New players, new assistant coaches, new offensive play caller.
Same Result.
All of Scott Frost’s changes and all the supposed upgrades across the board couldn’t put this Husker football program back together again. At least not in a single offseason.
Nebraska was out-coached and out-classed in yet another close loss. Northwestern prevailed 31-28 in Dublin, Ireland, by simply not beating themselves.
Based on the 4-plus years of Scott Frost’s tenure, they must have known the blueprint.
The Huskers had their moments, leading 14-3 in the first half and 28-17 in the second half. But the Wildcats immediately answered each time they went down double digits.
Sure it probably felt good when Casey Thompson hit Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda for a touchdown on the game’s first drive. And again when Thompson crossed the goal line himself two drives later.
The next two possessions featured a 41-yard TD pass from Ryan Hilinski, then a fumble by Garcia-Castaneda at the 11-yard line. Should it have been overturned? Probably. But NW forced the issue nonetheless.
Then there was the miraculous scramble-left-and-heave-one-up to IGC play, and Anthony Grant’s short scoring run. Northwestern then coughed it up, leading directly to Grant’s long scoring run.
Northwestern didn’t allow another point. In fact, NU didn’t get any further than the Wildcats’ 42-yard-line in their final six drives.
The purple NU demonstrated the attributes of a well-coached team with an established culture and a head coach who has delivered multiple division titles over the past five seasons.
The only thing Scott Frost has established is a propensity to lose close games, a tendency to fail in the high-leverage moments, and an inevitable postgame searching for answers amid regret.
After a 3-9 season in 2021, Frost’s fourth year in Lincoln, and a 15-29 record overall, why didn’t more of us see this coming? (I did.)
Let’s get to this game first – we’ll address the season, don’t worry. Almost everyone who follows college football, or Nebraska in particular, picked Nebraska to win the game straight up. (I did not.) Why?
Consider the variables: Five of ten full-time assistants replaced. 15 Division 1 transfers to incorporate into the team. Oh yeah, don’t forget the international travel. It’s a lot to ask of any program to have all that turnover AND still improve their win-loss record by three games.
Nebraska beat the Wildcats 56-7 last year, so Northwestern spent their spring and summer with that score displayed throughout their facility.
Pat Fitzgerald was always going to be better equipped to win this game. His track record speaks for itself: head coach since 2006, three 10-win seasons, five postseason top-25 rankings, and only one instance of back-to-back losing seasons.
Was Northwestern conservative at times, especially with 3rd-down play calling? You could argue that. But it also played into the likelihood that the Huskers would beat themselves if given the chance.
Hilinski completed his final pass on their last scoring drive that gave them the 31-28 lead. He didn’t attempt another, as they were able to finish Nebraska off with 15 consecutive run plays.
Fifteen!
The opener is now done, and this team has the rest of their season in front of them. But hey, most of the experts forecasted a 7-5 record in 2022. Some even 8-4. Only a few thought 6-6 or worse.
My educated guess was 5-7. Scott Frost has demonstrated time and time again who he is, which is reflected by his team. They struggle to close out tight games, as evidenced in Frost’s 3-21 record in one-score results.
Could the full-on program flip have worked? Sure, it could have. But at this point, I’d be shocked if this group ends up with a winning record.
There is little doubt how things will end now. As of October 1st, the day of NU’s fifth game of the year, Frost’s buyout is cut in half. Trev Alberts will surely field questions about his ultimate decision then, or even before.
Opportunities to redeem themselves exist: Oklahoma should be top-10 when they come to Memorial Stadium in three weeks.
How likely is that? As likely as Northwestern passing the ball on any play after grabbing the lead.
I didn’t want to be right. I just paid attention.
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