@ Ohio State

Overview:

The Huskers took to a stadium devoid of fans and many of the typical sights of a normal football game. However, they were able to play and in many ways that is what it is all about. Though the Huskers were competitive in the first half, second half adjustments proved to be the difference in making the final score appear lopsided and show that the Huskers still have a long way to go before they are where they need to be. Let's look at the general stat breakdown of the game:

Rush yards: 210
Rushes: 36
YPC: 5.8
Pass Attempts: 20
OL Sacks Allowed: 2
TE/Back Sacks Allowed: 1

Skill Guys:

I think the thing that stood out the most was the two receivers that lined up on the outside - Levi Falck, Wyatt Liewer, and Kade Warner. I think this is the biggest concern for the Huskers. You probably heard Reggie Bush criticize Adrian Martinez for nothing the ball down the field. Well, I would be very nervous to throw down the field to those two as well. While I feel strongly that Warner is a great human being and defines what we want from the Nebraska Walk-On Program, I think it is concerning that we don't have any of the elite athletes that we recruited playing in those position. Falck, on the other hand, has been in the program since May and has worked his way into a starting role over kids like Jamie Nance, Alante Brown, Marcus Fleming, and Demaryion Houston. Maybe this is why Frost got rid of Troy Walters back in January. I'm not sure, but this is the biggest issue I see on offense hindering their production. As the season wears on, teams are going to identify that they can put their CB's on an island and key the box making it very difficult to run the ball.

I think Vokolek is very athletic but is also not the guy we want to be running the ball at in run game. However, I really like Allen as our TE/H-Back. He did make a mistake here or there, but I think the injury of Stoll makes him the guy.

Road Grader of the Game:

Bryce Benhart

Why: Over the course of 4 quarters, he had the least critical errors. He didn't have any eye popping highlights but for a Freshman getting his first start in the horseshoe he performed admirable. The first half was nearly flawless. He fell off in the second half a bit and gave up a .5 sack and got beat in run game. In the first half he had scored just under 75% which is good enough to get a win.

Strengths: I think the thing that sticks out the most with Benhart is his length. In the pass game he has great feet and his long reach allows him to stick defenders well before they can get engaged. He was excellent in pass protection. He is what you love in Offensive Line play - consistent.

Knockdown of the Game

Final Grades for the PIPELINE

LT Brenden Jaimes - 66% - C
Snaps: 46
Pancakes: 1.5 (shared one with Piper)
Sacks Allowed: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Thoughts: Solid pass blocker. It is easily evident why he on the left side. He allows Adrian and Luke the protection they need consistently. Most of his errors occur in the run game.

LG Boe Wilson - 65% - C
Snaps: 26
Pancakes: 0
Sacks Allowed: 0
Pressures Allowed: 1
Thoughts: For the most part, it seems Wilson and Piper are in a neck and neck battle to start at Left Guard. Though Piper had more snaps, Wilson played more in 'crunch time.' From what I saw, Wilson is a better technician and a little bit less of a liability due to his experience (lots of starts under this kid's belt). This is one of two positions on the OL that I think is still getting worked out.

C Cameron Jurgens - 63% - C
Snaps: 42
Pancakes: 2
Sacks Allowed: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Thoughts: This is the other position that seems isn't yet solidified. At his best, Jurgens is an absolute world ender. He's physical and smashes people up front. However, he's extremely inconsistent. High snaps are still haunting him for the second year in a row and this is unacceptable no matter how early in the season it is. He did get the majority of the snaps (42), but something tells me Will Farniok (6 snaps) and Hixson (7) are not that far off of him. Athletically, he is elite among his peers. He gets on Linebackers with lightning quickness. His upside is sky-high but he needs to fix the errors.

RG Matt Farniok - 69% - C+
Snaps: 51
Pancakes: 2
Sacks Allowed: 1
Pressures Allowed: 2
Thoughts: This guy is hands down the Huskers best run blocker. He is super physical and it seems moving him to Guard is long overdue. Pairing him up next to Benhart was a smart move by the coaching staff to put Benhart next to a guy that has a good grip on assignments. That being said, his biggest issue is pass blocking. As much as he is the 'go to' guy when they run, he's the guy to run from when the Huskers drop back. His biggest technical flaw is his tendency to lean forward when pass blocking. Leaning lead to both of the above pressures.

RT Bryce Benhart - 66%
Snaps: 55
Pancakes: 1
Pressures Allowed: 1
Sacks Given Up: 0.5
Thoughts: He was easily the bright spot of the Husker Offensive Line in the first half. He didn't make any amazing blocks but he was able to consistently erase his assignment from the play throughout the game. I was expecting him to look like a liability in pass protection in one on one situations as a Redshirt Freshman on an island against Ohio State but he stood up to the task. People: This guy is GOOD. Real good. His second half exposed several issues including footwork and knee/ankle flexibility but he definitely was the surprise of the game.

C Will Farniok 75%
Snaps: 6
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Sacks Allowed: 0
Thoughts: Don't let the grade deceive you because he only played 6 snaps. He was given the last drive of the first half and another at the end of the game. When he did get in the game he played well. Based off snaps, one would be led to believe he has a long way to go to catch Jurgens, but I thought he played pretty well. I would be interested to see him move to Guard next season because I think he is one of the better reserve OL the Huskers currently have.

C Trent Hixson - 71%
Snaps: 7
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 1
Sacks Allowed: 0
Thoughts: Again, only a sample size of 7 plays. He took over for Jurgens late in the game after it was out of reach. He played well in a reserve well but I don't think he played enough to get a feel for his strengths or weaknesses.

LT Turner Corcoran - 45%
Snaps: 10
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Sacks allowed: 0
Thoughts: The bright spot is that when he is on the field the Husker OL looks much bigger. As to be expected of a 6'9" Tackle, he really sticks out when he's on the field. However, he has a long way to go before he's ready to play at this level. 2 errors in just 10 plays is too much of a liability to be ready to get on the field. Something tells me that they want him getting as many snaps as possible because they WANT him to start next year. However, if Jaimes goes down, I think they will more than likely shuffle some people around to make it work.

RG Broc Brando - 50%
Snaps: 4
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Sacks allowed: 0

LT Christian Gaylord - 100%
Snaps: 2
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Sacks allowed: 0

Brant Banks & Matt Sichterman
Snaps: 1 each
Pancakes: 0
Pressures Allowed: 0
Sacks allowed: 0