EVANSTON, Ill. — Nebraska had to shuffle its offensive line extensively for the first time Saturday against Northwestern.
The results were a mixed bag.
Sophomore center Cameron Jurgens didn’t make the trip due to an injury, which meant senior Matt Farniok slid to center, senior Boe Wilson flipped from left guard to right and redshirt freshman Ethan Piper played left guard full time instead of splitting reps with Wilson as he did in Week 1.
“We knew Cam wasn’t going to play,†Nebraska coach Scott Frost said. “I didn’t want to say anything because we want to protect our guys. We knew he wasn’t going to play and we wanted to make sure that we had a veteran guy in there that could make the calls and at least get the ball back to (quarterback Adrian Martinez), so I thought Matt did a good job repping there.
“But (Jurgens being out) certainly didn’t help us.â€
Jurgens missed a small amount of time due to injury against Ohio State and dealt with multiple foot injuries between his high school and early college career, but settled in and played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019. It is not clear whether he is at risk of missing more time.
The group struggled with penalties again Saturday, drawing three false starts and a pair of holding calls, but also helped Nebraska rush for 5.2 yards per carry against a stiff defense and amass 442 yards of offense overall.
“I think they handled that situation pretty good,†senior running back Dedrick Mills said. “It was a quick change-up because of Cam, but you can put anybody in the game. I feel like the whole O-line is just more experienced coming back for another year. Everybody knows each other’s assignments, so it wasn’t hard and it wasn’t nothing that I had to worry about.â€
Farmer’s big half: Redshirt freshman safety Myles Farmer showed he’s more than a fill-in Saturday.
Making his first career start in place of senior safety Deontai Willimas, who sat the first half because of a second-half targeting penalty against Ohio State, Farmer logged his first two career interceptions.
“He answered the call, you know,†senior corner Dicaprio Bootle said. “He showed up big-time for us, gave us big opportunities for our offense, getting them the ball back and just basically being baller. Being the baller that he is.
“He earned a lot of respect from a lot of people today and I didn’t expect anything different. Going forward, everybody’s just got to continue to work, and he understands that. Having him today was a big boost."
Junior Cam Taylor-Britt was suspended for the first half as well, and sophomore Quinton Newsome filled in ably in his place.
Both Taylor-Britt and Williams slotted back into the lineup after halftime and appeared to play the dominant share of snaps the rest of the way.
1 + 7 = more, please: Through two games, Nebraska sophomore wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson has 10 catches for 81 yards and hasn’t turned in a play longer than 21 yards.
On Saturday, he had four catches on eight targets for 32.
His head coach said afterward that he needs to get the ball more. Ditto for redshirt freshman Luke McCaffrey, who before entering the game at quarterback late in the third quarter had not touched the ball.
“We had a couple of plays for (McCaffrey), a couple of sets, and (Northwestern) was doing things differently than they’d shown and one of the things we liked with him wouldn’t have been available,†Frost said. “We just didn’t get the other couple of things called to take advantage with him.
“But we’ve got to make sure he touches the ball and Wan’Dale touches the ball. Those are our better players and they need the ball in their hands.â€
Not-so-special teams: One week after a promising start in the punting department, Nebraska took a big step back against Northwestern.
Wind certainly played a factor, but the Huskers averaged just 27.8 net yards on five punt attempts. Walk-on William Przystup had two 30-yard punts downed, had a 39-yarder go into the end zone for a touchback on a punt from plus field position and was better on a 47-yarder that Riley Lees returned 8 yards.
The killer was a 56-yard boomer in the fourth quarter that Lees returned 36 yards after he split a pair of the first Nebraska players in coverage and then raced up the right side.
The Huskers also gave up a 36-yard kick return to open the second half and senior kicker Connor Culp made two field goals but missed his third attempt, from 38 yards.
Production from the youngsters: If you want a bright side, here it is.
Nebraska freshman receiver Marcus Fleming finished with a team-best 75 receiving yards on five catches in his most extensive action yet. Fellow freshman Zavier Betts made his first two catches back-to-back, a 5-yarder and a 13-yarder, in the fourth quarter.
Freshman running back Marvin Scott was the No. 2 back with Ronald Thompkins not on the trip and ran three times for 14 yards.
At one point, NU had Fleming, Scott and freshman receiver Alante Brown all on the field at the same time.
Defensively, redshirt freshman Nick Henrich played his best game as a Husker even without recording a tackle thanks to two quarterback hurries and at least one solid play in coverage. Newsome and Farmer also progressed — Farmer obviously in a big way — and several others did, too.
“If there’s one thing to come out of this, it’s that we have a lot of young players that I think are going to be really good football players for us that are stepping up and playing well,†Frost said.
Four players made their first career starts: Farmer, Newsome, Reimer and Piper.
Photos: Nebraska falls to Northwestern in Evanston
Nebraska defensive back Myles Farmer (second from left), celebrates with teammates after Farmer intercepted a Northwestern passÌýduring the first half Saturday in Evanston, Illinois.