Tad Stryker: Growing Pains Bite Huskers Hard

Haarberg coughs up ball thrice as NU loses one-score game in East Lansing

Tad Stryker | Nov 4, 2023

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

The weekly meeting of the Heinrich Haarberg Fan Club will now come to disorder.

That group of folks has been quite proud and vocal on social media over the past month, and it was understandable why. With Haarberg under center, the Huskers had won five of six, losing only to Michigan. The sophomore from Kearney Catholic, who never played a snap prior to this season, was gaining confidence and momentum.

The momentum hit a wall Saturday in East Lansing, where the Huskers reverted to their bad habits, going minus-three in turnovers — all by Haarberg — losing 20-17 to the East Division’s worst team, one that had lost six consecutive games. The Huskers dropped to 5-4 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten.

Growing pains bit Nebraska hard and often on offense, but possibly the Huskers’ most disappointing failures of the game came on defense and in the kicking game.

The Blackshirts allowed three long scoring drives to 3-6 Michigan State, and the Spartans (who outyarded Nebraska 295-283) held a 13-10 lead through three quarters. NU’s pass rush was weak and despite the return of safety Marques Buford Jr., the secondary gave up three pass plays of 25 yards or more to a pair of freshman quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the Huskers did not get a single takeaway.

Michigan State defensive back Caleb Coley tackles Nebraska wide receiver Alex Bullock as tight end Thomas Fidone II attempts to block.

Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser throws to a receiver in the first quarter at Spartan Stadium.

Michigan State tight end Brennan Parachek runs upfield behind the back of Nebraska defensive back Quinton Newsome in the first quarter.

Michigan State tight end Jaylan Franklin runs upfield against the Cornhuskers in the first quarter.

Michigan State defensive back Brandon Lewis and defensive back Khary Crump tackle Nebraska wide receiver Joshua Fleeks in the first quarter.

Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser sprints upfield in the first quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg hands the ball to running back Emmett Johnson.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule talks with assistants on the sideline during the first half.

Michigan State defensive lineman Maverick Hansen sacks Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg in the first quarter.

© Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan State's Jaden Mangham intercepts a deep pass inside the MSU 5 yard line during the first quarter.

Michigan State'a Ryan Eckley punts from the end zone and under pressure from Nebraska defensive lineman Blaise Gunnerson in the first quarter.

Nebraska defensive back Malcolm Hartzog almost comes down with a pass intended for Michigan State wide receiver Antonio Gates Jr. in the first quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg scores a touchdown in the second quarter.

Nebraska players celebrate their second-quarter quarter touchdown.

Mikai Gbayor sacks Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt during the first quarter.

Michigan State wide receiver Tyrell Henry pulls in a pass in the third quarter against Nebraska defensive back Omar Brown.

Nebraska's Joshua Fleeks carries the ball during the second quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg looks for a receiver in the third quarter.

Nebraska wide receiver Alex Bullock is tackled by Jaden Mangham during the first quarter.

Michigan State placekicker Jonathan Kim kicks the ball through the arms of the Nebraska defense and through the uprights in the third quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg leaps to throw to a receiver in the third quarter.

Michigan State's Khris Bogle sacks Heinrich Haarberg during the second quarter.

Nebraska wide receiver Joshua Fleeks tries to evade Michigan State defensive back Chance Rucker in the third quarter.

Michigan State wide receiver Tyrell Henry leaves Nebraska defensive backs Phalen Sanford and Tamon Lynum on the turf in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska's Heinrich Haarberg looks for a receiver as Teddy Prochazka blocks MSU's Aaron Brule during the second quarter.

Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser sprints upfield in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg is pressured by defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. during the third quarter.

Michigan State defensive back Khalil Majeed bats a pass away from Nebraska wide receiver Jaidyn Doss.

Phalen Sanford's hit causes an incompletion on a pass to MSU quarterback Sam Leavitt during the fourth quarter.

Nebraska offensive lineman Bryce Benhart beats Michigan State defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. and Nebraska offensive lineman Nouredin Nouili to a loose ball in the fourth quarter.

Michigan State defenders bat the ball away from Jaidyn Doss on Nebraska's final pass attempt.

Michigan State head coach Harlon Barnett celebrates the Spartans' 20-17 win on Senior Day.

“If you don’t take the ball away, and you give up big plays, it’s not a recipe for winning,” said coach Matt Rhule in his postgame press conference.

And given the opportunity to make a big difference for the Huskers, junior punter Brian Buschini instead had his worst day of the season. He netted an average of just 28.2 yards on six punts, shanking a couple of them and then setting up the Spartans with excellent field position when he hit a low, short kick that was returned to the Nebraska 38-yard line early in the fourth quarter. That set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from true freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt to Montorie Foster Jr., which gave State a 20-10 lead.

On a disappointing day when the Big Red squandered a chance to nail down a bowl berth, ultimately the game came down to this: the Blackshirts never forced a shaky underclassman quarterback to turn the ball over, while Michigan State’s defense did.

At day’s end, the view from the 30,000-foot level was not a pretty one for Big Ten West schools. In its final year of existence, just to reinforce the ugly truth deeply in the minds of the rest of the college football world, the West Division needlessly shouted from the rooftops, “We are not an impressive collection of football teams.” Illinois edged Minnesota in a reasonably respectable game, but Wisconsin fell to 3-6 Indiana, and the Iowa-Northwestern mud-wrestling match left a stench in Wrigley Field that hopefully will be gone by the time the Cubs open their 2024 home schedule on April Fool’s Day.

While everyone wants to see a home-grown quarterback do well, Haarberg’s flaws were all on display at Spartan Stadium, from his lazy mechanics which tend to make his passes float long when he drops his elbow, to his indecisiveness running the ball, to his still-subpar grasp of reading defenses. At this point in Haarberg’s development, a single negative play is all but guaranteed to stop any Nebraska drive. But his biggest current problem is ball security, which used to be his strength.

Nebraska Football Falls Short at Michigan State

Haarberg boosters who in the past month spared no invective on teammate Jeff Sims in their posts and tweets, may want to consider passing a motion that all club members zip their lips, at least for a week.

We’ve seen that Haarberg can win games when his defense and special teams are outstanding. Those things didn’t happen Saturday in East Lansing. As a result, he completed only 12 of 28 passes for no touchdowns and two interceptions, and it would have been three picks had it not been for a lucky defensive holding call.

The growing pains were abundant on offense, as nobody could make a big play until Haarberg scrambled for 43 yards in the final two minutes of the game. Some examples:

• Sophomore tight end Thomas Fidone whiffed his open-field block on a promising first-half screen pass that appeared to be a big play in the making. Instead, it fell flat when Fidone allowed the only defender with a good shot at making a play to stop the running back near the line of scrimmage.

• Later in the half, Haarburg failed to see a wide-open Malachi Coleman on a shallow crossing route that would have set up the Huskers for at least a field goal, choosing to throw to someone who was closely covered downfield.

• Early in the fourth quarter, with his team trailing 20-10, Coleman, a true freshman, was outfought on a 50/50 ball that the Huskers desperately needed him to catch.

But there were breakdowns among veteran Huskers as well.

One of the best, most seasoned Blackshirts, Quinton Newsome, the reigning Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, was beaten on the Spartans’ game-clinching touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. And the Husker offensive line, with starter Nouredin Nouilli back in action, was poor on pass protection (seven sacks for 41 yards) and mediocre at best on the running game because its pad level was too high. At times, both Emmett Johnson and Anthony Grant looked good, yet consistency was hard to come by.

Still, it appears the Huskers’ biggest qustion mark is at quarterback. Earlier this fall, Rhule said his team had “three quarterbacks who we can win with,” but neither Sims or Chubba Purdy saw the field in East Lansing, which tells me the head coach still thinks Haarberg, a resilient young player who is obviously early in his learning curve, still gives his team the best chance to win.

But it also seems evident that Rhule will actively seek another quarterback in the transfer portal next month to provide more options when verbal commit Daniel Kaelin enters the room.

It also ratchets up the urgency to win at home. The next opportunity for the Huskers is this Saturday against 5-4 Maryland, which has lost its last four games.

Nebraska may be able to win while being careless with the football, if it can simultaneously get takeaways on defense, but it cannot afford to fail the turnover game on both sides of the ball.

More coverage & commentary: HuskerMax game page

Published Nov 4, 2023

TAD STRYKER

Tad Stryker, whose earliest memories of Nebraska football take in the last years of the Bob Devaney era, has covered Nebraska collegiate and prep sports for 40 years. Before moving to Lincoln, he was a sports writer, columnist and editor for two newspapers in North Platte. He can identify with fans who listen to Husker sports from a tractor cab and those who watch from a sports bar. A history buff, Stryker has written for HuskerMax since 2008. You can reach Tad at tad.stryker@gmail.com.