Huskers fumble away late lead to Texas
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When former head coach Tom Osborne still prowled the Nebraska sideline, he was renowned for preaching one virtue above all others: execution. He knew that a gameplan was only as good as the efficiency with which it was executed, and in a heartbreaking loss at home to Texas on Saturday afternoon, the Cornhuskers made one mistake too many.
“Victory was more or less swept away,” head coach Bill Callahan said at the postgame press conference.
That pretty much summed it up. Although Callahan’s playcalling has been a sore subject for fans this year, his scheme against Texas was nearly flawless. Questionable clock management marred the final couple minutes, but the script netted an early score and the Huskers held a lead late in the game.
Cue the miscues.
First, in the second quarter, wide receiver Terrence Nunn called for a fair catch on a punt return but then failed to actually make the catch which resulted in the ball being downed at the 1 yard line. Nebraska was stifled trying to escape the shadow of the goalposts ad the ensuing field position advantage for Texas resulted in a TD pass to Quan Crosby that put the Longhorns up by nine points.
Later in the half when Zac Taylor finally got his offense moving, Nate Swift dropped a long reception that rattled around in his breadbasket before slipping out of his gloves and his grasp. On the next play, Taylor fumbled and the ball was recovered by Texas, stopping any chance of reducing the deficit before the half.
After a typically anemic third quarter, Nebraska brought fireworks to begin the fourth. Tom Osborne would have been proud as runningback Brandon Jackson took the team on his shoulders, snagging a shovel pass and scooting out of tackles and down the sideline for a 49-yard score. Their next possession, Frantz Hardy took a double reverse 13 yards behind a beautiful wall of offensive linemen. Two plays later, Zac flipped the ball out to Marlon Lucky, and the sophomore I-back gave Swift a chance to redeem himself, heaving the ball downfield on a halfback option for 25-yard score.
Nunn, given a second opportunity, would not be so effective. Finding himself the target of a third-and-2 pass with just over two minutes remaining, Nunn picked up the first down only to fumble when standout defensive back Aaron Ross made a crucial hit that gave Texas the ball back in Nebraska territory. Freshman QB Colt McCoy showed the same poise he had exhibited all day, driving the burnt orange down to the five yard-line where walk-on kicker Ryan Bailey kicked the game winner.
In the end, the errors on both sides of the ball were too much for a feisty Nebraska team to overcome. They turned the ball over three times, and although they forced five fumbles they were only able to recover one. A Blackshirt defense that didn’t commit a single penalty against Kansas State last week had a terrible pass-interference that resulted in a Texas field goal and a roughing the passer call that was only negated by a Colt McCoy fumble on the following play. In the end, too many mistakes wound up resulting in too few points on the scoreboard, and Husker fans were left wondering what might have been.
