The Nebraska football team finished 2021 with a 3-9 record. That is not a surprise to a single Cornhusker fan who has paid any attention at all. What might not be as obvious is why, exactly, the team had such a rough season.
Certainly, there were a number of areas that were clearly not very successful. Of their nine losses last year, eight of them were within one score. The other one was by nine points. That, too is not exactly a surprise for anyone who suffered through the campaign. The Huskers seemed to be in every game right up until the very end.
The question still remains why did the Huskers have so many problems closing out games and especially closing out wins when they had leads late in a contest? There are theories out there that certainly fit, especially when it comes to blaming the special teams. After all, the Nebraska football team was ranked 128th out of 130 teams in special teams efficiency, according to ESPN.
So yes, certainly improving special teams is a must when it comes to winning more games in 2022. But that’s a bit of a gimme. It’s also quite nebulous. Considering how bad they were last year, it seems impossible that NU won’t improve at least a little bit in that department. That will certainly help win, but the ways in which that unit contributed to losses also seemed odd enough that it would be wrong to expect that to continue.
Penalties, too, have long been pointed out as one of the reasons Scott Frost’s teams lose games they should win. That’s why some Husker fans might be surprised to find out that penalties really weren’t that big a problem in 2021. In terms of fewest penalties committed and fewest penalty yards, the Cornhuskers were 21st in the country. Certainly, there’s room for improvement there, but it wasn’t anywhere near the Achilles heel it’s been in previous years.
So what are the areas the Nebraska football team must improve if it wants to actually win ball games in 2022 you ask? Read on.