with fair catching. Insanity is continuing to do the same things and expecting different results; just stop trying to return kickoffs. Grade: B+

Overall: B- Even if the score didn’t look that way for much of the first half, Nebraska was in control all game. Lots of mistakes to clean up, because Indiana WILL capitalize on them. That being said, look for Nebraska to file a rather lengthy review of these referees to Chicago. (ICYMI, this was the same crew that worked the Western Michigan/Michigan game at the start of the season.)

Fire My Coach

Maryland fans are starting to get a little bit distraught that Mike Locksley is still in charge of the Terrapins. That’s a bit irrational, and not because Locksley has done a good job. His record is what it is, and barring some sort of miracle, Maryland should get a new coach for 2027. My point is why fire a coach in early October versus starting your coaching search in the background and letting the coach you hired finish the season. You aren’t fixing your program with a new coach in October. You aren’t fixing your program with new players from the transfer portal in October. You aren’t trading Malik Washington to Alabama for some five-star freshmen recruits.

I get that fans get emotional and want people punished for their team’s poor performance. And eventually, poor coaching should result in terminations. But way too often, fans let the fanatic part of themselves commandeer their brains. It’s not just at Nebraska. It’s everywhere – even at Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia.

Nebraska is 5-0. Someone suggesting the Nebraska is going to finish 5-7 is not a fan, or even thinking reasonably. They are just a troll, gunning for outrage. Let’s enjoy this season for what it is; we’ll have plenty of time after Black Friday to discuss this.

Or maybe not, as old CornNation friend Bill Connelly suggests:

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