Husker Nation Blog

In a week full of losing across the country, Nebraska was no exception as they got nipped by VT 35 to 30. It was only the third non-conference loss at home since 1991. That’s pretty incredible.

The Cornhuskers scored 13 points in the fourth to try and make it a close game but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be. Nebraska falls to 3-1 on the year and confirmed my fears in my previous post: that their previous competition was not a good judge of just how good this Huskers team really is.

Oh well, next week they move on to Missouri in a game against the current #4 team in the nation. I wouldn’t be holding my breath for anything but a two-game losing streak for Nebraska.

It’s hard to be upset over an undefeated record nearly a month into the college football season but a little perspective on the Cornhusker’s start is probably in order.

To say that Nebraska’s first three opponents were easy competition would be a pretty big understatement. There’s also some serious concern over the Husker’s running game, or lack thereof, as it would be. The offensive line needs to turn things around if Nebraska plans to get back to it’s traditional ground-and-pound offensive strategy.

Hopefully, with this past weekend off, the Cornhuskers had some time to work on things and get ready for this weekend’s big showdown against Virginia Tech on Saturday night.

As if Kansas getting beat wasn’t good enough, Nebraska ripped New Mexico State wide open on Saturday 38 – 7. Our boy Joe Ganz scored three different ways: a TD pass, a TD run and a TD reception. Genius. He’s only the third player in Nebraska history to complete such a feat in a game.

Marion Lucky contributed to the winning causes with 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns of his own. He was also the passer on Ganz’s touchdown reception.

Again, Nebraska whupped on a team they are supposed to beat. This was New Mexico State’s first game of the season thanks to Hurricane Gustav (hence their 0-1 record). The Aggies are now 1-19 all-time against BCS teams.

It was a close game against San Jose State over the weekend, but a fourth quarter kickoff return by Niles Paul pretty much broke the game open for Nebraska. The final was 35 – 12 after a twenty-one point outburst late in the game by the Cornhuskers.

Joe Ganz couldn’t quite match his performance from last week. He threw for 216 yards with no TDs and one interception. He’s going to need to do much better in the future when Nebraska begins playing their Big 12 rivals or it’s going to be a long, long season.

It’s early in the season so there’s probably no real reason to raise any flags of concern quite yet. But if Nebraska plays this poorly next week there’s going to be a lot of nervous fans in Lincoln.

As I’m pretty sure everyone in Husker Nation predicted, Nebraska steamrolled the Broncos of Western Michigan this weekend. The final was 47 – 24 thanks to four touchdown passes by Joe Ganz.

Fun fact: This was Nebraska’s 23rd consecutive win in a season opener. That streak is the longest in the country and it’s nice to see Bo Pelini getting started in Nebraska off on the right foot. It would’ve been a terrible tragedy to break that record in his first big game.

Western Michigan, a MAC school, is better known for their hockey program than their football team so I’m not going to get too worked up over this win. It’s in the weeks and months to come that we’ll see what kind of a football team Bo has put together.