Nebraska Not Ready for Spotlight

After all the attention the Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered from the national media this week….

After all the hype surrounding this game, brought upon mostly by the team itself….

That was the product they put on the field.

Nebraska took the field like a team that expected Texas to hand them the game. After all, Texas isn’t good this year right?

(More………)

Fact. Texas isn’t any good this year. But if you go into the game filled with that much arrogance and overconfidence, an upset of mammoth consequences is what you risk.

Now I’m not going to make any over the top proclamations, like calling for Bo Pelini’s head, or damning the season, but it was a pitiful performance that came at what most fans would agree was the worst possible time.

The young Huskers were intimidated from the get go. I’m unsure if it was caused by Texas, or simply by the moment itself, but the Huskers fell flat on their face. The early deficit also had an impact (the first they’d seen this season).

It was exactly what I had feared the entire season, and why I never felt like any game this season was an assured victory. Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote prior to the Washington game….

"I’m confident in our guys as long as we don’t get behind two scores. That changes everything. What QB do we play? Stick with T-Mart (way better than T-Magic)? Incumbent Zac Lee appears to have no chance of playing this year. Cody Green was very erratic last year. We will have to deal with a deficit at some point this year."

That early deficit came from a team with a good enough defense to control the running game and force Taylor Martinez into throwing the ball in order to win the game.

Obviously, he wasn’t ready to handle the situation, as Zac Lee was (shockingly) the man chosen to lead the Cornhuskers’ attempt at a comeback victory. Pelini even acknowledged Martinez’s poor play in his halftime interview, openly admitting the team was making the wrong reads in the running game (presumably a shot aimed right at T-Mobile’s chest).

The Wildman (Lee) was effective in matriculating the ball down the field, but large chunks of yardage weren’t on the menu. He had minimal help from anyone in red attempting to catch a pass.

From Niles Paul’s three flubs, to Rex Burkhead’s wide open dropped ball (but snagged pylon), to Brandon Kinnie’s 4th and 18 game ending drop, there was plenty of blame to go around.

While we’re playing the blame game, welcome to the stage, Ricky Thenarse. You successfully got your name written in my notes for the first time all season. Unfortunately, it was for missing every god forsaken tackle he threw his worthless body at.

Enough on Thenarse, who shouldn’t see the field any longer. Lets target a bigger name.

Why oh why did Bo Pelini attempt an onside kick (after Eric Hagg’s miracle pooch kick return) with three minutes left in the game and two timeouts? Even worse, when Texas was obviously running the ball to kill the clock, the Blackshirts didn’t stack the box with defenders, and gave up the game deciding first down rather easily. ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

Alright, this concludes the airing of grievances. I’ll save the rest for Festivus. It was one game, and one game doesn’t make a season, and most all of the Big Red’s goals are still attainable and yada, yada, yada.

Long term perspective provides optimism in the fact that Texas will never appear on the schedule again. I don’t want to play them again. You win Texas. Enjoy your Little 10 titles. I’m done messing with you.

(Disregard the entire last paragraph if Texas somehow makes the Big 12 Championship Game)