Effort to savor, Loss to forget

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

NE Statepaper

 

Burn the film. Erase the listing in your DVR. Go have a slice of apple and forget all about this nightmare.

 

These are the worst ones to lose. The hardest from which to learn and grow, for players and for fans. Bo Pelini just had to throw his headset at the end. Pitched it like it was a dirty toad, and Huskers’ bench was a pond. Don’t blame him, frankly. You probably trashed a lot worse in your living room.

 

It’s a “Bill Buckner” loss. Don’t deny it. You’ll sit in a daze for the rest of the weekend. Folks, right now, will be walking aimlessly through the streets of Nebraska. Danny-Coale-behind-the-defense is our “behind the bag!” Be honest – are you ever going to forget that kid’s name for the rest of your life? It’ll be a punchline at a black humor party. They’ll show the game on scary movie night.

 

How in the hell did Coale get back there? Pelini didn’t want “belabor” the point. Well, of course he didn’t.

 

So, uh, how in the hell did Coale get back there?

 

His catch was, truly, one of the most inexplicable defensive plays in Nebraska history. Of course there is an explanation for it, but it’s a little like the one where the guy forgets to bring the ring to his own wedding.

 

It ruined a perfectly wonderful defensive effort from the Huskers. They had a strategy to contain and frustrate Tyrod Taylor, and they did it. Aside from one long run by Ryan Williams, NU gummed up the Hokies’ ground game. Roy Helu, by himself, had more total yards heading into the fourth quarter than Virginia Tech.

 

It was a remake, frankly, of NU’s game vs. Clemson, when the Tigers looked helpless and outcoached and beaten. Tech’s offensive coordinator, Bryan Stinespring, had retreated deep into his Hokie shell by the game’s final drive. Taylor, awful for 59 minutes, didn’t have a chance. He couldn’t hit the barn, much less the broadside of one.

 

And then – Coale behind the defense! And then – Taylor, with his Joe Montana moment, on the 11-yard touchdown pass.

 

It was the only decent play Taylor made all day. He played like a bust. He pouted. He fussed. Nebraska’s defense made a campfire in his brain. But he had that one, brilliant throw in him, and he made it.

 

And the Huskers ran out of lives. They had nine. They didn’t have a tenth.

 

You want to blame NU’s offense for not putting the game away sooner. But color me surprised that it ran the ball that well. Helu did a lot of that damage on his own – he’s a big-league running back, folks, one of the best in America – but the offensive line scrapped pretty good, too. It wavered some in pass protection, but quarterback Zac Lee had enough time. You’d love to have that third-quarter drive back if you’re Ricky Henry and Marcel Jones. But they were under more stress than Husker fans may appreciate.

 

Lee? He’s a gamer. It was a tough, long day, but he kept his head in it and only made a few bad mistakes. You were expecting last week? No. He was inaccurate, but his receivers didn’t help him much. Menelik Holt dropped a touchdown. Niles Paul was mostly a non-factor. Chris Brooks made a few tough grabs – he’s made them all year - but apparently he doesn’t block well enough to start. Or something.

 

Quibble if you wish with Shawn Watson’s playcalling. It wasn’t as conservative as it seemed, and the conservative stuff worked better anyway. Burning so many timeouts is a pain, but natural in an environment like Lane Stadium. Maybe he called too many passes. Or maybe he called ones that took too long to develop.

 

What of Bo’s coaching effort? Mostly outstanding. He had his defensive ends, Barry Turner and Pierre Allen coached up, didn’t he? They kept Taylor penned in most of the day. And the Phillip Dillard move worked.

 

We’ll argue strategy on “The Play,” though. Was Cover 2 the right call there, 84 yards from the end zone, when a Cover 3 or Cover 4 would have kept such a play from occurring? Say what you want about ol’ No. 33 back there – well, you’ve probably already said it – but what value is there, really, in Anthony West covering an empty patch of grass 80 yards from the goal line with a minute left? So what if Taylor completes a couple 20-yarders? That puts Tech, at best, at midfield, with no timeouts and 30 seconds left.

 

Again – there’s no good explanation for the bust. But there’s a good argument for something other than Cover 2. And that’s Pelini’s call.

 

But give Pelini this much credit: NU rebounded from a rocky start, wrested control of the game by halftime and dominated the line of scrimmage. They played Tech to a draw in special teams: One good return per side.

 

Yeah, Nebraska’s pretty tough. It’s not fast enough yet, it doesn’t convert in key situations and it still blows up with penalties. But it’s tough. The Huskers have to believe – the fans, too - there isn’t another game on their current schedule that they can’t win.

 

Except, of course, the one they just lost.

[I See Red People]

Pretty darn good read and summation of yesterday's tragedy.

[huskered17]

This team grew up a lot yesterday. Hang on for a great season coming up, folks.

 

GBR!!!

[Fuzzy]

Yea this was a good read.

 

I like how they put some attention that it was not completely O'Hanlon's fault.

West let him go and took a patch of empty grass on the left side of the field.

 

But like the guy said.

 

"The Huskers have to believe – the fans, too - there isn’t another game on their current schedule that they can’t win."

[JTrain]

Absolutely spot-on opinion of the game. And the best part:

 

We’ll argue strategy on “The Play,” though. Was Cover 2 the right call there, 84 yards from the end zone, when a Cover 3 or Cover 4 would have kept such a play from occurring? Say what you want about ol’ No. 33 back there – well, you’ve probably already said it – but what value is there, really, in Anthony West covering an empty patch of grass 80 yards from the goal line with a minute left? So what if Taylor completes a couple 20-yarders? That puts Tech, at best, at midfield, with no timeouts and 30 seconds left.

 

Again – there’s no good explanation for the bust. But there’s a good argument for something other than Cover 2. And that’s Pelini’s call.

 

This is absolutely correct. You can blame O'Hanlon all you want, and yes, he made a critical error, but there's no way you leave our safeties on an island deep, when the only conceivable way Tyrod was going to beat us was on a bomb. Let him try to dink his way down the field. His accuracy on short and medium passes was shoddy all day. And even if he does connect with a couple 15-20 yarders, so what? There's no way he does it consistently enough and quickly enough to get all the way down the field with a minute left and no timeouts.

 

All things considered (inconsistent passer needing 80+ yards and a touchdown with just over a minute left and no timeouts), the cover two call was absolutely terrible, and I hope Bo knows it.