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New Mexico State 2008
It’s a good trend when the defense goes from giving
up 24 points in the opener, to 12 the following week, to a mere 7 (turnover-enabled)
points this past Saturday. Through the first three games, the offense has
been solid in two of them.
Not
perfect. But not bad.
The
team also seems to be trending toward improved resilience. When things go badly
for a drive, a quarter, a half, or even a game, these players are more determined
to bounce back. I realize it’s easy to say that when the Huskers haven’t
experienced a loss yet. Still, the team seems better prepared for adversity
than we saw last season.
One
example of this is the tight end play. San Jose St. was a pretty rough game
for Mike McNeill in particular. He bounced back against New Mexico St. This
is extremely encouraging…and makes the offense that much harder to stop.
I’ve
read some things here and there where fans have bagged on Lydon Murtha, but
this past Saturday we saw his impact (no pun intended). All it takes is one
game back and his presence is felt. Once Andy Christensen also gets back into
the flow of things, the offensive line play could rise yet another notch.
Lucky
finally had the kind of game that answers the “Why is he still starting?”
question for awhile. It will be interesting to see if any of our backs will
be difference-makers in the next three games. Who can break a big play—Lucky,
Castille, or Helu—when it really matters in a tight, tough contest?
With
nine games remaining on the schedule, even if the Huskers split them 5-4 or
4-5, they will finish with a better record than last season. I suspect Pelini
wouldn’t want to hear that kind of talk—“conceding”
any upcoming losses. That’s why I like him.
Bottom
line: The Huskers have only gotten off to a 3-0 start once since Pelini’s
last stint in Lincoln in 2003. If they continue to get better as the season
progresses, bowl eligibility won’t even be the question this year.
(In
case anyone was wondering, my column last week fell through the cyberspace cracks.
I did write it and it's now archived.)
UNTIL
NEXT WEEK
I’m
keeping it simple for now and holding back on contributing any more Virginia
Tech hype until I see what happens to them this Saturday. I suspect they’ll
win on the road against North Carolina, but a lot will depend on their quarterback
play and a defense that’s been somewhat shaky so far.
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The
voice of the Scarlet Commentary is Jeffrey Leever, a Nebraska
native who now writes for an advertising agency in Kansas
City. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Nebraska
(Kearney) and author of the suspense novels Dark
Friday and Even
in Darkness.
He has been known to include a tribute to Tommie Frazier and other Nebraska references in his novels. His website is www.jeffreyleever.com. Contact Jeff here. |
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