Final Take: Huskers lacked firepower to keep up with Vols

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In a lot of way Friday was the final chapter of a transition. Without arguably its three most decorated players Nebraska found a way to compete against Tennessee, but lacked the firepower and difference makers it takes to beat a top-tier SEC program.

Friday's 38-24 Music City Bowl loss was the final chapter for NU's 30 seniors as head coach Mike Riley builds this program for the future going forward.

The Music City Bowl had it's fair share of highs and lows, but in the end a lot of NU's problems came down to simple things like tackling.

"You'd like to think our guys are better tacklers than that," Riley said. "It was sloppy tackling. Then you'd like to say the Tennessee athletes were pretty good, then you'd have to say we have to do better than that. It really played a major, major role in the game early on, because in the first half it was so sloppy."

The lack of protection up front was also an issue. Everybody knew Tennessee had maybe the best defensive end in the country in Derek Barnett. The Huskers didn't have an answer for him, as he hurried quarterback Ryker Fyfe four times and had a sack on him in the fourth quarter that took him out of the game.

"He was getting in the backfield pretty quick," Fyfe said. "You know, it's a combination of things. It's maybe not blocking him right. It's me holding on to the ball too long or good coverage. It's a combination of things with him getting in the backfield."

When you close the book on 2016, this team had arguably less talent than a year ago, but finished 9-4 compared to 6-7 in 2015. Still, nobody remembers how you start, it's more about how you finish. Last year's team finished with big wins down the stretch over Michigan State and UCLA.

Unfortunately the legacy of this team will be more remembered for their 2-4 finish with losses to the four best teams they faced this season - Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa and Tennessee.

This season will be remembered as another 9-4 Groundhog Day Movie that once again had glimmers of hope, only to come down crashing like so many other seasons before it.

Nebraska has not had a season with less than 4 losses since 2003 when head coach Frank Solich and his staff were fired after going 10-3. The Huskers are now 125-71 over the last 15 years.

There's no question Riley and his staff have their work cut out for them, as this defense particularly lacks the difference makers off the edge to win on third down. They also have major questions going forward at the receiver and tight end positions.

This season was another step though in the building process and 2017 will be a big season to see how Riley moves this program forward.

"I think the experience of playing in this game for us will be good for our team," Riley said. "And it's kind of the end of one team and the beginning of another, as leadership emerges right after the results of this game are in and we get back to campus. It should be a great motivator for the guys that were playing in this game that are coming back for next year's team."

***The game of football is about winning on third down, and Tennessee had two players on the field in quarterback Joshua Dobbs and defensive end Derek Barnett that dominated that phase of the game. These two players made the key third down plays that mattered for the Vols offense and defense.

***You really can't knock quarterback Ryker Fyfe for his play on Friday. He stood tall and made throws in the clutch. It was the lack of running game and protection up front that hurt the Husker offense.

***Former Husker and NFL linebacker Eric Johnson addressed the Nebraska locker room following Friday's loss to Tennessee.

"He just said he was proud of us," senior defensive end Ross Dzuris said of Johnson's post game talk. "He just said he loves us and he loves the University. He was talking about how there's still room to improve with those young guys. He said come back right away and don't take any time off. Keep working hard and work on all the small things."

***Senior receiver Brandon Reilly definitely saved his best for last. He was arguably the best receiver on the field on Friday and definitely gave the NFL scouts some film to chew on going forward.

***The linebacker position was considered the strength of the defense going into the season. After 13 games in 2016 you can make a case it was the weakness. The Husker linebackers took a big step back in 2016. You have to think true freshman Avery Roberts will get every opportunity to win a starting job this spring going forward.

***Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said the quarterback competition between Tanner Lee and Patrick O'Brien officially starts today. That will be the biggest storyline in this program from now until August.

***Langsdorf also told me that it's unclear at this point if Zack Darlington stays at quarterback or moves back to receive this spring. A lot of it depends on if they can add a walk-on quarterback to their recruiting class. Langsdorf said he's never experienced a situation like this year where their quarterback position became so dire.

Rushing offense: D

The Huskers were really up against it at times, especially when senior Terrell Newby went down in the first half with an injury. Devine Ozigbo had a 42 yard run to finish with 66 yards on seven carries, but 80 yards on 17 carries from your three tailbacks wasn't going to get it done today for the Huskers.

Passing offense: B

Despite being sacked four times and hurried another seven, Ryker Fyfe stood in the pocket and battled for the Huskers. He finished 17-of-36 for 243 yards and senior Brandon Reilly made two big touchdown catches to lead the Husker offense with 98 yards on four catches. Without the passing game, who knows where the NU offense would've been on Friday.

Rushing defense: F

Tennessee had their way on the ground nearly the entire game, finishing with 230 yards on 38 carries. The Huskers had no answer for quarterback Josh Dobbs, who led all rushers on Friday with 118 yards on 11 carries, including a bowl game record three touchdowns. The other thing that killed the rushing defense was tackling. This may have been one of the worst displays of tackling we've seen from Nebraska all season.

Passing defense: F

The Huskers had a hard time getting pressure on Dobbs, and when they did he found ways to run around it. Dobbs torched the Husker secondary for 291 yards, completing 23-of-38 passes for 291 yards. The Huskers seemed content at times giving him the underneath throws, and he seemingly made a living on them all day.

Special teams: B+

This was by far Nebraska's most complete phase of the game on Friday. Punter Caleb Lightbourn had his most consistent game of the season with a 42.7 yard average and the hang time was good enough that the Vols got nothing in the return game. The kickoff coverage team forced a turnover for the Huskers that helped get the game to 31-24 with 10:02 left in the fourth quarter. Drew Brown kicked a 45 yard field goal and was solid on his kickoffs. The only real thing keeping it from an A was the lack of return game. NU needed to create something for De'Mornay Pierson-El to get a spark, and they failed to do that.

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and he can be heard each day at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall and each week he appears on NET's Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesday's at 7 pm.