Speak Your Truth: Nebraska Q&A

The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (7-3 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) are all set to host the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-7 overall, 1-6 Big Ten) at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It is the last home game of the season for UW so it will also be the last time some of the seniors play in front of the Badger faithful. The Freedom Trophy is also on the line and UW has designs on winning the Big Ten West too.

Needless to say, it’s a big game.

While it might be easy to overlook the Huskers due to their record, they honestly have been playing much better this season than in years past. They still make all of the same mistakes that cause them to lose games, but before that they are way more competitive!

Anyway, we had some questions about the Huskers and thankfully our pal Andy Ketterson at Corn Nation was able to answer them for us. Here is what he had to say!

I’ve seen multiple opinions on the matter, but most of the fan base seems to be behind giving Scott Frost another year? If the Huskers lose to Wisconsin and Iowa will that still be the case?

The message boards vs. the polls seem to prove the theory that a few being loud & repetitive online doesn’t make them the majority. Most fans see the difference in strength, speed and effort from 2018 until now. Most importantly, despite everything, the players continue to play their asses off for Frost which might have been one of the biggest factors in not pulling the plug because of the record.

Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images

If we lose out to finish 3-9, after some post-game raging, I believe most everyone will still be ok with it. I don’t think anyone expects us to finish on fire after firing four offensive assistants. For me personally, if I see these guys finish these last two with the same effort they’ve had against all the other ranked teams on the schedule with nothing but pride on the line, I’ll know Trev made the right call.

How would you describe Adrian Martinez’s legacy for Nebraska? He is going to go down as, statistically, one of the best QBs in the program history but there hasn’t been a whole lot of winning with him under center.

It’s going to be complicated to say the least.

As a human being, he’s something else. He earned his undergrad degree in three years, played through a pile of injuries and carried himself with nothing but class and grace when the voices from the grandstand became…less than friendly.

However, there’s no denying his mistakes repeatedly took the air out of the room (I can only say “kicked us in the balls” so many times) like no one I’ve ever seen. He has one more year of eligibility because of Covid, but many are wondering and rightfully so if the game-killing gaffes are a problem which is never going away.

Our fearless CN leader in a post-game YouTube rant after Minnesota compared it to being in an abusive relationship where you wonder why he suddenly decides to do really mean things every now and then but you put up with it because the sex can be so great. (Note: No, we don’t really think being a fan of a QB with a crippling turnover/overthrow problem is directly comparable to actual abusive relationships. And no executions, Brian Kelly. Ever.)

Put it this way - the Husker offense is No. 2 in yardage and No. 4 in scoring in the Big Ten but it’s those assistants who just got cleaned out. Does that happen if four or five of the right plays flip?

With the loss of Jojo Doman at linebacker what are you looking for from the young linebacking corps? Who has stood out and stepped up?

Jojo can’t be replaced. Let’s just get that out there right now. You don’t find too many 235-lb hybrids who are breaking up deep routes to slot receivers as well as blowing up plays in the backfield and meeting RB’s head on. He’ll be playing on Sundays and soon.

His replacement is freshman Isaac Gifford who by all accounts is a bit of a physical freak himself and whose older brother Luke had a solid career as a Husker linebacker and currently plays for the Cowboys. However, Isaac, at only 205, gives up about 30 lbs. to Jojo, so we will likely see packages with a little more beef out there to combat Braelon Allen coming downhill at them.

Nebraska’s pass catchers are all incredibly tall. Have the Huskers been able to use that to their advantage? Are there a lot of goal line fades, but all over the field?

You had to go and poke me with that stick, didn’t you? Grrr.

With the full understanding that we’ve never been the glory-years Miami Hurricanes who regularly send wideouts to The League, I know this pronouncement doesn’t carry a ton of weight, but this is the best group of receivers the Huskers have ever had.

I understand that chucking it up there 25-30 times per game still gives many in a state where we sell “Run the Damn Ball!” T-shirts a serious case of the vapors. I’m of the opinion that when you’ve got three wideouts 6-foot-3 and up and two TE’s who go 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9 and -

(Stay with me here, this is where the laughter starts)

-they all have potential to play on Sunday, I say don’t wait for the perfect wide-open guy every time. Find a 1-on-1 with one of these storks and fire a jump ball. Good grief, it got Brady Quinn drafted in the first round for just having the ability to get the rock somewhere near Jeff Samardjiza.

Sorry, what was the question? Oh. Um, 1) sometimes but not enough, 2) no not at the goal line and 3) no not all over the field. And I hate the fade, but if you’re gonna do it, you do it with these guys.

I don’t need an exact score prediction, but how do you see this game going?

This is the most brutal pick of the year for me. I’ve been cruising each week against good teams calling for the cover but how do you factor in losing four assistants and arguably your best defensive player and leader? Couple that with Wisconsin being the first team I believe Nebraska has played this season coming in with several weeks at a scary level of play?

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

I do believe timing the firings on the bye week was a great decision for two reasons - 1) (I like lists) we give potential replacements plenty of time to know we have openings and 2) the players get a week to process the changes.

Is it enough? I don’t know but I’ll bet the streak. Wiscy 29 Huskers 23

(I always throw a score out. When I hit lucky every few years, I get to act like a genius for a week.)