Husker Season In Review

Yesterday I posted my season preview for Nebraska, written prior to the season, in effort to give some thoughts on the Cornhuskers season to this point. A lot has changed since that was written, obviously. People didn’t know who Denard Robinson was. Jake Locker was still considered a premier quarterback. Teams feared Texas. And Rufus (Ohio’s Bobcat mascot) was still in the development stages of putting the beatdown on Brutus the Buckeye.

Back to Nebraska, as I offer you my biggest surprise, biggest concern, and what I’m most impressed by in the team’s 4-0 start.

Biggest Surprise: Taylor Martinez.

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Whether you prefer T-Magic, T-Mart, or T-Mobile (T-Mart for me), the kid can flat out play. Does anybody in Big Red country still remember Zac Lee? I thought it was no-brainer to start Lee prior to the season due to the high expectations of this season, and the experience that Lee had over the two alternatives. That was before I laid eyes on T-Mart. Pelini knocked the decision out of the park (now if he’ll just quit foolishly playing Cody Green a series each half). The only unanswered question I have left about T-Money is how he’ll respond to failure, which is sure to come at some point in this season, whether it be just an early deficit, or a loss that has to be gotten over.

Biggest Concern: Run defense. A staple of last year’s team was the ability to stop the run (9th in the country), which hasn’t gone as smoothly this year (53rd in the country). A look at the rushing totals allowed by the Blackshirts this year:

• Western Kentucky- 179 yards
• Idaho- 60 yards
• Washington- 175 yards
• South Dakota St- 141 yards

That’s a lot of yards to be giving up on the ground, especially to walkovers Western Kentucky and South Dakota State. Also, Washington isn’t really known as a ground and pound team either (although, I wouldn’t exactly call them a passing team). Maybe this is where the impact of losing Ndamukong the Great has been felt the most. Although, I think the young linebacking corps would shoulder most of the blame. They will be dealt a great test when they visit Daniel Thomas, the nation’s 5th leading rusher, on Thursday night in Manhattan.

Biggest Impression: Pass Defense. Lets be realistic here, the Blackshirts have a legitimate professional secondary. You can’t throw on them. Prince Amukamara is currently ranked 2nd overall by NFLDraftscout.net via cbssportsline.com. Not 2nd best cornerback, 2nd overall! So there’s half the field you can’t throw on. Dejon “Bones” Gomes is a big play waiting to happen and Eric Hagg knows how to lay the wood. Both players are wildly underrated . And all Alfonzo Dennard and P.J. Smith have done is intercept three passes a piece. This secondary is a place where quarterbacks go to die (just ask Locker’s plummeting draft stock). Nebraska is 3rd in the nation against the pass, 5th in interceptions with 10, and tied for 1st in Pick-6’s with 3 on the year already. In case you’re keeping score at home, the secondary has allowed three touchdowns and scored three touchdowns. So hide your kids, hide your wife, because the Blackshirts are dominating everybody out there.