Even though our team didn't get the W this time, I know they'll be back. Go Huskers! Here's an upbeat article from a local newspaper website:
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Husker Loss To USC Bad - But It Could Have Been Worse!By ED HOWARD
September 18, 2006
There is no such thing as an acceptable loss in the Husker Nation inhabited by Big Red football fans.
The Nebraska loss to USC on Saturday, a 28-10 defeat in Los Angeles that could have been much worse, didn’t leave a good taste in anyone’s mouth; but it came as close to being tolerable as ever the short end of a final score could be.
The Huskers were wounded, not slaughtered. Defeated, but not routed.
With its best cornerbacks lost to injuries, and facing a Southern Cal team that was faster and often stronger, the Huskers gave a reasonable account of themselves. For one thing, they avoided a blowout. It doesn’t matter that the former was due in part to USC Coach Pete Carroll’s sportsmanlike decision to forego a fourth-quarter effort to run up the score.
This was simply a matter of the worthier combatant, despite the inconvenience of some key injuries to key players, emerging victorious.
Husker Coach Bill Callahan deflected post-game suggestions – from Nebraska and L.A. media – who said who said his game plan seemed determinedly conservative.
For a booster of the pass-oriented west coast offense, the third-year Husker mentor kept No. 19 NU on the ground a very great deal. The running game didn’t work worth a darn against the Trojans even though Nebraska used twice as many running efforts as pass plays. The rushing game yielded just 68 yards on 36 carries. Not many first downs via the air. No touchdowns. Nary a bit of work for the capable and hardnosed tight end, Matt Herian. On 18 of its 20 plays on first down, Nebraska ran the ball. On those 36 running plays, Nebraska averaged 1.9 yards per carry. Passing? Taylor was 8-of-16 for 115 yards.
Callahan emphasized that NU came away from L.A. with it's most important goals on the horizon. Those include winning the Big 12 North title, en route to a shot at the Big 12 championship.
Had Callahan wished to be publicly plainspoken, he might have offered something like: ‘Whaddya’ want? If we had played a wide-open game, we mighta’ got massacred! Then what? We’d look like a candy-ass team that doesn’t deserve to be in the Top 25. How would you like that, huh?’
Nebraska fell to No. 23 in this week's AP poll, and to No. 24 in the coaches' poll.
One Husker player questioned whether NU played to win. Some observers plainly thought a passive game plan crippled Nebraska’s chances.
Most frustrating for many Husker fans was that quarterback Taylor’s success had held out the promise of good things. The promise went unfulfilled. NU’s only touchdown came on a third period, one-yard run by Taylor.
Nebraska’s defense wasn’t quick enough or strong enough to keep USC quarterback John David Booty under pressure. He threw a couple of touchdown passes. USC took running yardage from NU when it was needed. Result: 257 passing yards for the Trojans, 142 yards on the ground.
One omen of how the day would go came in the final moments of the first quarter. Nebraska was a few ticks of the clock from going into the second quarter with a 3-0 lead.
Booty connected with Dwayne Jarrett from 12 yards out; the perfect end to the Trojans’ picture-perfect 83-yard drive that consumed nine plays and took just 2:57.
It had been one of those long drives for which Nebraska once was famous. It was followed by another one. On their next possession, the Trojans marched 74 yards and scored on a three-yard, Booty-to-Smith pass. That made it 21-3, and that was that.
Nebraska was scoreless in the second third period. Taylor guided Nebraska on a 74-yard scoring drive early in the fourth period, scoring on a bootleg from 1-yard out.
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Next up: Nebraska, 2-1, faces Troy at Memorial Stadium.
# posted by
Angela May @ 12:21 PM
