Have we talked about that squib kick after our game winning touchdown yet? What's the point of that with a minute left?
The only real advantage I can think of is if they are afraid of the big play capability of the deep returner. Kick it to a TE and while you give up some field position you have little risk of him taking it to the end zone.
Now the long part
Day after thoughts.
Focus on the OL. As some of you know I tend to watch OL play more than some fans and some things stood out.
We need Sherman getting the majority of the time at tackle to win. Kaiser is a tough kid and works hard but he isn't a good enough athlete. Huskers were beating him regularly with quick double moves at the LOS and he was getting his feet tied up. Sherman still has work to do on his technique but is a much quicker and more agile athlete. He also slides better when the play is outside of him.
Moretti was better than Tonz as well but it looked like he was still trying to overcome some of the impact of the injuries. Keep working him in, if/when he gets back physically he will be a major step up. Could see why they have him at guard right now because he is much more comfortable moving in a straight line than laterally. As he gets healthier that should come back, don't be surprised if he is eventually back to being an outstanding tackle for us.
Frost whined about not having a game to prep for us but it wasn't all one-sided. Fuskers ran a lot of inside blitzes that we didn't look ready for in the first half. Second half we adjusted to them much better and started to take advantage of them. Having some film may have made a big difference in us being ready to handle their pressure.
Not OL related.
We don't have an Oliver in the defensive backfield but are going to be okay. Abrams missed a few plays but looked good in coverage and isn't afraid to get involved. Remember that guys tend to develop under MacIntyre. Witherspoon started out making a lot of mistakes and ended up as a draft choice. I think that by mid-season he will be good and his ceiling is very high. Was more concerned with seeing Fisher get taken advantage of a few times but that may have been related to us not having film as well.
Wigley and Uddofia are still developing as well but will be solid for us, not great but good enough to win with.
Other than the fact that loosing to the Corn because of missed kicks would have really sucked I am also glad for Stefanou that his missed kicks didn't cost us the game. He seems like a good guy. My guess is that he will be money the rest of the year when we need him.
Speaking of kickers going to be interesting what happens next year with Kinney and Loy both in their final year of eligibility and both legitimately wanting to display their skills for the pros. Tough situation, wonder if one transfers.
Last thing. Fusker fans may point to Martinez being out for the last drive and having to go with their "walk-on" back up. He is certainly not the athlete that Martinez is and not the threat to run but he may have actually been a better option for them in that situation. He is a guy in his third year of college football and looking at some of their boards and media a lot of them said that he outplayed the scholarship guy who left and was their best option in a situation that required passing. He also was a walk-on but he isn't some Rudy story. He had FCS interest and offers out of HS.