John Blake, Charlie Strong, Rich Rodriguez. Since Bob Devaney arrived in Lincoln in 1962, and cemented Nebraska as an absolute helmet school, those are the only three coaches at any of the eight (Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, USC) probably sure fire helmets, to have losing records in each of their first two seasons. Scott Frost seems destined to become the fourth. People knew he inherited a mess, and was implementing a new system, and while 2018 was rough, the improvement from September to November was noticeable, and the locals were content. People bought in, and Nebraska was ranked to start the season for the first time since 2014, and the Huskers were a trendy pick to win the West. Now, they need to win a road game at Maryland just to keep bowl hopes alive going into the finale. This marks Nebraska's first trip to Maryland in program history, the only previous meeting, in 2016, being in Lincoln, so even for this yawner, you know Big Red will travel strong for their program's first appearance in Byrd Stadium. The struggles of Adrian Martinez has been the narrative for the season, so maybe the glimses he showed in the loss to Wisconsin last week are reasons for optimism. He had his highest QBR, passer rating and total yardage since Week 4 against Illinois. Now he gets to face a Maryland defense that isn't slowing anyone down. Maryland is last in the Big Ten in scoring defense, total defense and passing defense. And for all the lamenting Frost's program's lack of progress, the Nebraska offense is still #4 in the Big Ten both in ypp and total offense. They've simply left too many points on the board, due to missed kicks, and failed 4th down conversions due to concerns in the kicking game. Nebraska has attempted 16 4th downs, most in Big Ten play, despite having the second worst conversion percentage (25%) in the league. Maryland's problems seem to be the type that need an offseason to correct, for Locksley to continue to mold the program he wants. Since Week 3, the Terps have only been competitive in a game twice. I think you can make that three, but Nebraska, and a 100% Adrian Martinez can overwhelm this Terp defense. |