"Pistol" Whipped - Huskers Punish Nevada
5 comments so far
September 1, 2007 by
Nebraska ran their nation-leading streak of home opening wins to 22 with a convincing 52-10 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Running back Marlon Lucky's 233 yards rushing paced a punishing NU ground attack that amassed 413 yards on the ground managed to subdue of at least some of the fervor surrounding Sam Keller's debut as the Husker quarterback. NU's Blackshirt defense stymied Nevada's "pistol" formation offense, surrendering only a field goal scored by the Wolf Pack offense.
After trading punts with Nevada on their first series, Nebraska scored it's first touchdown of the season when Keller connected on a pass to a wide open Lucky in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Nevada scored their only points. The first came in the form of a 37-yard field goal. Then, Nevada's touchdown came when Jonathan Amaya intercepted a Keller pass and took it the distance. But, the lead and momentum were brief, as NU scored on their next possession, sparked by a kickoff return from Cortney Grixby. Lucky capped the NU drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Nebraska took a 21-10 halftime lead in to the locker room courtesy of another touchdown run, this time from true freshman Quentin Castille from 1 yard away.
Nebraska broke the game wide open in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns (two more from Lucky and another from Castille) and a 46-yard field goal by Adi Kunalic, to take command of the game. Nebraska's final points came from sophomore running back Major Culbert's 17-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
A Familiar Face and Distinctive Debuts
Lucky starred for Nebraska in a way that NU fans have expected of him since he arrived in Lincoln three years ago. The junior ran with speed and authority. And, his 30 carries (among 70 by the team total) were part of a physical game plan. "We saw a weakness in their defense," Lucky told the Associated Press, "and coach wanted to pound the ball."
Keller's debut as quarterback was fairly unremarkable, considering the hype surrounding his arrival. He completed 14 of 25 throws, for one touchdown and one interception. Though he did have several passes dropped, including a likely touchdown. His second half performance - likely buoyed by the consistent running game - was much more consistent. In all, nine players were on the receiving end of Husker passes Saturday, including freshman Niles Paul and Mike McNeill.
The true freshman kicker Kunalic may have stolen the show, however. His six touchbacks on kickoff left fans wowed. Considering the new rule where kickoffs are moved five yards further back in 2007 than in 2006 and NU's advantage in special teams yards, the Huskers may have unveiled a new weapon.
Blackshirts Muzzle the Pistol
Nevada started out fairly well, with quarterback Nick Graziano starting the game 4-of-6 throwing. But, he quickly cooled, and ended with just 8 completions on 24 attempts. Nevada netted just 77 yards rushing. Linebacker Steve Octavien flashed his considerable talent in making 5 tackles (including one for a loss and a half a sack), to go along with Corey McKeon's 4 tackles. First time starters Armando Murillo and Larry Asante also collected 4 tackles each.
When it finished, the game was one of the most statistically lopsided of the Bill Callahan's tenure as NU coach. Nebraska totaled 625 yards to Nevada's 185. The Huskers generated 35 first downs to Nevada's 9, and NU nearly doubled the Wolfpack's time of possession.
Now 1-0, Nebraska travels to Wake Forest next Saturday. The Demon Deacons lost at Boston College on Saturday, 38-28.
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ze robertinho Sep 02 07
That was an impressive and satisfying game! It went pretty much as I predicted, though I thought NV would have been a tougher opponent. I had predicted a 38-14 victory, figuring there was going to be a little bit of 'rust' for Keller to knock off, but was pleased to see an old fashioned smash mouthed blowout. 625 total yds, 413 rushing, 233 for Lucky, and 78 for Castille(that guy's a stud, I'm not surprised)!
The size, speed, talent differential was clearly apparent.
It will be great to get MO P back next week as I was somewhat disapponted with Nunn, and Hardy just gives me the heebee jeebees whenever....well, whenever(catching the ball is one thing, then you can figure it's 50/50 whether he'll hold onto it once he gets hit). We have to stick to the old reliables--Swift and Peterson--and I think Erickson is a much better receiver than Hardy.
Anyway, kudos to Grix for the return, but he still looked like the ol' Grix with some of his sloppy coverage. Dbs looked a little sloppy in general, but Bowman's back! Lbs looked great as did the D line.
Kunalic=AWESOME!
Other games:
Just can't say enough about a Sat. of CFB where my 2 most hated teams--ND and MI--get totally embarassed on the national stage! It's just great to see the media darlings suck so bad despite all the hype and blue chip playas they supposedly have. Mike Hart, I will say it for the millionth time, is completely overrated, and Henne seems to have maxed out with his underachieving 'skill set'. Weiss and all Domers SUCK, and I couldn't be more thrilled!
Mild Acts lose, check, Wake loses, check, and dadgummit, MO and Puffs really didn't deserve to pull out their games. Ill. and CSU beat themselves in those games.
Anyway, I come away from this Sat.'s action feeling very confident about Big Red, even the possibility of a Roman conquest.
Look forward to Wake Smack this week--just tickled pink 'bout it!
ze Sep 02 07
p.s. thanks BRN for the pregame prep goodies!
ze Sep 02 07
YO!
I don't quite understand this blogsite: the dirth of posters this week, that is, especially yesterday and today--opening weekend, capice. I mean, I'm relatively new here, and I've been flat out consumed with work the last couple of weeks and too tired to post.
But where is everybody, the 'oldtimers' here? There's real time now, so what's the deal?
Very curious....
doombob Sep 04 07
I'm never watching the game near the computer! I usually wait until I go into work on Monday (or Tuesday in this case) mornings to post my comments. That way, when I'm typing - it looks like I'm working. I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.
ze Sep 04 07
d bob,
That's an excellent 'work' strategy, stick it to da man!
I am amazed there was not gametime posting here though last Sat. Maybe that can change. I think that is a fun way to watch the game.