Nebraska vs. South Carolina: 5 Things We Learned from the Capital One Bowl

Nebraska finished its season with a 30-13 loss in the Capital One Bowl to a good South Carolina team.

Nebraska came into the game as a 2.5-point underdog. Many people thought this game would be a mismatch with South Carolina blowing out the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska came out in the first quarter on fire, quickly taking the lead on a touchdown pass from quarterback Taylor Martinez to wide receiver Kenny Bell.

Nebraska played well for three quarters but let the game slip away in the fourth quarter.

Here are five things we learned from the Capital One Bowl between Nebraska and South Carolina.

Nebraska Came Ready to Play

Although Nebraska lost the game, the Cornhuskers did show up ready to play.

Last year, Nebraska showed up in the Holiday looking like a team on vacation. This year, Nebraska showed up to the Capital One Bowl looking like a team ready to play.

The problem is, when the game started to turn in South Carolina’s favor, the momentum switched quickly, and Nebraska could not recover.

It's not the first time this season that Nebraska started off fast and let the momentum of the game switch to the opposing team. Nebraska must learn to not only start fast, but to finish strong as well.

Wide Receivers Need to Catch the Ball

Taylor Martinez threw the ball well in the Capital One Bowl. He completed 10-of-16 passes but only for 115 yards.

Most of Martinez’ incomplete passes were due to wide receivers dropping the ball.

Tight end Ben Cotton dropped a pass when he was wide open in the first quarter, while wide receivers Tim Marlow and Brandon Kinney dropped passes that would have sustained drives in the fourth quarter.

If Nebraska wants to improve offensively, the Cornhusker wide receivers must learn to hold onto the ball.

Nebraska Continues to Have Miscues in Big Games

Nebraska continues to shoot themselves in the foot whenever they're in big games.

In the Capital One Bowl, Nebraska committed 20 penalties for 116 yards. Nebraska is not talented enough to beat a team from the SEC when they commit 20 penalties in the game.

Nebraska had many other miscues that could have changed the outcome of the game.

Nebraska had an extra point blocked on their first scoring drive. South Carolina returned the blocked kick for two points.

Nebraska’s running back Ameer Abdullah fumbled the ball in the red zone. Abdullah’s fumble was the beginning of the change in momentum in the game.

The one constant for Nebraska in the 2011 season has been the accuracy of place kicker Brett Maher.

Maher picked up where last year’s kicker, Alex Henery left off. He constantly converted field goal kicks when called upon.

His string of consecutive kicks ended in the Capital One Bowl when he missed a 39-yard field goal.

Nebraska has a young team this year, but they should be over the young mistakes by now.

Hopefully, the mistakes do not carry over into 2012.

Carl Pelini’s Absence Did Nothing to the Defense

Some fans were talking about how the lost of defensive coordinator Carl Pelini would affect the defense.

The answer: Not at all!

If we learned anything from the Capital One Bowl it's that Bo Pelini is in charge of the defense and always has been.

The defensive scheme ran in the Capital One Bowl was no different than what Nebraska had been running all season. Nebraska played the 2-deep secondary and tried to put pressure on South Carolina using the front four defensive lineman and the linebackers.

Nebraska’s new defensive coordinator John Papuchis will call the defensive plays, but it will be Bo Pelini as the mastermind behind the defense.

Nebraska Will Miss Lavonte David

Nebraska is going to have a huge hole to fill in the middle of their defense in 2012.

Lavonte David played another spectacular game for the Cornhuskers. Unfortunately, it will be his last.

David was constantly in the South Carolina backfield, either putting pressure on quarterback Connor Shaw or sacking him. David ended the game with two quarterback sacks.

David has been the engine the motored the Cornhusker defense in 2011. It will be interesting to see who tries to replace him in 2012.

The worst part of Nebraska’s 30-13 lost to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl is that Nebraska fans do not get to see the Cornhuskers play for another eight months.

Let’s hope those eight months go by quickly. Until next year...

Follow me on Twitter @HuskerMagic