Thoughts on the season

[SolichFan1987]

Sitting here in a hotel after the game..some thoughts on the season at large. Bear with me this will be a long one.

Things started out great. After the Colorado game I really thought this would be an 8-9 win regular season. Even after the Illinois loss we looked like we were going somewhere.

Purdue was a bit of a red flag. Then Rutgers wasn’t super encouraging either. At the same time, those are the type of games we lost in years past.

Indiana, who the fuck knows what happened. Really embarrassing loss. Ohio State we were so damn close to pulling off the upset.

UCLA was a really, really, really frustrating and disappointing game. That one gave me some serious doubts about the direction we were going.

USC was a move in the right direction, as we finally got rid of Satterfield. Wisconsin was a great win, and I’m frankly shocked at how bad we made them look.

Cockeye was a massive kick in the nuts.

Today was another step in the right direction. Yes, our special teams were horrendously bad, and nearly cost us the game. But we got a winning season, and won a bowl.

Reasons for optimism going forward
- We return a lot of guys who played major roles this year
- Portal class so far is very strong
- Rhules recruits have shown a lot of potential so far, and this staff has seemed to develop guys well
- Culture is strong, players seem very bought into Rhule and staff
- Schedule in 2025 is very manageable

Concerns
- Special teams is still a MAJOR liability
- Rhules game management is still puzzling at times
- Can DR take the next step? He had so many near-big plays this year, can he start to convert some of those?
- Can we replace Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher?

 

[iruletheskool]

Above .500 with bowl win so im happy

 

[Ripping Lips]

Sad, but glad the season is over and ended on a high note. Will be interesting to see how the Dana and Butler change things up this offseason. Now on to basketball season.

 

[Kazman5k]

Won enough to get the monkey off the back. Sucked enough to replace satt with an A+ offense coordinator (and hopefully fire uncle fester here soon). Tons of young talent and good transfer class. Love this team next year.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

First half was fine
Second half was not good
Bowl game probably makes the situation look rozier than it probably should be.

My Big Tone's Piss Burning Hot Questions (no order)
1. Can Raiola sort out his mechanics and improve accuracy? I think he's got the arm strength to do what he needs to, but his mechanics break down bigly leading to accuracy issues especially throwing down field.
2. Can special teams improve significantly? Portal acquisitions will help but punt protection and coverage units are a horror show and that can't continue.
3. What's the OL look like? Looked good today and the interior is off to a good start with Jenkins and Luto. Is Gottula ready to be the show at LT? RT and C portal acquisitions are a must or you're gonna be green as shit at 3 of the 5 line positions.
4. Is Butler blitz happy or was this just the game plan for BC? Lots of blitzes and pressures really put BC on the back foot.
5. How do they get pressure with 4? Ochoa got some run today. Is he a piece going forward or just the only pass rushing DL guy who didn't bolt? Can McGahee start to get home? Davis and RVP?
6. Can the secondary take a step forward? They were without Tommi Hill for large parts of the year, but Wright, Hugehog, and Buford are back. Marshall joins and Blye Hill and Donovan Jones will have another year under their belt, can they start to disrupt teams?
7. RB2. Ives, Nelson, Booth, Parker. Who is it? Is it a committee? Obviously the bowl game was less of an audition for the guys on campus than one would expect given Rahmir. Lots of talent, no experience or results to date.
8. Who are the LBs? Lot of Wright, Bullock, and Sherman today. Can't play Shavers and McGahee every down next year so who will emerge or be acquired?
9. Is Hohl the real deal? For the small stretch when snapping wasn't FUBAR, Hohl was banging them through. Aberration or legit?
10. How will the coordinators change the offense and defense with a full off-season?

 

[ISUforNU]

I didn't read any of the Pinstripe game thread. How did the negative Butler posters fair?

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I didn't read any of the Pinstripe game thread. How did the negative Butler posters fair?

Not a lot of Butler negativity, but shockingly a lot of posters who didn't realize the field was third world level butthole

 

[Fargo Husker]

I didn't read any of the Pinstripe game thread. How did the negative Butler posters fair?

Yeah the Butler hate was minimal to nonexistent, which makes sense seeing as how the defense was strong most of the game.

 

[kenyanfeline]

Best season we’ve had in almost a decade. Which is sad but reality.

Glimpses of great stuff on both sides of the ball but nothing consistent or sustained.

I like a lot of the pieces we have coming back. Excited to see what Holgs can do with a full offseason and a lot more weapons.

 

[Ripping Lips]

Yeah the Butler hate was minimal to nonexistent, which makes sense seeing as how the defense was strong most of the game.

Butler seemed to blitz a lot, but the tackling still sucked at times. BCs mobile QB did exploit them some, but that was expected. But Butler did appear to make adjustments as the game went on which was nice.

 

[Husker_in_OK]

I expected 7-8 wins (excluding the bowl game), so the season was mildly disappointing. A competent OC and ST unit could have met that goal.

Dana Holgerson saved the season, beating Wisconsin gave us the momentum to become bowl-eligible and secure a bowl victory. I'm not so sure we would have gotten there with Satt.

Despite the setbacks, it’s good to see the program trending in the right direction going into the offseason

 

[Mavsker]

Grade: C
Up from C- after regular season
Mildly disappointing

 

[Boondock_St_Sker]

I was happy…I was pissed…I was happy.

We will have a shorter off season for once. When does winter conditioning start?

 

[Flabio]

I was happy…I was pissed…I was happy.

We will have a shorter off season for once. When does winter conditioning start?

Jan 20th

 

[Ext. 55]

First half was fine
Second half was not good
Bowl game probably makes the situation look rozier than it probably should be.

My Big Tone's Piss Burning Hot Questions (no order)
1. Can Raiola sort out his mechanics and improve accuracy? I think he's got the arm strength to do what he needs to, but his mechanics break down bigly leading to accuracy issues especially throwing down field.
2. Can special teams improve significantly? Portal acquisitions will help but punt protection and coverage units are a horror show and that can't continue.
3. What's the OL look like? Looked good today and the interior is off to a good start with Jenkins and Luto. Is Gottula ready to be the show at LT? RT and C portal acquisitions are a must or you're gonna be green as shit at 3 of the 5 line positions.
4. Is Butler blitz happy or was this just the game plan for BC? Lots of blitzes and pressures really put BC on the back foot.
5. How do they get pressure with 4? Ochoa got some run today. Is he a piece going forward or just the only pass rushing DL guy who didn't bolt? Can McGahee start to get home? Davis and RVP?
6. Can the secondary take a step forward? They were without Tommi Hill for large parts of the year, but Wright, Hugehog, and Buford are backed. Marshall joins and Blye Hill and Donovan Jones will have another year, can they start to disrupt teams?
7. RB2. Ives, Nelson, Booth, Parker. Who is it? Is it a committee? Obviously the bowl game was less of an audition for the guys on campus than one would expect given Rahmir. Lots of talent, no experience or results to date.
8. Who are the LBs? Lot of Wright, Bullock, and Sherman today. Can't play Shavers and McGahee every down next year so who will emerge or be acquired?
9. Is Hohl the real deal? For the small stretch when snapping wasn't FUBAR, Hohl was banging them through. Aberration or legit?
10. How will the coordinators change the offense and defense with a full off-season?

1 and 2 for me are the biggest questions. Raiola has a lot of work to do this off season. Footwork, accuracy on the long ball, and his ability to move in the pocket and get up the field appropriately when required.

Fix special teams alone and we win 3-4 more games.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

1 and 2 for me are the biggest questions. Raiola has a lot of work to do this off season. Footwork, accuracy on the long ball, and his ability to move in the pocket and get up the field appropriately when required.

Fix special teams alone and we win 3-4 more games.

Yeah. Very few explosive TDs this season and those 1/2/3 play drives are what really lets you put pressure on opponents

 

[Ext. 55]

Yeah. Very few explosive TDs this season and those 1/2/3 play drives are what really lets you put pressure on opponents

Agreed. The moments were there and just ‘so close’ too many times this season. Has to be a big point of focus during the off season.

 

[Jim14510]

Grade: C
Up from C- after regular season
Mildly disappointing

Wtf. A C?

/s

 

[tman87]

DR needs to work on his footwork. His arm is very strong, which has led to some bad habits of throwing off the wrong foot type of thing too much.

He also needs to work on when to run. If he doesn't develop some kind of run threat - doesn't have to be a huge threat, but some threat - and use those opportunities smartly, it will help keep defenses honest.

I think if he works on those two things, most of the rest will continue to improve by default. He will be better just from some maturity. Also probably from working on his body a bit too in S&C.

I liked what I saw from the younger defense guys who got a lot of run. And this is without any transfer help coming in yet.

I liked what I saw from how Butler called the defense. I like a more aggressive defense, and it seems we saw that today.

Our offense has been called a LOT better since Satt was sat. We have an A-level OC now, and it shows.

Foley has to go, and most likely will be gone. Special teams HAVE to improve, a ton.

I think we have more reasons to think we will be improved next season vs this season.

 

[HerbRedman]

Concerns
- Special teams is still a MAJOR liability
- Rhules game management is still puzzling at times
- Can DR take the next step? He had so many near-big plays this year, can he start to convert some of those?
- Can we replace Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher?

Good stuff and I agree with almost everything you wrote.

My main conclusion on the 2024 season: it's all about the coordinators. OC, DC and STs coordinator are the 3 most important assistant coaches on staff. Our 2024 results were tied directly to those 3 guys.

• OC Satterfield: worst OC in P2. Cost us games. Almost lost players and/or recruits bc of him.
• OC Holgorsen: huge improvement. Keeping DR, JB etc bc of him. Got Shorts & Key bc of him. If we're honest, DH's gameplans were good enough to make us 4-0 in his 4 games.
• DC White: Whether it was all his fault or not, the defense lost us games vs: Illinois, Indiana, UCLA and USC. White's inability to stop the RPO was a disaster. Ability to stop a simple counter play vs USC was a disaster.
• STs Foley: Nebraska had 10 kicks blocked in 2024. 10!!! I'd love to see how many Osborne seasons you'd have to add up to get to 10 opponent blocked kicks. His contract will be non-renewed and we'll move on to a replacement.

My lesson from 2024 is you cannot win in the B1G without at least solid B or B+ level coaching at each of those 3 spots. You can have a weak link at like DB coach or WR coach etc...but you just cannot have a weak link at any of those 3 spots. At times in 2024, Nebraska had weak links at all 3! Hence why we were 6-6.