Who were the best performers for Nebraska football against Louisiana Tech, and who needed to see a great deal of improvement?
Nebraska football’s performance against Louisiana Tech wasn’t everything fans hoped it would be. In a lot of ways, it felt like a bit of a step back from the week before against Northern Illinois.
That being said, there were certainly some Huskers who had themselves a game. You could even say they put the team on their back and willed them to a win.
A win, is a win, is a win. And without some of these performances, it’s possible it wouldn’t have been a win at all. Likewise there were some performances that really held the team back. Some performances the Nebraska football team could have done without.
To really do a deep dive into who had the best game (a GOAT for a day, so to speak) and those who had the worst games (just plain goats) we’ll be taking a look at how PFF graded out everyone’s performance and then give our own spin to a few who might not have made the lists otherwise.
Interestingly enough, using PFF‘s grades, you won’t be seeing either Anthony Grant or Heinrich Haarberg on these lists anywhere. Though both graded out well, neither were particularly outstanding.
I’ll take the starting quarterback and starting running back being solid if not great, all day every day. Nebraska football will win more games than they lose using that formula.
However, when looking at the GOATS for a day and the goats for the day, we’re looking for the guys who had fantastic games and who had really, really poor outings against LaTech. Dudes who we hope will continue to build and dudes who we hope will hit the reset button after this week and lead Nebraska football to a win against Michigan.
Best Nebraska football performers on offense against Louisiana Tech
The Nebraska football team didn’t put together a fantastic game against LaTech. However, they did manage to score 28 points and had over 400 yards of total offense. So clearly, not everyone struggled. In fact, some guys had a bona fide great game.
Teddy Prochazka
Nebraska football fans have been waiting for Teddy P to get healthy finally. It’s games like the one he had against Louisana Tech that make mouths water for when he’s finally ready to play a full 60 minutes.
On Saturday, Prochazka played just 13 snaps but made the most of that playing time, grading out with the best score of any Nebraska football player with an overall score of 91.4. He was especially effective in blocking on run plays, scoring an 81.3 grade for the game.
Thomas Fidone II
The tight end has mostly been improving since a pretty bad season debut against Minnesota, and by PFF standards, he had his second-best game of the year, with his 74.5 grade only being bested by his 79.8 against Colorado.
He had only one reception against LaTech, but it went for 30 yards and a TD. He also scored good grades as a blocker. He scored 81.9 as a run blocker and 70.1 against the pass rush. Fidone is establishing himself as an offensive weapon in more ways than one.
Billy Kemp IV
The game against Louisiana Tech was the game Nebraska football fans have been waiting for Billy Kemp IV to have since he came over from Virginia. Kemp hauled in 5 passes for 62 yards.
More importantly, he bounced back nicely from his worst game of the year against Northern Illinois. Last week, he had three drops. This week he had none and showed off why he’s going to be an important target in the flat as the season goes on. The Huskers are going to need a receiver to step up and Kemp did so on Saturday.
Best Nebraska football performers on offense against Louisiana Tech
The stat of the day for the Nebraska football defense has to be a continued clamping down on the run game. The Blackshirts allowed less than 60 yards on the ground for the 4th straight game as LaTech. There’s a number of guys that stood out from the pack in that performance.
Javin Wright
The young defensive back is making a believer of Nebraska football fans. His performance against LaTech was actually his second, where he was one of the best defenders on the team.
Wright scored a total of 79.9 grade, 79.7 when it came to tackling, and 79.2 for pass coverage. He notched five tackles but also had 2 quarterback hurries and 3 “stops,” which PFF judges were plays that constituted a failure for the offense. Perhaps most importantly, the Bulldogs only targeted his zone once all game. That’s a season-low.
Blaise Gunnerson
Like Wright, Gunnerson is getting better as the season goes on. He started a right end for the Nebraska football team and got 32 total snaps and two tackles.
Clearly his best performances don’t necessarily fit in the box score as he graded out with a 77.8 overall grade, 76.5 for tackling and 71.5 pass rush grade. That pass rush score was the best on the Blackshirts.
Luke Reimer
Reimer makes the list despite only playing eight snaps both because he played well while he was in, and to underline that the Nebraska football team is in trouble if he doesn’t play against Michigan.
Reimer’s overall 70.8 score was his best of the season. He had one tackle and one assist and had his best coverage rating of the season. Granted, that might have been because he didn’t play much, but he still makes the grade for GOATs of the day.
Worst Nebraska football performers on offense against Louisiana Tech
Not everything was sunshine and roses for the Nebraska football offense. In particular there were some guys who likely wish they could have hit the rest button and started the game over.
Marcus Washington
If the Huskers are going to go bowling this season, they’re going to need to get a wide receiver or two to step up. Billy Kemp did. Marcus Washington on the flipside, had the worst grade of any offensive player with a total 46.7 score.
Despite playing 22 snaps, Washington only had one target and that might have been because when he was targeted, he dropped a pretty simple pass that hit him right in the hands that would have gone for a first down. It was the first game of the season that Washington didn’t have a catch, but he really hasn’t had a “good” game yet this year.
Turner Corcoran
Anyone who watched the Nebraska football offense likely knew at least one offensive lineman was going to be on this particular list. Turner Corcoran hasn’t had a very good season. In fact, he hasn’t a very good career.
Against LaTech, he scored a meager 52.1 overall grade and a rather glaring 0.0 pass block grade. He earned that awful rating as he allowed a sack (that should have been a turnover) as well as three quarterback hurries in 24 pass block snaps. The left tackle has to start playing better or he needs to be replaced.
Emmett Johnson
Of any of the goats for this game, Emmett Johnson likely is the one who should get a pass, considering this was the first game of the year where he saw any real action on offense. However, he still graded out poorly enough to make the list.
Overall he earned a 55.6 grade thanks in large part to some deficiencies when he was asked to block. He did get 2 carries but had just 6 yards and turned out to be a guy the Nebraska football coaches couldn’t lean on at all.
Worst Nebraska football performers on defense against Louisiana Tech
While the Nebraska football team once again looked solid on defense, they didn’t record a sack and at times, had some issues tackling. There were a few players that had especially bad games Saturday. Added note here is there’s a pattern in this trio that is a bit concerning.
Elijah Jeudy
When the Texas A&M transfer came to Lincoln, there were high hopes that he’d be able to give the Huskers a solid pass-rushing specialist. He certainly didn’t that, or much else on Saturday. His 41.9 overall grade was the worst of the team and he scored just a 37.2 grade against the run.
Jeudy’s highest grade of the season is just 58, despite getting a decent amount of playing time, even if he’s not starting. He needs to start doing better.
Mikai Gbayor
It was probably time for Mikai Gbayor to have a bad game, considering he came out of nowhere to post a pretty solid season so far. Over 27 snaps he garnered a 48.6 overall grade and was especially bad in tackling with a 20.1 grade.
Gbayor didn’t record a tackle, but he did have a missed tackle. Here’s hoping it’s not a situation where offenses are figuring out how to approach him.
Chief Borders
Borders, a transfer from Florida scored a 56.6 overall, which marks the third time in four games that he’s garnered a “bad” grade. If there is one area where he did alright it was tackling as he graded out at 75 there.
It’s not great that two of the worst performers for the Nebraska football team are transfer players. Coaches hope the portal can offer help right away. Like Jeudy, Saturday afternoon is far from the only time Borders has struggled this season.