Week 3 Husker Report Card: New Mexico State

Finally, the Huskers play four quarters.  While the scoreboard might not show it as much, the yardage statistics show a fairly dominating performance.

Offensive Line:  B+  Definitely their best performance of the year, but keep in mind the competition, playing only three linemen.

Running Backs:  B+  Marlon Lucky didn't break many tackles, but the offensive line cleared out enough room to spring Lucky into the clear.  And oh boy, once he does that, is he electric!

Quarterback:  A-  See Joe run for a touchdown, see Joe pass for a touchdown, see Joe catch for a touchdown.  See Joe not turnover the ball.  Well done, Joe.

Wide Receivers:  A-  Some nice blocking, and a nice catch by Mike McNeill (or should I say a nice acrobatic move at the goal line?  Francis Allen would be proud!)  I'm starting to wonder if they've run the wide receiver screen into the ground.  They're setting something up here.

Defensive Line:  B+  Another good day, though I worry about the injury to Pierre Allen.  Zach Potter was all over the place again yesterday.

Linebackers:  B  Against the Aggies, the linebackers were out of the game quite a bit for extra help in the secondary.

Secondary:  B  OK, they're still thin due to injury.  (I wonder how many people asked "Who the heck is Lance Thorell?" in the first quarter!)  But they held up reasonably well against the spread offense of New Mexico State.  Problem is, they'll soon be facing the spread offenses of Missouri and Texas Tech.

Coaching:  A  When the Aggies started the game by direct snapping to wide receiver Wes Neiman and started running zone read, the defense was back on it's heels.  But after Zach Potter blocked a field goal attempt, the defensive staff spent extra time making adjustments that helped shut that down.  That just wouldn't have happened with the previous regime.

Overall:  B+  Good performance all over.  Effort continues to be there every week, and mistakes are becoming fewer and fewer.  "Day by Day, we get better and better!"

Elsewhere in College Football

USC:  A+  What else is there to say?

Ohio State:  D  OK, you're probably good enough to compete in the Big MAC.  Terrelle Pryor is going to be a playmaker for you down the line.

ESPN:  0  Please stop hyping up games like last night's before you lose what little credibility you have left.

Pac Ten:  F  Yeah, you have USC.  But what about the rest of the conference?  Only other victories were Oregon State (over Hawaii) and Oregon (over Purdue).  Here's who beat the Pac 10:  Baylor, Maryland, TCU, UNLV, BYU, Oklahoma, New Mexico.  Other than the Sooners and maybe BYU, you've got to be ashamed of yourself.  USC fans can probably start booking flights and hotels on South Beach.

Big MAC: D-  Penn State had a nice win, as did Wisconsin.  But a whole lot of ugly.

Buffalo: A  Turner Gill's bunch gets a bunch of publicity for a nice last second win...but up next is a date with Mizery.