With a 57 yard field goal, Alex Henery pulled victory from the jaws of defeat, set off seismographs on the UNL campus, and got Bo Pelini off the hook for the dumbest coaching decision this decade (yes, dumber than Bill Callahan's Cotton Bowl fake punt).  So while we celebrate a victory over the Colorado Buffaloes, the report card is a little more sobering.

Offensive Line:  B  If it was just run blocking, it would be an A.  The running game almost consistently churned out 4 or 5 yards every snap.  Pass protection was a little rough though, giving up 4 sacks.

Running Backs:  A  Where would Nebraska be today if not for Roy Helu?  166 yards rushing, 5 catches for 49 yards (leading rusher).  Helu more than made up for the absence of Marlon Lucky, who missed the game with his turf toe.

Wide Receivers:  C-  Nate Swift made a nice catch of an overthrown pass for Nebraska's opening score.  Mike McNeill is becoming an explosive weapon at tight end.  But this group was rather quiet today.

Quarterback:  D+  The stat sheet looks good today; 19 for 26 passing for 229 yards.  But there was a fumble in the red zone and a near disasterous sack that nearly took the Huskers out of field goal range with two minutes left in the game.  Definitely not one of Joe Ganz's finest games.

Defensive Line:  A+  Zach Potter swats down two passes today, including the game clincher that Ndamakong Suh returns over and through Cody Hawkins to pad the margin of victory.  Ty Steinkuhler was rather disruptive in the middle as well.

Linebacker:  C+ Tyler Wortman had an interception for this green bunch.  Hopefully Phillip Dillard will be ready to play in the bowl game.

Secondary:  D  Rickey Thenarse led the team in tackles today, but some blown coverages in the opening minutes of the games put Nebraska in a 14 point hole.

Coaching:  D  Bo Pelini is a man and admits that the fake field goal call was "boneheaded."  But Pelini deserves credit for pulling the defense aside and making the necessary adjustments.  CU offense the first 5 minutes:  148 yards.  Last 55 minutes:  143 yards.

Overall:  C- It's a win, and one for the memory banks.  But too close for comfort.

Elsewhere in College Football

Hey...that's the problem with these Friday games.  Not much else to compare to.  Rather than hold things until the end of the weekend...

Texas Fans:  D   38-33.  65-21.  Those count too.  And in the case, that 65-21 says a heck of a lot more than 45-35.  Glad to see that Tech fans are going to fly their own rebuttal over Stillwater.  Here's the big question these rich Texans have failed to consider:  will anybody be able to read these banners in the dark night sky?

MAC defenses:  F  108 points in the Central Michigan/Eastern Michigan game?