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00:00 Welcome to the KUH Chronicles, the people show.
00:11 Checking the pulse of Husker Nation brought to you by DPS Concrete Construction.
00:14 Check them out at DPSConstruction.net.
00:17 Ladies and gentlemen, this is my gut reaction to Nebraska's 31-14 victory over the Boilermakers,
00:23 moving the Huskers to 5-3 on the season.
00:27 Now, the Huskers have now won 5 of their last 6 games.
00:33 If that makes you as happy as it makes me, then smash that like button.
00:37 But alas, there was some drama throughout the game.
00:40 We couldn't just go out and steamroll them.
00:42 Why?
00:43 Because we're a young team with a lot of injuries and we've got to get better.
00:46 But man, I'll tell you what, this showed us what Nebraska football can become under Matt
00:53 Rule.
00:54 It also showed us where we are and how much better we need to get all in the same game.
00:58 But right now, a win is a win.
01:00 With the injuries we've got, with the youth we've got, and the offensive side of the
01:03 ball, first year under Matt Rule, 5-3 is an overall record?
01:07 We're legit in the conversation to win the Big 10 West somehow.
01:11 That's crazy to me.
01:12 And winning 5 of our last 6 games.
01:14 Here's the deal, ladies and gentlemen.
01:17 Opening kickoff.
01:18 Why not?
01:19 Let's make it interesting.
01:20 Unfortunately, we fumble it.
01:22 Luckily, Purdue's quarterback lost the ball behind him and the defense stood tall and
01:29 prevented the Boilermakers from getting any points off of that turnout.
01:32 Now, at that point in time, this is the stat I wrote down.
01:36 A lot more football game after that, obviously.
01:38 That was our 19th fumble of the year, which laid the country.
01:45 We had more fumbles throughout the game, but we're going to get to those later on.
01:49 The Blackshirts played strong, to say they played strong is an insane understatement.
01:54 They played great.
01:55 The D-line played well.
01:57 Now, our first scoring drive of the game.
02:01 What a drive.
02:02 Just good, solid football on this particular drive.
02:06 15 plays, 87-yard drive, took 8.52 off the clock.
02:09 The longest scoring drive the Huskers have had since 2017.
02:14 And that scoring drive actually ended in a field goal.
02:16 The one today ended in a touchdown.
02:18 And now our second score that put us up 14-0 was another option pass.
02:22 It's a thing of beauty, I'll tell you what.
02:24 Heinrich Harburg's 73-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Lloyd.
02:29 Longest pass of the season and the third longest play from scrimmage.
02:34 Just the third play over 70 yards the Huskers have had this year.
02:37 Now, when you start to think about some of the guys on this team and some of the youth
02:40 on this offense, you've got a speedster, Jalen Lloyd.
02:44 And this is a kid from Westside High School in Omaha.
02:48 Freshman.
02:49 Another freshman, as we know, Malachi Coleman.
02:53 Getting the start from Nebraska.
02:55 Young guys from Nebraska.
02:56 Obviously, our starting quarterback from Kearney.
02:58 He's a sophomore.
02:59 He's an underclassman.
03:00 A lot of young, talented Nebraska guys on this team.
03:05 Now, our defense really throughout the day didn't give up any big plays, really.
03:11 I know Purdue had the one touchdown pass a little bit later on, but the defense really
03:15 didn't give up any big plays in the first half.
03:18 I tend to go from the beginning of the game to the end of the game if you've never seen
03:21 a gut reaction of mine.
03:22 In the first half, I would consider our offense to be consistent.
03:28 When you think about the amount of new starters and the amount of young guys, I would take
03:32 that performance in the first half.
03:35 We had 89,422 fumbles that I'm rounding down in the second half, and we had a couple in
03:40 the first half as well.
03:42 But there's just a lot of young talent out there.
03:44 There's going to be a learning process, a growing process, and in my mind, I think we're
03:49 a little bit more explosive.
03:51 There's going to be the ceiling is higher and the floor is lower, as we saw today, when
03:55 you've got youth, talent, but inexperience on the offensive side of the ball.
03:59 Now, Purdue had the ball at one point in the first half on our side of the 50.
04:02 We got an INT to shut down that drive.
04:05 I want to mention that they did honor one of my former teammates, former Husker punter
04:11 Kyle Larson, if you were at the game today in the stadium.
04:14 I thought that was pretty cool.
04:17 Now, as you go to halftime, here are some of the stats.
04:20 I always pick out interesting stats that stick out to me at halftime.
04:23 This is something they showed on the TV.
04:26 Our last winning season was 2016.
04:30 The last time we finished in the AP Top 25 was 2012, and our last conference title, as
04:35 most people know, was 1999.
04:36 I don't share that to be a damper.
04:38 I share that because I think some of those streaks are going to be broken here in the
04:41 near future.
04:42 We'll see how exactly that plays out this year, next year, and the year after that.
04:48 Some interesting stats from the first half.
04:49 We actually converted over 50% of our third downs.
04:52 We were 4 of 7 when it came to total yards.
04:55 Purdue had 103.
04:56 We had 183 yards per pass.
04:59 This was interesting.
05:00 Purdue was averaging 2.9 yards per pass while we were averaging 15.1.
05:07 Obviously, the long touchdown pass helped us there.
05:10 Rushing attempts.
05:11 We had ran the ball 21 times to this point.
05:14 Total yards per rush was actually low for us.
05:17 Three yards per rush.
05:18 Actually, high for our opponents.
05:19 Purdue was averaging 3.8 yards per rush at the half.
05:24 Heinrich Harburg was 5 of 8.
05:26 Not a ton of passing.
05:27 I'll get back to that in a second.
05:29 But a high completion percentage at that point.
05:31 Also, two touchdowns to no INTs.
05:34 His five completions, by the way, all went to five different pass catchers.
05:38 Jalen Lloyd with the 73-yard touchdown catch.
05:42 Joshua Fleeks, Jaden Doss, Ty Hahn, and Thomas Fedoni, who had another touchdown reception
05:47 as well.
05:48 Here's a couple of interesting stats I thought you folks might find interesting.
05:52 Nebraska held Purdue scoreless in the first quarter, marking the fifth time this season.
05:57 Nebraska has shut out the opponent in the first quarter.
06:00 In its past seven games against the Big Ten West opponents, Nebraska has allowed just
06:04 three total points in the first quarter, shutting out six of the seven opponents in the first
06:09 quarter, including three of four this year.
06:12 In its last seven games against the Big Ten West opponents, Nebraska has only allowed
06:16 one touchdown in the first half and just 16 total points.
06:21 Also, Bryce Benhart has played better this year.
06:26 Sometimes your name is only called in specific positions if you're playing poorly.
06:30 Yes, he can do better, but when you look at how he played last year versus how he's played
06:35 this year, there's a noticeable improvement.
06:37 So I feel like that should be noted.
06:38 But here's another thing that's interesting about Bryce.
06:41 Right tackle Bryce Benhart made his 37th career start at right tackle.
06:45 That total ties Zach Wigger for the third most starts at right tackle in Nebraska history.
06:52 Second half starts.
06:54 Wigger's first second half drive.
06:56 Well, why don't we just go ahead and lose a fumble?
06:58 Make it interesting.
06:59 We can't build too big a lead.
07:00 That'd be, you know, not enough drama, right?
07:03 All right, the defense dominates, shuts down Purdue's offense and the black shirt stood
07:06 strong a couple of times.
07:08 All right, eventually Purdue did score.
07:10 Obviously, one of their scores was a defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown, but they
07:14 did prevent Purdue from scoring multiple times when Purdue had a shorter field.
07:19 All right, now Purdue had a field goal attempt.
07:23 As Elijah Judy blocks the field goal, Quentin Newsom takes it 68 yards to the house, baby.
07:29 All right, bonus points to Newsom, by the way.
07:31 This would not be bonus points had he gotten a flag thrown, but there was no flag thrown.
07:35 Bonus points to Newsom for high-fiving a teammate on the way into the end zone, putting Nebraska
07:39 up 21 to 0.
07:40 Now at that point in time, we had ran 36 plays on offense, exactly 27 runs, 9 passes, exactly
07:48 3 to 1 run to pass ratio.
07:51 Now I'll be honest with you, I put out this tweet.
07:56 Go check me out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, #CheapPlug.
08:01 We have three times as many running plays as we do pass plays right now on offense.
08:04 I'm more than okay with that.
08:06 This team reminds me, I'm not saying they're great, okay, I'm not saying they're a great
08:11 team, but there are aspects of this team that remind me of the physical, run-the-ball-oriented
08:17 and great defensive-minded teams that I just like to watch in general, especially when
08:22 they're wearing the red and the Nebraska N on their helmet.
08:26 Now another tweet that was sent to me, shout out to Grant Gaither.
08:29 Guy's been a big fan of mine for years, big supporter I should say.
08:33 The firepower is there.
08:35 Just talking about our offense.
08:36 Just have to continue helping our line with play calling and improve on fundamentals.
08:40 And then he goes, "I can't imagine how proud you and all the former blackshirts are of
08:44 the defense."
08:45 Hey, you nailed it.
08:46 That's why I read the tweet.
08:47 All right.
08:48 Tom Osborne, earlier this week, went on 93.7 the ticket.
08:52 Check them out.
08:53 They're doing phenomenal stuff at 93.7 the ticket.
08:55 It helps that I'm on there as well, but they're doing great either way.
08:58 Osborne said he thinks the option game could work in today's college football.
09:02 He went on to note that not many teams are doing it.
09:05 So anytime you run something unique, it's harder to prepare for you.
09:10 I completely agree.
09:11 Also, when you think about recruiting, if nobody else is recruiting those types of players,
09:16 how much easier would it be to recruit those types of players to a place like Nebraska
09:20 that is known for option football?
09:22 I know, random sidebar in the middle of a game reaction.
09:25 I just thought it was interesting his comments and I hadn't put out my thoughts on his comments
09:28 yet because I totally and completely 100% agreed with him.
09:31 All right, now, as I mentioned earlier, Nebraska has won five of their last six games.
09:37 Here's why I'm stating that stat again.
09:40 Because at one point earlier this year, if you went back a season or two, in our last
09:45 20 games, at that point, I think it was after the Colorado game, I'd have to go back and
09:49 double check, in our last 20 games we had four wins and 16 losses.
09:53 My God, am I glad the tide has at least turned a little bit so far.
09:56 All right, I will say this, we've got to take care of the ball.
10:01 That starts with Harburg, it starts with anybody who touches the ball.
10:05 But I love Harburg's mentality and his physicality.
10:08 Yes, he has things to improve on, but I love his attitude and effort.
10:11 This was a hard-hitting game on both sides.
10:13 My wife even commented, "Purdue feels a little bit dirty."
10:16 Well, when your head coach is a former CU guy who got trucked in a Nebraska game in
10:21 2006 by Josh Mueller, shout out to my former teammate, he's going to harbor some bad
10:26 feelings because CU, you know, we're probably going to end up with a better record than
10:29 them.
10:30 Now, all right, this was a hard-hitting game.
10:32 Purdue, pre-game, some of their players came out shirtless and they were doing a whole
10:36 lot of this.
10:38 Let's see, 12-23 left in the fourth quarter.
10:41 Freshman Tristan Alvano, I was so excited for this, the kicker.
10:44 Another freshman from Omaha, aka Nebraska, a lot of young talent from Nebraska, a lot
10:50 of young talent on this team, period.
10:51 Made a 55-yard field goal attempt.
10:53 I was so happy to see this.
10:54 His last two field goals have been makes of 47 and 55 yards.
10:59 I think this guy is starting to get some momentum.
11:01 That put Nebraska up 24-0.
11:04 Now, interesting stat I saw during the game.
11:09 If this doesn't get you excited about where Nebraska football not only is, but where it's
11:12 going, and we're going to address the 9,000 fumbles here in a second, the Big Ten Conference.
11:18 The Huskers offense leads the Big Ten Conference, coming into the game anyways, in rushing yards
11:25 per game and first in the Big Ten in yards per rush.
11:28 Our defense, first in the Big Ten Conference in rush yards allowed per game and first in
11:33 the Big Ten Conference in yards allowed per rush.
11:36 Okay, you've got to like the direction this program is going as a general whole.
11:41 Alright, fourth quarter.
11:44 Time to make the game.
11:45 It wasn't interesting enough, I guess.
11:47 Time to make it interesting.
11:48 Alright, fourth quarter, about 9.50 left in the game.
11:52 Harburg lost a fumble on our 25-yard line, the fourth fumble of the game at that point
11:56 in time.
11:57 Our third lost fumble at that point in time.
11:59 Purdue ends up scoring the touchdown on a short field.
12:02 The failed two-point conversion made it 24-6.
12:04 With about eight minutes left to go in the game, quarterback Jeff Sims comes into the
12:07 game.
12:08 I was happy to see him out there.
12:11 It wasn't pretty.
12:12 Nebraska, fourth and one, Sims fumbles, returned by Purdue, 55 yards for a touchdown, converts
12:16 a two-point attempt, 24-14, and immediately I got a bunch of people tweeting me, "What's
12:21 going on, Adam?
12:22 How can this lead not be safe?"
12:24 Honestly, I did feel like the lead was safe because of our defense, but I was like, "What
12:28 the blue hell is going on?"
12:30 I was right there with you.
12:32 I believe we ended up with five fumbles on the day, four lost by Nebraska, the most in
12:40 a single game since 2020 versus Rutgers.
12:42 With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Emmitt Johnson pretty much sealed the game.
12:48 Great blocking as well.
12:49 28-yard touchdown run put Nebraska up 31-14.
12:53 This was the first win since 2012 when the Huskers held an opponent under 100 rush yards
13:01 and under 100 pass yards.
13:03 Purdue had only 195 yards total.
13:07 Final thoughts on this game, we were way better than Purdue, even with the young guys on offense,
13:12 even with 1,400 injuries.
13:15 The turnovers were really the only thing that made it interesting for a while.
13:18 We have got to clean up.
13:21 You can't be an option team, you can't run the ball and be effective as a team if you're
13:25 constantly fumbling.
13:26 Whether it's a kick return, a punt return, the quarterback, the backup quarterback, whoever
13:30 it may be, you've got to learn to take care of the ball.
13:34 Maybe that's why Harburg doesn't pitch it very much.
13:36 I don't know and I'm not trying to take a shot.
13:38 It just entered my mind.
13:39 Maybe that's why he doesn't pitch it.
13:40 He's trying to be safe.
13:41 I don't know.
13:42 Even though a lot of these weren't even on pitches on the option.
13:44 You've got to be happy with five and three.
13:46 You've got to be happy with one and five out of the last six.
13:48 You've got to be happy with how Nebraska football looks compared to the amount of injuries,
13:52 the youth, the talent that's there.
13:54 Yeah, we've got to get better.
13:55 We've got to take care of the ball better on offense.
13:57 There are things the offense has to do better.
13:59 We didn't hit 300 yards of total offense.
14:01 We have some explosive capability.
14:03 We're not consistently good.
14:04 We've got to keep the ball off the turf.
14:06 It's all right there.
14:07 All right, real quick, ladies and gentlemen, shout out to our sponsor, DPS Concrete Construction.
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14:24 Here are my three questions.
14:25 Hit me up in the comments below.
14:28 Is this the best you've felt about Husker football in the present and going forward
14:33 in the future in a long time?
14:36 Yeah, even with the fumbles, I'm still going to put that question out there.
14:39 Let me know in the comments below.
14:40 Number two, is it time to realistically start talking?
14:44 I have not done much yet of this.
14:46 Is it realistically time for me, if you want to hear me, start talking about competing
14:51 for and/or possibly winning the Big Ten West, especially with a very winnable remaining
14:56 schedule with the teams on that schedule?
14:58 Let me know in the comments below.
15:00 And what is your biggest concern for this team right here, right now, for this year
15:04 and the last few games that we've got?
15:07 Is it injuries or is it turnovers?
15:11 For me, it's fumbles and it's pretty easy.
15:13 Let me know in the comments below.
15:15 As always, check out CarrikerChronicles.com.
15:17 I guarantee John Johnston, hopefully he's not in the bathroom recording his reaction
15:21 video.
15:22 I guarantee he's recording one.
15:23 I guarantee DocTalk, Travis Justice, they'll be doing a video.
15:29 Connor Hayden of Coronation.
15:31 We got all sorts of guys.
15:32 I'm chatting with Chancellor Brewington.
15:33 He wants to put his stuff up on our site, former Husker as well.
15:37 Lots of other great people as well.
15:40 Check out CarrikerChronicles.com.
15:42 Until next time, Husker Nation, Go Big Red!
15:45 And always remember to THROW THE PUNCH!
15:47 out.