2 Average Guys

An all too familiar loss for the Huskers with a “You can’t make this up” moment seeing Dylan Raiola go down with a season ended injury essentially gifted USC the win.  Call it what it was for USC knowing that Nebraska was playing, not outstanding, but consistent and solid football up until that point.  If you haven’t listened to the 2 Average Guys Podcast from Sunday, you should.  I found myself wondering if they had invaded my thoughts from Saturday’s game.  TJ Lateef is our new starting quarterback and that doesn’t sound bad at all.  No disrespect to Dylan, because he gives us the best chance to win, but Lateef is a very talented QB.  It would be very easy to take the sky is falling approach, but we’re already in a bowl game and this could be a great thing.  Take the handcuffs off this kid and play all out, let’s see what he does.  It’s no surprise that TJ is a mobile quarterback that isn’t comfortable in the pocket, but he is a pass first guy … .and he’s got an accurate cannon which we’ve all seen.  

The coaches have a job to do and that is to develop players and win games, it’s that simple.  What if this week, knowing this is a winnable game, they threw caution to the wind and let Lateef fly?  And what if we as fans, knowing the score could be bad and the interceptions could be high, gave it the grace it deserves and supported it?  This team needs to let loose and play freely, that’s why you schedule junk games where you can dominate, not to pad stats or to just get a feel for your team, but to teach them how to play with confidence.  Every game it’s close and every game you can feel the team tighten up and let the thoughts of yesteryear creep into their heads, even Rhule has talked about this.  The coaches are learning too and they can only teach, after that it’s up to the players to learn and not revert.  I remember coaching junior high volleyball and telling my girls, “If you make a mistake, make it big, but make it once.  I’ll never yell at you for that, but if you make the same mistake over and over, then you’ll hear it from me.”  

Saturday night the fans were loud and still believed after Raiola went down with an injury, casting aside the lingering doubts, knowing that our guys needed us, and they ultimately were let down.  Again.  It’s not the fans responsibility to win games, especially Husker fans.  Having coached and lived in various places throughout the country, nowhere else, does the football team mean more to a state and fanbase, than it does to Nebraska.   We aren’t perfect fans but we are the most loyal  in the entire nation. Go ahead and debate us, you’ll lose that argument every time.  Most fans are very supportive of Lateef and very encouraging, because all we ever ask is that the team plays to win and not to not lose.  That is the mindset that the coaching staff is trying to instill in these players and if you think that fix has a specific timeline, then you’ll always be disappointed.  It’s a hive mentality and once that cancer creeps in (Mike Riley with hip hip hooray), it’s very hard to change.  

Hopefully this week is an encouraging one, with progression and a better resolve than we’ve seen up to this point.  There won’t be any major fixes at this point during the season; you can’t put antifreeze in your overheating car when you don’t have any and you’re miles from town, but you can use water and get yourself there, just the same.  Just as every person has their breaking point, they also have a point where they are motivated to run through a brick wall in order to achieve a goal.  The Huskers have come close over and over again, but still haven’t reached deep enough to get over that hump and flip that mental switch.  UCLA has a very potent offense, but so did USC and we did alright against them.  It’s time for the offense to let loose and play with a reckless abandon we haven’t seen from a Husker football team in a long time.  How they prepare this week will tell a lot about this group leading into Saturday so we’ll touch on that in a few days.  Until then, stay hopeful and patient Husker fans.