Karawithasmile

Ha ha, I thought they were calling it on NU. That ball was in the air so long. Pap could have come over from the sideline and caught it. Too bad we didn't get an int.

 

Sparty must be getting frustrated. FGs instead of TDs cause losses.

 

Only if the other team scores.

Blitzer didn't even know where the ball was.

We look very tired on D.

Looking like classic Pelini football now.

Can our offense step up?

If anything, T-Magic will go down as the greatest Husker scapegoat of all time.

You should add this to the Martinez legacy thread. It's so true.

The biggest thing I saw that will pay dividends going forward was fundamentals. Guys were tackling in space (Alexander), guys were holding their lanes and collapsing the pockets, guys were wraping up and gang tackling, guys were playing assignments and knowing where the help was. IIRC it was Curry who continued to string Gardner to the sidelines for the sack instead of moving up field.

 

The guys were simply succeeding at the basics. A team that does the basics well, and nothing else, is a hard team to beat.

+1. I think this really explains a lot of our success defensively. And I apologize about the title being an overused quote. It's just that there have been some huge defensive meltdowns in some very big games in the last couple seasons and I always go back to that quote as Pelini's unabashed state of mind regarding the defense that he puts out on the field, even when it underperforms. How many articles (and people on this site) criticized Pelini after our losses this season, saying he wasn't making obvious adjustments when offenses exploited us for big gains (See "Play after play, Nebraska plays a basic 4-3 defense and is exposed against the zone read. Regardless of the fact that the defense has more speed and talent, they're completely compromised by a coaching staff that is reluctant to change how they play defense." http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1773904-nebraska-football-pelini-must-be-fired-following-ucla-loss). It seemed at times Pelini was stubborn. Or that his players lacked passion. Or that they were tired of being made scapegoats on the frustratingly recurrent "execution!" theme. Or that he had forgotten how to coach defense.

But we've seen something the last few weeks and I'm simply trying to foster thoughts on what it was.

The defense was incredible on Saturday against the Wolverines. It reminded me quite a bit of 2009 (coincidentally the last time I really believed the quote in the topic). We finally locked in on first down and stopped the big yardage. We had pressure. We had sacks. We weren't shy about blitzing.

Is this a result of our young guys starting to "get it" (and the right young guys being provided game opportunities)? Or did our coaches suddenly become flexible with some of the scheme and tailor it to the talent they have on the field?

One good game on defense against a short-handed and downtrodden team doesn't make us world-beaters, but it gives me a glimmer of hope that Pelini and Co. really haven't forgotten to coach defense and how to stop the run.

Please no soft patty-cake this time....

Anyone think TM makes that play?

 

My wife said the same thing and said he would have took the sack.

Taken the sack. And fumbled.

Who knows? And why does it matter?

Love watching the option.

really? I can't really say that I like this option because it scare me

Does it scare you any more considering the pick/throw ratio that Armstrong has? He's pretty smooth with the option in comparison...

So many opportunities to win this game.

LOL @ everyone in the game thread that called for a complete switch to TA. Love TA, but RKIII deserved time too. Awesome, awesome play!

MISSOURI 1997

Also, for the record, I think we could have a great identity as a run first/option team. But we also have very talented receivers that we should utilize. Some balance is required.

Time for them to settle on Tommy. RKIII has some good skills...but we need to make a commitment..

 

I'm very high on TA, but give RKIII a break. Three weeks ago he saved TA's butt. Such short memories around here.

I am not knocking RK, but I think our strength in running the ball, and TA is better at running than RK. The offense is moving the ball, so why change? Although I am missing something, because the offense was stinking it up last week and there was no change at QB.

I think he made the change to RKIII because thinks RKIII is better throwing the ball (and generally this is probably true) and we needed to throw to get downfield fast in the 2 minute drill. No idea why we didn't sub out Martinez last week. That was just plain dumb.

Time for them to settle on Tommy. RKIII has some good skills...but we need to make a commitment..

I'm very high on TA, but give RKIII a break. Three weeks ago he saved TA's butt. Such short memories around here.

Is this UCLA again?

Fake Punt??

no

That was really close to being a pick-6.

With all the actual bad things happening, let's just not nit-pick the not bad things.

RUN THE BALL!!!!!!! 3 passes in a row!!!?!

Hope Q is ok.

This could be a long rest of the season

Arm tackles. Apathy.

When the author is describing what schools like Oregon have to offer in the way of a story, compared to Nebraska, it's very important to realize that this message was the vision of the current head coach. Bo wasn't hired and told "recruit with this message". He was told "you're hired, build your program". Because it needed building. Oh and you know who had major roles in the re-branding and "upgrades" at Ohio St and Oregon, his two examples? The coaches. I'm all for tweaking our image for the better, but we don't need to invent anything and God Forbid we continue to copy Oregon. It's gotten Oregon zero national titles and it's gotten Nebraska stupid looking jerseys that get made fun of.

Wow. It got Oregon to more national title appearances and BCS games and conference championships than Nebraska in the modern era (BCS Era) What has your "Tradition" done for you since football became a national sport rather than regional? Nothing. No National Titles, 1 Conference Title, You haven't lost less than 4 games in a season for 10 years. Even in 2003 you lost 3 games. Haven't been a threat on a national level since the 90's. I am typically hopeful for Nebraska but when they take unwarranted shots at a program that has built itself into what it is right now, which is a national power, I get a little fired up. Put up or shut up, Oregon got a late start on building a national power, so that automatically makes them irrelevant? Good grief, Oregon has been far superior to Nebraska since 2000. Excuse the harshness, but man that upsets me.

In the BCS era: National titles played for: 1 for NU, 1 for Oregon. My ultimate point was this, the article posted...not me.....pointed out that "Oregon had to invent something because they had no titles to build on" the articles words. Not mine. I don't think Nebraska's model to success should be Oregon's. Nebraska doesn't have NIKE's marketing staff, and we seem to be less eager to pay recruits. But hey sorry I sullied your one Rose Bowl victory, your beatdown at the hands of an Ohio St team NU can't seem to beat, a beatdown of a KState team that NU had no problem doing, and your annual bed pooping against an inferior opponent. Honestly, you came to Nebraska board expecting what again?

 

Oregon never paid any recruits. The one recruit that was allegedly recruited unfairly to Oregon, never played a snap for the Ducks. He's now at Baylor. Oregon was just getting started when they lost to Ohio State. Would have you beaten KState last season? No, you wouldn't have. Annual pooping the bed against an inferior opponent? What constitutes inferior? The same inferior that Nebraska loses 2-3 games to every year? ok, yea thats what I thought you meant, too.

 

You speak like Nebraska actually wins big games. Every nationally televised game Nebraska gets housed by 30+ points. What is most embarrassing, is that a program of elite status, is becoming Iowa's big brother with no clear path taking you back the other way.