Out of the Blog: Texas

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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star

You ask the questions at Life in the Red, and we do our best to answer them.

1. Why do our DBs always line up 10 yards off the ball? Especially when Texas is inside its 10, why don’t our DBs jam the receivers to make it tougher to run their routes?

Have you seen Limas Sweed? He’s not exactly a 6-foot-5 toothpick. Billy Pittman doesn’t run in cement shoes, either. And Quan Cosby was a sixth-round pick in the major-league baseball draft, so he’s probably got a little athletic ability, too.

“Some defenses have us press, some don’t,” NU cornerback Cortney Grixby said. “There really wasn’t a situation where we didn’t want to get up on them and press, it was just the fact that in our preparation we knew that the defenses that we were going to run were going to be good for us in their route running.”

2. Clearly, the Blackshirts are “in” this game. It appears the Husker offense was going through the motions, confused and working at half-speed. Since a team plays like it practices, why are we not taking care of the “little things”? Did they not practice well this week? Why was the ‘D’ not ready for the deep TD pass after the Texas interception? Everyone in the world knew what was coming.

Wow. If the Blackshirts were in the game, why did they give up the TD pass? If the offense was half-speed, how could it get things going in the fourth quarter, when bodies are most apt to give way to fatigue? The answers to all these questions just might come down to the fact that there’s some remarkable athletes on both sides of the field. Andre Jones bit on Limas Sweed’s hitch move on the Texas receiver’s 55-yard catch. You think there’s a reason why Sweed plays for a defending national champion?

“Going into that possession, Coach ‘Coz’ grabbed us and said ‘Watch for the shot.’ It’s just something that happened,” Grixby said. “Big-time players make big-time plays and that was a play that he made, and we knew we had to respond. We made some plays, and they made some, and that’s why the game came down to the wire.”

3. Why isn’t the return team fielding punts? Is the wind really that big of a factor?

One of the toughest plays in all of sports is the foul pop-up for a catcher. And that’s even in calm conditions. With the way the wind was howling Saturday, catching a punt would have been comparable. Terrence Nunn had trouble and gave way to Nate Swift. But credit Nunn for having the sense to not get out of his comfort zone.

“We do it in practice every day, against wind and everything,” Grixby said. But “it’s a major concern. If it’s out of reach, don’t try and be spectacular, just let it bounce and get everybody away and get your offense the ball back. It’s all about keeping the ball in possession.”

4. Is Brandon Jackson the obvious starter from here on out? At some point, you have to pick a back and let him get into a rhythm for the rest of the season.

Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell indicated last week things were moving in that direction. Averaging 5.7 yards on limited carries and eluding five tackles on his 49-yard shovel pass should keep Jackson getting regular action.