Some interesting stats from the game:
The Huskers came into the game ranked 128th out of 134 teams in red-zone scoring percentage (.719) and went just 3 for 4 in the red zone in this one. No reliable kicker has doomed us. I get even more pi$$ed when Rhule and Co have a whole series on "Chasing 3". How the hell do you roll that out, use this as some motivational mantra and have the inability to even reliably kick an extra point. Or the KO return man loses yards by failing to simply take the fair catch.
After a Bruin three and out, the Huskers took over with 9:58 left. It took them 13 plays and 6:01 to go just 53 yards and score on a Dante Dowdell 1-yard run, but the offense wasted nearly 3 minutes on 8 snaps inside the 10-yard line. Then they missed the extra point as they cut the score to 27-20. Poor clock management and a lack of a sense of urgency didn’t seem to help the cause. 3 minutes.....3 minutes....Maybe this was the "3" Rhule was chasing. No urgency. No attention to detail. Out coached and over whelmed. No accountability.
Going into the contest, UCLA ranked 118th nationally in turnover margin at -7, averaging 1.7 turnovers a game. Nebraska was one of the better takeaway teams in the country, averaging 1.6 per game. So, Nebraska’s offense threw two picks, and the defense failed to create a takeaway even though Bruin QB Ethan Garbers was tied for the Big Ten lead in interceptions with nine in only six games. I'm no longer sold on White's D, while solid against the run, without the ability to get to oppossing QB's we make them look like Heisman winners. Someone posted a stat in the game about when pressured, Garbers completing rate decreased into the 40% range IIRC. But we did none of that.
Dante Dowdell led all rushers with 61 yards on 17 carries and scored on a four-yard run in the second quarter for his team-leading seventh touchdown of the season. Rahmir Johnson added 27 yards on just 3 carries and Emmett Johnson contributed 23 yards on 7 carries for a Husker rushing attack that netted 113 yards on 38 attempts. For those like me that need a calculator to do the math that's 2.9/carry.....2.9. Easy to see what Satt thought 4 per play was awesome. Unsure if the toal yards accounted for sacks. Based on the individual carries Dowdell was at 3-5, RJ at 9 and EJ at 3.2
One hoped that the second half would begin differently, but UCLA picked off Dylan Raiola on the first snap of the second half and returned it for a touchdown. The Bruins followed that up with a 3-play 58-yard scoring drive culminating with a 48-yard completion to go up 27-7, seemingly sealing the Huskers fate. But the Husker defense allowed UCLA just 14 more plays and 52 total yards the final twenty minutes allowing the offense multiple chance to stage a comeback. Seems like time management, inability to execute and lack of a reliable kicked doomed NU. Defense did poorly, but 52 yards in the final 20 minutes isn't bad.
