Week 2: Goodbye Scott Frost (UPDATE)

 Week 2

Welp…that was disappointing. Following Scott Frost’s second loss to a Sun Belt team, Georgia Southern exploited Nebraska’s defensive weaknesses leading to yet another heartbreaking one-possession loss in Lincoln. 

In a season of change and pure hype, the Huskers have one issue remaining from last season. That issue is Scott Frost. Scott Frost entering his tenure as the Husker head coach had the entire state behind him, now, not so much. The fan support dropped immensely following the Northwestern shock and the remaining Scott Frost faithful have become nearly non-existent following Nebraska’s embarrassing loss this weekend. Scott Frost mentioned in his press conference regarding the outside noise, “I haven’t listened to any of it for a long time and we need to make sure [the players] don’t.” While Scott may try not to listen to it, it’s nearly impossible to drown out  the entire student section chanting, “Fire Frost”. 

In another stinging loss, the Huskers did have some positives to take away. The first being the offense finally looked complete and consistent throughout the game. While several possessions left the fan base feeling lost, Casey Thompson played a well-rounded game. Casey completed 23/34 passing attempts for 318 yards and 1 passing touchdown while also rushing for 31 yards and 3 touchdowns. Casey kept the opposition honest, pulling the read option and getting a crucial touchdown early in the second half while also scrambling for several first downs. Anthony Grant and Ajay Allen each had fair games rushing the ball while adding a touchdown to their season totals and the offensive line finally opened some sizable holes. The Huskers won the turnover battle 2-0 yet, 42 points scored from the Husker offense was embarrassingly not enough to beat Georgia Southern. 

Nonetheless, hats off to Georgia Southern. The Eagles led by Clay Helton were the better-coached team from the start of the game. Coming into Lincoln and winning is no short order, but to do it with this kind of back-and-forth battle is impressive. While the Eagles had a scheme that Scott Frost said “that we just didn’t have an answer for,” they showed more holes in the Husker defense than a kitchen strainer. The Eagles exploited the Huskers for 642 total yards of offense. This game exposed that the Huskers focussed too much this off-season on our offensive woes and neglected the work needed on the defensive side of the ball. Tonight was yet another humbling trap game in which Scott Frost may have had the final nail hammered in his coffin. 

However, who is to say this was all Scott Frost’s fault? Erik Chinander's defense went from a top Big Ten unit to dead last in the conference in the swing of one year. While there are several reasons why this has become our reality, 642 yards from a non-power five school is simply unacceptable by all Nebraska standards. It is such a shame the defense had a complete 180 when the offense was finally capable of scoring. Yet through it all, this is the Scott Frost era and it is only fitting to lose in another one-score game. 

While the Huskers have -OFFICIALLY- begun their search for a new head coach, it is one that we all hope will bring the Huskers back from the dead and lift this “curse” that the Huskers have seemingly been placed under. Husker fans everywhere wanted the Scott Frost era to work so badly, but clearly, it was not meant to be. For what was Scott’s last game as the Husker head coach, the prospect of Oklahoma looms over Lincoln until next Saturday.

Until then, Go Big Red and good luck Scott Frost.