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To some, the legitimacy of the Huskies’ first bowl win since 2001, a 19-7 victory over the Cornhuskers in the Holiday Bowl last season, has been called into question.
UW avenged a 56-21 pummeling at Husky Stadium by Nebraska earlier in the year, thanks to sound defense and the punishing running of tailback Chris Polk. And yet, there seems to be a debate by those who watched about the effort given by the Cornhuskers.
Reports of lackadaisical practices in the week leading up to the Holiday Bowl, a perceived letdown after a loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game and playing a team that it steamrolled earlier in the season were all listed as factors why Nebraska played like it had just gotten off a flight from Antarctica.
So were the Cornhuskers disinterested? Were they going through the motions?
They say “No,” sort of.
“I don’t think it was necessarily that it was overlooking them,” said tight end Ben Cotton. “I do know that mentally, we weren’t where we needed to be. We didn’t practice the way we needed to practice. I think our focus just wasn’t near the level it should have been to get that game won like we should have.”
To quarterback Taylor Martinez, it wasn’t so much that the Huskers didn’t play hard. It was that the Huskies played harder.
“Maybe we just thought since the very first game we beat them so bad, and in the second game we were lackadaisical about it, and we thought we’d come out there and stomp on them,” Martinez said. “It didn’t happen that way, and they came out and played harder than us.”
It didn’t feel like the Huskers were mailing it in to Washington senior defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu. It didn’t feel any easier when he was battling Nebraska offensive linemen.
“Everybody says they weren’t ready to play,” Ta’amu said. “But I feel like everybody is ready to play, especially in a bowl game.”
And for the Huskers to use that as an excuse would be degrading what Washington accomplished, which Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini would not do.
“We got beat,” he said. “I mean, flat out, they beat us. That would be taking away from what they did. They outplayed us that night.”
It’s unlikely Nebraska will be accused of coming out flat today. People will say the Huskers are looking for revenge, to make up for what happened in San Diego.
Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian shrugs off such talk. He didn’t use the revenge angle on his team when they prepared for the Holiday Bowl, he said.
“It matters maybe for the fans in the buildup, but at the end of the day the whistle is going to blow, we’re going to kick off or they’re going to kick off and we’re going to play football,” he said. “I don’t think revenge plays a factor; it didn’t play a factor in the Holiday Bowl, and I don’t think it’s going to play a factor in this game.”
Nebraska also has the same philosophy.
“You just have to approach it like any other game,” said senior running back Rex Burkhead. “You can’t get caught up in getting revenge because they got us last time, or anything like that. … You just have to focus on the game plan and whatever you need to fix.”
And both teams have plenty to fix.
The Huskers struggled defensively in their win over Fresno State last week. Pelini didn’t have many good things to say at his Monday news conference.
“We did not execute the way we were supposed to,” he said. “We didn’t play well. It is a team defense. You have to have guys in the right spot, executing and doing the right things. We didn’t do that in coverage or in the run game. I’m not talking about young guys. It was our veterans that didn’t play well. Guys that have been around here, and hopefully it is a wake-up call.”
It’s a pretty safe bet that Pelini gave his players his own version of a wake-up call this week during practice.
Sarkisian didn’t need to get after his team after it beat Hawaii; he’d done that the week before. Much like Nebraska, the Huskies have been inconsistent – particularly on defense – in their first two games. They go into Lincoln as decided underdogs and knowing a win could vault them into the top 25. It also serves as a legitimate gauge as to where this year’s version of the Huskies is in comparison with the top teams in the country.
“I’m excited,” said quarterback Keith Price. “I want to see how good this team is.”
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
HUSKIES GAMEDAY
WASHINGTON (2-0) AT NEBRASKA (2-0)
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.
TV: Channel 4. Radio: 950-AM, 850-AM.
The series: The teams have played nine times, with the series tied at 4-4-1. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the past 12 months. Nebraska came to Husky Stadium last September and walloped Washington, 56-21. But the Huskies got a little revenge, beating the Huskers in the Holiday Bowl, 19-7.
What to watch: Everyone says that Nebraska wasn’t interested in playing in the Holiday Bowl, hence the reason for the Huskies’ win in San Diego. Washington players shake off such a notion. But it’s safe to say, there will be no question as to whether Nebraska plays hard today. It’s not just because of the bowl game. The Cornhuskers have been less than dominant in their first two wins of the season. Head coach Bo Pelini hasn’t been pleased with how they’ve played, and he’s let his team know it. Washington will be playing its first road game of the season, and it’s in one of the toughest, loudest venues in all of college football. How players such as John Timu, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Colin Tanigawa, even quarterback Keith Price react to the situation is uncertain. The Huskies’ tormented secondary gets a brief reprieve playing Nebraska’s option-based running attack. But that doesn’t mean it gets easier. Everyone is aware of what quarterback Taylor Martinez did to Washington at Husky Stadium (137 yards rushing, 3 TDs). He’s healthy again and even more dangerous. As a passing threat, he’s still about average. But with UW likely focusing on stopping the run, the few passes thrown will be against single coverage. The Huskies showed a balanced attack against Hawaii, but they will need Chris Polk to replicate his Holiday Bowl heroics (177 yards rushing) to control the ball and keep Nebraska off the field.
What’s at stake: A win would likely vault the Huskies into the top 25 and make them 3-0 for the first time since 2001. Nebraska has legitimate BCS bowl hopes and figures to be one of the powers in the Big Ten. A loss at home would hurt those chances and emphasize the problems that the Huskers have shown in the first two games.
The pick: Nebraska, 31-17.
PRIME NUMBERS
NEBRASKA
No.Name (position)Height/weightYear
3Taylor Martinez (QB)6-1/200Sophomore The playmaking quarterback destroyed the Huskies in their first meeting last season; he’s the one player UW has to stop.
4Lavonte David (OLB)6-1/225Senior A tackle machine, he set the Nebraska single-season record for most tackles last season.
8Ameer Abdullah (RB/KR)5-9/180Freshman Second in the country in kick returns at 42 yards per game, he returned one for 100 yards last week.
17Ciante Evans (CB)5-11/185Sophomore With Alfonzo Dennard possibly out, Evans becomes the primary cornerback on the defense.
94Jared Crick (DT)6-6/285Senior An All-American candidate on the defensive line, he commands a double team and will hit the quarterback.
WASHINGTON
No.Name (position)Height/weightYear
1Chris Polk (RB)5-11/222Junior He dominated the Huskers in the Holiday Bowl. With a young QB and a hostile stadium, he needs to again.
10John Timu (OLB)6-1/220Freshman His position demands plenty of discipline when trying to stop the Cornerhuskers’ option-based offense.
20Justin Glenn (FS)5-11/205Junior With Nate Fellner out, Glenn steps into the starting free safety position. He can’t let Martinez break a big run.
79Colin Porter (RG)6-4/332Sophomore He will have his hands full with Nebraska DT Jared Crick, while opening holes for Polk and the run game.
74Alameda Ta’amu (DT)6-3/337Senior The big defensive tackle dominated the line of scrimmage against Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl; he needs to do so again.
Ryan Divish, staff writer
