Huskers nothing to be worried about?

[Husker_x]

USTIN – In a program that frets when losing twice in two seasons, Texas players spent their bye week coping with two losses in two games.

 

The Longhorns have all but dropped off the college football radar screen both nationally and in the Big 12 after falling to UCLA and Oklahoma.

 

"We've learned that losing is not a good feeling," receiver James Kirkendoll said Monday.

 

The Longhorns are trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 1999.

 

"You lose part of yourself when you lose a football game," coach Mack Brown said. "To lose two in two weeks is something we haven't done around here."

 

Nor do the prospects get any better, not having to face No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln. Unranked and unfamiliar underdogs by 10 points, Texas will be traveling to a state that views it as an evil empire in burnt orange. Many Nebraska fans don't simply want a victory, they want payback for all sorts of real and imagined offenses and slights before exiting to the Big Ten.

 

While Brown may be 12-0 in games following the Red River Rivalry and 7-1 against Nebraska, no one is giving much credence to those numbers.

 

"I haven't heard anybody say that we have a chance," Brown said.

 

The closest thing to a show of swagger and confidence came from junior linebacker Emmanuel Acho. The defense was prepared for anything after two-plus years with Will Muschamp, he said.

 

Did that include Nebraska redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez, who has rushed for 737 yards in five games and is averaging a first down (10.8 yards) every carry?

 

"It's another game, it's another team, he's another quarterback," Acho said. "It's not about what he does, it's about what we do. He's a good player. I'll leave it at that.

 

"There's nothing – if we play to Texas standards – nothing that we should be too worried about."

 

The bye week was about getting back to the level of play that had disappeared this season. Safety Blake Gideon likened the practices to two-a-days, physical and intense with tackling drills every day.

 

Some players also took advantage to get away, mentally. Quarterback Garrett Gilbert golfed with his father, Gale. Defensive tackle Kheeston Randall crammed for three tests in two days, including a mid-term. Defensive back Aaron Williams, still glum about a muffed punt against Oklahoma, hunted for doves north of Austin.

 

Brown instructed offensive coordinator Greg Davis and defensive counterpart Muschamp to review every third down and red zone play this season. What struck Muschamp was the inconsistency in play.

 

Davis acknowledged he's probably been conservative in his first-half play calls with Gilbert, a sophomore with five career starts.

 

Then again, Nebraska might be the wrong defense to let Gilbert be Gilbert and return to the free-wheeling Spread quarterback who set records at Lake Travis. The Cornhuskers lead the nation in pass efficiency defense and have amassed 11 interceptions.

 

The last time Texas dropped two straight was 2007. The Longhorns still finished 10-3.

 

"I'm not new to this. It's not fun," Brown said. "You pull in tight. It's your family and you go back to work."

 

LINK

[shyndy]

nothing to see here, move along.

[Husker_x]

I thought it was a fairly toothless article myself, but that's how they headlined it, so...

[zoogs]

Covered in this thread as well. It's from a Dallas newspaper, so I imagine they're not trying to make out as this is bulletin board material. Probably more like trying to calm the masses and make them think they have a good shot at this game.

[Chuck_G_23]

Covered in this thread as well. It's from a Dallas newspaper, so I imagine they're not trying to make out as this is bulletin board material. Probably more like trying to calm the masses and make them think they have a good shot at this game.

 

this