NU likes to have a punch in crunch

[Enhance]

LINCOLN — The best part about comeback magic is that sometimes it can't be explained.

 

Nebraska found something that worked last year after four seasons of comebacks that never happened. The Huskers won two games they trailed at halftime, two others in which they were tied.

 

Nothing overwhelming, but at least a start for a program that was 0-17 under Bill Callahan when it faced a halftime deficit.

 

As far as reasons why, Husker players offer a variety of conclusions: Halftime adjustments, better conditioning, belief, confidence in each other, character, preparation for situations. Even the huge difference in time of possession, which kept the NU defense with something in the tank for the late going.

 

NU senior receiver Menelik Holt said it was fun to see the Huskers start figuring it out.

 

"I guess there's always more excitement toward the end of the game," Holt said. "I can't say there's anything better than blowing a team out, but there's times when you're down 14, you figure out what you're going to do, and it's good to know you can stay together and have people on the field that will make plays for us."

 

Some of the groundwork likely started last year in winter conditioning and spring practice. The Huskers transition from one to the other this week, with the first of 15 spring workouts coming Wednesday.

 

Coach Bo Pelini will challenge them again to be strong to the finish, something Holt said the staff did every time the Huskers took the practice field last year.

 

"If he would ever see guys getting tired, he'd say, 'You guys going to get tired in the fourth quarter?'" Holt said. "Of course, everyone says no."

 

When Nebraska rebounded from 20-17 down to beat Baylor 32-20 on Oct. 25, it marked the first time since a 2003 game against Penn State that the Huskers won when behind at halftime. In the others, NU was tied 14-14 with Kansas and won 45-35; tied 24-24 with Colorado and won 40-31; and trailed Clemson 14-3 and won 26-21.

 

An attitude developed. One that senior center Jacob Hickman said had gotten away from the Huskers in 2007.

 

"It seemed like this year, the couple times we were down at halftime, it was like, 'Who cares? We're going to win,'" Hickman said. "It seemed like no problem. Nobody seemed to be sweating it.

 

"It's that confidence. I saw it a bit when I first got here, but it kind of dissolved a bit. Confidence is huge. I don't know if the new staff brought it back or if a couple wins here brought it back into us, but it's noticeable."

 

Nebraska had chances at two other comebacks. It trailed Virginia Tech 18-10 at halftime of a 35-30 loss and fell behind Texas Tech 17-7 before taking the Red Raiders to overtime in a 37-31 setback.

 

One hidden stat in it all was the Huskers outscoring opponents 155-52 in the fourth quarter in Pelini's first season as head coach.

 

"Coming into camp and even spring ball last year, Coach Pelini always told us we were going to face adversity," NU cornerback Anthony West said, "so he put us in specific situations in practice, or things that were unexpected, and we had to get through them. That's something the team just bought into. Things are not always going to go the way you want them, too."

 

Senior safety Larry Asante said Pelini and the defensive staff made adjustments when first halves went poorly. West said the time-of-possession factor — NU ranked second nationally at 34:01 per game — made for a defense that could still cover receivers and rush the passer down the stretch.

 

The unexplainable was how a team that previously had no success with coming back suddenly decided it could do it.

 

"Belief did have a lot to do with it," Asante said. "An element of belief and confidence and team unity."

 

The flip side is that Nebraska didn't always start fast in a 9-4 season.

 

After outscoring its first three opponents 69-19 in the first half, NU was outscored 201-155 after halftime by the next 10. Take out the Iowa State and Kansas State games and that figure was 187-99. Poor starts played a very real part in all four losses, and downright buried the Huskers against Missouri (31-10 at half) and Oklahoma (49-14).

 

Full games are more than five months away, but preparations continue when spring practice begins.

 

"First and foremost, one of the big things is conditioning," Holt said. "Camp was some long days, where we made sure we finished hard and details didn't slip the last 30 or 40 minutes of practice. Those things can separate you from other teams. It's something I'm sure we're going to work on this spring again."

 

Pretty nice to seeing us play this way again.

 

LINK

[HuskerTrucker]

Yeah, I think we are definitely headed in the right direction on defense, I think they will have a lot better concept of Bo's defense going into this season. Last year they seemed like they just weren't sure of themselves and were holding back. I think this years defense will have more pop and we will see more big hits/plays.

[Husker_x]

Yeah, I think we are definitely headed in the right direction on defense, I think they will have a lot better concept of Bo's defense going into this season. Last year they seemed like they just weren't sure of themselves and were holding back. I think this years defense will have more pop and we will see more big hits/plays.

 

Add to that a probable infusion of speed at (the very least) the linebacker position, and a secondary that has a better idea of what they're being asked to do––I think the defense could be surprising.

[shyndy]

I always liked how back in the day we had so much success in the 4th quarter. I think alot of it is conditioning and also the coaches having something up their sleeve. But I always remember we'd be playing teams and you'd see the other team holding up the four fingers like they were gonna win it in the fourth but most of the time we dominated later in the game as the running game just wore on people

[Danimal]

155 to 52 ratio in 4th quarter scoring says it all. Great seeing an in-shape, confident team with coaches that can actually make adjustments.

[HuskerTrucker]

155 to 52 ratio in 4th quarter scoring says it all. Great seeing an in-shape, confident team with coaches that can actually make adjustments.

I agree that we are headed in the right direction, but in regards to making adjustments - Dr. Tom was a genius in that regard, and Bo is still learning. If you looked at the 1st half verses the 2nd half numbers when Osborne was coach, I bet there is a huge difference.

 

Like I said, Bo is still on the learning curve, but he is getting there quickly. I don't care if you like Bo, or you don't like him, you have to be impressed with what he has been able to do with this team. It is like night and day between the first game and the last game of the season. I realize every team should be better at the end of the season, but these guys were so far behind the curve that they looked like a bunch of freshmen fresh out of high school that first game. By the end of the season, they had confidence, and played like they knew what they were doing.

[RedDenver]

First time I saw that headline I mistook crunch for crotch.

[HuskerInLostWages]

155 to 52 ratio in 4th quarter scoring says it all. Great seeing an in-shape, confident team with coaches that can actually make adjustments.

I agree that we are headed in the right direction, but in regards to making adjustments - Dr. Tom was a genius in that regard, and Bo is still learning. If you looked at the 1st half verses the 2nd half numbers when Osborne was coach, I bet there is a huge difference.

 

Like I said, Bo is still on the learning curve, but he is getting there quickly. I don't care if you like Bo, or you don't like him, you have to be impressed with what he has been able to do with this team. It is like night and day between the first game and the last game of the season. I realize every team should be better at the end of the season, but these guys were so far behind the curve that they looked like a bunch of freshmen fresh out of high school that first game. By the end of the season, they had confidence, and played like they knew what they were doing.

 

I agree whole heartedly.

[Enhance]

155 to 52 ratio in 4th quarter scoring says it all. Great seeing an in-shape, confident team with coaches that can actually make adjustments.

 

Games are won or lost in the fourth quarter so I'm very proud our team was able to prove that more than once this year.

 

It's great seeing us inching in the right direction towards being a strong team in the North. As long as we play our best ball in the fourth quarter and tough it out for that last 15 minutes I'm sure we will have another very successful season this year.

 

I just hope people realize that our team is still growing with this new staff. I don't expect an awesome showing this year considering the tools we have to work with but so far things are going great for us.