Sunday Afternoon Quarterback – Nebraska

17 Replies to “Sunday Afternoon Quarterback – Nebraska”

1. Stu,

   You are a little harsh with that C grade. Passing offense??? 7 Sacks? Yup but 6 of them came prior to 10:59 left in the 3rd quarter. 38 plays ran. What a disaster. But in the remaining 47 plays there was only 1 sack. Adjustments. Also Roper stated that all sacks cannot be pinned on the performance of the oline. He said Montez was taking too long to throw the ball in the first 4 or 5 series. I give them B+ for adjustments.

   Rushing attack? Not good but as stated elsewhere the Kornholers were stacking the box early. I give em a C for trying and using it to set up the passing game.

   Rushing defense a D+?? Get off the ripple and mad dog. Rushing defense won the game in the second half. Adjustments and attitude. Solid B for understanding and fixing. Yup the hammer was a beast, but the dline kept the blockers off of him so he could make the plays.

   You always ignore coaching. Why don’t you ever grade it? Asking for a friend.

   I will grade it. I give them in total an A-. Adjustments. Adjustments. Play calling. Leadership. Ownership. Not just players make plays and win games but coaches do as well. Sheesh.
   Good staff. Mac is back after being gone last year. Nice. This is not last years offense and not just because Montez is older and the receivers are better. This is a different beast. Still have not seen the whole deal. Can’t wait.

   Overall grade…………..B+

   Up the mighty Buffalo

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   1. Boy I was wondering where the Ole (yes it is spelled ole) Monday through Sunday and Twice After Game Day QB was after there was no post yesterday. Musta been extra busy shorting Apple.

      Anyway he complimented the Coaches and disagreed with Stuart and gave the staff a B+. A win in Stinkin’ Linkin’ and a B+ for the CU coaching staff………..to use a phrase……..”Mein Gott,” “Times They Are a Changin’.”

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      1. Yo to you……….you ol buzzard. I always speak the truth cause I am right. This coaching staff, including Mac is part of the Mighty Buff team. Last year this was not the case. Mac was a frigging disaster. All over the map without leadership fromhim………….
         “Mac is reengaging sir” BOOM…………………..But that has changed. Maturation!!!

         They get that grade cause they earned it.

         Lots of work to do…………..

         On to the Championship.

         Ye ol Buffalo is coming.

         Note: Ya just gotta give credit where credit is due. But first ya gotta have the facts. Facts say I am right.

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   2. That can’t be the real VKBerlin….

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      1. Damn right it is.
         I told ya for two years how bad Baer was
         I told ya for 5 years how bad lindgren was

         Truth

         Buffalo up

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         1. That’s funny. You’ve also told us for six years, how bad Mac is. You’ve also said you hope he stays forever. But you claim he hit his ceiling at SJSU.

            As to Baer, Lindgren, Walters, Jeffcoat, et al? It may be lost on you that when Mac was hired, CU was a place coaches went to kill, or severely stunt their careers. None of those dudes had to come work with Mac. But? He got them to. That was step 1 in the turnaround process. After getting here – and probably before – Mac knew he wanted to go to a 3-4 defense; Baer’s a 4-3 guy (arguably not all that good of one, but, he did bring in some good recruits, actually). Mac made a change (some believe not his choice, which is incorrect).

            Lindgren brought the CU offense to heights never seen before. Still, middlin’ in the Pac 12, but progress nonetheless.

            Another shift in staff. But don’t look now (it is only two games so far) but OSU has more points and total yards than CU (I had to go look, b/c I was curious).

            But the larger point is, neither Baer nor Lindgren are dirtbags and bad coaches. They contributed to turning this program around from one of the dregs of D1 football, for nearly a decade.

            Personally, I thank everyone who put time, effort and energy into this program with Mac. Heck, even Embree and Bienemy et al. They poured their hearts and souls into this program, and it just didn’t work out.

            Truth.

            And, you want to talk about kids like Shenault, Landman, and the crop of dudes on this team who seem to have legitimate shots at playing at the next level (the life-blood of any program)?

            That’s in large part due to the recruiting organization Mac put into place, and that Chev helps to run. I’m tellin’ ya. Without Viska, Landman, and Montez’ new and improved play (just to name the most obvious guys, but there are more) the corn would’ve beaten this team (or really last year’s team) badly. Regardless of scheme, or play calls. Those dudes made plays. Those dudes will win games.

            Go Buffs.

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            1. Yup these dudes can play. Lil Mac is having a nice year. Getting a lot of help with all that coverage on the other receivers. Interesting Mac played those seniors last year when they had all this talent right in front of their nose. Make no Mistake. Mac decides who plays.

               You had to look. Of course you did. The Lindy in you is strong. Yup they are out scoring the Buffs by a .5 point a game. Holy Moly into the valley rode the 600
               They did get 31 against The OSU. 17 against the 2nd and third strings. And wow that 48 they got against Southern Utah. Yup Lindy can put it on the lessers for sure. That was his deal at CU as well. Lucky Chev came along to help him eh?

               Mac approved the Chev plan for recruiting. He had no clue. Mac is a velcro at taking credit. And passing the blame. But Like i said, he seems to be maturing.

               New heights in offense because of Lindy. Goof ball. Midland or lower is right. 2016 was all D not because of that less than middling lindy offense.

               But moving on.
               Your Bear is gone (Terrible DC) You called em dirtbag I didn’t
               Your Lu is gone (Terrible OC and worse QB coach) You called him dirtbag I didn’t

               Buffs beat Knebraska
               Pac 12 south appears to be wide open
               UCLA, ASU, Utah all right here in Folsom.

               Buffs.

               Note: Did you see how Mac took credit for the big touchdown play. He said “I told em to look off the safety blah blah. Later it came out that he had nothing to do with that call. It was Chev and Roper with Chev saying what Mac said he said. Oh well gotta feed the ego and the earache.

            2. Oh man, the VKBerlinSpin is a fanciful thing. It’s like LaVar Ball. Let me stop (or at least slow) the spin machine with each point:

               Playing seniors last year instead of Viska, KD, and other youngsters – My heart sank when KD had that fumble. First thought was “wonder how often he did that in practice last year?” Talent only gets you so far – ask Steven Montez about that. Gotta know your responsibilities and execute, execute, execute. Unlike you, I trust Mac, Chev and the rest of the staff to make those decisions. They see the kids every day in practice. There are what, 11 new starters this year, and most of them underclassmen? How many in Mac’s first year? He/they clearly play the kids they think give them the best chance to win, regardless of seniority. You like to think he plays favorites, but he doesn’t. Landman’s another great example.

               OSU’s offensive production vs. CU’s? Such a sticking point for you, I just think it’s funny, so had to throw that out there. More passes to tight ends too, probably, huh? It’ll be interesting to see how that all shakes out this year. But, for me, all I care about is the Buffs winning. And, they are winning a lot more than they have for “the lost decade”.

               Mac approved the Chev plan for recruiting? Ah. ok. That’s why he had clauses in his contract to build out facilities and build out recruiting budget and operation. Adam Toyama’s been recruiting director for six years. Came w/ Mac. They’ve built up the organization under Mac’s vision. Troy was recruiting coordinator along w/ receiver’s coach. Chev slid nicely into that spot. Does Chev now help shape the recruiting operation like Troy did before him? Absolutely. Good stuff. But, to say it’s Chev’s vision? Not really accurate. But, many of your opinions are not really accurate. They’re opinions.

               Kind of like your opinion that if Mac has another great year, that he should move on to the SEC would be a good thing. I disagree. If he moves on – which I’m not sure he is in a hurry to do – so be it. At least he will have turned our program around while he was here. But, I hope he’s in Boulder for a long, long time, and returns the program to the type of success we enjoyed when I was there.

               Here’s another opinion of yours: you said about Mac “I told em to look off the safety blah blah. Later it came out that he had nothing to do with that call. It was Chev and Roper with Chev saying what Mac said he said. Oh well gotta feed the ego and the earache.” So, where exactly are the quotes you’re referencing? Links please. Seems like more of your opinion about what you read or heard, than what was actually written or said.

               As to what Mac did say, is he told them to go for it on 4th down and was really worried that was the wrong call – he said nothing about who chose the play call, but I’d go w/ 100% certainty he left that to Chev, the play caller, just like he did w/ the Shenault touchdown. But all day he had told Chev, if they’re pressing Viska, go to him. They chose not to on that 4th down; some people question that play call (not so much to go for it or not). I figure Chev saw something we didn’t, and chose the other play, since Viska was one on one w/ the entire field on the other side. Kyle didn’t make the edge. Good thing Nate picked the ball off two plays later, and good thing Montez read the defense, looked the safety off in the first step of his drop, and put the ball on the money, so Viska could make an unreal catch to win the game.

               Players make plays. Players win games.

               Good thing.

               Go Buffs.

2. I agree with Rob, I think the grades on this particular game do not give the Buffs quite enough credit. We dominated the turnover battle. Nebraska consistently won 1st and 2nd down–we won 3rd and 4th. While it was clear Nebraska had the upper hand at the LOS on both sides of the ball, I caution against viewing the game through the lens of the 2nd qtr. We were indeed getting manhandled.

   But that ain’t the accurate story for 4 qtrs. We had a slight yardage advantage in the 2nd half (when true domination typically emerges), and converted more 3rd and 4th downs too.

   Nebraska had a strength advantage. They slowed our offense, and during a 15 minute stint in the first half were absolutely gashing us with the run. But we won because we were more efficient in pivotal moments over 60 minutes. Period, hard stop. We made important adjustments at half, slowed the tempo on offense to rest the defense, won time of possession for the game (which was way lopsided in their favor at half), and beat a power team with superior efficiency and ball control. We didn’t steal the game, we won it.

   And we may have out-coached ’em too.

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3. I just listened to Mac’s post-practice interview. He said after the 4th down to Kyle that didn’t work “I thought, golly, did I just screw this up??” and went on to tell us again what he heard the defense saying among themselves “we’re going to get the ball back and win” and the offense saying the same.

   But, to me, that’s a great answer to the question anyone ever has about Mac’s self-reflection, whether in the season or after it. Dude is constantly working to find better ways to get this team to another level.

   I think this year, he’s been able to (along w/ his staff and the players) find the right buttons to push, to take some more steps in the right direction.

   So great.

   Yeah, it’s early, but this could turn out to be another really special year for CU Football. And Mac will sign another extension. And most of us will be really happy about that.

   Go Buffs.

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   1. That 4th down option to Evans was (and is) a bad play design. First, it was ran to the short side of the field, so the sideline becomes a twelfth defender. Second, it requires Hagler to fire out on a speedy defender (either a db, outside linebacker or Moeller/Davin Taylor like hybrid) and try to turn him inside so either Montez on a keeper or Evans on the pitch can turn the corner. It was too far upfield for Hagler to get leverage on the dude , plus the lack of space to the sideline (again due to running to the short side of the field) squeezes the field and gives the advantage to the defense. Junk that play Chev!—I’m glad CU played aggressive and played to win so I can live with failed fourth down conversions, but this Dude can’t abide with bad play calls/designs.

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   2. I have to agree on Mac constantly trying to improve. I think the new defensive assistant coaches are having an effect. Some of his coaching changes were forced on him but some weren’t plus he’s moved coaches around. I can only guess that getting Chev to the OC spot was the original goal in hiring him in the first place.

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4. I think I have to give the overall grade a B (maybe I’m grading on a curve). I think coming out of that game, the way it went down, in Lincoln, w/ a win gets points, and offsets their being mostly manhandled by the corn fed boys’ lines.

   Nice to see they’ve got a couple all world – or at least likely first team all conference – guys in Shenault and Landman, too. And Montez really is stepping his game up massively, from last year. We’re seeing it in action (sitting in the pocket, making good decisions, great throws, etc.) and just hearing him talk about what he’s seeing and how he’s reacting out there, is night and day from last year. That is huge.

   To me, it’ll be interesting to see how good or bad NU really is this year. They may be better than I and probably a lot of people expected. Martinez is a stud. Hopefully for them he stays healthy. But, I was also impressed by their walk-on backup. He threw some darts. Their lines were dominating.

   For us though, how big and bad were their lines vs. what we’re going to see the rest of the year? Stanford’s usually the biggest and baddest lines in the Pac 12, lately at least, and we miss them this year. UW? They’re getting bigger up front, but I don’t think they’re that big, either. SC? Utah?

   And, size aside, both our lines are relatively inexperienced, so, will they continue improving as the year progresses? I think so.

   Moreover, we’ve got a couple “dudes” on both sides, too, in Purcell, Lynott, Moretti if healthy, on the offensive side (and Tonz and Sherman are coming along). It seems Antwine and Johnson are doing nicely on D, and Javi has improved a ton from last year, too.

   All that said, that’s where they’ve got to improve the most, to make this year another special one. Or, at least not run into anyone who can just out-muscle them all game long, again.

   I do think they can roll into LA at 5 and 0, which would be huge. ASU doesn’t look like an easy win, but I think the timing of that one, going up against N’Keal Harry, right as our DBs and d-line are really hitting their stride will be good. Being in Boulder should help, too.

   They’re still in that win/lose close phase, but this team is going to be exciting to watch all year. And, I think they showed that toughness needed to turn those close battles into wins, more often than not. What they pulled off in Lincoln was not easy. I may have to change my 99-0 predictions, but… I doubt it.

   Go Buffs.

   PS – if they can start stacking classes with the type of kids that Shenault, Montez and Landman are in their respective positions, on the lines (and that Antwine appears to be)? That’s when they’ll take the next step up the college football food chain, and start winning big consistently, again. I’m sure they’re working on that, but… those kids just aren’t signing yet. Get to 8-4 or 9-3 this year, and compete for another Pac 12 Championship? That would help.

   Go Buffs!!

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5. Hey Stuart,
   The reason the buffs won was the turn-overs. Turn-overs have a magnifier on all stats. I think you need to adjust your grade to account for turn overs taken away. If you factor in turn overs, especially forced fumbles I think the run defense goes up to a C. 2 forced fumbles led to 14 buffs points and stopped the Huskers from scoring 7. That is a huge magnifier and showed on the scoreboard. I would also say the 1 interception should add a “+” sign to the passing defense.
   I also believe the C is due to the run defense because the second half was much better.

   I agree our run offense was pitiful but Nebraska loaded the box almost every play. I am not sure anyone could run into that.

   I wonder if ASU is for real or if Michigan State is not as good as people thought they were…..

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6. Couple things…

   First off, what a win! back to back wins against rivals! ruined the 2nd coming Frosty flakes return. I am feeling great this weekend!

   Will this be the game that the history books point to as the turning point in the program? In many respects it already has turned the corner, but this may be that definitive victory like the Iowa game in 89′ (wasn’t that the one??). What I saw was a team go through the trials and tribulations that any team in the last 10-15 years would have folded under in one of the toughest environments in football. I was having panic attacks thinking that was going to happen and it never did. I won’t lie I cried just as MM did and some of the alumni tweeted about doing. Considering the last time the Buffs beat N in Lincoln was under Barnett in 2004, and now it has happened once again, I think its safe to say that the program is at least back to that 2004 status.

   Does Chev by default have a life position at Colorado at this point? For goodness sakes he is the reason the Rise is Real. Did he not bring in Shenault, who will probably be the Buffs best player to come through in years? Does Chev get 1st dibs at HC should MM leave at some point in the next couple of years?

   We have got do do something about improving the trenches. When I heard the buffs were out weighed on avg by 20 lbs i thought, ok but that means our guys are faster, in better shape, and more agile. That’s not what I saw. It reminded me of the 14′-15′ lines that were getting owned like that against regular ole’ PAC12 teams. I don’t know how the N lines stack up nationally, but dang they looked elite and athletic. Buffs need to get some boys that play like that. When you have a receiver lifting the same weight as your lineman, that’s a bad look.

   Go Buffs

   P.S. ASU will be a dog fight at home, USC looks like a game we can win on the road. UW..meh if we an beat the Red team i think we have a shot at every team this year.

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7. It was no secret that the coaching staff had absolutely no idea what this new coaching staff was going to do. Factor in the noise and being outweighed by 20lbs in the trenches, it should have been no surprise that the baby Buffs were gonna get gashed and I fully expected that they would but give the coaching staff credit at least for making the adjustments at the half. That was a tale of two halves. Colorado plugged the holes and shut it down. Colorado won that game because they were the best team on the field and the best team finds a way to win. Its not like Nebraska wasn’t gifted either. I’m not gonna apologize for the Buffs, they deserve a lot more respect than what these reviews say, including this one. Since when does Colorado have the size and talent to win a game like what we saw yesterday on the road, in one of the most hostile environments in all of college football in anything but an ugly matter? Did we forget about the back to back humiliating defeats at the end of 2016? Or how about the 2nd half of the Michigan game? This was a huge test and any Buff team including that 2016 squad would have probably squandered it. Colorado made the adjustments and turned it into a fantastic victory. Give them a break. If you read the Huskers grades you would think they defeated CU by seven touchdowns. I give Colorado a B and I don’t look back.

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   1. Rob, nice. When, as the announcers said during the second quarter of the game, the Nebraska O-line was starting to get their “push” and the stat on the screen showed the Husker O-line averaged 322 pounds, I was concerned that we were going to see the Buffs get dominated, as in the past, from then on. I was really impressed by the adjustments the coaches and players made and the never say die attitude. It was not that long ago that the Buffs would fight for the first half and then the second half would unravel. Regardless of what the Huskers media says, we outscored them in the second half and severely curtailed their rushing attack (while Martinez was healthy). There are a lot of things to shore up on the lines but the ability to overcome 90,000 Big Red fans foaming at the mouth for Frost’s debut, endure 7 sacks, and come from behind after a hot start, shows to me that this team has great resiliency. If you just look at stats, this game would have been won easily by the Huskers on paper. It was won by the Buffs. By heart. Last year I saw limited passion which was disheartening. This year, so far, I see passion, fire, fight. Go Buffs!!

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