Blackshirts 'have some fun' vs. Cyclones
Saying Husker linebacker Corey McKeon likes to talk a little bit is kind of like saying Eric Clapton is decent with the guitar.
It’s a bit understated.
Luckily for McKeon, he found a satisfactory chatting partner during Saturday’s 27-20 double-overtime win over Iowa State — Cyclones’ quarterback Bret Meyer.
McKeon would chase Meyer and try to disconnect the quarterback’s head from his body, and there were a few times when he nearly did.
But even after those collisions, Meyer would talk to him.
“We were hitting him hard and he was getting up and he was smiling about it,” McKeon said.
“That’s what makes a great player, letting people hit you and then getting up and smiling and saying, ‘Come get me again.’ That’s what he was doing, and I was like, ‘All right, I will.”
And so the game went. In the end, McKeon and his Blackshirts got the last word. For all his elusiveness, it seems safe to say Meyer will be dragging from his bed this morning.
While Meyer hit 23-of-41 passes for 317 yards, he was sacked six times.
Stewart Bradley, playing on a bum ankle, got one. So did Jay Moore and young pups Ola Dagunduro and Barry Turner.
But the stud was McKeon, who had two sacks, four tackles for losses and a team-high 10 tackles.
He also had a late-hit penalty, though he’s a little touchy on that subject.
With four minutes left in the third quarter and the score tied at 10, Meyer scrambled toward the sideline for a 2-yard gain. Just as he was going out of bounds, McKeon drilled him and sent him flying.
A yellow flag also went flying, a late-hit penalty assessed to McKeon that helped ISU on its way to a field goal.
“That was not a (good) late-hit call.” McKeon said. “I pounded him and I told him I’d do it again.”
It was just one of several adverse moments the Husker defense faced Saturday. Twice, cornerback Cortney Grixby was flagged for interference calls.
The most important Grixby penalty occurred on the first play of overtime, setting up Iowa State at the 10. The Cyclones scored on the next play.
It looked bleak for Nebraska at that point, but then again, Moore said the team talked a lot in the days leading up to the game about having perseverance.
“I think the main thing is in the locker room after the game, everyone’s hugging each other, guys have tears in their eyes,” said Moore, whose early third-quarter interception stopped a threatening ISU drive. “We love each other so much on this team.”
Love, trust and belief. Those are the three things Husker head coach Bill Callahan is always preaching, said McKeon.
When the Huskers grabbed a 27-20 lead in overtime, McKeon said the Blackshirts just looked at each other and said: “This is what football’s all about. Let’s go out there and have some fun.’”
The signature play of Nebraska’s last stand was not Meyer’s last-ditch throw that fell incomplete and cinched the game. It was a tackle Titus Adams made on Meyer two plays before that.
It looked like Meyer had an opening to scramble, but Adams, on his knees, lunged and tripped up the quarterback for no gain.
Adams had to make that play. He had never been in an overtime game before. “I just seen them happen on PlayStation,” he said.
He had to leave his mark.
If nothing else, he had to make a play for defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, who was much-maligned during the 5-6 debacle last year.
Saturday, his defense gave up just 36 yards rushing.
For the season, his defense has given up just nine points a game.
Cos is a little looser this year, and the guys feel it, Adams said.
They’re playing for their coach as much as anybody.
Said Adams: “When you love somebody or care for somebody, you want to do the best for them.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7438 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
It’s a bit understated.
Luckily for McKeon, he found a satisfactory chatting partner during Saturday’s 27-20 double-overtime win over Iowa State — Cyclones’ quarterback Bret Meyer.
McKeon would chase Meyer and try to disconnect the quarterback’s head from his body, and there were a few times when he nearly did.
But even after those collisions, Meyer would talk to him.
“We were hitting him hard and he was getting up and he was smiling about it,” McKeon said.
“That’s what makes a great player, letting people hit you and then getting up and smiling and saying, ‘Come get me again.’ That’s what he was doing, and I was like, ‘All right, I will.”
And so the game went. In the end, McKeon and his Blackshirts got the last word. For all his elusiveness, it seems safe to say Meyer will be dragging from his bed this morning.
While Meyer hit 23-of-41 passes for 317 yards, he was sacked six times.
Stewart Bradley, playing on a bum ankle, got one. So did Jay Moore and young pups Ola Dagunduro and Barry Turner.
But the stud was McKeon, who had two sacks, four tackles for losses and a team-high 10 tackles.
He also had a late-hit penalty, though he’s a little touchy on that subject.
With four minutes left in the third quarter and the score tied at 10, Meyer scrambled toward the sideline for a 2-yard gain. Just as he was going out of bounds, McKeon drilled him and sent him flying.
A yellow flag also went flying, a late-hit penalty assessed to McKeon that helped ISU on its way to a field goal.
“That was not a (good) late-hit call.” McKeon said. “I pounded him and I told him I’d do it again.”
It was just one of several adverse moments the Husker defense faced Saturday. Twice, cornerback Cortney Grixby was flagged for interference calls.
The most important Grixby penalty occurred on the first play of overtime, setting up Iowa State at the 10. The Cyclones scored on the next play.
It looked bleak for Nebraska at that point, but then again, Moore said the team talked a lot in the days leading up to the game about having perseverance.
“I think the main thing is in the locker room after the game, everyone’s hugging each other, guys have tears in their eyes,” said Moore, whose early third-quarter interception stopped a threatening ISU drive. “We love each other so much on this team.”
Love, trust and belief. Those are the three things Husker head coach Bill Callahan is always preaching, said McKeon.
When the Huskers grabbed a 27-20 lead in overtime, McKeon said the Blackshirts just looked at each other and said: “This is what football’s all about. Let’s go out there and have some fun.’”
The signature play of Nebraska’s last stand was not Meyer’s last-ditch throw that fell incomplete and cinched the game. It was a tackle Titus Adams made on Meyer two plays before that.
It looked like Meyer had an opening to scramble, but Adams, on his knees, lunged and tripped up the quarterback for no gain.
Adams had to make that play. He had never been in an overtime game before. “I just seen them happen on PlayStation,” he said.
He had to leave his mark.
If nothing else, he had to make a play for defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, who was much-maligned during the 5-6 debacle last year.
Saturday, his defense gave up just 36 yards rushing.
For the season, his defense has given up just nine points a game.
Cos is a little looser this year, and the guys feel it, Adams said.
They’re playing for their coach as much as anybody.
Said Adams: “When you love somebody or care for somebody, you want to do the best for them.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7438 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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