Here is how the first half went for the Nebraska offense.
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1st Offensive Drive – Two Penalties. Punt.
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2nd Offensive Drive – Two Penalties. Missed Field Goal.
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3rd Offensive Drive – Zero penalties. Touchdown.
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4th Offensive Drive – One Penalty. Punt.
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5th Offensive Drive – One Penalty. Missed Field Goal.
Here is how the second half went for the Nebraska offense.
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6th Offensive Drive – Zero penalties. Failed on 4th-and-1 from Illinois 25 yard line because of zero confidence in a kicker.
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7th Offensive Drive – Zero Penalties. Touchdown.
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8th Offensive Drive – Two Penalties. Failed on 4th-and-3 from Illinois 34 yard line. One of the penalties was the personal foul blindside block that was completely unnecessary. Instead of a 2nd-and-8, the result was 1st-and-25.
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9th Offensive Drive – Zero Penalties. End of Game.
Penalties have been one of the major stories of this season. First, and the most obvious have been bizarre illegal blind side block penalties at the worst times throughout the season. Second, have been procedural penalties.
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Both bizarre and infuriating in different ways.
The illegal blind side block, I would understand, if it was once earlier in this season. You could say that it was somebody trying to make a play to help the team. However, after the first one or two, especially after it negated a huge gain and possibly cost the team a win then I would simply not do it again.
The procedural penalties on the other hand are a different animal. A perfect example would be on the first possession against Illinois. Anthony Colandrea completed a 17-yard pass to Jamal Rule which set Nebraska up at the Illinois 37 for a first down.
Except for that Illegal Motion penalty by Jacory Barney. So instead of 1st-and-10 from the Illinois 37, it is now 3rd-and-7 from the Nebraska 41 yard line.
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Nebraska ends up having to punt. Archie Wilson punts it to Illinois’ 20 yard line. Not bad.
Oh wait. Another procedural penalty. This time is was Illegal Formation. Nebraska punts again and instead of the 20-yard line, Illinois now starts from their own 29.
There are teams in college football that can survive drive-crippling penalties. Nebraska is not one of those teams.
Offensively it just appears that nothing comes easy for the offense. That is usually because they find themselves behind the sticks at the worst possible times. Staying “on schedule” is so important for Dana Holgorsen and the offense that these “simple” procedural penalties are crippling.
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The Morning After
Steven Sipple: Nebraska’s mistake-prone ways early in game set tone in another dispiriting loss
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — If you were on hand here Friday night at Gies Memorial Stadium, you perhaps noticed something that I regarded as somewhat striking with about 10 minutes left in Nebraska’s game against Illinois.
What we learned from Nebraska’s loss to Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – Nebraska’s latest late-season collapse continued with a disheartening 24-13 road loss to Illinois on Friday night, marking a fourth straight defeat.
Here are our five biggest takeaways and what it means for head coach Matt Rhule and Co. going forward…
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Here’s what Husker coach Matt Rhule had to say after Nebraska’s fourth-straight loss
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.— The newest wrinkle to Husker pain included a holder needing 12 yards to gain and picking up 29.
Then when the Huskers needed a fourth-and-1 to answer, Nebraska had an empty backfield and a pass falling incomplete to the turf.
It was a one-score game at that point, but you knew where it was headed right then and there, with a 24-13 Illinois in the midst being baked in the oven.
What now for Nebraska? Huskers’ 4th consecutive loss makes season unsalvageable
Nebraska lost again Friday night. The Huskers are reeling. This is ugly. The rest of this month and this football season look dark for Matt Rhule’s team.
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Illinois didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to deliver a gut punch in this 24-13 victory at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. The Illini (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) converted a fake field goal early in the third. Punter and holder Lars Rau took off for 29 yards on fourth-and-12, leading to the go-ahead touchdown throw from Katin Houser to Jordan Anderson.
Nebraska was 5-0. Four losses later, the heat is on Matt Rhule
Four weeks ago, Nebraska football was 5-0 and had a double-digit fourth-quarter lead over defending national champion Indiana.
All seemed well in Lincoln.
About that…
The Cornhuskers haven’t won since the Hoosiers’ late comeback on Oct. 10, now riding a four-game losing streak after Friday’s 24-13 loss at Illinois.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
