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Journal Star
Steven M. Sipple: At least Huskers fought to the end
Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 - 12:41:55 am CDT
Progress can be painful.
Nebraska didn’t play well for much of the game in losing 35-30 to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. Too many mental mistakes. Too few rushing yards (55). Too many open Tech receivers. Too much time for Tyrod Taylor in the pocket. Too many running lanes for Taylor and company. Just too many issues for the Huskers to overcome. That’s the painful reality for Big Red.
Before the late stages of the third quarter started, you would’ve had to look hard to find much tangible progress from Nebraska in its first loss of the season.
But late in the third period — that’s when momentum started shifting the Huskers’ way. The Big Red rally was on. Nate Swift brought down the house with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown, pulling Nebraska within 28-23. Then things really got interesting. The Huskers had the gifted quarterback Taylor stopped for a 2-yard gain on third-and-4 in the final minutes, or so everybody in the Memorial Stadium record crowd of 85,831 thought. Problem was, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was called for a late hit on Taylor. Suh did hit the kid late.
“To get that call, that late in the game, it’s heartbreaking,” Nebraska linebacker Cody Glenn said.
To make matters worse, the Husker sideline erupted in anger. Bo Pelini erupted. Flags flew. Unsportsmanlike conduct was called. Tack on another 15 yards.
“I have to be smarter than that,” said Pelini, Nebraska’s first-year head coach.
Virginia Tech marched down and proceeded to score a touchdown with 2:28 left to make it 35-23. Game over, right?
Not quite.
Nebraska kept coming. Kept pushing. Kept scrambling. The Huskers scored a touchdown with 1:32 left to pull to 35-30. Then they forced a three-and-out and were making one last push downfield, but Todd Peterson fumbled as time ran out.
Yep, progress can be excruciatingly painful.
Think back to last season, when Nebraska would get punched in the mouth and wilt into a corner. Not this time. The Huskers fell behind 28-10 midway through the third quarter. But NU shoved back. It kept brawling to the end. Yes, that’s progress.
Think back to the offseason, when I so often heard Nebraska fans say they just wanted to see a Husker team that always kept fighting. Big Red faithful wanted to cheer for a team that always played hard and smart. Well, fans got half of their wishes Saturday.
Nebraska played hard, but not necessarily smart, or especially well.
“We lost the football game, and now it’s time to go to work,” Pelini said. “We made a ton of mistakes.”
This wasn’t exactly the type of performance Nebraska (3-1) had in mind as a primer for Missouri (4-0) next Saturday night. Of particular concern was Tech’s success in the passing game. Taylor had thrown for a total of 199 yards in three previous games this season. But Saturday, the sophomore was 9-for-15 for 171 yards while rushing 15 times for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Virginia Tech, which entered the night ranked 112th nationally with an average of 271.8 yards per game, racked up 377 against Nebraska. That doesn’t necessarily bode well as Nebraska prepares to face Mizzou, which entered the weekend leading the nation with its average of 595.5 yards per game. After Missouri, NU will take on a Texas Tech squad averaging 572.8 yards to rank third.
Yes, time for Nebraska to go back to work.
Give Virginia Tech credit. We saw the effectiveness of Beamer ball unfold before our eyes as Tech put on a special-teams clinic much of the night. A blocked punt for a safety. Four field goals. Key returns by Victor “Macho” Harris. The gamut.
Virginia Tech was the cleaner team — no turnovers compared to two for Nebraska.
Harris set the tone with a big punt return and interception in the first quarter. Tech eventually pushed to a 28-10 lead and seemed in control.
Alas, Nebraska fought back.
Yes, that’s progress, as painful as it felt for Nebraska.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Journal Star
Steven M. Sipple: At least Huskers fought to the end
Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 - 12:41:55 am CDT
Progress can be painful.
Nebraska didn’t play well for much of the game in losing 35-30 to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. Too many mental mistakes. Too few rushing yards (55). Too many open Tech receivers. Too much time for Tyrod Taylor in the pocket. Too many running lanes for Taylor and company. Just too many issues for the Huskers to overcome. That’s the painful reality for Big Red.
Before the late stages of the third quarter started, you would’ve had to look hard to find much tangible progress from Nebraska in its first loss of the season.
But late in the third period — that’s when momentum started shifting the Huskers’ way. The Big Red rally was on. Nate Swift brought down the house with an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown, pulling Nebraska within 28-23. Then things really got interesting. The Huskers had the gifted quarterback Taylor stopped for a 2-yard gain on third-and-4 in the final minutes, or so everybody in the Memorial Stadium record crowd of 85,831 thought. Problem was, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was called for a late hit on Taylor. Suh did hit the kid late.
“To get that call, that late in the game, it’s heartbreaking,” Nebraska linebacker Cody Glenn said.
To make matters worse, the Husker sideline erupted in anger. Bo Pelini erupted. Flags flew. Unsportsmanlike conduct was called. Tack on another 15 yards.
“I have to be smarter than that,” said Pelini, Nebraska’s first-year head coach.
Virginia Tech marched down and proceeded to score a touchdown with 2:28 left to make it 35-23. Game over, right?
Not quite.
Nebraska kept coming. Kept pushing. Kept scrambling. The Huskers scored a touchdown with 1:32 left to pull to 35-30. Then they forced a three-and-out and were making one last push downfield, but Todd Peterson fumbled as time ran out.
Yep, progress can be excruciatingly painful.
Think back to last season, when Nebraska would get punched in the mouth and wilt into a corner. Not this time. The Huskers fell behind 28-10 midway through the third quarter. But NU shoved back. It kept brawling to the end. Yes, that’s progress.
Think back to the offseason, when I so often heard Nebraska fans say they just wanted to see a Husker team that always kept fighting. Big Red faithful wanted to cheer for a team that always played hard and smart. Well, fans got half of their wishes Saturday.
Nebraska played hard, but not necessarily smart, or especially well.
“We lost the football game, and now it’s time to go to work,” Pelini said. “We made a ton of mistakes.”
This wasn’t exactly the type of performance Nebraska (3-1) had in mind as a primer for Missouri (4-0) next Saturday night. Of particular concern was Tech’s success in the passing game. Taylor had thrown for a total of 199 yards in three previous games this season. But Saturday, the sophomore was 9-for-15 for 171 yards while rushing 15 times for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Virginia Tech, which entered the night ranked 112th nationally with an average of 271.8 yards per game, racked up 377 against Nebraska. That doesn’t necessarily bode well as Nebraska prepares to face Mizzou, which entered the weekend leading the nation with its average of 595.5 yards per game. After Missouri, NU will take on a Texas Tech squad averaging 572.8 yards to rank third.
Yes, time for Nebraska to go back to work.
Give Virginia Tech credit. We saw the effectiveness of Beamer ball unfold before our eyes as Tech put on a special-teams clinic much of the night. A blocked punt for a safety. Four field goals. Key returns by Victor “Macho” Harris. The gamut.
Virginia Tech was the cleaner team — no turnovers compared to two for Nebraska.
Harris set the tone with a big punt return and interception in the first quarter. Tech eventually pushed to a 28-10 lead and seemed in control.
Alas, Nebraska fought back.
Yes, that’s progress, as painful as it felt for Nebraska.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
