Nebraska proves again it's incapable of turning the proverbial corner in loss to Minnesota
You almost had me, Scott Frost. You almost had me, Nebraska.
Just when I was starting to believe in Nebraska and think that maybe the Huskers had figured a few things out, Nebraska reminded everyone why that simply is not the case. Just when I was starting to think that maybe Frost was building something here, he reminded everyone why his tenure has been such a disaster.
Nebraska has this bad habit of playing up or down to its competition, and that has been the case all season, perhaps never more so than in Saturday’s 30-23 loss at Minnesota.
Mind you, this is a Golden Gophers team that lost to one MAC team (Bowling Green) and barely beat another (Miami). This is a Golden Gophers team playing without their All-America running back, Mohamed Ibrahim, and their second-string RB, Trey Potts. This is a Golden Gophers team that entered Saturday with the No. 124-ranked passing offense in the country.
Nebraska (3-5, 1-4) entered as a 4-point favorite on the road and looking like the second-best team in the West after a slew of close losses. But that’s why you don’t anoint your coach after almost beating someone. I’ll admit it, I fell for it.
I really thought that after 3 losses by a combined 13 points to current top-10 teams in No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 Michigan and No. 10 Michigan State, Nebraska had started to figure some things out. The Huskers were a play or 2 away from winning all of those games. But it’s a bad habit. Nebraska was also a play or 2 away from beating Illinois. It was a play or 2 away from beating Minnesota.
But alas, a loss is a loss. That’s the lesson here. Maybe I could count those close losses to top-10 teams as some sort of progress if Nebraska was able to beat teams that it should beat, but that clearly is not the case. Illinois is not a good team. Minnesota is not a good team (ask Bowling Green and Miami).
Once again, Nebraska had plenty of chances. A few sequences stick out:
- On third-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter, Adrian Martinez was stopped short of the goal line. On fourth-and-goal, true freshman Jaquez Yant tripped after taking the handoff and didn’t get in. A few questions about that sequence: Why is Martinez lined up in the shotgun when the ball is about a foot from the end zone? A QB sneak under center almost always works. And my second question is, on arguably the most important play of the game, why are you handing the ball to a player who has never scored a collegiate TD? Is that really the spot for something like that?
- Another huge play was a third-and-5 from the Minnesota 29 in the fourth quarter; the Huskers had a false start penalty to push it back to third-and-10. That was a killer because the entire playbook was open in four-down territory, but third-and-long has never been Martinez’s strength, even though he has improved as a passer.
- Nebraska missed an extra point and a 27-yard field goal, just the latest in the Huskers’ special teams struggles.
Losing this way to this team is symbolic of the way Nebraska has struggled. While Nebraska was playing with heavy hearts after defensive coordinator Erik Chinander’s father died in a car accident last week, Minnesota has also dealt with its share of adversity, perhaps as much as any B1G team. There have been injuries to key players like Ibrahim, Potts and wideout Chris Autman-Bell (who finally looked like himself in racking up 11 catches for 103 yards and a TD) and tragedy, too (Tanner Morgan’s father passed away in the offseason and No. 2 wideout Dylan Wright recently was granted time away from the team after a friend was killed in a shooting). And yet, Minnesota is the team that showed the toughness in the fourth quarter as Nebraska knocked on the door numerous times, only to be turned away.
Nebraska often falters when the first hint of adversity hits, as it is now 5-17 in 1-possession games. Is it any wonder why?
Here’s the harsh reality for the Huskers. They have 5 losses and 2 games left against top-10 teams (No. 6 Ohio State and No. 2 Iowa), plus a game against one of the B1G’s best programs, Wisconsin. Getting to 6 wins is going to be an absolute battle, especially for a team that is 0-4 on the road and 1-5 against Power 5 teams.
Those games against Iowa and Wisconsin will probably be relatively close, because this is a pretty good group of players. But it isn’t a team that wins games, and that’s what matters.
So when Nebraska almost upsets Iowa on Black Friday, don’t forget about this Minnesota game. Because Saturday showed us all who Nebraska is under Frost.