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The most impressive thing about Nebraska's win over UCLA Saturday night was that Danny Langsdorf stuck to his "run the dadgummed ball" game plan throughout the entire game.
Nebraska ran 81 total offensive plays. 62 of those were rushes, 19 were pass attempts (for those bad at math), and averaged 6.2 yards per plays in the process. The Huskers gained 355 yards rushing, losing 29 for a net of 326 yards on the ground.
A common complaint about Nebraska's offensive coordinators (Beck, Langsdorf) is that they don't stick to what works but that wasn't the case Saturday night. In the third quarter, Nebraska ran 19 times to only six pass attempts, and outgained UCLA 196 to one. There were Husker 14 rushes and only four pass attempts in the fourth quarter.
Key to the game plan was keeping a potentially explosive UCLA offense off the field. Nebraska's time of possession in the third was 12:07 (easy to hold an offense to only one yard when they run six plays in a quarter), and in the fourth it was 7:29 (ULCA outgained Nebraska in the fourth 143 to 54 yards, but they also ran 24 plays to Nebraska's 19).
The 76.5% run/pass ratio for the Huskers is a little ridiculous.... at least from the perspective that if you expect this to happen in every game from now on.
I'm not as much of a "Run the dadgummed ball" guy as Mike is, and I don't believe that an offense skewed towards passing the ball more often on occasion is a recipe for disaster.
More on this later. We have an entire offseason for discussion.
There are two bowl games today, both in the afternoon:
MILITARY BOWL
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Annapolis, Md.
1:30 p.m. CT Dec. 28 | ESPN
Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. No. 21 Navy (10-2)
QUICK LANE BOWL
Ford Field | Detroit, Mich.
4 p.m. CT Dec. 28 | ESPN2
Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7)
Nebraska was too good to finish with only 5 wins. Hooray for too many bowl games! - SBNation.com
Apparently the universe didn't think Nebraska should finish with only five wins.
Nebraska caps losing season with win vs. UCLA in Foster Farms Bowl | FOX Sports
Stanley Morgan Jr. gave Nebraska the lead for good with a one-handed, 22-yard catch in the third quarter and Imani Cross, Terrell Newby and Andy Janovich all ran for scores for the Cornhuskers.
Armstrong Jr. Fully Engaged in More Ways than One - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Tommy Armstrong Jr. didn’t leave his heart in San Francisco Saturday night. He just opened it up a little bit, so Nebraska football fans can see the beginnings of what could become a personal but wide-ranging makeover designed to help lead the Huskers to college football’s promised land in 2016.
CMU's passing vs. Minnesota's defense is a reason to watch the Quick Lane Bowl - SBNation.com
Central Michigan wants to throw the ball, and Minnesota would prefer you throw instead of running. It's strength vs. strength in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Navy's all-time great QB vs. Pitt's defensive mastermind: Let the Military Bowl chess match begin - SBNation.com
Pittsburgh played Georgia Tech this season, which means the Panthers have been exposed a bit to the type of option they'll see in the Military Bowl against Navy. Of course, Navy's also been exposed to how Pitt will defend it.
Costliest college network in the country has lost millions - San Antonio Express-News
Five years ago, ESPN signed a 20-year, $295 million contract with the University of Texas, broke ground on the swanky studio, and agreed to absorb LHN production costs pegged at an estimated $26 million a year, the contract details state.
This was a stupid move at the time it happened. It wasn't stupid by Texas, unless you take into account karma, but it was incredibly stupid by ESPN. Apparently they thought they got their money from a bottomless pit.
Nebraska Cornhuskers: A Few Takeaways Before Big Ten Play - BT Powerhouse
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are 8-5 going into Big Ten play and so far this season has had its fair share of ups and downs for the Cornhuskers.
I continue to hope that our men's basketball team brings it together each season. We're not there yet. We're more athletic and overall a better team than we've been in a while, but it'd be nice if the wins would start coming.
Then There's This:
Meadowlark Lemon, whose halfcourt hook shots, no-look behind-the-back passes and vivid clowning were marquee features of the feel-good traveling basketball show known as the Harlem Globetrotters for nearly a quarter-century, died on Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he lived. He was 83.
I'm guessing most of you don't realize what a huge deal Lemon was in the 1970s, nor how good an entertainer.