The end is near for Scott Frost and his tenure as Nebraska’s head coach. Losing at home to Sun Belt foe Georgia Southern will do that. But there’s plenty of blame to go around. And the deficiencies — especially on defense — are glaring.

With the offseason coaching changes and pickups in the transfer portal, there was hope Nebraska could turn things around. Three games in, that’s not the case. Nebraska looks ill-prepared, and there seems to be no answers on the horizon. Let’s take a look at 5 areas that aren’t Frost-related that Nebraska needs to improve quickly before things spiral even more out of control.

1) Tackling woes

One of the most surprising and disappointing aspects thus far is Nebraska’s porous defense. A unit that kept the Huskers competitive in 2021 has been inept through 3 games. Missed tackles are a major culprit. On too many chances, Nebraska defenders have whiffed 1-on-1 in the open field. And too many times it’s resulted in extra yards and first downs for the opponent.

The tackling problems aren’t relegated to just a few defenders. There’s multiple suspects and all 3 levels are to blame. Frost said earlier in the week that practices would feature more 1’s vs. 1’s. That should’ve improved pursuit angles and tackling. But the same missed tackles that Huskers fans saw in Dublin and last week were evident against the Eagles.

2) Lack of pressure on the quarterback

Forget the fact that Georgia Southern QB Kyle Vantrease diced up the Huskers for 409 yards and a touchdown. He’s not the first quarterback to have success torching Erik Chinander’s defense. It was the amount of time he had to find receivers that stood out. Nebraska can not get pressure from its front 4.

The Eagles only punted once. Vantrease was picked off twice — both by Marques Buford Jr. — but had all day to throw. He spread the ball around to 8 receivers. The Eagles converted 9-of-13 third downs. Nebraska’s front could not disrupt him. Garrett Nelson, Caleb Tannor, Ochaun Mathis, Colton Feist and Ty Robinson among others are not getting home on pass rushes. The back end coverage is OK, not great. Opposing quarterbacks will continue to feast unless Nebraska can ramp up the pressure.

3) Coverage on back end

To be fair, Nebraska’s defensive backs have been asked to do a lot. They’ve had to cover longer due to a lack of pass rush. However, the corners played soft and gave too much cushion Saturday.

Georgia Southern’s Derwin Burgess Jr. hauled in 12 balls for 119 yards. Nebraska had no answer for him. The Eagles’ up-tempo offense seemed to put the secondary on its heels.

Depth seems to be a concern for the secondary. Tommi Hill, Quinton Newsome, Miles Farmer and Buford have played the majority of the snaps. Chinander needs to find more guys he trusts. The Eagles ran 86 plays and played at a fast pace. That wears on defensive players, especially guys tasked with chasing receivers around in man coverage.

4) Offensive line play

Yes, the offense was good Saturday. It was the first time Nebraska had ever lost a game in Memorial Stadium when scoring 35+ points (214-1).

But the offensive line remains a work in progress. Running the ball has been a challenge. Anthony Grant’s talents (and his 3rd straight 100-yard game) are covering up weaknesses up front.

The Huskers ran for 257 yards Saturday. But protecting Casey Thompson in the pocket is another story. He was sacked twice and hurried on several other occasions. As good as the Nebraska offense was, there were still several drives that ended without points because of missed assignments up front.

5) Blown leads, close losses

Yes, you can pin this on the head coach if you choose. However, players have to execute. Plays have to be made. At what point does it fall on the players to finish a game?

Nebraska lost its 10th straight 1-possession game under Frost. Yes, that’s right, 10 straight losses in such games.

Nebraska took the lead with 3:05 left after a 98-yard TD drive. Georgia Southern was forced to march 75 yards for a touchdown against a raucous home crowd. They did. They deserved to win. But Chinander’s defense has to make a stop in that situation. The Eagles converted 2 3rd downs and a 4th down on the drive.

Were the Huskers and Chinander out-schemed by Clay Helton and his offensive staff? Absolutely. But the close losses are no longer a coincidence. They’re a glaring trend, and the psyche of the team is bruised and battered.

You could cut the tension with a knife inside Memorial Stadium Saturday. Nebraska fans feared the worst and the worst happened again. The fan base deserves better.

Frost’s fate is all but sealed. Whether it happens this week or after Oct. 1 when his buyout drops to $7.5 million from $15 million is irrelevant. If Nebraska can’t clean up its other areas of need, no matter who is coaching the remainder of the season, wins will be few and far between.