Capitol One Bowl 2012: Grading Nebraska Cornhuskers Loss

Just when you thought Nebraska was going to pull off the upset, they came out flat in the second half and lost to South Carolina, 30-13, in the Capital One Bowl.

Nebraska has been known for being a strong second-half team in 2011. Against Ohio State, Nebraska was whipped. There was little reason to believe Nebraska would be able to overcome a 20-6 deficit to the Buckeyes, but they did.

Nebraska led 13-9 with 23 seconds left in the first half. Most Cornhusker fans were getting their halftime snack ready and celebrating a lead going into the second half.

Then it happened.

South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw hit wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on a 51-yard Hail Mary pass. The Cornhuskers went into the locker room deflated, while South Carolina went in celebrating.

Like most Cornhuskers fans, I was expecting Nebraska to come out in the second half on fire. It didn’t happen.

First, cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was ejected for fighting with Jeffery. Then Nebraska committed penalty after penalty to kill drives. If that was not enough, Nebraska wide receivers could not catch any of the passes that hit them between the numbers.

Nebraska beat themselves in the second half.

Here is how I grade the Cornhuskers play in the Capital One Bowl:

Offense: C+

Nebraska was able to move the ball on South Carolina. That is surprising, as I was expecting this game to be a defensive struggle.

Nebraska’s running back Rex Burkhead looked like the star of the game in the first half. He continually gained yards against one of the best defenses in the country.

I will start the “Rex for Heisman” talk right now. If Nebraska gives Burkhead the ball 35 times a game next season, he will be sitting in New York for the Heisman trophy ceremony.

Taylor Martinez looked good for the majority of the game, but he still had the moments that made you think, “What is he doing?”

The reason for the poor grade on offense has to do with the offensive line and the wide receivers.

The line blocked well at times, but not consistently enough for the Cornhuskers to be considered an elite team.

The wide receivers need some glue on their gloves. Whenever Martinez throws the ball, there is less than 50 percent chance that the wide receivers will catch it. This has to change.

Defense: D

The D is not for defense, it means the Blackshirts did not play well.

Nebraska continues to have problems generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks unless they blitz the linebackers. Without linebacker Lavonte David, Nebraska would have been in trouble.

I do not know how Bo Pelini plans to replace David, but he has eight months to figure it out. Nebraska does not start the season with a pushover team. The Conference USA Champions, Southern Mississippi, will be in Lincoln to kick off the season.

Dennard’s ejection from the game did not help out the Blackshirts. He did not shut down Jeffery, but he did a good job slowing him down.

Nebraska must find a way to stop mobile quarterbacks if they want to have a season that Cornhusker fans respect.

When Nebraska becomes more physical on defense, they will take the next step forward. Until then, they will have problems.

Special Teams: D

Nebraska has played excellent special teams all season. Brett Maher has stepped in for Alex Henery (Nebraska’s kicker/punter last season) and has not missed a beat.

Ameer Abdullah has been one of the best returners in the Big Ten Conference. He played well on special teams in the Capital One Bowl, but his fumble at the 5-yard line sure hurt the offense.

The reason for the bad grade is that Nebraska allowed South Carolina to block an extra point, return it for two points, and the Huskers missed a field goal.

The five points Nebraska gave up in the kicking game would have not made a difference in the final score, but they could have helped the momentum from changing into South Carolina’s favor.

Coaching: C

There was nothing new with the coaching staff for Nebraska.

If you would have told me Nebraska would have run a pretty vanilla offense, played a bend but don’t break defense and Pelini would spend most of the game erupting like Mount Saint Helens, I would have said that sounds about right.

Nebraska needs to find some leadership for their team. It can be a player or a coach, it does not matter. Right now Nebraska is playing like a team with no leadership. \

When the situation gets bad, the players have no one to look to for leadership to help guide them out of the turbulence they are facing. This must change.

Fans: A+

Nebraska filled the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida with red people. Did you expect anything different?

As long as Nebraska fans continue to pack every stadium the Cornhuskers play in, Nebraska will continue to receive invitations to bowls they have no business being in. That was the case with the Capital One Bowl.

The invitation to the bowl is to be giving to the top team from the Big Ten Conference that fails to make it to a BCS Bowl. That was not Nebraska, but because the Cornhusker fans travel so well, Nebraska leapfrogged other teams in the conference and were allowed to play.

Good job, Sea of Red!

Hopefully Nebraska has a strong recruiting class, a good spring game and is ready for the start of the 2012 season. I know I am ready.

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