Gut reactions to Nebraska football win over Northern Illinois

Hey Husker fans, welcome back to the Husker big red youtube channel. And uh we are live here Saturday night following a Nebraska win

um which is a nice change of pace over the last couple of weeks. But um just a great performance from the Huskers overall

35 to 11, you know, 35 to 3 there till the last uh drive where Northern Illinois

you know, kind of got one in there on the, on the, you know, in garbage time

but it was a great effort overall from Nebraska. I mean, it was a competitive game throughout but

um, you know, 14 play drive in the second half, you know, Heinrich Harbert

you know, did a pretty great job, three touchdowns overall, you know, two through the air

no uh interceptions, the one turnover. So, uh yeah, we're here to talk about our gut reaction

So, Danny, what's your gut reaction to this? 3511 win for Nebraska tonight

Hinrich Harri has to be the starter next week against Louisiana Tech and there is uh officially a quarterback competition for Nebraska football

Um I'm not sure any of us saw it playing out this way. But one of the things that hindered Nebraska in previous years was

the over reliance on Adrian Martinez and the lack of a quarterback competition in the room to challenge Martinez

This is not gonna be the case, in my opinion with, um Sims and Harburg and Harburg really played well

I mean, he really played well. He didn't fumble snaps, he looked confident in how he ran the offense

Uh, he showed off, you know, his running ability that we were talking about a lot and

you know, he, I'm not crowning him, you know, a Heisman trophy candidate or

you know, the Heisman trophy favorite, but he made plays when he needed to and he didn't make

take too many risks in terms of throws. He just took what the defense gave him

moved the chains forward, took care of the football and, you know

I was in one of my group chats, uh, earlier tonight and, you know

they made a good point that, you know, that's what what we did tonight is what Iowa and Wisconsin have done for years and years

and years, a very strong defense and an offense that's not necessarily the most explosive but can move the chains and get in the end

zone and get the job done. And that has led to success

And, you know, I, I definitely see a winning blueprint there and that's what Nebraska did tonight

Definitely. I definitely agree with all that I did want to mention before. Um you know

we get more into it, make sure that you guys, if you haven't already hit the subscribe button

um you know, if you're watching on the replay uh later, uh make sure you hit, subscribe

uh comment, you know what your gut reactions are. Join us in the comments now and hit that like button that definitely uh helps us

out. But uh I definitely like what I saw from the quarterback position tonight and

you know, one thing I thought, um, you know, especially the last two weeks that Jeff Sims didn't do well outside of the turnovers

right is the red zone execution and the third down execution. And tonight

um I think Harburg and, and the Huskers, not just him, but, um, you know, they were 8 to 14 on third down

which I think is a sign of a good quarterback and then they also converted

I believe almost every time in the red zone, um when they got down there inside the twenties

So, um they were effective and a lot of that was being able to run the football

you know, we saw a lot of eye formation in the second half and, and I really like that

it seemed like the running backs, you know, really thrived. And, you know, people said like, where's the full back and the full back was

there in the second half? And, um, you know, that, that proved to be really effective with

with Irvin and Anthony Grant. And, um, yeah, it's, you know, Heinrich yet

you know, his deep ball, I'm not, you know, wasn't spectacular, but, you know, he made some nice throws

you know, he had a couple of good throws to Washington and I thought, you know, one of the best plays of the night and

a really big play when it was still, you know, a fairly, a 14 3 game

you know, he rolled right on that. It was like 3rd and 12 and zipped it to Fon who made a great catch and

you know, by the sideline. Yeah. Yeah. And, and I mean, it's still only 11 point game and after that it just

uh, that, that was, they kind of finished off that 14 play drive, they converted some other third downs and

you know, he just did exactly like you said, what, what, what they needed to do

it looked like a matt rule kind of that formula he talked about. They were in the four minute offense a lot in the fourth

quarter, you know, they, they had the one turnover but, you know, I mean, you, you can live with one

as opposed to four that we had the last two weeks. They ran the football a lot and dominated over 200 yards rushing

I think they had, I think, uh, Northern Illinois had been maybe 20 I mean

it was like 19 on the last drive. And they maybe had 20 some yards rushing. So that was a spectacular effort

And, yeah, if you, if Nebraska's offense can play the way they did tonight

this team can still, you know, win a lot of football games this year and this defense is gonna keep them in a lot of

football games. And, yeah, Nebraska had five penalties, but especially on the offensive side of the football

none of them felt like they were dooming drive killers. You know what I mean? I mean

penalties are gonna happen in football, but we didn't really have any what I would call

you know, costly penalties in the red zone that I could think of at the moment

And, you know, I think too, the, uh, Fon Harburg connection is going to be something to watch out for

You know, you, you hear me all the time probably, you know, on these things preaching tight end throw to tight end

tight end safety valve, blah, blah, blah. Well, Harburg and Fon, uh

two touchdown catches in two games based off of that connection. And

you know, it's good to see, you know, Fon kind of really start to find his groove here and make an impact

Um, you know, tight ends coach Josh Martin said earlier this week that the tight ends are

you know, are starting to, you know, see their stock rise and I believe he said that he

he predicted for Don to break out this week and he had another really strong game and it's really great to see

And yeah, it's interesting, you saw more, you know, Gabe Irvin caught two passes for 20 yards

Fon had four, you know, for 42. So the tight ends kind of getting involved

Um, you know, Marcus Satterfield calling a lot of those screen kind of that screen on the third and long to Alex Bullock that he

you know, broke out was a big play. Um, but you had three different receivers that had

you know, receptions, um, of over 20 yards, Fon Bullock and then Marcus Washington

So they were able to kind of create some explosive plays and then they, they were able to create some explosive plays in the running

game too. So that was the formula. I mean, I don't think anybody's ever gonna confuse

you know, this offense with, well, you know, us c I wrote in my takeaways at on Husker big red.com

nobody's gonna confuse this offense tonight with us c but when you have the defense playing the way that Nebraska um is

and I mean, they played one of the best offenses in college football last week and they more than held their own for the majority

of the game. So I feel like, you know, most teams in the big 10 that they're gonna be Nebraska's defense is gonna be able

to hold people to, you know, 1520 points and, and that's gonna give you a chance to win almost every single week

Now, can the offense play, mistake free football and do the things they need to

you know, that's still a question we need to see. This is just northern Illinois, but it was a good step in the right direction

I have to say, it almost seems like Marcus Satterfield's play calling gets better as the game goes on because it's like the first half

he drives me absolutely up a wall. Like, I wanna like, smash my TV into a million pieces when it comes to his plate calling

in the first half. But then he kind of gets his groove a little bit and has these long drives that drain the clock

run the football. He kind of figures it out and, you know, tonight it works

I just love to see a, a fully consistent game in terms of his play calling and then I would feel a little bit better

sometimes I feel like he's making it too hard on himself and the offense

But, you know, hopefully he can get those things sorted out. I liked

uh, I liked the game plan overall. I like that. They gave, um

Harburg 21 attempts. I don't think that they meant to, I think a lot of it was read, option type plays

but I think he wasn't afraid to, you know, run the ball when that was the correct read

uh, you know, gay. Beg down a lot and he hit people a lot

you know, and that was, uh, you know, I, I just liked his attitude. He's just tough and he's a Nebraska kid and

you know, it wasn't flashy and Nebraska should be northern Illinois. It's not a, you know

like this is a groundbreaking win but it just was the way, you know

that, that they went about it. They didn't need, you know, some luck in the fourth quarter

You know, it wasn't sloppy. It was, it was exactly the kind of game that, you know

they needed to play 382 yards to 149. I mean, that's an ass kicking when you

when you out rush somebody 224 to 26 that's an ass kicking

And, uh so they did exactly what they needed to do and, um

you know, Rocky Lombardi only got sacked three times, but he was under a lot of pressure

And I thought again that, that defensive front man, those guys are impressive

Yeah. And I think the reason why we're all excited about it is because it was a

what I call a blueprint type of game. Like this is what we want to see out of Nebraska like this is how they can

win games and this is how they can be successful. The first two games

it felt like they were trying to find their identity and granted Minnesota and Colorado are by no means easy opponents

But tonight I felt like that physical running game, you know, putting Harburg in

you know, second and manageable situations, not making him make too many deep

you know, hail Mary, you know, get it all back here type of throws and just controlling the clock

I think this one is exciting for me the most because I see a blueprint on how we can be successful and not only a

blueprint on how uh we can be successful, but also a blueprint that works in the big 10

And, you know, one thing I love that I thought was interesting, but that I did like with the way Nebraska did

you know, when they got second and one or whatever, they just would kind of go and push he um harbor forward for first downs

And I, I like that he was really effective in those short yard. And how many

how many times have we seen Nebraska just absolutely struggle in short yard situations

So maybe, you know, that's, that's something that he can bring to this offense that like

hey, if it's third and two or, or second and one, you know, um we can just let him kind of run it and let

the dudes push from behind and go from there. So I, I like that and

you know, I have to give the offensive line credit. I mean, we, um you know

it's a much maligned group, we criticize them, you know, we were, you know, giving

uh, Ben Hart a rough time off the air before we came on here for the, um

you know, the, the, what's the b, the amigo, you know, with the

the bull riding thing where they just like, you know, oh, he just all laid them to the quarterback

I mean, that, that's not good when you're chasing your guy to the quarterback, but

um, they really established their will in the second half over five yards per attempt

And I thought that was impressive and it just seemed like Matt rule was like

you know, in, in Satterfield too, but it's like we're, we're gonna roll with these guys and we're just gonna dominate in the trenches and

that's what they did. And so it was good to see them actually impose their will on somebody like that

And it was good to see them put together these long drives if nothing else to give rest to a defense that I really thought

played fantastic tonight. Uh, they were swarming into the football. They got

I just did they get two interceptions or only one because I know Newsom's one was called back

which just the one I believe, I believe, I believe it was just the one as well and I'm not sure why Newsom's was called

back. Would you, was there a specific reason? They said they said he didn't get his foot in down

um, inbounds and I mean, me like his foot was inbounds but I know they never showed the reverse angle of it

which I thought was weird, but I don't know. But anyway, I mean, the

the they were swarming in the football once again and you're really starting to see that in a Tony White defense if you know

a player is opening the flat or a screen and he tries to run up field

Nebraska players are swarming everywhere. Uh I thought, uh, Nash played well tonight

Nash Hutmacher. I thought he was, you know, getting into the backfield

You know, I thought, uh, I thought, um, Heinrich and, you know

played well tonight and I'm just really excited to see this unit come together because you talk about an identity

The defense has certainly established one. They're gonna be tough, they're not gonna make life easy on opposing quarterbacks and they're gonna swarm to the

ball carrier and it's nice to see, you know, the defense really kind of settle into what they do best and

you know, they, you, we, we talk about finding a blueprint for the offense tonight

The defense has certainly established what they wanna do over the first three games here

even if the results on the scoreboard haven't been there. Yeah, I mean

they're flying to the football, I think that's when the, the tackling is really good. And

um, they just got, you know, there was one play where, um

a guy missed a tackle and then maybe a couple of guys missed a tackle and there was five other Huskers there to rally to

the football. So that is a noticeable difference, I think. And it's a

it's a fast defense. I mean, Omar Brown has played spectacular. It's like

why didn't he, why didn't he play more last year? You know, he, he's been really good

I think one thing that stood out to me just in the secondary was the way that, uh, they played the ball

They were really successful at playing the ball and those kind of contested catches

they knocked a lot out and that, that's just something that they didn't do a lot in the pre you know

that happened like during the Pollini era, but it just hasn't, that did, that did not really happen

Nebraska did not play the ball well, you know, under the previous staff for whatever reason

And so it's been good to see that happen. And I, yeah, it just, it's fun to watch this defense and

and Hutch, uh, Maker, um, you know, Robinson, the young guys and

and really all the linebackers, I mean, they got like, you know, 67 linebackers that were playing tonight and they all played well

Sherman Chief boards, Heinrich Reimer, I mean, all of them, they, it was really fun to watch and you're seeing

you know, guys like Van Poppel, get some action out there. I mean

you're seeing them rotate personnel really well and I think, and I think one thing

although I'm not sure if it was Tommy Hill or I forget who it was

There was one play where he didn't look back for the ball

I think it was Singleton, actually, Deshaun Singleton didn't look back for the ball and he

and he got a penalty. But other than that, I thought they've done a really good job of looking back for the ball and coverage

because truth be told as long as you look back for the ball and then you make a play

they're probably not gonna call penalty on you. It's when you don't look back at the ball

you guard your man and shove him to the ground that they call it

So they've done a good job with that as well because penalties

um, as far as pass interference, penalties and not looking for the ball

you know, have been an issue with previous staffs and I think they've done a much better job this year at

you know, not committing penalties or at least, you know, trying to play the man as

as well as possible. Yeah, I, I think that, you know, they've definitely just improved

you know, fundamentally and, um, you know, the way that they're able to get after

you know, the quarterback, I think it is, uh, you know, one of the best things about it

you know, um, good to see you join the chat. Chad go big random

It's uh, it's nice to just be on a, a win after tonight, after the last two weeks

Hill. Actually, I, I wanted to give a shout out to him. I mean, I know he's played

played wide receiver here corner, but, you know, we're finally seeing, you know

what he can do and why he was thought of as a highly touted prospect

And he played really well tonight and he's played well, uh, over the past couple of games here

he has played well and, you know, they keep using him kind of as a receiver too

And, um, you know, I'm still, you know, waiting for some of these younger receivers to get a chance

It's been, you know, mostly the veteran guys, but, um, look, it takes those veteran guys to win

especially in the big 10 conference and they've got, you know, one more. Um

you know, they got Louisiana Tech next week and then, uh, you know, then it's Michigan and it's

it's go time. It's, uh, you know, the last eight games, there's, you know

Northwestern, maybe you could say it is, you know, a fairly easy game, but there, there's no easy wins in the big 10

Um, even with the big 10 West, probably being down overall, it's still gonna be a challenge every single week

but they can, uh, they can translate this formula then, then they're gonna win a lot of games

And I think this is like you said, it's, it's the kind of football that

you know, Nebraska fans have been clamoring for, uh, for a long time

I mean, 226 to, uh, you know, 24 in terms of the rushing yardage

That's a, that's Nebraska football right there. And honestly, I think you might see some of the younger receivers once the offense views out its

identity. I mean, we saw what they could do tonight. Now, let's see if they can do it again next week and then maybe we'll

say, ok, now we know what type of offense this runs. But I think right now it's just been trying to figure out what they

can do and what their capabilities are on the unit and then maybe we'll see some freshmen wide receivers

Although, you know, if we have a running team and we run the football a lot

then, you know, there might not be as many pa passing opportunities

but I'm ok with that. I'm ok with that. I mean, northwestern

a couple of years ago made it to the, uh, big 10 championship game

I believe it was with, you know, a running identity and, you know, Illinois last year

I mean, Wisconsin, it seems like every time they play us to have a good running back

So, you know, I think once we find the offensive identity, more opportunities for more players will

will, you know, come to fruition, it will be, I am interested to see you know how quarterback plays out and how Matt rule handles

that. You know, because it's, it's always that thing. You don't want someone to lose their job to injury

So I don't, I don't know what there, I, my guess is that, you know, it didn't look like Jeff Sims was all that mobile

tonight, you know, in the warm up. So I don't think that he's probably, they're gonna say he's

uh, like ready to play next week. And, you know, I, so I think Harper's gonna play and then after that

who knows? But if, um, I, I'm wondering if it may be, you know, there ever could be a two quarterback system

but, you know, I think Matt rule is hopefully smart enough that it, you know, if he's

if he's playing well and winning that, you know, he, he deserves the chance to keep rolling with it

I think don't make the same mistake Scott Frost did by hitching your wagon to Adrian Martinez

In this case, Jeff Sims play the quarterback that can win your football games

And I think right now, you know, tonight at, at the very least it's Heinrich Harburg

And, you know, I have to give a shout out to Sims here. I know I've been dunking on him this morning and right now

but I have to give a shout out. He was giving, uh Harburg encouragement on the sideline and

you know, trying to be a good leader and it must be tough to watch as a starting quarterback

you know, another quarterback succeed and play well and you realizing that you have to fight for your job

But I mean, to me this is definitely a quarterback battle and

you know, I think competition is good and we'll see who comes out on top competition

I definitely think it is a good thing. It was good to see, uh, Chaba Purdy

you know, get out there just to see that he's healthy enough to play. Um But yeah

it was uh yeah, Polar Bear taking over um from judge showing what good coaching can do

Yeah, he's been, he's been really dominant. Um The entire defensive front has so

yeah, that's been really fun to watch. And um you know, those guys like Ty Robinson and

and Hutch Maker are definitely, you know, living up to their recruiting rankings and their, you know

their status is, you know, at least Robinson is a four star. I can't remember on Hutch Maker

but at any rate, um Yeah, tho those guys this, this run defense is legit

I mean, it is legitimately hard to run against Nebraska right now and that's not something we've really been able to say the last

you know, five years and I've been really, really impressed with Omar Brown too

I mean, we knew he was good cause he, cause he had a high pedigree coming into the program

He didn't really get too many opportunities last year and now he's getting opportunities and he's showing why he was so highly regarded and he's

making the most of his chances. Definitely. Yeah, I, I love his game just

he's always, you know, around the football. Um, yeah, it just, it was a

it was a good effort all around and Tony White, just like I said before, you know, he

I love how he, he's mixing things up, you know, he'll drop eight guys one time

then the next time he'll bring seven on a blitz. And it means, but that's, that's what you need to do

keep the quarterbacks guessing. And, um, yeah, it, it was just was an impressive effort

I mean, really if you think about it, you know, if there's not the front, if there's not the fumble and if they don't score

you know, the garbage time touchdown, Nebraska didn't give up any points in this game

basically. So it, it was a really great job by the defense and hopefully it'll be

you know, Louisiana Tech, I don't know a ton about them. I haven't researched a ton about them

but I do know that they're, um, you know, an air raid

uh, you know, air raid type offense. So the secondary and then those guys are gonna get challenged

uh, next week we'll get to see old friend D Coti Crawford

I believe if I'm not mistaken. Oh, that's right. Yeah, I wonder if he's healthy with the AC L tear

But anyways, um yeah, Chad says a lot of guys getting chances on defense

there are a lot of guys playing on defense. I, I like that. I think that's a good thing. Yeah

definitely. And it makes it easier to recruit you. You say you can play in your first year

get action in your first year and guys want to hear that guys want to play now and

you know, guys want to be able to make an impact as soon as possible. So, you know

I'm honestly very, very worried about Tony White leaving. I don't know when that will be

but I mean, we, we just got to enjoy him while he's here because I don't think he's gonna be

you know, a six year member of the Nebraska football coaching staff

No, I don't think so either. I mean, he's definitely, you know, I think, yeah, he's definitely way too

you know, way too good of a coach to stick around for that long. But, um, yeah

he, he's my favorite hire of all the, the coaching, you know, all the assistant coaches

I guess, excuse me right now. And I think he's really made an impact on this defense

And, um, I do think that, you know, even though the results

it's, it's just, it's, football is so interesting, you know, if we had played this game

you know, earlier, you know, that this was the first game we'd have such a different, you know

impression of coach rule or even if we had won the Minnesota game, we'd have a different impression

But when you look at, especially, you know, Minnesota, these, you know

Nebraska is a tough team. This is a tough team. They run the football

stop the run, they pressure the quarterback, um, you know, the quarterback protection

you know, that, that, that needs to get a little bit better, but they're doing a lot of the fundamental things that you need to

do to win. It's just, uh, you know, if, if they can continue to cut out the turnovers and stuff

I think they're on a really good path to, to still making a bowl game

I mean, it's still well within reach obviously. And that's, to me that's always been the goal this season

just get to postseason play. I think that's a really important hurdle that you need to get over and they did a really good job

of cutting down the turnovers tonight. So, you know, I thought that was a step in the right direction and

you know, we saw a few mental mistakes in the red zone. So that was really good and they actually converted in the red zone

I mean, they, they made Tristan Albano's life easy with the, uh

extra points for the most part. And, you know, that's what we need, that's what we need

And I know it may seem fundamental but, you know, in this game and anything can happen on any given Saturday

And so, I mean, we almost saw Florida State, uh, lose to Boston College

for example. And, you know, Alabama, I can't remember if they, if they were able to win or

yeah, 17 3, they won. Ok. But they, they were given trouble and then even Georgia today was given trouble by South Carolina

but they were able to pull it off. So, you know, it's just a crazy game and it

hopefully more of the bouncers go our way, but today was a step in the right direction

What's gonna be fun, I think is if Nebraska, you know, can have a

a similar performance like this next week and build, you know, then, then they're gonna have some confidence with Michigan coming in and that will

lead to, you know, really electric atmosphere and then, like, I, you know, Michigan didn't play that well

tonight they had four turnovers and one, like 31 to 6. They have

they're all, they're all and three against the spread. So, I mean, they're with the way that they run the ball or they try to

run the ball. I mean, I think Nebraska can slow down their running game. I really do

And I mean, interesting chess match. Yeah, I, I think, you know

I, I definitely could see Nebraska, you know, holding their offense in check

I just think, you know, they have to find a way to, you know, protect against that defensive line

which isn't gonna be easy, but I, I do think they can make that game competitive

I really do and, and, and rest assured folks, even though Chris may be conflicted on who to root for in the Michigan game

you can count me to be 100% pro Nebraska once that game happens

And, um, you know, it's kind of crazy when you think about the last two Michigan matchups

we should have won in 2021. We had, you know, we put up a good fight in 2022

Let's see what's in store for 2023. Yeah, I wish it was a night game

That would be, I think that would help. But, you know, it'll be a fun atmosphere

you know, it would be some, I, I really hope that, you know

I'm not saying it's gonna happen with that game against Michigan, but I really

it would be great to get a win like that at some point to beat, you know, Wisconsin or not

like somebody that's ranked this year just to, you know, it doesn't look good

Speaking of Wisconsin. Yeah, I didn't see, I didn't, well, I guess they beat Georgia Southern today but Iowa

I know, struggled and, and they, they, I mean, I, I think Nebraska can beat every single team in the big 10 west

I mean, they could have beat Minnesota easily. So, you know, I I've said all along Michigan's the hardest game

you know, on the schedule. Um, yeah, I agree. Chad, we're gonna have a really hard time scoring on Michigan's only giving up 16 points

in, you know, three games so far. So, yeah, we are gonna have a hard time scoring

The defense is gonna have to like, that's one of those games you're gonna have to be

you know, like plus two in the turnover margin probably at least

or have like a punt return or something like that. But, um, you just make

what, what I think, what Nebraska is gonna be really good at doing is

uh, you know, kind of that formula for the Minnesota game. Just make it quick

low scoring, run the clock, get it to the fourth quarter and see what happens

And that's, that's really the formula that you have if you're not the be more talented team that

that's what you gotta do. And I think Nebraska has it. I mean, they, they, they were basically following that formula against Colorado until the

wheels just totally fell off with the turnovers and not for nothing but the nose clock stoppage after

for its downs makes the game go very fast. Now, I was noticing it tonight

I mean, we were almost, we were done with the first quarter like li like 20 minutes regular time into the game

And so, I mean, I think, you know, if you want to control the clock that now works in your favor as well

Yeah. And the other thing too, it's, um, when players step out of bounds, um, instead of before the clock stopped for

you know, the entire time and now they're restart, maybe that actually wasn't a change but at any rate

Um, yeah, I have noticed that and there is like about 15 fewer plays per game

So, um, I, I do like that aspect of it but um I didn't hear right guys

if you have any other comments or questions, I'm about ready to get ready to go to bed

so I'm about ready to wrap it up too. Yeah. Well, I got one more article in me and then I'm probably gonna go to

bed and uh but I'll go to bed happy. I won't go to bed frustrated and uh my Twitter feed will be peaceful and blissful

for at least another week. So I can always, uh that's always a good thing too because sometimes sometimes I need a break

But today and tomorrow and this week I'll be happy to look at my Twitter and uh it's on to Louisiana Tech

Let's see if we can get 500 onto Louisiana Tech. Yeah, would have been a

a scary place. I told my wife Ne Nebraska Twitter is gonna be unbearable if they don't win this game

So I was not looking forward to it. So I'm glad that we

uh that that happened. I know, everybody's probably, uh you know, the Lincoln economy right now

the downtown Lincoln economy with the bars is probably buzzing with some success

So, um everybody can enjoy the night. We'll be back on Monday

uh you know, with another episode of our podcast. So anybody watching it on the

you know, replay, make sure you hit that subscribe button. Um, you know, comment and getting

uh you know, share. Uh let your friends know um if they're Nebraska football fans and as always

also check out Husker Big red.com before I forget. Um But uh as always you guys

thanks a lot and go big red. Go big red