Nebraska coach Scott Frost expected some speed bumps this fall given the number of young players his program projected to use offensively, but even so, this is not the kind of production he or anyone in the program had in mind.
The Huskers have struggled to find consistency all year on offense and, given the context of the game, perhaps never more than Saturday against Minnesota.
A five-turnover outing against Illinois was brutal, but this — 111 passing yards and 308 total against, statistically speaking, the worst defense in the Big Ten — was every bit as frustrating.
“There's a little thing here and there again, and that keeps plaguing our offense," Frost said Monday. "I said it after the game, I really felt like we were kind of turning a corner, because practice had been really sharp for the last three weeks and last week was really sharp. Just a little thing here and there."
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The numbers are not kind to NU with one final game on the schedule. The Huskers’ 22.4 points per game are 12th in the Big Ten and tied for No. 104 nationally. They are averaging 5.27 yards per play (No. 8 Big Ten, No. 89 nationally), which is nearly a half-yard less than last year. Similarly, Nebraska’s 6.3 yards per pass attempt (No. 11 Big Ten, tied for No. 100 nationally) is a major drop-off from 7.9 in 2019.
The Huskers’ 14 turnovers are third-most in the Big Ten and they have slightly fewer yards per carry this year (4.51) than they did last year in conference play (4.57). Nebraska has four passing touchdowns this season. Every team in the country that has played seven or more games has at least seven besides Army, Navy and San Diego State.
Almost any direction you look, NU’s offensive efficiency has regressed from 2019 to 2020.
“I watched on film on Sunday morning and I'm seeing the whole play executed perfectly and then there's one guy that misses his block, one guy that runs the wrong way, gets the wrong signal, that screwed up the whole play and it's just frustrating because we're so close,†junior tight end Austin Allen said. “If I could go back in the play in that time, just make sure everybody's got the right thing. This offense is built to execute based on 11 guys doing the right job. It can't happen with just 10, but we’re so close.
“I'm seeing that on film every week. It's frustrating that we can't get that one guy to get it done, but that's on us as leaders to make sure that doesn't happen in practice, so it carries over to the game, so all 11 are executing at all times.â€
That’s part of the frustration for Frost and company. In the two games before Saturday, for instance, NU’s passing game showed signs of life, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt and the Huskers turned the ball over just one time. Then against Minnesota, a pair of giveaways — one each by junior Adrian Martinez and redshirt freshman Luke McCaffrey — and 3.8 yards per attempt, by far the worst efficiency mark of the season.
“We started the game off so bad by not hitting a simple play that killed the drive, had a tipped interception that killed another drive, a bad punt,†Frost said. “We didn't protect well enough and we missed some open guys. We had some guys running open. I think the receivers are doing a lot better job this year of getting the spots and getting there fast and being where they're supposed to be. We’ve got to protect a little better and we’ve got to make sure we don't miss (receivers).â€
Certainly, Nebraska’s issues offensively extend past one game. One of Frost’s biggest tasks of the offseason will be identifying where the most pressing problems are and what the solutions look like. He said Monday the staff has been examining why they’ve score significantly less in the second half (39 points) than the first half (118) this year.
At this point, though, the coach continues to point to youth and inexperience above almost everything else.
“If I've been frustrated with anything, and I talked about that some, but a lot of the receivers that are starting to make us a better team just missed time and it wasn't their fault,†said Frost, adding that he thinks veteran teams have handled the uncertainty of this season better than young teams. “… A lot of our receivers and running backs have been on the sideline for health issues and other things, and their development has been slower than I want it to be.
“We’ve got the talent in the program right now that I think can win and win a lot in this league. We’ve got to get them refined and, the kind of the musical chairs of who's playing this week and who's playing this week and not being able to stack reps on reps with the same key guys, that has kind of slowed down our progress a little bit.â€