Same Deficit, Far Different Feeling

One year ago, I walked away from the Coliseum disappointed in Nebraska's 28-10 loss to USC. We had been conservative, and for the most part seemed to be playing to avoid a blowout. As disappointed as I was though, I already had a sense of excitement and optimism about the rematch in Lincoln. Maybe by then, I surmised, we would be capable of beating a team like USC. One year later, that optimism has proven to be false hope. We lost by 18 points last year. We lost by 18 points this year. But the way those losses played out have NU fans feeling far different than they did a year ago.

Saturday was not only highly embarrassing and disappointing, it was in a word, crushing. While many just hoped we could keep it close (we didn't), I was one of the fools who for some reason thought we were capable of knocking off the juggernaut. How stupid I was. After watching the Trojan offense run roughshod over what looked like a middle-school defensive unit moonlighting as the Blackskirts, the terrible truth is now known: we are nowhere near where we thought we were. Not in terms of talent, and certainly not in terms of coaching ability.

In a loss reminiscent of the 62-36 CU loss back in 2001, the Nebraska defense was unmasked as an under-coached and over-manned squad that didn't belong on the same field as USC. Are the Trojans talented? Absolutely. Everybody knows about the the Parade All Americans, the stocked backfield, the Hiesman-candidate QB. But it really doesn't matter who you have playing for you when your playing against a defense that has no linebackers (which is the alignment the Huskers were apparently running). I could have run for 100 yards against that defense, and I think a lot of people could have in light of the fact most USC ballcarriers didn't meet any opposition until 8 or 9 yards downfield on most plays. Not since that loss to Colorado have I seen so many players routinely out of position on defense. Even when Husker defenders were in position to make a tackle, they rarely succeeded on the first try. Arm-tackles, bad angles of pursuit, and bad positioning can sometimes be credited to a player just screwing up. However, when it happens on nearly every play to almost every player, the attention has to turn to someone else than just the players.

Like many in Husker Nation, my eyes turn to Kevin Cosgrove. His units were sub-par in Wisconsin. His results at Nebraska have been no different. After the USC debacle, the "Blackshirts" are currently ranked 45th in the country in total defense. In his three years at NU, the Huskers have finished 56th, 26th, and 56th. Despite upgrading in talent every year, his units continue to underachieve. What is most baffling is how often Husker defenders find themselves completely out of plays, particularly traps. This has been a problem for years, and we routinely get our ass handed to us against teams who utilize this play well. I know this Husker defense is replacing it's entire defensive line, but that doesn't explain why McKeon and Co. were missing in action Saturday night. At times, it felt like we were running a 4-0-4, with no linebackers on the field. We knew we were in trouble when it took a mere four plays for the Trojans to go 96 yards on their first drive. It was a recurring theme throughout the night to see USC players running free in open space, each play with the potential to go the distance. It was, in a word, nauseating. How do you feel if your a former Husker defender? To see a unit that carries the Blackshirt name to be so thoroughly embarrassed in front of the entire nation? Grant Wistrom and all the others had to have been sick to their stomaches after watching that performance.

As far as the offense goes, there were highs and lows. Keller played well despite a pair of interceptions (one was tipped, the other the result of a well-called zone blitz by SC), and the receivers rebounded to have a great performance after dropping some balls the previous week against Wake Forest. Obviously, the running game is nowhere near where it needs to be to compete against national powers. Say what you want about the talent on USC's defense, that doesn't excuse the paltry 31 yards rushing that NU finished with. If you want to be elite competition, you have to be able to put together some kind of a running game, even if it sucks. Sucking would have been 50 yards rushing. Our running game didn't suck Saturday, it didn't even exist.

Despite playing a quarter-and-a-half of great football, NU now finds themselves in a familiar position: downtrodden, picking up the pieces after yet another loss to a top-10 team. This one, however, was far worse than any of last year's stumbles. Last year, the spotlight wasn't on us. Sure, we were expected to be decent, but there was still a tiny bit of leeway when we lost because of how close we came. We ALMOST beat Texas, we ALMOST beat Auburn. Our loss to OU wasn't as bad as the score indicated, because a few big plays were the difference in the game. This loss, however, was especially damning. The #1 team, GameDay in town, a primetime national telecast. And we were bitchslapped up and down the field.