The Nebraska Cornhuskers dropped their 2022 opener to the Northwestern Wildcats 28-31. It was an additional heartbreaking decline for the Cornhuskers, who have ongoing to drop in extraordinary vogue under head coach Scott Frost. Previous time, the Cornhuskers have been -8 in one particular-score game titles.
There have been some optimistic takeaways, on the other hand. Transfer additions Anthony Grant, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, and Trey Palmer experienced sturdy debuts. Grant was the obvious chief of the backfield with 19 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia-Castaneda had four receptions for 120 yards and a landing. Palmer experienced 8 receptions for 68 yards.
So, what went erroneous for Nebraska? Effectively, two functions clearly stand out. Initially of all, there was a questionable fumble call versus Garcia-Castaneda in the red zone during the second quarter. In the replay, Garcia-Castaneda seems to be down before the ball popped out. Having said that, the referees made the decision to uphold the first call upon assessment.
Next, the Cornhuskers elected to attempt an onside kick in the third quarter with a 28-17 direct. Northwestern recovered and scored a landing on that travel. That self-inflicted wound proved to be important.
Exterior of those plays, two critical figures leaped out of the box rating.
Casey Thompson: A Tale of Two Halves
In the initial half, quarterback Casey Thompson seemed phenomenal, but he could not recapture that rhythm in the 2nd fifty percent. Let’s consider a fast appear at his passing stats.
1st half: 17/24, 228 yards, 1 TD
Next fifty percent: 8/18, 127 yards, 2 INT
This decline is not on Thompson’s shoulders. In general, he performed well, and a ton of Nebraska’s problems were being outside of his manage.
In addition, a important fall by Wyatt Liewer led to an interception that sealed the match for the Wildcats.
Nonetheless, there was a stark distinction in Thompson’s level of participate in as the activity progressed.
Northwestern: 214 Dashing Yards
Nebraska’s protection struggled to include Northwestern’s speeding assault, as the Wildcats rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Northwestern eclipsed 200 hurrying yards in a one recreation only twice very last year.
With 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, Nebraska punted the ball to Northwestern trailing by three. The Cornhuskers desperately required a prevent, but their run protection continued to struggle. As a final result, Northwestern was ready to select up 53 yards and run four minutes and 18 seconds off the clock contacting completely run plays. This led to Nebraska receiving the ball again on their possess 4-yard line with 2:07 to participate in.
Northwestern’s hurrying assault is not weak. Functioning back Evan Hull was an All-Large Ten honorable point out in 2021.
Irrespective, Nebraska’s run protection will have to have to make improvements to for the staff to have a thriving time.
Get in touch with/Comply with us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our site on Facebook to observe ongoing protection of Nebraska news, notes and impression.
Allow us know your ideas, and remark on this tale underneath. Be part of the discussion currently!
[listicle id=4463]
