Yet Again...

Let's get the post-mortem started by quoting one of our passages from last week:

As long as Shawn Twatson and Barney Cotton don't get in the way, and NU remembers it has two great running backs, the Cornhuskers should find a way to win. But let's remember, NU is 1-7 against the Longhorns since 1996 and have invented ways to blow games in six of those contests. An effective passing game will be key, as will ball security. Nebraska's blowout wins have made us forget that fumbles have been a big problem. Putting it on the carpet against Texas won't work.

Looking at the above, NU's choke job was the perfect storm of the aforementioned bugaboos:

1. Shawn Twatson did get in the way, or at least refused to make an adjustment away from the zone read play after Taylor Martinez couldn't run it properly and to the base run game he employed with Zac Lee.

2. Barney Cotton's boys didn't blow anyone off the line and committed enough penalties to thwart what little momentum the pathetic NU offense did generate.

3. NU invented yet another way to lose to an inferior Texas team. PYB favorite Roy Helu, in a deeply disappointing effort, pulled a Niles Paul and put the ball on the carpet early and spotted the Longhorns seven points and essentially the game. Even after, he gained a few yards but ran like a pussy and didn't finish any of his subsequent runs with the aggression to which we're accustomed.

4. NU dropped four fucking TD passes. This has to be some sort of record. Even Rex Burkhead got into the act and Brandon Kinnie's was the backbreaker on a last-gasp 4th & 18. Of course, leading the way in ineptitude, was PYB's favorite diva Niles Paul. In addition to two dropped TDs, he tacked on at least two more drops. Most amazingly, he still think he's big-time when he should probably, seriously be at Nebraska-Omaha. If you suck, we have no problem with you. If you suck and talk about how great you are while continually fucking up....we hate you.

Let's cover a few more gaffes that cost the Cornhuskers this game. Keep in mind, they pissed the bed from the opening kickoff, couldn't have played worse....and still lost by just seven points.

1. Not one player, outside of Alfonzo Dennard, showed up and played with any type of balls, guts, will or determination. They are talented, yet soft. The only other player to show fire is center Mike Caputo. Is this a sign of the times or just the personality of NU's team? Without Ndamukong Suh throwing around offensive lineman, the mean streak is completely missing.

2. Tackling was atrocious. Not since the Kevin Cosgrove/Frank Solich eras have we seen so many whiffs and failures to wrap up. Rickey Thenarse brought back the ghosts of Dion Booker, Philip Bland, and Clint Finley in just three hours. His misses also allowed the Longhorns to turn eight-yard gains into 25-30 yard gains and prolong drives and slowly sap NU's chances at a comeback.

To their credit, Texas also smartly exploited LaVonte David's inexperience, using play action open up huge holes in the short passing game. They did the same to buy lead-footed Garrett Gilbert precious yardage on scrambles for first-down conversions. Never has PYB seen the Brothers Pelini so consistently outfoxed when holding the upper hand in talent.

3. NU lost the special teams war. Most important was its failure to adjust to the cross-field gay-ass rugby punts that got downed at the one-yard line two separate times. One pinned NU so deep in its own territory that its 16-play drive that followed only got them close enough for a FG (following Paul's 2nd dropped TD of the day). Hey dickfucks, put TWO men back to receive these! The company line was that they couldn't because UT ran a fake punt a few times the last few years.....but it seems to us that Tom Osborne ran two-deep returns for many years with no issues.

4. A lot was made of Pelini's decision to make the onside kick with three minutes remaining and two timeouts in his pocket. PYB can't criticize this decision, as in the long run, doing this does give them two chances instead of one to get the ball back (despite making it a longer way to go for a tying score). And it wasn't like the NU defense had been stifling the Longhorn run game all day. They weren't terrible, but ceded more than 200 yards with its soft front and bad tackling. We'd have supported the decision more fervently had Alex Henery shown that he had a better onside kick prepared than the high-schoolish effort he provided.

So where does the season go for Martinez? We've seen his limitations: he's a freshman, he can make bad reads, he's not a pure passer and he has no elusiveness in avoiding the pass rush (aka side to side...which makes him more like Eric Crouch than Tommie Frazier every day). But his upside is still great. Blazing straight-ahead speed and an effective arm if his coach and teammates call the right plays and catch the ball. What about a rollout or two to give him a run-pass option where he can make a quick read and then pass or bolt? We realize that's a lot to ask of Watson, but it's entirely possible. Can NU utilize a tight end? Which begs the question here...same one PYB railed about last season....

Can the defense fix its tackling woes? Can it create more pressure on the QB from here on? The blitz schemes were uncharacteristically shitty and ineffective Saturday. Can it find a way to be the aggressor despite it's undersized front seven? Judging from the Pelinis' track record, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt and say yes.

As far as Watson goes, we have to say no. We've seen how much help he provides young QBs when he called the most brutal plays he could while shattering Cody Green's career last season. Pure and simple, he's a front-runner. Get him out in front, against shitty competition and he can mix up the run and pass and look like Bill Walsh. Provide even the slightest resistance and he has no identity, no clue. Just like when he was at Colorado.

It took him until the end of the third quarter to realize that the zone play wasn't working and that Martinez was continually fucking up the reads. There was decent success moving the ball with Zac Lee. The counter sweep worked nicely. Is Martinez not able to hand the ball off? How he continually gets a free pass from a head coach as demanding as Pelini is a mystery. Does he have some sort of Cosgrovian spell cast over him by Twats? We may never know.

Anyway, going forward we like NU's chances. NU choked. Pissed the bed. Got dominated by a lesser team. But they have a chance at redemption the next two games, against overrated, yet ranked, opponents. PYB has seen Oklahoma State play twice, and they aren't a good team. Hell, Texas A&M ran all over them. If the Huskers show up Saturday, we expect a blowout of K-State proportions. Then, Mizzou comes to Lincoln. The pundits are raving about Blaine Gabbert's performance in College Station Saturday. But we all know he sucks. Pressure him, and watch him melt under the pressure. It's what he does...he's the perfect fit in Columbia.

Under Pelini, Nebraska has always gotten better as the season went on. We expect the same in 2010. Will fate give NU one more chance at Texas in Dallas in December? Maybe. If so, will they have the balls to take advantage? Who knows.