Final take: Nebraska's scoring issues on offense continue in 34-3 loss at Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Nebraska has a problem right now. They can’t score points on offense.
Since quarterback Casey Thompson was injured in the second quarter vs. Illinois on Oct. 29, the Huskers have scored just one touchdown and two field goals in 10 quarters. They have gone 20 straight drives now without a touchdown.
Since the firing of head coach Scott Frost, the offense under Mark Whipple has scored 14+ points just twice. We saw much of the same in the Huskers’ 34-3 loss at Michigan.
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Whipple, Purdy both left the game in the second quarter
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the NU offense, both Whipple and starting quarterback Chubba Purdy left the game with injuries in the second quarter.
Whipple was taken out on the sideline after Nebraska’s offense scored their first and only points of the game in the late second quarter. During a kickoff return, Michigan return specialist A.J. Henning got tackled into Whipple near the Husker bench.
“I didn’t see it, but I guess he got whipped out,” head coach Mickey Joseph said of the play involving Whipple.
The 65-year-old Whipple fell hard to the turf and left the game on a cart. He received x-rays at halftime and called the second-half plays from the press box. A source confirmed to HuskerOnline that offensive analyst Steve Cooper called the first three plays of the third quarter before Whipple made it to the booth and took back over.
“He was still calling the plays, so nothing was really different,” quarterback Logan Smothers said of the second half playcalling situation.
As for Purdy, he left the game on crutches after suffering a high-ankle sprain on a play where he attempted to slide. His outlook for the rest of the season does not look good.
Smothers played the rest of the way until walk-on Jarrett Synek entered the game late. Heinrich Haarberg did not travel to Ann Arbor.
The better question now is will Thompson return for the Wisconsin and Iowa games?
“It’s up to Casey. He still has some nerve damage in his pinky,” Joseph said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. I’m sure if I look at my phone, he’s already texted me or called me to say he’s ready to play next week. We’ll take it day-by-day Casey. We won’t put Casey out there unless he can play at a high level.”
And now what’s left to play for? At 3-7, the Huskers have failed to qualify for a bowl game. It’s been since 2016 when the last time Nebraska played in a bowl game.
“We’ve got two more games together,” defensive lineman Colton Feist said. “Stuff might be different after the game. Who knows who will be here – players, coaches, stuff like that. We are just going to try to come together and do everything we can to win these last two games. These are two big games against Wisconsin and Iowa. We are playing for something still.”
Now on to the breakdown…
What I saw on Saturday
***Purdy got the start but left the game with an ankle injury during a QB run/slide play. He was on crutches with a boot on in the third quarter.
***The situation with Whipple was very scary. Whipple has battled various medical issues this season already, and he left the game at halftime to have x-rays done. Joseph said Whipple called the second half of the game from the booth vs. the sideline.
***I thought Nebraska had a good approach on offense early. The Huskers slowed the pace down with what they were doing, and the overall possessions were minimized. In the end, it still didn’t matter.
***With Myles Farmer suspended, Nebraska started Isaac Gifford at safety and Javin Wright took his spot at nickel.
*** Pre-snap penalties were an issue on Saturday, as were bad snaps from center Trent Hixson. Both Hixson and tight end Travis Vokolek got pre-snap penalties that were big setbacks early in the game for the Huskers.
***You could sense the frustration in Michigan Stadium at times. The Wolverines did not play their best football. Jim Harbaugh also took some heat with some heat for his game management to end the first half.
****Nebraska tried to get wide receiver Trey Palmer going, but he never could break free. On 10 targets, Palmer had five catches for 12 yards. He also had a key drop in the first half.
***Freshman linebacker Ernest Hausmann was one of the bigger bright spots that came out of the game for Nebraska. His presence was felt on the field and you could see the type of player he’s going to be in the future.
The final grade out
| Grade | HOL take | |
| Rushing offense | D- | Nebraska’s average sack-adjusted yards per carry was just 3 yards. Anthony Grant had 11 carreis for 22 yards. NU’s two longest runs were 12 and 13-yard scrambles from Chubba Purdy. |
| Pass offense | F | The Huskers completed just one pass play of 15+ yards. The Huskers were just 10-of-20 passing for 71 yards. NU finished just 5-of-15 on third downs vs. Michigan. |
| Rushing defense | D | Rushing defense is tough to grade when the offense struggles to put up points. Michigan wore Nebraska down by the game’s end. The Wolverines had 275 sack-adjusted rushing yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Blake Corum had 162 yards rushing on 28 carries. He was as good as advertised. |
| Passing defense | B | Nebraska’s pass defense was one of the biggest bright spots. Hausmann and Garrett Nelson had sacks, and Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy struggled at times, completing 8-of-17 passes for 129 yards. The Wolverines for 4-of-10 on third down. The problem was getting them to third down. |
| Special teams | B+ | Brian Buschini averaged 43.1 yards on seven punts and Timmy Bleekrode has now made seven field goals in a row. Omar Brown nearly blocked a punt, and Phalen Sanford made two good tackles on punt coverage. A.J. Henning had just 11 punt return yards on four attempts. |
