The Hard Lessons

[Husker_x]

1. First and most importantly, it isn't what we learned, but rather didn't learn. If it hasn't happened already, a full investigation/report needs to be filed as to what the hell happened when Texas lost the Big XII championship game as the clock rolls to zero, and then Lo and Behold, there's a second left on the clock. I have a hard time imagining the call being made in anything but the last play of a championship bout where the Big XII's golden boys are about to crap in their own pants, but when you have a team stupid enough to run a play with eight seconds left (which happens to involve a designed QB run in it) and he lobs a floater out of bounds as the final seconds tick away, how about tie goes to the team that wasn't stupid enough to run a play like that. I'm not as upset about this travesty as I should be, but until Texas worked their magic, I wasn't even aware such a play was reviewable, as the whistle was blown after time had expired.

 

2. Colt McCoy? Heisman? Mwa ha ha ha ha. This Christmas Suh will arrive at Bo Pelini's house for dinner, all decked out in a festive sweater. They'll sit around the fireplace drinking eggnog and smoking big cigars. And as conversation rolls on, suddenly they'll begin to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Why are they laughing? Because they'll remember that this is the vaunted Longhorn offense. This is the best QB-slash-player in the nation. To even write this sentence causes mirthful tears to roll down my face. After Suh, who made McCoy his bitch to the tune of 4 1/2 sacks, isn't invited––nay, dare I say rightfully considered––for the Heisman trophy, then the award ought to be banished from football. It will have irreversibly shown itself to be as pathetic and irrelevant a mockery as the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

3. Back to the merry Christmas scene, the unfortunate thing of it is soon the tearful laugher will turn to tearful sobbing, because even though you can do little but laugh at Texas's overrated offense, the merest thought of our own brings the strongest a sour feeling in his guts and a weak feeling in his knees. 106 yards. You got me right. 106. And five first downs. As worthless as Texas was, Watson was not to be outdone. No sir. He cooked up the most inept scheme yet again featuring the most inept players perhaps in the history of the program. Unlike some teams that actually get better throughout the season only to explode finally when the lights are at their brightest, our offense reverts––penalties, turnovers, drops, missed assignments. The offense couldn't even handle its menial role of not doing anything stupid. Granted, it was Adi Kunalic and Larry Asante who would ultimately be high fiving each other on the sidelines, but the ugly reality here is that if we had even a sh**ty offense, we would have smoked these clowns and the whole world knows it.

 

4. Which brings us to the obvious, doesn't it? It doesn't really matter who. Or precisely when. But someone had better be job hunting and that right soon. No offense as useless and regressive as this should be smiled and patted on the head with labels of 'inexperience'. This is coaching. This is scheme. A message needs to be sent that 106 yards and five first downs on the national stage is not acceptable. Though it is a foregone conclusion that Lee probably won't need to bother showing up for spring ball, the fact that he's gotten this far being expected to do nothing but not turn it over (which he still manages to do) is a sign of a staff who even with an entire season couldn't coach their way to a single touchdown––run or pass. Is Nebraska back? I think they're close, but there's a weak link the chain. And we all know what it is.

 

That's what I learned last night. How about you?

[zoogs]

Watson's gameplan and scheme were just fine. It's the same thing we did with OU and what we've had to resort to this year, all year. Keep it on the ground, play it unbearably safe (we took shots downfield early but gave up on those), and let the D win the game for us.

 

And it almost worked.

 

Unfortunately, our running game didn't break anything like we did against OU. And we still almost won this game. That was the plan, and I don't have a problem with it. I wish the execution had been just slightly better. And by that I mean several inches of distance for Kinnie's toe.

 

If we aren't careful as we were on O, we easily see Texas outdistance us and cover that spread. You just have to take the talents, abilities, and execution capabilities of what you've got to work with, and put the best game plan you can. Watson does that, and it's ugly, yes, but some of you are still saying we won this game. A game we were heavy dogs in. That's the gameplan doing just what it is supposed to.

[Radioactive Man]

Watson's gameplan and scheme were just fine. It's the same thing we did with OU and what we've had to resort to this year, all year. Keep it on the ground, play it unbearably safe (we took shots downfield early but gave up on those), and let the D win the game for us.

 

And it almost worked.

 

Unfortunately, our running game didn't break anything like we did against OU. And we still almost won this game. That was the plan, and I don't have a problem with it. I wish the execution had been just slightly better. And by that I mean several inches of distance for Kinnie's toe.

You're right, except we didn't need the running game to break one for us since Paul did it twice. That's as good as getting a big run from the run game. That kick out of bounds was the thing that cost us the game. With the way the defense was playing, if the Texas had started on their own 20, no way they get in field goal range. When you've clearly got inferior offensive talent, you can't afford to make a play like that at the end of the game.

[Husker_x]

This is the part to me that never stops being bewildering. People act as though 13 games into a season the idea that the best you can expect of your offense is field goals and no turnovers is a good thing. Scheme around what you have? Sure, sound plan. Except most teams in the nation actually expect their offense to score. Defense wins championships, true, but someone has to put the points up.

[808Husker in KCMO]

Our offensive gameplan was sound. If we DONT take shots down the field, we may have won this game.Pick up 6-8 after the blocked punt and Henery is 5-5 in FGs and the Huskers win 15-13