Dave Feit: Breaking Down the Beatdown at Colorado

Many were expecting a better start to Nebraska’s season. Should we panic?

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

I reached a critical saturation point with the incessant Coach Sanders hype a long time ago. Treating former players like dirt, making everything about him and his brand, the manufactured slights, gaslit grudges and so much more. Sanders is a 21st-century version of Barry Switzer, a brash and cocky S.O.B. who is the antithesis of the quiet and humble Nebraskan sensibilities. He seems custom made to annoy Husker fans – and that’s before he appears in every sideline shot and commercial break.

The distinctions between Nebraska and Colorado extend beyond their fans and first year head coaches. Both are attempting to rebuild their teams/programs, but they are going about it in very different ways. Let's use the analogy of a kitchen remodel to help illustrate the distinction.

Matt Rhule has a detailed (and proven) blueprint for success. He's hired a couple of up-and-coming guys to help him, despite never having worked on a job of this size before. Rhule is not looking to rush his process or skip steps, even if it means the refrigerator is in the garage and the microwave is in a bedroom for a few weeks. Rhule is confident that end result will be exactly what the homeowners want, and will keep them happy for years to come.

Meanwhile, Sanders isn't willing to wait for a lengthy remodel. He's hired a bunch of experienced contractors to rip out the old and replace it with the most high-end finishes he can get his hands on. (Just put it on the credit card.) The homeowners are so impressed by the quick results, they look past the structural issues and don't question his false statements. But when the credit card bills come due, Sanders will be off to his next job and Colorado will be bargaining with the repo man to keep at least one of the Louis Vuitton branded trash bags.

I get it: It is very easy to look at Colorado's early success and question every decision Matt Rhule has made. It is especially easy when the early returns on some of those big decisions (offensive staff, quarterback depth, when players play and when they sit) are shaky.

Yeah, we'd all love to be 2-0 instead of 0-2. But I have zero belief in Coach Sanders' ability to build something sustainable. And I have even less faith that he'll stick around if a better job opportunity comes around. Maybe Colorado fans don’t care. But that's not what I want for Nebraska. I'm tired of the coaching carousel. I want to see Rhule's plan through … which is an absolutely ridiculous thing to have to say after two dadgum games.

Moving on …

Things I believe

This defense is legit. I was skeptical of the Blackshirts' debut performance against Minnesota. The Gophers aren't known for being an offensive juggernaut, and I thought they looked more pedestrian than usual in Week 1.

Colorado may not be the best offensive the Huskers see all year, but I suspect they'll be in the conversation. They had several talented receivers and a quarterback who could get them the ball.

The Blackshirts more than held their own. The line generated pressure and allowed the linebackers to roam free. A couple of Nebraska's eight sacks were due to the excellent coverage provided by the secondary.

Nebraska has not recorded a shutout since the "back and here to stay" Holiday Bowl in 2009. I wouldn't be shocked to see that streak end this year.

For better or worse, NU is ride-or-die with Jeff Sims. Jeff Sims had a horrible game. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield had to move Sims under center for most of the second half because he was struggling to cleanly field shot gun snaps. And it wasn't like Sims was dealing with "Cam Jurgens has the yips" snaps. Center Ben Scott has been great.

If you want to lay this loss squarely at his feet … well … you won't be alone in that thought. As the second quarter wound down, Twitter and the FOX broadcast booth were speculating if a change would be made - and this was before his interception set up Colorado's first touchdown.

But when the Huskers got the ball for their opening possession of the second half, Sims ran out on the field. Rhule said after the game he never considered bringing in one of the backups. Nebraska's four-play drive showed why that was the right call, and why Sims will get every single opportunity to fix what is going on.

• 1st & 10: Gabe Ervin ran for three yards. As much as the coaches (and fans) want a dominating run game, it's not there yet. NU needs a quarterback who can make plays and move the ball.
• 2nd & 7: Sims rolls out and throws a nice 13-yard completion to Marcus Washington. With no disrespect to Heinrich Haarberg, do you believe he can make that throw? At this point in the game, Haarberg - in his third year in the program - had yet to throw a pass in a game. He's now 2-6 for 13 yards.
• 1st & 10: Sims was sacked. We can debate offline if this was due to Sims, the offensive line (my vote), and/or a lack of open receivers. But it illustrates the challenges facing this offense.
• 2nd & 17: Sims ran 57 yards for a touchdown. No disrespect to Chubba Purdy, but do you think he's going to do that - even if 100% healthy?

Those of you wanting to tell me about "accountability" and Rhule's comments about not playing guys who fumble: I hear you. You're not wrong. You'll really like what Kaleb Henry has to say on the subject. I have two responses: 1) are we willing to have this accountability discussion at other positions where production is not up to snuff, because 2) NU can probably limit their turnovers and mistakes, but they will definitely limit the potential of an offense that has only managed 12 points per game in 2023.

The harsh truth is that Nebraska's depth at quarterback is inexperienced, flawed or both. Relitigating the process that led to Casey Thompson's transfer to FAU (or cursing Scott Frost for not recruiting Zane Flores) doesn't change the fact that the QB room might be as thin as it has been since Andrew Bunch started a game in 2018.

Rhule and Satterfield have two choices ahead of them: a) ride with Sims and hope he can work through the turnover issues, b) find a way to win with one - or both - of the backups. Based solely on what we've seen in games, the coaches appear set to ride-or-die with Sims. Hopefully, Sims doesn't make them revisit that decision.

Nebraska needs a "hot call" to avoid instant replay. Midway through the second quarter, the Huskers had 1st & 10 at midfield. Jeff Sims ran up the middle, made a cut and picked up 12 yards. On first glance, it looked like Sims's knee may have been down, but it wasn't called.

In moments like this, I wish Nebraska had some sort of code word* that was a signal to line up and snap the ball as soon as humanly possible to beat the replay official's buzzer.

*My suggestion: "Clete" in honor of former Husker quarterback turned NFL referee Clete Blakeman.

I don't care if that play is a two-yard QB sneak: I'd love to take advantage of free yardage and take big plays out of the hands of the replay official watching on a 9" tablet.

Instead, replay correctly noted that Sims was down after a 4-yard gain. While NU did pick up another first down, the drive stalled and the Huskers missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Things I don't know

At what point do the self-inflicted mistakes get corrected? When I laid out my very conservative expectations for this season, I said "In 2023, I want to see growth. Development. I won’t be surprised to see some residual Frost era mental mistakes in September. But I do not want to see them in November."

Well, we definitely saw those mental mistakes on Saturday. Just like we did in August. And there are still three more games in September.

So, when do the mistakes fade away? I wish I had a good answer.

The only thing that comes to mind is the old coaching truism: "you're either coaching it, or you're allowing it".

It's worth watching how the position coaches (who largely determine who plays and who does not) react when their players make mistakes. We already discussed quarterback (where I think the drop-off from starter to backup is so big that it would make things worse). But there are two other offensive position groups to look at:

Anthony Grant fumbled in crunch time against Minnesota. He did not get a carry against Colorado. On his 16th carry of the game, Gabe Ervin was credited with a fumble (even if Joel Klatt said Sims is ultimately responsible). Ervin had only one more attempt the rest of the game.

On the offensive line, Ethan Piper was called for his second false start in two games. While it's possible that he rotated out (I didn't see all five positions on every snap), I don't think he was pulled as a result of his mistakes.

Did Colorado solve the 3-3-5, or did the defense spend too much time on the field? In the first half, the Blackshirts held Colorado to 136 total yards on 35 plays (3.9 yards per play). In the second half, the Buffs gained 293 yards on 45 plays (6.5 yards per play). Colorado scored 13 points in the first half and 23 in the second half.

So, did CU's staff make adjustments to counteract Tony White's 3-3-5 defense? Or did the defense simply wear down?

I think it's a bit of both. A smarter X's and O's guy can point out some things Colorado did differently in the second half to use Nebraska's pressure against them. I saw more screens and draws.

But the defense had to spend a lot of time on the field in the second half. Colorado - a team that wants to play fast - had 18:22 in possession after halftime. That's a lot of snaps at a mile high altitude. Meanwhile, Nebraska's offense averaged 1:56 of clock time across their six second-half drives.

This season is not starting how many expected it would. Should we panic? Put on your big boy / big girl pants for a second. I'm going to be blunt. Sensitive readers may not like it, but we need to be real about some things.

If you drank from the Kool-Aid fountain of offseason hype, you're probably wondering how the hell Nebraska will get to your 7-5 or 8-4 prediction. If you expected Matt Rhule and staff to undo the better part of five seasons of Frost-era failures in under eight quarters of football, you're probably questioning if Trev Alberts made the right hire. (Spoiler: He did).

But maybe you understood just how bad things had gotten in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Truly appreciated the fundamental flaws in how this program recruits, develops, utilizes and retains talent. Knew that Nebraska's cumulative turnover margin since 2004 is FIFTY (50!) more than the second-worst P5 team. Realized the 2021 "close" narrative was equal parts fan fiction and bull crap.

Maybe you simply read this or this with an open mind. If so, you - like me - are probably not shocked to be 0-2. Nobody - myself included - wants to be 0-2, but I was aware that possibility existed.

Losing in exceedingly sloppy fashion to the two coaches Husker fans love to hate does not help. A 22-point loss to another first-year coach definitely hurts.

No, you should not panic. The Huskers have some work to do to surpass last year's win total, let alone get bowl eligible. Rhule's track record says Year 1 is rough. But I'm not losing faith after two games. Hopefully, home games against Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech help calm fragile nerves.

If not, the volleyball and soccer teams are both off to excellent starts.

5 things I loved

1. Defensive Line. Not many people predicted the d-line would be a strength of the team. The vets (Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher) are playing great. The guys who have been waiting their turn (Blaise Gunnerson and Jimari Butler) are finally getting to show what they can do. And the new kids (more on them in a bit) are not interested in waiting. Put it all together and you get a D-line that is dictating what offenses can do. A welcome change.
2. Linebackers. When they're both healthy, the tandem of Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich are a ton of fun to watch. They play instinctive football and seem to always be around the ball. I loved their (combined) 3.5 sacks, and how Reimer was smart enough to draw a 15-yard flag with a well-timed flop into the official's arms. I've also been really impressed with the play of Mikai Gbayor and John Bullock.
3. Secondary. You know the Blackshirts had a day when the first three spots are occupied by all three levels of the defense. Shedeur Sanders spent several plays scrambling around because the secondary had CU's star receivers blanketed. Yes, Colorado eventually got their yards, but I'll take Quinton Newsome, Omar Brown, Malcom Hartzog, DeShon Singleton and friends against the passing attacks of the Big Ten West.
4. Cameron Lenhardt & true freshman defenders. How many former regimes have treated true freshmen like baby kangaroos: fragile marsupials unable to survive outside of the pouch of a redshirt year? True freshmen Cameron Lenhardt (2 sacks), Riley Van Poppel (a half sack), Sua Lefotu (fumble recovery), Princewill Umanmielen and others are ready to thrive on their own.
5. Billy Kemp IV. The numbers (five catches for 57 yards) aren't eye-popping, but we got to see some of the productive potent that Kemp can bring to the offense.

Honorable mention: Isaac Gifford, Javin Wright (he's sooo close to a big play), Thomas Fidone II, Gabe Ervin, Jr., Rahmir Johnson, Ben Scott, the sea of red in Boulder

5 areas for improvement

1. Jeff Sims. There's really no way to sugar coat that performance. Your quarterback should never have more solo tackles (1) than touchdown passes (0). The stats show Sims "only" had two fumbles (both lost), but it would be easy to argue the fumbles tagged to Gabe Ervin and Luke Lindenmeyer should go on Sims's tab. Sims had some drops by his patchwork receiving corps, but his interception was a poor decision. One thing the stats won't show: a keeper on 3rd & 17 late in the second half. It's clear that Sims won't get the first down, so he steps out of bounds after an 8-yard gain. But if he slid or was tackled in bounds, Colorado would have had to burn their final timeout. Instead, the Buffs used that timeout to stop the clock with 1 second left before kicking a 32-yard field goal.
2. Offensive line. At first glance, a net of 222 yards rushing on 5.4 yards per carry looks like the line did some nice work. But those numbers were inflated by Sims's 57-yard touchdown and a long run by Rahmir Johnson against Colorado's reserves. Toss those out and NU's day (106 yards, 2.9 yards per carry) more accurately reflects the efforts of the offensive line. In addition, Sims was sacked twice and hurried three times. Any hope for an offensive spark has to start up front.
3. Procedural Penalties. Nebraska was flagged a total of six times for false starts or defensive offsides. The first false start was the second of the season by one of the leaders of the offensive line, Ethan Piper. The second was by a wide receiver (Marcus Washington), a position that should never false start. Defensively, NU was flagged for four false starts, although only one was accepted: a five-yarder on 4th & 5 to give CU a free first down. The others were not accepted because Colorado was able to pick up gains of 22, 10, and 17 on their free plays. Those drives resulted in 10 points allowed.
4. Ty Robinson. The veteran defensive tackle was a late scratch from this list a week ago, when his late hit with targeting cost him the first half of the Colorado game. Early in the fourth quarter, a Colorado lineman was flagged for unnecessary roughness. But the replay showed that Robinson had initiated the incident with a flag-worthy play of his own. I want the upperclassmen - and especially the single digit guys - setting a good standard for the rest of the team, not doing dumb things that can cost the team 15 yards.
5. Gus Johnson. Another week of Gus means another week of mispronunciations ("Bow-richter", "Her-zog", "Kern-ee, Nebraska"), more needless SHOUTING!!!, and non-stop salivation over Coach Sanders. While it was absolutely hilarious to listen to Gus go into a dead-air freeze instead of trying to say "Mikai Gbayor", it just re-enforces how lazy and/or poor his preparation is. (Those links take you to audio files of the players saying their names. "MUH-kai bay-ORR" is really easy to say if you take the time to try). I refuse to believe that Gus is the best college football play-by-play voice that FOX employs.