Thoughts on USC game

[chamrocck]

Hey,

 

Couldn't help but join this board and post my thoughts on the game. I've lived in southern CA my entire life so I have gotten used to the whole USC hype the last few years...they are an excellent football team. I became a Husker fan because of my wife (born in Lincoln) and her Big Red family.

 

I attended the game with my brother-in-law. Before the game with the tailgates and crowds it seemed as if the Husker fans were 50% of the crowd. Near the entrance to the Colisuem they were broadcasting the local station (ESPN affiliate and home of USC football broadcasts) and the local guy gave some props to Husker Nation saying USC fans would have some work to do as Husker fans were in full force. Unfortuantely, after entering stadium, I saw the majority of those fans were likely in the seats way, way out away from the field on both sides...so the noise they would provide would be limited. I'd say if we had 30,000 there, then more than half were in those two locations. I sat in section 16, 36th row...it was in the enclosed endzone on the non-tunnel section (side opposite of where ZT scored). There was a good showing in the endzone with most the Husker fans in the section where ZT scored (more fans there than in my section).

 

I've now had some time to digest this game. Certainly while I was at the game, I was getting angry that we were not showcasing the WCO and trying to throw the ball some more. Driving home listening to the USC postgame got me upset some more as the commentators basically were taunting us saying where was our big bad WCO (basically saying this was Nebraska with Solich and ZT and our receivers could not make plays, i.e. "this is not Nicholls St.!"). Commentators were quite surprised we did not test freshman secondary of USC and said how our game plan was off as we ran at the strength of USC's defense. One comment was that perhaps we thought we could take advantage of USC nose tackle Sedrick Ellis being out. It was hard to listen to. In the end, I think BC stuck with the plan that actually would have given us the best chance to win. Sure, I would have loved to see us throw deep, etc. But I believe that if we scored 10 more points than we did, USC would have scored 20 more (our defense was tired in the final minutes). BC knew that for us to win it was going to be a 24-23 type game. And with a couple breaks (no lost fumble, Grix near pick six, and USC recovering their own fumble and running it for yards) maybe we would have had the chance to take a shot in the 4th. Remember, USC did not turn the ball over and we absoultely needed that to win this game.

 

I really had no problem with game plan in the first half...everyone knew we were trying to chew clock and not let USC on the field. USC fans were getting frustrated as they were wanting to see more points. But, I did expect us to come out in the second half and take some chances with the passing game and that never happened. I don't understand the 3rd down pitches which were horrific calls. In the end we didn't get a turnover that we were looking for and they did. Also, after the game there were quite a few Husker fans who were dumbfounded we didn't pass but just lined up in running formations the whole night...USC fans commented that they thought we played pretty well and that if we as Husker fans go back and look at the passing downs you will see USC defense is just too fast, ZT has no where to throw to, etc. They thought ZT did a pretty good job of keeping the ball. Yes, that is good to know but it's also basically coming from USC fan who is somewhat frustrated that they did not hang 50 on the board and as a Husker fan we wanted to win. USC fans gave props to our defense some also. Now that I look back, I appreciate the comments of some of their fans more than I do their radio commentators who wanted to see more action and scoring from both teams. In the end, my heart says man we should have gone out guns blazing chucking the ball around...but my head tells me there was absolutely no way we were ever going to beat USC in a track meet at the Coliseum. In the end, albeit more boring to watch, BC's game plan was going to give us best chance to win.

[DaveH]

Great! Welcome to the board! I bet it was pretty cool being able to be there. I heard the Colliseum is kind of a dump. Is that true? Not that Memorial Stadium is the newest thing out there but I don't think I would call it a dump.

[hskrfan4life]

Hey,

 

Couldn't help but join this board and post my thoughts on the game. I've lived in southern CA my entire life so I have gotten used to the whole USC hype the last few years...they are an excellent football team. I became a Husker fan because of my wife (born in Lincoln) and her Big Red family.

 

I attended the game with my brother-in-law. Before the game with the tailgates and crowds it seemed as if the Husker fans were 50% of the crowd. Near the entrance to the Colisuem they were broadcasting the local station (ESPN affiliate and home of USC football broadcasts) and the local guy gave some props to Husker Nation saying USC fans would have some work to do as Husker fans were in full force. Unfortuantely, after entering stadium, I saw the majority of those fans were likely in the seats way, way out away from the field on both sides...so the noise they would provide would be limited. I'd say if we had 30,000 there, then more than half were in those two locations. I sat in section 16, 36th row...it was in the enclosed endzone on the non-tunnel section (side opposite of where ZT scored). There was a good showing in the endzone with most the Husker fans in the section where ZT scored (more fans there than in my section).

 

I've now had some time to digest this game. Certainly while I was at the game, I was getting angry that we were not showcasing the WCO and trying to throw the ball some more. Driving home listening to the USC postgame got me upset some more as the commentators basically were taunting us saying where was our big bad WCO (basically saying this was Nebraska with Solich and ZT and our receivers could not make plays, i.e. "this is not Nicholls St.!"). Commentators were quite surprised we did not test freshman secondary of USC and said how our game plan was off as we ran at the strength of USC's defense. One comment was that perhaps we thought we could take advantage of USC nose tackle Sedrick Ellis being out. It was hard to listen to. In the end, I think BC stuck with the plan that actually would have given us the best chance to win. Sure, I would have loved to see us throw deep, etc. But I believe that if we scored 10 more points than we did, USC would have scored 20 more (our defense was tired in the final minutes). BC knew that for us to win it was going to be a 24-23 type game. And with a couple breaks (no lost fumble, Grix near pick six, and USC recovering their own fumble and running it for yards) maybe we would have had the chance to take a shot in the 4th. Remember, USC did not turn the ball over and we absoultely needed that to win this game.

 

I really had no problem with game plan in the first half...everyone knew we were trying to chew clock and not let USC on the field. USC fans were getting frustrated as they were wanting to see more points. But, I did expect us to come out in the second half and take some chances with the passing game and that never happened. I don't understand the 3rd down pitches which were horrific calls. In the end we didn't get a turnover that we were looking for and they did. Also, after the game there were quite a few Husker fans who were dumbfounded we didn't pass but just lined up in running formations the whole night...USC fans commented that they thought we played pretty well and that if we as Husker fans go back and look at the passing downs you will see USC defense is just too fast, ZT has no where to throw to, etc. They thought ZT did a pretty good job of keeping the ball. Yes, that is good to know but it's also basically coming from USC fan who is somewhat frustrated that they did not hang 50 on the board and as a Husker fan we wanted to win. USC fans gave props to our defense some also. Now that I look back, I appreciate the comments of some of their fans more than I do their radio commentators who wanted to see more action and scoring from both teams. In the end, my heart says man we should have gone out guns blazing chucking the ball around...but my head tells me there was absolutely no way we were ever going to beat USC in a track meet at the Coliseum. In the end, albeit more boring to watch, BC's game plan was going to give us best chance to win.

 

[chamrocck]

Yes, the Coliseum is not a very good facility. Place is just old and run down. Parking is not very good either. I don't see the NFL ever coming back there. There are some good areas to set up tailgates and the area at the entrance is good for media set up as well.

 

A couple items for anyone to answer on penalties. I believe we had two 15 yarders. The one on roughing the passer was a killer. They did not show on replay in the stadium and since I was watching the ball, I did not see this play. How was this call? The other was on a facemask and they did show one replay of this in the stadium. USC fans obviously thought it was a 15 yarder but I couldn't tell...from the one replay I saw looked like it could go either way. Did they show angles on TV? Was 15 yards justified?

[alairguard]

Yes, the Coliseum is not a very good facility. Place is just old and run down. Parking is not very good either. I don't see the NFL ever coming back there. There are some good areas to set up tailgates and the area at the entrance is good for media set up as well.

 

A couple items for anyone to answer on penalties. I believe we had two 15 yarders. The one on roughing the passer was a killer. They did not show on replay in the stadium and since I was watching the ball, I did not see this play. How was this call? The other was on a facemask and they did show one replay of this in the stadium. USC fans obviously thought it was a 15 yarder but I couldn't tell...from the one replay I saw looked like it could go either way. Did they show angles on TV? Was 15 yards justified?

I didn't actually see the facemask on the replay, bad angle, I did see it, however, in a photo and I certainly didn't look like a 15 yarder.

 

Welcome to the board.

[Aim9]

I know everyone is talking about how Cally's gameplan was sound because we weren't destroyed and USC was dissappointed they only got 28, but seriously what kind of standards are these? Are we striving to go 9-4? Callahan should have taken a few chances and at least pretended like he was going for a win. Say what you will about him just eating up clock, but what he did before halftime was just mind boggling. With 2:30 left on the clock and two timeouts he didn't even TRY to go downfield. We did what, 5 running plays and went into the locker room? You could at least try a few passes and see where you could get. With 2:30 you could almost run out the clock if the drive wasn't going well anyway. A field goal or a TD right before halftime would have done wonders for morale going into the half. That was just bad coaching.

 

I'll support Callahan because the program is certainly better off now than with Solich, but if we ever make it to the national championship and he coaches like that I will promptly call for his resignation. I want a coach who strives to win, not a coach who strives to not get blown out.

[CENTEXHUSKER]

I know everyone is talking about how Cally's gameplan was sound because we weren't destroyed and USC was dissappointed they only got 28, but seriously what kind of standards are these? Are we striving to go 9-4? Callahan should have taken a few chances and at least pretended like he was going for a win. Say what you will about him just eating up clock, but what he did before halftime was just mind boggling. With 2:30 left on the clock and two timeouts he didn't even TRY to go downfield. We did what, 5 running plays and went into the locker room? You could at least try a few passes and see where you could get. With 2:30 you could almost run out the clock if the drive wasn't going well anyway. A field goal or a TD right before halftime would have done wonders for morale going into the half. That was just bad coaching.

 

I'll support Callahan because the program is certainly better off now than with Solich, but if we ever make it to the national championship and he coaches like that I will promptly call for his resignation. I want a coach who strives to win, not a coach who strives to not get blown out.

[Spartness]

Whether it was a poor game plan or not, it appeared to me we still have a ways to go to hit the big time again, perhaps one to two years. We need to continue to recruit well. It doesn't have to be all four or five-star-rated players. There are plenty of underrated HC players out there, and with Lincoln's location, it's hard to compete with the USCs, UTs and FUs of the world. Yes, we may get our share of four stars and perhaps a five star, but we need to fill the rest with diamonds in the rough. Underrated players who will need to be developed. I hope coach Cal realizes he has to develop these players more than the ready-made ones at a USC or UT.

[muzicman0]

I purposely haven't read too many posts since the game, and I've waited to say something till now, because I wanted to calm down and have a clear head.

 

Here is where I have the biggest problem with what I saw: Callahan didn't give our players a chance to win. It would be one thing to go out, make a few pass plays, and see how the USC defense handles it, but that's not what happened.

 

In my opinion, Callahan coached one of the worst games I've seen, and it was very dissapointing.

 

I'll admit, I'm not a know everything college football fan, I couldn't even tell you the difference between a mike, will, or sam linebacker (or if I even spelled them correctly!), so feel free to take my coments with a big grain of salt.

 

mm0

[Nigel87]

I've been thinking about it all day today, and although Cally played it very conservative, we still played a good game. USC could have easily racked up the points, but they didn't... But what's done is done. There's another Saturday and Troy is the new focus. Although upsetting, this isn't the end of the world.

[Eric the Red]

I heard the Colliseum is kind of a dump. Is that true?

very true

[Nigel87]

Yesterday I watched Two-Minute Warning on TV, and even in 1976 the Coliseum looked dumpy.

[TrojanMark]

Just wanted to pass on a congratulations to a game well-played. Here are my thoughts, from the USC side:

 

• I, as much as anybody, was stunned that Callahan didn’t pass more. There was a true frosh at FS, and he went untested. But he is a physical monster – at 6’4” & 225 lbs., he’s a great run stopper, and that’s exactly what he did because Nebraska mostly ran the ball.

• To beat USC defensively, you have to do two things: (1) run up the gut – running side to side will get you nowhere, especially with this year’s Trojan defense. They’re too fast, and they will catch you. (2) Take shots downfield. In combination with #1, this stretches the D a bit, and keeps them honest. Nebraska did the first part, but ONLY the first part. They needed to take more shots downfield but didn’t. The two parts together provide a balance that is tough for any defense to defend. But if you’re one dimensional against a Pete Carroll defense, you generally won’t fare very well.

• That Nebraska D-line is superb. Carriker and his counterpart on the other side gave USC fits. Everyone is talking about how sluggish the USC offense was, but I think the D-line had something to do with it. It definitely affected play calling: those 3 step drops and rollouts were not by accident, they were called to neutralize the pass rush.

• USC lost their FB for the year to a gruesome injury early in the game. The running game never really recovered.

• In spite of Callahan’s questionable play calling, I thought USC’s defense played well. This is the fastest I’ve ever seen this unit.

• I enjoyed watching the game with Nebraska fans. I was at the game, and almost everyone I met was nice, and of course very knowledgeable. Can’t make the game in Lincoln next year, but I look forward to that contest.

 

Good luck the rest of the year. I hope you guys beat Texas. My theory is the following: Mack Brown can’t win a big game without Vince Young. He couldn’t at North Carolina, and he can’t at Texas.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Thanks TrojanMark!

 

I agree our offense struggled but I also knew we had to establish the run first before we could go vertical with the ball. There's no denying that. When Taylor did drop back, your D-line was quick to put pressure on him. Your boys are quick especially on the east-west runs and screen plays. Best of luck to you guys during the rest of your season. And though I "hated" USC this past Saturday, I will most definitely be a partial USC fan when you guys play against Notre Dame.

 

Any word on Powdrell's injury? I heard something during the game it was a dislocation?

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Good post TrojanMark it's great to see it from your side of the ball. I hope your FB is okay!!!! I never want to see anyone get injured and that injury made me get goosebumps immediately when I saw it!!!!!