I started smiling on the 1st play of the 4th quarter Saturday afternoon and I haven't stopped yet. The Huskers' 45-35 win over the Jayhawks felt that good. And it was a classic game, too. By that, I don't mean perfect--Lord knows, there were mistakes and missed chances all over the field. But, this game featured big plays by the featured stars, smart plays by the "supporting cast", gadget plays that made sense, and the hallmark of this program we've all come to know and love---lots of hits and lots of guts.
Let's go through some of those things. And, make no mistake about it---Nebraska WON this game. KU did not lose the game by some goofy mistake or screwed-up strategy. Our coaches and players did indeed put the OU game in the closet and made it happen against a KU bunch that is not as good as last year, but that still has some talent, a heady QB, and large, tough coach. (Had to make an obligatory Mangino reference somewhere, didn't I?)
Now the fine points:
Big plays by big stars---
#1-- This is headed by everyone in red's favorite big guy, #93, Ndamukong Suh. Hoe-lee smoke! 12--TWELVE--tackles??!!! By a D-LINEMAN??!!! Folks, that's Peter brothers or Danny Noonan or Larry Jacobson/Rich Glover performance caliber. You just don't see that by a D-LINEMAN! I can't get over that. Add in his sacks (2.5) and of course the TD catch (which was also big), and you have your player of the game.
#2--The entire D-line. I was going to put Zac Potter in there, but Steinkuhler and Allen were great, too. Even though the game featured 80 points total, the NU D-line set the tone for the game with their hitting and harassing of KU's offensive game plan. And I could hear it from the crowd, too. Mid-3rd quarter on, the crowd was roaring. That's what a Husker home game should sound like!
#3--The O-line. I had them farther down the list, but--sorry, the line's gotta go higher than that. They made it happen. I think Barney Cotton's style is starting to soak in. These guys did some major league work on Saturday. And Roy Helu's long run? Well, yes--he made a couple guys miss. But by the same token, he had a pretty good seam at the line to go through to get his magic act underway. Looking good, guys!
#4--Roy Helu. His 2 TDs--especially the 50-yarder--WOW!!! He reminded me of Roger Craig the way he was running. And then, KU coach Mangino talked about his "high knee" style after the game--that's vintage Craig.
#5--QB Joe Ganz. He ticked me off with that INT late in the 2nd qtr--but he played a clean 2nd half and led by example--playing with a sore foot after getting hit in the 2nd quarter. Vintage gutsy Husker QB action. He brought an image to me of another #12 from 30 years ago--Tom Sorley. Bo Pelini said it best after the game: "Joe is a man."
#6--The Nate Swift/Todd Peterson duo. Yeah, Swift fumbled. But the team had his back, so whatever. And he and Peterson are just so solid--so dependable--we're going to miss these guys.
#7--Alex Henery. What? He's a big star? Well, yeah. We all know who the FG kicker is, right? And that FG he made into the wind in the 3rd quarter was huge to give NU the lead early in the 2nd half. I know KU got the lead back, but still--that drive was messed up by a sack, yet we still got points. And then, of course, Henery pulled off the fake FG play in the 4th qtr.
Now--some standout smart plays by "supporting cast" types:
1) Tyler Wortman. He stayed home on a KU reverse in the 3rd quarter and stuffed it for a 7-yard loss. That play swung the game. KU had a 3-and-out and was forced to punt. We got the ball close to the 50, and then Helu took it to the house. How long, O Lord--how long have we prayed for someone to STAY HOME on a reverse? No Wake Forest--no Ball State from last year--nope, this wide receiver reverse had a much different ending.
2) Hunter Teafatiller. Maybe it's just me--but after a KU score in the 4th quarter, their kickoff was short. There have been times in the last few seasons when that's been a horror show for our side--but Teafatiller caught the thing clean and ran it ahead for what he could get--plus, hung onto the rock at the end. Set us up in good field position instead of giving the bad guys the momentum. That's another sign of how tuned-in the whole team is to what's going on.
3) Chris Brooks. He's had a rough time of it since Kevin Cosgrove pulled him away from going to either Illinois or Missouri a few years ago. He was supposed to be All-Everything. It hasn't worked out. But on Saturday, when he was needed, he made a big play to tie the game up with his TD catch.
#4) Jake Wesch. The guy's been a great holder and sometime punter--and showed how smooth an operator he is with the blind pitch on the fake FG Saturday to Henery. I know they've practiced it, but still--the game is a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT than practice.
Now to the gadget plays:
1) Marlon Lucky's TD pass to Mike McNeill. My neighbor Mark, who was at the game, said the play had him fooled. EVERYONE expected Lucky to just plow ahead. Great call #1.
2) The TD pass to Suh. Boy, was he open on that play! And great execution by Ganz to give him a catchable ball. You know what my first thought was when Suh made that TD? "Wow--this is the type of stuff that Oklahoma does."
3) The fake FG move. Terrific timing on this call. We had a lead--not insurmountable, and we were down deep in the other team's end with our defense playing well. What a time! What a call!
4) Saturday's weather. It was cold, windy and miserable. Hot damn!!! Shades of the old Big 8 days.
Folks, you've gotta like the way things are moving. Guys are playing hard and smart, playing for each other, and playing for their coaches. You can't ask for anything more.
I won't get the 9-3 that I thought, but by gosh, 9-4 is certainly possible.
Go Big Red!!!
The Old Husker Fan
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Huskers--Again--Not Ready For Prime Time
Call it buck fever. Call it deer in the headlights. Call it stage fright.
How about overmatched and knowing it?
That's the way I look at the Huskers' reaction---demeanor---and thus very bad start to the OU game to get the month of November underway. Our guys knew they were going up against an outfit that has its ship in shape from top down--and they got spooked early.
"Now just a minute there, Chuckles. Okay--so the guys from the school with the one-strain fight song that has only two words to it are good. What's the difference between them and Texas Tech? And look how we hung in there with that bunch a month ago!"
To that, I respond this way: You'll find out the difference between the guys in crimson and the dudes in red and black in 3 weeks when the Leach Boys leave the friendly confines of Buddy Holly-land and venture onto Owen Field. And--as for that tussle in Tech-land that we got involved with--the mid-October heartbreak--remember that we DID SOMETHING NEW at that game--which we failed to follow up on in Norman.
Think about that. What did the Husker offense do against Tex Tech? For the first time all season, our guys featured the short, quick passing game--especially the wide receiver screen. Tech wasn't ready for it--and it worked great. This game plan worked against Iowa State and Baylor as well--2 teams with serious talent, speed and experience deficiencies. Cool!
But there is one thing lacking in the starting Husker receiving corps this season--and that is pure, flat-out, take-it-to-the-house speed. And if there's one thing that OU D-backs have been over the years in my memory (except for the hiccup in the mid-90s), it's FAST. And when they broke on top, their guys DARED us to go deep. On our first play, when Joe Ganz threw that pick-6, their guys matching up on Todd Peterson and Nate Swift were easily within 5 yards of our guys. That play was doomed from the start, because there was no "bubble" in the coverage.
In other words, OU had seen that quick pass to the wide receivers from 3 weeks' worth of video. No surprise there. And it was all downhill from there.
Even before that disaster, it was evident on the opening series that OU's plan was to bring pressure, pressure, pressure early and often on both sides of the ball. You can do that when you're on the top side of a physical mismatch.
How'd they do it? OU went no-huddle TO START THE GAME--didn't even give our guys time to completely get used to what was going on.
Here's the Husker reaction after stopping the OU running back on the first play of the game for no gain (after which OU immediately lined up):
"Okay. Play's over. WHAT? They're lining up AGAIN??!! Oh $&*%!!!!!" The result of that play was, of course, a long pass completion down to the 4-yard line.
So OU did something unusual to mess our guys up early. And then, when we got the ball, we went to a play that we'd shown for almost a month. So who got who out of their comfort zone?
I'm not going to rag on players too much from here on. Yes, our guys are overmatched at this point. They're still learning. Friends, it takes a he11 of a long time to get things set up on a football team. But there are some points I have to make:
1) Is Ricky Thenarse really that bad on lining up that he isn't pushing for a starting safety spot?
2) Running back should be a Lucky-Helu combination. Quentin Castille just cannot hang onto the ball.
3) I know it was against backups, but I like the looks of Patrick Witt at QB. It's evident that he is taller than Joe Ganz for one thing. And if Witt's TD run was a true option--where it was his decision to either hand off or keep the ball--wow, what decision-making! I could sure see more of that. (Remember--Witt is a smart kid--graduated from high school in Texas early. )
4) I'm not going to gripe about Bo Pelini's outbursts on the telecast. He'll get through that. But, I would like to see him toss the sweatshirt look for something a little more "head-coachy" for lack of a better term. He's in good shape--certainly not like Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, who can only wear a hoodie--anything else would be out of the question. I'd like to see Bo either do the cool jogging-suit look a la Pete Carroll, or the collared polo shirt routine like he did at the first NU game against Western Michigan. He's a head coach now and I'd like to see him look the part a little more.
5) Fan talk here. Just to say it--I hope that I don't see a bunch of BS comment about the crappy coaching job, or how players can't get it done, during the next couple weeks. Yes, I've made some comments here and I hope they don't fall into that category. Our guys did run into a better team, got pressured early, and saw the game get away. That happens. But I still think they have a chance to go 8-4, and obviously I definitely want them to get to a bowl game, and to do that they've got to take some lessons from this game and use them to give it their best shot starting this next Saturday. And they need, at the least, fans to let them sort it out without a lot of excess griping.
Second--send 'em packing jive regarding the coaches can do nothing but hurt the recruiting effort. Getting to the point of having solid units on offense, defense and special teams means we need more than one or two good guys--and I for one don't want the fans to make things worse by sniping at what's gone on. This is--in many respects--still a shake-down cruise for coaches and players (and fans, too). Let's let this thing play out and watch the guys respond. I think we'll be impressed by what we see!
Go Big Red!!
The Old Husker Fan
How about overmatched and knowing it?
That's the way I look at the Huskers' reaction---demeanor---and thus very bad start to the OU game to get the month of November underway. Our guys knew they were going up against an outfit that has its ship in shape from top down--and they got spooked early.
"Now just a minute there, Chuckles. Okay--so the guys from the school with the one-strain fight song that has only two words to it are good. What's the difference between them and Texas Tech? And look how we hung in there with that bunch a month ago!"
To that, I respond this way: You'll find out the difference between the guys in crimson and the dudes in red and black in 3 weeks when the Leach Boys leave the friendly confines of Buddy Holly-land and venture onto Owen Field. And--as for that tussle in Tech-land that we got involved with--the mid-October heartbreak--remember that we DID SOMETHING NEW at that game--which we failed to follow up on in Norman.
Think about that. What did the Husker offense do against Tex Tech? For the first time all season, our guys featured the short, quick passing game--especially the wide receiver screen. Tech wasn't ready for it--and it worked great. This game plan worked against Iowa State and Baylor as well--2 teams with serious talent, speed and experience deficiencies. Cool!
But there is one thing lacking in the starting Husker receiving corps this season--and that is pure, flat-out, take-it-to-the-house speed. And if there's one thing that OU D-backs have been over the years in my memory (except for the hiccup in the mid-90s), it's FAST. And when they broke on top, their guys DARED us to go deep. On our first play, when Joe Ganz threw that pick-6, their guys matching up on Todd Peterson and Nate Swift were easily within 5 yards of our guys. That play was doomed from the start, because there was no "bubble" in the coverage.
In other words, OU had seen that quick pass to the wide receivers from 3 weeks' worth of video. No surprise there. And it was all downhill from there.
Even before that disaster, it was evident on the opening series that OU's plan was to bring pressure, pressure, pressure early and often on both sides of the ball. You can do that when you're on the top side of a physical mismatch.
How'd they do it? OU went no-huddle TO START THE GAME--didn't even give our guys time to completely get used to what was going on.
Here's the Husker reaction after stopping the OU running back on the first play of the game for no gain (after which OU immediately lined up):
"Okay. Play's over. WHAT? They're lining up AGAIN??!! Oh $&*%!!!!!" The result of that play was, of course, a long pass completion down to the 4-yard line.
So OU did something unusual to mess our guys up early. And then, when we got the ball, we went to a play that we'd shown for almost a month. So who got who out of their comfort zone?
I'm not going to rag on players too much from here on. Yes, our guys are overmatched at this point. They're still learning. Friends, it takes a he11 of a long time to get things set up on a football team. But there are some points I have to make:
1) Is Ricky Thenarse really that bad on lining up that he isn't pushing for a starting safety spot?
2) Running back should be a Lucky-Helu combination. Quentin Castille just cannot hang onto the ball.
3) I know it was against backups, but I like the looks of Patrick Witt at QB. It's evident that he is taller than Joe Ganz for one thing. And if Witt's TD run was a true option--where it was his decision to either hand off or keep the ball--wow, what decision-making! I could sure see more of that. (Remember--Witt is a smart kid--graduated from high school in Texas early. )
4) I'm not going to gripe about Bo Pelini's outbursts on the telecast. He'll get through that. But, I would like to see him toss the sweatshirt look for something a little more "head-coachy" for lack of a better term. He's in good shape--certainly not like Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, who can only wear a hoodie--anything else would be out of the question. I'd like to see Bo either do the cool jogging-suit look a la Pete Carroll, or the collared polo shirt routine like he did at the first NU game against Western Michigan. He's a head coach now and I'd like to see him look the part a little more.
5) Fan talk here. Just to say it--I hope that I don't see a bunch of BS comment about the crappy coaching job, or how players can't get it done, during the next couple weeks. Yes, I've made some comments here and I hope they don't fall into that category. Our guys did run into a better team, got pressured early, and saw the game get away. That happens. But I still think they have a chance to go 8-4, and obviously I definitely want them to get to a bowl game, and to do that they've got to take some lessons from this game and use them to give it their best shot starting this next Saturday. And they need, at the least, fans to let them sort it out without a lot of excess griping.
Second--send 'em packing jive regarding the coaches can do nothing but hurt the recruiting effort. Getting to the point of having solid units on offense, defense and special teams means we need more than one or two good guys--and I for one don't want the fans to make things worse by sniping at what's gone on. This is--in many respects--still a shake-down cruise for coaches and players (and fans, too). Let's let this thing play out and watch the guys respond. I think we'll be impressed by what we see!
Go Big Red!!
The Old Husker Fan
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