Nebraska has a very good first game!

Nebraska played well in their first game of the year. The offense looks explosive and the defense actually played better than I thought while watching the game. Here are some observations from the game. The one thing we don't know is how good Southern Miss. is but I think they will be competitive this year.

1. Taylor Martinez played very well. His passes were sharp and he was going to his second and third receivers. His maturity is showing and he is still only a junior. Martinex seemed to have more time to pass (offensive line) and the receivers made some great plays and didn't drop the ball. Kyler Reed made a couple of great grabs. Tyler Wullenwaber is good. Tyler Evans made a nice catch. Tariq Allen played and then we had our normal play from Kenny Bell, Jamal Turner, and don't forget Quincy Enunwa who had one of the plays of the day draggin defenders down the field. He also is a great blocker.
2. Kudos to the offensive line. Justin Johnson, Quale,Choi, Long, Sirles, Pensick and crew all played well. They protected Martinez well and opened up some nice holes. Ben Cotton had a nice block on the Burkhead run for a TD. The offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage.
3. The running backs look very sharp. Burkhead was headed to a great day with 57 yards on three carries and a TD. Then he got hurt. Abdullah, Heard, and Cross played well. Didn't seem to miss a beat but Burkhead is still special. Mike Marrow had a good game at fullback.
4. The defensive line did well. Baker Steinkuhler had a great game from my seat. Ankrah had some good plays also.
5. Will Compton had a very good game and made tackles and defended the pass pretty well. Alonzo Whaley was impressive. Nebraska played nickle most of the day with a little dime. Sean Fisher was hardly on the field because of their offense. We will see more of him later. Josh Mitchell and Sean-Baptiste played very well. I thought Damoin Stafford had a good game. We seemed to miss some tackles at times and we allowed yards on the ground. They ended with 280 yards which we will need to improve on.
6. Heat. I think it was the hottest game I have ever been to. I mowed yesterday in 96 degree weather and when I got done, that is how I felt at the game. It felt like a 110 degrees, no air, and people stuck to each other. They treated 300 and 15 went to the hospital. Not a good day to go get drunk before the game. Most of those they carried out were younger kids.
7. Injuries. Burkhead is 50-50 for this week. He has a mild sprained knee but not something you want to get worse. Marlowe is out until late October-early November with a broken clavicle. Ben Cotton has torn cartilage on his ribs. Very painful but he is expected to play this week vs. UCLA. Mo Seisay did not suit up Saturday. He is a cornerback that is expected to play this year.
8. Brett Maher and special teams had a horrific day. No worry for Maher. Saw him practicing before the game and at halftime and the kid is good. He'll be back quickly. They may want to make some personnel adjustments on the kickoff team.

The Nebraska volleyball team had two sweeps this weekend against Colgate and UC-Irvine. Very impressive.

This is from Huskers.com.  
Nebraska freshman middle blocker Meghan Haggerty was honored by the Big Ten Conference on Monday as she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The award marks her first Big Ten weekly honor.
Haggerty hit .545 against UC Irvine over the weekend, recording seven kills on 11 swings to go along with four blocks to help the Huskers to a 3-0 victory. She averaged 2.3 kills and 1.3 blocks per set in the match.

The Huskers return to action this weekend as they host the 2012 Ameritas Players Challenge at the NU Coliseum.

How about Frank Solich and the Ohio Bobcats. Penn St. is a good team this year. Their penalties haven't really hurt them yet even though they lost a handful of players. The Bobcats are led by QB Tyler Tettleton, who is the son of former major leaguer Mickey Tettleton. Tettleton threw for 3,302 yards last year.

Hear great things about Joe Ganz. Sounds like he will continue to move up in the coaching ranks.