Will the Huskers ever score 35-42 points in a game when they really need to?

admo

admo

New member
I am not so sure.  In fact, unless proven that they can do it, I doubt they can score 30 points in a Big Ten Game.   :(

Currently...
There are 32  D1 teams that score 35 points per game.
There are 25 additional D1 teams that score 31-34 points per game.  
That's 57! teams scoring 31 ppg or better every time they play!

Here is what the Husker offense has produced in meaningful games this year so far:  :(
The offense scored 21 against CU.   
The offense scored 21 points against Purdue.  
Against Rutgers, the offense scored 14 points.
Illinois has a good defense, similar to Rutgers, and the Huskers offense scored 24 against iLLinois.

And not without mention,  (recently) just last year in Big Ten Games, the Nebraska offense has scored 20 points or fewer 8 times, 17 points or less 7 times, and 10 points or fewer in a game 4 times.    :facepalm:

Having said that, this year's Nebraska football offense appears to be more skillful, especially with better QB play.  Plus bigger, more veteran WRs and Tight ends.  Even the group of RBs seem to be better this year.  And the O-Line has been good, and even better than last year.  chuckleshuffle

However, there will be games on the remaining schedule that if the offense scores 30 points or less, it might not be enough to win.  

So if they are not producing touchdowns against Colorado, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers, why would they score 30 points or more against better teams that are still on the schedule?

For reference,  take a look at how many points per game the following teams are producing (including Nebraska).  Competition, stats, rankings are important - so I get that.  The Huskers have a much, much better defensive team than most of these teams have played against, so we are thankful about that.  But stats are still stats.  Touchdowns are still touchdowns.  Points are still points (unless you need your defense to score for you as well).

Indiana 47.5 points per game
Ohio State 46.0 points per game
USC 30.8 points per game
Nebraska 28.0 
Wisconsin 27.6 points per game
Iowa 27.0 points per game
UCLA 14.0 points per game

The Husker defense (Blackshirts) have been doing all they can on their side of the ball to keep the score in reach so far.  But the games are about to get harder, against teams that can score a lot of points.  

Time will only tell if this offense wakes up against Indiana, against Ohio St, against USC, etc.  Because deep down we know the Huskers offense can.  But also, deep down we know these all won't be 20-16 games.

So I ask you this - will 35 points beat Indiana?  Beat Ohio State?  Beat USC?  Beat Wisconsin?  What if the defense is on the field for long stretches and eventually wears down or has a bad day at the office?  Will the Husker offense come to the rescue like so many other teams in the Nation that are scoring often? 

Because I'm not so sure we can score 31 regularly - and even that might not be enough in 2 or 3 games, including against Indiana.

Thoughts?
 

 
Like it or not.  I think Rhule really wants to mold this team into a traditional BIG10 team like Iowa.  Great defense, Great Special Teams, and just enough good offense.  We've got one out of three, and there have been times where we have had 2-2.5 out of 3.

The days of us having a scoring explosion type of offense in the BIG10 aren't really a thing.  I mean even Ohio St had their starters in early 4th qtr against Iowa just to get to 35 points.  And they are considered the most high flying offense in the league.

 
I think the number is closer to 30, that we must score to win 5 of the last 6. UCLA is bad, we will win that one and get to 6 for a bowl for sure. To get beyond that, the offense and ST are going to have to participate more than they have so far.   Wins could happen with less than 30 points, but the offense can't be going 3 and out. Time of possession is key in October and November.  Even if you don't score points, you must hold onto the ball for a while to give the defense a break. 

We also have to be able to convert field goals, and stop losing the hidden yardage battle.  We are minus 185 yards so far on returns for, versus returns against.  That's significant and hurts.

 
Yes

As far as thoughts- I think you are trying to compare our offense in ways that aren't realistic.  In many of the games we won comfortably, our play calling changed considerably to shorten the game.  MR isn't interested in style points for good reason.  We haven't made a bowl game in years so his only concern is winning games and keeping our guys healthy.  So far, so good.  Yes, we are going to lose more games, and yes, our offense has a ways to go before we can regularly compete at elite levels.  That said, we could have easily scored more points in some of the games we won but we just didn't need to.  

 
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soup said:
Like it or not.  I think Rhule really wants to mold this team into a traditional BIG10 team like Iowa. 
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I really doubt this is what Rhule wants to do, seeing how that model is proven to be entirely inadequate towards the goal of championships. It might be all we're capable of right now though.

soup said:
I mean even Ohio St had their starters in early 4th qtr against Iowa just to get to 35 points.  And they are considered the most high flying offense in the league.
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35 points is a lot of points and an even more impressive amount of points against Iowa, who has allowed that many only four times in the last five years (Ohio State twice, Michigan, and Tennessee).

 
Moronic question imo... (not saying you are one @admo) but I've heard others ask this and it infuriates me. Rhule and company are in year 2 ffs... News flash... the sky is NOT falling!! "Ever Again"... come on people!! Sit back, watch the team get bowl eligible and enjoy watching Rhule and company rebuild the program the right way. How many have forgotten that players that have huge NFL paychecks waiting think enough of this staff to say "Hell Yeah I'm coming back".... No transfers out, total buy in from the players, red shirting again, building depth finally, getting young talent involved... and fans are so caught up in the immediate they can't see past their noses. Enjoy This, Relax and Take it in.. if the shown improvements continue on this trajectory in a couple years we can look back with absolute satisfaction.

 
Loe Doesnt Know said:
Moronic question imo... (not saying you are one @admo) but I've heard others ask this and it infuriates me. Rhule and company are in year 2 ffs... News flash... the sky is NOT falling!! "Ever Again"... come on people!! Sit back, watch the team get bowl eligible and enjoy watching Rhule and company rebuild the program the right way. How many have forgotten that players that have huge NFL paychecks waiting think enough of this staff to say "Hell Yeah I'm coming back".... No transfers out, total buy in from the players, red shirting again, building depth finally, getting young talent involved... and fans are so caught up in the immediate they can't see past their noses. Enjoy This, Relax and Take it in.. if the shown improvements continue on this trajectory in a couple years we can look back with absolute satisfaction.
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News flash.... this is a message board, and it's fun to talk about both the present and the future.  Your opinion isn't any more valuable than his, and it's not a moronic question at all.  If things like this infuriate you, an internet message board isn't for you.

You can sure sit back and enjoy the ride, while others can talk about the current state of things right this second.  There are no rules in fandom.

 
Satt is easy to blame, but ST's related to FG's is abysmal at best.  Chasing 3 and we are incapable of getting 3....OL struggles at time.  I'd start Mazz the rest of the year.  Running game isn't at the level to rely on to get tough yards or eat the clock.  6 games in and  Rhule talking about the RB's need to break tackles.  WR's have issues getting separation.  Raiola seems to throw "lazy".  He's a true freshman who I hope was brought back to reality after passing for 14 yards in the 2nd half against Rutgers.  Need to use Fidone across the middle on delayed routes like teams have against us for the past 10 years.  Hoping the 6'5 260 hulk can catch it out of the backfield and turn up field prior to running out of bounds is ridiculous.  Satt gets beat like he stole something in the 2nd half of games.  I'd say "shut down" isn't too far off save Purdue.  To the question, we are not a team capable of scoring that many points.  Not in year 2.  Not with Satt. 

 
Wouldn't be a bad idea to score 35 to 38 against Indiana.  I'm patiently waiting for a bit more firepower from our offense to show up.  I'm sure it would make Rhule and Satt happy as well.  Def has been stellar for the most part.  

 
lo country said:
Satt is easy to blame, but ST's related to FG's is abysmal at
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Satt certainly isn’t that great and his coaching history bears that out, however, you bring up a good point that makes his job so much harder this year.   When you know and your opponent knows that you can’t make a FG, it gets tough to play call in the Redzone.  I believe the FG issues really do hamper our offense even more than we probably realize 

 
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soup said:
Like it or not.  I think Rhule really wants to mold this team into a traditional BIG10 team like Iowa. 
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Eh, Iowa is Iowa. They're kind of an outlier in all of football: somehow able to win games with the most anemic offense in the game.

For at least the last 20 years, the best teams in the Big 10 have been a lot like the best teams in the other conferences, running balanced offenses and solid defenses built on their recruiting advantage across the board. 

This Husker offense has already shown big play capabilities. Raiola's 8.0 yards per attempt is more than acceptable, and I would expect a breakout 35 point game. But probably not two of them.

If our big plays don't go all the way to the end zone, the Huskers tighten up in the red zone and have to settle for the field goals we probably can't make. As mentioned, it reminds me a lot of the San Francisco 49ers offense this season, absolutely loaded with talent and led by the most heralded play-caller in the NFL.  

 
Archy1221 said:
Satt certainly isn’t that great and his coaching history bears that out, however, you bring up a good point that makes his job so much harder this year.   When you know and your opponent knows that you can’t make a FG, it gets tough to play call in the Redzone.  I believe the FG issues really do hamper our offense even more than we probably realize 
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The inability to "automatically" get a FG is rough.  I do think it impacts play calling in that "if this play doesn't get the 1st, we still get 3" vs "we are at the 25 and this is 4 down territory".  3 points would have made a HUGE difference with Frost and now Rhule.  Hard to chase 3, when no one on that staff or fan base believes we could "get 3" when needed.  It's killing us.  I'd hit up the soccer team, rugby team whatever and get me a kicker.  

 
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