Nebraska wouldn’t have been a BCS Buster in the traditional sense, but their appearance in the Fiesta Bowl would have been a surprise to all. And they were only one second away from doing it by defeating #2 Texas. This, despite the fact that their offense set an ALL-TIME low for total yards. Their QBs were 6 of 20 for 39 yards and 3 interceptions. They were 2 of 16 on third-down conversions. Their longest run of the night was a 17-yard scramble by their QB which I can only assume was improvised.
Usually when a program, especially one that’s been around as long as Nebraska, sets an all-time record for futility, they get blown out. But thanks to their outstanding defense, they only lost this game by 1 point after Texas sneaked in a 46-yard field goal with 1 second remaining. (The only possible complaint about the Husker defense that night was that Suh got to McCoy too soon. Otherwise, he would have dilly-dallied a little longer and his pass would have ran out the clock.)
An optimist looks at this and praises their outstanding defense. A pessimist talks about how if they had any semblance of an offense, they would have not only won this game but also the others they lost as well. (Okay, even the optimist would have to talk about that too. That’s how terrible this offense is.)
So my question is: What the hell happened to Nebraska’s offense?
Before I attempt to answer this question, let’s look at how a coin flip seemingly determined the outcome of some of their games. See if you can guess which of these were a win and which were a loss.
Game 1: Outgained in first downs 23 to 7. Outgained in total yardage 325 to 180. Went 1 of 14 on third-down conversions. QBs went 7 of 14 for 39 yards. Team had 104 yards of penalties.
Game 2: Outgained opponent in total yardage 343 to 278. QB went 11 of 30 for 136 yards. RB ran for 169 yards. Went 6 of 17 on third-down conversions.
Game 3: Went 5 of 13 on third-down conversions. Outgained opponent in total yardage 362 to 239. QB went 20 of 37 for 248 yards.
Game 4: Outgained in total yardage 403 to 217. Went 3 of 10 on third-down conversions. QB went 9 of 14 for 73 yards. Gave up three passing touchdowns.
Game 5: Team had 108 yards of penalties. Gave up a safety. Did not score for first three quarters. QB went 14 of 33 for 158 yards. Went 8 of 17 on third-down conversions.
Game 6: QBs went 23 of 38 for 215 yards. Went 6 of 12 on third-down conversions. Outgained opponent in total yardage 285 to 259. Team had 95 yards of penalties.
ANSWERS BELOW….NO CHEATING
If you guessed WIN, LOSS, LOSS, WIN, WIN, LOSS, you’re correct. And also very lucky. Here’s a little more context.
Game 1: Beat Oklahoma 10-3 by recording 5 interceptions, one of which they returned to the Oklahoma 1 before throwing a 1-yard touchdown.
Game 2: Lost to Virginia Tech 16-15 because they had to settle for FIVE field goals and no touchdowns. Then the defense gave up two big plays near the end of the game. A huge bomb, and a touchdown pass where Tyrod Taylor scrambled for about a full minute, no exaggeration.
Game 3: Lost to Iowa State 9-7 because they turned the ball over EIGHT TIMES. Three of those times were inside the 5 yard line. Kick a field goal any of those times, and they win.
Game 4: Beat Colorado 28-20 thanks to help from a punt return and interception return TD.
Game 5: Beat Missouri 27-12 by scoring four 4th quarter touchdowns…somehow. Missouri also had 100 yards of penalties, so they basically broke even.
Game 6: Lost to Texas Tech 31-10 despite only two turnovers. Though one was returned for a TD, and Tech had none.
The point is, Nebraska would have won NONE of these games if not for their stellar defense. But, despite their terrible offense, the defense was so good that they could have just as easily won all of these games. (Except for Texas Tech, probably.)
So, I ask again, how did the Husker offense get so terrible? Here are some theories.
1. The offense lost all its confidence during spring football because it had to play against the Nebraska defense. After continually getting intercepted, stripped, and tackled for loss, all of the players began to think they were terrible, which became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The defense tried its best, telling the offense each day that they really believed in them. But the problem was, the offense never believed in themselves.
2. The team really wanted Ndamukong Suh to have a chance at the Heisman, so they gave him as much playing time as possible.
3. The Nebraska players are good Christian men, so when they learned that their kicker had made a deal with the devil, they were gravely concerned. The kicker’s deal stipulated that he would be the most awesome kicker that year but that the devil would get his soul if he did not kick 25 field goals. So they decided to help him out.
Currently he’s 20 of 24 and has yet to received clarification whether he had to MAKE 25 or just attempt them. Some of his teammates think the deal should be off since the devil didn’t make him awesome enough to avoid missing four attempts. But others argue that three of the misses were in wins, and the one in the loss to Texas Tech wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
4. Pelini punished the offense by taking away their chairs during team meetings. This, unfortunately, did not motivate them in the way he intended. Because they were tired of standing all the time, they got off the field as quickly as possible in order to use the bench and finally get some rest.
5. Pelini tried to start a new Nebraska tradition by having the entire team husk corn the night before games to be cooked and shared with the fans at the games conclusion. As a result, everyone on the team had terrible blisters during each game. This wasn’t a problem for the defense, as they just took their pain out on someone else by running into them. But it made it difficult for the quarterbacks and running backs to handle the ball.