Nebraska vs Wisconsin: Grading The Game

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

The Nebraska Cornhuskers escaped with a 37-34 win over The Wyoming Cowboys last night at Memorial Stadium. Husker Corner grades the game position by position.

Quarterback: Taylor Martinez might not have had his best game last night, but he certainly wasn’t a big problem either. He did throw a pick and made a few bad decisions, yet when you look at the stat line he had a decent game. He went 17/22 for 155 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Grade: C+

Running Backs: This unit shined for Nebraska on Saturday night. Ameer Abdullah and Imani Cross both rushed for over a hundred yards and Terrell Newby rushed for 76 more. This group might be the most talented at any position on the team.

Grade: A

Wide Receivers/TE: Quincy Enunwa and Jamal Turner and Kenny Bell looked great in Saturday night’s season opener. It just seems like there wasn’t a large enough sample to really be able to evaluate the group as a whole.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line: The first half was a horrible exhibition of how not to block. For an experienced group that is supposed to have depth they looked weak until after halftime. They did adjust and provide holes for  the running backs did a decent job protecting Martinez. It was an average outing.

Grade: C+

Defensive Backs: I was a bit disappointed in this group. Ciante Evans is supposed to be the leader of the Blackshirts, but he didn’t play like it. To be honest, Stanley Jean-Baptiste was the shining star of this group. That guy was everywhere he needed to be against Wyoming. Green was average, Cooper showed promise. but it was a sub par effort for the DB’s.

Grade: C-

Linebackers: This was the most frustrating group of the night. They are all inexperienced and it showed. Again, the one who is supposed to lead this group look like he was out of shape, slow, and ineffective. David Santos is supposed to be the guy to bring the newbies along. If he is the example, then this unit is doomed.

Grade: D

Defensive Line: This was a mixed bag of good and bad. Jason Ankrah and Thad Randle have not improved as players and it showed. There were glimpses of what the defensive line might look like in the near future, and that is worth getting excited about it. Randy Gregory will be an All American Candidate before his college career is over, and Vincent Valentine is going to be a beast. At the end of the day, they still struggled against an inferior Wyoming offensive line.

Grade: C-