Nebraska Downs Kansas, 45-35
17 comments so far
November 8, 2008 by
Nebraska secured a bowl eligibility and preserved a 40-year winning streak against Kansas in Lincoln by beating the Jayhawks 45 to 35 on a cold and blustery day at Memorial Stadium. Ndamukong Suh, Roy Helu Jr. and Joe Ganz stared for the Huskers as they overcame three turnovers to get the win.
Nebraska open scoring with the first of several trick plays on the day. Runningback Marlon Lucky threw a jump pass to Mike McNeil for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Jayhawks would answer with Todd Reesing passing to Kerry Meier for a touchdown to tie the game. The Jayhawks took the lead in the second quarter when Reesling connected with Dezmon Briscoe for 53 yards in the second quarter. Briscoe would eventually collect 176 yards receiving on the day. NU matched the Jayhawk score with Ganz throwing 25 yards to Chris Brooks for a touchdown. It was Brooks' first score of his career. The first half came to an unfortunate end for NU as Ganz threw an interception deep in KU territory.
In the second half, the Huskers got a 35 yard field goal from Alex Henery to get a 3 point advantage. KU answered with a touchdown drive - this time Reesling to Dexton Fields for the score. The Jayhawk drive came on a short field after NU's Nate Swift fumbled a punt. But again, the Huskers answered the bell. This time Roy Helu powered a quick drive with his running and got in to the endzone and give NU the lead with just 8 seconds left to play in a hard fought third quarter.
After forcing a KU punt, the Huskers wasted no time on their next drive. Helu burst 52 yards for his longest scoring run of the season. KU came right back, and Jake Sharp ran a score in from 7 yards out to keep the game at just a 3 point margin with just under 10 minutes left to play.
The Huskers battled back, keeping the ball on a 5 minute touchdown drive of their own. This time the Huskers capped the drive with Ganz throwing to defensive tackle Suh for a score. The Huskers got a turnover back from KU on the ensuing possession, when Zach Potter picked off Reesling. The Husker's next scoring drive included Henery running for a first down on a fake field goal play. Ganz would connect with Swift to put the game out of reach. Reesing would rush for another score and KU recovered an onsides kick to keep the game interesting. But, NU secured an important win - 45-35.
Analysis
- The Huskers found their feature running back in Roy Helu. He rushed for more than 100 yards for the second straight week and caught 61 yards worth of passes. He displayed the vision and burst NU needs in the run game.
- Here is a stat line you won't read too often - 12 tackles, 2 sacks and ... a touchdown. Suh played at an All-conference level for the Huskers today.
- Sure, the game featured 900 yards of offense, but I have to credit the NU defense today. This is the best the Husker defenders have looked this year, especially up front. KU is a very good offensive team, and they were helped by NU turnovers.
- The Husker offense looked very sharp and showed guts answering the KU touchdowns. Ganz-to-Swift is one of the great Husker pass-and-catch combinations of all time. They were both great today.
- The Husker special teams were great, excluding the fumble, and set NU up in good field position.
- Do you think this game was important for the Husker coaches? They busted out three different gimmick plays to help secure scores.
- For NU to go negative 2 in turnover margin and win a game tells you just how well and how hard the Huskers played today.
- The Huskers get to go to a bowl. That's great. How good that bowl will be depends on what they do the next two weeks. If they win out, they can secure the second spot in the Big 12 North and maybe a better bowl.
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Greg Morrow Nov 08 08
It was fantastic!
What happenend with the live blog?
Just watched Helu at the press conference. What a kid! Polite to the max!
That Nebraska made enough mistakes to lose the game decisively- but didn't, proved a couple of things.
1. Line play on both sides is much improved, this late into the season. Line play keeps the team in it, when smaller bodies get tight.
2. The effort of the team is pushing towards traditional levels. Especially after getting worked, last week. Mature, focused kids who picked themselves up and dusted themselves off!
Nebraska got a good effort from the Manginos. They played Nebraska straight up, fully expecting a W. Nebraska pulled out the gadgets, but that only made up for the mistakes. It's the team effort, facilitated by an encouraging, supportive coaching staff, that gotr done!
Dwayne Nov 08 08
This is huge for Pelini. What are we talking about? Practice. Fifteen more of them possibly. This is part of what needs to take place Darren. Capture and represent the North. It looks promising for the future. But really, we're talkin' 'bout practice here. Nice W.
Jason Nov 08 08
Sorry we couldn't come through on the live blog today Greg. It just so happened that none of us could be at our computer during the game this time. We'll be back again next week.
Brandon Nov 08 08
The stars didn't align and everyone here was either on the road or unavoidably detained so, no live blog unfortunately.
But we'll be back. We will be back.
Nate Nov 08 08
Practice? We talking 'bout practice!
Vince D'Adamo Nov 08 08
Not a signature win nor was it a pretty one but beggers can't be choosers. I know we tend to poo-poo the notion of simply being bowl eligible but I couldn't stand another season of us being home for the holidays. Should we beat K-State and CU, and if we don't there's something wrong, that puts us at 8-4. Which most of us thought would happen before the season.
On a side note, over/under on how many Runzas Mark Mangino could eat in one sitting? I'll go with 14. Do you take the over or under?
katbron Nov 08 08
missed the conversation of the live blog today! Also, please change the scoreboard so that ugly Oklahoma score comes off my blog:)
Great game - I hated the mistakes, don't think it would have been as close if we wouldn't have had those. But it was terribly cold and I was a coach on my warm couch.
Bill in Iowa Nov 09 08
This was not a signature win, merely because Kansas is not Oklahoma. However, considering this was the team that hung 70+ points on us last year, I think this game puts away any questions about how far this team has come!
Yes, still a few stupid penalties, an interception, and a couple fumbles, but really it just shows you how dominating of a performance this really was...without the take aways we easily could have won by 3 touchdowns.
Some highlights to consider:
There were a lot of bad calls (two potential Kansas funbles that at least credited a video review) and Pelini could have been blowing his stack, but this week he stayed cool, calm, collected and confident!
One word, Helu. Maybe Watson has been reading the blogs or Lucky took one for the team (tweaked ankle), either way, he proved he is the man! I can't wait for next year.
Castille...five carries for 50 yards. He looked solid and probably gained some confidence after last week. What a far cry from last year when you could have expected him to be punished for fumbling last week by benching him for the rest of the year.
Suh and the defensive line. Dominating! I hope he sticks around for another year. If he does, the d-line will be incredible next year. Barry will be back and I think we will have some solid options to replace Stein in the middle.
The o-line opened holes and pass protected to perfection. The times Ganz got pressured it was the running backs responsibiity to pick up the blitz. This line looks better every week. Way to go Barney!
The secondary...yes I said it. I think we sacked Reesling 5 times and a few of those were coverage sacks. He just didn't have any place to throw it. There is still room for improvement and learning to wrap up (I am talking to you number 28 E. Hagg), but I was pleased to see this group is progressing each week. Way to go Sanders!
And finally, Tyler Wortman, again he proves that the walk-on program is alive and well. That guy is not are fastest LB, but he is the smartest. Way to sniff out the reverse! And way to stuff the running game.
And finally, Coach Watson. He called another brilliant game. This guy keeps defenses guessing. And I love his gadget plays in the red zone. Suh, our 300 pound full back for the pass reception! Come on...that was a thing of beauty!
I think the statement of this game is that it told observant fans a number of things. We can and will re-establish dominance on the DL and OL and beat teams into submission. We can and will run the football. We wont let humiliating defeats get us down. And next year, lookout, because a lot of these guys are coming back AND they now have coaching. I think its obvious, we are going to dominate the North once again.
Bill in Iowa Nov 09 08
One more note. Did you guys watch Texas Tech absolutely dominate OK State! TT is for real and my money is on them beating Oklahoma. It's incredible to me to think we took them to overtime and really should have beat them.
Bill in Iowa Nov 09 08
Mangino's comment (from Huskers.com): "We knew it was going to be a tough game. Say what you want, but you could see Nebraska getting better every week. You could see their defense, their kids getting more and more comfortable with their defensive system. Kids were playing with more confidence. Everybody got worked up over OU in the first quarter, but you still don't know where OU's going to end up this year. They could end up playing for a national championship. That's a very good football team. You saw the bad quarter against Oklahoma and then you saw the rest of the game, and you said 'these guys are getting better.' And of course they're always good at home, no question about that. So I knew this was going to be a battle, and we could not afford to make any mistakes. They made a couple and still overcame it, so credit to them."
Scott Nov 09 08
We beat a good football team. We are still making mistakes that can hurt us against better teams bot luckily it was KU we were playing. Kansas State is going to be a very difficult game on the road next week. Freeman is very mobile and could cause us some problems. I'm reading where people are already assuming we'll finish 8-4 and we are a long way from that. People expected a good game at OU too!
WOW Nov 09 08
Bill In Iowa,
You and I must have crossed paths before, as your attitude is the one I see most often in big red fans.
If ____________ and If not for ____________ we would surely have _____________.
More times than not these 'reasons' are used to explain shortcomings of a negative nature.
Your use of them to explain why Nebraska didn't win "by 3 touchdowns" is just another example of a 'shoulda, coulda, woulda' mentality.
It was a BIG W in many ways and still yet an ugly example in others.
I believe that both of those aspects need to be embraced, not overlooked.
I think the staff will do just that but I find it entertaining to see how the fanbase doesn't.
I'm still waiting to see fans sporting "Order Restored" shirts before the end of this season.
I do seem to remember someone here abouts claiming just such a thing prior to the end of the 2006 season.
Wonder if they might not be the ones lining up the screen printer as I post this
JR
Dwayne Nov 09 08
Any time you are trying to build your program back, give the opponent 4 turnovers, and still win the game, that's a positive in my opinion. What it tells me is that NU can afford this against some teams but definately not obviously to the great ones. I said at the start of the year that KU would have a minimum of 5 losses based on their schedule alone. I don't see them winning the next two either. Missouri had better enjoy the time that they have right now, because I sense at this point that it isn't going to last long term. And KSU, that just might be the worst job in the Big XII.
Dr. Tom Nov 09 08
We'll probably go to the Indy Bowl, but that loss to a weak VA Tech team still stands out, and I don't think we'll be able to get past the Wildcats or Buffs. No one really likes playing for Pelini, either. Other than that, we're doing a little better than last year.
Jason Nov 10 08
Dr. Tom, care to share *any* shred of evidence to back up your claim that "no one really likes playing for Pelini"?
Everything I've seen seems to contradict your statement.
Jason Nov 10 08
Never mind Dr. Tom. Don't bother replying. I see your IP address has left a number of comments under different names making other ridiculous claims about "our team."
Except that one time when you slipped up and said, "OOOHH - you guys came back to beat Baylor at home. I'm pretty sure they're going to the BCS title game."
So move along folks. He's just a troll claiming to be a Husker fan who's trying to stir things up.
bnahusker Nov 10 08
"Dr. Tom" is a troll?
The depth of his report made me think he was an insider!
I'm bummed.
This could be the "Feel Good" win, with a revenge factor, that Bo and the boys needeed. We all came into this season guessing what the record would be, and I'm betting that most of us had this game in, or tilting to, the "L" column. Now is not the time to sit back and enjoy the success it's time to dig a little deeper and make sure that there is not letdown in effort in the next two games.
GBR!
Bob