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Husker receivers kept under wraps
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Jan 01, 2007 - 11:36:05 pm CST
DALLAS — David Irons had already warned Frantz Hardy of the consequences.
It’s no wonder, then, that when Zac Taylor’s fourth-and-11 pass for Hardy fell incomplete, representing Nebraska’s last real chance of rallying in Monday’s Cotton Bowl, the Auburn senior cornerback felt like shouting at the Husker receiver: Told you so.
“Their wide receivers haven’t been challenged. I felt like in the Big 12 they don’t play physical and man like we do in the SEC,” Irons said after helping limit Taylor to 126 yards passing to fuel Auburn’s 17-14 victory. “I felt like if you put your hands on them and run with them they’re not fast enough to beat me deep. None of them.
“I knew Frantz Hardy and I was like, ‘You all are not going to beat me deep.’”
Hardy, who like Irons played at Butler (Kan.) Community College, had no receptions, while NU’s wide receivers accounted for just five of the team’s 14 completions.
In essence, Auburn’s speedy secondary, which relied on a Cover-2 zone scheme more than usual to complement its man coverage, forced the Huskers to attack via the ground or through short dump-off passes.
“In the Big 12, they’re playing off (the line of scrimmage) 10, 12 yards,” Irons said. “In the SEC, we don’t play off. I knew it would be hard for Zac to throw with accuracy, because we come from all different directions. That’s what we did today.”
The Tigers harassed the Big 12 offensive player of the year into a manageable 14-for-26 performance that also included an interception they converted into a touchdown.
Taylor, who in his previous 16 games had just one lower passing total than he produced Monday, credited Auburn for keeping its safeties back in coverage rather than coming after him with a heavy blitz package.
“That kind of takes away your shots downfield,” he said. “That’s frustrating for me, because you kind of want to keep them on their heels and take some shots, but they played well and we just tried to take what they gave us.”
Taylor’s interception came when he tried to thread a ball through two defenders, one of whom was Irons. The throw caromed to linebacker Karibi Dede, who went 52 yards on his return to the Husker 9-yard line.
Two plays later, Carl Stewart took a short pass from Brandon Cox and covered the 9 yards to the end zone.
“David just had good coverage on the island all night and challenged their receivers,” Dede said. “On that play, he got his hand on it and it seemed like it was in the air forever. On the runback, I ran out of gas. ... But we were fortunate, we went and put it in.”
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said he felt like his team was lucky to be in a 14-14 game at halftime. But “I enjoyed watching our defense recover from stumbling out of the blocks.”
So, obviously, did defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
After the Huskers got a late chance when Stewart Bradley forced and recovered a fumble while sacking Cox, Auburn gave up a first down before stiffening and forcing NU to attempt the fourth-and-11 pass.
“We’re going to go out and make stops. We’ve done that 11 times this year,” Muschamp said. “We’re going to go after them, we’re going to go man-to-man. That’s what we do.
“We did a good job of pressuring the quarterback. We hit him late in the game and affected him. That’s what we wanted to do.”
The result of that approach came as no surprise to Irons.
“Our secondary’s so quick,” he said, “we wanted them to throw.”
Husker receivers kept under wraps
BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Jan 01, 2007 - 11:36:05 pm CST
DALLAS — David Irons had already warned Frantz Hardy of the consequences.
It’s no wonder, then, that when Zac Taylor’s fourth-and-11 pass for Hardy fell incomplete, representing Nebraska’s last real chance of rallying in Monday’s Cotton Bowl, the Auburn senior cornerback felt like shouting at the Husker receiver: Told you so.
“Their wide receivers haven’t been challenged. I felt like in the Big 12 they don’t play physical and man like we do in the SEC,” Irons said after helping limit Taylor to 126 yards passing to fuel Auburn’s 17-14 victory. “I felt like if you put your hands on them and run with them they’re not fast enough to beat me deep. None of them.
“I knew Frantz Hardy and I was like, ‘You all are not going to beat me deep.’”
Hardy, who like Irons played at Butler (Kan.) Community College, had no receptions, while NU’s wide receivers accounted for just five of the team’s 14 completions.
In essence, Auburn’s speedy secondary, which relied on a Cover-2 zone scheme more than usual to complement its man coverage, forced the Huskers to attack via the ground or through short dump-off passes.
“In the Big 12, they’re playing off (the line of scrimmage) 10, 12 yards,” Irons said. “In the SEC, we don’t play off. I knew it would be hard for Zac to throw with accuracy, because we come from all different directions. That’s what we did today.”
The Tigers harassed the Big 12 offensive player of the year into a manageable 14-for-26 performance that also included an interception they converted into a touchdown.
Taylor, who in his previous 16 games had just one lower passing total than he produced Monday, credited Auburn for keeping its safeties back in coverage rather than coming after him with a heavy blitz package.
“That kind of takes away your shots downfield,” he said. “That’s frustrating for me, because you kind of want to keep them on their heels and take some shots, but they played well and we just tried to take what they gave us.”
Taylor’s interception came when he tried to thread a ball through two defenders, one of whom was Irons. The throw caromed to linebacker Karibi Dede, who went 52 yards on his return to the Husker 9-yard line.
Two plays later, Carl Stewart took a short pass from Brandon Cox and covered the 9 yards to the end zone.
“David just had good coverage on the island all night and challenged their receivers,” Dede said. “On that play, he got his hand on it and it seemed like it was in the air forever. On the runback, I ran out of gas. ... But we were fortunate, we went and put it in.”
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said he felt like his team was lucky to be in a 14-14 game at halftime. But “I enjoyed watching our defense recover from stumbling out of the blocks.”
So, obviously, did defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
After the Huskers got a late chance when Stewart Bradley forced and recovered a fumble while sacking Cox, Auburn gave up a first down before stiffening and forcing NU to attempt the fourth-and-11 pass.
“We’re going to go out and make stops. We’ve done that 11 times this year,” Muschamp said. “We’re going to go after them, we’re going to go man-to-man. That’s what we do.
“We did a good job of pressuring the quarterback. We hit him late in the game and affected him. That’s what we wanted to do.”
The result of that approach came as no surprise to Irons.
“Our secondary’s so quick,” he said, “we wanted them to throw.”
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