Nebraska vs Wyoming: Five Things We Learned From The Wyoming Game

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Five Things We Learned From The Wyoming Game:

1) Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck Needs To Open Up The Playbook:

Nebraska had almost three times as many rushing attempts as passing attempts. Beck refused to let his wide receivers be nearly as big of a factor as they could have been. While establishing the run gave us the opportunity to see Ameer Abdullah, Imani Cross, and Terrell Newby slash and spin their way to a combined 295 yards rushing.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez added another 80 yards on the ground.The problem is that the senior quarterback only had 155 yards passing. With the wide receivers this team has, there is no excuse for anything less than 250 yards passing per game. That falls on Beck and his play calling. He needs to let this team live up to their full potential. A balanced run/pass attack could have put another 20 points on the board for the Huskers against Wyoming.

2) David Santos Looked Slow:

Not that there were many defensive highlights in Nebraska’s 37-34 win over Wyoming, but I expected David Santos to have some kind of impact. Instead, Santos just looked downright slow. No disrespect to former Husker linebacker Will Compton, but I don’t know if Santos plays any faster than he did. I know it’s a one game sample, but if this is what we continue to see Santos chasing plays from behind instead of making plays, Nebraska should pull the trigger and start Josh Banderas at the Mike position.

3) Stanley Jean Baptiste is Becoming A Superstar:

He was all over the field on Saturday. In my opinion he was the lone bright spot on defense for Nebraska. Jean Baptiste was an animal in the defensive backfield breaking up passes, grabbing an interception, and making plays. He might be the guy who leads the Blackshirts this season, not Ciante Evans.

4) Randy Gregory and Vincent Valentine Struggled  But Also Showed Promise:

Both Gregory and Valentine had miscues against Wyoming, but they also showed what kind of players they will be once they fully grasp the game speed and Nebraska’s defensive schemes. These two are going to be leaders for the Husker defense in the near future.

5) The Offensive Line Still Needs To Clean Up Mistakes:

The o line had good moments a few nights back, but they are still making too many mistakes. While they showed the ability to open holes for Nebraska’s running backs and did a good job of keeping Taylor Martinez on his feet, they also killed drives with stupid penalties. This unit has two weeks to completely clean up the miscues.