Two years ago we lost to Texas Tech 70-10. Last year we lost to Kansas 40-15. Last Saturday we went against USC at the Coliseum in LA. We lost 28-10. WE played hard and we played smart overall.
Bill Callahan and staff went with a game plan that if we would have had a couple of breaks in the 4th quarter, we might have been in a position to win. So why all the fuss about we didn't play to win. If we would have come out throwing on every play which is what the quick and fast USC team wanted us to do, the score might have been 65-20 and we would have been out of the game in the first quarter.
We had a couple of passes we could have picked off for TD's which would have been the break we needed. We had a Lucky fumble that was crucial. We had a 15 yard penalty after a 20 yard run by Wilson. It seemed we had the momentum at that point. But they played hard.
We had them confused on defense until they threw the pass to a receiver on the line of scrimmage and then another received blocked the CB and the receiver ran for a number of yards. They ran this play a few times and were successful. When we had to cover this play, it opened up a number of opportunites for USC. Their passing game opened up and was successful. But even then with a couple of breaks we could have won. Should we have won, no, but we were given a chance because of the game plan.
Basketball teams didn't try to run against the old UNLV teams cause that would have played right into their game. When Lucky was caught from behind by a 260 lb linebacker you knew they had a bunch of skilled players.
USC is darn good and I think they will have a good chance to end up #1. Jarrett and Smith will catch a lot of balls in the NFL. They have five or six defensive players who may star in the NFL. John David Booty can play in the NFL.
Think about all the criticism given to Callahan and his staff. They spend 18 hours a day studying football and they have a staff that is as good as any in college football. I guess it is everybody's right to say what we should have done to win the game. Most of the critics never played football but they now know more than a coach that has taken a team to the Super Bowl. This writer believes we did the best thing for us to win.
We have a really tough game coming this Saturday and we will need to be at the top of our game to win. Then on to the Big 12 and the run to the champioship game. Should be fun and have faith in the players and coaches!
Let us know how you feel about the game plan with USC and the rest of the season outlook.
3 comments:
Callahan is a great coach! You also have to admire him for sticking to the game plan. The only comment that I don't like that you have said is "If we would have come out throwing on every play which is what the quick and fast USC team wanted us to do, the score might have been 65-20 and we would have been out of the game in the first quarter." But, you never know, we may have won the game if we did this? I feel that you have to give your guys a chance to win the game at some point and I don't think Callahan did this. USC was the better team and I don't think Nebraska could beat USC this year if they played 100 times if you don't take chances. That's how the underdog wins, they take chances, they knock the other team on their heals to the point where they can't recover. You don't want to blame Callahan, and I don't either, but it seems that you are trying to blame Lucky for a fumble or Grixby for not intercepting a pass or the holding call on Wilson's run. This are young men who make mistakes. Now, lets look ahead and stop living in the past. They need to prepare for Troy. I heard Wilson might be starting. I am going to this game and I can't wait to see them live. Go Huskers, go Callahan, go team unity, and go college football!!
P.S. I love you John, don't think I am taking a shot at you personally.
Very good points made and I understand your position fully. The points about the fumble and the interception were made because we stayed fairly close and these were the breaks we needed to win. I definately didn't want to be critical of any players because the effort was great. Thanks for your imput and hopefully I will see you at the game.
Good points Johnny B . . . . but, don't lose objectivity on the BLOG and simply become a cheerleader.
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