Huskers take down Tigers
Bill Callahan appreciated the manner in which his players responded to last weekend’s humbling loss at Oklahoma State.
To be sure, Nebraska’s 34-20 triumph against Missouri on Saturday was gratifying for the Huskers and their head coach on several levels.
However, it should be noted Callahan was pleased with his team before game day even arrived. Indeed, the coach clearly appreciated his team’s quiet and businesslike demeanor throughout last week’s practices.
“Whenever it gets quiet on the practice field, you know the team is focused,” Callahan said. “I knew we were on the verge of big things.”
Nebraska’s latest victory qualifies as a “big thing” because it thrust the Huskers into prime position to capture their first Big 12 North Division title since 1999. NU, with a record of 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference, now needs to win one of its final two games to advance to the Big 12 championship game Dec. 2 in Kansas City, Mo.
In snapping a two-game skid, Nebraska picked up momentum for next Saturday’s game at Texas A&M. The Huskers complete the regular season against Colorado on Nov. 24 in Lincoln.
“We needed this win to control our destiny,” said Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who wasn’t sacked Saturday and converted 11 of 17 third-down opportunities. “Everybody knew what was at stake. Everybody knew we had to win this game.”
Which probably explains Nebraska’s focus in practice.
“I think this team understood what happened last week (in a 41-29 loss at Oklahoma State) — we let up,” Husker junior cornerback Cortney Grixby said.
After blowing a 16-0 lead in its loss to the Cowboys, Nebraska struggled to put away Missouri after taking leads of 17-0 early in the second quarter and 34-13 a half-minute into the fourth. It wasn’t until Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel lost a fumble with 1:48 left in the game that Big Red fans could completely exhale. NU junior linebacker Bo Ruud of Lincoln stripped the ball and recovered it.
“There were opportunities to close it out sooner, but you have to credit those guys,” Callahan said of Missouri (7-3, 3-3 Big 12), which entered the day tied with Nebraska atop the North Division standings. The Tigers, who trailed 27-6 at halftime, lost for the third time in four games.
“We have to play better,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “We’ll get there. There were probably a lot of people at halftime who didn’t give us even a chance to stay in the game.”
Nebraska changed things up a bit on defense in response to Missouri’s four- and five-receiver spread offense. The Huskers often used a three-man front, with defensive end Adam Carriker at nose tackle and true freshman Major Culbert in the role of a hybrid linebacker — Culbert’s most extensive playing time at NU by far.
“Everyone wants to change for us because we’ve been pretty efficient throwing the ball and they want as many guys as they can in coverage,” said Daniel, a sophomore, who was 20-for-38 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. Both picks eventually led to NU touchdowns.
Carriker snagged the first after the ball ricocheted off the hands of wide receiver Will Franklin. Nebraska took over possession on the Missouri 22-yard line and scored a touchdown five plays later on Taylor’s 7-yard pass to wideout Maurice Purify to push the lead to 17-0 with 13:44 left in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, the 6-foot-6, 295-pound Carriker leaped and deflected Daniel’s pass. Ruud grabbed it and rumbled 40 yards to the Missouri 17, setting up Taylor’s scoring strike to walk-on tight end Hunter Teafatiller to make it 24-3.
Nebraska helped itself immensely in the second half with two clock-eating drives — the first ending without a score when tight end J.B. Phillips dropped a pass with nobody around him on fourth-and-1.
However, I-back Brandon Jackson capped the second drive — a 13-play march that consumed 6 minutes — with a 2-yard run. Wideout Nate Swift’s leaping 34-yard reception over Cornelius Brown on third-and-14 set up the TD.
Taylor finished 13-for-21 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson rushed 32 times for 111 yards as Nebraska finished with 183 rushing yards (on 3.9 per carry) and 419 overall.
Callahan said it was Nebraska’s most complete offensive performance since last November’s win at Colorado, when the Huskers piled up 497 yards in rolling to a landmark victory.
Nebraska picked up another such triumph Saturday.
“It’s good to bounce back and play like we’re capable,” Carriker said. “It’s big to get our team rolling in the right direction again.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
To be sure, Nebraska’s 34-20 triumph against Missouri on Saturday was gratifying for the Huskers and their head coach on several levels.
However, it should be noted Callahan was pleased with his team before game day even arrived. Indeed, the coach clearly appreciated his team’s quiet and businesslike demeanor throughout last week’s practices.
“Whenever it gets quiet on the practice field, you know the team is focused,” Callahan said. “I knew we were on the verge of big things.”
Nebraska’s latest victory qualifies as a “big thing” because it thrust the Huskers into prime position to capture their first Big 12 North Division title since 1999. NU, with a record of 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference, now needs to win one of its final two games to advance to the Big 12 championship game Dec. 2 in Kansas City, Mo.
In snapping a two-game skid, Nebraska picked up momentum for next Saturday’s game at Texas A&M. The Huskers complete the regular season against Colorado on Nov. 24 in Lincoln.
“We needed this win to control our destiny,” said Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who wasn’t sacked Saturday and converted 11 of 17 third-down opportunities. “Everybody knew what was at stake. Everybody knew we had to win this game.”
Which probably explains Nebraska’s focus in practice.
“I think this team understood what happened last week (in a 41-29 loss at Oklahoma State) — we let up,” Husker junior cornerback Cortney Grixby said.
After blowing a 16-0 lead in its loss to the Cowboys, Nebraska struggled to put away Missouri after taking leads of 17-0 early in the second quarter and 34-13 a half-minute into the fourth. It wasn’t until Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel lost a fumble with 1:48 left in the game that Big Red fans could completely exhale. NU junior linebacker Bo Ruud of Lincoln stripped the ball and recovered it.
“There were opportunities to close it out sooner, but you have to credit those guys,” Callahan said of Missouri (7-3, 3-3 Big 12), which entered the day tied with Nebraska atop the North Division standings. The Tigers, who trailed 27-6 at halftime, lost for the third time in four games.
“We have to play better,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “We’ll get there. There were probably a lot of people at halftime who didn’t give us even a chance to stay in the game.”
Nebraska changed things up a bit on defense in response to Missouri’s four- and five-receiver spread offense. The Huskers often used a three-man front, with defensive end Adam Carriker at nose tackle and true freshman Major Culbert in the role of a hybrid linebacker — Culbert’s most extensive playing time at NU by far.
“Everyone wants to change for us because we’ve been pretty efficient throwing the ball and they want as many guys as they can in coverage,” said Daniel, a sophomore, who was 20-for-38 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. Both picks eventually led to NU touchdowns.
Carriker snagged the first after the ball ricocheted off the hands of wide receiver Will Franklin. Nebraska took over possession on the Missouri 22-yard line and scored a touchdown five plays later on Taylor’s 7-yard pass to wideout Maurice Purify to push the lead to 17-0 with 13:44 left in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, the 6-foot-6, 295-pound Carriker leaped and deflected Daniel’s pass. Ruud grabbed it and rumbled 40 yards to the Missouri 17, setting up Taylor’s scoring strike to walk-on tight end Hunter Teafatiller to make it 24-3.
Nebraska helped itself immensely in the second half with two clock-eating drives — the first ending without a score when tight end J.B. Phillips dropped a pass with nobody around him on fourth-and-1.
However, I-back Brandon Jackson capped the second drive — a 13-play march that consumed 6 minutes — with a 2-yard run. Wideout Nate Swift’s leaping 34-yard reception over Cornelius Brown on third-and-14 set up the TD.
Taylor finished 13-for-21 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson rushed 32 times for 111 yards as Nebraska finished with 183 rushing yards (on 3.9 per carry) and 419 overall.
Callahan said it was Nebraska’s most complete offensive performance since last November’s win at Colorado, when the Huskers piled up 497 yards in rolling to a landmark victory.
Nebraska picked up another such triumph Saturday.
“It’s good to bounce back and play like we’re capable,” Carriker said. “It’s big to get our team rolling in the right direction again.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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