Admit it. When Nebraska fell behind 27-10 in the third quarter your first thought was "Not again." Me too. All the ill-timed penalties, the maddening turnovers and defensive breakdowns were awfully familiar and it looked like another classic Pelini letdown. But then a funny thing happened on the way to another disappointing beatdown: the Huskers stood up, wiped the blood off their mouth, and swung back in a big way. The offensive and defensive lines took over the game, and the Huskers ran off 20 unanswered points and stunned the worn out and bloodied Badgers. Instead of repeating the 2010 performance against Texas, the Huskers channeled a little bit of the composure they showed last season against Ohio State and pulled off the second biggest comeback in school history. This time, the game didn't turn on an injury, instead the Huskers simply got out of their own way on offense, and started dominating on defense. This was a great win for the program, for Bo Pelini, and for his beleaguered team. If they can carry this momentum into Columbus next week, they might just have a chance to pull off the upset.
Offensive MVP: QB Taylor Martinez. Not his most electrifying game running, nor his sharpest game passing, but give the junior credit for leading his team to 20 points after giving up the sack-strip on the first drive of the second half. Martinez is one of the more polarizing players in Nebraska history, but he now owns the two biggest comebacks in school history, and he's steadily moving up the charts for most of the individual stats as well.
Defensive MVP: LB Will Compton. Tough to pick Compton over Baker Steinkuhler, but 10 tackles, a sack, and 3 TFLs get Compton the nod. There was some shaky work by the defense early, but Compton led his boys to a dominating second half allowing only 90 yards and 7 points after the Martinez fumble. Compton and the LBs won back a lot of respect with their second half performance.
Special Teams MVP: K/P Brett Maher. Forget about the miss from 52 yards. Hitting the 41 yard go-ahead field goal after the comeback was money, and pinning the Badgers at the 10 with that last punt was just as vital. Maher hasn't been perfect this year, but he's still one of the best kickers in the country. Ask Wisconsin how much they'd like to trade.
Freshman MVP: FB Andy Janovich. The true freshman walk-on from Gretna didn't contribute on the stat sheet, but the mere fact that he was in a game like this, and performed so ably as a lead blocker is a big reason that Ron Brown is so excited for this kid's future. He already looks like a Greek god, so I can't wait to see what he looks like after a winter with strength coach James Dobson.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
It was a long, hard offseason for the offensive line, but they redeemed themselves last night. Barney Cotton and John Garrison get the award this week, after their charges plowed through a tired Wisconsin defense for almost 200 yards rushing in the second half, and only committed two penalties for 15 yards (both by Andrew Rodriguez). Nobody is going to confuse these guys with the Pipeline players of days past, but this was a good win for the big uglys.
Play of the Game: Taylor Martinez's fumble recovery and run for a first down. My heart was about to break when Abdullah fumbled in traffic, but credit Martinez for keeping his head on a swivel, scooping up the ball and running for a first down. Nebraska would tie the game on that drive, and go ahead on the next one; who's to say that would have happened with another momentum killing turnover?
Play We Want Back: Rex Burkhead's fumble. The three and out to start the game was bad enough. Allowing Wisconsin to drive the field for a quick touchdown was worse. Then came Rex's odd fumble on a busted play which led to another Badger TD and suddenly Nebraska was down 14-0. We'll take the end result, but Nebraska cannot make a habit out of starts like that.
I want to see more...
*Offensive dominance on the ground. Credit Tim Beck for not panicking in the second half like he did last season in losses to Wisconsin and Michigan. Beck and Co adjusted their play calling, but kept the ball on the ground in the second half, sapping the Badger's will and taking their yards in chunks to come back, and then kill the clock. Good second half for the offense.
*The 1-2 punch at RB. Rex wasn't getting it done? No problem, call in Abdullah to squirt through little holes for big yards. Abdullah gets nicked up and needed a break? No problem, Rex was fresh and the Badgers certainly weren't, Rex dragged Badgers all over the field. I don't see a better combination of running backs in the Big Ten.
*Defensive adjustment. Like the offensive staff, Bo's defensive crew managed to keep the troops calm and make the necessary adjustments to shut the Badgers down in the second half.
*Quarterback pressure. Joel Stave looked like Joe Montana in the first half, and JaMarcus Russell in the second. That's what a few thumps on the noggin will do to a young QB. Heck, even Tom Brady's game goes to pieces with a few hits. Good job by the defense, making adjustments and getting Stave knocked down. (Fun Fact: if you google JaMarcus Russell, google thinks you might also like to search for Ryan Leaf, Vince Young and Brady Quinn)
*Ciante Evans. His 3 tackles don't look like much on the stat sheet, but Evans convinced coaches to let him cover receiver Jared Abbrederis in the second half, and the junior shut the Badgers' star down after he lit up the secondary for more than 100 yards in the first. Evans should be on the field more this week in his usual nickel role as the Buckeyes employ a traditional spread offense.
*Baker Steinkuhler. The quiet giant had one of the best games of his career Saturday night, plugging running lanes, making tackles and busting the pocket. This is the sort of play we need from our d-linemen.
*2nd half magic. Aside from the sack-strip on the first possession, Nebraska played a nearly flawless second half, and that speaks to the composure and leadership that we've been hearing about. There's certainly a lot to fix, but you can't count out the Cornhuskers.
*Jordan Burroughs. We might as well plan on seeing the former Husker wrestler honored at halftime of at least one game every year. The 2-time National Champion, World Champion, and Olympic Champion wrestler got some much deserved love this week, giving a pre-game speech and appearing on the sidelines with the team. Burroughs is a dedicated Husker fan and he continues to train at the University for another Olympic run in 2016. If Burroughs isn't the greatest athlete to come out of Nebraska, I don't know who is.
I want to see less...
*Slow starts. Maybe it was the busy recruiting weekend, maybe it was adjusting to a living, breathing opponent after the Idaho State game, maybe it was the pressure, but the Huskers need to do better out of the gates. Not every team is going to let us claw back from 17 points down.
*Three and outs. There is nothing more destructive to this team's tempo than a three and out. Beck's offense should always get at least one first down to keep the defense fresh, and too many times, that didn't happen Saturday.
*Defeatism from the fan base. It wasn't a pretty start, but too many people (including myself) gave up on the Huskers, and Bo Pelini after the first quarter. We should always stand behind our team until the game is really over.
*Fumbles. This one's pretty obvious. Wisconsin scored 2 TDs after being given a short field due to Husker turnovers. That's two weeks in a row with multiple balls on the ground, and it has to be fixed.
*Dropped interceptions. PJ Smith and Will Compton both had two hands on some passes, those are the types of plays that need to be made to give the offense some extra momentum.
*Penalties. The pass interference on Mohammed Seisay on Wisconsin's last drive was legit. Borderline, but legit. The roughing the punter call on Stanley Jean-Baptiste was egregious and led to 7 points. All told, the Huskers were flagged 6 times for 70 yards. This is an old nemesis for Bo's teams, and it needs to be addressed.
Armchair head coach:
Late in the 1st quarter, with Wisconsin up 14-3 and the Huskers facing 4th and 5 from the Badger 34, Bo opted to send Maher on to kick a 52 yard field goal. Maher missed, and the Badgers would drive the field and make it a 20-3 game. If I were Bo, I probably would have gone for it. The risk of missing the field goal was too high for the measly 3 point reward, and I think 5 yards is pretty easy to get with this offense. If Nebraska had made it, and driven for a TD the game would have been much different.
Hit of the Game:
This award goes to the smallest guy on the team. Josh Mitchell zoomed in on a corner blitz, and smacked Montee Ball right as he took the handoff for a 5 yard loss. Mitchell was a little dinged up on the play, but that tackle as much as any, set the tone for a dominant second half by the Blackshirts.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"Zzzzzzz..."
Mrs Burruss had a long day at the wedding and the little bean in her tummy demanded that she go to bed early.
Song of the Game
"Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley
"Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"
The Badgers got Rick-rolled in the second half, blowing a 17 point lead and allowing the Huskers to celebrate long into the night. I'm sure that's almost as annoying for Badger fans as the viral prank video is for computer users.
Beer of the Game
Yuengling Lager by Yuengling Brewing Company, Potttsville, PA
I said last week that I'm not a fan of lagers, but when you're in Pennsylvania, you really should grab some of this classic off the tap of whatever bar you're closest to. Yuengling started brewing in 1829 and it's supposed to be the oldest brewing company in America. By looking at its dark, amber coloring, you'd expect it to taste much sharper than it does, but this beer is easy on the tongue, and the wallet. Give it a try.
Best Commercial
I watched the game at the Applebee's in Lancaster, PA and the TV was on mute, so I didn't really take note of any good commercials. Next week.
Last thought
A win is a win. Nebraska still isn't getting any love in the polls, but that will come with more winning. I liked the grit and the poise shown by the Big Red in the second half, and we're riding a good wave of momentum into the Horseshoe next week. There's plenty enough troubles presented by the Buckeyes, so let's enjoy this one and be ready for a fight next week.
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