Bruised: A&M's Running Game Punishes Nebraska

Aggies run option play over and over, amassing 359 ground yards

After a historic, tumultuous week, buoyed by a raucous Memorial Stadium crowd, Nebraska's football team roused itself off of life support, playing with effort, emotion and evident heart.

It was a start. But no kind of finish.

Texas A&M, running one option play after another, still sent the NU down for the count, bruising the Cornhuskers for 359 rushing yards in a 36-14 with 84,473 fans witnessing the assault. Injuries, turnovers and blown assignments consigned Nebraska to its third consecutive loss, putting Head Coach Bill Callahan on an even hotter seat.

"I thought we played with better effort but not enough to sustain a performance to the expectations we expect in the second half," Callahan said. "I thought there was some opportunities out there to capitalize that we just didn't quite click on."

The Aggies quickly busted a narrow 16-14 halftime lead wide open with two third-quarter, 80-yard touchdown drives. Back breakers. Up your gut and through your living room. With A&M quarterback Stephen McGee (35 total carries, 167 yards) and giant halfback Jorvorskie Lane (15 carries, 130 yards, four touchdowns) doing the demolition.

Out of Coach Dennis Franchione's beloved shotgun, two-back set, McGee repeatedly snookered Nebraska's linebackers and safeties with fakes to Lane and running back Mike Goodson. While NU's defense spent the afternoon inside a vacuum, McGee would quickly sweep around the defensive ends, darting through exterior lanes in the Huskers' defense, often avoiding significant punishment.

"It was real frustrating," defensive end Zach Potter said. "I'd go for Lane, he'd pull it back and the quarterback would be off to the races."

On the rare play in which Nebraska's linebackers seemed poised to jump McGee, he'd stick it in the belly of Lane, who rolled through Interstate-sized holes. Lane had runs of 31, 27 and 22 yards, and averaged 8.7 yards per carry.

"They had a good blend of everything," said Callahan, who spent some of the game shadowing Cosgrove and motivating the defense. "They had the read, they had the regular speed options and things of that nature. We really didn't close down the quarterback the way we should have on the read."

Franchione said A&M executed superbly.

"We don't know who's going to carry the ball the ball," he said. It's going to be up to how we read the defense and what their pressure is. That was their choice, and Stephen did a magnificent job."

Maybe it would have helped if starting middle linebacker Phillip Dillard, who nursed a quad injury, had played more. But the Aggies' brand of punishment was slow and brutal anyway. On A&M's first drive alone, four Husker defenders left the field with injuries. Linebackers Bo Ruud and Blake Lawrence never returned. To save the legs of his line, Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove ordered wholesale platoons. Four guys in, four guys out.

It was a trench battle the Huskers were not destined to win.

"Trying to keep guys fresh, trying to keep guys fresh, trying to keep guys fresh," Cosgrove said about his mass substitution plans. Cosgrove, who spoke in his customary spot near a lounge elevator before Callahan even spoke, liked his team's energy, but said Texas A&M made more plays.

NU's offense couldn't keep up, despite Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson assisting with play-calling duties. Callahan said he brought Watson down to the sidelines to talk more with quarterback Sam Keller, coordinate the offense after drives and call some of the plays.

Although Watson brought some freshness to Callahan's predictable strategies, he still helped turn the Huskers' hopes over quarterback Sam Keller's arm.

Keller, for a third straight game, couldn't play savior.

He completed 26-of-44 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, but half of those completions were tiny dumps to Marlon Lucky, who gained almost all of his 125 receiving yards with his feet. Keller struggled again with placing the ball where his receivers could make catches in stride. Balls were behind them, at their feet or beyond their reach. A few times Keller left his feet to throw, aiming the football like a soft-tipped dart. Other times he dumped the ball to Lucky when better options downfield were available.

Watson and Callahan correctly diagnosed A&M's soft pass defense, call deep ins and and deep slants. Those plays were open. Only twice, both times in the first half, did Keller complete those routes.

"I don't think it was his best game," Callahan said. "I think he had some throws he'd love to have back. He made some tough throws but, overall, he could have been a little better."

Moreover, once falling behind 23-14, the Huskers abandoned a successful running game that had gained them 106 yards in the first half. Second half tallies? Eight carries, 24 yards. True freshman Quentin Castille had 48 yards in the first half. He had two carries in the second. He fumbled on a play in which facemask was grabbed - no penalty was called and A&M recovered - but otherwise looked better than any back has since Lucky's performance against Nevada.

Once again, Nebraska dug itself a quick hole, punting on its first possession. Texas A&M answered with a heavy dose of option football from McGee and Lane, going 72 yards in 9 plays. The Aggies scored when McGee rolled out beyond defensive end Zach's Potter's contain, drawing linebacker Steve Octavien away from receiver Earvin Taylor, to whom McGee tossed a 2-yard touchdown. The Aggies had the extra point blocked by NU defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The Huskers answered with a creative, 80-yard touchdown drive that featured three plays NU hadn't shown all season: A swing pass to Lucky, with tackle Carl Nicks as an escort, for 13 yards; a tight end screen to Sean Hill for 13 yards; and a reverse to receiver Frantz Hardy for 19 yards. Castille capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.

But Castille fumbled on Nebraska's subsequent drive, and receiver Nate Swift fumbled a wobbly A&M punt. The Aggies recovered both, converting Swift's turnover into a two-play, 28-yard touchdown drive. Lane rumbled 27 yards on a option dive, and scored on a plunge afterward. Coupled with Matt Syzmanski' 38-yard field goal, A&M led 16-7.

"That muffed punt...in my eyes, the green light clicked on," Lane said. "Coach gave me an opportunity to score. I took my team on my back and we went at them."

It would have been a fine time for NU to retreat into the shell it carried to Missouri and rolled out against Oklahoma State.

Instead, Keller twice drove the Huskers into Aggie territory. While the first foray ended in a turnover of downs, the second was a nine-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that featured another swing pass to Lucky, who wove his way through defenders for a 26-yard gain. Keller saved his best throw for a crucial third-down, hitting receiver Maurice Purify on a fade pattern for a 11-yard touchdown to draw Nebraska within two at halftime.

The energy didn't carry over to the third quarter, though. In theory, Nebraska should have had the advantage, playing with a significant wind at its back to start the second half. A&M punctured any such thoughts immediately.

McGee started by hitting receiver Pierre Brown for 15 yards. He converted two third downs with his feet, including a 19-yard run on 3rd-and-9. Lane rolled 31 yards on the next play. Scored right after that.

Nebraska moved the ball to midfield on two runs. On a first down from A&M's 48, Keller threw the ball away. On third down, he missed tight end Sean Hill. Punt.

A&M rolled right down the field once more. Converted a fourth down with an option play. Scored four plays later. It was 30-14.

The Huskers' final chance was blown on their ensuing drive. With the wind, NU drove to A&M's six-yard line. Had a 3rd-and-2. Callahan/Watson ignored Castille and Helu and called a rollout pass to the short side of the field; Keller had to eat the ball for a three-yard loss, and got jammed hard as he scurried out of bounds.

On fourth down, eschewing the easy three points, Nebraska went for a touchdown. No dice. Keller, probably groggy, threw between two receivers. Cue fat lady and a dismal Husker locker room.

"It is not good," Swift said. "We have a lot of guys trying to keep other guys up. Trying to keep guys out of the dumps."

 

 

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