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Pelini: Conditions hampered NU offense
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com
Thursday was a tough night for Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee.
The junior completed just 14-of-33 passes for 158 yards but did rebound to throw three fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
“He had a rough three quarters in tough conditions,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said Monday during his weekly Big 12 teleconference. “He played well in the fourth quarter, but he’s played pretty consistent football throughout. I like where he’s at. I think he’s playing well.”
The rain that was pelting Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo., made things tough for both teams in Nebraska’s 27-12 come-from-behind victory over Missouri. Pelini said Lee wasn’t the only player who struggled.
“We stuck with him,” Pelini said of Lee. “Everybody wants to blame the quarterback. It’s not the quarterback. It’s 11 guys out there executing and we weren’t getting it done. We persevered and we were able to find a way to get it done.”
The 17th-rated Huskers, now 4-1 on the season as they prepare for Saturday’s home game against Texas Tech, didn’t run the ball effectively against the Tigers until the final drive late in the fourth quarter. NU finished the game with 105 rushing yards, including 68 in an eight-play drive to put the game away.
Pelini said the Tigers were trying to make the Huskers throw the ball in the adverse conditions.
“In conditions like that it was tough throwing the ball,” Pelini said. “They had a lot of guys up there. We just didn’t execute very well in the first three quarters. We had some opportunities. We had some things there. We just weren’t able to take advantage of them. We learn from them and move on.”
Pelini said you can’t blame all the offensive problems on the weather. He said you have to evaluate everything that happens during a game.
“You have to look at everything you do every week and learn from what happens,” Pelini said. “We have to get better and we have to fix the things we have to get fixed regardless of what the conditions are.
“We’re not going to ignore the things that went wrong because of the bad conditions. You can’t do that. We’re going to work to get it fixed, to play better and to execute better from start to finish.”
Missouri’s offense didn’t fare much better than Nebraska’s. Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed 17-of-43 passes for 134 yards with two interceptions.
Missouri gained just 91 yards on the ground in 35 attempts for an average of 2.6 yards per rush.
Pelini said he’s sure Missouri would have liked more offensive production.
“Both teams were playing on the same field,” he said. “You have to execute better. Obviously it lends to more defense when you play in conditions such as that.”
Suh getting more honors
NU senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was named the Lott Trophy IMPACT Player of the week on Monday.
Suh dominated against Missouri. He intercepted a pass that led to a touchdown, forced a fumble and had six tackles including a sack.
Suh now has a Nebraska position-record four career pass interceptions.
“I saw this game in person and was I ever impressed with the quickness and athleticism of Suh,” said former Washington coach Don James, a member of the Legends Coaches who selected the Player of the Week. “It is hard to believe he is a defensive tackle with those skills and that big body. He almost had a second interception that just slipped out of his grasp – a very dominating performance.”
Suh was also named the Big 12 Conference player of the week on Monday.
Pelini said Suh played well.
“He did some good things as did (Jared) Crick and our other guys up front,” Pelini said. “ I think there are more good things. I think there are more things out there for him to go get. I don’t think he’s reached his potential yet.”
Game time set for ISU
Nebraska’s Oct. 24 home game against Iowa State will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. and will be carried live on Fox Sports Net.
It will be the Huskers’ first appearance this season on FSN, although they had three previous games available on pay-per-view that were produced by the network.
The junior completed just 14-of-33 passes for 158 yards but did rebound to throw three fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
“He had a rough three quarters in tough conditions,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said Monday during his weekly Big 12 teleconference. “He played well in the fourth quarter, but he’s played pretty consistent football throughout. I like where he’s at. I think he’s playing well.”
The rain that was pelting Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo., made things tough for both teams in Nebraska’s 27-12 come-from-behind victory over Missouri. Pelini said Lee wasn’t the only player who struggled.
The 17th-rated Huskers, now 4-1 on the season as they prepare for Saturday’s home game against Texas Tech, didn’t run the ball effectively against the Tigers until the final drive late in the fourth quarter. NU finished the game with 105 rushing yards, including 68 in an eight-play drive to put the game away.
Pelini said the Tigers were trying to make the Huskers throw the ball in the adverse conditions.
“In conditions like that it was tough throwing the ball,” Pelini said. “They had a lot of guys up there. We just didn’t execute very well in the first three quarters. We had some opportunities. We had some things there. We just weren’t able to take advantage of them. We learn from them and move on.”
Pelini said you can’t blame all the offensive problems on the weather. He said you have to evaluate everything that happens during a game.
“You have to look at everything you do every week and learn from what happens,” Pelini said. “We have to get better and we have to fix the things we have to get fixed regardless of what the conditions are.
“We’re not going to ignore the things that went wrong because of the bad conditions. You can’t do that. We’re going to work to get it fixed, to play better and to execute better from start to finish.”
Missouri’s offense didn’t fare much better than Nebraska’s. Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed 17-of-43 passes for 134 yards with two interceptions.
Missouri gained just 91 yards on the ground in 35 attempts for an average of 2.6 yards per rush.
Pelini said he’s sure Missouri would have liked more offensive production.
“Both teams were playing on the same field,” he said. “You have to execute better. Obviously it lends to more defense when you play in conditions such as that.”
Suh getting more honors
NU senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was named the Lott Trophy IMPACT Player of the week on Monday.
Suh dominated against Missouri. He intercepted a pass that led to a touchdown, forced a fumble and had six tackles including a sack.
Suh now has a Nebraska position-record four career pass interceptions.
“I saw this game in person and was I ever impressed with the quickness and athleticism of Suh,” said former Washington coach Don James, a member of the Legends Coaches who selected the Player of the Week. “It is hard to believe he is a defensive tackle with those skills and that big body. He almost had a second interception that just slipped out of his grasp – a very dominating performance.”
Suh was also named the Big 12 Conference player of the week on Monday.
Pelini said Suh played well.
“He did some good things as did (Jared) Crick and our other guys up front,” Pelini said. “ I think there are more good things. I think there are more things out there for him to go get. I don’t think he’s reached his potential yet.”
Game time set for ISU
Nebraska’s Oct. 24 home game against Iowa State will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. and will be carried live on Fox Sports Net.
It will be the Huskers’ first appearance this season on FSN, although they had three previous games available on pay-per-view that were produced by the network.
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| Nebraska-Iowa State game selected for FSN telecast | NU's No. 2 I-back Burkhead out with foot injury |
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