Huskers Survive and Advance Against Hoosiers

Survive and Advance. Survive and Advance.

Nebraska broke out to a quick 10-0 lead while Clemson and North Carolina State ran long on ABC. Only problem… ABC didn’t tell fans to turn to ESPN2 at kickoff, and then switched the game off of ESPN2 several minutes before ABC picked up the broadcast.  So all we saw was Brandon Reilly’s miracle deflection catch on a replay.  A couple of minutes later, Chris Jones picked off a Richard Lagow pass to give the Huskers a 17-0 lead. Cruising, right?

Well, that was the end of that.  Nebraska’s offense went into it’s typical second and third quarter slump, and Indiana slowly worked their way back into the game.  Bruce Read’s special teams were a debacle once again, as the Huskers were completely discombobulated on that punt.  Nebraska left a huge hole up the middle, and the protectors had no idea which of the half-dozen rushers they should try to block…so nobody did.  Easy block for a safety. Add in a substitution penalty on an extra point, and you’ve got yet more evidence that Nebraska’s $450,000 investment in special teams is a complete waste of money.

Nebraska’s offensive line struggled…really struggled. Yes, David Knevel only lasted one play, but everybody struggled.  Nick Gates had his worst game ever as a Husker, and the rest of the line was a mess. Bad pass protection led to too many YOLO desperation heaves by Tommy Armstrong that were just a mess.

But at the same time, there were Husker Heroes that emerged.  The entire secondary played really, really well.  So did the defensive line, even if the referees weren’t willing to throw a flag.  Terrell Newby gutted out 102 yards and made key run after key run as really Nebraska’s only I-back.  Devine Ozigbo tried to play in the second half, but apparently couldn’t go.  Mikale Wilbon, I assume, was also out with injury.  That left only Tre Bryant to spell Newby. Bryant looks like a solid blocking back, but he can’t continue to average 7 inches a carry if he’s going to see any more playing time.