Husker running attack struggles again
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BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
The people wanted the pass. They got the pass.
Now, they’re asking about the run. What about the darn run?
Husker coach Bill Callahan took criticism last year for having his quarterback throw the ball only 17 times against Southern California.
Conference: Mid-American
Head coach: Brady Hoke (12-25, fourth year)
Last game: Defeated Navy 34-31 in overtime in Annapolis, Md. The Cardinals blocked a field goal and recovered a fumble late in the game while improving to 2-1. Navy (1-2) finished with 585 yards, including 521 on the ground ” third-most in school history. Ball State amassed 539 yards, 277 of them on passes by quarterback Nate Davis, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore. Davis went 19-for-33 passing, throwing three touchdown passes and running for another. MiQuale Lewis, a 5-6, 184-pound running back, finished with 161 yards rushing on 27 carries. “I had a great night. Doing it here against Navy, it’s a dream,” Lewis told reporters. “We had to have people step up, and I guess I was one of those people.”
Noteworthy: The Cardinals rank 115th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 268.7 yards per game ... They use a 3-4 alignment on defense ... Lewis is averaging 108.3 rushing yards ... Davis leads a balanced attack (185.0 rushing yards per game versus 260.3 passing) ... Ball State opened the season with a 14-13 loss to Miami (Ohio) before beating Eastern Michigan 38-16 in the second game.
” Steven M. Sipple
In Saturday’s rematch, Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller threw the ball 14 times … on the last two possessions.
Fifteen plays. Fourteen passes.
Partly because of the score and partly because running proved a futile attempt, the Huskers eventually just stopped trying.
By the end of top-ranked USC’s 49-31 win, the Huskers had thrown the ball 54 times, one shy of a school record.
“That will be criticized heavily, I’m sure,” Callahan said. “We did have to open it up a little bit more than we wanted to do. (When) you’re going to have to make up for yards and time, you’re going to have to throw a little more, so your rushing totals are going to be a little bit lower. I think the common football fan would normally understand that.”
While it’s hard to criticize Nebraska for getting pass-happy after falling way behind, it’s easy to frown on the utter ineffectiveness that plagued the Huskers when they did attempt to run.
The Trojans ran the ball just 10 more times than the Huskers, but outyarded them on the ground 313 to 31.
USC averaged 8.2 yards a rush. Nebraska averaged 1.1 yards.
Individually, Husker junior running back Marlon Lucky had a team-leading 33 yards on 17 carries. USC had four players who rushed for more yards than that.
All this had junior offensive lineman Matt Slauson shaking his head late Saturday night after the four-hour blowout finally ended.
“I was surprised because the running game is something we’ve been trying to establish as our dominant game, and it’s always been our dominant game,” Slauson said.
“And to come out and not be able to rush the ball, it was kind of disappointing. … It just wasn’t us tonight.”
Without the run, it was all Keller all the time. For his part, the senior played perhaps his best game in his third start as a Husker.
There were two interceptions that helped USC upgrade its 21-10 halftime lead, but Keller also completed 36 passes — tying a school record — for 389 yards and two touchdowns.
“I thought he played tough, thought he was gutty in the pocket,” Callahan said.
Pass protection for Keller was pretty good, Slauson said. But USC’s defensive line swallowed Nebraska’s O-line on run plays and closed whatever gaps were available quickly.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be alarming if the Huskers didn’t also struggle to run the ball last week at Wake Forest. Against the Demon Deacons, Nebraska had just 115 yards on 34 carries.
That’s a big letdown for an offensive line that was feeling pretty good about itself just two weeks ago after running for 413 yards against Nevada.
Though Nebraska proved it could move the ball through the air against USC, Slauson said the running game is the identity of the offense. It has to work for the Huskers to work.
“Even though we switched to the West Coast offense, what a lot of people don’t realize is that the West Coast offense is still a running game,” he said. “(Even) when you do pass it, it involves a lot of check downs and short passes and stuff, and it’s all the same. When you can’t get the ball moving on the ground, you’re just short of like, ‘Oh, geez, this is bad.’”
However lacking the run game was Saturday, Keller remained a beacon of optimism after the game was over.
He talked about how guys kept fighting, about how his line blocked for him, about how hard Lucky kept running even when there was really no place to run.
There were positives to take from this game, he said.
Callahan said he saw that fight, too.
And while it maybe appeared Saturday night that Nebraska still had a ways to go to compete with the best, Callahan has a different opinion.
“I wouldn’t say that. I would not say that,” he said. “I love our team. I love our opportunities. It’s the third game of the season. We plan on playing 14. It’s very early on, so anything can happen. It’s a long season.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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