Huskers Open 2020 on Saturday in Columbus - University of Nebraska - huskers.com

samasamp.blogspot.com

Story Links

• Game Notes

NEBRASKA at OHIO STATE
OCT. 24, 2020 | OHIO STADIUM
COLUMBUS, OHIO | 7 P.M. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin
SATELLITE RADIO - XM 382
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com, TuneIn.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App, TuneIn App

HUSKERS
2019 Record: 5-7, 3-6 Big Ten
Last Game: Iowa (L, 28-31, 11/29/19)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost
Career/NU Record: 28-22 (5th Year)/9-15 (3rd Year) 
vs. Ohio State: 0-2

BUCKEYES
2019 Record: 13-1, 9-0 Big Ten
Last Game: Clemson (L, 23-29, 12/28/19)
Rankings: AP - 5th
Coach: Ryan Day
Career/OSU Record: 16-1 (2nd Year)/16-1 (2nd Year)
vs. Nebraska: 1-0

The Matchup
The Nebraska Cornhuskers begin an abbreviated 2020 season on Saturday when the Huskers travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the fifth-ranked and defending Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes. 

Nebraska, which is playing its latest season opener in more than 125 years, is scheduled to play a nine-game, conference-only schedule. NU will take on all six Big Ten West opponents in addition to crossover contests with Big Ten East opponents Ohio State and Penn State. The ninth game will be part of "Big Ten Champions Week" where all seven Big Ten games will be cross-divisional matchups between teams in similar standings in the East and West divisions, including the Big Ten Championship Game.

Saturday's season opener marks Nebraska's first game in 330 days, dating back to Black Friday last year. The stretch of 330 days without a game is the second-longest in school history, trailing only the 331 days between the 1892 and 1893 seasons. Saturday's game also pits two of college football's historical powers against each other. Nebraska and Ohio State are two of the seven college football programs who have won 900 games, and Saturday's contest will be just the eighth meeting in college football history between 900-win programs.

Ohio State defeated Nebraska 48-7 in Lincoln last year, but the Huskers were competitive in their last trip to the Horseshoe. In 2018, Nebraska led by five at halftime before falling 36-31 to the eighth-ranked Buckeyes. That game marks the last time Ohio State has trailed at any point in the second half at home.

Scott Frost begins his third season as Nebraska's head coach on Saturday. Frost, the 2017 national coach of the year, is 9-15 in his first two seasons with nine losses by seven or fewer points, including eight by five or fewer points.

Series History
Ohio State holds a 7-1 all-time edge in the series, including a 5-1 advantage since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. 

• The schools are meeting for the fifth straight season and will meet again next year in Lincoln before taking a break from the series in 2022.

• Nebraska won the first matchup between the schools as Big Ten opponents, a 34-27 win at Memorial Stadium in 2011, the Huskers' first-ever Big Ten home game. Nebraska rallied from a 27-6 deficit to post its first Big Ten victory, marking the largest comeback in school history. 

• With Ohio State ranked No. 5 in this week's Associated Press poll, the Buckeyes have been ranked no lower than 12th in the past six meetings between the schools and in the top 10 in each of the past five matchups.

• In Scott Frost's lone trip to Columbus in 2018, Nebraska fell to No. 8 Ohio State 36-31. The five-point setback marks the only home game the Buckeyes have failed to win by double digits over the past two seasons.

Huskers-Ohio State Matchup Pits Two Traditional Powers
Saturday's matchup features two of the historically dominant programs in college football. Ohio State and Nebraska are two of only seven teams who have won 900 games, with Ohio State ranking second all-time with 924 wins and the Huskers ranking seventh with 902 victories. 

• Saturday's matchup between the Huskers and Buckeyes is just the eighth in college football history between 900-win programs, two of which have been Nebraska-Ohio State matchups.

• The schools have combined to win 1,826 games, 11 national championships and 86 conference titles, including five national championships and 46 conference crowns by Nebraska. 

Husker History in Season Openers
Nebraska has an impressive history in season openers. The Huskers have won 98 of their 130 season openers, winning their first game more than 77 percent of the time while posting a 98-27-5 record. 

• Nebraska is 33-2 in its first game of the season dating back to 1986.

• The Huskers are opening a season on road for only the fourth time in the past 42 seasons and for the first time since 1999, when Nebraska began its Big 12 championship season with a 42-7 win at Iowa.

Frost Set for Third Season
Scott Frost is set for his third season at Nebraska in 2020. The consensus 2017 national coach of the year, Frost boasts a 28-22 career record in four seasons as a collegiate head coach.

• Frost is 9-15 in his first two seasons at Nebraska, with nine losses by seven or fewer points, including eight by five or fewer points.

• Nebraska went 5-7 in 2019, a one-game improvement over the previous two seasons. NU's 12-game schedule in 2019 featured six teams that were ranked in the top 25 at least once during the season, including four that finished the year in the top 15.

• Frost has improved upon his team's previous season record every year he has been a head coach. At UCF, Frost - who inherited a winless team - went from 6-7 in his first season to 13-0 in year two. He improved by one game at Nebraska from 2018 to 2019.

• At UCF, Frost became the first coach in FBS history to turn a winless team into an undefeated team in just two years.

• Of Frost's 10 assistant coaches, seven have been with him in each of his five seasons as a collegiate head coach, while Mike Dawson has been on four of Frost's five staffs. 

• In 13 years as a full-time assistant or head coach, Frost's teams have posted a 131-40 record, averaging more than 10 wins per season. Frost has been a part of seven conference championship teams in his 13 seasons and has twice coached in the national championship game. 

• Frost's teams have been ranked in the top 15 in 10 of his 13 seasons, including eight final top-10 rankings and six final top-five rankings.

New Faces, New Roles on Husker Coaching Staff
Seven of Nebraska's 10 full-time assistant coaches return for their third season in 2020, and all seven have been a member of Scott Frost's staff for his entire five-year head coaching career. The Huskers also welcome two new assistant coaches this season, but both are familiar with Frost.

• Matt Lubick joins the staff as Nebraska's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Lubick previously was the offensive coordinator at Pac-12 powers Oregon and Washington. He succeeded Frost as the Ducks' offensive coordinator, as Lubick was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in each of Frost's three seasons as Oregon's offensive coordinator.

• The other new face on the Husker sideline is a familiar one. Mike Dawson, who was on Frost's staff for both seasons at UCF, coached the Husker defensive line in 2018 before moving on to the NFL in 2019, coaching outside linebackers for the New York Giants. In his return to Nebraska, Dawson will coach the outside linebackers.

• In addition to the two new full-time assistant coaches, Frost announced new titles and roles for two other members of the staff. Greg Austin adds the title of run game coordinator to his duties as offensive line coach, while Ryan Held will serve as recruiting coordinator in addition to continuing his role as running backs coach.

• The Husker staff features three Broyles Award nominees in defensive coordinator Erik Chinander (2016 at UCF), offensive coordinator Matt Lubick (2012 at Duke) and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco (2018 at Nebraska). The Broyles Award is presented annually to the nation's top assistant coach. Lubick was also named the national wide receivers coach of the year and an AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year finalist in 2012.

Huskers Return Offensive Production
Nebraska boasts plenty of returning offensive production in 2020. NU returns more than 80 percent of its yards from last year in rushing (86 percent), passing (82 percent) and total offense (82 percent).

• Nebraska returns its top three rushers from last season in Dedrick Mills (745), Adrian Martinez (626) and Wan'Dale Robinson (340). 

• The Husker rushing attack improved throughout 2019. Nebraska averaged 254 rushing yards per game over its final three contests while facing a pair of top-15 rushing defenses in that stretch (No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 14 Iowa). 

• Mills averaged 115.7 rushing yards per game over Nebraska's final three contests, despite playing only the first half of the Huskers' win at Maryland. He ran for a career-high 188 yards on 17 carries against Wisconsin, averaging more than 11 yards per carry. Mills' 188 individual yards were more rushing yards than Wisconsin allowed to 11 of the 12 other teams it faced during the 2019 season. 

• NU also returns its leading passer in Adrian Martinez (1,956 yards), while Luke McCaffrey showed promise in limited action last year, completing 9-of-12 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

• In the receiving game, Nebraska must replace two of its three leading receivers from 2019. Wan'Dale Robinson, who split time at running back last fall, is NU's top returning receiver after he ranked second on the team with 40 catches and 453 receiving yards in 2019. Tight end Jack Stoll also returns after ranking third with 25 catches in 2019 and fourth with 234 receiving yards.

• Robinson was one of four national finalists for the Paul Hornung Award (nation's most versatile player) in 2019, joining Ameer Abdullah as the only Huskers to be a Hornung Award finalist. Robinson was also on the preseason watch list for the 2020 Paul Hornung Award, while Stoll earned a spot on the Mackey Award (nation's top tight end) watch list in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

• With Nebraska most likely to rely on newcomers at the wideout position, NU signed the top junior college wide receiver in the 2020 class (Omar Manning) and the No. 12 high school wideout  and top 60 overall recruit (Zavier Betts). Nebraska also added graduate transfer Levi Falck, who caught 70 passes for 774 yards in 24 games the past three seasons at South Dakota.

A Tale of Two Lines
Nebraska returns every offensive line starter from last season, while the Huskers must replace every defensive line starter, as all three 2019 starting defensive linemen are on NFL rosters.

• Based on available records, 2020 is believed to be the first time Nebraska returns its entire starting offensive line since two-platoon systems were first allowed under NCAA rules in 1964.

• Nebraska is the only team in the country who had the same starting offensive line (by player and position) for every game during the 2019 season and returned all five of those starters.

• Nebraska had the same starting offensive line for all 12 games in 2019, one of eight teams nationally to start the same five linemen every game. It marked the first time since 2010 that NU had the same starting line for an entire season.

• Nebraska's five returning starting offensive linemen have combined for 106 career starts, including three players who have made at least 20 consecutive starts at their position. Entering the 2020 season, Nebraska's 106 combined starts among offensive linemen ranked eighth nationally.

• The returning starters are Brenden Jaimes (24 straight starts at left tackle; 33 straight starts overall), Matt Farniok (24 straight starts at right tackle), Boe Wilson (21 straight starts at right guard), Trent Hixson (12 straight starts at left guard) and Cam Jurgens (12 straight starts at center).

• Jaimes is a two-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick, while Wilson was honorable mention in 2018 and Jurgens is the only Husker freshman (true or redshirt) to ever start at center.

• On defense, the Huskers must replace all three defensive line starters, all of whom are now on NFL rosters. The last time Nebraska had to replace its entire defensive line was in 2016.

• Ben Stille is Nebraska's most experienced defensive lineman. The senior has started 14 games at defensive end in his career and is the Huskers' active leader with 23 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. Damion Daniels is the only other defensive lineman with a career start (1 start in 2019).

Husker Streaks Continue Into 2020 Season
A pair of impressive team streaks and several individual streaks will continue this season, while a legendary streak takes a one-year hiatus in 2020.

• Nebraska has sold out 375 consecutive games at Memorial Stadium, dating from the next-to-last home game of the 1962 season through all seven home games last season. With the Big Ten Conference decision to prohibit the sale of tickets this year, the Huskers' legendary sellout streak - an NCAA record - will pause during the 2020 season. Nebraska's streak will remain at 375 consecutive home sellouts until next year's home opener with Buffalo on Sept. 11, 2021.

• The Huskers have scored in 307 consecutive games. The streak is the longest in school history, the seventh-longest in FBS history and the fifth-longest active streak. The last time Nebraska was shut out was a 19-0 loss at No. 17 Arizona State on Sept. 21, 1996.

• Nebraska has also scored in 341 consecutive home games, a school record. The last time the Huskers were shut out at home came on Nov. 9, 1968 against Kansas State (12-0 loss).

• The Huskers scored at least 35 points twice in seven home games last season. Nebraska is 251-0 all-time when scoring 35 or more points at home. Scott Frost is also 21-0 in his head coaching career when his team scores at least 35 points.

• Several individual Huskers have double-digit streaks of consecutive starts, including five offensive linemen. Brenden Jaimes has started 33 consecutive games overall and 24 straight at left tackle, Dicaprio Bootle (cornerback/safety), Matt Farniok (right tackle) and Jack Stoll (tight end) have each started 24 consecutive games, Boe Wilson (right guard) has made 21 consecutive starts and Trent Hixson (left guard) and Cam Jurgens (center) have each started 12 consecutive games.

Print Friendly Version

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"open" - Google News
October 20, 2020 at 12:49AM
https://ift.tt/2HdwDJT

Huskers Open 2020 on Saturday in Columbus - University of Nebraska - huskers.com
"open" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bYShMr
https://ift.tt/3d2SYUY

Bagikan Berita Ini