There was plenty of consternation amongst the Husker faithful, myself included at times, about how bad Nebraska had played against Michigan State. A lot of people seemed to have forgotten about 365 days
ago when the Huskers took on Rutgers in Lincoln on a day very similar to last Saturday, hot and incredibly breezy. Nebraska won that one 14-7, so hey, 38 points is nothing to sneeze at in 40+ mph wind gusts.
Nebraska ended up with 282 yards of total offense, which usually means a bad day. There were plenty of things that are being overlooked amongst all of this. Chiefly, the 38 points! That’s still a darn good point total for not much in terms of yardage. The Huskers also finished plus 3 in the turnover battle. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s how you win games in crappy conditions.
Nebraska had the ball for only 4:14 in the first quarter when the wind was at their back. They had only one offensive possession yet scored 14 points. The 48-yard TD drive and a 3-yard blocked punt set the tone early. The Huskers kicked off at the 9:09 mark of the first quarter and didn’t take possession of the ball again until the 12:52 mark of the second. That’s a pretty decent time on the sidelines. Mix that with the wind in their face, and its really little wonder why the offense seemed to sputter the rest of the half.
DeShon Singleton picked off two passes, but the offense didn’t get much going. Again, they didn’t seem to get into a rhythm at all against the wind. Nebraska had 94 total yards in the two quarters against the wind, including a spectacular minus-4 yards in the second quarter. Ok, maybe more impressive than spectacular, even if for all of the wrong reasons.
That means when Nebraska did have the wind, they gained 188 yards and scored 31 points, with only possessing the ball for 13:26. For you math majors, that’s officially less than 50% of the total time. If that’s how the team rolls, then so be it. A great combination of efficient offense combined with stifling defense and great special teams is exactly how you beat the elements. Saturday was a great lesson in showing how good teams don’t beat themselves.
I know there is a lot of room for improvement, but both teams had to deal with the same elements, and Nebraska was just better. Every game is different, but people are forgetting that. Not every day is going to be like it is on NCAA 26. Real life football is hard, and some games are going to look better than others. Penn State played on a beautiful day in LA and promptly got into a shootout they ultimately lost. Texas lost to a “horrible Florida team”.
Good teams don’t beat themselves and know how to win ugly. It seems like most of Husker nation has forgotten that tough and gritty wins have been hard to come by. Complain all you want about how they looked but be glad you get the chance to complain about a win. I’d happily take seven more performances just like last Saturday if it meant the games resulted in a Nebraska win. Better to be ugly and win than be pretty and lose. My life motto, “doesn’t have to be pretty, just effective.” Go Big Red!
