I suspect at some point in the season Pelini handcuffed Watson, to let the defense try to get turnovers or win field position. While scoring was still a goal, not turning the ball over was just as important. Field goals were acceptable. So were punts.
Trick plays? Too high of a risk for turnovers.
3rd and long? QB draw and punt.
Need to pass? Throw it long...that's like a punt if it's intercepted, and if it works, we've won the lottery with a TD or in FG range. Or that roll out to the TE is usually safe. The shovel pass is also safe because if you drop it it's not a fumble.
We barely threw a medium length downfield pass at all, until Kinnie's catch when we were running out of time to play the field position game. The other one I remember is Green's pass that was badly thrown and nearly got picked at our 20. That ended Green's game, and also put a hold on standard passes for awhile.
Remember that the scoreboard read 12-10 Nebraska with 0:00 on the clock with that game plan. With a more aggressive one, we might've been 2 TDs behind. Or we certainly could've been further ahead, but when we attacked after that blocked punt we came up empty.
Watson's not all in the clear with this. Why we ran the option at all with Lee is beyond me. And I never saw much in the way of misdirection, though with Texas' speed and penetration I don't think that was going to work.
And there's the whole coaching part, not just the playcalling. Why are the QBs so untrustworthy to make us risk-adverse? Why couldn't we control the line of scrimmage? Bad form, poor effort, poor conditioning, or just not the right guys? Why so many dropped passes and failure to fight for the ball? Is there a problem with their routes? Holt and Gillylen were two of our more talented receivers, were they so uncoachable they had to be punished with benching? Why did Green look worse with every game he played?
Did the recruiting focus swing too far to the defense? Steinkuhler wants to play DT, but is it better for the team to be on the other side of the ball?
