On Sunday we wrote that there were plenty of signs that Nebraska has a long way to go as a program to be competitive based on its performance last week against Iowa.

We also said that game was a microcosm of Big Red’s season: Ugly early, more encouraging late.

So it makes sense that there would also be 5 signs from the 31-28 loss against the Hawkeyes on Friday that Nebraska is pointed in the right direction. Here they are:

Martinez makes mark

Adrian Martinez ended his season as the first freshman in Nebraska history to account for 3,000 yards of total offense. Pretty impressive considering he missed a game with an injury and won’t get to add to his total in a bowl.

Martinez was new coach Scott Frost’s top priority in recruiting and the Californian showed why with 2,617 passing yards and 629 rushing yards for 3,246 total in 2018. Against Iowa, Martinez had 260 passing yards and ran for a team-high 76. Better yet, he scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 3:22 left then hit Kade Warner on a terrific 2-point conversion pass to tie the score at 28-28.

He also became the first quarterback in school history to rack up 300 or more total yards in seven games,

Special teams awareness and guts

Nebraska has mostly struggled on special teams this season. But in the final two games the unit was more of an asset than a liability.

Against Iowa, linebacker Luke Gifford stuffed a fake field goal try on fourth and 3 deep in Nebraska territory. The Hawkeyes did not fool the Cornhuskers at all.

On the ensuing drive, Nebraska showed incredible guts by going for a fake punt from their own 9-yard line. Again Gifford was the key; he lined up as an upback in punt formation, ran right and gained 5 yards, just enough for the first down. That sparked a 14-play, 98-yard touchdown drive to bring the Cornhuskers within 28-20 early in the fourth quarter.

A force on fourth down

Nebraska was not very good on fourth downs for most of the season, converting only two until doing so three times in one drive on Nov. 10 in a victory over Illinois.

The Cornhuskers did even better against Iowa. Including the fake punt, Nebraska succeeded on all four of their four-down attempts against the Hawkeyes.

That made Big Red a respectable 9-for-20 on the season. We will see going forward how often Frost takes a risk on fourth down but it’s a safe bet that he might do it more as he gains confidence in Martinez and the offense.

They never quit

This is to be expected from every team, but history shows that not every team keeps giving a full effort when things go badly in the course of a season or during a game.

Nobody can accuse the 2018 Cornhuskers of that.

They got so much better in several areas by the end of the season, and in some ways the Iowa game was the ultimate proof. The defense in particular still needs some work but the effort was there, all day in Kinnick Stadium and all season in general.

Road atmosphere didn’t matter

When the Cornhuskers took their first road trip this season, Sept. 22 at Michigan, they looked totally lost. That had something to do with the talent edge that the Wolverines have over Big Red, but the players also did not respond well to being in front of more than 100,000 opposing fans at The Big House.

Nebraska finished 0-5 on the road in 2018 but the road performances grew more assured as the season progressed. Certainly in Iowa City, Nebraska looked like a team ready to win away from home in the second half. It did not happen but the mental toughness that Frost and his staff helped to build throughout the season was evident.