I am really glad I got to watch this game after I heard the outcome. I fully expected OSU's offense to be a vulgar display of weakness. Boy was I wrong. The Buckeyes made the Blackshirts look silly for a lot of the first half, but I got a strange sense that it was a few big plays that kept them in it, like Nebraska in the Big 12 championship against Oklahoma, last year. The d-backs were almost covering too well. On more than a few plays, Braxton Miller, OSU's freshman quarterback, would drop back to pass, find nothing, and then take off. The line couldn't contain him. I do have to give credit to OSU's o-line, they picked up the stunts and curls that Carl threw at them very well. Even when Carl did dial up a blitz, it seemed to blow up in the Blackshirts' faces. When the score ballooned to a 27-6 OSU advantage, Huskerfan was probably thinking about just how much rye can one down in order to erase the last two games from one's memory. No they weren't. They were thinking "Taylor sucks, the Pelini's suck, Beck sucks, the line sucks, the weather even sucks".
With all that sucking going on, the vampiric drain of energy and the essence of life itself from 85,000 people, in the staduium, and countless viewers enduring Matt Millen on TV, the Huskers rose from the dead. Linebacker LaVonte David, who should be charged with larceny for the way he snatched the ball from Miller, single-handedly stole the ball, the momentum, and the game from Braxton Miller and OSU. The Field Turf deserves to be credited with a huge assist.The turf came up big. It reminded me of the time when Oklahoma quarterback Jason White got bit by the turf in 2001. Miller's foot planted wrong, the turf refused to yield, and Sean Fisher, all 6'6" of him clebrated an awesome sack. Then Miller didn't get up. He grabbed his ankle. He was probably groaning to go with his writhing. The game changed.
OSU's back-up came in. He looked like the only eligible receivers he could see we in rows 3-7. That's fine. If Braxton had stayed in the game, who knows how it would have turned out. I don't want to hear any boo-hoo-hooing from OSU fans, either. There have been more than a few occaisions where the Huskers starting qb has gone down, or been out for a few games, even in really big games, and the opposing fans just shrug and say, "Meh. That's football." I couldn't agree more.
Lloyd wants to give Taylor a big hug. That kid responded. Pushed up to the wall by the fans, nit-picked by the media, and challenged by the coaches, he came up huge. Taylor, if I run into you on the street, I will buy you a drink, probably vodka. One bad pass out of 22. A couple that were iffy, and this from a guy who last week was enjoying the view from under the Greyhound for not being able to read defenses (he improved this week); for not being able to check down to the outlet receiver (which he did beautifully this week); for being "bitchy" with the media (I think he forgot that he has to play nice with the fish-wrappers as they enjoy the free food at the media center); and for being one step away from being yanked (according to the Trolls).
The Boo-birds even came out in the first half. Old man time, 1997, Central Florida in town, Boo-birds cascading their territory calls at Scott Frost. Frost comes back in 2nd half, leads team to win, and on the way to National Championship.
There have been a lot of questions about Taylor's leadership. I'm not entirely sure how to quntify it, but if pats on the ass and helmet slaps are any indicators, then Taylor's back is covered by his team-mates. On a play late in the game, Taylor got face-masked as he was going down. He was pissed, and so was Kenny Bell, the freshman wide-out, who jumped into to confront the offender. Then 'Yoshi' stepped in to pull his quarterback up and separate him from the official, who was a bit slow to yank out the hankie. As they walked back to the huddle, one could sense the comraderie, the 'Band of Brothers' mentality that has bonded this team over the last week. I have no doubt that if Taylor has taken any English 300-level Shakesepeare courses, the 'One more into the breach' speech from Henry V resonates in him. If he hasn't, I'll send him a copy.
One other guy who deserves all the praise he's getting this week is Rex Burkhead. There's a reason I call him I-Backasaurus Rex. He runs the ball like a therapod chasing down dinner. He can catch, he can bloack and he gives his all on every single play. On his final touchdown, that gave Nebraska the lead for good, the cameras showed him on the side-line as the officials reviwed the play to see if it was going to stand. When the final determination was made, Rex made his way to the bench as the pad slaps and ass pats cascaded over him. He sat down, looked exhausted, but you just knew that if coach asked him to go out and play defense, he would have done that, too.
A week off, and then Minnesota, how much has this team learned? How far has it progressed? Is this the start of a run through the rest of conference play that will hit its peak in the Big House in Ann Arbor, or is this just a taste of every single game being a test for old tickers everywhere?
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