Well, Pelini haters...

[Guy Chamberlin]

No. I'm not saying any of that. We didn't play it perfectly, and we weren't unlucky.

I'm saying that for a team like BYU, a Hail Mary from the 42 yard line isn't a fluke play. BYU didn't need luck, or a miracle or a defensive breakdown. They just needed one of their notably taller receivers to get the jump ball over a scrum of shorter defenders. The Nebraska scrum looked a lot like every other Hail Mary defense. I don't think anyone got lucky or snakebit. It was a good play by BYU. Our young defense will play it better in the future, but proclaiming they just stood there doing nothing isn't accurate or helpful, really.

For a Hail Mary defensive breakdown, see the last play of the first half against Georgia in the Capitol One Bowl. For luck, see Matt Davison save our National Championship season against Missouri '97.

 

[Bowfin]

They just needed one of their notably taller receivers to get the jump ball over a scrum of shorter defenders.

This is how urban legends get started...

Just to repeat what has already been said, go find a picture of that catch and see how low that ball actually was when caught. A defender wouldn't have had to jump or hardly reach above his head to knock it down or intercept it. The guy jumped, but he caught it at the level of his crotch.

 

[kchusker_chris]

You got what you wanted. This is going to be a long season. And a long next several years until Riley is run out of town like Callahan. Grats guys...

+1

You saw why that a$$ clown was fired as this team is void of talent in a lot of areas. Recruiting is the only way this is going to get fixed.

This team isn't remotely void of talent. Is it top 10? No. But it's not bad.

It isn't bad compared to what? Northwestern? Iowa State?

Compared to our conference, division, and the team we just lost to.

Are you trying to say that we have comparable talent to Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin? If you are, then you may want to watch those teams play more often.

OSU, no.

Sparty, probably.

Wisconsin? Definitely.

I'm not trying to say it either. I'm saying it's backed by recruiting rankings.

The difference is coaching.

Rankings...those highly ranked teams Pelini signed is what you're going to? There shouldn't need to be 5-6 freshman on the field for most of the game if they were so great.

Those rankings were boosted by 4* talent like Tyler Moore, Peat Jr, Aaron Green, Jackson, Klachko, TUrner, Reeves, Santos, Starling, and Sterup. Yeah...that group really proved their 4* worth on Saturday....

...or what about the next years great class that included McMullen, Thurston, Alenxander, Curry, Afalava, Moss, Brown and another Cotton. Follow that with a Martinez, FInnin, Hart, Johnson, Joseph, Carter, Kondolo, Love, Gladney, Suttles, Mixon, Natter, Dixon, etc.

Bo's classes...they're all gone. 75% of everyone that they based those rankings on is playing somewhere else. The 14' class looks promising, but we say that every year. It would be nice to get a core group together one of these days though. We consistently undersigned by 4-8 players, we had some HUGE misses, followed by a TON of talent walking out the door. Todays roster is likely void of at LEAST 1.5 recruiting classes. There needs to be a huge infusion of talent into this team for us to stand a chance against the teams above. Our 2 deep on OL is a prime example of this teams lack of talent. Half that line wouldn't sniff the starting rotation of the teams above.

 

[GSG]

They just needed one of their notably taller receivers to get the jump ball over a scrum of shorter defenders.

This is how urban legends get started...

Just to repeat what has already been said, go find a picture of that catch and see how low that ball actually was when caught. A defender wouldn't have had to jump or hardly reach above his head to knock it down or intercept it. The guy jumped, but he caught it at the level of his crotch.

This x 1000

Nate Gerry OUTJUMPED this gargantuan receiver! Gerry's head was well over the BYU player's

 

[Saunders]

You got what you wanted. This is going to be a long season. And a long next several years until Riley is run out of town like Callahan. Grats guys...

+1

You saw why that a$$ clown was fired as this team is void of talent in a lot of areas. Recruiting is the only way this is going to get fixed.

This team isn't remotely void of talent. Is it top 10? No. But it's not bad.

It isn't bad compared to what? Northwestern? Iowa State?

Compared to our conference, division, and the team we just lost to.

Are you trying to say that we have comparable talent to Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin? If you are, then you may want to watch those teams play more often.

OSU, no.

Sparty, probably.

Wisconsin? Definitely.

I'm not trying to say it either. I'm saying it's backed by recruiting rankings.

The difference is coaching.

Rankings...those highly ranked teams Pelini signed is what you're going to? There shouldn't need to be 5-6 freshman on the field for most of the game if they were so great.

Those rankings were boosted by 4* talent like Tyler Moore, Peat Jr, Aaron Green, Jackson, Klachko, TUrner, Reeves, Santos, Starling, and Sterup. Yeah...that group really proved their 4* worth on Saturday....

...or what about the next years great class that included McMullen, Thurston, Alenxander, Curry, Afalava, Moss, Brown and another Cotton. Follow that with a Martinez, FInnin, Hart, Johnson, Joseph, Carter, Kondolo, Love, Gladney, Suttles, Mixon, Natter, Dixon, etc.

Bo's classes...they're all gone. 75% of everyone that they based those rankings on is playing somewhere else. The 14' class looks promising, but we say that every year. It would be nice to get a core group together one of these days though. We consistently undersigned by 4-8 players, we had some HUGE misses, followed by a TON of talent walking out the door. Todays roster is likely void of at LEAST 1.5 recruiting classes. There needs to be a huge infusion of talent into this team for us to stand a chance against the teams above. Our 2 deep on OL is a prime example of this teams lack of talent. Half that line wouldn't sniff the starting rotation of the teams above.

We've heard it every year from the BTN guys that we're the most athletic and talented in our division (and usually one of the best in conference), but we haven't put it together, because of coaching. Plus, I'm talking about roster talent based on recruiting rankings, not just class rankings. We still outclass our divisional peers. Sure, we don't have top 10 talent, but we have the talent needed to regularly win 10+ games in this division.

 

[Saunders]

They just needed one of their notably taller receivers to get the jump ball over a scrum of shorter defenders.

This is how urban legends get started...

Just to repeat what has already been said, go find a picture of that catch and see how low that ball actually was when caught. A defender wouldn't have had to jump or hardly reach above his head to knock it down or intercept it. The guy jumped, but he caught it at the level of his crotch.

This x 1000

Nate Gerry OUTJUMPED this gargantuan receiver! Gerry's head was well over the BYU player's

Yup.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

God...I still blame gangwish for that. I know I know...but I do

 

[Jeremy]

A. Williams, #24. What. The. Heck.

That is the DEFINITION of standing there watching the other team beat you. Ugh.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Jesus guys. We had two players in great position on the guy who caught the ball. They had him boxed out of the end zone (initially) and they both were able to make plays on the ball. We had more than enough players covering the receivers behind him, and one player who appears to have gotten lost. Most Hail Mary "miracles" are the result of tipped balls going unexpected places. That's why you get the end zone overkill. And the real point of the analysis is that one or more of those extra bodies should have been rushing the quarterback. Although the Hail Mary defense we used is pretty standard, so you could get roasted for not running it.

Obviously Nebraska got outplayed on the play, but BYU deserves more credit than our young defense deserves blame. "Standing around watching the other team beat you" is just stupid and harsh.

(Also, tall guys tend to have long arms. It's not strictly a vertical issue. )

 

[GSG]

Jesus guys. We had two players in great position on the guy who caught the ball. They had him boxed out of the end zone (initially) and they both were able to make plays on the ball. We had more than enough players covering the receivers behind him, and one player who appears to have gotten lost. Most Hail Mary "miracles" are the result of tipped balls going unexpected places. That's why you get the end zone overkill. And the real point of the analysis is that one or more of those extra bodies should have been rushing the quarterback. Although the Hail Mary defense we used is pretty standard, so you could get roasted for not running it.

Obviously Nebraska got outplayed on the play, but BYU deserves more credit than our young defense deserves blame. "Standing around watching the other team beat you" is just stupid and harsh.

(Also, tall guys tend to have long arms. It's not strictly a vertical issue. )

He made a basket catch against his body. This dude used NONE of his natural advantages (height, long arms, etc.)

 

[StPaulHusker]

A. Williams, #24. What. The. Heck.

That is the DEFINITION of standing there watching the other team beat you. Ugh.

True freshman

 

[Red Five]

Our hail mary defense was much better than USC last year. But not excellent by any means

 

[Kernal]

You got what you wanted. This is going to be a long season. And a long next several years until Riley is run out of town like Callahan. Grats guys...

This thread is an idiot.

 

[NUinID]

Jesus guys. We had two players in great position on the guy who caught the ball. They had him boxed out of the end zone (initially) and they both were able to make plays on the ball. We had more than enough players covering the receivers behind him, and one player who appears to have gotten lost. Most Hail Mary "miracles" are the result of tipped balls going unexpected places. That's why you get the end zone overkill. And the real point of the analysis is that one or more of those extra bodies should have been rushing the quarterback. Although the Hail Mary defense we used is pretty standard, so you could get roasted for not running it.

Obviously Nebraska got outplayed on the play, but BYU deserves more credit than our young defense deserves blame. "Standing around watching the other team beat you" is just stupid and harsh.

(Also, tall guys tend to have long arms. It's not strictly a vertical issue. )

I agree, there were plenty of players to cover the play it just didn't get done. They actually were playing for a deeper throw into the endzone which is what teams are usually trying to do and get a tip out towards the front of the endzone ala Westercamp vs NW. He threw it short which he said wasn't intended. The guy that caught it was most likely suppose to catch the tip.

 

[cg_8]

Jesus guys. We had two players in great position on the guy who caught the ball. They had him boxed out of the end zone (initially) and they both were able to make plays on the ball. We had more than enough players covering the receivers behind him, and one player who appears to have gotten lost. Most Hail Mary "miracles" are the result of tipped balls going unexpected places. That's why you get the end zone overkill. And the real point of the analysis is that one or more of those extra bodies should have been rushing the quarterback. Although the Hail Mary defense we used is pretty standard, so you could get roasted for not running it.

Obviously Nebraska got outplayed on the play, but BYU deserves more credit than our young defense deserves blame. "Standing around watching the other team beat you" is just stupid and harsh.

(Also, tall guys tend to have long arms. It's not strictly a vertical issue. )

I was all bent out of shape about how out of position a couple guys were, but then I saw this image.

This image shows just how close it was. Just looking at the image you don't know who has the advantage here. What happens if he jumps a split second later or earlier? What happens if QB throws it a bit later? Or Earlier? I mean, the window to make the catch that he did is minuscule. Could we have played it better? Yes, we can always play each play better, but sometimes the game just comes down to perfect timing, and a great play by a single individual. Game of inches, and as we Husker fans know all too well, game of seconds (specifically 0:01).