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November 28th, 2009
Colorado game reaction and looking ahead
Nebraska did what they needed to do to get a win in Boulder. Beyond that, there's plenty of room for improvement in what Bo Pelini called possibly the worst effort of the season.
Other than special teams play, led by Niles Paul's punt return for a touchdown and Alex Henery's continued punting prowess, NU didn't dominate the game like we expected. Colorado was able to move the ball against our defense to the tune of 403 yards. The Huskers struggled offensively at times again, racking up only 217 total yards and going 3 for 10 in third down conversions.
Rex Burkhead led the Huskers in rushing with 100 yards on 18 carries. Roy Helu didn't see much action in the second half but finished with 58 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, the Blackshirts allowed too many big plays to the Buffaloes, including a 56-yard touchdown pass to end the game. Granted that score only mattered if you had money on the game. Earlier, the Buffs gouged the Huskers for a 58-yard pass completion. This is worrisome for Husker fans heading into the Texas game whose offense lives for the big play. Could it be that NU was looking forward just a bit even though Pelini wouldn't allow anyone to discuss Texas this past week? Let's hope so. Otherwise it could be a long day for the Big Red at Jerry World.
Watching Texas and Texas A&M proved that the Longhorns do have some holes defensively. What the game also showed is that offensively the Longhorns have the firepower to outscore any opponent.
Jessie Palmer of ESPN (former Florida quarterback and The Bachelor) thinks NU has a "pretty good" chance at knocking off Texas in the Big 12 Championship. Palmer bases this on the Husker defense being second best in the Big 12, behind Texas. He points to the Blackshirts keeping Oklahoma out of the end zone, a feat which hadn't happened for over 10 years. For Palmer to be right, NU must find a way to contain the big play threat of Jordan Shipley. The Husker defense can't forget about Colt McCoy either. He's a good runner when flushed out of the pocket, even though his rushing numbers are way down from last season. NU has struggled at times this season with mobile quarterbacks (see Tyrod Taylor, Steven Sheffield, and Todd Reesing) so they must do a better job of getting pressure on the QB but not letting him escape for 20-yard scampers.
Offensively, the Huskers must find a way to effectively run the ball against the Texas defense. If we can't run the ball, it will be a long night for the Husker Faithful. Going back to the Texas-Texas A&M game, the Aggies successfully moved the ball against the Longhorns with a combination of skilled passing and an effective run game. Their quarterback is more mobile than Zac Lee (similar to Cody Green in that respect) and showed more precision than either Lee or Green has this year.
What NU wants in the Big 12 Championship is a low scoring game. That means the Blackshirts largely containing the Longhorn offense and a good ground game for NU that keeps the Texas offense off the field as much as possible. Season-to-date we've seem glimpses of what this team can accomplish. Maybe this will be the game where the Huskers put it all together. Weirder things have happened in the Big 12 Championship game.
Check back the week following the big game for game photos from Husker Faithful.
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