Official NIU Game Thread

[Ext. 55]

I KNEW Sims was a badass!!!!

 

[HuskerGarrett]

 

[Juro]

I KNEW Sims was a badass!!!!

 

[LoudHogRider]

I KNEW Sims was a badass!!!!

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[ChocaEgg]

 

[Irv]

Rhule should have followed precedent and called CU in the spring when Turd wasn't paying attention and tried to cancel the game.

 

[Huskerforlife]

Fair. A home game and an away game would have been better, instead of two straight away games.

 

[Poor_and_Stupid]

Massive cope. Both those teams suck. We just suck worse.

 

[vailhusker]

@Dawgsauce

 

[Baron Winnebago]

Massive cope. Both those teams suck. We just suck worse.

Yes. But I feel like if you ignored the don't buy the bullshit thread and calibrated your expectations to not being terrible this season that's on you.

The royal you of course since you are the Chief Nihilist

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

Husker offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said the turnovers had not jumped out as a glaring warning during August.

Through two games, admittedly they've been "frustrating" as heck to him, with Nebraska giving it away four times in each of its first two losses.

"It's really just popped up in the last two weeks to this magnitude," Satterfield said prior to Wednesday's practice, heading into the Husker home opener against Northern Illinois. "And just really kind of came to a head last week."

Satterfield was quick to say it's not all on QB Jeff Sims too, noting "all kinds of factors" in some of those snap exchanges that plagued the Huskers in a 36-14 loss at Colorado on Saturday.

With the motions and snap timing and having to go on a silent count, all those things played a part, he said.

"We've really worked at it. I hate to be reactionary. That sucks when you have to come in and be reactionary, but I think we're off to a good start of making sure we remedy that."

Here's the full rundown of Satterfield's talk with the media.

SOME STAPLES HE THINKS THIS OFFENSE HAS FOUND THROUGH TWO GAMES?​

"After two games I'm very frustrated," Satterfield answered. "The ball security kind of just takes hold of everything that you've done. We've done some really, really, really good things offensively, especially running the football. The quarterback run game. Guys are getting better each week but it's clouded by the turnovers. I'm not answering your question but we've got to fight like hell to win the turnover margin."
Satterfield said the offense isn't giving itself a chance to win because of that while he feels the defense and special teams are playing great.
"Playing good offense, but when you turn the ball over like that you have no shot."

ANY RE-EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN CALLS FROM THE CU GAME?​

Satterfield was asked in particular about the last couple drives of the first half, first when Jeff Sims was intercepted at the Husker 30, setting up the first Colorado touchdown to make it 10-0. And then when Sims scrambled out of bounds on the drive after that, saving Colorado a timeout, which came in handy on a last-second field goal to make it 13-0 at halftime.
"I don't have really second-guessing about any of my calls on third down. There were a couple early going into it Coach (Rhule) and I discussed, 'Hey, we're backed up a little bit. Let's be smart...' As Coach, you'll hear him say, 'Let's get the ball in play and see if we can run.' Other than that I'm good with all the calls that I had on third down."

ALL HANDS ON DECK AT QB​

Jeff Sims hadn't taken any reps this week heading into Wednesday's practice, though Husker coaches were going to see what he could tonight.
In the meantime, everyone else could potentially move up a slot if Sims isn't available. That includes walk-on Luke Longval, he joined the program this year after spending one season at Cockeye Western, where he redshirted. He would fall in that pecking order behind Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy, who also is coming back from an injury tweak.
"Luke's one of our room favorites. We've adopted him being a new kid this year. But he's done an excellent job just from a development standpoint from when he got here to where he is now," Satterfield said of the Sioux City, Cockeye native. "When he first got here I'd say we have to go find somebody else to go into the game. But I think he's developed himself into more than an adequate option if we needed him to go into a game and finish a game off for us."

THE RBS AND ANTHONY GRANT'S STATUS​

Anthony Grant did not see a carry against Colorado after a late fumble against Minnesota the week before.
But Satterfield said the senior can "100 percent" work his way back into the mix. "He had a great day Sunday, a great day yesterday, so he's going to keep working his way back into the lineup. He's very physical and gives us a lot of options back there. I'm pleased with the entire room. They've been productive. Gabe's been productive. Rahmir's been productive. They're off to a good start."

WHAT ABOUT THE RECEIVERS?​

Satterfield said last year the Huskers mainly threw the ball to one or two guys – mainly Trey Palmer.
"I think it's just guys learning how to have opportunities, learning the responsibilities to get going. I think we improved a little bit last week. Billy (Kemp), at least we got the ball in Billy's hands last week. I think we'll continue to improve this week."
Satterfield said they know to be a good offense they know they can't just solely run it and run the QB. "We've got to develop a passing game. I think we're steadfast at doing that and making sure that each week we're going to get a little bit better."

MESSAGE TO YOUNG RECEIVERS​

"They need to come out and practice and when we're doing 1-on-1s, they need to get open, they need to attack the ball, they need to be competitive and be productive. There's a heckuva opportunity out there at that position to go and make plays and do things."
Nebraska played Kemp, Marcus Washington and Alex Bullock for most of the snaps on Saturday. "Is it a good situation? Not a great situation," he said of needing more depth to step up. "But I've been there before."

DOUBLE DOWN ON THE PROCESS​

Satterfield said this staff hasn't changed how it approaches a game week after the 0-2 start.
"Our process is our process. We own our process. We learn, live and defend the process. ... We've been doing this since 2010, 2011, 2012," he said of many staff members knowing Rhule's process and believing in it since then. "With moments like this, we know it's going to come early when we start the experience in Year No. 1. Our thing has always been just double down on the process. ... If something needs to be changed, we'll change it, but our process is our process. It's been proven. So we have to double down on it and just do it better."

O-LINE ASSESSMENT?​

Satterfield said it's the most consistent crew on that side of the ball.
While the Huskers have given up some sacks, they're not all the O-line's fault, he added.
"They come to work every day, they know and do their job, they're very dependable, they're doing a nice job in the run game. It's not just quarterback runs. We're under center handing the ball off, getting yards. They need to continue to improve and get better as the entire group does. But I'm very pleased with them."

THE CHALLENGE OF OPENING UP WITH TWO TOUGH ROAD GAMES?​

"Right now, it sucks," Satterfield said. "And it's terrible. And you'd love to have been at home and been comfortable. Playing maybe like some people do in what would be seen as a smaller opponent. That would have felt better. But in the long run six weeks from now, would it have been better? No.
"What stinks right now, kind of doubling down on the process, is going to make us stronger six weeks from now. We needed to go through that."
Those were two hostile environments and Satterfield said the "insane" environment at Colorado rivaled anything thing he coached at in the SEC.
"The crowd noise and everything that we've had to go through the first two weeks offensively to force the issue of communication: really ramping up the communication, new ways to communicate, I think is going to pay dividends for us six or seven weeks from now.
"What sucks right now is going to be a blessing in the end."

HEY, THERE'S A GAME IN MEMORIAL STADIUM THIS SATURDAY​

Need to end this thing on upbeat note, Husker fans? We'll try.
Matt Rhule popped his head in Satterfield's office on Wednesday morning with a reminder.
"It's been a grind the last three days. It's not been a lot of fun for anybody, trying to work through all this stuff. And he opens the door and he's like, 'Satt, what's up? Good morning.' And he was like, 'I woke up this morning. We're fricking coaching football in Memorial Stadium this weekend, how cool is that?'"

Satterfield on the turnover troubles, making the most of 'what sucks right now,' and trusting the process

Marcus Satterfield gives a rundown of where things stand on offense heading to the home opener.

247sports.com

 

[vailhusker]

Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White met with the media ahead of a Wednesday evening practice. The veteran coordinator touched on quite a few topics, including how players have emerged from his defense, what he’s seen through two games, how Nebraska can create more havoc and thoughts on Northern Illinois ahead of the home game against the Huskies.

Here’s a quick run through of what White had to say:

— Nebraska knows it needs to create more turnovers and White thinks the film shows that the Huskers are sometimes just inches away from being in the right spot.

The coordinator isn’t saying that as praise either, but to acknowledge that even if some of the statistics look good for the defense through two games, that there’s still work to be done.

“So many times on the film you see guys are literally six inches away from making game changing plays,” he said. “How do you do that? You’ve got to focus a lot more on the execution part, making sure they truly understand the why. Why do I have to be tilted at this angle? Why do I have to be tighter on this tackle? What am I expecting? Those six inches are the difference between a 40-yard bomb we give up or a sack, causing a fumble, a game changing play. Everything comes down to installing things at its simplest form so the young men can go do it on the grass.”

— White explained when he took added notice of linebacker Mikai Gbayor and how the defender catapulted himself to more playing time with a strong special teams performance against Minnesota.

“He did some really good things in the spring and you could see his versatility early that he could play all three spots. He’s just a guy who did everything right. To his credit, he just keeps getting better and keeps growing. That’s the process kicking in. He’s leaned up, stronger and more explosive than he’s ever been and he comes in here and slowly just making plays here and there and you’re like “let’s see.”
“Then he got the credit on special teams. When you watch the special teams against Minnesota and the things he was putting on the grass, Coach Rhule was like ‘Hey this guy needs to play.’ Throw him in there and the guy balls out. That’s totally him. That’s him believing in the process and putting some activity behind it, doing the extra. He’s always up here meeting extra. Special teams extra. Now he’s playing ball and having a great time doing it. Being a great teammate and all that stuff. It’s really cool for him and cool to watch.”

— White deflected a lot of the credit for Nebraska’s sack outburst to other assistant coaches.

“That was a good job of everyone on the defensive staff — Rob and T Knight coming up with some things they thought would be effective,” he said. “Then going along with the coverage on the back end to try to mirror it up. We knew we would have to mix it up a lot with what they do on offense. It was just a good plan by the guys and great execution by the young men on the grass.”

— The defensive coordinator believes the cohesive environment he joined allowed for him to trade ideas back-and-forth among the other coaches to help create a version of Nebraska’s defense that we’re seeing right now.

“The stuff they did at Carolina and Baylor was awesome,” White said. “Some of the best defenses in the country, they take it to the NFL, so then some of the best defenses in the NFL, mixed with the things I got a chance to learn from Rocky Long and develop, and that’s why I keep coming back to this defense here that’s a mesh of it all. I think it’s something totally different, totally new and it’s a good feeling that we’re all able to come out with ideas that the young men can absorb and go out there and play fast — the Blackshirts and the way they’re supposed to be represented.”

— Northern Illinois' experience stands out to White, as does the program’s reputation for toughness. The coordinator commented on how he’s more than familiar with NIU as the MAC school squared off against San Diego State a few times when he was coaching with the Aztecs.

White believes the Huskies are going to come prepared on Saturday.

“They are physical,” he said. “They are always physical no matter what. They are a physical group that plays up. They went to Boston College and I thought they physically got after them. They’re going to come in here and I’d think they’d do the same. They didn’t have the showing they wanted last week, but that’s just more fuel for them to get up and correct and come in here and play with their hair on fire.”

DC Tony White talks sacks, creating game changing plays and Mikai Gbayor earning his break out

Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White hits on a variety of topics Wednesday before practice

247sports.com

 

[JerryBones5]

I just can’t believe we started the season on the road against 2 power 5 teams with 1 of the teams being in our division. Big 10 - “oh they’re on the road against one of their oldest rivals week 2? Yeah let’s have em play at Minnesota week 1”

What a fucking joke.

 

[Dawgsauce]