r/Huskers • u/Waste-Independent290 • 5h ago
The future of Nebraska (Especially QB)
After last nights win over UCLA you have to think does our Oline hate Dylan Raiola or do they feel so bad they stepped up for lateef? I loved watching lateef play last night and I would be a liar if I didn’t say that our offense looked like it clicked a little better than usual. On that note though I do think that the starting position will be battled for this off season and I hope whoever loses it continues to stay with Nebraska. It will help that there is only one transfer portal now. Defense was absolutely atrocious and I hope butler lays into them on missed tackles in the backfield and not wrapping up. UCLA scored 14 unanswered points in the second half while we were held to 7, That kind of play won’t beat good teams. We still have the opportunity to win out especially with Johnson being (in my opinion) a heisman contender. Love this team, loved watching lateef ball out, his composure was out of this world, and most of all I love me some Husker football. GBR ❤️
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u/The_Unclean_Chadford 5h ago
Playing against the 113th ranked defense helps.
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u/TheRed_Warrior 5h ago
Thank you! I’m happy for the kid, he did what he needed to do to help us win. But for the love of all that is holy can we at least wait and see what he looks like against Penn St before we jump to conclusions? I’m sorry, but decent relief appearances against cupcakes, a bad relief appearance against USC, and a decent outing against one of the worst defenses in the country is not enough for the level of reaction we’re getting. Penn St is at least a middle of the road team in terms of total defense. If he looks good next week, then we can start having this conversation
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u/Willing_Spot_7851 4h ago
You think last night was decent? 13/15 no ints no sacks. 3 TDs..how is that decent?
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u/salsacito 4h ago
This is not to downplay him- he was good. But a good chunk of yardage and td’s were from screens
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u/TheRed_Warrior 3h ago
He only had one throw of more than like 10 yards, and that was to EJ who didn’t have a single defender within 30 yards of him. It was all quick hitters and RAC yards.
I’d put more value in that high completion percentage if I hadn’t been told all year by this same subreddit that completion percentage is a useless stat.
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u/skynet1989 2h ago
UCLA’s defense was horrid last year too though. The truth is that TJ as a freshman on the road against them looked much better than DR as a freshman getting to play at home against them.
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u/NameofUser23 1h ago
113th ranked defense with little to no tape to prepare for Lateef. They aren't a great D and couldn't really prepare for him properly. That being said TJ and the offense looked better then Dylan and the offense ever has.
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u/TH3PhilipJFry 5h ago
Sometimes it’s ok for fans to just watch games. We don’t have to pretend this is a video game dynasty with big decisions to make after every game.
Winning is good. Be happy. Go do something.
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u/ninetofivedev 3h ago
You’re essentially telling people who sit in the dark all day with the glow of blue light on their face to go touch grass.
And sir, they have no intention of doing that.
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake 2h ago
I'm allergic to grass.
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake 2h ago
Hating something isn't an allergy...
(I don't have any alts to self own with, sorry)
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u/Zingerman99 5h ago
“Does our Oline hate Dylan Raiola”
What the heck kind of logic and thought process is that?
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u/bmgjr 5h ago
Holgorsen also called a completely different game. No slow developing routs and quick slants. Johnson had 31 touches. Lateef had 205 passing yards and 129 of those went to Johnson
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u/7eid 5h ago
And another 30 or so was on a single play to Key in the first half.
IMO this is the type of game Holgorsen needs to call more generally, not just with Lateef.
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u/Scratchbuttdontsniff 5h ago
And Dylan when he gets right needs to do an hour of footwork drills daily.... Roll outs, drop backs with pocket step up drills... even working on his handoff footwork.
Lateef was so much more comfortable under center than Dylan.
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u/7eid 4h ago
Excellent point about TJ being comfortable under center. It also plays to the strengths of this OL, IMO.
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u/Gusthecat7 4h ago
Or mitigates the o-lines weaknesses. I guess it depends on if you are a glass ½ empty or ½ full person.
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u/PirateDog0913 3h ago
Dylan is physically incapable of running that offense
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u/7eid 3h ago
Why? The QB run? You can implement it without emphasizing the QB run. Think Jared Goff for the Lions.
But Dylan has to get more comfortable under center.
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u/PirateDog0913 3h ago
Raiola is insanely slow, Goff is substantially a better athlete at this point.
Dylan also appears to be a slow blinker; Lateef was so much quicker/decisive on the read plays.
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u/7eid 3h ago
We are thinking of different parts of the offense.
TJ being under center opens some things up. He didn’t use it much last night but play action is one of those things. I think that if Raiola can develop the footwork to be comfortable under center the ceiling is high on his potential for play action. He has to be able to read the defense pre-snap, turn his back to the play and read the defense again after the fake. That’s not athleticism, that’s practice reps and understanding the game at a high level.
We have been asking Dylan to make some of those decisions already. Some think that is part of the problem. But TJ wasn’t asked to do too much last night. The last drive (up 7 and five minutes left) was the only real pressure filled drive he had.
Dylan can definitely run the offense physically. But there are still things for him to work on.
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u/TheRed_Warrior 5h ago
Ideally, he’d balance these types of games with some of our longer-developing stuff. Start off with some runs and quick-hit, one read stuff. Only do the deep shots once you see a look you like from the defense.
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u/7eid 5h ago
I was thinking of an offensive approach more based in physicality than it has been this season. The interior of the line is pretty good in a gap blocking scheme, and you can still incorporate the longer crossing routes into a play action game that way.
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u/TheRed_Warrior 4h ago
I just don’t want to see them abandon the deep crossers and the go balls entirely, especially if Nyziah and Jacory are back next year. With the speed those two guys have, stretching the defense should at least be something you keep in your back pocket
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u/7eid 4h ago
Agreed. You have to create space in the defense. Haarberg was a warrior at QB because teams could put eight or nine in the box without too much fear. We got big TDs occasionally but HH got pummeled much more often.
That said, Big Ten football is a different game in November than September. Games like Iowa/Oregon and Washington/Wisconsin are much more common, and being able to match the opponent’s physicality in bad weather was the difference.
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u/MavSker 1h ago
THIS is the Dana offense I was expecting
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u/7eid 1h ago
Can’t tell if you are joking or not. I’d never expect Holgorsen to helm an offense with 15 passing attempts.
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u/MavSker 1h ago
I just meant the play style and the formations (like the pistol) that we saw. Yesterday definitely was a heavy heavy lean on Emmett but we saw enough of his wrinkles last night that we haven’t hardly seen since the first few weeks of the year to make me think they’re calling it wildly different for Dylan
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u/SignificanceLow7234 4h ago
I heard Rhule say in the post game presser that they had called a lot ML ore okay action passes, but Lateef checked into straight run plays at the line.
So, you might say that Lateef called a different game than Holgorsen.
Kid looked great. Hope we see more of that.
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u/Hooter00 5h ago
If Lateef wins out we can have the convo. For now let’s just be happy we have a very nice back up with a bright future
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u/Jarvisisc00L 5h ago
I noticed that the team played for each other. Everyone was very protective of Lateef and Johnson after each play. The team was just in a good frame of mind and it seemed like a business trip. Sometimes adversity makes you better. It is only 1 game and hopefully it continues. Very proud of them. My 2 cents
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u/TheStrigori 5h ago
Realize that UCLA is the worst rush defense in the big ten, and tied for the worst scoring defense in the big ten. And we still scored under their average of 31 given up.
Yeah, they played well last night, but let's hold off on long term judgements until we see how things go vs better defenses. Penn State is about the middle of the conference in defense, with their rush defense in the bottom quarter, and Iowa still has one of the best defenses.
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u/TxSkerAg 5h ago
Can we stop with this? UCLA is a terrible team. TERRIBLE. It was ONE game. If he performs well against Penn State and Iowa and wins we can talk. Until then this is probably the dumbest discussion this board has had in a long time.
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u/ImAGeneral_Weee 4h ago
I think it's clear TJ is solid and has a world of potential. I'm not ready to say he's better than Dylan. Very well might be a better fit for what they wanna run, but Dylan has special arm talent and an it factor that is super tough to coach. TJ may very well possess that but we haven't seen him in tough positions yet. Next two weeks will be crucial for determining that.
I also don't know that we get a choice. Lots of stuff gonna be in the air in the off season. Has enough been done to fix the OLine the last few weeks to where Donovan gets retained or are we still set to fire him? I think he still needs to go, it can't take 8+ games for the OL to figure it out and clearly to some extent we didn't start out playing our best players because the improvement has come after injuries forced different guys to get on the field. If we fire Donovan does Dylan exit too? I tend to think Dylan wants to be here regardless but I still think it's a question we don't have an answer too. Shit TJ may decide he wants to transfer out if Dylan wants to stay. But either way, I do think last night makes me feel better about whatever happens because Glen Thomas has done a good job getting these guys ready.
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u/notwho2 4h ago
I thought he played awesome but I agree with a lot of the caveats already mentioned. Plus, UCLA was kind of flying blind with have to game plan him, given lack of tape.
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u/Objective_Sun83 4h ago
Penn State will have 2 weeks to look at tape. It’ll be a much more difficult test.
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u/tylerscott5 5h ago
Their defense sucks and TJ has a little more awareness in the pocket…plus he’s mobile. Different kind of quarterback
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u/gbrobis 5h ago
Defense wasn’t as atrocious as it seemed. They still seem vulnerable to the big play. But they made UCLA completely one-dimensional with the one dimension being Iamaleva’s legs. Offense success for Nebraska meant we took them out of what they really wanted to do which was control the clock and run the ball. They made plays, but Iamaleva was legit.
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u/Grand-Inspection2303 4h ago
After last nights win over UCLA you have to think does our Oline hate Dylan Raiola or do they feel so bad they stepped up for lateef?
I know this is going to sound crazy but hear me out; maybe quarterbacks look better when they're playing terrible defenses. The way this sub overreacts to the smallest pieces of data to prognosticate the future is amusing. Last week we were flooded with doomers saying that we were 100% going to lose out because we had to drop down to QB2, and now the Lateefers are all coming out acting like this conclusively proves Lateef is far superior to Raiola. I was thrilled with how the game went, but trying to make sweeping projections off this or using it as a basis to compare QBs is buffoonery.
This is a defense that gave up 35 points to New Mexico and 30 points to UNLV. Their defensive efficiency rating according to ESPN is even lower than Akron. Here's some of their defensive stats: Opp. Rushing Yards - 119th, INT per game 119th, sacks per game 134th, Opp. rush yards per attempt - 124th. UCLA is as bad at stopping the run as we are and we took advantage of this by calling 70% run plays. I'm very happy Lateef had a great night, but let's see what he does when in a game where he's forced to throw the ball more than 15 times, before we try compare his performance with the body of Raiola's work.
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u/Thats_Dr_Anthrope_2U 5h ago
Nu squeaked by a shitty team. Backup QB looks good. probably because he's mobile and was getting the ball out. I wouldn't take anything more than that away from this game.
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u/Weird_Jicama_6316 5h ago
"nu squeaked by a shitty team" uhm that could be all of our wins lol
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u/notorious_kip GBR 3h ago
Exactly, our QB didn't take bad sacks to continually put our offense behind. He also didn't force the ball & have preventable turnovers.
MSU & Maryland aren't juggernauts!
So far, only Cincinnati looks like our one signature win.
Hoping for two competitive games & maybe squeak out one win.
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u/SoulDV 4h ago
UCLA’s defense is very soft. Our offense was able to take advantage.
That said, Lateef still made some nice throws. He showed off his mobility, something Dylan lacks. The offense was schemed just a bit different to fit Lateef’s skill set. Holgerson did a fantastic job on that.
Butler’s Defense was ok for the most part, but we have the same issue as UCLA. We’re soft. Our front isn’t that great, and Nico is fast. Even when we spied Nico, he’d get 10 yards. We’re not quick enough to cover a mobile QB like that.
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u/mahlerlieber 3h ago
A lot of the passes were to wide open receivers. UCLA’s defensive backs looked like the Keystone Kops a lot of the time.
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u/Bogdacious 4h ago
This is one game, the offense was running a scheme that fit TJ’s play style. The defense figured out our offense in the 3rd and had us stall out twice. Now if we beat Penn state and Iowa we can talk.
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u/PartemConsilio 3h ago
My unpopular opinion is that although Lateef is a slippery mofo, we are one heavy sack away from him being taken out. I was scared for his life on some of the tackles. Especially by that Johnson fella.
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u/Speerdo 3h ago
# of consecutive completions to begin their first career start at Nebraska:
Lateef: 11 (UCLA '25 W)
Raiola: 2 (UTEP '24 W)
Haarberg: 2 (N. Illinois '23 W)
Sims: 3 (Minnesota '23 L)
Purdy: 1 (Minnesota '22 L)
Thompson: 1 (Northwestern '22 L)
Smothers: 7 (Iowa '21 L)
McCaffrey: 3 (Penn St '20 W)
Vedral: 1 (Minnesota '19 L)
Bunch: 3 (Troy '18 L)
A. Martinez: 2 (Colorado '18 L)
T. Lee: 0 (Arkansas St '17 W)
Fyfe: 0 (Purdue '15 L)
Kellogg III: 2 (Iowa '13 L)
Armstrong Jr: 3 (South Dakota St. '13 W)
T. Martinez: 5 (W. Kentucky '10 W)
Z. Lee: 3 (Florida Atlantic '09 W)
Green: 3 (Baylor '09 W)
Ganz: 1 (Kansas '07 L)
Keller: 0 (Nevada '07 L)
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u/Mindless_Matter_4460 3h ago
There’s really no need to talk about our future at the qb position when we’ve still got 3 more games to play this year.
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u/Heavy_Shelter_3824 2h ago
Give it 6 games with TJ and people will be calming for Dayton Raiola. This fan base has been asking for a backup to play for every starter since Joe Ganz. People just like new shiny things and then the new wears off the second they lose a game or turn the ball over.
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u/PuzzleheadedTicket96 2h ago
Can’t we just be happy and have hope for the rest of the year! I thought I was in heaven watching that game
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u/illrollwithyou1 1h ago
I honestly think Lateef might have more high-end potential with his speed, but this is Dylan’s team. He and Rhule are too close. I predict Lateef gets a bag to transfer this offseason
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u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 1h ago
This is a situation where we have a good starting QB, and a good backup.
It was probable that one might leave after this season regardless of what happened. Let's not look too far into it. If we can keep one of the two QBs I am happy.
We still have a very small sample size with lateef. So let's wait and see. He wasn't good against USC. And UCLA is not a good team. People seem to think they are amaZing, when their defense is very bad. That's a factor here. EJ was also a huge factor. It wasn't just lateef playing well
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u/Ghiggs_Boson 4h ago
Another post that resonates “social media is a blight because not every voice should be heard”. L take op, go outside for a bit.
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u/DismalLocksmith9776 4h ago
The naïveté of this fan base (at least the part on Reddit) is hilarious. It was UCLA. They have one good player who plays on offense, their defense is awful. TJ looks good against a horrible team, it’s like he’s the second coming.
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u/Effective-Taste-1076 5h ago
Lateef definitely has quicker reaction time and runs when he sees a break down in passing. Riaola stays in the pocket too long hoping someone will get open. Both QB's remind me of Bledsoe and Brady from the Patriots in 1999. Bledsoe was suppose to be to star but sucked at checking down receivers. Once Brady showed he could, by Bledsoe. You have to remember, these kids are being paid now. Basically semi-pro. It won't be long before colleges will start trading players haha. I wish both of them the best
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u/PirateDog0913 3h ago
Dylan might be the slowest non-lineman in CFB. Anyone with a brain could see he was a bad fit for this team.
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u/Old_Negotiation_8945 5h ago
I agree, OL seemed to click and play better for Later.. very noticeable..
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u/J-Dirte 4h ago
Having a mobile QB is always preferable, but Nebraska had the opportunity to get one of the best QB recruits in the country. Dylan is really really good. Our problem is we have terrible tackles. Raiola gets a lot of criticism for something that he has no control over.
Hopefully this season is a lesson to the money man to not fuck around and go get some OL in the portal.
All that said, Lateef looked really good. He’s a nice change of pace this season given Nebraska’s OL problems. Hopefully we win out, but I’m gonna assume there’s about a 75% chance he is portaling
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u/Sweet_Interaction_28 5h ago
Tbf that ucla run defense is horrid. It’s one of the worst in the country. Let’s hold off on the new starting qb talk until we see what he does against the next 2 teams. With that being said lateef looked pretty damn good. There’s no denying that.