Tom Shatel on USC game

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

OMH link

 

Tom Shatel: NU played it much too safe on big stage

 

BY TOM SHATEL

 

 

 

WORLD-HERALD COULMINST

 

 

LOS ANGELES - You wanted a measuring stick? You got it.

 

USC is still USC. And Nebraska is not quite Nebraska again, not the Nebraska that can go toe-to-toe with anyone on the national stage.

 

Nebraska? Better, but not yet ready for ABC prime time. Says who?

 

Says coach Bill Callahan's game plan.

 

If we learned anything from USC's 28-10 victory over the Huskers at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday night, it may be that Nebraska's own coach doesn't think his third-year program is ready to run with the big dogs.

 

Worse, he wasn't willing to find out.

 

What else to deduce from Callahan's game plan?

 

The stage was set for something special Saturday. The venerable Coliseum, one of the most historic sports venues in the world, was a thing of beauty. The place was filled to the rim, with more than 25,000 Husker fans in red, watching two traditional powers dressed to thrill.

 

But you walk away from this one feeling let down, if only to wonder what might have been.

 

Callahan came out conservative. The Huskers ran and ran and ran some more. They ran as if the coaching staff, after a zillion and one hours of studying Trojan tape, felt they could pound the rock on USC's 11 immovable objects all night.

 

Another way to view it, after NU ran out the first-half clock to go in trailing 14-3, was that Callahan appeared to be playing not to lose badly.

 

Mr. West Coast offense hits the Left Coast with the East Coast offense?

 

It was the irony of ironies, from a coach who came from the National Football League with an offense that promised to be on the attack and "take what we want."

 

The ultimate irony, of course, is criticizing Callahan for running the ball too much. Remember 2004?

 

Two images come to mind from Callahan's first season at Nebraska. One, the brutal 70-10 loss at Texas Tech. Callahan kept ordering passes, and Texas Tech kept getting the ball back for layup touchdowns. We critics bemoaned the lack of smart strategy. Why not run the ball and get out of there?

 

Same thing a few weeks later at Iowa State. Callahan had quarterback Joe Dailey chucking the ball all over the field. We said he let a victory slip away by not pounding it on the Cyclones.

 

So why is this different?

 

Glad you asked. Several reasons.

 

This is the third year of the WCO in Lincoln. There is a senior quarterback who knows it back and forth, up and down. There are better pieces in place. Matt Herian is a big-play tight end who was hurt in October 2004. Maurice Purify is a big-time receiver who wasn't here then.

 

But Taylor threw 16 times and completed eight against USC. Herian caught one pass. Purify caught none.

 

Meanwhile, Nebraska has four good - but not great - running backs. NU's line, a good but not dominant run-blocking unit, was also without senior center Kurt Mann.

 

Maybe the Huskers can pound the rock on Louisiana Tech or Iowa State or Kansas State. But not USC. The Trojans' front seven has NFL speed. Nebraska has Big 12 North speed.

 

Maybe it wouldn't have mattered. Chances are, USC was going to win this game no matter what Callahan called. But it would have been nice to put the game in the hands of Taylor, Herian and Co. to see what would have happened.

 

For instance: On NU's lone scoring drive, a nine-play, 74-yard drive that cut the lead to 21-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, Taylor went 3 for 4 for 67 yards. The big play was a 36-yard pass to Herian.

 

It was too little, too late.

 

The Huskers executed a fake punt and knocked out a USC fullback. They were in the game early. But it felt at times like they were keeping USC in the game.

 

Afterward, Callahan said he was playing to win - on the ground. He defended his plan and stuck to his guns. The thinking from the coaching staff was that teams that had done well against USC - Fresno State and Texas - had pounded the rock right at them.

 

Well, Texas beat the Trojans because quarterback Vince Young is Superman. Fresno State was the first to push and scare USC last season, though the Bulldogs failed.

 

I suppose what we learned, then, is that Nebraska is no Fresno State.

 

Whoever is going to take down this Trojan horse had better have all cylinders going. You won't do it by just running or passing. You'd better mix things up, hope for turnovers or recruit a kid like Vince Young.

 

The Blackshirts did not get embarrassed. They played well at times, especially early. Corners Cortney Grixby and Andre Jones took some hard lessons, but there are few, if any, corners whom USC's Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith aren't going to school this year.

 

NU's biggest trouble was the matchup of its linebackers against USC's short routes to its backs and receivers, in the flat or to the side. That wasn't playing fair. The good news is, it counts as only one game. This season, as we stated before, will be defined by the Big 12 and whether the Huskers can make it to the Big 12 championship game.

 

The Huskers hit the Road to Kansas City healthy and intact. But they won't be bringing home any swagger.

[admo]

Thanks for the article. There are so many interesting perspectives on this board I'll have to read what this guy says later. I know what I saw with my own eyes on the tele. last night. We'll be alright. Gotta go see who's voicing rants now...

[motorboatjonesNU]

Shatel nailed this one. Right on.

[TrueHuskerFan]

I think this article will fuel anger from a lot of casual fans. One thing I agree with him on is the end of the 2nd quarter we should have done something, but I think there are going to be a lot of people out there that might have thought, "oh well we lost to the #2 team in the country," that are going to read that article and be like, "FIRE BILL CALLAHAN!" Whatever, I just don't think it was objective enough.

[DaveH]

The Blackshirts did not get embarrassed. They played well at times, especially early. Corners Cortney Grixby and Andre Jones took some hard lessons, but there are few, if any, corners whom USC's Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith aren't going to school this year.

Exactly my feeling on the defense,

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I was really confused at the end of the 2nd Quarter when we just let the clock run!!!!????

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I was really confused at the end of the 2nd Quarter when we just let the clock run!!!!????

That threw me for a loop as well. I would have expected him to have Taylor take a shot into the endzone.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

That's what I thought was going to happen!!! I thought okay throw the rock up and let our boys go and get it!!!!

[ttheKid1*18]

The main thing I was surprised about was not using Purify. He is so big. Why not give him a chance. The one pass thrown to him was low, and had it been at his numbers he would have caught it and had a first down. Can't wait for this team to come to Lincoln next year!

[HSKRNOKC]

The west coast attack is about balance. Yesterday we did not play with any balance. When usc figured out that all we were going to do is run, their front seven licked their chops.

 

 

Poor poor gameplan against an opponent that our offense could have done better against IMO.

 

 

Our secondary is weak. Jones got torched and Grixby played like a 5'9" corner against 6'5" NFL caliber receivers. I dont recall hearing a safeties name all night.

 

So were not all the way their yet. We are way better off than in recent past.

 

 

 

I give credit to ETR. He called this outcome from the get go.

[ttheKid1*18]

I see us playing much better against this team next year. Great qb in Keller, all the backs will be one year better, all the wr's minus te Herian return, and the line will be better. The are I see us really doing well is on D. The line will lose everyone, but the backups now can only have a better game than yesterday, and our lb's will be a year better as well. I am excited though about the secondary. Grix, Jones, and thankfully Bowman all return and should dominate. The safeties should be better as well. I am by no means giving up on this season at all, but we should get a little payback when SC comes to Lincoln next year. GRB!

[zoogs]

I agree.

 

USC is a good team, you gotta give them credit. They were FAST on defense. It was amazing how we ran into a wall every time we tried running outside. We failed to establish a reliable running game, but we kept running anyway. I'm not so sure our gameplan was effective. There was that drive where we consistently burned them with the deep ball; Matt Herian just basically ran by the corner and was wide open near the end zone. Why didn't we try the vertical pass game more? Our persistence in running was a little baffling - it was getting us nowhere. Also, our short dumpoffs were getting us nowhere for the most part, as well. USC is too fast to get beat by screens; their secondary was the weakness and we didn't look to try to torch them.

 

When I think we could have. I mean, even our punter burned them once.

 

D did a good job on Booty, as the announcers said, threw off their execution. But sometimes we didn't finish the job; when Booty fumbled, we didn't kill the play and they got a first down. Some of those broken passes could've been intercepted. They really killed us with those short swing catch-and-runs, and our secondary fared predictably. At the end, though, their running backs where just not being tackled. It was like we lost all heart in playing seriously.

 

By the way, in half-related news, OU got SCREWED. I mean they really got shafted.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

We got beat by one of the best teams in the nation if not the best team in the nation!!!! We only lost by 18 points and that is far better than it could have been. Losses happen all you can do is learn from them and dominate your opponents from what you learned from those losses!!!! Troy should watch out because we are going to be focused and ready to play!!!!! I just hope I get to see some passing out there!!!!

[DaveH]

I think this article will fuel anger from a lot of casual fans.

Anything angers those fans. I mean anything.

 

If the opposition doesn't have 0 points and 5 total yards and NU doesn't have at least 45 points, it's the worst game in 10 years. It get's old.

[BIGREDIOWAN]