[Husker] Some Comments

[Steve Stone]

1. Starting with the end, the final score was better than hoped.

2. The Huskers played a much more promising game than anticipated on 
both sides of the ball, especially on run defense although pass 
defense turned out less effective than anticipated, especially in 
regard to three missed clear shots at interceptions.

3) Zac Taylor did not have one of his best nights. Several passes 
were downright shoddy, but I suspect he wasn't able to find his 
passing rhythm. The Trojan defense had something to do with that.

4) The Husker offensive line can play the running against anybody. 
What a change from last season! Repeatedly they cleared good holes in 
USC's rightly vaunted defensive seven. And that was without Kurt 
Mann. This is a very young offensive line with the potential of 
developing into another Pipeline. But we'll probably have to wait 
until next year to see that happen.

5) The hugeness of the loss of Zack Bowman was all too apparent 
tonight. That's not a knock on Andre Jones who played pretty well 
considering the circumstances. (Although I suspect that in the future 
he'll be more circumspect in commenting on future opponents.)

6) Let's not even talk about four absolutely brainless 15-yard 
penalties at key points, the sort of thing that happens when players 
are trying too hard against top opponents.

7) Penalties, or no penalties, there was no quit in the Huskers.

8) Any word on Marlon Lucky's injury?

9) The announcers probably set a new World Record for fatuous remarks.

10) Perhaps it's only my jaundiced eye, but it seemed to me that 
Calllahan was using the USC game at least in part as a proving ground 
for the Huskers' major objective, winning the North Division. I think 
he may have succeeded.

Steve Stone