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Final Drive Leaves Aggieland Stunned
November 13th, 2006
By Josh Peterson
HuskerWeekly.com Analyst
____________________________
What a win!
Those are the only words to describe what happened on a great day/night for college football in College Station, Texas. Nebraska, needing only one win in its last two games to reach the Big XII Championship, pulled it off in amazing fashion, with a last minute touchdown drive to seal their plane ticket to Kansas City for a presumed matchup against the national champion Texas Longhorns.
With a 28-27 win over the Aggies, Bill Callahan’s team showed that no matter what is going on, how bad they have played, or how loud the crowd is, they are never out of a game. Zac Taylor took over with 1:50 left in the game, and drove the ball down the field like John Elway. He looked calm. He looked smart. But most of all, he looked in control. He threw the ball where he wanted, when he wanted.
Todd Peterson made catch after catch on the final drive of the game for the Huskers, his final being a 13 yard catch to get Nebraska to the 18 yard line. Some incomplete passes followed, until a roughing the passer penalty on third down gave the Huskers an automatic first down inside the 10 yard line. One more play was needed, as Zac Taylor just threw the ball up to Maurice Purify, and let him get it. He did, and the Huskers went on to the win.
The offense had control like this earlier in the game as well. On three straight possessions in the first half, the Huskers made Texas A&M look like a high school team, running on them at will, and taking a 21-7 lead going into halftime. It looked like the Huskers would run the Aggies out of their own stadium, but like so many games this season it seemed the Huskers thought the game ended after 30 minutes.
Slowly but surely, the blackshirts allowed bigger and bigger plays. While this happened, the offense seemed out of sync, not in rhythm, and just flat as possession after possession, they couldn’t muster anything.
Going into the fourth and final quarter, the Huskers had still only allowed three more points to be put on the board. But that’s when it looked like they had lost it for good. Stephen McGee raced 57 yards for a touchdown, while the Huskers D didn’t look like they knew what to do. Suddenly it’s 21-19 after and A&M missed extra point.
Huskers get the ball back, get a first down, and then nothing more, and Titchner comes back on the field for another punt. Another touchdown, followed by a two point conversion for the Aggies looked like the nail in the coffin, especially after a Zac Taylor interception with only 2:50 remaining in the game.
But then something happened. Something that will remembered for a long time. A great stand by the defense, then a blocked kick, followed by the great drive that will put Zac Taylor’s name with such names as Tommie Frazier, Turner Gill, Scott Frost, and even Eric Crouch. If he and the Huskers can win the Big XII Championship, that legend will only grow larger.
I, like many others in Husker Nation, am still worn out from that crazy ending.
What a win!
-----------------------
Comment on this article on Josh's blog here or below in this thread.
November 13th, 2006
By Josh Peterson
HuskerWeekly.com Analyst
____________________________
What a win!
Those are the only words to describe what happened on a great day/night for college football in College Station, Texas. Nebraska, needing only one win in its last two games to reach the Big XII Championship, pulled it off in amazing fashion, with a last minute touchdown drive to seal their plane ticket to Kansas City for a presumed matchup against the national champion Texas Longhorns.
With a 28-27 win over the Aggies, Bill Callahan’s team showed that no matter what is going on, how bad they have played, or how loud the crowd is, they are never out of a game. Zac Taylor took over with 1:50 left in the game, and drove the ball down the field like John Elway. He looked calm. He looked smart. But most of all, he looked in control. He threw the ball where he wanted, when he wanted.
Todd Peterson made catch after catch on the final drive of the game for the Huskers, his final being a 13 yard catch to get Nebraska to the 18 yard line. Some incomplete passes followed, until a roughing the passer penalty on third down gave the Huskers an automatic first down inside the 10 yard line. One more play was needed, as Zac Taylor just threw the ball up to Maurice Purify, and let him get it. He did, and the Huskers went on to the win.
The offense had control like this earlier in the game as well. On three straight possessions in the first half, the Huskers made Texas A&M look like a high school team, running on them at will, and taking a 21-7 lead going into halftime. It looked like the Huskers would run the Aggies out of their own stadium, but like so many games this season it seemed the Huskers thought the game ended after 30 minutes.
Slowly but surely, the blackshirts allowed bigger and bigger plays. While this happened, the offense seemed out of sync, not in rhythm, and just flat as possession after possession, they couldn’t muster anything.
Going into the fourth and final quarter, the Huskers had still only allowed three more points to be put on the board. But that’s when it looked like they had lost it for good. Stephen McGee raced 57 yards for a touchdown, while the Huskers D didn’t look like they knew what to do. Suddenly it’s 21-19 after and A&M missed extra point.
Huskers get the ball back, get a first down, and then nothing more, and Titchner comes back on the field for another punt. Another touchdown, followed by a two point conversion for the Aggies looked like the nail in the coffin, especially after a Zac Taylor interception with only 2:50 remaining in the game.
But then something happened. Something that will remembered for a long time. A great stand by the defense, then a blocked kick, followed by the great drive that will put Zac Taylor’s name with such names as Tommie Frazier, Turner Gill, Scott Frost, and even Eric Crouch. If he and the Huskers can win the Big XII Championship, that legend will only grow larger.
I, like many others in Husker Nation, am still worn out from that crazy ending.
What a win!
-----------------------
Comment on this article on Josh's blog here or below in this thread.
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