Looking Back, Looking Forward

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sports Brief, The Husker Buzz Editionion with our big Redends Cider,
Sean Kelly and Live and Lincoln Rosie.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
All right, Seaana, let's see if we can put a
dose of lipstick on this pig. I don't know, I
don't know where Nebraska got better this year. I'm looking
at receivers that couldn't get fifty to fifty balls against
decent defensive backs. I'm looking at penalties. The offensive line
got a little better later in the season. I think

(00:26):
largely because Emma Johnson is one of the best backs
we've had around here in the last thirty years. He
made a lot of those cuts and yards on his own.
But what did you see? I mean, Matt Rule was
pumping sunshine on Friday in the wake of that. What
did you see?

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah? I mean, you're right, Jim. It's tough because the schedule.
They didn't play one playoff team, so you know, seven
and five is an improvement, but is it really when
you delve into the metrics of the schedule. But yeah,
Emma Johnson's year obviously was the high point. The old
line after the Minnesota game only gave up in terms

(01:00):
of being charged to the O line I think force
charge sacks the O line over the final five games,
so they were better. But also the offense change. They
got the ball out quicker, they ran the ball more.
You know, you're better at kicker. There's no doubt in
my mind about that. And you know, we forget about
the pass defense, but Iowa was able to find you know,
four really big pass plays on them in that game,

(01:22):
So that kind of wipes away a lot of the
buzz that group had with the way Iowa, who doesn't pass,
was able to find, you know, some really big plays
and key moments on Friday. But I still think the
play of the secondary was a high point. Unfortunately, the
play up front was the low point. I mean, they
just didn't have much going all year in terms of

(01:43):
momentum and stopping the run and pass rushing and just
a lot of key issues that they weren't good at upfront.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, one hundred percent of the time during the season
that Nebraska opponent went into the red zone they scored points.
That is not a good number, and just two years
ago only thirty five percent of the time they'd score
points in the red zone. So that shows that the
defense has taken a couple of steps back. Now you
can take Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacker out of the
picture and you see differences. But guess what they knew.

(02:11):
Those guys were going to be gone, and that's why
you develop backups, which doesn't seem to have happened. Now,
let's talk about the broader picture of culture. Because we
have signing day on Wednesday. There are nine or ten
verbal commitments for signing day. That is a light number.
Nebraskans are accustomed to twenty twenty five recruits, but we're
in the transfer portal era. I gotta ask you, Shano.

(02:33):
Over the last two years, Matt Rule has brought ninety
new players into this program, including twenty seven transfers, And
it seems to me very difficult to build a culture
of winning if you have new people every year, some
of whom are not here for the end, they're here
for the green dollar sign. How do you do that?

(02:53):
In twenty twenty five, we had.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Ninety one of one hundred and twenty five players on
the roster carry the title freshmen. Our sore right now,
I'm re your freshman in that group too, So they're
extremely young. They were very aggressive, taking a lot of
players in his first couple of years. This year, just
with the new roster limits and the numbers, and then
also the money end of it, they had to be

(03:15):
a little bit more picky with how they did high
score recooning and the numbers and the spots they had.
I think they needed to hold back some money. But
everyone's going to be in the boat. In Nebraska gym,
you have to supplement a few key pieces every year
on your roster from the portal, and that's gonna be
again this year. You know, you'll probably have to see
Nebraska find a running back if assuming Imma Johnson goes pro,

(03:40):
they're probably gonna have to go out and find out alignment.
Definitely some D lignment, you know, and that that is
every team every offseason. That's what the job of these
general managers is to do, is to manage the roster
and kind of learn things. And this will be the
first true period where we see Pat Stewart in action.
You know, when he got here, all the roster stuff
was done before he got here, So I'm intrigued to

(04:02):
see what he does with some of these players that
might be making a lot of money. You aren't playing
right now.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
You look at Iowa, I think, and I was processing
this over the weekend in my five stages of grief.
This is a team. This is an odd you know,
they say that Iowa was behind the times. I'm wondering, Shauna,
if Iowa isn't ahead of the times. They, I think,
were the best team Nebraska played this year. If you
look at their schedule, the teams they lost to other

(04:30):
than Iowa State, which is a rivalry game in September,
they had Indiana beat, they had Oregon beat. They are
on the brink of a playoff here and in usc
they were in that game for three and a half
quarters out in Los Angeles. That was the best team
that Nebraska probably played with the least nil money spent.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah, it's hard to know me. They spent a lot
of money for Grenowski. He was a million dollar plus guy.
I mean it was a big ticket ad. But that's
what they do. They don't go nuts in the portal,
but they'll go out and get a key piece or
two like Gronowski that they need that fits their culture.
I mean, then they say, all right, South Dakota State,

(05:12):
winning program, Midwestern values. We know this guy is going
to fit what we do. We're not going to bring
some guy from you know, the far outside that doesn't
really fit. I over very well. And you've got to
give them credit for that. They've embraced who they are.
I think they're one of only four programs in the
last ten plus years that has won eight consecutive games

(05:34):
every year eight or more games, so and eight wins.
Now it's kind of like the new nine wins. It's
a lot harder I would see to win nine. If
you win nine, you're in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
And really good alignment. Always, Sean, we got to run here,
but Music City Bowl, that's what we're hearing.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
No, it's actually Vegas Bowl. I don't know. Yeah, I
talk to Brett. We've got pretty good intel in that
the Vegas Bowl still is probably where they'll end up.
I know a couple of those projectors had that, but
Bret McMurphy, who I work with it on three, has
pretty good ties there in Vegas. The bulls that you

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Want to be saying right now, all right, man, Thanks
Sean Callahan or Husker Insider