Nebraska Football: Finishing season strong should be goal

By Leigh Oleszczak | Oct 23, 2018

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 20: Running back Devine Ozigbo #22 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates a score with offensive lineman Matt Farniok #71 in the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Nebraska football got its first win of the season (and of the Scott Frost era) this past weekend. Now, the most important thing for the Huskers moving forward is to close out the season on a high note.

It took until their seventh game of the season, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers are finally in the win column! We saw glimpses of hope from this team at times, but they could never close out games and that led to their 0-6 start.

During those first six games, we saw some great offensive performances from freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, senior running back Devine Ozigbo, and sophomore wide receiver JD Spielman. Those three showed they can be stars for this team this season.

We also saw flashes from the defense, including a seven-sack performance against Colorado in the season opener. Since then, however, the defense has had its ups and downs (mostly downs). While defense isn’t as big of a deal in the sport of football anymore, teams need a halfway decent defense if they want to win games, especially big games.

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With the first win finally in the books for the Cornhuskers, what’s the next goal for Scott Frost and his players? Obviously beating Bethune-Cookman this weekend would be splendid, but what about after that? My answer is simple: Finish the season strong.

This doesn’t necessarily mean winning every game (though that would be awesome), but more or less just competing hard in each game. Nebraska isn’t going to make a bowl game this year; They would have to win out the rest of the season and with the way their schedule is shaping up, that just doesn’t seem likely.

Nebraska will see teams like Ohio State, Michigan State, and Iowa down the stretch and no one is expecting the Huskers to win those games. Fans were pleasantly surprised to see Nebraska hang with Wisconsin for most of that game and they’ve played in close games all year. Hanging with the “big boys” of the Big Ten would give the players and the fans a world of confidence heading into next season.

While the first year under Scott Frost hasn’t gone according to plan, there’s still PLENTY of time for him to prove that he’s the man for the job in Lincoln. If the Cornhuskers show some swagger in these final few games and maybe pull out a surprise upset, that’d give Nebraska fans all the hope in the world moving forward.

Martinez continuing to play well and the other younger players showing progress would be a great sign for what the future has in store for Nebraska football. If the Huskers can play close games to finish up the season, it’ll be an offseason filled with a lot of excitement and a lot of hype.

Go Big Red!

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