Report card: Maine

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We rank the Huskers in every facet of the game against Maine.

RUSHING GAME (D)

It was a little disconcerting to see the Black Bears bottle up Cory Ross and Co. Nebraska didn’t even try running the ball on three plays from inside the Maine 1-yard late in the second quarter. Couldn’t Brandon Jackson or Cody Glenn punch it in? Ross’ only big run of the night ended with a fumble. And 42 carries for 121 yards against a I-AA team is somewhat alarming. “We’ve just got to clean some things up,” offensive line coach Dennis Wagner said. “In the running game, we didn’t do a good job with (the blitz). Whether it was one guy or another, we won’t know until we watch the film.”

PASSING GAME (C)

Average, at best. Zac Taylor threw two interceptions — one the result of a bad decision. Overall, Taylor seemed to manage the team fairly well for a first game. Frantz Hardy lived up the hype as a deep threat, but he also dropped two passes inside the Maine 5-yard line. The receiving corps, overall, though, is beat up and thin, so it may be difficult to accurately gauge NU’s air attack.

AGAINST THE RUN (A)

Granted, Maine’s minus 6 rushing yards reflects 11 sacks by the Blackshirts, which is a credit to the pass defense. The front seven swarmed to the ball throughout the game, and the Black Bears were never able to sustain any ground attack.

AGAINST THE PASS (A)

The Blackshirts mauled the Black Bears up front and generated more than enough pressure. The long TD pass, it should be noted, came against mostly second-team players. Now, can the front four continue to apply this type of pressure?

SPECIAL TEAMS (B)

Gee, where they’d find this Terrence Nunn guy? What a spectacular display by the sophomore on punt returns. Truly, a breath of fresh air. What wasn’t so refreshing was a missed PAT and a muffed punt return.

GAME MANAGEMENT AND PENALTIES (A)

Wow, a season-opening game, and no penalties? That’s impressive. Liked the decision to go for it on fourth down. Also, it was good to see Zac Taylor getting the plays signaled in from the sideline. That seems to work better than running to and from the sideline after every play. On a side note, are we going to see this many instant replay reviews every game?

PLAY CALLING (B)

First-and-goal at the 1-yard line against Maine, and you can’t run the ball across the goal line? The three straight passing plays were suspect, especially when the last one brought back horrific memories from last season.

OVERALL (C)

A fairly unimpressive victory against a Division I-AA team isn’t what Bill Callahan and his staff needed to ease nerves in this state. While the defense played sound, the offense clearly has way to go. Then again, nobody in the Big 12 overwhelmed I-AA foes Saturday night. So maybe there’s hope yet.

— Brian Rosenthal