What did we learn- Ohio State edition

[theknife]

Last night was a confirmation of many things for me:

-The decision to redshirt all of the Oline class this year was finally exposed. Lets hope we have RS Freshmen that are able to provide solid depth next year.

-The lack of a real pass rushing DE was on full display last night. I think a juco infusion of two DEs would be a prudent choice for 2017. At DT, I think we will be OK next year.

-This offensive scheme is built around Armstrong. Without him, we reverted to a team with no identity or direction. Some seem to want to lay last night all on Langsford, but I'm not sure that's a fair shake. That said, there were numerous questionable decisions; however, none of which I think could have changed the direction of the game.

Where do we go from here:

-It's hard to know if OSU finally just connected all the dots vs. NU or if we were lucky to take Wisc to OT and be 7-1. I'm assuming it's a bit of both. I certainly am not in favor of rolling heads at this point.

- How the team plays the remainder of this year really will impact of opinion of the staff as whole going into year 3. If we win out, 11-2 is still 11-2. As much as last night was a sh#t our pants moment, 11-2 is an improvement on where we have been. Maybe it's a galvanizing moment for the team and staff like the sh#t show that was last year.

-All the visits of these high rated prospects need to materialize in commitments if we want to be relevant again.

-The direction of the offense in 2017. Tommy is a gamer and has carried this team in 2016. With him gone, the coaches have to establish something that can be our foundation. Tanner Lee by all accounts(see Nate Gerry interview from last week) is poised to be the guy in 2017. To be successful we need to establish some form of an identity. Last night is either indicative of a scheme built for Tommy or an offense that will have a serious identity crisis come the Spring.

-Defensively establishing a pass rush is must. We have the guys to compete against average Big 10 talent, but we are playing single A ball vs. the real teams.

 

[gbr93]

This game was a statistical anomaly. OSU beat the spread by an improbable amount. Our teams quarterback and our most important player by leaps and downs went down and we are not nearly the same team with our second string quarterback in. If we played again with tommy back in the game, it would probably be competetive. The doomsdayers are being overly dramatic.

We were down by more than the spread (21) when Tommy got hurt with like 7 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Stop kidding yourself.

We were driving to cut the lead potentially to 24-10 when he got hurt. Instead we get no points and watched our senior leader get taken out in an ambulance. That's a pretty big momentum swing I would say.

 

[HuskerPowerVA]

This game was a statistical anomaly. OSU beat the spread by an improbable amount. Our teams quarterback and our most important player by leaps and downs went down and we are not nearly the same team with our second string quarterback in. If we played again with tommy back in the game, it would probably be competetive. The doomsdayers are being overly dramatic.

We were down by more than the spread (21) when Tommy got hurt with like 7 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Stop kidding yourself.

We were driving to cut the lead potentially to 24-10 when he got hurt. Instead we get no points and watched our senior leader get taken out in an ambulance. That's a pretty big momentum swing I would say.

I like your optimism. I woke up this morning and cursed the daylight savings time as I thought it might have given OSU more time to score again.

 

[KCBuc]

MR better look seriously at every coach on his staff and if they belong.

He needs to recruit some JUCOs right away. This team is bare of talent

 

[Decked]

The talent gap was massive as was the coaching. Both lines got whipped and so did both our coordinators. I'm looking forward to see more of a youth movement next year on both lines. We also need to find a kick returner with more speed and awareness. Bryant isn't getting it done.

Here's to hoping for Gates, Foster, Raridon or Decker, Farmer, and someone other than Knevel at the last tackle spot. Defensive line could be scary because besides the twins & Mick at the DT spot it is bare. Hopefully, Parella can develop one of the younger, speedy defensive ends to provide more pas rush next year.

 

[TonyStalloni]

Considering that before the season started I thought we would end at 8-4 with losses to Oregon, Wisc, OSU and one other we shouldn't have lost (NW, Minn or Iowa}, we are still one game ahead of the curve so far. The lack of depth and injuries to Foster and Farmer is biting us in the a$$ now. The D line was a worry and against .500 teams we do ok but we seriously need an upgrade at DE. I don't think I've seen our DE's get any pressure for 2 weeks. To say special teams were average would be an exaggeration. I don't see why DPE isn't running back kickoffs. Tre will be a good running back someday and he catches well but his judgement is poor. I watched OSU intentionally kick high and to the 2 yard line consistently and their coverage people were swarming the ball by the time he took 2 steps. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that we will never recruit 4 and 5 star talent or be able to develop 2 and 3 star talent in a 2 deep at all positions in any one year. We will have good games against good teams but still lose to elite teams and will get blown out at least once a year. 2018 is going to be vicious if you haven't looked at the schedule.

 

[gbr93]

This game was a statistical anomaly. OSU beat the spread by an improbable amount. Our teams quarterback and our most important player by leaps and downs went down and we are not nearly the same team with our second string quarterback in. If we played again with tommy back in the game, it would probably be competetive. The doomsdayers are being overly dramatic.

We were down by more than the spread (21) when Tommy got hurt with like 7 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Stop kidding yourself.

We were driving to cut the lead potentially to 24-10 when he got hurt. Instead we get no points and watched our senior leader get taken out in an ambulance. That's a pretty big momentum swing I would say.

I like your optimism. I woke up this morning and cursed the daylight savings time as I thought it might have given OSU more time to score again.

I'm not saying we would have won, pretty obvious our defense wasn't going to get any stops on a consistent basis last night, but I do think it would have been a much more respectable outcome. We will never know though

 

[4skers89]

I thought games like this were behind us.

I was absolutely incorrect.

You weren't the only one fooled. A blowout like this continues to sets the program back. If this happens in year 4 of the Riley experiment then we need to move on.

most people can agree with this. But this is year two and we may have been out coached but our players were out played as well. Coaches called some plays especially early that gave us a chance. The players didn't execute on some of those plays. At the same time it was clear Meyer and Co was much better than Riley and Co yesterday. It's not all on the coaches, our coaches are't bad coaches at all. Exact same should be said for the players. But Ohio State has one if the 3 best coaches in college football and players across the board who would be starting over our guys if they played for us. Not at every position, but at most positions. Combine that with the fact we came out and executed poorly and fell apart with playcalling, and OSU played one of their best games to date yiu get a blowout loss

There was a lot of half effort by the players. It's become acceptable for blowouts to occur. The reason Meyer gets stressed out over a loss is that his biggest fear is losing will become acceptable. We have witnessed these kind of blowouts under 2 different coaching staffs so I place a lot of blame on player attitude. I'm giving the coaches 2 more years to fix that. Maybe Riley's leadership style will eventually instill enough pride into the players that they will never give up in difficult games but I don't know. He seems like too nice of a guy and I think the fix involves less coddling and more tough love. Something maybe only an a-hole like Meyer can deliver which is meant as no disrespect to him. Perhaps Riley can simply set the expectations higher and the players will respond. I definitely believe these kind of losses set a program back. If I was one of the many 4 and 5 star OSU recruits watching the game last night, I would not consider Nebraska.

We had an A hole as a coach before so I don't think that is the key to urbans success. Not saying you were saying it was, but I don't think personality is a determining factor, more how you utilize your personality.

Other than that I can't disagree with anything you said

A-hole was a short description of Meyer I used to convey my point. If you equated it to Bo then it sent the wrong message which is why I added the "no disrespect intended". A more accurate description of Meyer is a highly competitive person that holds everyone accountable and a masterful manipulator. Look at some of the things he has done. Questionable offensive play calling in a loss to MSU gets Beck demoted and Warriner is given play calling duties. Defense not playing to his expectations so Fickel is in effect demoted to Co-defensive coordinator. He doesn't let things slide, sets high expectations and is willing to make changes when they aren't met. I can't imagine all the ways he manipulates the minds of young players. One obvious thing he probably uses is that most of them have aspirations to play at the next level. He can draw the highly rated recruits in selling them on the idea that his staff can put them into the NFL. If they don't perform well, I'm sure he's not afraid to bench players. That is a lever he has because of the 4 and 5 star players sitting on the bench. Given that atmosphere I doubt many underclassmen that can be drafted would stick around for an extra year. Might as well go play in a similar high pressure situation and get paid. Most people work with someone that doesn't work as hard as they should. There are athletes that perform below their potential and aren't earning their scholarship. With Meyer there are consequences. In our marshmallow world some would call that being an a-hole. I respect what he has accomplished and I don't have a problem with how he does it.

 

[hskrpwr13]

Agree with the few that have mentioned that this is more of a one-off than an indictment of the entire program.

OSU isnt "that" good, and NU isn't "that" bad. NW and UW competed quite well with OSU, and we competed quite well with NW and UW. OSU didn't sign a new recruiting class before this game.

The play calling used the same type of script they've been using for many games this year. There was nothing worse about the play calling last night than there has been most of the season.

injuries, talent red-shirted, still some old-regime mentality, along with some known deficiencies at key positions all contributed to this moment being too big for the players. As soon things went south in the first quarter, the collective folded. It is a shame that there are players in this program that will be awed when playing at an OSU when they play their home games in a place equally hallowed as OSU, Michigan, Bama, etc. IMO, this blowout was more on the players than coaching staff, despite some obvious failings there too.

 

[Nebfanatic]

I thought games like this were behind us.

I was absolutely incorrect.

You weren't the only one fooled. A blowout like this continues to sets the program back. If this happens in year 4 of the Riley experiment then we need to move on.

most people can agree with this. But this is year two and we may have been out coached but our players were out played as well. Coaches called some plays especially early that gave us a chance. The players didn't execute on some of those plays. At the same time it was clear Meyer and Co was much better than Riley and Co yesterday. It's not all on the coaches, our coaches are't bad coaches at all. Exact same should be said for the players. But Ohio State has one if the 3 best coaches in college football and players across the board who would be starting over our guys if they played for us. Not at every position, but at most positions. Combine that with the fact we came out and executed poorly and fell apart with playcalling, and OSU played one of their best games to date yiu get a blowout loss

There was a lot of half effort by the players. It's become acceptable for blowouts to occur. The reason Meyer gets stressed out over a loss is that his biggest fear is losing will become acceptable. We have witnessed these kind of blowouts under 2 different coaching staffs so I place a lot of blame on player attitude. I'm giving the coaches 2 more years to fix that. Maybe Riley's leadership style will eventually instill enough pride into the players that they will never give up in difficult games but I don't know. He seems like too nice of a guy and I think the fix involves less coddling and more tough love. Something maybe only an a-hole like Meyer can deliver which is meant as no disrespect to him. Perhaps Riley can simply set the expectations higher and the players will respond. I definitely believe these kind of losses set a program back. If I was one of the many 4 and 5 star OSU recruits watching the game last night, I would not consider Nebraska.

We had an A hole as a coach before so I don't think that is the key to urbans success. Not saying you were saying it was, but I don't think personality is a determining factor, more how you utilize your personality.

Other than that I can't disagree with anything you said

A-hole was a short description of Meyer I used to convey my point. If you equated it to Bo then it sent the wrong message which is why I added the "no disrespect intended". A more accurate description of Meyer is a highly competitive person that holds everyone accountable and a masterful manipulator. Look at some of the things he has done. Questionable offensive play calling in a loss to MSU gets Beck demoted and Warriner is given play calling duties. Defense not playing to his expectations so Fickel is in effect demoted to Co-defensive coordinator. He doesn't let things slide, sets high expectations and is willing to make changes when they aren't met. I can't imagine all the ways he manipulates the minds of young players. One obvious thing he probably uses is that most of them have aspirations to play at the next level. He can draw the highly rated recruits in selling them on the idea that his staff can put them into the NFL. If they don't perform well, I'm sure he's not afraid to bench players. That is a lever he has because of the 4 and 5 star players sitting on the bench. Given that atmosphere I doubt many underclassmen that can be drafted would stick around for an extra year. Might as well go play in a similar high pressure situation and get paid. Most people work with someone that doesn't work as hard as they should. There are athletes that perform below their potential and aren't earning their scholarship. With Meyer there are consequences. In our marshmallow world some would call that being an a-hole. I respect what he has accomplished and I don't have a problem with how he does it.

Again I understand and agree. I know you weren't thinking of a Bo comparison but I was just pointing out I don't think tough love is the right or wrong answer. I don't think what Riley does is the right or wrong answer. I think it is largely determinate on how you go about it like your pointed out with Urban. Simply doing the tough love thing won't work unless you know how to work it to the advantage of you and your players in a sustained manner, which Urban, Saban, and Harbaugh all do with alot of success. But the players coach nice guy type can succeed as well if he can properly use that attitude to get the most out of the players. If done correctly, that type of coaching can produce incredible results. 3 of our titles can attest to that

 

[Judoka]

We learned that a team we almost beat (Wisconsin) and a team we beat (Northwestern) found a way to play competative against tOSU and for whatever reason we didn't.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

We aren't there yet.............not even close...............that's what I learned, but already thought.

 

[GBRHouston]

Here is my analysis:

I normally say what we did well first, then dwell into the bad. However, we did nothing good yesterday, we looked like Rutgers.

The game started out with the fact that OSU's offense simply out-talented our defense, and that quickly turned into them just flat out giving up as the game went on. That is disappointing as hell considering the fact that this is the first game I have ever seen Riley let his team give up and not play 60 minutes, and in my opinion is just horrible. I get that we lost our leader to a bad hit, but they let that completely shut them down. A game lasts 60 minutes. They normally play 60 minutes. Last night, they played 15 and then accepted defeat.

People on the "Fire Riley" train need to look at reality. We are 7-2. Yes it is an ugly 7-2, but we are 7-2. And that is with a bunch of Pelini players, most of whom we will lose this year. That being said, I do want Read and Langsdorf gone. I have already voiced my displeasure with Read so no need to go into that. Langsdorf has been horrible since either the Illinois or Indiana game, can't exactly pinpoint which one. I have given him many chances before I voiced my displeasure with him, but those are all up. He was great at the beginning of the year, then tanked a few games in. I get it, all teams have stuff on offense that does not work. His job is to fix that, and he simply is doing nothing about that. Whenever you run a play that doesn't go well, you try something different. Not try and do it again and again and again hoping it will work.

We cannot let this deflate us. Keep in mind we still have 3 regular season games left. We need to look forward to those, then look forward to a possible Citrus/Outback Bowl berth. Keep in mind that most people predicted us to be 9-3 this year in a rebuilding year, with a blowout loss to Ohio State. So far that prophecy is looking intact. We weren't going to be a playoff contender this year, and people need to remember that.

GBR

 

[Nebhawk]

I have read comments on several sites. Some of those have really stood out. Nebraska isn't a top tier program in means of competing in today's game. Haven't been relevant since 2001. This Big 10 gig, well is been great for volleyball, but its killing the football program. When you have the money to hire a great coach, and no coaches want that money, self explanatory, your program is not the power it once was.

Nebraska is not a doormat, but it's also not a feared program. It hasn't been since TO retired. Can Riley win out this season and have a fine 10-2 season with a possible 11-2 season? Sure. Odds are that we play a great team in a bowl game like Washington or Louisville and get completely blasted again. Louisville, yes Louisville has better talent top to bottom than our program that boasts about having 5 Nattys and played for many more in an era of football that truly might never, ever appear in this great place called Huskerville. Reality bites.

 

[Nebhawk]

Would like to also add that firing Riley isn't going to do anyone a benefits. Scott Frost is maybe the only coach on the radar who would take this gig right now. I am for that because he represents Nebraska, and knows what it takes to compete. UCF is competing. Frost wasn't good enough two years ago. Is he now?

Firing Riley will only set this program back. Yes, back, further than Callahan years. This starts at the top. Eichorsts needs to go. It seems that I always hear we have this luxury of cash in place to compete with any program when it comes to donor dollars. Why in the world can't we hire proven AD's and head football coaches? Why? Where is this money? If these donor dollars exists, lets start throwing the cash out, firing anyone and everyone until we get the people in position that will fight for what was once a proud and powerful football tradition. Show me the money!!