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00:00 Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles, the people show.
00:11 Checking the pulse of Husker Nation brought to you by DPS Concrete Construction.
00:15 Alright ladies and gentlemen, this show is three things the Huskers can do to improve
00:21 immediately.
00:22 And I know that sounds kind of crazy, but just bear with me.
00:26 Alright, real quick, before we dive into everything, if you want to show some love to some of the
00:31 other Husker sports teams, all the other Husker sports teams, but in particular the undefeated
00:37 volleyball team, wrestling team, and 5-0 men's basketball team, smash that like button now
00:45 as I'm sure you're aware after failing to score in overtime versus Wisconsin, Nebraska.
00:49 Okay, it's now 5-6.
00:51 By the way, they have not scored in an overtime period since Iowa 2014.
00:57 Now the Huskers look to become bowl eligible versus Iowa in Memorial Stadium on Black Friday.
01:04 Mitch Sherman had an interesting tweet.
01:06 Again, I don't know that people always enjoy these, but I find it interesting.
01:10 Mitch Sherman, three times Nebraska has fought for a sixth win of bowl eligibility on Black
01:14 Friday Memorial Stadium, 2004.
01:17 They lost to Colorado 26-20, 2015.
01:19 They lost to Iowa 28-28, 2019.
01:22 They lost to Iowa 27-24.
01:23 And then he says, "Can the Huskers flip the script this week?"
01:27 That is a phenomenal question.
01:29 I know 9-2 versus 5-6, kind of ridiculous.
01:32 Just bear with me.
01:33 Okay, I'm not predicting that we're going to win, or we're not going to win right here
01:37 right now, okay?
01:38 But just bear with me a little bit, because I do believe there's three things the Huskers
01:41 can do to get better immediately, or at least sooner rather than later.
01:46 Alright, the Huskers are 29-1 in one score game over the last six years.
01:54 Matt Rule is 0-4 this year in games decided by seven points or less, including three of
01:59 those losses being our last three games.
02:02 Alright, it is what it is.
02:04 Alright, now we can talk about a lot of reasons as to why we've lost some of these games,
02:10 in particular Saturday versus Wisconsin, but if you go back to Maryland, to Michigan State,
02:14 so on and so forth, we've talked about the return game, or the lack thereof, on special
02:18 teams.
02:19 It's been brought up, justifiably so.
02:22 Our kicking game has been struggling, including our punting game.
02:26 Special teams overall need to improve, okay?
02:30 Now another thing that can be pointed out is Emmitt Johnson, a guy who was our fourth
02:33 string running back at the beginning of the season, now our starter, he's averaging five
02:38 yards per carry over the last five games.
02:41 Yet, well he needs to get the ball more, okay?
02:45 Yet, he's only averaging 13 rushes per game.
02:50 And only once during that time did he have the most rushing attempts of any player on
02:53 our team in a game, even though he's the starting running back.
02:57 The other four games, it's whoever's been the starting quarterback.
03:01 Now we can talk about going for seven points when three points wins the game versus Maryland,
03:06 or how going for three points when seven points wins the game versus Wisconsin.
03:11 It's not the same situation, in my humble opinion.
03:15 And the way each situation was handled kind of didn't make sense to me.
03:20 Okay, now I'm going to read some of these tweets, okay, and we'll put them up on the
03:24 screen.
03:25 Well, there's four, we're going to put three up.
03:28 One of them's got some disrespectful language, so I'm going to read around that particular
03:33 tweet because he had some good points within the rest of the tweet.
03:37 Okay, this tweet's coming up on the screen.
03:39 Now, last week's situation was not the same.
03:41 Third and goal on the seven was shaky passing with a shaky passing offense when a field
03:45 goal gives you the lead.
03:46 This week, 40 seconds left.
03:47 Running the ball for chunk yards, could keep running it, maybe punch it in for the win,
03:51 or give up and kick a field goal just to get to overtime.
03:54 Here's the one I'm going to read around.
03:56 You score 14 points in your first two drives, then nada.
03:59 Then get outscored 24 to 3 the rest of the game.
04:01 Okay, and it was 17 to 0 at this point.
04:04 After that, alright, read around that.
04:06 Inside the 25 with 105 a go and all three timeouts and you only run three plays.
04:12 Okay, we went light on the fourth and won at overtime and we let Pauline kill you all
04:17 night, third down, no adjustments.
04:19 Okay, here's the next tweet that we're going to put up on the screen.
04:23 Aggressive last week when a field goal could win it, trusting RD so to speak, but not aggressive
04:28 when a touchdown could win it.
04:30 Frustrating.
04:31 And then the last tweet.
04:32 I agree.
04:33 Three timeouts in 35 seconds and we let 20 seconds tick off the clock.
04:37 Obviously, last week's interception was on the coaches' minds.
04:40 Everyone's got a different perception and a different way they kind of view things.
04:46 Here's my take.
04:48 Versus Maryland, it's 10 to 7.
04:49 It's tied.
04:50 Our defense had played great that day against the Big Ten's passing leader, Ntungu Viola,
04:55 a quarterback.
04:56 Now we're in field goal range with our third string quarterback getting his real first
05:01 reps of the entire season in a pretty meaningful game situation.
05:07 We could run the ball.
05:08 Oh, keep in mind, we lead the nation in turnovers.
05:12 There's 130 teams in FBS and we had already had four turnovers that game.
05:17 We could run the ball, run the clock, kick the field goal, take the lead, trust our defense.
05:22 Obviously we didn't do that.
05:23 Versus Wisconsin, we're in their territory, three timeouts, plenty of time.
05:27 A field goal only ties it here in this situation, unlike Maryland.
05:32 And a touchdown is what you need to win the game.
05:35 Also, we had a quarterback who'd gotten actual reps in practice with the ones, not the scout
05:41 team.
05:42 The week before, Chubba Purdy hadn't gotten any real reps in practice, which was another
05:45 reason.
05:46 I know, I'm revisionist history.
05:48 Hindsight's 20/20, right?
05:49 Okay, they get paid the big bucks, I don't.
05:51 This is my job, so I'm just doing the best I can.
05:55 Purdy had gotten no real reps in practice going into that Maryland game.
05:57 He had gotten a lot of reps in practice going into the Wisconsin game, and it showed.
06:04 Let's see, we had a quarterback who'd gotten actual reps in practice with the ones, not
06:07 the scout team.
06:08 He'd played well all day.
06:09 No turnovers to that point, and yet at that point we hadn't scored since our second drive
06:14 of the game.
06:15 The offense had really struggled since going up 14-0.
06:19 And Wisconsin had out-gained, out-rushed, and out-scored us 17-0 since then.
06:24 They'd made adjustments we hadn't adjusted to in return, and they were just plain flat
06:29 out-playing us.
06:30 This was our chance to score and take the lead without really giving their offense a
06:34 chance to score and return before the end of the game.
06:37 This was our chance to take the lead without really giving Wisconsin an opportunity to
06:42 come back and try to take the lead back.
06:44 In other words, the biggest difference is what was actually happening in each game and
06:48 the game flow of each game.
06:52 It was different.
06:54 Don't try to throw a blanket over every situation and act like they're all the same.
06:59 I'm going to quickly look ahead to the Iowa game and give the three things that Nebraska
07:04 can do to immediately become better, but real quick.
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07:31 Now, as we quickly look ahead to the Iowa game.
07:33 Iowa's 9-2.
07:34 We're 5-6.
07:35 Seems like a mismatch, right?
07:38 I'm pretty sure we all know they haven't exactly been stomping a mud hole in teams
07:42 of walking to drive this year.
07:43 Forward wise, as far as the separation and margin of victory.
07:47 Alright, it's going to be in Memorial Stadium.
07:50 I think it's going to be rocking.
07:51 I really do.
07:52 Now, Iowa's only favored by a point and a half and a deeper dive into our last three
07:56 losses only by an average of four points.
07:59 In Iowa's five games this year, throughout the season, versus Big Ten West opponents,
08:04 there's a separation, throughout those five games, of only three points per game in Iowa's
08:10 favor.
08:12 The Hawkeyes offensive coordinator, Baby Ferenc, okay, he's a sitting duck, I mean
08:17 a lame duck coach, sorry.
08:20 This game features two of the worst offenses in the country.
08:23 Iowa's dead last in total offense.
08:26 Their third in the country in scoring defense.
08:29 Ladies and gentlemen, the game on Friday will be within a touchdown one way or the other.
08:33 Especially since this game also features two of the top 20 scoring defenses and two of
08:39 the top 15 units in the country in total defense.
08:42 I think it's going to be a close game and I think some changes can make a big difference.
08:47 Now, here are the three things that I believe the Huskers can do to improve immediately.
08:53 Number one, do things that make sense.
08:55 I'm not trying to be sarcastic, okay?
08:59 Bear with me.
09:00 I say this with all due respect.
09:02 But I went back and I printed out a Nebraska schedule and I just made some notes.
09:06 Now, before the season, I have to wonder, did we have a true quarterback competition?
09:13 Because how is it that the guy who was our number three quarterback for most of the year
09:17 now looks like our best quarterback?
09:19 The guy who was our starting quarterback coming into the season, and really until he got hurt,
09:24 looks like our third best quarterback and he looks like he actually might be better
09:28 suited to play a completely different position.
09:31 Like how did we mess that up?
09:33 Was there not a true quarterback competition before the season?
09:36 Now you go to the first game of the year.
09:37 It's been rehashed to death, but this is where I'm saying, do things that make sense.
09:42 And I'm trying to say this respectfully, not sarcastically.
09:45 Minnesota, how in the world do we give Anthony Grant the only running back with known fumbly
09:51 issues that have been mentioned in press conferences, the ball, with the game on the line?
09:56 Do things that make sense.
09:58 Now Colorado, you can debate this game a little bit more.
10:01 It's not as cut and dry to me as Minnesota and some of these other things.
10:04 But if you think back to that game, because I remember breaking down and analyzing that
10:07 game as well or better than any game this season, it was 0-0 with 7.5 minutes to go
10:14 before halftime.
10:15 Okay, and if I remember correctly, I believe Jeff Sims had four turnovers before halftime
10:22 in the first half.
10:23 Now it stalled two of our scoring drives and it cost us anywhere from 7 to 14 points, so
10:28 I just kind of said 10 points, and it handed Colorado their first 13 points.
10:33 I remember that because they got the ball deep in our territory and it led to their
10:35 first 13 points.
10:37 That's a 23 point difference before half, and that dramatically affected the second
10:42 half if you remember the defense just got wore out.
10:46 Now Colorado is clearly not as good as people, including myself, once thought they were.
10:51 I never thought they were elite, I just thought they were above average at least.
10:56 Now they have had a brutal schedule, but that's a topic for another day and I ain't shedding
10:58 any tears for them.
11:00 What I'm saying is you just never know what'll happen.
11:03 Here's my point.
11:04 How does a team, just for example, play another team and get blown out the first game?
11:09 This happens in the NFL a lot.
11:11 And then in the second game, they come back and beat them.
11:13 You know why?
11:15 Because little things like this, which can actually be arguably big things, they matter.
11:20 That's why.
11:21 Alright, you look at Michigan State, and I'm not going through every loss, just where something
11:24 stood out to me, which is a good portion of these losses.
11:27 Michigan State, nothing in particular stood out, we just got beat by a bad team.
11:31 Michigan was just a better team.
11:33 Okay, you look at Maryland.
11:34 Alright, I already kind of talked about it, but here's my summation.
11:39 We trusted at the time our third string quarterback with almost no actual practice reps over our
11:45 defense in that situation, versus Wisconsin, I believe there was an overreacting to what
11:51 happened the week before and we decided to play not to lose instead of playing to win,
11:57 which caused us to lose.
11:59 Alright, number one, do things that make sense.
12:01 Coach and manage each unique situation differently and don't worry about what was said about
12:07 something previously.
12:08 We have a big fan base.
12:10 We have a passionate fan base.
12:12 We have a fan base unlike any other fan base out there.
12:16 We truly have the best fans in college football.
12:18 The facts just back that up.
12:20 Okay, Memorial Stadium sellout streak.
12:23 It's insane how long that's been going.
12:25 It's phenomenal.
12:26 I think 2003 people watch a Husker volleyball match set a world record, world record.
12:33 Iowa tries to copy it with their women's basketball program and keep in mind, they've got the
12:37 hottest name in all of women's basketball sports.
12:40 Okay, Kaitlin Clark, and they had a decent turnout, 56,000 plus people or something like
12:46 that.
12:47 Now, here's my point.
12:49 When you have such a passionate fan base, which is phenomenal, by the way, I'm proud
12:53 to be a part of it, it creates a bit of a fishbowl.
12:55 Trust me, I get it.
12:56 I get it.
12:58 It's not a bad thing.
12:59 It can be a good thing.
13:01 Honestly, it just is what it is.
13:03 Okay, what I say is don't worry about that and just coach.
13:08 Now I will readily admit, that's definitely easier said than done, but that's the reason
13:13 these coaches get paid so much.
13:15 Number three, and this one might make some people mad.
13:18 I just express my opinion.
13:20 I don't duck nothing.
13:21 I let the chips fall where they may.
13:23 So here we go.
13:24 Speaking of easier said than done, we need to let go of the ghost of Scott Frost, the
13:31 coach, in my opinion.
13:33 At least some folks do.
13:35 He did.
13:36 He did a lot of damage to this program.
13:39 Not just the results on the field, but the perception of the program, in my humble opinion.
13:44 Now, I'm not going to go into great detail.
13:46 I probably don't need to.
13:48 But that was all before Matt Rule got here.
13:51 I understand when it comes to specifically how some of these games are playing out.
13:55 It's all too familiar.
13:58 And frankly, there's been obvious things that coaches can specifically learn from this year,
14:06 but it's still just year one under Matt Rule.
14:09 So in summation, here are the three things that Huskers can do to improve immediately.
14:12 Number one, do things that make sense.
14:13 I say that with all due respect.
14:15 Number two, coach and manage each unique situation differently and don't worry about what was
14:18 said about something previously.
14:21 Sometimes easier said than done.
14:22 And number three, let go of the ghost of Scott Frost, the coach.
14:25 I understand that might make some people unhappy, but those are my thoughts.
14:29 Here's a bonus for next year.
14:30 Looking ahead just a bit.
14:31 So I'll give you a bonus fourth thing.
14:33 We need to truly evaluate offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield.
14:35 He's going to be back next year.
14:36 Matt Rule's made that clear.
14:38 But of the two main coordinators and head coach, he's the least proven.
14:42 Rule's done this twice before at Temple and Baylor.
14:46 Now I had doubts and questions about the 3-3-5 defense.
14:49 But I trusted Tony White's resume.
14:52 A deeper dive into Marcus Satterfield is something I'm going to do this offseason.
14:57 Not as a negative thing, not as a positive thing, just an informative thing.
15:00 A deeper dive.
15:02 Okay.
15:03 I'll also be doing my Iowa Prediction Show and putting that out on my YouTube channel
15:08 Wednesday morning.
15:10 So keep an eye out for that.
15:12 Here are the questions I've got for you fine folks.
15:15 Number one, let me know in the comments below.
15:16 Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
15:18 Number one, do you disagree with anything I said?
15:20 Hey, let me know.
15:21 If you disagree, let me know.
15:22 Number two, is there anything I missed in today's show?
15:25 Is there anything I missed?
15:26 Number three, what's the single biggest thing in your opinion the Huskers can do to immediately
15:31 become better?
15:32 Alright, ladies and gentlemen, the season's almost over but the content goes year round.
15:37 We got Iowa, a potential bowl game, recruiting, signing day.
15:41 It doesn't stop.
15:42 Hit that subscribe button here on the YouTube channel.
15:45 Go Big Red.
15:46 And always remember to throw the ball.
15:48 (exhales)