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Nebraska Football: What we learned in week six vs Northwestern

By Leigh Oleszczak

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Kicker Lane McCallum #48 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates with holder Isaac Armstrong #98 after making the game winning field goal as time expires against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Kicker Lane McCallum #48 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates with holder Isaac Armstrong #98 after making the game winning field goal as time expires against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Nebraska football won a tightly contested game against the Northwestern Wildcats, winning it on a walk-off field goal to send the Homecoming crowd off on a good note. What did we learn about the Huskers in their 13-10 victory?

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers managed to win the game against Northwestern on Saturday night by a close score of 13-10. It was a game that was all kinds of frustrating, but ultimately the Huskers persevered and are now 4-2 on the year.

With the sixth game of the year in the books, let’s take a look at what we learned about the Cornhuskers in this match-up.

GIVE THE BALL TO WAN’DALE ROBINSON

While we’ve known for a long time what Wan’Dale Robinson is capable of, we got to see him in full force on Saturday. He had seven carries for 44 yards, which led the team, and also had a touchdown. Robinson was even more so of a threat in the receiving game, grabbing seven balls for 123 yards. Keep getting the ball to this kid whether it’s through the air or on the ground because he’s a playmaker.

KICKING GAME FINALLY COMES THROUGH!

While Lane McCallum did miss a field goal, all that Huskers fans really cared about was that he converted on the one at the end of the game to win it all. The kicking game has been a problem for the Huskers all season long, but McCallum did what was asked of him on Saturday and ultimately helped Nebraska win the game.

DEFENSE PLAYED WELL

This could mostly be linked to how bad the Northwestern offense has been this year, but the Blackshirts stepped it up in week six. They allowed just ten points to the Wildcats and while they were gashed on the ground to the tune of 157 yards, Nebraska limited quarterback Aidan Smith to throw for just 136 yards through the air while also picking him off once.

PLAY CALLING QUESTIONABLE AT BEST

It’s been a frustrating season when it comes to play calling and Saturday was no exception. Time and time again, Nebraska would have a third and long, and for some reason a quarterback draw was the play that was called. Well, it obviously didn’t work, and fans were left questioning why these plays were the ones being run.

QUARTERBACKS

Adrian Martinez was injured in the game, but he didn’t have a great game. He threw for 145 yards and rushed for 26 yards before the injury occurred and did not return to action. Noah Vedral attempted just five passes, completing two of them for 41 yards and rushing for 33 yards.

Martinez can be an electric quarterback when he’s on, but something has been off with him over the past few weeks. Hopefully he figures things out again soon. The Huskers need him to be great in order to make a decent bowl game this season and do anything next year.

CONCLUSION

Nebraska squeaked by Northwestern with a 13-10 victory and it was a frustrating game for Husker fans. The offense, outside of Wan’Dale Robinson, was bland and that has been the most irritating thing throughout the season. This team is too talented on the offensive side of the ball to only be putting up 13 points.

Next up for the Cornhuskers is a road game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are undefeated thus far. With this game being in Minneapolis, it could be a tough go of it for Big Red. Hopefully Martinez is healthy and starts to play how we all expected him to play this year.

Go Big Red!

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