dsm husker Sep 27 08

Agree but disagree. Pelini didn't cost them the game. Huskers didn't play weel enough to win. Lack of excecution- on both sides of he ball. Can you say pass D? We were SOOOOO close to winning this game. Closer than you might think regardles of the stats. We just have to take the experience and the horrible taste this is leaving in our mouths to get better. Work Harder. We may not have the desirable depth but we do have talent. GBR! I have a feeling we can give Mizzou alot more than they want.

Nick Sep 28 08

Thanks, Steve.

I gotta say - I don't contribute much these days, but this site remains the place where I come for emotional involvement, and objective concern. This was an even matchup, at home, and the Huskers lost. Hard to stomach. Seeing Bo's temperament negatively resurface: upsetting. But ultimately, I see promise in this game, and it reinforces my confidence in the staff and the team.

Pelini committed a critical error, but the odds were still against the Huskers at that point. A fresh set of downs at the twenty could have still ended up as a touchdown. Its a mistake I hope is not repeated. But it nonetheless reinforces in this team (and its fans) the fact that their head coach has their back. Its incendiary - but its indicative of a passion that lacks only refinement. And if we remember that we're in for the long haul with this guy, I think it won't take long for us to appreciate already the significant change in climate this program enjoys. Its early to argue results - honest fans never expected this team to win (much) more than eight games. But they were in it. And they could have won it. And damn, thats encouraging.

Austin Sep 28 08

Steve, Nebraska didn't feature the run more in the second half. NU rushed 12 times for 25 yards in the first, and 13 for 30 in the second - total 25 attempts for 55 yards.

It seemed like our guys couldn't keep focused. Lack of focus = mental mistakes and penalties.

Our secondary was making mistakes and we have been having problems with penalties through the first 3 games... so, no surprise here. I think Bo's secondary schemes are very complicated and our guys just aren't getting it yet. VTech has very inexperienced, young WRs and a young QB - they haven't had much success passing the ball, but for some reason their WRs were so wide open in the secondary. What was that all about?

Ganz threw around 65% 2 TD's and 1 INT... that's what he had been averaging through the first 3 games as well.

Nate Swift was excellent... no surprise.

Helu seemingly made something out of nothing and has a nose for the endzone when he is about 15 yards out.

I'm most confused about our D-Line. They gave up 200+ yards rushing and only got 2 sacks, but it seemed like they made a lot of plays. I think we had something like 11 TFLs compared to 5 or 6 TFLs for VTech. I think we just don't have depth and that wears the line down. I think much of their rushing success was due to Tyrod, but who knows? Maybe we just can't stop the rush against BCS teams?

The late hit penalty was devasting... I almost started crying.

Our offense is so weird. Sometimes it seems like we can't get a first down if our lives depended on it, and sometimes we can eat up chunks of yardage in seconds. Sometimes our passing game looking clunky, and sometimes it looks amazing. And the zone read... get rid of it for now... everytime I've seen it run, it doesn't work. I thought we should've run the ball outside more often where our big receivers can block. Use more option. Where was the screen passes... that's been one of our bread-n-butter plays, and I only saw it once or twice. What about the quick short WR screen passes?

I think the stats tell the story... we soundly lost. VTech has over 200 yards rushing, no turnovers, half as many as penalties, and were 7/17 on 3rd down (compared to 2/11 for us). VTech had around 80 plays, compared to our 51. We made too many mistakes and had a chance to win near the end, but VTech pretty much handled us.

Did you notice how much Beamer was smiling? Well, maybe not smiling, but he looked very content. Did he do a dance like he said he would?

The game was still exciting and our guys didn't give up... I am kinda proud of them, just wished they could've remained more composed toward the end.

p.s. on NU's last play of the game, Peterson should have totally lateraled the ball for the ol' Hook-and-ladder.

OU7times Sep 28 08

Slow motion came to my mind a few times while watching the game. "Ball hawking" was not there,Team speed was just not there either it seemed. Bo' going to have to get these guys going and in a hurry cause Mizzou is all about flying around and up-tempo play. Coach Pinkel will have his kids motivated/energized and will seek to capitalize on a Nebraska team that might be reeling from a home loss. I'm wondering if Bo can get them motivated against MU? Not really sure if he wil be able to. We'll see soon enough.

pitcoken Sep 28 08

The NU players and fans are first class! The sportsmanship on the field, off the field, and on the web are unequaled. I hope we meet again soon!

A Hokie

Greg Morrow Sep 28 08

Pelini's also endangered his'self to the possibility of being a "marked" man with officials. Last night I was trying to think of the time when Osborne selfishly, gratuitously cost his team the opportunity to compete and win a game. Hadn't come up with one, yet.

Osborne, Frank, even Callahan were under pressure, with Callahan bottling up his passions as much as he could, maybe to the detriment of his team. Pelini though, seems to have a sense of entitlement to his rage. He seems to imply- DO NOT GET ME UPSET, OR I WILL GO DEFCON 1 AND BLOW THIS WHOLE THING UP!
You come across guys like that. If you're subjected to him, you have to put up with it. If you're not, you get ready to "handle business" when he acts up.
Officials are way ready to handle business...

I also don't hardly like what it says to parents of recruits, who've taught their kids to "suck it up" for the most part and control themselves.
Pelini can try to do "Joe Cool" and be glib about it, but you see what you see. He's got to make defensive calls during this, too?

It's not the loss, the Hokies are a fine program, built by a wonderful coach. They're plain better. Nebraska got outcoached, out classed. Funny, I predicted a TD, 2 FG's and a safety, by them. I just didn't figure they'd do it in the first half!

So, this is a little more ominous, strategically. Will the players have to overcome Bo, like they had to with the previous staff? In a different way, of course. Will knowing the coach is a powder keg affect recruiting prospects?

Bo is Bo. Seen it twice now, as HC. You can't just extract that from him. Then what have you got? You got Missouri, next week.

Husker Mike Sep 28 08

Virginia Tech won the coin toss, and deferred as is the norm. So we then elected to receive. The refs were ACC guys.

On that early 4th & 1, I don't think they ever intended to go for it, but rather were hoping to draw the Hokies offsides and get a cheap 1st down. I'm not sure the Hokies are team to try that against; I think they are too fundamentally strong to make those sorts of mistakes.

Dwayne Sep 28 08

I think people are putting too much into the fact of today's nicey nice and politically correct world of Bo's antics. Heaven forbid that someone have a little passion in what they do and believe in. He is what he is and I don't think he needs to apologize for that. Don't even try to compare him to Osborne because from what I understand about Devaney, he probably fits that bill a bit more. Virginia Tech won that game soundly by nickle and diming us with field goals but that's all it is. NU had it's chances and didn't capitalize on them. Was it wrong of Pelini to do that at that time, probably, but I don't really like it when a call turns the game off like it did. I always tend to ere on the fact of letting the players play. If NU stops them without that penalty, they still have to get the ball on 4th down and march the field. Let that call go ref. Now does that sound like a homer or what?

Huskerfan Sep 28 08

All in all, a disheartening loss to say the least. Nebraska, "your're out of your element". As noted, VT is a fine program, a program that I think is better than their one loss and stats suggest. They know what it is win...what it takes to win...stats and pretty aside. Nebraska is not that kind of team yet. As for going for it (or bluffing, a ringer of dirty undies, if you will) on 4th and 1...I like the call. It was early, and if we fail, a good team puts it behind them with plenty of time left in the game. And more importantly, it's about attitude (if your truly going for it), it's about "drawing a line in the sand Dude", imposing your will, controlling the line of scrimmage. That is what a Nebrask team, a Pelini team should be about. And Pelini's mistaken temper...I don't think it's reason for conern. As noted, we made a game's worth of mistakes that put us in tough position to begin with. VT is a good team and I think the rest of the season will prove that...but they are not Missouri, they are not Oklahoma, they are not a USC. So for us to be handled like we were...that is disheartening, especially at home, with some big time recruits in town. Last night was one of those games Nebraska simply has to have, we have to win, to forward and upward.

Greg Morrow Sep 28 08

Dwayne,

Since I was the only one who brought up Osborne, I'll assume you're referring to me. You can use my name when you respond to my posts, if you like. (I prefer that)

Osborne's incomparable. Like Michael Jordan's iconic representation at the United Center, young'ns will see the statue years down the road and maybe look him up, see what he was about.
Coaches will be compared-contrasted with previous ones. (Hey, I didn't make the rules.) Don't think Devaney took off on many protracted, theatrical rants either, in the beginnings of the modern era of college football. Men pretty much didn't get away with that.
You can't have that, at this level. Bo will fix that, within his personality, or officials will fix it for him.

Actually, I mentioned Friday on Darren's "Husker up" post, that I thought Nebraska was a little too nice. ("Will it be Bo, himself, shocking people with something that, if not crazy, at least more palatable than "throat slasher," or some sawed off insult, however funny it was.")
Not exactly Nostradamus, with that one.

Osbornes "niceness," kindness was, is, legendary. It's his teams that were nasty.

Bo's our guy. I go with what I got. Just like with Callahan...
I thought Jim Grobe would have been a good Nebraska coach, but how could you hire him, when Callahan beat him twice?

Personally, a quality I admire, is when a guy gets piqued and makes a mental note of it. Then settles up, later. Why light a gas can? You can't stop a battle to say I'M MAD! You HAVE to move on. Give a ref 5 or 10 seconds of quality time- but you know it's not getting reversed. Refs sometimes make things right a play or two later, it seems. I have no reason to question the ACC crew's neutrality, they weren't in over their heads.

Again, theatrical raging won't stand. Let the fire emanate from your eyes, with a forceful, calm demeanor. It's way more intimidating- and effective.

Bill in Iowa Sep 28 08

Did you guys hear the announcers say that Beamer modelled his team and philosophy after Osborne's Huskers. Now, they call it "Beamer Ball", but we used to see it every Saturday. This game was painful because it was like we were getting our buts handed to us in a fashion that used to be the hallmark of the Huskers. So hats off to seeing a physical running game, a QB that could make you pay with his feet and tight end downfield, great special teams that continually gave your team great field position, a pressuring d-line that gave Ganz plenty of headaches, smart coaching, a penalty free game, and not turning the ball over one time.

In comparison, we did everything we could to ensure a loss: penalties, turnovers, bad tackling on special teams, blown assignments, and a costly mistake by Pelini. These things cost you in big games. We are still a work in progress and we wanted to use this game to see where this team is at...well, now we know,

There is no doubt we have a lot of work to do. The O-line has to start kicking but and Watson has to start calling a better game (usually I like his play calling, but I think he was hit and miss with his play calling this game. I agree with Austin, he didn't take any pressure off Ganz by runing screens, draws, or rolling him out. And I really thought the zone read was a waste, we have running plays to use that are more effective. On special teams, our coverage unit tackled poorly. On defense, our secondary blew assignments, and allowed too many rushing yards. I can only imagine what Chase Daniels is going to do to this secondary. Please, prove me wrong!

On a positive note, this team proved it has a lot more heart and pride than last years team. The d-line and linebackers are playing really well. Henry can kick a 49 yard field goal! Swift's moves and the blocking on the punt return team is awesome (2nd return for a touchdown this season!). McNeil is for real and is serious downfield threat. Helu always makes something happen with his feet(I would like to see a lot more of him). The offense shows flashes of brilliance and can eat up yardage in a hurry when needed. This team still still has a lot of unrealized potential.

Dwayne Sep 28 08

I think that's why Osborne was so well respected. He knew how to play the chess game without anyone knowing what his next move would be and he could "work" the refs with that calmness. Pelini is in a very unique situation to learn from him in some way to help stabilize his own demeanor. I must say myself when I saw the hit from Suh that I was just waiting for the flag to fly and I still don't know what Suh did later in that drive to incur another one. Greg, I do believe in your point in that he could be morphing into that "marked man" theory.

bnahusker Sep 28 08

My greatest disappointment was Lucky, or whoever was wearing #5 on offense. He needs to stop the "pussy footing" or get used to cheerleading. This unit cannot survive without a back that will run as soon as he gets the ball. The Stop and Start must come to an end.

In a way, The Huskers handed VT the game. In another way, NU is fortunate to have not been blown out. TDs instead of FGs by Tech would have made this a nightmare.

I do love the effort and enthusiasm shown, as I was worried about them packing it in after the first half. This improvement alone allows me to keep a good attitude towards this team.

As always.............

GBR!

Bob

P.S. Please delete my prediction from an earlier post! 31-3? Sheeesh!

James Moore Sep 28 08

This is going to be a struggle and a bit of a long journey whose outcome is not clear at the end. Over the years now I've watched us lose to Penn State, Auburn & Virginia Tech while enduring the rise of Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, and still yet having to engage in the arms race for recruits in the massive task of catching up to Oklahoma and Texas. . .

What really worries me now is a pattern in big games where we make no attempt to establish the run on 1st down. Against a defense like Virginia Tech's, or in any big game for that matter, you need to be able to show you're capable of and not willing to abandon the initiative to run on 1st down. It slows the game down, allows the players to hit, settle into a rhythm, and in general the building of a team's confidence overall. IF we have this stable of running backs and an offensive line that is capable of handling itself in the trenches, then please at least be willing to show that you are not hesitant in using it. We had a tremendous initiative going into this because of the home game, and with a defensive line like ours (solid bunch and play hard but no depth) you must protect them. We have great potential as a play action team. That threat must be complemented by a willingness to not abandon the play-calling initiative to run the ball on 1st down. . .

Ganz was excited last night. He locked in receivers for a good part of the game and stayed locked, looking at the right side of the field. When he settled down, took some checks and made it to 2 & 3 he looked better. A growing up game for him, after all this is his 7th overall start. Lucky, Helu & Castille have potential as a group but Helu seems to be the best runner. We've got to establish one of these guys. . .

The defensive line gave it their best. No subs. They took that game like men and were still making plays in the 4th quarter. Imagine if they could get some breaks? They're better overall, and certainly better than last year. Having said that, we need to get depth here quick in the next few years and hope that this bunch stays healthy. Any injuries here could expose the rest of the defense. Asante is lost and the secondary is the most vulnerable part of the defensive unit so far. We did NOT face an exceptional group of receivers on Saturday. Yet, it seemed that they were able to get loose in the secondary. When you're giving up depth, and trying to rebuild the confidence of the defense, you just can't have busted assignments. A busted assignment next week could mean 7 points, then and there. . .

I don't know how we spin this to recruits and our name. For years we watched premier, elite, blue-blooded programs like Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, Texas, LSU, fall asleep, dormant for many years. Like massive volcanoes that villagers in surrounding areas look up, and point, talking about the LAST time the beast had erupted. Is this OUR fate? Since 2001 nearly every time we make it on national or regionally televised broadcasts (Rose Bowl vs Miami, 02 Penn State, 03 Texas, the whole 5-6 04 season, 05 Texas Tech at home, 06 USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, 07 USC, Missouri & now 08 Virginia Tech) we don't beat a good team. How do we get people to really buy into to coming here? We've got to get to the point where we beat USC someone in California, Texas and Oklahoma for somone in Texas. And still be able to cherry pick throughout the Midwest, Mid-South and Deep South as well. And THAT'S to catch Oklahoma and Texas in our OWN conference. Now after watching Virginia Tech (you see what happens to them when they play a REAL power, LSU last year) and seeing that they have a deeper pool of athletes then we do, how long is it until we catch up to Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri? Or keep pace with a resergent Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Kansas? I hope I'm wrong but it seems that we're heading towards a time when the volcano goes quiet, and perhaps for a long time. . .

I HATE asking myself sometimes on Saturday's, like yesterday, "is North Carolina better off than us and moving ahead faster than us? Kansas? Virginia Tech? Miami? Michigan & Michigan State? Missouri?" and not being able to clearly say in my heart of hearts that we're keeping pace. This is a critical time for us. Missouri, with Texas Tech after that, could define who we are and how we'll be remembered by the college football universe. To be dismantled and thoroughly handled could devastate the psychological makeup of the Pelini era before it ever began. . .

Scott Sep 28 08

Why do I feel like almost everyone in this post expected NU to go 11-1 or 10-2 this year???

Most of what I saw said that if we go 8-4 or 7-5 would be considered a step in the right direction. I'm still with that.

Pelini said it best when he said that there will be time when we get hit in the mouth this year. Last night was a jab compared to what Missouri and Texas Tech will probably do to us. I'm not saying those aren't winable games for us, but not likely to happen.

I'm not throwing in the towel yet. There's a lot of football left this year. All of the fair weather fans are creeping back in on this site again.

Does anyone notice how few the number of posts are when NU wins????

Hats off to the Hokies...they deserved to win that game. Congrats to BOTH teams for playing hard.

bnahusker Sep 28 08

Well said Scott.

8-4 is still an acceptable goal. It just feels like we let this one get away.

GBR Forever!

Bob

OU7times Sep 28 08

I agree with the earlier post that it's way too early to "throw in the towel" on the season (obviously) but then I read another post that really puts it in perspective.

James Moore's comment about looking around and seeing "who is moving ahead faster than Nebraska"?

This is really a simple but accurate measuring stick. That thought would have been nice during the Callahan "experiment". He lasted 4 years but there were lots of warning signs why he should have had the towel thrown in on him (earlier than 4 years in).

Normally, anyone should get 4 years minimum but back then who wasn't moving ahead faster than NU? That's not to mention all of his goofball antics.

Coach Pelini deserves his 4 years to prove his methods and his temper really shouldn't be an issue, I feel. He's not Osborne and hardly anyone has Coach Osborne's temperiment but... my first choice would have been Turner Gill.

Coach Gill has done a solid job at Buffalo but I will use James Moore's philosophy about who is moving ahead faster when comparing Pelini or Gill?

In all fairness to anyone who might second guess Bo, he had waaaay too much expectation put on him from the moment he was hired and every day since. My opinion only.

Dave Sep 28 08

Staying in the zone D bothered me a lot, as VT simply went underneath. The offense looked confused the 1st half- (Ganz) Lucky simply has to "run" the ball and quit stutter stepping behind the line for 2-3 seconds. As far as Bo's penalty, if anyone remembers the 03 Alamo Bowl, you knew what we were getting. Special teams was a problem on the kickoff teams, NO ONE stayed in their lanes. We'll be fine, rough couple weeks ahead, so we'll see how the fans and media hold up.

James Moore Sep 28 08

Well I wanted to take a few moments to explain myself and line of thinking. First and foremost, I am NOT throwing in the towel or throwing my hands in the sky. Nothing fairweather about my point of view when it regards Nebraska football. For me, and for us all, the sun rises and sets with Nebraska football. Coach Pelini is the right man for us, we wanted him, myself included, and we ARE taking some small steps forward. However we've got to be objective when looking at what we saw this past Saturday night. We're talking about lack of depth in the trenches, busted converages, and an unwillingness or inability to establish the initiative running the ball on 1st down. There wasn't a Macklin, a DeMarco Murray, a Gresham, a Crabtree or for that matter an all-ACC offensive talent on the field for Virginia Tech (excluding Taylor), and yet we gave up some plays that will undoubtedly cost us an immediate 7 in weeks to come. Seven against Missouri, 7 against Texas Tech, 7 against Oklahoma. . .

Things are better than last year at this time, but we'll see where we're at in 3 weeks. There are no lay-ups in the conference anymore. Baylor is taking steps, Iowa State too. Colorado appears to be moving forward, Kansas is a legitimate, year-in-year-out bowl contender, Missouri is on a roll, and T. Boone's money is getting a nice offensive product on the field in Stillwater with some additional upside to boot. Oklahoma is a goliath, Texas Tech is bubbling up as a 9/10 win team every year, and oh yeah Texas is out there too. Where do we figure into this mix? To be good enough to win the conference, we have to be good enough to win the nation. . .

I do believe in the future, and the direction that we're going in. The effort, pride, and intensity are starting to emerge. What we've got to see is INITIATIVE in these big games. On the part of Coach Watson, and belief among the players in themselves, the system, and their ability to make big plays. Some of the guys we have coming in are really going to be EXCELLENT football players. In 2006 when we went out to Los Angeles to play USC, I thought to myself that we had about 25-30 guys who could matchup man for man with USC's 85. And that number is probably unchanged today. THIS is the gap that we must close. This gap shows in overall team speed, athleticism at WR and in the secondary, and depth in our defensive line. I saw this quote from this weekend and can't help but think that it COULD apply to us one day (and God I do not want it to ever apply to Husker Nation):

"The lungs of Tiger players just aren't liberated--no one on that nervous sideline in Death Valley knows how to breathe freely. The pressure of having to live up to expectations once again choked a talented roster that's long on ability but short on championship poise. When the same train wreck keeps taking place at the same point on the tracks, year after year, there's only so much that remains to be said."

Now for clarification, our situation is MUCH better than Clemson's, much better. In EVERY respect. But the point of the quote is that the "train wreck" for us is these matchups with the Penn State's, Auburn's, Virginia Tech's, and other quality opponents. "The pressure of having to live up to expectations. . .", could be us in 2-3 years if we haven't beaten a good team at that point and gotten this cherished, hallowed, and ELITE program turned around. At that point we'll be talking about a decade long period of not winning against a top-25 type program. . .