STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, October 2, 2004 7:00 pm
Nebraska football coach Bill Callahan marveled at the Huskers' defense, describing its play Saturday night as "inspiring."
The Nebraska offense? Well, let's just say it was the reason the Huskers were still perspiring in the waning moments against Kansas, a team NU typically puts away with ease.
On this night, however, Nebraska's celebration couldn't commence until Kansas quarterback Adam Barmann's desperation heave into the end zone was batted to the Memorial Stadium FieldTurf, allowing the Huskers to escape with a 14-8 win before 77,637 spectators and a pay-per-view audience.
"They obviously won the game for us," Callahan said of Nebraska's defenders. "Wow! They were exceptional."
Callahan said before the season Nebraska would need to lean on its defense as the offense, making a bold transition to a West Coast system, rounded into form.
Well, it appears Nebraska has a ways to go before its clicking on all cylinders offensively.
Although the Huskers (3-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) gained 322 yards, they were stymied by four turnovers and too many mental errors, said junior wideout Ross Pilkington, who had career-best totals of eight receptions for 113 yards but also lost a fumble in the second half.
Nebraska sophomore quarterback Joe Dailey threw three interceptions, including two in the second half that helped Kansas make things interesting until the end.
For the second straight game, Nebraska prevailed only after an opposing quarterback's Hail Mary into a mass of players in the end zone fell harmlessly to the ground. The Huskers beat Pittsburgh 24-17 in that fashion two weeks ago.
Kansas head coach Mark Mangino was in no mood for condolences after the Jayhawks dropped to 2-3 and 0-2 in the league.
"There are never moral victories, and there won't be as long as I'm head coach at the University of Kansas," Mangino said.
Dailey finished 16-of-24 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown. He now has 11 interceptions this season compared with eight touchdown throws.
"I did a few things OK today, but I did a whole bunch of things wrong," he said.
Kansas ultimately was done in by its inability to capitalize on Dailey's miscues. The Jayhawks now have lost 36 straight games to the Huskers.
Nebraska held Kansas to two field goals by Johnny Beck. The Jayhawks' other two points came on the game's second play from scrimmage, when Dailey mishandled the snap from center and tossed an errant pitch into the end zone.
Kansas took its last lead, 8-7, on Beck's 39-yard field goal with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Nebraska responded with an eight-play, 77-yard scoring drive that ended with I-back Cory Ross making a one-handed grab of a swing pass and bolting 14 yards to paydirt. The 5-foot-6, 192-pound Ross rushed 19 times for 107 yards. He had 108 yards on 19 carries in last season's 24-3 win at Kansas.
After Ross' TD on the swing pass, it appeared Nebraska was on the verge of putting away Kansas. Instead, the Huskers committed turnovers on their next three possessions, setting up a tense final few minutes.
In the post-mortem, Callahan preferred to focus on the defense, doing so with unfettered enthusiasm. Senior middle linebacker Barrett Ruud led the Blackshirts with 15 tackles, and outside linebacker Stewart Bradley added 12.
"They were really something," Callahan said. "They were fun to watch."
As for the offense, "We'll just keep pressing and working to get better."