Film breakdown of Nebraska football's 40-7 win over UTEP

Intro hello everyone welcome to the black shirt breakdown my name is Steve Mark I'm a staff riter at inside Nebraska part of the rivals.com Network and that man over there that is Jay Foreman our NFL veteran and former Nebraska black shirt Jay we are back um this is our debut show for the 2024 season and Nebraska is one and0 that has not happened since 2019 uh you know they got the 40 to7 win over the UTEP miners Scotty Walden's UTEP miners I think it was a good day overall um a lot of Good Vibes in Lincoln right now everybody's kind of feeling good about themselves uh what did you uh first of all Jay how are you doing and what was your game day like what was your game day experience like what did you think of the game well I mean overall I mean this is good Steve I mean we started last year two uh close losses and and you know this would have been Minnesota week last last week or last year excuse me uh so my game d experience was good anytime Nebraska can win it's a good it's a good game day experience I don't care who we play um but overall you know to be honest with you I was uh I was happy and impressed I mean uh you know look they came out and they uh you know I thought last year they started to look like a I could see kind of what coach Rule and staff were trying to do um and then I feel like with a you know young young pup playing quarterback and obviously he's very mature Beyond his years um I don't think you could have asked for a better outcome I think you know from the physicality standpoint they uh you know imposed their will at times on offense and I think defense did came out there and uh was consistent you know to what they did last year so in special teams I think with igc back there had a couple decent returns uh and looked like the EMP so overall I think everything that they said that they were trying to attend to in the offseason you could see it in always say tangible asset and that's a tangible um viewing asset that that that they looked like they improved at it or at least worked at it just some basic stats for the viewers at home Nebraska outgained UTEP in total yardage 507 to 205 uh Nebraska rushed for 223 yards they threw for 284 yards so it was a pretty balanced day offensively as well Nebraska getting that run game going um you know popping off 4.7 yards per carry and also the possession time I thought was really kind of interesting too Nebraska held on held on to the ball for over 38 minutes and held UT for um having having the ball for a little over 21 um minutes so utep's defense was on the field a long time and I thought that um was kind of cool to see especially on a very hot day especially on the on the field Turf I was down there it felt like 120 or something like that so anytime you can keep your your defense your old veteran uh guys on the sideline under underneath that shade um it's it's a good deal so um yeah for the viewers at home we got about five plays from the game uh that Jay will be breaking down here and then after that we'll just give a few thoughts on the Colorado uh matchup that's you know a really really massive matchup it's going to be absolutely crazy in Lincoln but Jay let let's get the let's get the plays rolling here first thing first things Film breakdown first how can we not start with Dylan R and that third and 11 um throw here um in the first quarter on on Nebraska's first offensive Drive of of the of the game um what do you see here obviously um this was a first down completion to Isaiah ner on an in-breaking route um again just looking at the protection here which I thought the offensive line yesterday did really really well keeping keeping Dylan R clean um and opening some running Lanes too so uh Jay take it away third and 11 completion from Dylan Rola to Isaiah n you know I'm big on the cause and effect and before we get started here you know this this third and 11 was preceded by uh you know it was it was second and uh 30 and he h a 19 yard pass so look there's not a lot of you know second and 30 plays there you know but listen when you have a lot of confidence in what you can do in your god-given ability and then also you've earned the respect the coaches that you can do it you know set up plays like this I like the procket pocket presence I like the pocket um and then I like the ability I like it that Dan marinho used to do this and I'm not comparing Dylan to this but you know you don't have to be the fastest guy to be effective Runner if you need it or or be effective in the pocket watch this right here um very relaxed in what he's doing he's done this a million times but look at the bounce right here in the way he's doing it right you see this climbing in the pocket he's like it eyes are downfield he's manipulating the defense there but then the ability you know I was say they compare it to Patrick Mahomes look there's one there's the UMP two and a late Defender coming over here from the side essentially within four guys uh you can fit it in there um with accuracy with and more importantly the right trajectory and velocity on the ball so it's accuracy comes from trajectory and velocity and look at pinpoint accuracy right there on the Move being able to throw Guys open too right so look where the ball placement is which is huge watch this is a great angle right here what look at the eyes right here in anticipation throwing it where he's going to be and throwing it where where he's going to be open Watch the UMP right here right almost going to get his head taken up but look at this right here and look where ner is on when he releases the ball so when you fit it in between three guys look at the hands right here there's only one guy that can catch it right through all those Defenders this is not I always say this is not for the faint of heart and this is not peee League football this is a big time pass right there and a big time catch right there but then also it's something that you have to practice you know granted game game time you know you got to go over your Natural Instincts but this is natural because he's repped it and he hasn't and the thing about um I'd say for Dylan um he has a obviously a really good trainer so the things that he's doing with him and then obviously doing in practice he's training like a game this is a game like training session right here Step Up eyes downfield boom and it almost had like a a little bit of a like when a plane takes off it kind of the tra trajectory goes up look how low it starts right here yep see watch this and it's like a rising fast ball see how right there look where it's about eye level when he releases it and then it's above head level when he catches it because why you got to throw it to where your only only your guy can make the catch and the defender can sometimes a great throw beats good defense this is pretty decent coverage right here when he steps up boom in between three Four Guys definitely within two over the ums ums head and then uh you know P Point accuracy and then he has the the right trajectory and accuracy and location for it and also a good route there by ner because now you got the first down and you keep the drive going absolutely and everybody kind of knows about Dylan's arm Talent his accuracy that was on display that's something that we've uh seen you can see it in his high school highlights from Buford Georgia and his other two other two stops in his high school career but also what was really impressive was uh his just ownership at the line of scrimmage his ownership of the offense right also also Steve is he well he that's one thing that I would say people don't um do a good good enough job of evaluating right here right number one I want to give a shout out to I think uh was that ramir right there help with the chip block good job there giving Turner on a because number zero can rush the passer here Maurice Westmore he's an NFL guy to some people he can he can rush to passer so let's get that you know out there because I want to get the props there but more importantly you mentioned it you know pocket presence U presence in the Huddle having command of the offense and command of the defense or are good anticipation of what they're going to do so when you're a football you could tell just how Dylan move like the confidence that he he walks as an as a football player yeah comes from preparation and it's not just throwing you know he eats right he trains right he thinks right and he's in the film room and so that's where you able to take these wouldn't even call this uh guesses this is a this is a a everyday thing for him uh because it just comes natural yeah and I think we see that right now in a different part of the game where he's looking at the defense he's seeing one thing and he's changing he's making a change and then I think he maybe does it three times here and it ends up with a 42 yard run from Emma Johnson yeah more importantly when you when you have command of the offense and uh obviously you know what you're doing and he's 18 years old run you know he's he's orchestrating the offense right here against this defense right and so film study allow him to to go to the line and check not once check the protection not twice now he likes him to get over there and what happens in when you start wearing a team out they don't they don't stem as much right everybody look at the defensive backs here the four guys in the back they're all at the same level so Dylan already knows one of those guys need to come up right so that's essentially you can manipulate the defense with the call and you get into a really good run play Here by EMT and EMT doeses a really good job right here of U you know I look at things from a defensive perspective perspective how to get skinny so watch when these two defenders close in on EMT right here uh after this you know good great job by Dylan you know checking the play watch how he gets skinny and gets vertical and almost like I would say like a sobriety test right here one foot in front of the other so got two guys right here that have good angles right here watch this right here comes tight off of that guard's butt sets it up with the timing watch him get up the field right there see that watch how he get see this right there see how you kind of almost cross over and both of those that's how you make a guy Miss and this has this is where you have to really be able to evaluate a running back from a defensive perspective because I had to deal with it all the time Steve I you know maybe lost a little money trying to tackle Marshall Faulk right here but watch this right here get get up the hash right here watch how he gets right left over right right there I call it the sobriety test because it's one foot over the other and then he gets back and tries to get to the sideline and gets explosive run right there on a third and five but it starts and stops with uh Dylan and him having the play recognition and the pre- snap read and a double pre- snap read and then also uh EMT hitting the hitting this play correctly with the perfect timing look how he sets up his block right here on this linebacker right now his bad footwork here right here right he sets it up right bad eyes by the linebacker but the bad eyes are built off of Emitt running it and look how he gets back to it he's going left but gets back up field so that safety number one doesn't have a clear shot at him to make the tackle because he's already did his work early by setting up the linebacker plays side and the linebacker showing you right here at the end of the play watch it he know he messed up I've been here before on this not on a big run but watch this right here watch the clap right here boom he know he missed it boom and it's number 19 he knows like like he had a bad read too and uh you know was out the gate yeah so right there so it was bad read on a couple of those guys but it's set up by the pre-nap read but was more importantly it's set up before the game even started the having knowledge and the Acumen of the offense and the command of the offense allows you to study film in a different way so you can anticipate and it probably was alert for one of the coaches I'm assuming and he was able to change change the play not once but twice the line of scrimmage led to a big play um talk about anticipation you know with the defense right now I thought they played uh great aside from you know that one touchdown drive that they gave up in the first half but um you talk about expectation anticipation you're backed up um at the yard line EPS offenses and Nebraska I you know I think they played really well on Saturday and I think they likely knew that there was an inside run coming and you know Ty Robinson nobody laid a hand on him he blew it up and also the the job that Nash Hut mocker does here but also Makai Bayer right behind him to shoot that b Gap and blow this thing up for his safety was beautiful yeah I mean Tai is you know looking like he wants to have a good senior year and I don't know why he's the biggest dude out there right 65 300 five pounds or whatever you don't block him but a good read there coming off the tackle's butt right here right and Tai makes the play and then Makai gar and also let's not forget look at Jamari Butler right here right a little laid off the ball right but look at this right here splits it gets in there good foure ey I call it a burp right there really burps that guard back so he can't get on maai and Makai gber was the beneficiary of the first Ty Robinson then also Nash and so in Jamari the whole defensive line on that offensive line right reset the line of scrimmage and if we go back to this watch this right look at Nash right here right and look at Tai right good off the ball right and then you got Makai up there where he gets lost in the shuffle a little bit the the left tackle supposed to get down on look at the eyes right there and then look at Jamari uh knocking him back and then obviously Makai shooting his gun as we like to like to call it and uh you know getting the safety along set there by by Ty Robinson then also Nash right there knocking the center back and that's what you want right there to win the line of scrimmage and when you got a team backed up like this right here right this is one I mean it's really not that that backed up but when you try to pull guys um that takes time yeah it takes time it's slow developing play we've seen Nebraska teams in the past be uh victimized by this back like when Mike Riley and them were backed up a couple times we were talking offline about Wisconsin but look at this Play I Like The Tackle though look at the leverage right there by m right he was tackling anybody that looked like they had the football right here watch this right when you see the Gap if you shoot it make it right double down right you see it he shoots it get look at look gets low right look how he knocks this guy back everybody on utap is catching big big 58 was pulling he got punched in the face and Makai I don't know if he he tackled he tackled the puller and then enough to the point that where Nash and him were able to kind of coexist and knock both of those guys back and and you know they had the butt fumble you know with the Jets this is kind of like the knock the lineman back and get the safety here watch this both of them really don't make the tackle the the offens of lineman make it watch watch this with first it's tie right kind of stymies him but then the the guard or the center and the the tackle that was trying to pull uh got knocked back into the running back right here watch this The Tackle makes the the offensive tackle makes the safety because Makai knocks in back and then Nash uh bullies the Center back there enough to where uh the running back's knees hit in the end zone ends up to a safety and anytime you can score on defense right whether it's Force fumble interception return for Touchdown or a safety or you could always say a block punt um it it it bodess well for the defense and this is when you got you got smell water in the blood man you got to go get it yeah and I think uh Matt rule was wanting that to be considered a turnover so the statistician did not make this a turnover and I don't know what if it if it you know technically is or not in football but you know he wanted Matt rule wanted uh three takeaways from the defense on Saturday with uh um that both interceptions two interceptions and then this uh reverse goal line stand if you will for that safy it all works the same way absolutely so let's go um let's just take a look at utep's Lone scoring Drive of the game and this is all three all three plays I decided to keep it in there because Scotty Walden's fast fast tempo offense they had it rolling especially on this drive and it was just bang bang bang so Jay this is going to be three consecutive plays and UTEP is snapping this thing with around 35 seconds and 30 seconds on the play clock so uh Nebraska was obviously following um they were trailing they're trying to keep up and um in the end Malcolm harthog gets beat on a slot fade or Sluggo whatever you want to call it and um UTEP gets on the board so Jay this is the first drive of utep's or the first play of utep's Drive what do you see yeah right here they try to they they're trying to just out leverage you here right quick pass right here get a little positive yard right get a first down um a little little little pretty much a slant right here a little discombobulation between between the corner and the safety right here just on Leverage right two both of them at the same level right you like to see the feet stop right there and break on the ball right that's just a little tidbit stuff that coach Butler will work with uh hartog and obviously Buford right so then you're able to he catches it and then he gets five or six yards run after the catch right yep so what a team like UTP does right they think like okay in a boxing match they hit like a little counter punch right there boom we got there right so now they're going to try to hit you with a body blow right quick Pace right see if you can you know a little run to see how uh effective you are in communication alignment assignment and aggressive so they catch you again right here right so they hit you with this one and these are predetermined plays after you get a first down playing against enough Tempo teams in the NFL and yes we they we went against Tempo way back in the day so what they do is they hit you with this one then they come back with a run play see if they can get you kind Alla Hugh frees when he was at Auburn to see if we can get a big explosive run uh probably I think the linebacker shot the Gap right there now you got double team yeah on gford right there so they got leverage now now we're in a position now that we got to make a you know a touchdown saving tackle so hardsaw came up right there right so that's the second play these are predetermined plays that's the only way that you can go with Tempo predeter plays because they've reped this in practice we get two explosive plays right it's like Sudden Change boom take it shot slot fade right there good pass uh even better catch decent coverage you would lik to be a little bit patient but um right here they get you reeling get you reeling then they try to hit you with a with a with a hay maker right here and and you see it right here right watch this quick snap right they're not even waiting to see what you're in they're throwing it it's almost throwing it eyes closed uh this is this let you know they've reped this because with the three plays of how fast they've ran running they know when they're in their kind of hurry up predetermined place right they're going to run to try to hit you with a quick slant try to run opposite the other way so they go right left right right and it's real simple once you once you see what they're what they're doing and it's afterwards um you see how effective that they can be at times and you can't do this all game right because you'll be able to kind of just run shell coverage and you can just do a you know predetermined uh coverage but you know I think that the series started after they had a a uh third down stop on Nebraska where you know yes uh we had a little I think a penalty you know we had a third and short then they got a penalty and they stopped us with two yards or so got the punt had a decent return quick quick pass run to the outside two plays right two first downs right away right out leverag just a little bit right and this is teaching tape this is good you know tape for good for next week because you got expect col Colorado already does some of this see they want to see if you can how fast you get quick how fast you can get lined up and communicate right here M they feel like you got one-on-one right you're not in press coverage don't have any safety help and they just throw it to the in between that that that pass is generally when you run a slot fade Sluggo especially when you're in man-to-man defense with the Stop Route here is generally going to be thrown in between the um the numbers and the sidelines and that's where you want because you're kind of running away from it um run running away from The Leverage of the defender right here right kind of a little bit of inside leverage right here watch number one he's going to eat up number right there right and then now you run away from the inside leverage now if you can get get the quarterback off of his release point right then it's a harder pass to to complete a little bit of a counteraction to uh you know slow down the the the rusher here from the outside right and this this is a really good executed play you got to give him credit though so I mean you know we knew coming in that he he brought a lot of guys in from Austin P that knew exactly what he wanted to do and if you go back and what people don't people don't understand if you go all you had to do is go back and look and see how they played against Alabama last year were taking shots three four a quarter you know so they they're coming in where they're they're they're they're all in in the middle of you know they're gambling um and trying to get the you know the most out of nothing so it's a quick series of what they did they had three explosive plays that they executed better than we were but I think also Nebraska knows now and you heard about it but so Nebraska knows now how to adjust but then also just a little bit more emphasis on um communication they'll be okay and and and Also let's not forget I mean this is a good this is a good pass a good route and to my decent enough coverage right it wasn't like you were blown coverage he's right there and you know he drops it in the bucket I mean he's there and he just kind of lost his little bit of balance there and he was dropped right there where you know um you know in the perfect position catch and and so you got to tip your hat a little bit um but ultimately it's the cause and effect you'd like to you know did a little bit better on the first couple plays maybe to deter them from maybe pushing that ball uh you know deep down the field in that third and we'll end on a good defensive play so Nebraska had officially two takeaways which Matt Rule and Tony White had to be happy with two interceptions and also that safety but uh Jay uh good job by kaiw on here forcing this pressure on the quarterback U probably impacted the throw a little bit um under thrown and and Malcolm harzog after he got burned on that slot fade uh he's the one who gets the interception yeah I mean you got to give Howard credit you got beaten when you play defensive back man you can play great all game and get beat once and so the confidence to be able to come back and meet play make plays is good that's what the that's what you want as a coach but it starts up front uh KY wallins has been uh you know a guy that we saw when he we uh did a break black shirt breakdown coming out of juko I liked him good leverage there right just walking the tackle back to uh into the quarterback's lap and in his face that's what you want good get off though right here speed the power right here right look at the get off right get off right there that's what I like I mean you know I'm not Terence n but I like to get off don't know much about pass Russ but right here right give him a little shimmy look at it gets it look at that long arming him right there and then the power and the strength right to walk him back into the quarterback's face and he got the hand up uh messed up the delivery of the ball right number one and then number two um allowed harthog to have a easy pitch and catch and it was good coverage there as well so um sure you know he he you know got got beaten the first you know first touchdown but he's able to come back and make a play for it and that's what you want to see as a coach is have a you know at least from my my perspective is come back to make plays don't go on the tank you know you're playing against good competition here no matter who's on the field they're uh division one players and you you got to keep making plays and you can stay in tuned in the Final thoughts game so um I think it's all set up by the you know look the best you know you know defense or best thing for defensive backs is a good pass rush um and that was a good pass rush there it's not all about sacks it's getting the quarterback off his spot getting his face in Havoc um making them make throws or throws that aren't in inaccurate and we saw the flip side with with Dylan where he's able to make pretty accurate throws because he had a pretty clean pocket all day um it's good to see Nebraska on the flip side uh speed to power bull rush long arm right there got right in front of the uh the quarterback allowed allowed for a pretty easy interception for Malcolm hsog the focus now shifts to Colorado uh next week in Lincoln Nebraska 6:30 uh PM kick national TV the place is going to be rocking the atmosphere is going to be absolutely crazy Jay you played against Colorado you had these epic showdowns with with the Buffalo what's this rivalry like to you being a former black shirt well yeah man I mean we you know we hate Colorado and I hope they hate us um it's the Colorado week when you're getting ready for Colorado is different it should be more intense um rightfully so you know I guess you respect every opponent but you definitely don't like Colorado don't like their fans and stuff like that so if you're up there last year you know why but um you know they're coming in with you know they got a lot of confidence and they got a couple days ahead start on as far as uh preparation but you know you know them you know who they got they know who we got I you know I feel like we got a better team and more equipped the in the second year Matt rule to handle them where you're at home Prime Time 6:30 um you shouldn't you know this is what you come to college for this is what you come to Nebraska for to play teams like Colorado in these situations uh big games and then so be it that is Colorado so there's going to be a lot going on and uh but you know that's where you got to really really focus as a team that's where leadership and and listening to your coaches and listening to the to the veteran players um there's going to be a lot of hoopla around this game right you and and that's a known and But ultimately the most important thing is doing everything that you can to the maximum on and off the field uh to put yourself in the best position to perform and win that game Saturday so I like our chances and um you know like like the way that the team is coming you know coming together we have about eight minutes left here but Jay before we get out of here what do you think of the buffalo's game against North Dakota State obviously North Dakota State we know about them they're FCS Powerhouse um shadur Sanders he went 26 of 34 for 445 yards he threw four touchdowns one interception which was kind of weird it bounced off a bison Defender leg yeah um what did you think of the buffalo's game against the Bison I mean they are who I mean look they're they're good they're a good team I mean everybody wants to say you know it's not a four gone conclusion that we're going to beat him I me they've beat him the last few times that we played Colorado regard you know it doesn't matter who was the quarterback or the coach but as far as they played you know I think offensively they looked really good um I felt like the offensive line is probably better than obviously they ended last year now granted it's only one game but just the they look like they are a little bit better talent-wise up front and that's goes for it defensively I think they struggled a little bit you know you know out of the gate defensively uh where Nebraska could probably pick up on some things but then also I think back Run game or delayed quarterback run game was the pretty much 90% of their offense um and that's not really our deal so I think you know I think they you you got to expect just like they expect us to be better than we were last year um they are who they are and um you know you just got to go and beat them I think you know being physical with them is one one thing that should be just a guarantee but I think out executing them um for 60 minutes is something that you know we can do and then obviously I think it's going to be a tough game um but I think like Nebraska chances I think Nebraska win the game I think um the I I think the the ability for at least from what I've seen Dylan to play keep away uh allows everybody else to play better and I think the more pressure we can put on Colorado offensively uh will lead to more chances defensively so I think I think Nebraska I I I truly say that believe this I felt like Nebraska beat themselves last year versus getting beat um I I do but but then also like I want to give K credit where they took advantage of some of the mistakes that we made but I felt like just the self-inflicted wounds if we and I don't think this team is built like that right um last year really hurt us I mean the first drive I mean we walked the ball down the field we did whatever we wanted gave him the ball there we had the other one where where we were kind of you know we got Colorado scored 14 we got the ball back it's continue we started to walk the ball down you know down there again through a pick those are the type of things that you you can look at it and and and and you can say listen Okay this is where we're at let's take these four or five plays and let's minimize these and look what how we got to this point and I think that interception um by Jeff Sims this I don't know what quarter it was I think that was after a penalty I think we had explosive play it got called back then we were behind the chains it was open just an inaccurate throw so I think if we do that I think we'll be do fine I think North Dakota state is you know um it's a new version of North Dakota State I don't think they depend on the run as much uh the new coach wants to open it up um and so I think you just got to play tough against these dudes man they they got Playmakers they're going to make plays um but we're going to make our plays too um and so you know I think the mindset is slowly but surely CH changing from instead of worrying about who they are let's just focus on how you know who we are and we'll be just fine excellent stuff as always so um that was that was a great black trp breakdown for Nebraska season opening win over UTEP 40 to7 over Scotty Walden's miners now the focus shifts to Colorado so uh for Jay Foreman my name is Steve Mark and that was a black shirt breakdown EP style catch you guys next week