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2018 SEASON REWIND: Nebraska

2018 PREDICTIONS

WHERE I WENT RIGHT

My biggest concerns were along the defensive line and the linebacking group so I wasn’t very high on the Husker defense.  They finished 97th in yards per game allowed with 434 per outing and 89th in points allowed per game with 31.3.  I felt like the defensive issues would be too much to overcome for this team to make a bowl and the proved to be the case.

WHERE I WENT WRONG

Adrian Martinez was a kid I wrote about and felt he had the potential to have a good career but wasn’t particularly high on him shining as a freshman.  That was a mistake.  He racked up over 2,600 passing yards and 600 rushing yards.  He accounted for 25 total touchdowns and completed nearly 65% of his passes.  During a 4-2 stretch he was particularly effective.

SEASON-DEFINING MOMENT

Nebraska ended the season 4-2 but the damage was done in the opening six game skid to all but end any hopes of a bowl.  Within that six game losing streak there were two games Nebraska could have and should have won and are therefore the co-season-defining moment.  Those games are the Troy and Northwestern defeats.  Against Troy, Nebraska came out woefully flat and fell behind 17-0 in a 24-19 loss.  They out-gained the Trojans but lost the turnover margin and gave up a punt return score.  At Northwestern, Nebraska lost 34-31 in overtime but it was a major gut punch.  Up 31-21 with under six to go Nebraska had to feel pretty good about things but they gave up a field goal with 2:27 left.  NU (red) then went three and out and took off just 25 seconds.  The punt pinned Northwestern at the one yard line.  Game over, right?  Nope.  NU (purple) had an eight play, 99 yard drive to tie.  Flip either of these games and maybe steal the Ohio State game or pull off the win at Iowa and Nebraska makes a bowl.  Flip both of them, Nebraska is in a bowl regardless of flipping a later game.  Both of them were winnable but a slow start and a wretched finish defined the season.

MVP

Adrian Martinez, QB – As mentioned in the “Where I Went Wrong” section, Martinez had a monster season for a freshman.  Without his growth as the season went on, it is hard to envision Nebraska winning four of their final six games.

  • Honorable Mention: Devine Ozigbo, RB led the team in rushing with over 1,000 yards and had 12 scores.  He was also a nice safety valve out of the backfield with 23 catches.

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