Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Huskers Half Happy, Half Horrible as Backup Breaks Down Blackshirts
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On a sunny but brisk November Saturday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers scored 20 second half points to edge the Nebraska Cornhuskers 20-13. It was the first time in 33 games that Minnesota was able to come from a 10-point deficit to win a game as the Huskers squandered a 10-0 halftime lead and have now lost four straight to the Gophers.
The Husker offense, led by backup quarterback Chubba Purdy, scored on their first two possessions and looked inspired for the first 10:42 of the game. At that point, Purdy reverted to pathetic form and led six drives totaling 23 yards of offense as he presided over four three and outs and threw an interception. His totals for the game were 6 for 16 for 41 yards with the pick and two sacks and 24 yards rushing. After the first two drives, Purdy was 4 for 10 passing for 28 yards and rushed for -2 yards. He appeared rattled and confused and was left in the game far too long for the Huskers to have a chance. Logan Smothers (5 of 8 passing for 80 yards) had drops by Oliver Martin and Trey Palmer on 2 of his 3 incompletions that would have moved the chains. On his only other incompletion, he could have run for first down yardage. He rushed 4 times for 4 yards as he lost 3 yards on two sacks. Smothers may have afforded the Huskers a better chance had he played the entire second half as the team gained 111 of their 116 second half yards on the three possessions he was in the game.
The defense played spectacularly in the first half surrendering a paltry 31 total yards including -7 yards rushing while garnering 3 sacks. The Gophers had given up just 7 sacks total before this game. It was also the first time that Nebraska had held a Big Ten opponent scoreless in the first half since 2019. Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan was injured on the last play of the first half on a sack by Ty Robinson and so backup Athan Kaliakmanis replaced him after intermission. Little did the Huskers know at the time, that it would have been far better had Morgan not been hurt. Kaliakmanis went 6 for 12 for 137 yards and led the comeback for Minnesota. He was aided significantly by the anemic Husker offense that hung the defense out to dry. The Husker offense totaled 27 yards in the third quarter as they were only on the field 4:48 while Minnesota gained 217 yards. Minnesota star running back Mohamed Ibrahim had 7 yards on 4 first half carries and yet finished with 128 yards on 32 totes. As the defense wore down, Minnesota did what they do best. After the Purdy interception at the NU 33-yard line, Ibrahim carried the ball all 7 plays of the resultant scoring drive that gave the Gophers a 20-10 lead.
If you would have told me before the game that the Huskers would out rush the Gophers 146-125, I would have predicted a Nebraska victory. Minnesota was allowing 106 yards total a game and NU had 110 yards in the first half. Anthony Grant rushed 21 times for 115 yards in the game. Grant opened the game with six carries for 60 yards on the Huskers’ game-opening scoring drive and had 89 yards in the first half. The effort marked Grant’s fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season and he is the first Husker with five 100-yard rushing games in a season since Devine Ozigbo also had 5 in 2018. Unfortunately, there were not nearly enough yards generated in the second half and Minnesota figured out how to defense a trap play and the delayed handoff was consistently ineffective.
Marcus Washington (2 catches for 63 yards) was the favorite target of Logan Smothers and made a fabulous 32-yard grab on the sideline on a 4th and 10 that was initially ruled incomplete. His other catch was for 31 yards on a 3rd and 11 from the NU 11-yard line. He was not targeted at all by Chubba Purdy in the first 51 minutes of the game. Trey Palmer (5 catches for 37 yards) had a couple of key drops including one that ended Nebraska’s final drive. Although he had gaudy numbers before the Illinois game, Palmer needs to step up when called on and perform. No other wide receivers had catches in the contest as two running backs and two tight ends had a catch a piece. It was clear without Casey Thompson at the helm the passing game was far more deficient and fewer receivers were engaged.
Myles Farmer led Nebraska with a career-high 14 tackles, bettering his previous career high of nine tackles against Purdue last month. Luke Reimer had nine tackles to increase his career total to 228, moving him up to 22nd on the Nebraska career tackles list. With his four assisted tackles, Reimer became the 21st player in school history with 100 career solo tackles and 100 career assisted tackles. Marques Buford added eight stops with a pass breakup and a QB hurry. Edge rusher Caleb Tannor had one his best games as a Husker with a 13-yard sack in the first quarter and shared a seven-yard sack in the second quarter, marking his first sacks of the 2022 season. His 1.5 sacks were a career high, and it brings him to 9.0 career sacks. Tannor finished the game with six total tackles, including a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss, bettering his previous high of 2.0 against Northwestern in 2019. Ernest Hausmann recorded a two-yard TFL in the first quarter, marking his first career tackle for loss. The young linebacker is being tried by fire as the LB corps has been thinned due to injuries. Edge rusher Ochaun Mathis had a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss and finished with four total tackles. Garrett Nelson added five stops including 1.5 TFLs and Ty Robinson had the sack to knock Morgan out of the game.
Special teams also played pretty well but couldn’t overcome the offensive anemia. Nebraska punter Brian Buschini averaged a career-high 55.5 yards on six punts, including five punts of more than 50 yards with a best of 61 yards. He did have one touchback on a 49-yarder that resulted in just a 29-yard net. Timmy Bleekrode converted on field goals of 24 and 26 yards and is now 7 of 9 on the season. Brendan Franke had just one touchback on four kickoffs, but the kickoff team held the returners inside the 25-yard line on the other kicks. Nebraska failed to record either a punt or kickoff return.
The season is quickly heading south and bowl eligibility is essentially impossible with three games remaining. It would require a win in Ann Arbor next week against an undefeated Michigan squad, who plays Rutgers late Saturday, as well as defeating Wisconsin and Iowa who have started to discover offensive production of late. Mickey Joseph is doing his best to make lemonade from lemons but is not getting much help from his offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. The OC scripts a good opening sequence as Nebraska has scored five times on their opening possession but has failed to make any helpful second half adjustments. It doesn’t help that the starting quarterback is injured, but that is also not surprising given the punishment he has taken. Next week could get ugly as the desired changes to the program are still unknown and will inevitably take longer than the Husker faithful would prefer. Go Big Red!!!
- Related: HuskerMax game page. Minnesota Fanalytix.
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