Three Keys to Victory | Nebraska
We're four weeks into the 2023 football season, and the Dogs have won two and dropped two. They'll go from Lincoln (Parish) to Lincoln (Nebraska) for one more non-conference game (and a huge payout). But we want to get more from the Cornhuskers than a way to keep the lights on. How can the Dogs leave Big Ten country with a W?
Best Players making plays
It's not hard to see who our best skill players are on the offensive side of the ball. Last weekend against North Texas, you had three DUDES: Smoke Harris in the slot, Cyrus Allen out wide, and Tyre Shelton out of the backfield.
Outside of those three guys, there's been very little consistency so far this year. Guys will show flashes only to get injured on the very next play. Guys will be hot for a drive and then disappear for the rest of the game.
The most inexplicably frustrating thing about Coach Cumbie's offense so far this year is the hesitancy to put the ball in the playmakers' hands. Let's look at "usage", a stat that measures how often skill players were used as a rusher or receiving target. So far, Smoke Harris is only being "used" on 11% of all snaps. To be fair, that's the highest by far on the team... But let's look at last week. Smoke had four receptions, two of which showcased the reason why he needs to have the ball in his hands as often as possible.
Shelton and Allen have spent a lot of time injured so far - but the point stands. If we want a chance, we have to find ways to let these three guys run the show.
Corn Turnovers
While it doesn't sound like a particularly good dessert, I'm hoping that we'll see a lot of Husker fumbles and interceptions on Saturday. And there's a good reason to be hopeful: In three games, Nebraska has turned the ball over NINE times. That's tied for second-to-last in the FBS (and more than all of the teams that have already played four games1).
With QB and turnover-machine Jeff Sims potentially returning to the lineup, it's not a matter of IF the Huskers will turn the ball over, but when. Tech needs to be ready to take advantage when Sims puts the ball in harm's way.
Last week, two of Nebraska's top running backs went down. Gabe Ervin Jr, who showed some promise through three games, is now out for the year. Behind him is a guy in Anthony Grant who has a ton of potential... but also the potential to turn the football over. In fact, after their Spring game, Matt Rhule said he "has to protect the football" after he "fumbled a couple of times". In the season opener at Minnesota, Grant fumbled at a critical point that eventually led to the Gophers' victory.
When the ball is in jeopardy, we HAVE to go out and take advantage.
The running QB
The Nebraska offense is not good by any stretch of the imagination. They are 99th in total offense - due to their putrid 130 passing yards per game (127th in that category). They rank 21st in rushing offense, but in two of their three games so far, a Quarterback has been the leading rusher.
Jeff Sims and Heinrich Haarberg are both quick, physical runners who take advantage of the RPO system they're running. There are ton of designed QB runs, option looks, and scramble opportunities. Last week, Haarberg passed the ball 24 times and ran it 21 times for 98 yards!
We have got to be ready to face the dual-threat QB, regardless of which one it happens to be. Our LBs will have to play fast and physical, and we will have to WRAP UP and MAKE TACKLES.
Can we? That remains to be seen - but if we have a W in the record book after this one, that will be a large part why.
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Evan also writes for go tech pls dont die - check them out at gtpdd.dog and on Twitter at @gotechplsdntdie