Behind Enemy Lines
Iowa hits the road for the traditional Black Friday game against Nebraska. This year it's in Lincoln and they face a Cornhusker team that will be missing their starting quarterback and let four assistant coaches go recently. We get the latest on Nebraska by going Behind Enemy Lines with Sean Callahan from Huskeronline.com get the latest on the big rivalry game.
1. It's been an interesting couple of weeks in Nebraska with the news that Scott Frost would be back and the firing of several assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball. What has it been like the last two weeks for the Cornhusker program and how have they responded to the situation?
CALLAHAN: It’s just been a rough year period and there’s no other way to say it. Nebraska has seemingly been close in every game this year, but still seems so far from where they want to be in year four under Scott Frost.
Last week at Wisconsin they arguably played one of their best offensive games of the season though considering how good the Badger defense is. NU was without it’s top two running backs in Rahmir Johnson and Jaquez Yant and played three guys Saturday that have barely played all year.
I think that’s the one amazing thing about this season. Most team that are 3-8 just throw in the towel. Nebraska has continued to play hard and I think that’s one of the reasons why Trev Alberts was not ready to part ways with Frost despite his four year record. It would be one thing if these games were embarrassing defeats, but in everyone for the most part the Huskers have had a chance to win in the fourth quarter other than Minnesota.
2. The story of the Nebraska season this year had been the close losses to just about everyone. What has prevented the Cornhuskers from getting over the hump in those close games? It is one thing or a variety of things and how are they addressing it?
CALLAHAN: It really is a variety of things, but I think special teams is arguably the biggest factor. NU is the worst field goal and extra point kicking team arguably in Power Five football when you look at the number of misses they have had this year. They returned Big Ten kicker of the year Connor Culp too, so nobody could have seen the kicking game go this far south. They have also shanked more punts in one year than I can ever remember at Nebraska, and almost all of them led to short field and points. The one at Michigan State allowed the Spartans to tie the game in the fourth quarter when they hadn’t gotten a first down the entire second half. The return game is also a no factor. On punt return a victory is if they just catch the ball cleanly, and on kickoff returns they have only crossed the 25 a handful of times all year. I don’t believe they have even sniffed the 35 yard line. They give up so much hidden yardage in this phase.
The other big factor has been their offensive line. It’s arguably the worst in Nebraska’s program history. Their left tackle has given up 55 QB pressures while their right tackle has given up 36. Their right tackle Bryce Benhart was benched and then got his job back after an injury to Teddy Prochazka. This makes it very difficult for the offense when the tackles get beat on nearly every key passing down. Adrian Martinez takes a lot of fan criticism, but the lack of protection plays a big factor in his struggles.
3. Who steps in for the injured Adrian Martinez?
CALLAHAN: Scott Frost dropped quite the bomb shell on Monday regarding the health of quarterback Adrian Martinez. Without Martinez, the Huskers will look towards second-year freshman Logan Smothers, and we may also see true freshman Heinrich Haarberg.
Both are completely different. Smothers has really good speed, but lacks size and overall arm talent. Haarberg is much bigger physically, still runs very well and has elite arm talent. I still think this is Smothers game though, but if he struggles, I could see them putting Haarberg in. They are going to have to get the Hawkeyes off balanced with how they use Smothers in this one. He has seen time in five games this season.
4. On the defensive side, Eric Chinander is a familiar name to Iowa fans since he played for the Hawkeyes. How has his defense performed and how much of an impact has the loss of Jojo Domann had on that side of the ball?
CALLAHAN: This group has played very well this season, and a lot of it has to do with experience. They came into the year with five super seniors led by JoJo Domann. However, Domann had hand surgery and is out for the season. They really struggled to tackle vs. Wisconsin with Domann, and they were also missing safety Deontai Williams and outside linebacker Caleb Tannor and nose tackle Damion Daniels left the game with injuries. So they were playing the Badgers without four of their top 11 and that really showed as they gave up big plays we haven’t seen from this unit all year.
Against Ohio State, the Blackshirts didn’t allow a single touchdown in the second half and just 26 points. That same Buckeye offense put up 49 points in one half vs. Michigan State last week. It will be interesting this week if Williams, Tannor and Daniels can return for the finale against Iowa. They really missed Daniels after he went down vs. Wisconsin. He played just 11 snaps and he’s a guy that can really eat up the middle.
5. Special teams could play a factor in this game. In recent years a couple have been decided by last second field goals. Tell us about the Nebraska special teams this season and the issues they have been having.
CALLAHAN: The big issue is just not having a consistent punter and kicker. So many of their problems would be solved if their specialists were better, but they are arguably the most inconsistent team in the country at these two positions, and it has probably cost them at least two or even three games in 2021.
They also do not have anyone on this roster that has proven they return a kick or a punt. Their return game is basically just field the ball and fair catch it. They create zero advantages in this area.
The one strength has been kickoffs, as they have done a great job producing touchbacks, but that even backfired after Brendan Franke missed on his opening kickoff and Wisconsin ran it back for a 91-yard touchdown.
6. What will be a couple of keys for Nebraka if they win this game and how do you see it playing out on Friday afternoon in Lincoln?
CALLAHAN: Without Martinez, that changes quite a few things for Nebraska on Friday. On top of that, starting running back Rahmir Johnson is most likely out, so there are a lot of advantages Iowa will have in this one.
Also, can the Huskers limit their overall deficiencies in special teams? Iowa has a significant edge in that area, and if they generate a big return and dominate the punt/kicking game it will be hard for Nebraska to win this game.
I’m picking the Hawkeyes. Iowa 27, Nebraska 17