jim rose weekly recap

Post view: La Tech Preview: Nicholls State

Finally, we got to get this thing going! Lo about the time we all fell into the Riverwalk in San Antonio after the win over Michigan, husker fans have been counting the seconds to this game. We were not disappointed.

The Huskers went basic and rolled over La Tech. Ran and ran and ran…. you’d think it was a football marathon. Then Taylor, who fired blanks on his first five passes, got hot and pulled out all of the Bulldogs’ teeth.

Final: 49-10.

First the good stuff: Four tight ends caught TD passes. That is exactly four more TD passes than all of the TE’s caught ALL OF LAST YEAR. Nice to have you back, fellas.

Coach Callahan and the staff showed us something we haven’t seen: Four TE’s in the game at the same time. Just another page the other teams have to read before each game against NU. Before that set, the defensive game plan vs. NU was about as thin as Tolstoy.

The backs were excellent. All four of them did well, except for Kenny Wilson, who fumbled twice. With this kind of depth, the staff will not tolerate that. If Wilson is to be a factor, he has to hang on to the ball. Period.

The other thing we did was use a seven and some times eight man protection scheme. The idea is to give Zac Taylor maximum cover. He was knocked down but never sacked.

On defense, the Huskers looked good, but not great. Grixby led the team with six tackles. That is not the guy you want leading the team in tackles. After Moore and Carriker sacked La Tech’s QB early, LTU went to a different scheme (3 step drop) and the pass rush was neutralized.

The defensive backfield is still a work in progress. Jones and Grixby did well, but all of those guys will need to prove they are a physical group, willing to make the big tackle. Titus Brothers will need to up his game. On his first play, La Tech torched him for a long score.

But overall, it was a good opener with a lot to get excited about.

Whole different deal this week. Nicholls State of Louisiana barely throws it at all. They run a triple-option running attack that is designed to get three and four yards at a time and just control the ball. Must play very physical on first and second down and force them to pass. If they do, and the Huskers have another efficient game on offense, this will not be much of a contest.

Then again, Colorado thought the same thing about another 1AA team, Montana State. Before that game in Boulder last week, the Big 12 was a collective 50-0 vs. 1-A-A competition. After the game, the Big 12 was 50-1.

GBR

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Published on 09/06/2006