Blunder in Blacksburg....

PYB always says coaches are paid to put players in the position to win games, regardless of the sport. Nebraska's coaches did that yesterday, until the Cornhuskers moved inside the 20-yard line. Shawn Watson's lack of imagination/diversity inside the 20 cost NU the game yesterday, as the offense came away with five short field goals. A sixth trip (this time inside the 10) came up totally fruitless, as penalties eventually pushed NU outside of even FG range.

Sure, it was players committing those penalties, but the false start/illegal formation type infractions are reflections of discipline (or lack thereof) instilled by Cotton & Co. Some say this is the biggest gut punch they've ever taken during their Cornhusker fanhood, but PYB says this was outdone by the two most recent losses to Texas Tech and also in Lincoln against Texas when Playboy Terrence Nunn fumbled the game away after Bill Callahan's butchered play call. Let's get on to the unit grades, because if we don't we may ramble on like John Doe did in the movie 7even.

Quarterback -- C-
Zac Lee started out just fine early in the game, making some decent throws and not many mistakes. Then during a 2nd & 3rd quarter span he went from 6/11 to 6/19 and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Lee ended up going 9/30, with several key misses. Most importantly, he blew a TD opportunity on a completion to Currenski Gilleylen. Had he thrown the ball to the inside, or anywhere close for that matter, Gilleylen was off to the races for a game-clinching TD. As the second half wore on, more of his passes came from his back foot...not a promising sign.

The weirdest thing (and thing I hate to do) is that I started questioning in the middle of the third quarter if Lee was giving us anything physically that Cody Green could not do? All the positive plays were either handoffs or QB keeps--plays where Green is as good or better. Stay tuned as Green learns the offense, but Lee did nothing to stake his claim to the job yesterday.

I-Back -- A+
Roy Helu Jr. was the real deal. How do you have a back run for 176 yards and 6.0 yards per carry on the road and lose? This was a new one to me. Helu can get the inside yards, turn the corner outside, catch, make guys miss, and make the breakaway play with regularity. Anyone who can run like this, despite the questionable run blocking, is OK in my book--to quote Johnny Lawrence from the Karate Kid.

Offensive Line -- B-
Helu got big yards, so kudos there. Too many holding penalties and false starts to win big games. Barney Cotton needs to prove his worth, because so far he's failed to do so in either stint as a coach in Lincoln.

Wide Receiver -- D
The playmaker that NU dearly needs has not materialized. No, it's not Niles Paul, even though coaches wanted us to believe that after handing him BS stats on a silver platter vs. Arkansas St. Other than an occasional breakout, the WRs go MIA for large chunks of the game. This has to be just because they're not explosive enough to get open consistently. And all BS aside, is it just me or does Chris Brooks Sr. deserve more playing time? The guy presents a big, physical target over the middle and always catches the ball without a bobble. Menelik Holt looks like a solid #2 WR, but needs a true #1 to open up opportunities for him. Without someone stepping forward, big game woes will continue.

Tight End -- C
Nothing good to say and nothing bad. Seems like the Hokies took away this security blanket for Zac Lee, knowing that NU lacked a threat at WR. The game-clinching TD to Mike McNeill got called back on one of Barney's Boys many penalties.

Defensive Line -- A+
Controlled the VT offense the entire game. Ndamukong Suh had FOUR deflected passes, an amazing stat. He also chipped in eight tackles. Jared Crick showed some great development and had seven tackles himself. Barry Turner had six tackles and Pierre Allen five. The DL also had four sacks on an ultra-slippery QB. Other than the first few possessions, the Hokies couldn't move the ball and the Cornhusker front four was the reason. A shame to waste a truly dominating performance--one we haven't seen since Peter & Wistrom.

Linebackers -- B
Benching Blake Lawrence (oh wait, sprained ankle) did wonders. The LBs didn't make a ton of impact plays but cleaned up anything that got past the front four and did a solid job tackling....all you can ask of this group. It was nice to see Phillip Dillard contributing, as his mysterious two-game benching ended.

Defensive Backs -- B-
This grade would be higher if not for the blown zone, which we surmise was an error by Matt O'Hanlon. So much for that feel good story about him walking on and then saving the Clemson game last season. A PYB correspondent watched the game at an Arizona sports bar and sat near former NU DC Charlie McBride, who believed it was O'Hanlon's gaffe also. This is a mistake that should NEVER happen, much less when you're trying to prevent the game-losing touchdown. Credit does goes out to Pelini, who didn't go with a total prevent defense and stuck to his guns. Better to get burned this way than to die a slow, painful death. Cornerbacks had good coverage most the game, and struggled only on the crossing routes the first few drives. Prince Amukamara did a good job on the game-losing play, covering his man for multiple cuts back & forth until he finally broke open due to the lack of pass rush.

Special Teams --B-
This would be lower, except the fact that there were no misplays after the opening kickoff. The punt game was solid, as far as major errors go. We're still not sold on Alex Henery as the punter...unless he goes full time to the rugby kick, which he does much better than conventional punts. As a kicker, this guy is exceptional. On all of his field goals, he had complete control of the ball--drawing them in with precision. Adi Kunalic was great on kickoffs, most times pinning VT too far deep or left for a return. Niles Paul had a 55-yard punt return, but he is not the answer here. He can make a play when all he has to do is run straight, but this position requires someone with good moves (spins, jukes, hesitations..). Where is Mr. Dennard???

Coaching -- C
This is really the toughest grade to hand out. The defense completely shut down Virginia Tech, 80 of their 287 yards came on a blown play. It was in complete control and kep the game in front of them for 59 minutes. The lack of imagination by VT's staff did contribute, but this performance on the road was impressive. So was the running game and ball movement outside the 20 yard line.

However, the lack of time management was reminiscent of Frank Solich's ineptitude. NU blew two of its three timeouts early in both halves. Watson's red-zone playcalling was bad, as he seemed content with FGs instead of taking the game by the balls. NU was the better team, but the coaches lack of guts eventually spilled over to the players as they went into a shell when they had the chance to twist and snap the Hokies' neck.

Watson's final third-down play call was also bad, as gaining that first down would have clinched the win. Sure, running the ball forced VT to burn its last time out...but with nearly two minutes to go, if the Hokies were going to score, they were going to do it regardless of how many timeouts they had remaining. Blitzing VT on the game-losing play would have been a good thing, especially given the scatterarmed nature of Tyrod Taylor. However, it was not Ndamukong Suh's fault--in what the Omaha World Herald's Dirk Chatelain idiotically calls a 'maddening lapse in judgment'. This is obviously from someone who never played football and who was obviously not a 300-pount defensive lineman worried about containing an elusive runner with the game in the balance. True idiot, Dirk.

NU was almost scared to win. The nine penalties is also somewhat indicative of leadership. I've heard several people put a positive spin on this by saying "We weren't going to win the national championship anyway." How do you know? When you see Florida struggle at home vs. Tennessee and USC lose at Washington, the gap separating all the mediocrity in college football is thinner than ever and your chance may be closer than you ever thought possible. Coaches need to teach their players to be winners....and NOW, not in 2-3 years like it used to be. Another close loss, but another road loss to a ranked team (despite being the better team...outgaining VT 343 to 287)....and so the Streak That Frank Built continues.....21 and counting....