Print
E-mail
Blackshirts don't have best performance
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com
BOULDER, Colo. — The Nebraska defense made its share of mistakes Friday in a 28-20 victory over Colorado at Folsom Field.
The Huskers gave up 403 yards of offense and 20 points. That’s not the kind of performance they have grown accustomed to during their regular season-ending five-game winning streak.
“Like Coach (Bo) Pelini probably said already, we didn’t play our best football today,” senior safety Matt O’Hanlon said. “We have a lot of stuff to improve on, but we have some time. We have a great task ahead of us.”
Maybe not that much time. The Huskers have a week before they face No. 3 Texas in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 5 in Arlington, Texas.
One thing the Husker defense did do against Colorado was create turnovers. Nebraska intercepted three Tyler Hansen passes on the day, including one that O’Hanlon returned 20 yards for a second-quarter touchdown.
The Huskers were in a new defense for that play called the “diesel” package, one that has five defensive lineman on the field at the same time. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini practically beamed when asked about the new alignment.
“I just love getting five guys,” Carl Pelini said. “It guarantees us one-on-one matchups across the board and we have some pretty darn good pass rushers. It gives you height on the pass rushers in the middle. When Matty had that great pick and return I think a big part of that is you have three lengthy guys right up the gut. It makes it difficult for the quarterback to find receivers.”
O’Hanlon likes the new defense too.
“They just called that new defense that we installed,” O’Hanlon said. “Me and Larry (Asante) just kind of decided who was going to roll down and play the back and that would be me. I just came down and played the back and he threw it right into my hands.”
It was O’Hanlon’s team-leading fifth interception of the season.
“I thought I saw him looking right at me, but I guess he didn’t see me,” O’Hanlon said. “I was kind of in the right place at the right time.”
The Huskers had trouble containing the elusive Hansen when he got out of the pocket. Colorado gave up just one sack for the game and that came when Hansen was called for intentional grounding.
“He’s an elusive quarterback and he helps his offensive line when someone does get back there,” Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. “He does his thing, and we talked about that. He’s a bit more elusive than other quarterbacks that we have seen.
“We still got back there. We just needed to make sure we got good shots on him.”
Linebacker Phillip Dillard said the Buffaloes also caused NU some problems with a number of different formations.
“Our film showed they used a lot of different formations, 30 different formations, so we adjusted to it on the sideline, played our roles and took it from there,” Dillard said.
Junior Dejon Gomes and Prince Amukamara also had interceptions for the Huskers. Gomes’ came in the second quarter while Amukamara’s was in the fourth.
“My guy ran an end route, we got pressure on them and their quarterback thew a bad pass,” Gomes said.
While the defensive performance wasn’t quite up to usual standards, Carl Pelini was still happy with what his unit has done throughout the season.
“We’ve been able to maintain our focus and that’s huge,” Carl Pelini said. “That’s something I thought was our Achilles’ heel last year. We’d play well for stretches and then we’d lose our concentration and give up big plays.
“I think our focus has been great this year. When people score on us it’s because they execute down the field. We’re just not blowing coverages.”
The Huskers gave up 403 yards of offense and 20 points. That’s not the kind of performance they have grown accustomed to during their regular season-ending five-game winning streak.
“Like Coach (Bo) Pelini probably said already, we didn’t play our best football today,” senior safety Matt O’Hanlon said. “We have a lot of stuff to improve on, but we have some time. We have a great task ahead of us.”
Maybe not that much time. The Huskers have a week before they face No. 3 Texas in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 5 in Arlington, Texas.
 |
| BOULDER -- 11/27/09: 3:16 second qtr. NU defender Matt O'Hanlon heads for the end zone after his interseption. O'Hanlon scored on the play. Nebraska against Colorado at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD nebraska cornhuskers huskers football colorado buffaloes |
The Huskers were in a new defense for that play called the “diesel” package, one that has five defensive lineman on the field at the same time. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini practically beamed when asked about the new alignment.
“I just love getting five guys,” Carl Pelini said. “It guarantees us one-on-one matchups across the board and we have some pretty darn good pass rushers. It gives you height on the pass rushers in the middle. When Matty had that great pick and return I think a big part of that is you have three lengthy guys right up the gut. It makes it difficult for the quarterback to find receivers.”
O’Hanlon likes the new defense too.
“They just called that new defense that we installed,” O’Hanlon said. “Me and Larry (Asante) just kind of decided who was going to roll down and play the back and that would be me. I just came down and played the back and he threw it right into my hands.”
It was O’Hanlon’s team-leading fifth interception of the season.
“I thought I saw him looking right at me, but I guess he didn’t see me,” O’Hanlon said. “I was kind of in the right place at the right time.”
The Huskers had trouble containing the elusive Hansen when he got out of the pocket. Colorado gave up just one sack for the game and that came when Hansen was called for intentional grounding.
“He’s an elusive quarterback and he helps his offensive line when someone does get back there,” Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. “He does his thing, and we talked about that. He’s a bit more elusive than other quarterbacks that we have seen.
“We still got back there. We just needed to make sure we got good shots on him.”
Linebacker Phillip Dillard said the Buffaloes also caused NU some problems with a number of different formations.
“Our film showed they used a lot of different formations, 30 different formations, so we adjusted to it on the sideline, played our roles and took it from there,” Dillard said.
Junior Dejon Gomes and Prince Amukamara also had interceptions for the Huskers. Gomes’ came in the second quarter while Amukamara’s was in the fourth.
“My guy ran an end route, we got pressure on them and their quarterback thew a bad pass,” Gomes said.
While the defensive performance wasn’t quite up to usual standards, Carl Pelini was still happy with what his unit has done throughout the season.
“We’ve been able to maintain our focus and that’s huge,” Carl Pelini said. “That’s something I thought was our Achilles’ heel last year. We’d play well for stretches and then we’d lose our concentration and give up big plays.
“I think our focus has been great this year. When people score on us it’s because they execute down the field. We’re just not blowing coverages.”
 |
 |
|
| Husker offense does just enough to win | Griffin carries Huskers past Trojans |
Commenting is currently disabled on all stories. The Grand Island Independent is currently reviewing its guidelines for commenting on news stories.
Start a topic in our forums
Submit a Letter to the Editor
Start a topic in our forums
Submit a Letter to the Editor
