Tad Stryker: Out-Physicaled

Nebraska’s offense takes rest of day off after Illinois knocks out Thompson late in first half

Tad Stryker | Oct 29, 2022

Tad Stryker: Out-Physicaled /

There were no bye-week miracles, no magic from Mickey Joseph or anyone else on his staff, who found no answers on how to end a 19-game losing streak against rated teams while getting the bejeebers hammered out of them at the line of scrimmage by a physical, disciplined team.

A 26-9 Illinois victory on an otherwise beautiful Saturday at Memorial Stadium provided evidence that nobody in the Cornhusker quarterback room is within shouting distance of Casey Thompson, that the Donovan Raiola experiment at offensive line coach is not working, and that Mike Dawson is not making much headway with the defensive line, either.

The Fighting Illini took over first place in the Big Ten West by racking up a 3-to-1 rushing edge (188-60) over Nebraska and nearly doubling up the Huskers on time of possession.

Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson gets set to fire a first-quarter pass.

Nebraska defenders Ty Robinson and Colton Feist combine to bring down Illinois' Chase Brown in the fourth quarter.

Illinois' Isaiah Williams returns a first-quarter punt 24 yards.

Nebraska's Anthony Grant rushes for a 22-yard gain in the first quarter.

Nebraska's Quinton Newsome reacts after recovering a fumble.

Illinois' Chase Brown rushes for a short fourth-quarter gain.

Husker tight end Travis Vokalek goes down the field for a 56-yard touchdown reception.

Nebraska's Travis Vokalek is congratulated by teammates after his touchdown.

Nebraska's Isaac Gifford sacks Tommy DeVito in the second quarter.

Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito looks downfield during the first quarter.

Nebraska's Timmy Bleekrode kicks a 26-yard field goal.

Nebraska quarterback Logan Smothers rushes for seven yards during the second quarter.

Nebraska quarterback Chubba Purdy rushes for a short gain in the third quarter.

The Huskers' Luke Reimer brings down Illinois running back Reggie Love III during the third quarter.

Interim Nebraska head coach Mickey Joseph on the sideline.

Nebraska interim defensive coordinator Bill Busch.

Nebraska's Anthony Grant rushes for a short first-quarter gain.

What should we reasonably expect from Joseph and the Huskers, who were up against the nation’s best run defense? They obviously thought they could get the ball to Trey Palmer and other Husker pass receivers, but far too often they could not. Nebraska signal-callers completed fewer than half their passes and threw three interceptions.

For one thing, pass blocking is a lost art in Lincoln, and for another, Husker quarterbacks misfired when they had time to throw with Palmer open. Palmer was targeted seven times but made only one catch, for 1 yard, a pass thrown, ironically, by Logan Smothers. Thompson missed a wide-open Palmer twice in the first half, one of them his first interception, which was badly overthrown.

Illinois had just two sacks but consistently disrupted the timing of Thompson, and then Chubba Purdy. To nobody’s surprise, the Illinois defensive line feasted on their counterparts from Nebraska, who finally, inevitably, allowed a game-changing injury to their quarterback.

That play changed the course of the game. With Nebraska leading 9-6 midway through the second quarter, Thompson, under heavy pressure as usual, was hit as he threw the ball, which wobbled badly and was intercepted by Sydney Brown, who returned the ball 37 yards to the Nebraska 11.

With everybody in the stands looking for a run from Chase Brown, Bret Bielema and the Illinois offensive line manhandled the Huskers, shoved Brown down their throat twice for a touchdown and grabbed a lead they would never relinquish. Brown rushed for a game-high 149 yards on 32 carries and strengthened his claim on first-team All Big Ten honors.

Thompson never returned to the game. Joseph said he is “day to day” after being struck in the elbow, apparently affecting a nerve, which rendered his throwing hand numb the rest of the afternoon.

Smothers was first off the bench to replace Thompson, and he moved the ball eight yards on two plays, including a 7-yard option run. On third and 2, with everyone in the stands looking for a Husker run, Illinois manhandled the Huskers at the line again, stopping Smothers for a loss.

Then Illinois put together an 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that consumed four minutes and stretched the visitors' lead to an insurmountable 11 points at 20-9.

During the week, Joseph had emphasized the importance for Nebraska to improve its physicality. After the game, he tried to defend his defense’s effort.

“I thought we were physical,” he said. “I thought the defense played hard. I thought the defense went at them. They are a big offensive line and run the ball well.”

Joseph did not waste his breath trying to claim his team was physical on offense. Nebraska flat-out could not run the ball, so when Thompson left with his injury, the drop-off from an inconsistent Thompson to Smothers to an extremely flighty Purdy was quite evident. Purdy, who apparently never experienced defenses like this when he was at Florida State, was unable to cope, spending much of his time running away from the active Illinois pass rush, and threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off.

Nebraska’s offense was nonexistent in the second half. Although the scoreboard didn’t change much after Illinois took a 20-9 halftime lead, the 6-1 Illini dominated the second half, outyarding the Huskers 142-29 and running 34 plays from scrimmage to Nebraska’s 20.

Bret Bielema, like Oklahoma’s Brent Venables before him, had pity on Joseph and the Huskers. He took his foot off the gas, content to grind the clock, keep the score down and let his defense make mincemeat of the Husker offense.

What can this staff coax out of the Huskers as they play their final four games? Besides the obvious answer — Joseph is coaching with one hand tied behind his back because his predecessor had profound problems developing linemen — the Husker coaching staff must find a way to get takeaways, in droves, and must score with the defense and kicking game. On its “Sports Nightly” program, the Husker radio network teased listeners with hints that the staff would find creative ways to use Tommi Hill, who recently switched from defensive back to wide receiver. Nothing of the sort happened in this game.

To provide a bit more offense, it would help if Anthony Grant would modify his “I can outrun anyone” mindset. Grant is typically unwilling to take a 2- or 3-yard gain between the tackles. Too often, he vainly tries to bounce outside and win footraces to the edge against defenders who have just as much foot speed, and know how to take proper angles. This tactic will not work the rest of the season. The rest of Nebraska’s opponents are rated in the nation’s top 30 rushing defenses, and help is not on the way for the Huskers’ beleaguered offensive line.

A dose of bona fide physicality is absolutely what the Cornhuskers need. While it would be nice if their offensive tackles could conjure up some, it’s more realistic to look to the defense. They get occasional flashes of it from Garrett Nelson and Luke Reimer, but they need something from Ty Robinson or Eteva Mauga-Clements or Ochaun Mathis, who came in as a highly touted pass rusher from TCU but has been underwhelming at best through eight games. With Minnesota’s Mohammed Ibrahim coming to Memorial Stadium next weekend, the Huskers will need all the physicality they can get.

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Published Oct 29, 2022

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.

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