To paraphrase Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion fame, “This has been a quiet week in Husker Nation, our hometown….” Quiet in the sense we have remained calm for the most part considering Dylan Raiola is out for the season and TJ Lateef is our starter for here on out, yet everyone seems fine with it. It’s not a knock against Dylan, but with a bowl game already achieved and a high ceiling with TJ, there’s more hope for optimism than our usual doom and gloom thought process. Like a “wait and see” approach which is good for our psyche right now. Of course a lot can go wrong and we could get destroyed, Lateef could seem a bust and the Bruins offense may torch us, but we’ve already been down that road many times before. All we’ve got left is our hope that things will eventually get better. There’s no more excuses left for this team and there’s no denying that they are measurably better than teams of the past ten years.
The message from the coaches and players this week in practice and the media has been to just go out there and play. Don’t overthink about what could be, rather play loose and confident because after all, the rest of this season isn’t just learning for TJ Lateef as the starter, it’s also an audition. Show us all what you and this team are by keeping things simple, playing disciplined on both sides of the ball, and take some chances. I think as fans we are desperate for this type of attitude and effort. We understand that you can’t always win, but you absolutely control your mind and heart. That takes us to the coaches….will they make minor adjustments that allow the guys to just go out there and play? They lead the charge when it comes to the mentality of this team, and although they are fighting against a soured past, they need to stay consistent and hold the Huskers to a winning standard. Too often we have to endure the press conference with a repeat of “We had a great week of practice, we didn’t execute, and I’m proud of this team.” We’d rather see an ass chewing at this point and to not coddle this team. They are young, but they are adults and need to know that the acceptance of trying their best will never cut it. Not ever, and not here.
UCLA is not the same team they were when the season started. The fact that this team has responded to a coach being fired with winning football is a testament to their mindset and culture. They aren’t a team that is struggling with their identity or effort. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is mobile and can throw the ball, something the Huskers have struggled with this season and in years past. Their weakness on offense lies in their running game which on paper isn’t very good, but we all know how that can go, given our past decade of debacle. Their defense struggles against the run and nothing would make us happier than seeing our running backs and quarterback rack up some serious rushing yards. It wouldn’t just be nostalgic, it’s who we are at our core. We aren’t a passing culture and never have been. Coach after coach has tried to make Nebraska a pass first school and it has always failed. Rhule does better than Riley and Frost did with running the ball more, but he needs to commit to racking up 300 plus this week. Not to say that Lateef shouldn’t have the freedom to fling the ball downfield but keep the offense simple with RPO’s and play action. Think of the jolt of confidence that would give the o-line to push everyone around for four quarters, and they are very capable of doing just that against this UCLA team.
The bottom line is if Nebraska plays how they should, then we should win going away for a change. There will most likely be upwards of 25,000 Husker fans in attendance, based on previous visits to the west coast so it will feel similar to a home game for the boys in red. It’s another game where there’s not a lot of pressure, but winning, especially winning going away, will help a fan base breathe a little deeper and hopefully show this team what it takes and to keep that mindset into every week from here on out. Give our minds, hearts, and livers a break, boys and go out and smoke this team.
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