In Eugene, Oregon, losing offensive coordinator Will Stein to the a head coaching position at the University of Kentucky, where he has led the Wildcats to wins in five of its first six games this fall, was roundly considered a devastating blow. In fact, his successor, Drew Mehringer, has been viewed as a major reason the Ducks — a popular preseason favorite to win their first national championship — have played so poorly on offense as they got off to a 3-2 start.
I cannot disprove that theory. Yet Mehringer, who was Stein’s understudy last year, proved in the Ducks’ 17-14 win over Nebraska that he has grasped an important truth that seems to have eluded his much more experienced counterpart, Nebraska’s Dana Holgorsen.
When the going gets tough, it’s more important than ever to remain balanced on offense.
Nebraska ran the football only once in the fourth quarter, as its offense cratered and its defense wore down. One time! Meanwhile, Oregon found bountiful success in remaining balanced, running the ball 18 times and passing it 18 more after former Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola came off the bench to lead the Ducks to victory. Oregon had the ball for nearly 13 minutes in the fourth period.
At halftime, NU had run 43 plays to Oregon’s 27 and had nearly 19 minutes of possession time to Oregon’s 11. It took an astonishing role reversal for Nebraska to lose this game.
Mehringer and the Ducks accomplished nothing of worth in the first half, rushing the ball just 12 times for 20 yards, and got almost nothing between the tackles. But Mehringer learned a thing or two — most notably, keep feeding your best running back.
Going into Saturday night’s game, Dierre Hill Jr., a 5-foot-9, 205-pound running back for Oregon, had 42 carries for 192 yards and had caught 10 passes for 178 yards. Jamal Rule had 42 carries for 264 yards. In other words, both were important parts of their respective teams’ offense.
At halftime, with Nebraska leading 7-0, Rule had carried the ball three times for five yards. Hill had carried the ball three times for negative-one yard. He had no success between the tackles at all. But Mehringer kept using him, and eventually he found a lot of success. He led all rushers with 67 yards on 14 carries, almost all of it in the fourth quarter, and much of it between the tackles.
Rule, who already has proven he has better north-south instincts than anyone else in the Husker backfield, never touched the ball in the second half. Not once. His lack of use borders on the absurd.
When NU did run the ball, all too often, Holgorsen tried to beat the Oregon defense to the edge. Time and time again, those sweeps and outside zones didn’t work. You have to run the ball between the tackles to wear down and defeat a fast, athletic team like that, as Tom Osborne learned in several Orange Bowl losses to Miami and Florida State in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I don’t think Holgorsen has watched those films, but I get the feeling Mehringer just might have.
To be fair, Holgorsen was not the only problem in the fourth quarter, when Nebraska melted into a pool of good intentions. It’s evident as the Huskers head into a much-needed midseason bye week that they still are not good enough in the offensive and defensive lines to hold their own in the upper division of the Big Ten.
Teams like Iowa, Ohio State, and perhaps even Washington coming up on Halloween, will stack the line, put a spy on Anthony Colandrea and force him to beat them with his arm. Nebraska’s passing game is simply not good enough to do that without Rule, and either Isaiah Mozee or Mekhi Nelson, playing a major role running the ball. If I’m the Washington defensive coordinator, I want Rule to spend the second half on the bench again.
Huskers Radio Network sideline reporter Jessica Coody reported that on more than one occason, Matt Rhule verbally challenged his offensive line during the second half. But if Holgorsen hasn’t bought in, and you’re not going to run Rule behind it, what’s the point?
Although it could have, Nebraska never ran the ball effectively Saturday night at Eugene, finishing with a paltry 78 net rushing yards. And when winning time came, the Blackshirts allowed a mediocre Oregon offense to impose its will, cranking out 11 first downs in the fourth quarter alone.
Two weeks ago, Rhule was 22-4 at Nebraska when leading at the half. Now he’s 22-6. The Huskers could have turned a corner. Now that opportunity must wait until the final two games of the season.
The offensive line has not made as much progress under Geep Wade as I thought it had. But the defense was simply disappointing. It was clear they had what they needed to stop Oregon’s last drive, but nobody made a play to close out the Ducks when the opportunity arose. Oregon used a three-man pass rush to effectively pressure Colandrea in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Nebraska was unable to put meaningful pressure on Raiola with a four-man rush.
Could the Blackshirts have stood tall and preserved the victory? Yes, they could have. It was not a proud moment for defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, who didn’t blitz Raiola late in the game when it might have made the difference.
True, this was a game that back in July, very few thought Nebraska would win. But it became a beautiful opportunity for a breakthrough, which is why it hurts so much to let it slip through your fingers in the final minute. The Huskers continue to promiscuously give away opportunities for national relevance. That’s a pattern that Matt Rhule absolutely has to break.
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