Texas 13, Nebraska 12

Ughhhh.  Nebraska surely didn't deserve to win the game offensively.  With just a measly 106 total yards and 5 first downs, they did almost nothing to prove they deserved a BCS berth.  However, I'd like to apologize to all TCU fans because we let you down.  We had a shot to put you in the BCS Championship game and we made some huge mistakes late in the game.  Two things we did learn Saturday night, however: Nebraska's defense is greater than Texas' offense, and Ndamukong Suh is the best player in the nation. Let's review the keys of the game:

Nebraska needs to...

*Minimize their mistakes.

They did, too, for the first 3.9 quarters.  Until a costly kicking out of bounds penalty and a 15-yard personal foul penalty.  Nebraska forced the turnovers, forced the Texas mistakes, but also turned the ball over 3 times.

*Play loose.

Tough to tell.  They seemed to have played conservative on offense, but maybe that was masked by the great defensive effort by Texas.  They did go down field, and that resulted in multiple interceptions.  However, the D wasn't tense, as they dominated Heisman frontrunner and Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Colt McCoy.

*Establish the run.

Definitely not.  Nebraska couldn't establish a run, therefore they couldn't pass the ball either.  There were decent runs, but no good runs throughout the game.

Nebraska needs to control...

*Field position.

Alex Henery didn't have his best punting game.  However, Texas fair caught the ball inside their own 20 twice and started on the 1 after a kickoff.  On the other side, Niles Paul had some big returns to set up good field position, and a field goal.

*Jordan Shipley.

Shipley didn't score.  But he had two big catches against the Huskers.  One came when Texas was inside their own 2 on 3rd down.  On the last drive, he had a big catch and got horse-collar tackled to give Texas another 15 yards.  He ended with 7 catches for 71 yards.

*The clock.

Texas won the clock battle 32:00 to 28:00.  The fact that Nebraska had the ball that long with just 5 first downs is astounding.  They did shorten the game, and they did keep Texas to just 13 points.  You couldn't ask for more on defense.

Predictions

*McCoy will throw an INT in the first half.

Try two.  The Huskers forced McCoy to make some bad throws and simply made great defensive plays on two of the three INTs.  McCoy's early struggles kept Nebraska in the game, and his last INT set up a Nebraska lead with less than 2 min left.

*Niles Paul will make a play.

And he did.  He had two huge special teams plays, including a 42 yard punt return to the Texas 10 yard line.  Too bad the Huskers couldn't convert it into a touchdown, instead they brought the game within one point.

*The game will be close.

It came down to the last second, literally.  Texas had a hash-marked 46 yard field goal.  It was no gimme, and they almost didn't even get the opportunity.  Ndamukong Suh had an astounding 4.5 sacks and 7 TFL, even while getting double teamed and held the entire game.

Keys to the Game (Texas)

Mel Kiper, Jr. gave Nebraska a 5% chance of winning, and McShay gave them just 1% of a chance.  Everyone in the sports world has Texas in the BCS Championship game vs. Florida/Alabama.  However, the Cornhuskers aren't going to just roll over and give Texas the National Championship berth.  Here are the keys to the game, if Nebraska expects to pull out an upset:

Nebraska needs to...

*Minimize every mistake.

No turnovers, no missed opportunities (red zone TDs, field goals, takeaways).  I don't want to look back on the game on think "What if"

*Play loose.

Although they need to play better than they have all season, Nebraska cannot tighten up.  They are the underdogs, relish that.  If the Huskers come out loose and play how they know they can, they've got a shot.

*Establish a run.

Texas has had a phenomenal run defense (minus last week vs. Texas A&M).  The 'Horns will probably make Zac Lee beat them in the air, but in order for Lee to do this, Helu, Jr. and Burkhead need to get some tough yards early on.

Nebraska needs to control...

*Field position.

Alex Henery is as good as anyone at putting the ball inside the opponent's 10-yard line.  If Texas' offense has to consistently go 90+ yards to get 6 points, the Husker D will be able to force some punts and turnovers.

*Jordan Shipley.

By far Texas' biggest threat.  Colt McCoy can beat the Huskers but Shipley can outrun and outjuke everyone.  Make the other Longhorns beat Nebraska and minimize Shipley's touches/opportunities

*The clock.

Shorten the game.  Nebraska needs to get first downs and the keep the chains moving.  This will allow Texas' offense to watch a lot of the game, rather than scoring a bunch.  Nebraska's offense hasn't been able to put up points against Big 12 teams, so they need to minimize the opponent's offensive production

Predictions

*McCoy will throw an INT in the first half.

This is key to Nebraska's chances.  If McCoy can make a mistake or two early, the Huskers need to capitalize.

*Niles Paul will make a play.

Look for a long gain, long return, or touchdown from Nebraska's biggest playmaker.  If their is a player other than the RBs that can burn Texas, it's Paul.

*The game will be close.

I'm not going to put a score on the game, or even a winner.  Nebraska is playing for everything, which gives them a psychological edge.  The game will be a lot closer than anybody expects.

Some Husker Awards

The All-Big 12 team was announced on Monday.  Here's how the Huskers fared:

2009 Defensive Player of the Year

DL - Ndamukong Suh

2009 All-Big 12 First Team

DL - Ndamukong Suh (unanimous)

DL - Jared Crick

DB - Prince Amukamara

DB - Larry Asante

2009 All-Big 12 Second Team

RB - Roy Helu, Jr.

PK - Alex Henery

LB - Phillip Dillard

Honorable Mentions:

Defensive Newcomer: Dejon Gomes

DB - Dejon Gomes

DB - Eric Hagg

P - Alex Henery

OL - Jacob Hickman

TE - Mike McNeill

DB - Matt O'Hanlon

WR - Niles Paul

DL - Barry Turner

Analysis:  

Snubs:

*Pierre Allen: Plenty of people talk about Nebraska's front four.  The 4th front four member didn't even get an honorable mention

*Alex Henery:  Maybe I'm biased.  But this Cornhusker could be the best kicker to come out of Nebraska (yes, even better than Josh and Kris).  He constantly puts punts inside the 20 and is (well, was) pretty automatic from inside 50 yards.  He deserved 1st team PK and 2nd team P.

*Matt O'Hanlon: Deserved a 2nd team pick for sure.  O'Hanlon was key in producing turnovers (including 3 in a huge game vs. OU) and had a huge TD last week vs. the Buffs.

*O-Lineman: Outside of Jacob Hickman, no other Husker O-lineman even got an honorable mention.  I understand they didn't deserved any 1st or 2nd pick, but not even a mention either?

*Rex Burkhead: This may be a stretch because of his extended absence due to injury, but I would push for Burkhead to have received an honorable mention as well.

Disappointments

*Niles Paul: At the beginning of the year, Paul was Nebraska's lone wide receiving threat.  He hasn't really asserted himself.  There have been flashes of great things (4th quarter vs. Missouri, Colorado punt return), but there have been low points (ISU).  Maybe the inconsistent quarterback threat has contributed to his lower than expected numbers.

*Linebackers: Nebraska has produced some amazing linebackers (Alberts, Polk, Ruuds) over the years, but they were basically unmentioned this year (outside of Dillard).  Again, these guys are young, but the focus of Nebraska's D is the front four and the DBs, not the LBs.

*O-Line: The running game was shaking in the middle part of the season.  This probably has to do with the lack of depth and injuries.  However, the O-Line was underachieving, and too many times have I seen QB hurries and TFL.

Future

The thing that sticks out the most is the amount of young players.  Of the 1st team members, half of them will be back next year (2/4) and two-thirds of the 2nd team (2/3).  Also, of the honorable mention, over half are non-Seniors (5/8).  This makes the future look bright for the already achieving Huskers.

Nebraska 28, Colorado 20

Nebraska won an ugly season finale and starts the post season with a 5 game winning streak.  The Huskers gave up more yards and points then they probably wanted, but got a touchdown in all three facets of the game (offense, defense, special teams).  In other words, they did what they had to do to win the game.  As long as they keep winning, the ugliness is okay.  Next week will be a huge test and if the Huskers can pull out an upset, they'll automatically qualify for a BCS Bowl.

Let's review the keys:

Nebraska needs to...

*Play calm

NU didn't let their emotions get the best of them too often and responded well defensively when CU was threatening to score late in the 3rd quarter, forcing back-to-back scoreless drives after allowing the Buffs to get to their red zone.

*Stop Rodney Stewart

"Speedy" had 110 yards, but no scores.  The Huskers could've done better, but they surely could've done worse.  Also, he had just 1 reception for 6 yards.

*Run, then pass

Exactly what the Huskers need to do the rest of the season.  The Huskers needed a huge drive when up just 7 in the 4th quarter.  What did they do?  They ran the ball down the Colorado defense's throat, and threw just once for a huge 3rd down conversion.  Also, the lone TD throw by Lee was set up by a play action pass

Nebraska needs to control...

*The Colorado Offensive Line

Not exactly.  There were key plays (such as Suh's 17 yard sack) that the Huskers dominated at the line.  However, there were hardly an other TFL and Colorado's run offense got too many yards up front.

*The crowd

I was there.  The crowd had no effect on the game.  This was partly due to Nebraska's play and a lot to do with the amount of red in Folsom Field.  There was roughly 20 to 25% Husker fans, and when the ball was in their end zone, Husker fans were loud.

*Their turnovers

Roy Helu, Jr. did have a fumble that ultimately didn't hurt the Huskers, but it could have.  Colorado could've tied the game up with a short field.  Luckily, the couldn't convert and the Huskers didn't look back.  Zac Lee was conservative, but he made no mistakes and you can't fault him for that.

Predictions

*Zac Lee will throw 2 or more touchdown passes

Wrong.  Lee did have a beautiful throw to Ben Cotton for a TD, but missed another opportunity earlier.  When the time mattered, the Huskers executed on the ground instead.

*Rex Burkhead's load will be heavier

Right.  Rex was arguably the player of the game for the Huskers.  He did an awesome job running between the tackles and gives the Huskers a two-headed running attack, finally.  Rex had his first 100 yard game, had a TD, and didn't fumble.

*Nebraska 30, Colorado 10

Wrong.  Nebraska looked to keep it close to my prediction until a dismal 57 yard Hail Mary TD on the last play of the game.  But, 28-20 was a better indication of the game compared to 28-14 anyways.  The Huskers didn't deserve to win by 20, 14, or even 10 points.

For the future:

Nebraska did a great job of running the ball.  Texas should, and probably will, make Zac Lee beat them.  Burkhead and Helu, Jr. are great running backs and can play tough against almost any defense in the nation.  The Husker defense has been giving up more yards as of late, and can't afford to keep giving up those yards against a high powered offense like Texas'.  It'd be nice to see Lee go downfield more often with deeper throws.  The slant routes to Paul and Kinnie were open and they need to use these plays early vs. Texas and go down field later on.