On Saturday, the Nebraska football team will take on a Georgia Southern squad that is still a three-touchdown underdog. That should mean that the Huskers are going to be able to announce their presence with authority and head into Sunday convincing people Scott Frost and company has turned things around.
There are numerous reasons why the Huskers should dominate Georgia Southern. However, if the team is finally going to show that they deserve to win big, let alone win at all, some questions will need to be answered. If they are not answered in the affirmative, there’s a chance the Nebraska football team could struggle the same way it did for most of the game against North Dakota.
Nebraska football and the offensive line
Right at the top of the list of questions for the Huskers against Georgia Southern is a question that has plagued the program for pretty much the entirety of the Scott Frost era. Will the offensive line be able to hold its own?
Against North Dakota, the line showed some signs of improvement in the second half after what can only be described as an abysmal showing in the first half.
Of the five starting linemen: Teddy Prochazka, Turner Corcoran, Trent Hixson, Broc Bando, and Bryce Benhart, only Bando has scored a total blocking grade over 60 from PFF so far this season. Bando is also the only offensive lineman with a pass-blocking grade over 80 this year.
While there were definitely some improvements against North Dakota compared to Northwestern, that was to be expected against an FCS school. The question now is whether it was actually improvement, or simply playing a lesser opponent. This unit will be one to keep a close eye on Saturday night.
Will notable Nebraska football MIA players see some action?
While the Huskers have been relatively injury free since the season started, there are a few players who are among the walking wounded. There players tend to be listed as “day-to-day” by Scott Frost and company, though that designation usually means they are just a day or two away from getting back into the game.
That doesn’t really appear to be the case with tight end Travis Vokolek or linebacker Nick Henrich. As a matter of fact, there are growing murmurs that Vokolek’s injury especially might be the kind that is going to be nagging him throughout the season. That’s bad for a number of different reasons.
The fact that the Cornhuskers are remarkably thin at tight end is just one of the concerns. Another issue is that he looked like such an effective safety valve for Casey Thompson in the Northwestern game. Vokolek is a team captain and looked every bit the player that could take the offense on his back. Now he’s almost certainly going to miss the Georgia Southern game and it’s not clear if he’ll be back for Oklahoma.
Henrich’s absence doesn’t have the same impact mainly because he wasn’t exactly shining through before getting hurt. However, it’s hard to argue a linebacker corps that is as thin as this one isn’t missing another team captain and starter.
And then there’s Rahmir Johnson. The Nebraska football player who had a position specifically made for him has seen one target in two games and has not yet touched the ball. Frost called him out in one of his weekly press conferences by saying that he felt bad for Rahmir. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to actually see action.
It might not help Rahmir’s cause that he tweeted out a gif after the game on Saturday that appeared to show he’s not happy about what’s going on.
Will the Nebraska football team find a way to actually get him the ball against Georgia Southern?
Can the Nebraska football secondary finally step up?
It has been absolutely no secret that the Huskers have had real problems all up and down the defense. There have been times when the run defense has leaked like a sieve. There have been times when the pass rush has been totally and completely non-existent.
And then there have been times when the secondary has looked confused and out of position on down, after down, after down. In comes a Georgia Southern team that is going to try and take advantage of the lack of a pass rush and pass coverage issues from the first offensive snap.
The good news here is that the Nebraska football team should be big, strong and fast enough to handle what the Eagles can throw at them. It should be pointed out that Georgia Southern is transitioning to a pass offense after years of running the triple-option.
Nebraska football fans certainly know that kind of transition isn’t an easy one. Even in the era of transfer portals, where coaches can more easily bring in players that fit their system, there’s still the actual transition to a new system.
The added wrinkle here is that GSU’s starting quarterback Kyle Vantrease faced off against the Huskers even though this is the first time the Eagles and Cornhuskers have ever played one another. He was the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bulls when they came to Lincoln last year.
Last year, Vantrease completed just 27 of 50 passes for just 224 yards. His team didn’t find the endzone and he threw an interception. So who does the rematch favor? It should be the Nebraska football team. It certainly should be.