Dave Feit: Going Out With a Bang

Scott Frost sent packing after Georgia Southern shreds Nebraska’s defense

As I walked to my seat Saturday night, a catchy pop song was playing over the Memorial Stadium speakers. The lyrics of the chorus caught my attention:

So put your best face on everybody
Pretend you know this song
Everybody come hang (come hang)
Let's go out with a bang
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I'm way too young to lie here forever
I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang)
Let's go out with a bang
Bang! Bang! Bang!
- ("Bang!", by AJR)

That song set the tone for one of the most surreal games in Nebraska history. A million points. A billion yards. Fire cannons, lasers and fighter jets. Two bald eagles (one real, one costumed). A T-shirt cannon that fired blanks. Small children who should have been in bed were held up by their fathers in hopes of getting on the HuskerVision "Simba Cam." Husker fans booed their own coach AND members of the opposing team.

Just your typical Husker home game, as painted by Salvador Dali.

Oh yeah, Nebraska - a 23-point favorite - lost by three points as a 52-yard field goal faded left as the clock hit zero. Head coach Scott Frost would be unemployed less than 15 hours later.

NOTE: I'm intentionally not going to say a lot about Frost, his firing or any of the other big-picture stuff here. If you want to read more about Frost's tenure, why Trev Alberts gave him another chance and why he was fired before the buyout dropped on Oct. 1, I've got you covered.

In this space, we're going to focus on the team, the most recent game and the rest of the season.

Things I believe

The offense is good enough to carry the defense to some wins. Through three games, Mark Whipple's offense has shown the ability to throw it all over the field, run the ball when the defense is expecting it, and get drives into the end zone.

Yes, there are a laundry list of qualifiers we can - and probably should - mention: NU hasn't faced a great defense, the offensive line is still concerning, and will NU become more pass-happy with Frost gone? Also, I think this was Nebraska's first game without a turnover in the 21st century.

But if the defense is going to give up 30+ points a game, I'll take my chances in a shootout with Casey Thompson, Anthony Grant and the wideouts by committee.

It was shocking how poorly the defense played. Brace yourself, here come some horror-show stats: 409 yards passing. 7.8 yards per carry. 642 yards of total offense. 9 of 13 on 3rd down. 2 of 2 on 4th down. 5 of 6 in the red zone. Just one punt.

The Big Ten tracks 10 standard defensive statistics on their site (Scoring, Total, Rush, Pass, Pass Efficiency, & Red Zone defenses; Sacks, Interceptions, and 3rd & 4th Down Conversions). Through three games, NU is 13th or 14th in eight of those 10 categories.

For comparison, Bob Diaco's 2017 defense - easily the worst of the Big Ten era - finished 13th or 14th in seven of those ten categories.

If anything, the eye test is worse than what the statistics show. NU's defenders have looked slower and weaker than their competition in all three games, and often struggle to get lined up correctly.

The final score could have been worse. If Frost were still employed, we'd be talking a lot about how Georgia Southern's seemingly unstoppable offense was gifted a free possession at the end of the first half because NU could not / would not burn clock. A ten-second runoff because of penalty is the only thing that saved NU from being down seven at halftime.

In the fourth quarter, I was shocked when Georgia Southern attempted a 19-yard field goal instead of going for a touchdown on 4th & goal from the 2. Everybody in the stadium knew they could have scored if they wanted to. Kicking a field goal felt like an act of mercy.

Things I don't know

Which defensive starter does NU miss the most? Before the season, I assumed the defense would take a step back without starters JoJo Domann, Damion Daniels, Ben Stille, Cam Taylor-Britt, Deontai Williams and others.

But I never thought it would be this bad.

The salt in the wound is knowing that a few of those guys (notably Daniels, Taylor-Britt, Casey Rogers and Deontre Thomas) could have returned to NU in 2022.

I understand the transfer portal giveth and taketh away. I understand that players leaving early to get drafted is ultimately good for the program. But every time I see one of Nebraska's inside linebackers get swallowed up, or an edge rusher gets double teamed, I think about how much Damion Daniels could help this defense.

I fear this loss will be even more pronounced as the Huskers get into the meat of the Big Ten schedule.

Has an opposing quarterback ever had a bounce-back like Kyle Vantrease? On Sept. 11, 2021, Kyle Vantrease led the Buffalo Bulls into Lincoln. Vantrease had a so-so day: 27-50 for 224 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Bulls only managed a third quarter field goal in a 28-3 loss.

364 days later, Vantrease returned to Memorial Stadium wearing a different blue and white uniform. This time, the quarterback known as the "Ginger General" (I wish I were making that up) had a much better outing: 37-56 for 409 yards and a touchdown. While he threw two interceptions, Vantrease also led GSU's offense to 642 yards and 45 points. As an exclamation point, he ran for the winning touchdown.

Has any other quarterback improved his performance that dramatically against Nebraska? I'm sure there are candidates, but none come to mind.

What happens next week? No. 6 Oklahoma returns to Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2009. The Sooners' next scheduled trip to Lincoln is in 2030. For those of us who remember the Big 8, it will be great to renew the rivalry.

Oh, by the way, it will be Mickey Joseph's first game as interim head coach. It will be the third game of Brent Venables's tenure as OU's head coach, taking over for Lincoln Riley.

Maybe Joseph can push the right buttons. Maybe not having the pressure of playing for your coach's job will help the team play fast and loose. Who knows?

I'm not going to wager my house on the Huskers winning (or covering the spread), but I'm a lot more optimistic than I was Saturday night. Let’s see what happens.

Given Frost's and/or Bill Moos' attempt to back out of this series in March 2021, I find it hilariously ironic that neither will be a part of this game.

5 Things I loved

1. Casey Thompson. 318 passing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, and zero turnovers should be a recipe for success. Other than filling in at linebacker, there's not much more than Thompson could have done.
2. Anthony Grant. Through three games: 69 carries, 428 yards (6.2 yards per carry). He has yet to lose a yard on a rushing attempt. If Mickey Joseph wants to protect his fragile defense, a ground control attack (with some solid passing) is a possibility.
3. Marques Buford Jr. I think you know my thoughts on the defensive performance by now. (If not, stay tuned for the next section). But Buford is one of a handful of defenders worthy of a shout-out. He had the two big interceptions, but I was impressed by his hustle to stop a long run from becoming a touchdown. His tackle on 1st and goal before halftime forced Georgia Southern to burn their final timeout, hurting their chances to score.
4. Marcus Washington. Casey Thompson's roommate at Texas had a breakout game, catching six balls for 123 yards. I have no idea which wide receiver is going to be the star from week to week.
5. Brendan Franke & Brian Buschini. Georgia Southern had 11 drives, all of which started with a NU kickoff or punt. The Eagles’ best starting position was their own 32-yard line. You can't ask for much more than that from your specialists.

Honorable mention: Ajay Allen, Brody Belt, Isaac Gifford, Trey Palmer, Tommi Hill, Garrett Nelson, Simba Cam.

5 Areas for improvement

1. Erik Chinander. I've made my peace with NU being a "bend, but don't break" defense that does not get a ton of sacks or turnovers. But when the defense snaps like a twig, we have problems. As noted above, GSU had to go 70+ yards almost every time … which they easily did. If NU is going to improve on their 3-9 record, the defense must be dramatically better, and soon.
2. Linebackers. I'm willing to call out the defensive coordinator by name, but I'm going to do the same for individual players. Don't get me wrong - there were some surprisingly poor performances from guys who have shown more - but I don't want to go there today. If you watched the game, you'll know who I'm referring to. For the LBs, the inside guys can't take themselves out of plays, and get hung up in blocks.
3. Defensive line. Aside from the issues with stopping the run (and allowing the linebackers to do their jobs), I'd like to point out the following things about the defensive line (tackles and edge rushers): NU had zero sacks but was credited with six quarterback hurries. Two of those hurried passes were intercepted. The other four fell incomplete. Pressuring the quarterback seems to be a successful recipe.
4. Offensive line. One of the starters had himself a rough night. He got beat a lot, whiffed badly on several blocks, and was - at best - very inconsistent. He also played (at least) 95% of the game. Is the drop-off from starter to backup that steep? Anthony Grant and Casey Thompson are masking a lot of their failures.
5. Anthony Beck II. Beck is the punter for Georgia Southern. You probably didn't know this because Beck punted only once (Why? See reasons 1-3 above). But Beck - also GSU's holder - made himself known to the Nebraska student section after he "threw the bones" following GSU's final PAT. When the game ended, he ran over and made an ass of himself again, prompting a barrage of water bottles from the student section. Win with class, Anthony.

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