Sometimes it's ok to be wrong. Every once in a while, a game doesn't go as you anticipate it will. When you're wrong, and it still results in a 35 point win, embrace and accept it.
I expected Nebraska to pound Wyoming into submission with a run-heavy package that wore their defense down and allowed multiple ball carriers to get 100-yard games.
I was about as wrong as the would-be John nailed by the undercover cop on the prostitution sting. Dead giveaway, if she's cute, she's a cop.
Tommy did his damage through the air. He hit on 20-34, for 377 yards, 3 TDs and 1 pick. He also ran fro a score. Tommy broke the record for most TD passes in school history. It used to be Taylor Martinez. Who? Oh, that guy. The guy that caused Bo to go all R. Lee Ermey. The guy who could score on an 80 yard run at will, but couldn't hit an 8-yard out to save his life.
That's in the past, though.
Tommy can make a lot of the throws he needs to. The bomb to Porn Stache was beautiful, deep passes to Reilly and Moore were also good. He hit his RB's where he needed to on screen passes. The medium range stuff still needs work. Better than most games, but still some head scratching misses. With 1 interception in 34 attempts, it's hard to quibble. Quibbling is what I do and doing hard things can be fun. First down, goal to go. Tommy rolled to his right, his throwing side, got some pressure sooner than expected, which forced him to throw earlier than he would have liked. There were three defenders between him and the intended receiver, five if you count the guys bringing pressure. Tommy, it's first down, unless your dude is wide open, wing it as hard as you can to Thomas Tvurdy, from Crete, in section 17 who's about to tuck into that Fairbury hot dog, he just forked over three bucks for.
I have to give credit to Wyoming, they sold out to stop the run. They brought dog blitzes up the middle, they brought corners off the edge, I think they even brought Dick Cheney's hunting party on a couple of plays. Stop the run, force their 50-50 quarterback to beat us with the pass. Decent strategy, except the 50-50 quarterback beat the odd, not by a bunch, but he did beat them.
I know a lot of Huskerfans were a bit knickertwisted with only a 7-point lead, heading into the fourth quarter. Was it a clean game? Nope. Penalties reared up again, wiping two scores off the board for the Huskers and extending drives for Wyoming. Seven penalties for 93 yards. Not cool, man. The one on Gerry for unsportsmanlike should have been off-setting. It was kind of a dick move to hand the ball to the quarterback after picking him off. But the Wyoming quarterback deserved a flag for whipping the ball at Gerry.
Dude, you just threw it to him twice in the last five seconds.
Nate, better way to handle that, don't ever, ever, ever let the quarterback tackle you on a return; or, if he does, you bulldoze his stupid ass into the turf...legally, of course.
The defense played pretty well, they gave up some big plays, but made more. Five picks in a game for the first time since 2010. Add in a fumble recovery and you get a +5 in the turnover margin. Going to win most of your games with that stat.
That third quarter, though. Give up a field goal to cut your lead to seven, oh yeah, drive extended by big penalty. That's fine. Get good filed position, then go three-and-out, ok, four-and-out, with an odd, what, fake-punt option? Start running what looks like a rugby punt, it started off, well. Then Lightbourn tucked it and ran, hoping the blockers knew what he was doing. Either the play call or the execution was a big, whaaaaa?
Wyoming, driving again. Drive extended by a big penalty, stopped by a pick on fourth down.
Opportunity. Huskers drive length of the field and score on a beautifully executed screen pass. Except for the Cethan Carter touching a defenders back when it wasn't even necessary. TD called back, Tommy sacked, forced to punt.
Huskerfan getting nervous. Top three things heard around the stadium. 1. Riley still hasn't learned the Killer Instinct. 2. They should have put this game away, already. 3. The longer you let an underdog stick around, the more confidence they gain, and the harder it will be to finish them.
Kieron Williams gets his pick-six lottery winnings, the lead goers back to 14, heart rates slow a bit. Get a stop and a score, and the game is over.
Got it.
Someone forgot to tell Wyoming. Six plays, 76 yards and a TD. The lead is back down to seven points. See above paragraph concerning top three things, repeated.
In the third quarter, Wyoming outscored Nebraska's offense, 10-0. Outgained the Huskers, 156-49, with at least 43 yards coming by penalty. Hmmm, Nebraska looks just awful. Maybe that's why they play four quarters.
In the fourth, Nebraska outscored Wyoming 28-0, outgained them 177-23. Forced four turnovers, all of them at midfield or closer. Just to show how confident the offense has become, Ryker Fife was given the nod to check out to a fly route when he saw the cushion being given to Gabe Rahn. I know, I'd never heard of him, either.
You flip open the local fishwrap and see 52-17. Must have been an ass-kicking. It was.
One of the seals fortelling Nebraska's return to greatness has been broken. Huskerfan is bitching about a 35 point loss, the spread was 24.5, they covered. They lead the entire game (essentially). People still aren't happy.
Just like the good old days.
Next up, the Ducks. I want to send them home feeling as ugly as their uniforms.
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