Carriker Chronicles: What Does Nebraska Need to Do?

Adam Carriker breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly from Nebraska’s season so far. He has an honest conversation about Matt Rhule, Dylan Raiola, the Huskers' run defense and the offensive line. Adam also debates what's next for Nebraska football, what they need to do and how realistic winning nine games still is.

Hit the play button is below to watch, and scroll down for a synopsis.

Adam discusses what Nebraska has done well so far this year, including having the No. 1 pass defense in the country, one of the top special teams units in the country, and the No. 5 pass offense in the country so far this year. They also have a top 20 scoring offense and the 21st ranked scoring defense in the country right now as well.

Adam discusses the upcoming schedule and how opponents are going to be harder over the next two months than what the Huskers have faced in their first four games. That being said, Nebraska will be favored most likely in all four of their games in October and have a very realistic shot of being bowl eligible before November.

On the flip side of things, the Huskers have the 87th rush offense in the country, especially after only having 43 total rush yards versus Michigan on Saturday, zero rush yards in the second half versus the Wolverines and averaging only 1.4 yards per carry in the game as well. On defense, Nebraska allowed an average of almost 9 yards per carry and almost 300 yards rushing to Michigan. The Wolverines also had rushing touchdowns of 75, 54 and 37 yards. The big plays absolutely killed Nebraska’s defense versus the Wolverines.

Michigan’s quarterback, Bryce Underwood, threw for only 105 yards and barely completed over 50% of his passes. But running back Justice Haynes, the Big Ten’s leading rusher, rushed for well over 100 yards for his fourth straight game this season.

The Huskers' offensive line also allowed seven sacks on the day. Michigan did not have to blitz a bunch to get pressure on Dylan Raiola, which meant they could drop more people into coverage, which also forced Dylan to hold onto the ball longer. At some point, Dylan does need to get rid of the ball faster and if he can’t because of good coverage, at least throw the ball out of bounds.

Adam talks about what Nebraska needs to do next. The biggest thing is they need to understand that while the Michigan game meant more mentally and the loss definitely stings more, it just counts as one loss in the loss column and no more. Take advantage of the upcoming bye week to lick their wounds, get better and get ready to play Michigan State in Lincoln in two weeks. The Huskers will probably be favored for that game. If the Huskers win that game, they will be4-1, not a terrible start.

Adam says Nebraska needs to get back to the basics and fundamentals of blocking, shedding blocks and tackling as well. Adam says the Huskers should do a whole bunch of Oklahoma drill every day they practice during the bye week. Nebraska should be fresh anyway after playing Akron, Houston Christian right before Michigan. The Huskers need to focus on getting better at the basics and fundamentals of football and the Oklahoma drill is football at its finest; it also helps build a lot of toughness. Adam would also do a lot of one-on-one pass rush with the offensive line and defensive line. Nebraska’s defense has just five or six sacks on the season and they just allowed Michigan to have seven sacks in one game against them. You have to be able to win those one-on-one pass rush battles with your offensive line and also with your pass rushers trying to get to the opposing quarterback, and quite frankly, Nebraska is not winning enough of those one-on-one battles right now.

Lastly, Adam points out that there aren't a whole lot of 300-pound bodies gonna be walking through that door between now and the end of the season, but Nebraska did bring in a major transfer portal offensive tackle from Alabama, Elijah Pritchett. Maybe it will take a year before Elijah can truly contribute to the team since he’s a junior this year. But Adam would really like to see if they can get something out of Elijah this year so he can help their offensive line, and the upcoming bye week could potentially be a huge step in that direction. You don’t need anybody to walk through that door if you get better with who you have, and/or you have people step up and help contribute who haven’t done as much so far this year.

☛ Get more Carriker Chronicles here on Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, at Adam's website and on YouTube.

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