Curt McKeever: Bear only a scare tactic against businesslike NU
WACO, Texas — This had the feel of a town closing shop to come out and see how the home team making its first appearance in the Texas high school playoffs would fare against the great power from the north.
And that, folks, by no means is a knock on how Nebraska played in its 23-14 victory against Baylor on Saturday.
But as Bill Callahan stood on a concrete stairwell in the bowels of Floyd Casey Stadium answering questions about the Huskers’ latest performance, I almost expected him to look up and ask, “Who do we face in the second round?”
In case you’re among the 99.9 percent who haven’t been paying attention to Baylor football since the Big 12 Conference was formed 10 years ago, the Bears haven’t exactly rivaled the popularity of the high school game in these parts.
On Saturday, though, they were trying their darnedest.
They brought in NFL Hall of Famer and alum Mike Singletary. They recognized the 1979 Peach Bowl team and 1980 Southwest Conference champions. They even paraded around a live bear that actually stuck his big paw up at the crowd as if to say ‘Tonight, all of the honey is ours.’”
The 4-1 team that deserved to be 5-0 (besides Nebraska) drew 40,857 Dr Pepper-drinking zanies to the old stadium — the biggest assembly to watch the green and gold play someone other than Texas or Texas A&M in nine years.
None of these distractions were enough to make a surging team like Nebraska wobble against one that just notched its first-ever Big 12 road win.
If you’re a big believer in karma, then you might’ve been worried after Baylor got a favorable ruling on a simultaneous recovery of a fumble in the end zone that left it with a third-quarter touchdown and in reach of pulling the upset. If you aren’t, then Saturday’s show should have felt a lot more like a return-to-yesteryear, business-as-usual moment for the Huskers.
You weren’t too concerned about how the thing would turn out.
True, Callahan’s bunch did take a nick at the onset, allowing a 81-yard touchdown drive that included conversions of third-and-11 and third-and-9 plays.
Hopefully for Baylor, somebody from its marketing department took a nice picture to put in next year’s recruiting guide. Because, thereafter, with the exception of the simultaneous-recovery play when NU defensive backs Daniel Bullocks and Blake Tiedtke gave a clinic on poor tackling fundamentals, the Saturday Night Lights belonged to the Huskers.
“We played great,” linebacker Corey McKeon said. “You’ve got to take punches, absorb and come back. That’s what we did — and then we punched a lot harder.”
This was, indeed, an admirable, workmanlike road tuneup for what the Huskers will see next week at Missouri.
On Saturday, they chased Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell effectively enough that the Bears eventually opted to try someone else. Now, the Blackshirts might be going after a more dangerous Chase.
“It’ll be more fun to go play a team that’s tough,” McKeon said of the Tigers. “Brad Smith — I can’t wait.”
Well, Corey, actually you might not have to worry so much about Mizzou’s multi-talented senior quarterback. He suffered a concussion during the Tigers’ 27-24 overtime win against Iowa State on Saturday.
Instead, it was true freshman Chase Daniel who marched Missouri 73 and 87 yards for 10 points in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. Maybe he’ll be the one to track down on Faurot Field next week. We’ll hear more about that later.
For now, what’s more important is how the Huskers should feel entering that contest with a 5-1 record. Remember, Saturday marked their first venture on the road this season.
“I thought we showed great poise,” Callahan said. “We didn’t get off to the fast start we wanted, but I thought we responded well.
“The important thing is that we continue to improve. ... We’ve got a lot of things we can improve, obviously, (but) this was an excellent test for us.”
It was a game Nebraska controlled from the second quarter on, and yet, because of the third-quarter botch, one it didn’t put to bed until Jordan Congdon nailed his third field goal of the evening with 9:21 to play.
But we’ll leave the nitpicking for another day. The Huskers are 5-1 and looking capable of having a successful Tiger hunt that would make them bowl-eligible with four games remaining.
“We accomplished what we came out to do,” McKeon said. “The first game on the road, I thought we handled it professionally.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
And that, folks, by no means is a knock on how Nebraska played in its 23-14 victory against Baylor on Saturday.
But as Bill Callahan stood on a concrete stairwell in the bowels of Floyd Casey Stadium answering questions about the Huskers’ latest performance, I almost expected him to look up and ask, “Who do we face in the second round?”
In case you’re among the 99.9 percent who haven’t been paying attention to Baylor football since the Big 12 Conference was formed 10 years ago, the Bears haven’t exactly rivaled the popularity of the high school game in these parts.
On Saturday, though, they were trying their darnedest.
They brought in NFL Hall of Famer and alum Mike Singletary. They recognized the 1979 Peach Bowl team and 1980 Southwest Conference champions. They even paraded around a live bear that actually stuck his big paw up at the crowd as if to say ‘Tonight, all of the honey is ours.’”
The 4-1 team that deserved to be 5-0 (besides Nebraska) drew 40,857 Dr Pepper-drinking zanies to the old stadium — the biggest assembly to watch the green and gold play someone other than Texas or Texas A&M in nine years.
None of these distractions were enough to make a surging team like Nebraska wobble against one that just notched its first-ever Big 12 road win.
If you’re a big believer in karma, then you might’ve been worried after Baylor got a favorable ruling on a simultaneous recovery of a fumble in the end zone that left it with a third-quarter touchdown and in reach of pulling the upset. If you aren’t, then Saturday’s show should have felt a lot more like a return-to-yesteryear, business-as-usual moment for the Huskers.
You weren’t too concerned about how the thing would turn out.
True, Callahan’s bunch did take a nick at the onset, allowing a 81-yard touchdown drive that included conversions of third-and-11 and third-and-9 plays.
Hopefully for Baylor, somebody from its marketing department took a nice picture to put in next year’s recruiting guide. Because, thereafter, with the exception of the simultaneous-recovery play when NU defensive backs Daniel Bullocks and Blake Tiedtke gave a clinic on poor tackling fundamentals, the Saturday Night Lights belonged to the Huskers.
“We played great,” linebacker Corey McKeon said. “You’ve got to take punches, absorb and come back. That’s what we did — and then we punched a lot harder.”
This was, indeed, an admirable, workmanlike road tuneup for what the Huskers will see next week at Missouri.
On Saturday, they chased Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell effectively enough that the Bears eventually opted to try someone else. Now, the Blackshirts might be going after a more dangerous Chase.
“It’ll be more fun to go play a team that’s tough,” McKeon said of the Tigers. “Brad Smith — I can’t wait.”
Well, Corey, actually you might not have to worry so much about Mizzou’s multi-talented senior quarterback. He suffered a concussion during the Tigers’ 27-24 overtime win against Iowa State on Saturday.
Instead, it was true freshman Chase Daniel who marched Missouri 73 and 87 yards for 10 points in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. Maybe he’ll be the one to track down on Faurot Field next week. We’ll hear more about that later.
For now, what’s more important is how the Huskers should feel entering that contest with a 5-1 record. Remember, Saturday marked their first venture on the road this season.
“I thought we showed great poise,” Callahan said. “We didn’t get off to the fast start we wanted, but I thought we responded well.
“The important thing is that we continue to improve. ... We’ve got a lot of things we can improve, obviously, (but) this was an excellent test for us.”
It was a game Nebraska controlled from the second quarter on, and yet, because of the third-quarter botch, one it didn’t put to bed until Jordan Congdon nailed his third field goal of the evening with 9:21 to play.
But we’ll leave the nitpicking for another day. The Huskers are 5-1 and looking capable of having a successful Tiger hunt that would make them bowl-eligible with four games remaining.
“We accomplished what we came out to do,” McKeon said. “The first game on the road, I thought we handled it professionally.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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