I would say the game was everything UND Fighting Hawks fans hoped for – minus one part – a victory.
The Hawks went into Lincoln on Saturday and battled the Nebraska Cornhuskers for four quarters – ultimately coming up short 38-17.
It was 24-17 at the end of the third quarter but the Hawks ran out of gas and the Huskers pulled away. It was a great day for fans and the Nebraska fans by all accounts were absolutely outstanding. Nice to have these FBS games back in travel range again.
The loss drops UND to 0-1 on the season and sets up a massive Potato Bowl matchup with the #24 Northern Iowa Panthers. Game time is set for 3:00pm.
The Good
The Hawks passed the eye test vs. Nebraska, IMO. They didn’t look out of place, didn’t look slower, etc. The game was 7-7 at halftime and appeared as a 7-7 game to anyone watching it.
Total yards – UND 306 – Nebraska 437.
UND led in the time of possession battle 36 to 24. It doesn’t always mean alot but it does mean the Hawks defense was able to stay fresh throughout the game.
UND started three offensive lineman that have never played a snap before – Sam Hagen, Peyton Lotysz, and Danny Carroll. They played soph. Seth Anderson at right guard and he had never started a game before. All of this was against a Big Ten team in Lincoln.
Having said all that the offensive line as a unit played pretty well overall. The push up front was noticeable and the protection while not outstanding, was adequate. I think it can be surmised that this group will get better and gel as they play more & more snaps beside each other. Nebraska has some very active, aggressive pass rushers and it was good for the Hawks OL to see that level of athlete.
QB Tommy Schuster played a solid game going 24-37 for 131 yards and 1 TD. No major mistakes and scrambled to keep some plays alive when the pressure came. I liked the flow of the offense in and out of the huddle. It looked fluid & smooth for a first game.
There were several chances that never materialized due to pressure from Nebraska, namely defensive end Garrett Nelson. On the play that Nelson strip sacked Schuster, WR Bo Belquist was open deep down the middle of the field but Schuster needed another second to get the throw. It was there but the protection wasn’t good enough.
RB Isaiah Smith was a terror all game finishing with 104 yards on only 10 carries. A bigger, more stronger version of himself, Smith showed both quick feet in the hole and speed in the open field on his long 63 yard run. His counterpart, Tyler Hoosman, also had a nice showing with some strong inside running that moved the chains. I like what Hoosman brings.
The Hawks rushed for a respectable 175 yards on the day.
I liked what I saw out of Red Wilson. The 5’8″ dynamo lined up at both wide receiver and running back and looked quick and strong running the ball. He broke several tackles on his way to 5 catches for 30 yards. He will be swiss army knife type of player for the Hawks.
I love that Bubba Schweigert went for it right before the half on 4th and 1 from the Nebraska 5 yard line. He could’ve easily kicked the field goal and headed in to the locker room down 7-3. Instead they kept at it, eventually scoring on a Schuster to Adam Zavalney two yard TD pass to completely take momentum into halftime. It was the right move that showed the team they were there to win the game. Also, that scoring drive was an impressive 16 plays-80 yards.
DE Ben McNaboe was a man along the defensive line. He gave the bigger but slower Nebraska lineman issues the entire day finishing with 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1.5 TFL’s. His strip sack of QB Casey Thompson after the blocked punt was a huge play in the game to keep the score 7-0. McNaboe, a Minnesota transfer, has been a steady force for the Hawks since his arrival on campus.
The Wyatt Pedigo interception on a fake blitz where UND dropped eight was a thing of beauty. Pedigo lined up over the center but hole dropped and picked off the Thompson crossing pass returning it to the 8 yard line. This setup the game-tying Hoosman touchdown.
The Bad
The UND secondary didn’t have their best day as a unit. CB C.J. Siegel wasn’t tested much all game due to Nebraska pretty much avoiding his side but he had a huge 3rd down breakup when he reacted up to challenge the receiver up high getting the physical breakup.
The corners opposite Siegel had a tougher day in their first career games at UND. Nebraska tested them alot and hit on several, including the pivotal 3rd and 14 conversion where UND had great coverage but couldn’t finish off the breakup over WR Trey Palmer. There were also some run support issues where the Hawks lost leverage and twice it resulted in an Anthony Grant long TD run. All fixable things but cost UND mightily.
Pass protection was just decent as I mentioned earlier. There were a few different occasions where an extra second was needed to allow the double move to open up but it didn’t materialize. Nebraska plays a conservative deep coverage and time is needed to allow routes to develop.
Getting a punt blocked is never good and I was a bit surprised that Nebraska was able to slip a guy by the wall and get a piece of the first quarter Cade Peterson punt. I look for UND to shore that up very quickly.
For those wondering about back shoulder fades, etc – those routes are very tough vs. Nebraska with how they play their shell defense. Teams didn’t try those last year vs the Huskers so I can see why UND didn’t try either. Double moves and short stuff were going to be there and that is the route UND took.
After watching the game again UND had a very real chance to pull this game out. They needed to hit on a couple shots and defend that 3rd and 14. None of them materialized and UND ended up on the losing end.
I have always said a game comes down to 3-4 plays and UND needed at least three more to turn the tide. But the nice thing is it shows how close they are this early in the season. Let’s remember that Nebraska had already played a game so they tweaked and adjusted what didn’t work in Ireland. The jump from Week 1 to Week 2 for a football team is usually significant.
Now it’s on you , UND Fans, to get out to the Alerus Center on Saturday and get LOUD! The Hawks need a raucous Potato Bowl atmosphere vs the Panthers. This is a very important MVFC football game!