Redman
New member
Matthew Zemek / CollegeFootballNews.com
On a day when the weather was miserable, football became a whole lot simpler for the Texas Longhorns and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
And when it was all said and done in Lincoln's Memorial Stadium, Nebraska made the last and biggest mistake. Texas — a giver of gifts for so much of the afternoon — was able to take advantage.
It was a bizarre afternoon in the Heartland. The severe wind that swept over the playing surface made this affair a question of quarters, as the wind-aided team dominated each of the four stanzas. Playbooks were necessarily limited throughout the duration of this game, making Horns-Huskers a test of fundamental soundness and basic football will. The team that limited mistakes, executed basic plays, and showed more poise would prevail. For most of the day, that team was Texas.
On a majority of the game's snaps, the Longhorns — and freshman quarterback Colt McCoy — played with more maturity and toughness than the Huskers, piloted by senior quarterback Zac Taylor. It was entirely true that the freshman signal caller played more like a senior, while the senior field general played more like a freshman. McCoy had his share of fumbles and failures, but he was solid in each and every moment when he needed to be, and that put Texas in good position through the first three quarters of play. Texas consistently outpaced the Huskers with a better, more airtight run defense, clutch passing on third downs, and the resourcefulness of McCoy, who dwarfed Taylor in virtually each and every pressure situation. On a day when the concentration levels of each team would tell much of the story, Texas had the winner's mentality for most of the proceedings.
But as good as Texas proved to be over the course of the whole game, the Longhorns also made a handful of truly catastrophic mistakes that nearly undid all their efforts in Lincoln.
A normally sound defense gift-wrapped two touchdowns by blowing easy tackles. The Longhorns' placekicking game handed the Huskers seven points on missed kicks that should be converted (a PAT and two under-40 field goals) at the Division I-A level. Marcus Griffin committed an astoundingly dumb personal foul penalty to revive a floundering Nebraska drive in the final minutes ... a drive that would score a touchdown on a brilliant play call by Husker head coach Bill Callahan. A game Texas had attacked with gusto for most of the day was on the verge of becoming a devastating and numbing loss. Just as the Huskers gained their 20-19 lead, the snow — as if on cue — began to fall heavily in Lincoln. The same team that had the home folks on the ropes for most of the afternoon suddenly found itself in a position where it needed a huge break.
Terrence Nunn gave Mack Brown his wish.
Nunn, the Husker receiver whose inability to catch a punt led to Texas' first touchdown in the second quarter, fumbled after making a first-down catch around the two-minute mark. Had he landed on the turf with the ball in hand, the Husker upset would have been sealed. Instead, the pigskin squirted loose, and the Longhorns got another chance.
The rest, as they say, was history. McCoy — the anchor of this Texas team and the coolest cat in the ballpark — had already done more than enough to win the game. But after momentous mistakes from his teammates had nearly robbed him of many deserved accolades, the Longhorn leader was not about to let this golden opportunity go by the boards. No. 12 calmly piloted his offense downfield, and even though the ball wasn't centered for the kick, Ryan Bailey — on his first field goal of the year for the Horns — banged through a severe-angle shot to give Texas a victory taken from the jaws of defeat. This was moments after Texas had seemingly plucked defeat from the fangs of victory.
Yes, it was that bizarre on a snowy, windy day in Lincoln. But in the end, all the frosted and frigid Longhorns will care about is that they left town with a win to stay in the national title chase.
Source
On a day when the weather was miserable, football became a whole lot simpler for the Texas Longhorns and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
And when it was all said and done in Lincoln's Memorial Stadium, Nebraska made the last and biggest mistake. Texas — a giver of gifts for so much of the afternoon — was able to take advantage.
It was a bizarre afternoon in the Heartland. The severe wind that swept over the playing surface made this affair a question of quarters, as the wind-aided team dominated each of the four stanzas. Playbooks were necessarily limited throughout the duration of this game, making Horns-Huskers a test of fundamental soundness and basic football will. The team that limited mistakes, executed basic plays, and showed more poise would prevail. For most of the day, that team was Texas.
On a majority of the game's snaps, the Longhorns — and freshman quarterback Colt McCoy — played with more maturity and toughness than the Huskers, piloted by senior quarterback Zac Taylor. It was entirely true that the freshman signal caller played more like a senior, while the senior field general played more like a freshman. McCoy had his share of fumbles and failures, but he was solid in each and every moment when he needed to be, and that put Texas in good position through the first three quarters of play. Texas consistently outpaced the Huskers with a better, more airtight run defense, clutch passing on third downs, and the resourcefulness of McCoy, who dwarfed Taylor in virtually each and every pressure situation. On a day when the concentration levels of each team would tell much of the story, Texas had the winner's mentality for most of the proceedings.
But as good as Texas proved to be over the course of the whole game, the Longhorns also made a handful of truly catastrophic mistakes that nearly undid all their efforts in Lincoln.
A normally sound defense gift-wrapped two touchdowns by blowing easy tackles. The Longhorns' placekicking game handed the Huskers seven points on missed kicks that should be converted (a PAT and two under-40 field goals) at the Division I-A level. Marcus Griffin committed an astoundingly dumb personal foul penalty to revive a floundering Nebraska drive in the final minutes ... a drive that would score a touchdown on a brilliant play call by Husker head coach Bill Callahan. A game Texas had attacked with gusto for most of the day was on the verge of becoming a devastating and numbing loss. Just as the Huskers gained their 20-19 lead, the snow — as if on cue — began to fall heavily in Lincoln. The same team that had the home folks on the ropes for most of the afternoon suddenly found itself in a position where it needed a huge break.
Terrence Nunn gave Mack Brown his wish.
Nunn, the Husker receiver whose inability to catch a punt led to Texas' first touchdown in the second quarter, fumbled after making a first-down catch around the two-minute mark. Had he landed on the turf with the ball in hand, the Husker upset would have been sealed. Instead, the pigskin squirted loose, and the Longhorns got another chance.
The rest, as they say, was history. McCoy — the anchor of this Texas team and the coolest cat in the ballpark — had already done more than enough to win the game. But after momentous mistakes from his teammates had nearly robbed him of many deserved accolades, the Longhorn leader was not about to let this golden opportunity go by the boards. No. 12 calmly piloted his offense downfield, and even though the ball wasn't centered for the kick, Ryan Bailey — on his first field goal of the year for the Horns — banged through a severe-angle shot to give Texas a victory taken from the jaws of defeat. This was moments after Texas had seemingly plucked defeat from the fangs of victory.
Yes, it was that bizarre on a snowy, windy day in Lincoln. But in the end, all the frosted and frigid Longhorns will care about is that they left town with a win to stay in the national title chase.
Source
