For the third game in a row, the Huskers' offense was only able to produce 1 touchdown. QB Zack Taylor was 10 of 20 passing for 93 yards and no interceptions. These aren't passing numbers you would expect to see from a quarterback in a West Coast offense. Taylor just isn't getting the job done. Hopefully the extra week to prepare will help the offense iron some things out. He needs to spend some time working on his deep passes. Taylor has been missing wide open receivers deep and if he would put a little more air under the ball it would give the receiver more time to adjust or run under the ball. The Huskers are also in dire need of a tight end the can stretch the field and make the tough catch over the middle. Callahan and the coaching staff need to eliminate the costly alignment penalties. RB Cory Ross was the only bright side for the offense, rushing for 161 yard on 32 carries. More impressively was the way he was able to make the first tackler miss. He also did a good job protecting the ball and didn't turn it over. Ross is the Huskers' biggest weapon on offense. The Blackshirts were dominating against both the run and the pass. Even though they didn't produce any points or turnovers, they held the Pittsburgh Panthers to just 2 field goals. The Blackshirts also recorded 4 more sacks bringing the season total to 20. Punter Sam Koch was clutch in helping the Huskers win the field position battle, including an 84 yard punt that was the second longest punt in school history. But the game ball still goes to Ickes for the blocked kick at the end of the game that secured the Husker victory. The Huskers have an extra week to prepare for the Iowa State Cyclones and they need to make the most of that time to improve the offense. The passing game needs work and maybe its time to look at some of the freshman talent. We may need the defense to score in this game, at the very least produce some turnovers. Look for this to be a hard hitting low scoring game. My prediction the Huskers 13 and Cyclones 9. |
