After Yet Another Husker Loss To The Sooners...

That blog title won't get a whole lot of clickage--but what the heck. For the--what--20th time?? HUNDREDTH time??--I woke straight up after just 4 1/2 hours sleep with one image---Taylor Martinez throwing a dying quail pass straight at a whole end zone full of Oklahoma white shirts.

And so, Bo Pelini leaves the Big XII with a losing record against the Sooners. OU 23, NU 20 in the 2010 Big XII Championship game. No trophy spiking, no ultimate Bronx cheer from Husker fandom to Dan Beebe, nothing except a whole lotta grumpiness as we face a very cold Sunday.

Good grief!! Does this madness never end??

But, we could all see this coming, couldn't we? If South Dakota State wasn't a warning shot, then Texas should have been. Or Iowa State. Or Kansas. Certainly A & M. Even the Colorado game was a tense affair until late in the 2nd quarter. The simple fact is, you can't win championships with a hot-and-cold offense.

I highly recommend this piece of analysis by Sam McKewon of the Nebraska State Paper. He nails the Husker offensive issues square in this commentary. Basically, the Husker O is a hodge-podge of several different styles which, in crunch time, simply don't go together: Oregon zone read plus West Coast passing plus offensive-line philosophy based on the power game. It's a mess.

This game was sooo much different than last year's Texas matchup. Last year, the Huskers knew what they were--tremendous D, a little O, and a helluva kicking game. They played that way. Everyone was on the same page.

But this year, the disjointed "Who are we?" persona carried through into the title game, and it showed.

Martinez's INT in the 2nd quarter that I cited earlier is a perfect example. Last year, that ball would have been heaved into the stands and Alex Henery would have lined up a short field goal. No problem.

Same deal with Roy Helu's fumble on the next possession which led to OU's tying TD--last year, that ball is carried like it's a Berkshire Hathaway stock certificate. Not this year.

And then in the 4th quarter, after the gutsy Wildcat running of Rex Burkhead, the good guys still had a chance at a game-tying field goal even after the missed long-ball try to Martinez. You remember--3rd & 8 at what--the 40 or so? I credit son Cliff with this observation--just run it again and maybe get another 2-3-4 yards closer and then bring on #90. Why not? His 53-yarder had room to spare. But nope--here was another Martinez tap-dance in the pocket with another big sack--and that chance went by the boards.

Oh--and by the way--is anyone still glad that Niles Paul was out for the game? Boy, did we miss that guy.

Now it's on to the Big Ten (plus 2)---and it will be very interesting going forward to see what changes are made, if any, to correct this "walkabout" tendency for the offense. There's talent there for sure, but the guys need some coaching up--otherwise, these "we came so close..." type games will keep showing up at--oh, 4 a.m. or so.

But here's to the season--where the guys were in contention. And that is SO MUCH BETTER than being an afterthought. I'll take that any day (or night)!!

GO BIG RED!!

The Old Husker Fan