Can Nebraska turn around the 2021 season after their 2-3 start? We hit on that and more in this week’s 3-2-1 column.

Can Nebraska turn around the 2021 season after their 2-3 start? We hit on that and more in this week’s 3-2-1 column.

1 – Trev Alberts chimes in on the 2-3 start

Nobody is happy with Nebraska’s 2-3 start. Especially with the way the Huskers have lost some of these football games.

On Wednesday, NU Athletic Director Trev Alberts talked on his monthly radio for the first time since the 2021 season started.

Alberts offered some interesting comments on Scott Frost’s football team.

“This is going to sound a little odd, but I was really pleased with the reactions I saw from the players after the Michigan State game,” Alberts said. “There was general — anger is a little strong — but what that tells me is, first of all, there’s an emotional investment into what they’re doing and they’re all in. When it hurts that bad, you understand how important it is to them and how much they’ve invested in it. I thought the response was good and obviously such a tough loss is good, but I think generally the coaches have done a good job of getting them refocused for the next game.”

The reality going forward is there is not much wiggle room. In order to make a bowl game for the first time since 2016 the Big Red needs to find four wins out of their final seven games, and that will most likely have to include a victory over a top 25 team, something Frost has yet to achieve during his time in Lincoln.

“This is a schedule that, there is a very small window and small margin for error. Every game is winnable and every game we could lose,” Alberts said. “So attention to detail and focus and discipline are going to be critical, and those are areas that have historically not been our strong suits. None of those have to do with talent. They have to do with things that we can control, so that’s our focus.”

2 – Big shake-up expected on the offensive line this week

The first question Frost was asked out of the gates on Monday was about his offensive line and if we can expect any changes?

Frost specifically pointed out they need to shore up the right tackle and left guard positions. Just looking at the numbers, NU’s three primary tackles that have played this season are the three lowest graded out Husker players on PFF ranked No. 43, 44 and 45. Bryce Benhart and Turner Corcoran have given up a combined 50 quarterback pressures and six quarterback sacks in five games, despite the fact Adrian Martinez has only seen more than four pass rushers come at him nine times in the last two weeks.

The tackle play has been historically bad, and the data points back that up. So what can we expect to see?

The only logical shake-up at tackle is freshman Teddy Prochazka, who has played in three games already this season. At guard, you could see possibly Nouredin Nouili or Broc Bando work in there. Long-term if Benhart continues to struggle as a tackle, there’s also a chance he could slide inside to guard.

This will be the talk of pregame warm-ups on Saturday as we all try to get a look at what kind of shake-ups Frost might make on his offensive line this week.

3 – Connor Culp addresses the mental demons he has battled this season

After hearing kicker Connor Culp on “The Beat” Podcast with linebacker JoJo Domann this week, sometimes we all have to take a step back.

Culp talked to Domann about the different mental struggles he’s battled, and things came full circle after the Oklahoma game.

“It took me four games to really figure out that ‘hey something is really not right,'” Culp said. “You are doing everything right, but there’s an underlying issue. I went and swallowed my pride and talked to a sports psychologist. No kicker wants to do that, because then you are kind of thought of as ‘this guy is kind of a basket case in the head.’ But, I was messed up. I wasn’t enjoying football.

“It didn’t matter if I made or missed. The only kind of feeling I felt if I did miss was I let the team down. Even during the Oklahoma game, I had a career-long opening kick in probably the biggest game of our career, and I didn’t care one bit. I didn’t even look at the film of the ball, I just looked at my facial expression and my reaction to it. There was nothing there, and I could feel there was nothing there. It wasn’t until that game where I went and got help and acknowledged what exactly was going on with me. I accepted that as a challenge to overcome these feelings that I was having not only about football but in life. Not working on kicking, but just developing my love for the game back.”

1 – Can the Huskers special teams be repaired?

Can Nebraska get their special teams repaired in one week? The short answer is no, but they can take baby steps to get there.

Let’s start with something simple: Field a punt. NU let too many balls hit the ground at Michigan State, and that’s empty yardage they lost. The Huskers average starting field position was the 26-yard line, compared to the 37-yard line for the Spartans.

If Northwestern beats Nebraska on Saturday, a lot of it is going to come down to special teams and field position gained off empty yardage.

As Alberts said on Wednesday night, the Huskers are going to have to “earn” trust back in their special teams units, because right now it just isn’t there.

2 – Who is the best quarterback in the Big Ten?

Heading into the season, Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez did not receive very many preseason accolades. However, today, would he rank as the best quarterback in the Big Ten?

I think you can make a case at least on Sept. 30 he is, but there is still so much season left. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan State’s Payton Thorn and Penn State’s Sean Clifford are all in that discussion too.

In some ways, this reminds me of 2012 when Taylor Martinez was named the All-Big Ten quarterback by the coaches. There just isn’t very many elite quarterbacks in the league, and Adrian Martinez has a chance to play his way to first or second-team All-Conference with a strong finish.

If we know one thing about the Big Ten West through one month of football it’s this: There is not one elite offense in the division.

Today, Northwestern would rank towards the bottom of the league in just about every category. With that said, I predict the Blackshirts will hold the Wildcats to under 300 yards of total offense on Saturday.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET’s Big Red Wrap-Tuesday’s at 7 pm.