Cotton-mouth Leaves a Bad Taste
8 comments so far
December 2, 2006 by
The Cotton Bowl is surely the best bowl the Huskers have been invited to in five seasons. But a Fiesta (Spanish word for party) would have been so much more fun. The SEC team the Huskers face will likely be better in terms of talent than the Boise State squad playing in Arizona. But that doesn't mean any Husker fan can be happy about the outcome of the Big 12 title game.
The Sooners have the talent on defense that the Huskers are still trying to put together. Their secondary is everything the Huskers defensive backs aren't. Sound. Opportunistic. Punishing. But if players like LaTravis Washington come to Lincoln, that gap will close quickly.
Hats off to the OU coaching staff for some aggressive play-calling. The Huskers did a great job of stopping the Sooner run game for four quarters and only the first down pass calls gave the Sooners any ability to move the ball. While not their preference offensively, they took what was there (and looking at Nebraska this year, who wouldn't want to test the NU corners?).
While I feel bad for Zac Taylor having an off night in his last conference game, I loved the way the Nebraskans played in the cold. Jay Moore, Todd Peterson, and Andrew Shanle all had some big plays at critical times in the contest. But the turnovers and mismatches on the outside, were the Huskers undoing.
There's time to improve and time to prepare for what should be a very tough opponent in the Cotton Bowl. But I'd much rather have a bowl of guacamole in Arizona than sit on hold in Dallas any day. Maybe it's the Smirnoff Ice I was reduced to drinking (all we had in the fridge) after the Sooners last touchdown, but this one leaves a bad taste. Hopefully, some Razorback or Tiger meat will cleanse the pallette for the new year.
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Dallas Marcola Dec 02 06
ITS AN UGLY DAY FOR HUSKER NATION> BUT LETS GIVE IT TO THE SOONERS THEY DID BEAT US BUT LETS JUST REMEMBER THAT WERE ALMOST THERE WHEN IT COMES TO HAVING TALENT LIKE THEY DO N THE RITE PLAYERS IN ORDER TO WIN THE "THE BIG GAMES" ....HUSKERS DEFENSE PLAYED THEIR ASSES OFF EVEN THO THEY LOST...I STILL C BETTER DAYS AHEAD OF US> WE SHOULD B BACK IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NEXT YEAR N HOPEFULLY WIN IT SINCE THAT PRETTY MUCH MUST OF OUR OFFENSE IS COMING BACK INCLUDING SAM KELLER N AN EXPERIENCED DEFENSE...SO HERE WE COME COTTON BOWL !! GO BIG RED!!
Jake Dec 03 06
Well, I have come to gloat a little. Here are the stats.......
Passing CP-AT YDS TD INT RTG
Zac Taylor 23-50 282 1 3 88.0
Passing CP-AT YDS TD INT RTG
Paul Thompson 19-34 265 2 1 134.9
Check that QB Rating NU Fans! I guess he can pass if he needs to do it. BTW Kelly set every receiving record possible last night except for longest reception in the title game. Purify let the fumble get in his head and he was useless the rest of the night. NU did set one record in the game....most turnovers in a Big 12 championship game. I think this game makes it clear that when a great defense meets a passable offense, the defense will always win the game.
My regards to Zac Taylor for his season, it was great. Now he and his dad can start watching the Sooners again without any guilt.
Enjoy the Cotton Bowl it is a great bowl. We will be playing the Smurfs in the desert.
Boomer Sooner!!!!!!
brad Dec 03 06
Jake the Sooner,
Yes, Taylor had a bad game, but your comparison was inaccurate. If Thompson had thrown the ball at your secondary, he would have thrown 6 interceptions.
Why don't you concentrate on your bowl game? I would hate to see you have another Orange Bowl. What was it, USC by 50? Or how about when the greatest team on Earth ended its season with 2 ugly losses?
We are rebuilding and have enormous deficits. Yet, we played well enough to beat your seasoned/talented coach and top recruiting classes.
You guys have a great program, and we congratulate you on your win, but save your childish gloating.
Brad Dec 03 06
Jake the Sooner,
Did Nebraska fans come gloat on your message boards when we routinely blew you guys out in the nineties? If they did, I'm sorry: that too would have been childish. If I remember correctly though, we understood that you guys were in transition and we were playing very well, so we knew it would be tacky to gloat. Most people were sad that your program had fallen so far.
Try to have a little class.
Jake Dec 03 06
Brad,
Before you get too defensive go read the comments from the article on this site "Why Nebraska will beat Oklahoma". I have been participating in this site with many other Husker fans who don't seem to take offense to my comments.
We will prepare for our bowl game. You can only lose a Championship Game if you are in it Brad, we were there. You were not.
I have total respect for the Huskers and the way they have played this year. It looks like I respect them more than you do with your statements about rebuilding and enormous deficits. It seems to me you think too little of your Huskers. NU was only two or three plays from being even in last night's game.
Before you get all puffy with me at least spend some time reading the boards that you are so adamently defending.
To all of the not-so-sensetive NU fans, great game and put some hurt on the SEC in the Cotton Bowl.
Go Big 12!!!!
RCS Dec 05 06
Go Big 12?? Yeah, they should be going all right. Besides the ACC (All Cupcake Conference) I think the next conference that had the biggest off year is the Big 12. I mean, Nebraska was the only team in the north that could be considered a decent team and the south saw 2 NC contenders before the season started not even coming close. Yeah, wait till the Tigers shread the Huskers in the Cotton and see who is toughest conference in the nation. SEC RULES!!!
Steve Dec 05 06
RCS,
You've now reduced me to doing what Husker fans are famous for doing, pointing out the all-time head-to-head.
Nebraska's record versus the SEC since 1970:
17-2-1
Nebraska's record versus Auburn all-time:
3-0
The SEC may have some good teams, but the Huskers have had plenty of success against those teams and Auburn in particular. The SEC may rule the South, but the Huskers would surely rule the SEC! ;)
Katie Dec 07 06
RCS:
You better focus on the opponent not the conference. You're not playing K-State on January 1st.. you're playing Nebraska.
The SEC was .0000000001 (or something like that) from not having a team in the title game. Don't get too excited---
We will see what happens on the field. Keep jawing it up though.. it's great to get excited on December 8th for a game being played weeks away..
while your at it, since you are SOOOO confident.. tell your players to take it easy too.. no need to practice the next couple weeks!
GO BIG RED!