Texas Tech 31, Nebraska 10
You see it all the time, after a giant win, teams often have letdown games the next week. Earlier this year USC lost to UW, but of their last 6 losses to Pac 10 teams, the team that upset them went just 2-4 the following week. Nebraska was supposed to beat Missouri, but the way the achieved the win made it almost feel like it was a giant upset. They played poorly in the driving rain and came back to win with a flurry of 4th quarter touchdowns. Nebraska got caught looking ahead a bit I think. A lot of Husker fans were salivating (me included) at winning the next 3 games handily and being 7-1 going into the home game vs. Oklahoma.
Texas Tech showed that Nebraska was vulnerable, and their defense wasn't invincible. The offense lacked power, running, and consistency. Roy Helu, Jr. was at best 75% healthy and it showed. He had decent runs but couldn't break out. A lot of the fall came on Zac Lee. Lee was unable to produce a big play that the Huskers needed without Helu, Jr. being healthy. The fall was somewhat unwarranted because the rest of the Huskers could not help Lee out either. A dropped backward pass was simply a mental blunder that Lee couldn't control. Also, Lee had plenty of passes that just fell through the hands of the receivers. Question marks were raised at QB and the OL, but the WRs need to make plays when the running game isn't working.
The loss hurt, but Nebraska was still in a good position to take the Big XII North because Kansas and Missouri also lost.
Iowa State 9, Nebraska 7
This loss was what has Nebraska fans scrambling today. A hellish 8 turnovers, including 4 inside the 5 yard line. Lee got the start, and I believe he deserves to be the starter still today, and threw 3 INTs. One wasn't his fault, possibly 2 (one was on 4th and long in the last two minutes). Nebraska backs looked like they'd never played organized contact football before, fumbling the ball almost every inopportune time. Again, it comes back to making big plays. Nebraska moved the ball well but made inexcusable errors. Nebraska backs and receivers didn't make the plays they needed to, to get the pressure off of Lee.
There is so much talk about Nebraska finding an offensive identity. Against Iowa State, the offense actually looked very effective. Tray Robinson looked superb running the ball and he can backup Roy Helu, Jr. as long as Burkhead is out. Question answered. Lee moved the ball pretty well, and Nebraska would've scored 5 or 6 times without the fumbles. Niles Paul caught a deep pass and just made another huge mistake by seemingly fumbling without even getting hit. Nebraska needs to stick with their offensive identity but just execute more effectively. Against Texas Tech, it didn't execute on a macro level, it didn't move the ball. Against Iowa State, they executed on a macro level, but made many micro mistakes (fumbles, interceptions). When it is put together (and it will) Nebraska will be the team we saw dominate Sun Belt foes.
Outlook
Nebraska's defense is for real. The offense just needs to relax and put some points on the board and they'll be fine. Nebraska can still win the Big XII North, probably even with a lose to Oklahoma. These losses will hopefully fuel them for future games. The past two weeks have shown that any team (other than maybe Texas) can lose to any other team. Teams like Texas A&M, Iowa State, Colorado, and Kansas State can take down upper level teams which hurt Nebraska, but also could help them. If the Huskers can take down Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado, they will be playing in the Big XII Championship game
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