Posted: Sunday, October 24, 2004 7:00 pm
MANHATTAN, Kan. Too bad Bo Pelini couldn't have seen this one. I'm sure Nebraska's former defensive coordinator would've had far more complimentary words for Bill Snyder than those he spewed after Snyder's Kansas State team rubbed it in the Huskers' faces a year ago.
The scoreboard in KSU Stadium Saturday afternoon will have you believe NU's 45-21 loss wasn't quite as bad as last season's 38-9 pasting in Memorial Stadium.
It lies.
Nebraska, in the cruelest of ironies, was taken to the woodshed by an offense being driven by a backup quarterback who made the Huskers look clueless trying to stop the option-based offense they once ran.
Sorry LeKevin Smith, the only big sticks I saw were those obnoxious vinyl blowup thunder sticks many in the sellout crowd used to try and distract your team.
Who would have guessed that what rattled a Blackshirts unit that ranked second in the nation against the run the most would be a steady dose of Allen Webb and Darren Sproles?
You remember Webb, right? The transfer from NCAA Division I-A football juggernaut Indiana? Who could forget his breakout performance of 29 yards rushing against Western Kentucky earlier this season.
Webb was supposed to be the X factor that would allow Nebraska a better chance of winning Saturday than had they faced a rapidly developing Dylan Meier.
As it was, Meier sat out with an apparent shoulder injury, and the sophomore Webb looked like the second coming of Jammal Lord. Before he was finished with the Huskers, he'd rushed 34 times for 147 yards, many of which came off the same shotgun-formation draws that were Lord's bread and butter when he ran the Huskers' offense the previous two seasons.
When Webb wasn't running past or dragging defenders with him, he was pitching to Sproles, the one-time Heisman Trophy candidate who revived a lackluster season with a 22-carry, 135-yard performance.
"We didn't know what we were coming into," strong safety Daniel Bullocks admitted, referring to the uncertainty of Meier's status.
Webb provided an early hint, as he accounted for 50 of the Wildcats' 75 yards during their opening drive to the Nebraska end zone. He produced the same total the next time K-State got the ball and marched for a TD.
"It was our (old) offense," Bullocks continued. "It's still pretty tough to stop."
Despite running barely half as many plays as Kansas State, which piled up 418 yards, the Huskers trailed just 24-21 midway through the third quarter. And early in the fourth, they were still within striking distance at 31-21.
Then, Joe Dailey forced a pass that was intercepted, and the Wildcats pounced on the mistake by going 39 yards in two plays to make it 38-21.
On Nebraska's next offensive play, officials ruled Dailey fumbled before his arm came forward on a pass attempt. K-State's Jermaine Berry recovered and the Wildcats swooped in for the kill with a 7-play, 27-yard drive that Sproles capped with a 3-yard, unhindered dash into the end zone.
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, who said he felt the game "was there for the taking," offered no excuses.
But neither he nor any of his assistants who showed up after a third straight loss to Kansas State had any answers as to what will cure the Huskers other than a lot of elbow grease.
Leave it to the Wildcats' wily coach to offer encouragement, at least in a roundabout way. When citing the play of Webb, he said "Most anybody can play pretty well, if they spend the time and effort to prepare themselves during the course of the week."
If the Huskers take that advice to heart, maybe they can emerge from their latest mess in time to win a battle with Missouri next week for sole possession of first place in the Big 12 North Division (isn't that a hoot?).
Somehow, though, I picture Tigers coach Gary Pinkel needing a paper bag to breathe into after he takes a look at NU and his pulse starts racing with thoughts of the multiple ways in which Brad Smith can pick apart the Blackshirts.
While Snyder offered hope, he also noted that the Huskers are vulnerable to giving up big gains off the option because of their insistence to load up on blitzes.
Nebraska's eternally optimistic quarterback, though, is keeping the faith.
"It's a matter of putting two and two together, and making four," said Dailey, who wore an ugly knot on his forehead as a souvenir from Saturday's contest.
The Huskers have their four, all right. Four wins. After Saturday, I can see them being stuck on that number.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.