CornNation.com: AALoA Season 1

 

Welcome to the official start of the 2013 season Husker fans! Earlier this weekend we saw a great game between Virginia Tech and Alabama in the Chik-fil-a Kickoff Classic. But nobody in the midwest was nearly as interested in that as they were in how Nebraska and Texas would trade blows on the field.  The former Big 12 rivalry did not end so nicely. And thankfully there was no bullshit officiating crew conspiring against the Huskers as both leagues agreed to allow a non-conference crew of AAC officials call the game.  Details of the thrilling game follow with highlights and more. We here at Corn Nation think we speak for everyone when we say, "FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL!"

Nebraska sprinted out of the gates losing the toss and receiving to start the game. Texas was geared in to stop the run against Nebraska which they did successfully as neither Taylor Martinez, nor Ameer Abdullah could find any space to run with. However, Martinez was nearly perfect through the air early finding Kenny Bell early. From the 28 yard line Martinez found Abdullah down the middle of the field. Nebraska's receivers alertly turned and blocked any orange jersey they could find and all it took was one cut for Abdullah to get upsfield and score untouched.

Nebraska and Texas traded turnovers in the 2nd quarter. Texas converted one such turnover into a FG midway through the quarter. Nebraska got the ball late in the half to drive down the field. With a handoff to Abdullah, Nebraska found the end zone inside the final miute to go up 14-7 at half.

The start of the second half was all Texas. Nebraska started to crumble as Jonathan Gray abused the Nebraska defense on the ground and through the air.  Two Texas TDs and one sole response from Nebraska made it 21-17 heading into the 4th Quarter.

Again the team traded turnovers in the 4th. With 2 minutes remaining, Nebraska finally found some more points to keep Texas at bay. Mauro Bondi booted a 33 yarder to go up 7.  Texas would answer though. Jaxon Shipley would streak down the sidelines past Sophomore Jonathan Rose. David Ash would loft it deep and Rose would cluelessly run right past Shipley and the ball. The play would set up a 15 yard pass in much the same fashion. Both SS Harvey Jackson, and CB Ciante Evans would fail to make a play on the ball, and All-American Mike Davis would cradle a soft pass for a TD to tie the game.

With 40 seconds left, Taylor Martinez engineered a beautiful drive down the field hitting 4 different targets and setting up a game winning 47 yard field goal as time expired. Sploosh all over Texas fans Nebraska. That was a beauty.

The young RB would come up 5 yards short of the century mark, but he did score 2 of the team's 3 TD passes. The running game was slow going early, but Ameer kept patient finding an opening on a major run for 53 yards before being dragged down from behind.

 Video Recap 

 Written Recap 

Ken and I squared off. The early part of the game had the makings for a classic shootout. We each had answers for whatever we could throw to each other.  The scoring guide shows:
Nebraska
UCLA
Nebraska
UCLA
Nebraska
UCLA
Nebraska
4th quarter was then all Nebraska...

With that being said, Ken had two incredibly awesome scoring plays. On a play-action bootleg, he had stud QB Brett Hundley running towards the pylon with a WR dragging in the end zone. My CPU defender "got lost" somewhere and it left me usering in no mans land and I didn't choose whether to attack or slack off. Easy TD toss. The other was a sweet QB draw that had some fancy pre-snap motion that caught me off guard and had me guessing what was happening before I realized Hundley had waltzed into the end zone.

Nebraska scored on every drive they had the ball until they could bring out the victory formation. 

Player of the Game
QB Taylor Martinez
UCLA had no answer for the Senior QB. Hopefully Heisman voters took notice on the national stage.
QB Rating 237.1 on 17/18 passing for 188 yards and 3 TDs. 14 Carries for 115 yards and 1 TD.

The Huskers get to travel to Vanderbilt next week for some SEC competition. Will they be putting a Top 10 ranking on the line?

The Cornhuskers went on the road for the second time this season. Toppling the Commodores, can the team crack the Top 10, with a 4-0 record?

Taylor Martinez was not a Heisman caliber QB on the day, but he was near unstoppable. The Commodores gambled time and again taking away Martinez' first option in the running and passing game. The lone turnover in the game was an athletic play by a Vanderbilt LB who abandoned the deep zone to jump a shallow drag route, but was still able to rise up and elevate to snag the pass intended for a receiver several yards behind him.

Vanderbilt QB Austyn Carta Samuels was incredible in the passing game. His pinpoint accuracy made Sophomore CB Jonathan Rose look silly to the point that coach Jeanneret had to bench him in favor of the seniors who had more game experience. The move dropped the big plays from Vanderbilt's passing offense, forcing Carta Samuels to check down to receivers short of the sticks ending drives.

Final Score
 34

 24

 Massacred Like Chief Illiniwek's Mascot Dreams  

Bobby Hale has decided to forgo waiting for his official visit to Lincoln. The dual-threat QB has committed to the Huskers this week out of the blue. Coach Jeanneret calls it a coup, which is providing him with a headache that almost any head coach in the nation would be willing to have. After Martinez leaves campus, Tommy Armstrong Jr will be a Redshirt Sophomore, Johnny Stanton will be a Redshirt Freshman, and Bobby Hale will arrive a True Freshman. All three will be vying for a starting gig, and the coach has made no promises to anybody. Just that the best player will start. Coach Jeanneret is open to everything, including a QB by committee if need be.

For all the latest in recruiting and Huskers news, stay tuned to CornNation.com.

Huskers say PurDON'T Bang That Drum  

With Nebraska shooting up the rankings, expectations were high that the Huskers prove the critics right. With a new commit to impress, and a Senior QB racking up the Heisman buzz, the trip to Purdue had all the makings of a major trap game.  While most of the game wasn't pretty, Nebraska handled the adversity well, and it should only help them later in the season.

Jamal Turner was a mad man in the return game, opening the day with a 69 kick return. Nebraska couldn't capitalize and had to settle for 3. Taylor Martinez threw an early pick, and Purdue DT Gaston was unblockable on the afternoon. Nebraska pulled away in the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th Quarter, Purdue went on an incredible drive included converting 3 straight 4th down conversions to score a TD. Unbelievable.

Final
 38
 21

Player of the Game
QB Taylor Martinez
3 TDs on the day with a decent rushing output and over 200 yards passing. The interception was ugly, and was likely a result of hearing Gaston's footsteps even though he didn't have pressure on the play.

Nebraska gets a Bye week to rest up and prepare for their gauntlet.

CB Travis Jenkins
Fort Stewart (GA)
   
#17 CB
#504 Overall

Nebraska picked up the verbal from an unheralded recruit in the heart of SEC country last week. The last recruit from SEC country to lean towards the Crimson and Cream was Ameer Abdullah. We all know how that's turning out. Jenkins lacks top end speed, but has an elite first step to make breaks on the ball. If recruiting the CB position proves fruitful, Jenkins might be a guy who can take a redshirt and develop better coverage skills, but he's far from a project player.



In other recruiting news, sister SB Nation Blog Cowboy Altitude reports that one of the nations top offensive linemen, Rory Hubbard, has ended his recruiting early, stunning many larger programs to choose Dave Christensen's Why?-oming Cowboys. He must've had a helluva recruiting visit with the fat cow skanks on campus like this:

Ski-Uh-Mah? Ski-Ew-Nawww  

Nebraska started slow, but built momentum in the 2nd Quarter to demolish the Golden Gooophers and avoid the NCAA Patch of increased difficulty upset curse experienced by other users. Martinez accounted for 4 TDs and Kenny Bell was huge picking up over 100 yards to keep the chains moving.  Minnesota RB Donnell Kirkwood Jr was a beast to handle, and Nebraska just barely kept him under 100 yards rushing on the day. All three Nebraska RBs also scored on the day.

FINAL SCORE
 48
 7

Silence in the Big House  

Do You Believe in T-Magic?! 

Nebraska survives a major scare from a Michigan State team with their hands on the Huskers' throats ready to squeeze. The two teams had a roller coaster of a game with big plays and bad luck going both ways.  After a strong showing in the first half, Michigan State ended Nebraska first second half drive and scored to extend their lead on a massive controversial call. MSU QB scrambles, meets defenders and the ball pops loose. MSU picks the ball up after it squeaks out from the scrum, and a TD is called despite the defender standing between the goalline and 1 yard line.  When things looked bleak, the Huskers found a way to get down the field and score again to draw within four.
The fourth quarter was exciting until the end. Down by 4, Nebraska ripped off a monster run on a basic HB Power with Ameer Abdullah who refused to go down, and refused to leave the field despite being gassed. The play led to a 25 yard TD pass where Martinez connected with Jamal Turner by dropping the pass over the coverage, but under the ball hawking safety who had been making life miserable for receivers all day long.  Now up 3, Nebraska forced a 4th and 2 with a little over 3 or 4 minutes in the game. AALOA rules forced the punt despite Coach Hunter's urge to go for it. But with three time outs, Sparty punted, and it led to Nebraska pushing down the field. Getting a few key stops, the Huskers faced 4th down, and the kicking team set up for a 53 yard field goal...CLANG off the cross bar, just short (left the meter a 1/4 inch off max or it'd be good) and MSU was still alive. One play into the game defining drive, Michigan State is down one, and freshman QB Damion Terry looks left to find MLB David Santos of Nebraska to end the game on an INT. Nebraska would kneel out the clock and breathe a sigh of relief.  Game 1 of the Gauntlet is down.

Final Score
 28
 31

MSU was doing everything in their might to stop Martinez from breaking big gains with his feet. The QB was near perfect through the air, with no picks and 2 TDs. All of his rushing yardage came on scrambles from the ferocious Spartan pass rush. Player of the Game is shared between Martinez and Abdullah.

Squirrel faced odd penalties at inopportune time, like multiple phantom facemasks. Both teams had ridiculous sticky glue coverage at times. Squirrel would complete passes throwing into coverage, I'd take sacks or almost throw picks. My coverage either covered great, despite giving up passes, or was nowhere to be found at times. Crazy stuff. Good game Squirrel.

Let's explain the headline. Nebraska was only able to manage a 50% success rate in the red zone on the day. There was just something about crossing the 20 yard line. An inopportune fumble, an interception, and a Taylor Martinez concussion that knocked him out of the game late all took place in the red zone.  Maybe that's just the curse of the dreaded snow game?

Penn State's offense was near unstoppable at moments cutting in the slipper snow with ease, while Husker players tripped among themselves trying to make cuts. And I've never seen so many screen passes. Seriously ill, how small is your playbook that the CPU can only run the same handful of plays in the same situation over and over?

Final Score
 35
 24

Nebraska further survives the gauntlet in prime position for a title run. All that looms now is Iowa. And now there are questions about Taylor Martinez' health due to the concussion. Will he play? Will he be strong enough to lift the Heisman? What about the defense? Will they rebound from an abysmal showing? It's two weeks now that offenses have carved them up.  So much worry in the heartland.

"JEEZUS EFFING CHRIST!" The words echoed through Memorial Stadium as the Husker faithful sat silent, watching Nebraska's title hopes fall away with each Jake Rudock TD in the 2nd quarter.  After Corey Cooper failed to make any attempt at tackling the ball carrier, Coach Jeanneret singled out the defensive leader yelling at him to, "tackle these bastards like those whores you get locked up for backhanding late at night." The young Husker coach had never been seen swearing, stomping, and spitting like this, and made former coach, Bo Pelini look tame in comparison. After an official shouted to step back or face a sideline infraction or ejection, the Huskers were flagged for a phantom clipping call 50 yards away from the ball on the next play near the opposite sideline of a big pass that may have set up a late field goal to draw closer. Instead, Nebraska limped into the locker room down 21-10, and Iowa got the ball to start the 2nd half.
The second half was a different monster all together. Coach Jeanneret's neck vain was noticeably less flared out. And the defense was able to make a few big plays. Iowa opened with the ball, but had to punt it. And in a span of 33 seconds, Nebraska was on top 24-21. Nebraska seemingly abandoned its run game.  Jamal Turner hauled in a 24 yard TD pass from Martinez catching the Safety in no-man's-land between Kenny Bell on the outside, and Turner inside. Then, on the ensuing drive, Sophomore transfer Jonathan Rose baited Jake Rudock into a bad throw as Nebraska called a zone blitz. Rose jumped the route and raced off to the end zone.  Iowa would fail to find the end zone in the second half, and Nebraska would extend the lead in the 4th quarter.

Also, David Santos made a ridiculous interception on a swatted ball to seal the game. Had Iowa decided to try, they could have challenged the ruling as the ball appeared it may have touched the turf before Santos secured the ball. Martinez was shut down on the ground on the day, but amassed 366 yards passing taking advantage of the stacked box.

FINAL SCORE
 24
 34
Nebraska heads to Indianapolis. Can they cap the undefeated regular season with a conference championship or more?  After the game, reporters asked Coach Jeanneret about his comments to Corey Cooper. The questions were glanced off with the coach stating that emotions were running high on the field, and that the example used in that altercation was merely a misunderstanding. Cooper had just been playing Wii Tennis in the dorms, and his backhand connected in more ways than one. That's why they make wrist straps though, and he was taught to wrap it up. It got his attention though didn't it?

The stage was set. Two-time AALoA Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez' swan song was taking place at the Rose Bowl against a surprise three loss team in Notre Dame. Coach Kelly and Coach Jeanneret have a heated past dating back to a year before. Would tempers flare once again? Or would the teams play a great game, unlike Notre Dame's 2013 showing versus Alabama where Manti Te'o's girlfriend played better coverage than he did.
Notre Dame opened the game kicking.  On Nebraska's first drive, Ameer Abdullah took a play to the left, and gets lit up losing the ball, and maybe even consciousness.  ND LB Shembo scooped off the ball and raced to daylight. 7-0 ND.  Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez, wanting to show off the passing skills in preparation for the NFL draft arm punted a ball deep down the seem for ND to pick it off. The Drunken Fighting Irish capitalized and Heisman Finalist GAIII ultimately plowed in from 1 yard. After 1 Quarter, ND was up 14-0.
Nebraska would quickly answer though, not wanting to fall behind too far. The offense would find a rhythm, Coach Jeanneret would restrain Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez' new-found Rex Grossman-syndrome (release the dragon!) and All-American Ameer Abdullah (how's that for alliteration) would score from 2 yards out. Late in the half, Notre Dame would score again. This time kicking a 51 yard FG. Down 17-7, Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez would engineer a two minute drive racing down the field before connecting with TE Jake Long from the 11 yard line. Halftime score, ND 17, UNL 14 and the Irish receiving to start the half.

ND would open up the 3rd quarter with a simple field goal. And Nebraska would take the ball, and promptly give it right back to ND on a stupid, stupid, stupid play by Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez where he pitched the ball to a RB being dry-humped by an Irish defender. Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez saw his mistake and merely stood over the ball letting ND scoop it up. GAIII would score from 9 yards out on what else, a Counter play that ND had been and would call all night.  The 3rd quarter was not lost though, Nebraska would score a TD, Imani Cross would haul in a short pass (forward option) from Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez.
The 4th quarter is where things get even crazier.  Less than a minute into the quarter, Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez would connect with Jamal Turner downfield for a 35 yd touchdown where the single high safety disappeared, and Turner got behind the 4-2-5 safety with ease. Nebraska led 28-27. From here, Notre Dame's offense got a bit too unimaginative and the Husker defense could anticipate where the ball was going before the snap based on personnel grouping alone. Despite this though, Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez wanted to give the game away. Rumors exist that while not only suffering from the aforementioned Rex Grossman-syndrome, that Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez also has a touch of Pete Rose-syndrome and can't go a week without gambling. Had he bet against the Huskers? With less than 3 minutes to go, all the Huskers had to do was get a first down to salt the game away while on the brink of field goal range. But no, Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez audibles out of the play call, and unleashes yet another arm punt downfield for an easy interception.

With one time out and a really good return on the interception, Notre Dame was poised to kick a field goal and win. Except, the defense held true again, jumping the same route combos and forcing Rees to scramble. Just outside field goal range, ND took a major step backwards.  A timely Jason Ankrah sack would ice the game as the Irish could not get another play call off in time. And that's how Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez ends his college football career. Throwing a stupid interception late in the game, but still miraculously hoisting the crystal.

FINAL SCORE
27
 28

Player of the Game
DE Jason Ankrah
For having to chase the stone footed, yet surprisingly elusive Tommy Rees around the field all night, Ankrah saved Heisman Trophy winner Taylor Martinez' ass for some pretty boneheaded plays. The game-clinching sack was a pure effort play, and makes Ankrah one of the few defensive players to win MVP status in a title game for that reason alone.