Nebraska Football Is 5-0 by Playing Two Games in One

Nebraska is 5–0. Five wins. Zero losses.

Rather than simply burying an overmatched opponent, Nebraska played two games - one where they trailed and looked like the bad old times were back…and one where they crushed the opposition. More of the latter and less of the former, please.

SMQ had predicted a 24-point victory. The Huskers beat Maryland by 25 points. Apparently, we forgot to specify that we'd like those points a little more upfront. But, as SMQ guest and former Nebraska basketball coach Tim Miles reminded us, "games aren't won and lost in the first half."

For a while, this looked awfully familiar. Maryland moved the ball like Lloyd Christmas on a ski slope, Nebraska piled up penalties, and Anthony Colandrea threw an early interception. George was unhappy. Jay was unhappy. And Maryland was driving with a 23–14 lead, threatening to make it a 16-point game. Maryland was thinking, "so you're telling me there's a chance."

Then Dwayne McDougle III intercepted a pass and took it 81 yards the other way. Suddenly, the entire afternoon looked different.

George happened to be on the phone with Bob (complaining about the Huskers) when the play happened. So we've discovered a new defensive adjustment: George calls, George panics, Nebraska scores. We will be submitting this information to the coaching staff. You're welcome.

The Blackshirts followed the touchdown with a quick stop, and Colandrea drove Nebraska downfield for a touchdown pass to Luke Lindenmeyer just before halftime. Somehow, over two hours after kickoff, the Huskers went into the locker room ahead.

SMQ welcomed former Nebraska basketball coach Tim Miles to this week's episode, and his comments about adjustments and resilience fit the football discussion perfectly. Miles explained how coaches weigh when to change tactics and how players must learn to respond when things get difficult. His warning about expecting the game to be easy sounded relevant to Nebraska's start. We can't know what the players were thinking, but they certainly played like a team that took their opponent more than a little lightly.

Maryland gained 300 yards in the first half and 95 in the second. Rob Aurich's defense adjusted, and the Terps never scored again. Luckily, it looked like Maryland's QB Malik Washington is conservative at heart, as he could only throw successfully to the right. Once the Huskers figured it out, the domination began.

We've watched Nebraska let a bad stretch become a bad afternoon often enough. This team recovered, took control, finished the job, and left Maryland thinking, "what's with all this one in a million stuff!"

Now, about the flags.

Nebraska committed 16 penalties for 132 yards. Maryland had 12 for 115. That's 28 accepted penalties between two teams that apparently thought we had nowhere else to be on Saturday.

SMQ’s view was that some calls were awfully picky, including a roughing-the-passer call that helped Nebraska. When both teams are collecting flags like hotel loyalty points, it's fair to question the crew. George's response was equally fair: the Huskers still committed too many avoidable penalties. False starts don't become acceptable because we're annoyed with the officials.

Offensively, Kwazi Gilmer continues to look like a terrific find. Colandrea's legs gave Nebraska another way to keep drives moving, although hurdling defenders is an exciting way to make everyone worry about the quarterback's health. Take the slide. We'd like to keep you around.

And finally, we're throwing to the tight end beyond the line of scrimmage! Perhaps somebody has been listening to SMQ! We’ve been begging for more TE involvement for the last three seasons. Lindenmeyer can help this offense downfield. Having him looking backwards while running parallel to the line of scrimmage is no way to use him…or any other TE on the roster.

Nebraska handled adversity and beat a team it should beat. That's progress. The first 30 minutes - and the penalties - gave us plenty to worry about before Indiana arrives.

Right now, we’re going to simply enjoy 5–0, while not confusing a clean record with a clean performance.

Go Big Red!

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