Surprises From Frigid KC

6 comments so far December 3, 2006 by Darren K. Carlson

After an entire morning spent recovering from a night in frigid Arrowhead and a car ride full of other Husker fans hashing out what we saw last night...there are parts of NU's loss to Oklahoma that I still can't bring myself to believe. The results of key plays - and the game - reveal things I didn't see coming, but maybe should have. And, I even managed to find a small silver lining as I thawed out in the car.

Things I Still Can't Believe
Before the game, if you told me that NU would hold OU to 42 rushing yards, but didn't reveal the outcome, I'd guess the Huskers won the game. I thought that if the Huskers came out to tackle - and they did, big time - we would have opportunities to win the ball game. NU's front 4 lived up to the hype, controlling the line of scrimmage all night. We'll miss those starters next year. So...what happened? Quarterbacks happened.

If you were to tell me that Zach Taylor would throw three picks, I wouldn't have believed you. He's thrown 4 all year! Saturday night, he had players open in the end zone, he just didn't get it there. It was crazy the way he was short arming balls. And, you absolutely must credit OU’s defense and defensive backs. They made the plays and looked a step ahead of NU all night.

My hat is off to Paul Thompson, the other side of the quarterback surprise. Frankly, I didn't think for a second that OU could win throwing it 35 times. And yet, there he is with 19 completions (many on out routes on roll outs), for 265 yards and 2 big scores. His only interception looked like a ball where he was playing a game of "500" in the back yard. And his going 5-for-5 on OU's 99-yard march was very impressive. He was clearly the player of the game.

Key Plays - OU wins 5-1.
I've watched enough football to know that games between evenly matched teams tend to boil down to a handful of very key plays or sequences. I think Saturday's key plays are pretty obvious. And, OU was the team that made those key plays. No matter how even NU looked with OU in stretches, or how many nice things NU did between the 30 yard lines, OU made the plays that mattered most. They are:
- Any "big game wackiness at the start of the game? Check - in the form of Purify's fumble inside the 5 that hand-delivered seven Sooner points. This was the absolutely worst way to start the game for NU.
- The enormous play to Kelly down the sideline. Great play, great route, great ball. Huge score. Against OU's defense in those conditions, 14 points borders on insurmountable.
- NU made its play in the form of a turnover near the OU 20, and cashed it in for a touchdown.
- OU ball, 3rd and 12 on their own one yard line - they convert, and begin a march that would essentially end the game. That was just a real killer. If NU can make the play with OU backed up, who knows what could happen.
- OU got an interception on a ball where Taylor under threw a player in the end zone. NU's drive stalls.
- NU has the ball on the 20, trying desperately to get the game down to one score, and OU makes yet another play, this time in the end zone. That one felt like a kick to the gut.

The entire 3rd quarter was full of big series for NU, that they just could not cash in on. It seemed we scrimmaged the entire quarter on the OU side of the field, and just couldn't get points. Big credit belongs to OU's defense in that. And, there is little a coach or fan can do other than express frustration at just not...making...plays.

Still the Usual Suspects
Paul Thompson and Malcom Kelly made plays. They also took full advantage of what had been NU's Achilles heal all season - our leaky secondary. My overestimation of our defensive backend trumped even my underestimation of Thompson.

The soft corners surrendered out routes all night and our safeties either couldn't recognize or execute against OU's play-action rollout game, or ... both. On some level, this is about players. Though, I will never question a kid's effort. And, on some level, this is about coaching. Can we please teach Andre Jones better than to be beaten on a double move down the sideline for at least the 4th time this year. And, since Marvin Sanders left, we apparently have stopped coaching safeties to find the ball in flight. Very, very frustrating, since it spoiled a truly great effort by NU's front 7.

A Small Silver Lining
Congratulations to the Sooners, champions of the Big 12. That hurts me to write. I really wanted this one for NU. And, judging by the Husker contingent in Arrowhead, I'm not the only one. The only silver lining in this was that NU was actually IN the title game, and played well enough to show me they belonged. How much worse would it have been to NOT be in the game, or to get blown out or embarrassed? The team demonstrated the heart they have shown all year.

By the way, the most annoying fan in the entire building was an ISU fan who was in our section for all of 1 quarter before he left. He was talking a bunch of smack about how good ISU "might be" next year. Believe me, NU fans weren't about to hear that. OU fans near us ridiculed him too.

With both teams returning so many players, the notion of a rematch next year in San Antonio also has me intrigued. But, both teams will need to find answers at quarterback. Maybe that will be surprising, too.

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