What did we learn Illinois edition

I was hopeful before yesterday but this team has a way of beating hope right out of you. The OT was one of the worst I have ever seen. Our OL stopped playing. This gets old at some point, you have the ball and driving for the win only to lose game. This has been the most played movie of the last decade.

 
What is up with this obsession Nebraska fans and sports writers have of cutting off any discussion about the officials when we lose? This is one of the most annoying things about Husker Nation. It's like people are so mad at the loss that they have to make sure we suffer all the pain they feel. Any blame given to the officiating takes away from punishing themselves, so every bit of blame has to be on Nebraska. 

That's crap. 

There were minimum half a dozen holds that could have been called. We are ONE GAME REMOVED from Nebraska getting a penalty on a hit out of bounds that began with a tackle in bounds on UNI's first possession of the second half. Mitch covers Nebraska football for a living. Did he just forget that call? Did he forget Nate Gerry getting tossed from games so often it's still a meme to this day? Did he forget the entire year where no Big Ten opponent was flagged for holding against the Huskers?

Could Nebraska have overcome those penalties yesterday, or the penalties that should have been called but weren't? Sure. But we shouldn't have to, and we shouldn't have to do it almost every game. 

And when the refs put their finger on the scale, it's perfectly fine to call them out for it. You're not being biased.

The penalty difference yesterday was glaring. 

Illinois: 3 penalties, 20 yards

Nebraska: 9 penalties, 89 yards

But perhaps what's even more glaring - when those penalties were called. Illinois got 25 first downs to Nebraska's 20 last night.

Five of Illinois' first downs were due to penalties. 

Nebraska got 0 first downs as a result of penalties. One very glaring penalty that could have been called - the late hit out of bounds - would have breathed new life into Nebraska's overtime drive. But the flag stayed in the pocket. 

I saw one guy comment that a penalty like that wouldn't have been called in regulation, so it shouldn't have been called there. 

But it has, as recently as last game.

Enough with the ref apologia. They're making choices on the field, that directly affect the game. It's fair to call them out for those choices.

 
I honestly think we should have been airing it out all night long. In the 4th qtr Illinois was bringing good pressure, but we didn't seem to have quick hitting plays called to take advantage of it and it seemed like Dylon wasn't finding the open man when there were free rushers.

 
ZRod said:
I honestly think we should have been airing it out all night long. In the 4th qtr Illinois was bringing good pressure, but we didn't seem to have quick hitting plays called to take advantage of it and it seemed like Dylon wasn't finding the open man when there were free rushers.
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Well we kind of did, didn't we? We had three separate drives where we passed to the end zone and those three drives gave us a total of 3 points:

  • The one in the first half where we throw the little fade to Neyor and the refs miss a blatant pass interference call (that probably give us a TD there if it had been called). We got a FG on that one.
  • The one in the second half where we throw a 50/50 ball to Neyor in the end zone and somehow the defender winds up with it.
  • The overthrow to Lindenmeyer.

Out of all the crazy s*** that happened in that game I think the biggest play might have been that insane interception one. Can't believe that has happened to us twice in 2 games. But for me the missed pass interference call on the fade to Neyor was big as well.

 
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Undone said:
Well we kind of did, didn't we? We had three separate drives where we passed to the end zone and those three drives gave us a total of 3 points:

  • The one in the first half where we throw the little fade to Neyor and the refs miss a blatant pass interference call (that probably give us a TD there if it had been called). We got a FG on that one.
  • The one in the second half where we throw a 50/50 ball to Neyor in the end zone and somehow the defender winds up with it.
  • The overthrow to Lindenmeyer.

Out of all the crazy s*** that happened in that game I think the biggest play might have been that insane interception one. Can't believe that has happened to us twice in 2 games.
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And then we decided we were going to play against the clock and it bit us in the a$$ big time.

Idk... I was just super disappointed in Dowdell, and if he's in the game I'd rather just pass the ball. At this point Idk why he's playing. Rahmir seems to be a much better bang for the buck, and EJ and Irving also seem to have more upside. At least we would be getting some YAC with any of those 3 guys. I've never seen a RB who consistently could not push a pile in short yardage situation. Also, you don't jump into a pile to get a first down  :facepalm:  that's goal line stuff.

The weird use of timeouts and the going to OT with 0:26 on the clock also bugged the s#!t out of me. We have a QB like Dylan for just that reason.

 
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Undone said:
Well we kind of did, didn't we? We had three separate drives where we passed to the end zone and those three drives gave us a total of 3 points:

  • The one in the first half where we throw the little fade to Neyor and the refs miss a blatant pass interference call (that probably give us a TD there if it had been called). We got a FG on that one.
  • The one in the second half where we throw a 50/50 ball to Neyor in the end zone and somehow the defender winds up with it.
  • The overthrow to Lindenmeyer.

Out of all the crazy s*** that happened in that game I think the biggest play might have been that insane interception one. Can't believe that has happened to us twice in 2 games. But for me the missed pass interference call on the fade to Neyor was big as well.
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Don't forget RJ running 3 yards out of bounds being unmarked since the defender fell down that would have been a TD as well.  He didn't just step out of bounds he ran completely oob and then tried to get back and still was a yard oob.

 
Undone said:
Well we kind of did, didn't we? We had three separate drives where we passed to the end zone and those three drives gave us a total of 3 points:

  • The one in the first half where we throw the little fade to Neyor and the refs miss a blatant pass interference call (that probably give us a TD there if it had been called). We got a FG on that one.
  • The one in the second half where we throw a 50/50 ball to Neyor in the end zone and somehow the defender winds up with it.
  • The overthrow to Lindenmeyer.

Out of all the crazy s*** that happened in that game I think the biggest play might have been that insane interception one. Can't believe that has happened to us twice in 2 games. But for me the missed pass interference call on the fade to Neyor was big as well.
Click to expand...

 
knapplc said:
What is up with this obsession Nebraska fans and sports writers have of cutting off any discussion about the officials when we lose? This is one of the most annoying things about Husker Nation. It's like people are so mad at the loss that they have to make sure we suffer all the pain they feel. Any blame given to the officiating takes away from punishing themselves, so every bit of blame has to be on Nebraska. 

That's crap. 

There were minimum half a dozen holds that could have been called. We are ONE GAME REMOVED from Nebraska getting a penalty on a hit out of bounds that began with a tackle in bounds on UNI's first possession of the second half. Mitch covers Nebraska football for a living. Did he just forget that call? Did he forget Nate Gerry getting tossed from games so often it's still a meme to this day? Did he forget the entire year where no Big Ten opponent was flagged for holding against the Huskers?

Could Nebraska have overcome those penalties yesterday, or the penalties that should have been called but weren't? Sure. But we shouldn't have to, and we shouldn't have to do it almost every game. 

And when the refs put their finger on the scale, it's perfectly fine to call them out for it. You're not being biased.

The penalty difference yesterday was glaring. 

Illinois: 3 penalties, 20 yards

Nebraska: 9 penalties, 89 yards

But perhaps what's even more glaring - when those penalties were called. Illinois got 25 first downs to Nebraska's 20 last night.

Five of Illinois' first downs were due to penalties. 

Nebraska got 0 first downs as a result of penalties. One very glaring penalty that could have been called - the late hit out of bounds - would have breathed new life into Nebraska's overtime drive. But the flag stayed in the pocket. 

I saw one guy comment that a penalty like that wouldn't have been called in regulation, so it shouldn't have been called there. 

But it has, as recently as last game.

Enough with the ref apologia. They're making choices on the field, that directly affect the game. It's fair to call them out for those choices.
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Agree to disagree. Whining about the refs is just a loser mentality IMO.

B1G refs are bad.  And it goes both ways.  There is no grand conspiracy to get Nebraska. 

Didn’t we have 4 or 5 facemask calls?  Those are pretty black and white .  Don’t grab the opponents facemask and then you wouldn’t have to worry about giving them 1st downs.  And the refs missed an obvious facemask on Altmeyer on an Illinois 4th down.

Regarding the late hit, I agree

with Mitch that it would have been a very weak call.  And how about we don’t face a 3rd and 42 and put ourselves in a position that we need the refs to bail us out?

 


Yeah when you think about it, it's kind of weird in terms of how the rules are drawn up:

- When it's a rushing play to the end zone, you just have to have the tip of the ball grazing the goal line, and it's fine if somebody then comes up and almost simultaneous to this crossing point punches the ball out of your hands - that's a touchdown.

- When it's a passing play, you have to "continue the motion" all the way to and through the ground.

There was almost no doubt in my mind they were going to overrule the Neyor play with how the reffing had been going all night.

 
Red Five said:
And how about we don’t face a 3rd and 42 and put ourselves in a position that we need the refs to bail us out?
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Agreed.

And why don't we kick a damn field goal when it counts and then let our defense seal the win? Just so frustrating to see the same stuff with special teams costing us wins, season after season.

 
Red Five said:
Agree to disagree. Whining about the refs is just a loser mentality IMO.

B1G refs are bad.  And it goes both ways.  There is no grand conspiracy to get Nebraska. 

Didn’t we have 4 or 5 facemask calls?  Those are pretty black and white .  Don’t grab the opponents facemask and then you wouldn’t have to worry about giving them 1st downs.  And the refs missed an obvious facemask on Altmeyer on an Illinois 4th down.

Regarding the late hit, I agree

with Mitch that it would have been a very weak call.  And how about we don’t face a 3rd and 42 and put ourselves in a position that we need the refs to bail us out?
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This is just odd. Yes, they missed a facemask on Altmeyer - but they missed at least half a dozen holding calls that would have directly affected their drives, and the also missed a blow to Raiola's head. 

Discussing the refs and their impact on the game isn't "whining." This is exactly the attitude I'm talking about. Big Ten refs are bad. But they're not equally bad, and that is worthy of discussion without gatekeeping it by calling it "a loser mentality."

 
Undone said:
Yeah when you think about it, it's kind of weird in terms of how the rules are drawn up:

- When it's a rushing play to the end zone, you just have to have the tip of the ball grazing the goal line, and it's fine if somebody then comes up and almost simultaneous to this crossing point punches the ball out of your hands - that's a touchdown.

- When it's a passing play, you have to "continue the motion" all the way to and through the ground.

There was almost no doubt in my mind they were going to overrule the Neyor play with how the reffing had been going all night.
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I can understand the "process" when going to the ground (to an extent) but in this case I compare it to a strip/fumble like you did. He has possession in the endzone with a foot down. The play should be dead and over right there, TD.

 


I've only seen one angle of this replay, but it seems to me incomplete was an option not even considered.  That DB pulled the ball out with his right hand, but after the ball comes free & both players are on the ground, Neyor has his right hand trapped, & he comes up with the ball in his left.  Unless the ball is trapped between them, he scooped it off the turf. 

 
As much as I hate Bielema, he has always had our number. He had a good plan and his team executed the plan perfectly. However, we had more to do with the loss than Illinois. Illinois did their thing and we helped by stupid undisciplined penalties, missed FG, and several chances to put the game away but players did not make the play. In my opinion, this game was over when we didn’t make the 3rd and 3. If you know your kicker is as reliable as snow in south Texas, you go for it. Bottom line, we are still not mentally tough to beat ranked teams or win the close ones and that is coaching.

 
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