Sports: Husker Football

Nebraska Stuck Hard By Talented Hurricanes

NU's defense whiffs with its gambling scheme and offense just couldn't bust Miami's fast defense

by Samuel McKewon

January 03, 2002

Dorsey throwing. Photo: Getty Images.

NU's Eric Crouch. Photo: Getty Images.

Miami tight end Jeremy Shockey had it right all along.

It was Washington all over again. All over Nebraska. At least for one half. And the Hurricanes didn't need any more than that.

Let's start by being fair. Yes, Miami had a few breaks in its 37-14 Rose Bowl win over NU. Yes, its receivers got away with a couple fast ones. Yes, it's hard to recover from two hard-luck fumbles and an interception that should have been a Husker first down.

But the Hurricanes were too fast, too good and too well prepared. NU never found the heart of its offense. Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch was done in by the fact that he just isn't a great passing quarterback. And after the Nebraska defense fought hard for two drives it laid some big eggs.

Dorsey throwing. Photo: Getty Images.

It was a shocking, disappointing 30 minutes. You wonder where the Huskers' collective head was for 40 days after the loss to Colorado. You wonder what Defensive Coordinator Craig Bohl was thinking when he devised the faulty scheme to cover Shockey and wide receiver Andre Johnson, who's a good player but not the Randy Moss-clone he became on the field.

Miami players weren't lying when they said they didn't watch the tape of Nebraska getting mashed against Colorado. Instead, they set about scoring against the gambling scheme NU brought to the Rose Bowl. Canes' quarterback Ken Dorsey had enough time to pick his spots and receivers. The secondary, especially the safeties, failed NU badly.

Once again, Bohl was on his heels in changing the scheme. Johnson kept burning Nebraska's cornerbacks all the way through the first half. Nebraska never found a way to pressure Dorsey. The cornerbacks were slipping on the Rose Bowl turf. How does NU spend $2.3 million to go to the Rose Bowl and not bring an alternate pair of shoes?

Such a gaffe gives you an idea where the Huskers went wrong. Preparing for Miami, Nebraska was still stuck in Colorado mode. It had hard, brutish practices in preparation for the Canes. What good did it do? UM ran right past NU, over and over.

Nebraska's offensive game plan wasn't misguided as much as Miami's defense is just that fast and that good. The 'Canes swamped the Huskers in the backfield 13 times. But Crouch needed to hit all his early passes - and he didn't. His interception was a pass that Tracey Wistrom should have caught, but Crouch shouldn't throw a six-yard pass that's high for a receiver who's 6-foot-5, either.

Yet Crouch just kept running and running, and he made some plays because he's that good. Coach Frank Solich failed him on one drive by calling a halfback pass right after Crouch had ripped off a big run on the option. Solich did it again in the fourth quarter, calling the identical play. Both were 10-yard losses and drive killers.

Outside of Crouch, it became clear Nebraska just didn't have the weapons. Dahrran Diedrick was too slow. Thunder Collins was a little ill. Wilson Thomas disappeared. This is what the Huskers are when they are against a great defense - a one-man team.

NU deserves credit for hanging in during the second half. Miami had enough penalties and mistakes for three games in the final 30 minutes, or it would have been a much more lopsided score. The Hurricanes proved how good they could be in the first half, though.

Their talent is staggering. They kept it clean, didn't taunt, and smacked NU hard. Their confidence irked some NU fans before the game, but it was well placed, because they understood that, man to man, they'd beat Nebraska if they didn't implode.

As for the Huskers, they have to swallow all the criticism that's sure to follow from the nation at large. It did look like the Huskers belonged anywhere but Pasadena when the 'Canes went up 34-0. NU was hurt by the distraction of answering question after question about even being in the Rose Bowl, just as Colorado was hurt by the opposite question leading up to the Fiesta Bowl. A rematch would have been a lot more meaningful for both teams.

Instead, Nebraska finishes its year with two humiliating losses that put the coaches into offseason overdrive. It'll be a longer, colder winter in Lincoln because of it.