It’s kind of odd to look back through some old Mirror’s from earlier this fall. It seems like 30 years ago. Oh, wait. We called Northern Iowa a “really good” football team. They haven’t won a game in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

We opted to take a long break after the debacle in Bloomington and gosh dang it if we haven’t had much good to type about since then. Our beloved Huskers haven’t won a game since, well, October 5th. It’s too amazing to even think about. And the close games, well.

A new guy is calling the plays. Who knows if it will get any better. I guess we get a couple more chances to find out. But, gosh, know this — Nebraska needs a sixth win. Matt Rhule needs a sixth win. Troy Dannen needs a sixth win.

Remember? (Go to 38:22)

“Look at me real quick. You guys want to know why we lose a lot of close games. You just saw it. We thud here, but because there are people watching you don’t want to look stupid because we are not leveraging the football and we are just grabbing people and pulling them down.

“Which means you are either not a good athlete or you are not doing what we are trying to do. Our seniors, that first drive they go sit on the bench in a practice. Then a fight breaks out; a fight breaks out in front of the fans. I’ll make my point. That this is WHY WE LOSE. The minute there are people here we don’t do what we do.

“How about we have pride in how we practice, Jimari? Do your job the right way while we are out here, yes? Yes sir. Do everything right. You can’t change your shot with the game on the line. You do what you do and I am demanding you do it right. …. I am not losing, and that was losing.”

It seems, just maybe, this continues to linger in Lincoln. Nebraska is losing.

“It’s time to win.”

Even if the quarterback guaranty’s a bowl game (a win!), Dylan will probably find out real soon that Husker fans very rarely “log out.” Just not our style.

As always, you get The Mirror because our friends at South Central Chiropractic in Sutton said you should. We are trying to keep the bad news — the junk — away, but at some point you have to come back and write something. Anything.

What Do We Even Say?

The Mirror would problaby get lumped in that “Run The Damn Ball” guy group therapy session. Sure, it’s how we were raised. But, more importantly it’s the main ingredient in winning football.

Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana are ranked 2-4 in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game. Oregon not far behind. Tennessee runs it 46 times a game. Alabama 38. SMU 41. Miami just 34 but for the second best average per carry in the ACC. Boise State? 40 times for 6.5 yards a carry.

Nebraska is one of six teams in the Big Ten under 4-yards per carry. It’s not good. There are two camps here: Nebraska’s line stinks so we don’t run it and Nebraska is no good at running because they don’t call running plays. On Saturday, best we can tell, Nebraska called 20 runs. 20!! To 43 passes. Not gonna win you many; starting at Pop Warner.

How about the 20, though? The running backs carried 18 times for 107 yards. It was pretty good. That will hunt if it can move to 25 and 165. That’s winning football in Nebraska’s last two games. Dana Holgerson — the new player caller — wasn’t as enthused (and maybe that’s good). It appears that Dana thinks we can be better. Let’s hope he doesn’t give up on it.

"There were a lot of yards left out there. There's a hole like this (his arms’ wide at Tuesday’s press conference), and the back's not in it, it's discouraging," he said. "We've got to get those guys to open their eyes and trust their blocks and hit it."

“Put your head down try to prepare,” Holgerson said.

That might be all Nebraska needs to be the next two weeks. No slogans. No fluff. Just work and let the result speak for itself.

The Standard

I guess we’ll make grading the standard a weekly thing here. See how it goes. USC game only here.

1. Win the turnover battle. An even game, sure. But, Nebraska scores directly on a pick six and then forces a fumble in the red zone. Generally, that should win you a football. Raiola’s two interceptions hurt, but caused little harm. GRADE: C. 

2. Most physical team in football. I don’t know. Show me you can run it 30 times. Can we talk then? GRADE: F.

3. Culture of execution. You can only win close games by executing. Nebraska isn’t winning close games. Not making any big plays. They have to make them. GRADE: D- (only because we still have a chance at a bowl game).

Two weeks and two big games left. Not much else to say. Maybe we just need to shut up and watch. Remember The Mirror, always free thanks to our sponsor. But, be careful. You might get what you pay for.