Nebraska
Tad Stryker: First Step
As the ultimate seconds ran down throughout Nebraska’s 35-21 victory over Indiana (see video clip above), it appeared acceptable to look to the south and thank the Cajun connection of Mickey Joseph, Invoice Busch and Trey Palmer — all of whom moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Lincoln this 12 months — for injecting a much-needed dose of excellent information into the bloodstream of the Nebraska soccer program, which earned its first win over a BCS workforce in 364 days.
Busch’s fingerprints had been throughout this victory, as a result of protection and particular groups confirmed up in a giant manner for the Huskers, who had not defeated Indiana in Lincoln since I.M. Hipp performed I-back for the Huge Purple
For starters, Nebraska ended a three-year drought of special-teams touchdowns. Chris Kolarevic and Malcolm Hartzog teamed as much as ship a blocked punt for a landing, one thing NU hadn’t finished since Halloween 2009 in a 20-10 win over Baylor, the day Jared Crick had a school-record 5 sacks for the Huge Purple. And much more stunning, the Huskers put collectively three punt returns for 37 yards, and one in every of them arrange a landing.
The protection, which got here into the sport rated close to the underside of all BCS faculties in nearly each defensive class, can get pleasure from a measure of pleasure. The unit could have earned again its Blackshirts, giving up solely 290 yards of whole offense to what has been thought of a good Indiana offense.
The Hoosiers scored no factors within the second half, and the Huskers allowed the Hoosiers solely 5 whole yards on 12 snaps within the fourth quarter. Furthermore, Indiana, which ran greater than 100 performs from scrimmage in its sport in opposition to Cincinnati, had solely 67 snaps in opposition to Nebraska. Joseph and Mark Whipple didn’t dramatically decelerate Nebraska’s offensive tempo — the Huskers hardly ever huddled — however they held almost a 10-minute benefit in time of possession and practiced complementary soccer for the primary time in current reminiscence.
In his maiden voyage as Husker defensive coordinator, Busch used fairly a little bit of press man-to-man protection, and Travis Fisher’s secondary held up properly, breaking apart eight passes, with Hartzog getting a type of in his first begin at nook. Linebacker Luke Reimer intercepted a go.
Joseph, who was largely chargeable for bringing Palmer to Lincoln, and obtained the sport ball from Trev Alberts within the locker room, was the catalyst to a rejuvenated-looking workforce — an offense that performed sloppy soccer very often, piling up double-digit penalties and triple-digit penalty yards — however total, performed with extra vitality than it has all 12 months.
Scroll to Proceed
With the sport tied 21-21 heading into the ultimate interval, Nebraska put collectively a robust fourth quarter when it wanted one.
Credit score quarterback Casey Thompson, who was sacked 4 occasions however saved coming again, even after injuring his shoulder halfway by the third quarter. He threw a 71-yard landing go to Palmer early within the fourth quarter to provide the Huskers the lead. Then he got here again and led the drive of the sport, a mistake-free, 12-play, 54-yard scoring march that consumed 6:05. Thompson scored on a 1-yard run with 6:53 remaining to provide NU some respiratory room.
Credit score Joseph and Whipple for sticking with the run sport even when it wasn’t producing all that properly. They stayed affected person because the Huge Purple frittered away glorious discipline place within the scoreless third quarter with sloppy offensive line play, together with three penalties over the course of back-to-back collection that began on the Indiana 49 and the Husker 44. In the long run, Nebraska ran the ball 51 occasions, stacking up that time-of-possession edge, and Anthony Grant had one other huge sport, speeding for 136 yards on 32 carries, and toting the ball seven occasions for 31 yards on the game-clinching landing drive.
“We completed at the moment within the fourth quarter,” Thompson stated within the postgame press convention. “We completed the sport with the ball in our palms, which is a constructive. We have been overdue to complete the sport in a victory (formation), and take a knee.”
Palmer caught eight passes for 157 yards and a landing, and he had these three punt returns. He caught an 11-yard go on third-and-10 crossing path to jumpstart that game-winning drive.
Joseph and his workforce wanted one thing to construct on, and successful a sport that was tied within the fourth quarter is an efficient place to begin. The street will get more durable. It’s time for one more step.
At first, Nebraska playing in a bowl in late December in New York City sounded like a form of punishment rather than a reward for a successful season.
It’s true, playing in a balmy Florida, Arizona or California might be more appealing. But consider this: NU is playing at noon this Saturday. That’s great day and time for a college football game.
As a result, I believe a lot of people are going to be able to watch the game. TV viewers aren’t going to care a rip about the cold. Most football fans think forty degrees is ideal football weather.
Playing in Florida does have some advantages, but three early bowl games that were played in Florida weren’t seen by many people. Why?
Bad dates and times.
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, FL)
Wednesday, December 18th 5:30pm (EST)
Western Kentucky vs James Madison
Staffdna Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL)
Friday, December 20th 12:00pm (EST)
Ohio vs Jackson State
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL)
Friday December 20th 3:30 pm (EST)
Tulane vs Florida
Raise your hands if you watched any of those games.
I didn’t think so.
My point is, playing in a cold clime in late December is not necessarily a bad thing. The Pinstripe Bowl matchup between Nebraska and Boston College should be a TV ratings success.
The Pinstripe Bowl Matchup
To win the game, NU is going to have to:
1.) Stop the Eagles’ running game and make them one dimensional,
2.) Move the chains consistently on offense.
3.) Be able to pass on BC’s defense (BC is 111th pass defense)
4.) Win the turnover battle (NU ranks 66th while BC is 21st)
If the Huskers are able to do those things, they will come back to Lincoln with another bowl trophy to add to its collection.
What’s a stake: Win the game and NU ends the season with a winning record-its first since 2016. Lose the game and NU limps into ’25 with a 6-7 record.
You may contact me at: HuskerDan@cox.net
MORE: Analytics Preview: Nebraska Football vs. Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl
MORE: 1962 Co-Captain, Gotham Bowl Veteran Dwain Carlson Joins the Common Fans
MORE: Nebrasketball Beats Oregon State, Wins Diamond Head Classic
MORE: Idaho Transfer Defensive Back Andrew Marshall Commits to Nebraska
MORE: Former NFL Running Back Leonard Fournette Shares Praise for Nebraska Quarterback Dylan Raiola
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE) will undergo a rib fixation procedure on Thursday after a horse bucked him off on Sunday.
Pillen, 68, will need to be under anesthesia while doctors install metal plates to stabilize his seven broken ribs. Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly will take on the role of acting governor during the surgery.
“Based on the Governor’s health profile and active lifestyle, his doctors consider him an ideal candidate for this procedure. Nebraska Medicine has emerged as a national leader in rib fixation operations,” the governor’s office wrote in a statement.
The governor was riding a new horse with his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter when he fell. In addition to his rib fractures, he suffered a partially collapsed lung, lacerations on his spleen and kidney, and a minor vertebrae fracture.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Gov. Pillen remains grateful for the exceptional care he is receiving by the team at Nebraska Medicine and thanks Nebraskans for their outpouring of support to him and his family during this time,” Pillen’s office wrote.
This surgery will result in Pillen remaining in the hospital for a few days following his surgery. He is prepared to continue to work from his hospital bed.
Merry Christmas: Nebraska wins Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii
For the first time since the San Juan Shootout in 2000, the Nebraska men’s basketball program has an in-season tournament championship.
Led by Brice Williams’ 25 points (6-of-6 at the free-throw line), seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, the Huskers picked up a 78-66 win over the Oregon State Beavers on Christmas Day.
NU (10-2, 1-1 in Big Ten) now gets to leave Honolulu with the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic title.
“As we said to our guys, we just don’t get a whole lot of opportunities in your life to play for championships, and this was a big tournament for us,” head coach Fred Hoiberg told Huskers Radio Network after the game.
Notable perks to a tournament win like this includes picking up a true road win over host Hawaii and a Quad 1 victory (for now) on a neutral site over Oregon State, which came into the game with a NET rating of 43 (Nebraska’s was 52).
“Just really proud of the guys for finding a way to muster up the energy and play, I thought, our best stretch of basketball those last five minutes,” Hoiberg said.
That five minutes Hoiberg reference had a lot to do with strong defense and Williams.
NU’s defense held OSU to just 40% shooting overall for the game, and the Huskers out-rebounded OSU 31-24 to become only the second team to out-rebound the Beavers this season. But OSU did connect on nine 3s that helped them hang around. Four different OSU players each made two triples.
But from the 5:32 mark of the second half when nursing a 61-56 lead, Williams took over and showed everyone he was the best player on the court. The 6-7 guard scored 11 points in the stretch, including five game-sealing free throws. He outscored OSU 11-10.
Williams has scored 57 points the last two games, with tonight’s 25 and Monday’s 32. He averaged 22 points per game in three games and earned tournament MVP honors.
“I was just aggressive, I wanted to let my defense lead to offense,” Williams said after the game. “I came out hot and my team kind of took it from there.”
The game was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair that featured scoring runs and scoring droughts for both sides. Neither team ever took control until Williams did his thing.
NU never trailed by more than four points in the first half and took a 34-32 lead into the break. There were 13 lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Multiple Huskers stepped up late to help NU take command. Sam Hoiberg made his third 3 of the season to put NU up 48-47. Andrew Morgan was another bench player who made an impact as his and-1 paint bucket extended the Husker lead to 51-49.
One player who had maybe his best night as a Husker was Berke Buyuktuncel. The 6-10 big who’s been playing through minor injuries showed off a variety of skill sets that made him one of the top international prospects coming out in his signing class.
Buyuktuncel finished with a career-high 16 points and made three 3s, also a new career mark. He played defense and rebounded too, collecting six with one offensive board which turned into an and-1 putback.
Buyuktuncel scored eight points in both the first and second half.
“Both ends. I thought two days ago, versus Hawaii, we finished off the game with him at the five, and he battles those fives as well as anybody on our team,” Hoiberg said of Buyuktuncel. “Him knocking down those shots in the first half, that’s a game changer for us. Hopefully he can get it going and it’ll give him confidence. When Berke can knock down threes, that’s just opens up a whole other new opportunities for us to run different plays to get him going.”
Buyuktuncel had success bullying his way into the paint and finishing. His and-1 where he grabbed an offensive board and sank the putback while being fouled pushed NU to a 54-51 lead. Not long after, he was running the court with Williams and hit a transition layup to put NU up by six points, 57-51.
Those plays helped a 10-2 run that extended the Husker lead to 61-53. But the Beavers never went away and NU’s offense went cold. During one stretch, it missed six of seven shots. That allowed OSU to cut its 8-point deficit in half.
But then Williams put the Beavers away. NU went on an 11-3 run to end the game.
Williams, along with Buyuktuncel, were named to the all-tournament team. Williams averaged 22 points on 56% shooting along with 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in NU’s three games.
Hoiberg becomes the second head coach to win the Diamond Head Classic twice. His first win came while he was coaching Iowa State in 2013.
UP NEXT
Nebraska has one non-conference game left before diving into Big Ten play the rest of the season. The Huskers host Southern on Monday night with a late tip of 8 p.m.
Southern is currently 5-7 and riding a three-game losing streak. Earlier this season, Southern led Texas A&M at halftime, 39-25, before losing 71-54.
ENJOYING INSIDE NEBRASKA?
>> GAIN ALL-ACCESS with an annual or monthly subscription for less than $10/month
>> NEW SUBSCRIBERS get 30 days FREE
>> Sound off on the hot topics on our INSIDER’S BOARD
>> Follow us on Twitter (@NebraskaRivals)
>> Follow us on Instagram (@nebraskarivals)
>> Subscribe for FREE to the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel
Virginia hospital halts NICU admissions after babies found with ‘unexplainable fractures’
Christmas day fire displaces several families at Suitland apartment complex
Western Wisconsin corrections officer killed by drunk driver, sheriff’s office says
West Virginia DMV offers digital drivers’ licenses, IDs
Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, December 27, 2024
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Canadian ministers head to Florida for talks with incoming Trump administration: report
EU preparing sanctions on Russia's 'shadow fleet' after cable damage
Bird flu has killed 20 big cats including cougars at a U.S. wildlife sanctuary
'Absolute necessity': Trump sparks concerns after floating desire to control Panama Canal, Greenland
Retraction of US-backed Gaza famine report draws anger, scrutiny
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24924653/236780_Google_AntiTrust_Trial_Custom_Art_CVirginia__0003_1.png "Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps")
Technology6 days agoGoogle’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps
-
News7 days agoNovo Nordisk shares tumble as weight-loss drug trial data disappoints
-
Politics7 days agoIllegal immigrant sexually abused child in the U.S. after being removed from the country five times
-
Entertainment1 week ago'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans
-
Lifestyle1 week agoThink you can't dance? Get up and try these tips in our comic. We dare you!
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25672934/Metaphor_Key_Art_Horizontal.png "There’s a reason Metaphor: ReFantanzio’s battle music sounds as cool as it does")
Technology2 days agoThere’s a reason Metaphor: ReFantanzio’s battle music sounds as cool as it does
-
Technology1 week agoFox News AI Newsletter: OpenAI responds to Elon Musk's lawsuit
-
News3 days agoFrance’s new premier selects Eric Lombard as finance minister