The Nebraska football team will fire up its live scrimmages featuring the team’s young players beginning Friday, offensive coordinator Matt Lubick said Thursday on the Husker Sports Network.
The Huskers use the Friday scrimmages to get their younger players live reps, with the older players looking on. NU didn’t hold the scrimmages the first few weeks of the season, Lubick said, because the team didn’t have enough healthy bodies.
The Huskers have enough now, which means NU’s older players will look on while the young guys battle each other.
“I think the old guys have more fun with it than the younger guys,” said Lubick, who noted the older players put odds on which of the younger players will be named MVPs.
Lubick touched on several topics during his hourlong appearance, including several forays into Nebraska’s running game.
NU is still looking for its workhorse back, which is why the team has continued to rotate running backs. Markese Stepp remains the only running back with more than 15 carries in a game, going for 18 and 101 yards against Fordham.
Lubick also fielded a telephone question from a caller in the “Run the Damn Ball” crowd who asked if NU was considering installing plays from the old single-wing formation.
In the passing game, Lubick said NU sent in film of the play on which Wyatt Liewer was called for an offensive pass interference penalty that wiped a long Samori Toure touchdown off the board.
Liewer was on the opposite side of the formation, well away from the action.
“We watched it on tape, and it’s hard to find out what happened,” Lubick said. “One guy’s job is to get to the middle of the field, and the linebacker grabbed him. Our guy was trying to get to his spot.
“We’re still trying to figure that one out.”
When it comes to having a chance to upset Oklahoma on Saturday, Lubick said Nebraska must avoid the negative plays that the Sooners’ defense is so good at creating.
“They did that against Tulane, which turned the game early,” Lubick said.
Oklahoma led 37-14 at halftime before Tulane mounted a second-half rally in OU’s 40-35 win.
“We can’t beat ourselves. We can’t turn the ball over,” Lubick said. “If we execute our game plan, I feel good about what we have.”
