Can anyone figure out the Big Ten West at this point? It’s getting harder to read by the week. We hit on that and more as we start your Monday off with the Weekly Rundown column.
Sure bets
You have to feel pretty good about these things right now:
A complete mess in the West: Last week Purdue beat Iowa. This past week Illinois beat Penn State, Minnesota is now 3-1 in league play and Wisconsin has looked good two weeks in a row. The Big Ten West is a complete mess.
Husker fans were obviously furious with NU’s loss at Minnesota before the bye, but what’s interesting is the Gophers have played themselves right back into the race and they control their own destiny at this point. They play Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. 8-4 or 9-3 seems very realistic for them right now.
That’s also what’s frustrating if you are a Nebraska fan. Never has winning the West been more attainable than in 2021, and NU finds themselves at 1-3 in the division.
Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten: Sure Ohio State lost in September to Oregon, but they are playing better than any team in the Big Ten, and it’s not even close at this point.
The Buckeyes have won their last three league games by scores of 52-13, 66-17 and 54-7. Their young offense has finally caught its stride, and this is without a doubt the toughest game Nebraska has remaining on the schedule.
A healthier Adrian Martinez vs. Purdue: By now we all know Adrian Martinez played hurt at Minnesota. The good news is he didn’t appear to take any hard shots in that game. Two solid weeks of rest should have him the healthiest we’ve seen since before the Michigan State game.
Purdue WR David Bell and DE George Karlaftis: The Boilermakers will come to Lincoln with arguably two first-rounders in wide receiver David Bell and defensive end George Karlafitis. This is “make some money” week for cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and a “hold on to your hat” week for NU’s offensive tackles.
A December portal push from Nebraska: We’ve known since June Nebraska’s recruiting class would be around 13 for 2022. This past week was the first time Scott Frost publicly acknowledged NU planned to make a strong portal push in December on top of that.
The reality is they did the same thing last year, and every team in college football is going to do it in December. I think his remarks got some headlines, but the bottom line is every team in college football will mine the portal after the season comes to an end.
My read is, instead of adding four or five portal additions, that number could push its way up to six or seven, which will help balance out the numbers where NU currently has 49 players on scholarship carrying freshman eligibility. The question, though, is how do you stay at 85? Obviously, some more attrition will need to happen.
Surprises
These were my surprises of the week:
Wisconsin’s rediscovered offense: In Wisconsin’s last two Big Ten games vs. Purdue and Illinois, their top two running backs rushed 39 times for 289 yards and 39 times for 276 yards.
Before that, in losses to Michigan and Notre Dame, the Badgers managed to rush for just 43 and 78 total yards as a team.
When Wisconsin runs the ball like they have the last two Big Ten games, they can play with anyone in the division. It’s going to be interesting to see how those numbers bear out when they face off vs. Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
Huskers are a 7 point favorite vs. Purdue: What does Las Vegas know that we don’t know? Nebraska is a 7 point favorite over Purdue.
Based on the comments on my Twitter feed and on the Red Sea Scrolls message board, quite a few people were surprised by this number. Remember, Nebraska is at home where they’ve played well all season, they are coming off of a bye, and Purdue has played Iowa and Wisconsin in back-to-back weeks.
Zac Taylor is 5-2 in the NFL: I talked to one former NFL player and another current NFL writer this summer about Zac Taylor. They both gave him a very small chance to succeed in Cincinnati, mainly because of the organization. Give Taylor a lot of credit, after his team’s drubbing of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, they improved to an AFC-best 5-2.
This has been said before on HuskerOnline, but Taylor is arguably the most under-appreciated player in the post-title era at Nebraska. He’s the last Husker to win conference offensive player of the year honors, and everything he’s gotten, he’s earned as both a player and now a coach.
The jury is still out
Questions still surround these things:
Nebraska’s new practice style: Linebacker JoJo Domann talked about Nebraska’s new practice style this week over the bye on The Beat Podcast.
Domann said they changed some things up to feature more ones vs. ones in sudden change and high-pressure situations. Will any of this translate to Saturdays?
How bad does this team still want it?: We know the numbers. Nebraska is 3-5 and all five losses are by 8 points or less.
We are at the point now where close doesn’t count. How bad does this team want it going forward?
2022 recruiting: With the de-commit of defensive end Hayden Schwartz, Nebraska finds itself back down to eight verbal commits. They still need around five more 2022 recruits to round out their December class. How will they get to 13? A few new JUCO names emerged as of late over the bye week.
This is on my mind
Moving forward, this has my attention:
Deontai Williams: Super senior safety Deontai Williams suffered a leg injury at Minnesota. It seems like a long shot on his return this week. When will Williams return? Getting him back for Wisconsin and Iowa seems like the most realistic timeline.
Kicker: Will we see anything different at kicker this week for Nebraska. We all feel for Connor Culp and the ups and downs he’s battling, but the bottom line is NU’s margin for error is not much.
Culp has missed six field goals and four extra points in eight games, which is 22 points off the board. Another extra point was blocked when Culp was not in. The combined point total of the Huskers’ five losses is 28 points. These points matter. Period.
The resolve of Husker nation: This has been a long week. So many people want this to work, while others have moved on.
The emotional swings of these one-score losses have tested the resolve of everyone. How much more can Husker Nation take? If the Huskers lose at home to Purdue with Ohio State coming in the following week, what will the scene be like in Memorial Stadium?
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.
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