Now that Dana Holgorsen is no longer Nebraska's offensive coordinator, the question for interim OC Glenn Thomas and head coach Matt Rhule is, “What does the offense look like now?” The bigger question is, “Do the Huskers need wholesale changes?” The answer is “absolutely not.”
One of the true oddities of the Cornhuskers’ season, especially with four straight losses, is that Holgorsen’s offense often did what it was supposed to do yard-wise. The scoring, specifically, was the big problem.
These crazy-making statistics show just how bizarre Nebraska's season has been:
- The Huskers are still No. 3 in the Big Ten in total yardage, averaging 425 yards per game, and No. 7 in the conference in points per game at 30.2 per contest.
- Nebraska is one of four teams that have had more total yards than their opponent in every game this season. The other three are No. 5 Notre Dame (8-1), No. 1 Georgia (8-1), and No. 4 UCLA (9-0). The Huskers aren’t just 5-4; they have lost four straight games.
Those two tidbits, put up against each other, show that Nebraska’s success on offense this year hasn’t been all about a weak non-conference schedule. NU was in position to win their games against Indiana, Oregon, and Washington. Only the game against Illinois was out of hand early enough that Nebraska should have lost.
Dana Holgorsen wasn’t fired because the offense was abysmal, as it was a few years ago when Marcus Satterfield was demoted to tight end coach and Holgorsen was brought in. Thomas isn’t coming in with an empty cupboard. He’s got something to work with because Holgorsen’s big weakness was his inability to figure out how to get the offense into the end zone, especially over the last four games.
Yet another crazy-making statistic for this season is that Nebraska scored 20 points in the fourth quarter against Maryland. It hasn’t scored 20 points in a game since then. It’s very, very difficult to figure out what happened to the play-calling and offense over the last month, but four straight games where the Huskers couldn’t win the “race to 21,” as Holgorsen called it, or even get to 20, is why he was let go.
One easy answer for Glenn Thomas, if he wants to campaign for the full-time offensive coordinator job, is to run the ball more. During player press conferences earlier this week, center Justin Evans and tight end Luke Lindenmeyer said they wanted the offense to run the ball more. That’s one reason establishing a more effective run game is job one for Thomas, starting Saturday against Rutgers.
In adjusted EPA per Rush, Nebraska is tied for fourth in the country at 0.16 and is not far off from the No. 1 team, Army. And yet, over the last four games, Holgorsen went to the air way, way too often.
During the four-game losing streak, Nebraska threw more than 40 passes in three of those games. That’s an impressively pathetic number when you consider the Huskers didn't score at least three touchdowns in any of those games.
Nebraska’s running game has also been indicative of how things are going in any one contest. During the Matt Rhule era, the Huskers are 18-7 when they run for over 150 yards. When NU doesn’t get to 150 total rushing yards, the Cornhuskers are just 6-16.
This season, the divide is even more obvious. The Huskers are 5-0 when they top 150 yards rushing and (you guessed it) 0-4 when they don’t.
It’s also worth pointing out that when Nebraska rushes for over 150 yards, especially this year, that doesn’t mean becoming a one-dimensional offense. The Huskers have thrown for over 200 yards in every single game where they’ve also rushed for at least 150. They’re averaging over 40 points a game when their running game is effective.
The path back to the winning side of the ledger for Nebraska is clear. Whether Glenn Thomas follows it is key. Thomas doesn’t need to install a new offense or change starters at key positions. He’s just got to use the weapons and playbook at his disposal better.
Add us as a preferred source on Google