“White Hawk” is a converted walk-on safety, a tough-but-reserved sophomore who might be one of Nebraska’s fastest, most athletic defenders in recent memory.

“Knight Rider” is a chatty, smiling junior showing off his new $495 helmet, a player so well-versed in Bo Pelini’s defense that he’s almost like another coach on the field.

Matthew May and Blake Lawrence might be battling hard for the starting WILL linebacker job on Bo Pelini’s defense, but they’ve managed to forge a friendship and keep it light off the field.

“We figured you guys were going to talk to us about each other,” Lawrence said to reporters. “So we just made up nicknames.”

“Blake, why couldn’t you tell me that yesterday?” joked one scribe away from the interview.

“We made them right after, I swear,” Lawrence said.

Of course Lawrence is in good spirits, despite a grueling start to fall camp. That he’s allowed to practice is an improvement over last spring, when Lawrence suffered his third concussion in one year, and his football career was in jeopardy.

When the concussion occurred, “I didn’t think it was very serious,” Lawrence said.

“But the doctors and trainers said, ‘Whoa, Blake, this is a red flag. Three in one year. We’ve got to go through all these tests, and you really have to decide whether you want to play football again. Hearing that for the first time was kind of shocking.”

And tough when the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder had made so much progress, and even become a starter, toward the end of the 2008 campaign. After spot action through the first eight games, Lawrence got an extended opportunity in the Oklahoma, and made one of the better plays in that 62-28 loss, batting down a third-down pass from Sam Bradford and forcing OU’s first punt.

“Although the final score didn’t reflect too much success, I felt I succeeded on the field,” Lawrence said. “After that, the coaches kind of put me in a starting role based on packages for the rest of the year.”

He added five tackles in a win over Kansas State and three vs. Colorado. His best game was NU’s last, the 26-21 Gator Bowl win over Clemson. Lawrence had four tackles and intercepted a bubble screen pass that led to a Husker field goal. Nebraska held the Tigers to just 210 total yards.

“There was a point where I was on the field and I realized ‘this is nothing different, this is just playing football,’” Lawrence said. “Just getting that experience, being out on the field, it was great for me to accomplish what I came here to do, be a contributor as much as I can out there on the field.”

And then, concussion No. 3.

Lawrence missed the Red/White Spring Game, and had to pass a battery of medical tests in the following weeks. At the end of the summer, he took a neuro-pyschological exam and passed that, too. He was officially cleared to play football.

And then he got fitted with a Xenith Helmet, an-elaborate-but-expensive piece of headgear that uses shock absorbers to stabilize the head and minimize force. The absorbers look like a small hockey puck. They’re hollow inside, and each has a tiny hole to release air pressure. When they receive a blow, they instantly deflate, inflate again in a fraction of a second, and rebuff some of the energy to the shell of the helmet.

Developed by former Harvard quarterback Vin Ferrara, Xenith is still a bit of a boutique business, battling mainline manufacturers and a $1000 Riddell helmet called the Revolution, but they’ve got Lawrence as a pitchman. Figures. He’s got a 3.9 grade-point-average in marketing, and is on schedule to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in 2½ years.

Lawrence touted the airflow and the comfort, which helps him stay cool in hot practices. And hits do seem lighter now, he said, although fully-padded practices don’t begin until Wednesday.

“The other guys on the team are jealous,” Lawrence joked. “I said, ‘Just get three concussions and get a sweet helmet like this!’”

Don’t ask Lawrence’s position coach, Mike Ekeler, to laugh about it.

“I’m a superstitious guy, so I don’t even want to talk about it,” Ekeler said. Asked the same question a slightly different way, Ekeler said, “Apparently you didn’t hear what I just said.”

He’s smiling. But he’s not kidding.

Ekeler is just glad to have Lawrence back in the mix.

“Knows our system better than anybody,” Ekeler said. “He’s really become like a coach on the field. Bo can say ‘Hey Blake, make a correction here or there,’ or Carl or myself, and it’s done. The guy is sharp.

May, the 6-1, 216-pounder from Imperial, agreed. When Ekeler and head coach Bo Pelini shifted May from safety to the WILL spot, it was Lawrence who would help in those down moments of practice, or in between drives during games.

“Other than the coaches, he approaches me first when I come off the field and we make the corrections,” May said. “He’s more supportive than anyone I know. So it’s a competition between us, but we’re really supportive of each other.”

It’s been a whirlwind for May. From unknown walk-on, to linebacker, to the guy leaping through the air to cause a Josh Freeman fumble in the 2008 KSU game, to top of the depth chart in the spring.

Last year “seems a long ways away,” now, May said. He’s in the thick of position battle, and no longer a walk-on novelty brought in on blitz downs.

And May knows it, Ekeler said. He watches films, gets in the playbook, asks questions.

“He’s a guy who wants it so much,” Ekeler said.

Said Pelini: “He’s learning a lot. He’s still got a lot to learn. He’s nowhere near a finished product. The linebacker position right now, it’s up for grabs. At all three spots, we don’t really have any starters right now…everybody is in the mix.”

Including reporters, Pelini said, if they want to suit up.

Only if we can get a nickname, coach.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

This comes to us from HUSKERFANX and his Gator Bowl photo album.

Enjoy - and upload your own photos today!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Courtesy of Youtube...love the look at Swift's catch!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

These come from Locker Member Fireguy04, who made the trip the Jacksonville Gator Bowl with his grandson. Enjoy!

And don't forget to post own photos, too!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Players of the game: Defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Ty Steinkuhler. Don’t really get how Joe Ganz won the MVP of the Gator Bowl over either of these two guys. Probably because the media and Gator Bowl committee, which votes on it, only watches offense. At any rate, Suh and Stein combined for 14 tackles, three sacks, a forced interception and a blocked field goal.

Best offensive play of the game: Quentin Castille’s 58-yard run right after Clemson had taken a 21-10 lead midway through the third quarter. Castille stole any momentum the Tigers gained from their touchdown.

Worst offensive play: The botched option play that became a Clemson touchdown. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson shouldn’t have called it and Ganz/Castille executed it poorly.

Best Defensive Play: Matt O’Hanlon’s pass break up of a certain Clemson touchdown late in the game. CU running back CJ Spiller had badly beaten linebacker Tyler Wortman on a seam route, but O’Hanlon was there to save the day over the top.

Worst Defensive Play: There weren’t many, but the 41-yard touchdown pass from Cullen Harper to Jacoby Ford was a blown coverage by safety Larry Asante and corner Armando Murillo.

GRADES

Quarterback: C Joe Ganz was all-guts in the second half, staring down a furious pass rush instead of bailing like he did in the first half. Still – Ganz practically handed the Tigers 14 points. It’s an unavoidable reality. He ends his career with a gritty but flawed performance.

Running back: B+ Before you carp, put Castille’s performance in perspective: Clemson’s defensive line utterly dominated NU’s offensive nearly all game. Despite that, Castille used his power and moves to bust two very big runs that helped the Huskers secure the win. We’ve been hard on Castille all year; on Thursday, he earned his kudos. Roy Helu, apparently wounded with a knee infection and Marlon Lucky were not factors.

Wide receivers: B A couple bad drops by Meno Holt and Nate Swift, but can we hear it for Todd Peterson? He made two incredibly good catches, notched a couple key blocks, and generally played his tail off. Good on ya, Grand Island. Nice catch by Swift on that first touchdown, too.

Offensive line/Tight ends: D+ Pretty darn ugly, from our vantage point. Maybe Nebraska’s offensive braintrust didn’t expect Clemson to bring much heat, but the Huskers sure didn’t adjust until the second half. On zone plays, NU linemen had a hard time holding their blocks. On passing plays, they seemed shocked by CU’s speed. It improved some in the second half, but not a ton.

Defensive line: A+ A resounding, triumphant game from the front four. Can’t say enough. Nebraska got its pressure without blitzing too much.

Linebackers: B A pretty fair effort from this bunch, as Phillip Dillard remained limited by injury. Blake Lawrence was around the ball Thursday quite a bit, while Colton Koehler and Tyler Wortman held their own. Lawrence is rounding into a more complete player for position coach Mike Ekeler. He’ll be a factor in 2009.

Defensive Backs: B All in all, not bad. A few missed tackles and a blown coverage on that 41-yard touchdown pass. Matt O’Hanlon made a huge play, and Eric Hagg made two of them right before that. Kudos to O’Hanlon, who delivered where Thenarse could not.

Special Teams/Kickers: B- A great kicking performance by Alex Henery was offset by poor coverage on kickoff and punt returns and Niles Paul’s fumble on a punt return.

Coaching/Game management: B It was really a story of two halves. In the first 30 minutes, Clemson’s daring, gambling strategies paid off. In the second half, Nebraska’s coaches schemed back and completely worked over a young Tiger staff. Bo Pelini certainly bedeviled Clemson at the end of the game, throwing its rhythm off completely with three heavy blitzes. When it mattered, CU panicked. Nebraska didn’t.

What is Husker Locker? Find out!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

We took these photos at Heidelberg's South location in Lincoln during the Gator Bowl Thursday. Good wings, great fries and a festive, ultimately happy crowd. Enjoy!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Photo Courtesy of Huskers.com

NEBRASKA: Matt O'Hanlon's swat on the second-to-last Clemson play saved the Huskers' hide.

CLEMSON: Receiver Jacoby Ford slipped a Rickey Thenarse tackle and busted a quick slant on 3rd-and-17 into a jail-breaker that got the Tigers out of the shadow of their own end zone.

NEBRASKA: Quentin Castille got Nebraska's last field goal all on his own, busting a 31-yarder late in the fourth quarter by shedding two tackles and accelerating down the sideline.

CLEMSON: Aaron Kelly's 25-yard touchdown grab was a picture-perfect layout.

NEBRASKA: With a storm of Tigers all around him, quarterback Joe Ganz stepped up into pocket and found Todd Peterson for a critical third-quarter touchdown.

Create your free profile today!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

NEBRASKA: Clemson's first touchdown was a great individual play on the part of linebacker DeAndre McDaniel, but Joe Ganz and Quentin Castille ran a rotten option. Ganz got too much depth in the backfield, Castille not enough, and Ganz's pitch was flat and slow. Ganz was a skilled quarterback - he was not a skilled option quarterback.

CLEMSON: Three plays in one, as CU quarterback Cullen Harper took three awful sacks. None was worse than the last, a 17-yard loss on the third-to-last play the Tigers ran.

NEBRASKA: Niles Paul was right to try to catch a third-quarter, line-drive punt in Clemson territory. He was wrong to try to catch and run at the same time. The result? A fumble.

CLEMSON: CJ Spiller apparently thought NU linebacker Blake Lawrence little shove as he was going out of bounds was not cool. So he did something stupid, throwing the ball at Lawrence. Another Clemson drive killed thanks to that wise move.

NEBRASKA: Ganz's interception at the end of the first half was borne, again, out of his fervent desire to never give up on a play. He should have just taken the sack, and called it good.

Create your free profile today!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: Don't be so sure he's coming back, Husker fans. No. 93's play on Thursday could vault him to the top half of the first round of the NFL Draft. Hard to turn that down unless Suh really thinks he won't earn his degree unless he stays.

Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers: We told you a few days ago to watch for him. Now you know why: Three tackles for loss and a whole slew of dominating plays against NU tackles Mike Smith and Jaivorio Burkes. The kid's just a freshman, too.

Nebraska defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler: What a story - and player - this kid turn out to be. Great first half, solid second half. Ty's the guy.

Clemson receiver Jacoby Ford: A shorter version of Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, Ford's speed bailed the Tigers out a couple of times in the game. Nebraska could sure use a guy like that. A lot of teams could.

Nebraska kicker Alex Henery: The kid's ice, folks. Four field goals, and NU needed every one of them. Two were from weird angles, while another was a 48-yarder. Henery's actually talented at kicking a football. He knows what he's doing. It's pretty cool to watch.

Create your free profile today!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Well, the Boys in Red sure know how to give Husker Nation a collective heart attack. Three or four of them, in fact.

You want a bowl game? That was a bowl game. After a bowl season of real snoozers – Nebraska and Clemson fought with flair in North Florida.

You want perfect? Well, you didn’t watch Nebraska football this year, did you?

NU’s 26-21 Gator Bowl win over the Tigers was far from flawless – outside of the extraordinary play of the Cornhuskers’ defensive line, anyway. When head coach Bo Pelini refers to Nebraska as a “work in progress,” hell, he wasn’t kidding in August and he’s not kidding now. On its best day, it’s a bunch built for the top 20. On most days, it might wear its best gameday suit, but forget to match the shoes.

The Huskers’ offense stumbled out of the gate. NU’s line looked like a bunch of hippos in quicksand for an entire half, groping about while orange jerseys breached the castle walls. Joe Ganz seemed two steps slow before his head got slammed against the turf. And based on his play Thursday, Niles Paul better not think his spot on the receiver/returner depth chart is remotely safe.

We could go on. Missed tackles. Blown offensive chances in the second half. Timeouts burned like cheap toast. A celebration penalty. It isn’t that hard to be harsh It’s also for another day.

Thursday was about guts, smarts and heart, and the Huskers had all three in spades.

Ganz had guts to come back in the game after taking so many hits. Pelini stuck with Ganz, too – which seems like an obvious choice, unless No. 12 had made another mistake. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson did the same with sophomore Quentin Castille – whose two long runs arguably won the game – after Castille had endured an up-and-down season. Safety Matt O’Hanlon had the toughness to come off the bench for Rickey Thenarse and play one of the best games of his career, a bogus personal foul penalty aside.

And as the Gator Bowl wore on, Clemson’s young coaching staff started to wither, while Pelini’s bunch warmed up.

The Tigers stuck with the power running game for too long, and never switched to a Wildcat attack – never really got running backs CJ Spiller and James Davis the ball in space at all. Until its final drive – and the game should have been out of reach by then – CU’s offense spent much of the second half handing the ball back to Nebraska. Only Paul’s fumble on a punt return gave Clemson any life.

Pelini and Co., meanwhile, gathered after a poor first half and got their coaching house in order. The second half was among Pelini’s finest hours of the season. His no-name linebackers and safeties were all over the bubble screens and swing passes. He dialed up smart pressure, which left Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper confused and prematurely scrambling from the pocket. Twice on that climactic four-down series at the end of the game, Harper rolled right into the blitz. He didn’t know where it was coming from. And Clemson’s coaches’ didn’t prepare him. The Tigers’ last play was a total disaster, even if Dabo Swinney tries to say otherwise. The smart play was an alley-oop to the end zone. CU tried some bizarre combo route against a zero blitz.

Even NU’s Cover 2 tactics worked. Finally! Pelini must have seen on film that Harper prefers the middle of the field; aside from a quick slant to Jacoby Ford – aided by a missed Thenarse tackle – the area inside the hash marks was pretty much closed for business. Swinney bemoaned his quarterback’s play after the game, but did so without acknowledging that Harper’s slants and square in routes were taken away from him.

Nebraska’s offense rolled with the pressure that Clemson brought – frankly, NU shouldn’t have been that surprised – and figured it out in the second half. Instead of rolling out in the second half, Ganz stepped up into the pocket, and threw two touchdowns. He doesn’t like doing that, but Clemson’s swift ends took away the edges of the field. By the second half, NU had also adjusted its zone read game to a more power-based style, pulling guards to pound the Tigers’ fast safeties and linebackers. It didn’t work often, but it worked twice, for two huge Castille runs.

“Clemson was doing stuff that they haven’t done all year. We expected it to be different, but not that different,” Ganz said. “With a new coordinator coming in, we expected it to be different, but not that different. They were bringing all-out blitzes on third down, and it just took us that long to settle in. We made some great adjustments at halftime to get the ball out quicker.”

Again – subtle differences. But the main ones between a five-point win and a five-point loss.

Pelini won the chess match, and his players put in as many chips as the Clemson boys did. That’s a recipe for a statement win.

Is it too much to call this Gator Bowl “W” a statement? No, it isn’t. Clemson’s a name team, folks – a strong program.

Scoff if you wish, but there are 10 or 15 guys in the Tigers’ two-deep whom Pelini would love to have. Oh, Bo might keep his offensive and defensive lines, and certainly Ganz over the statuesque Harper. Kicker Alex Henery, for sure. But anybody else? Be honest.

And high school players aren’t dumb. They’re mercurial, but not dumb. When they see Nebraska roll into ACC/SEC country and knock off one of the 15 or so sacred cows down there with an old-school beating in the second half, they take notice. They see those sharp road uniforms, the open offense, the come-hell-or-high-water blitzing defense, and they like it.

Pelini’s roll of the dice at the end of the game – and Eric Hagg’s execution of it - is a poster for Nebraska football that says: Here’s how we win a game on defense. You like it?

It doesn’t have to be perfect, folks. It just has to be seductive

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Photo courtesy of Huskers.com

Five turnovers. Two blocked kicks. Heroic defensive stands, 25 tackles for loss, one-handed catches and too many big hits to count. A third-string running back playing the game of his young life. And did we mention the backup quarterback whose fumble on his first and only play was returned for a touchdown that was then reversed when instant replay ruled he was down?

Yes, Nebraska’s 26-21 Gator Bowl win over Clemson was packed with enough twists, turns and game-changing plays for an entire New Year’s Day worth of football. And the Huskers’ defense – especially its front four – got to write the final chapter of the four-hour daytime soap.

With NU clinging to that five-point lead with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Blackshirts – they earned the name Thursday - stopped Clemson on downs inside Nebraska’s 20-yard line, as head coach Bo Pelini – who had deftly mixed up his defensive calls all afternoon - dialed up heavy, seven-man blitzes.

“At the end of the game, when it’s on the line, and they got four downs from the ten, I’m gonna be pretty aggressive” Pelini said. “They gotta pick their poison. We were bringing more than they could pick up.”

On first down sophomore nickel back Eric Hagg broke free, jumped and knocked down a pass from Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper.

Then Hagg, blitzing from the opposite side, sacked Harper for a 17-yard loss on second down, tracking Harper down after the QB had tried to fool him a pump fake.

On third down, backup safety Matt O’Hanlon knocked a pass out of running back CJ Spiller’s hands in the end zone.

And on fourth, Harper threw wide of his receiver, Jacoby Ford, at the ten.

It was easily Nebraska’s best performance of the year on defense, as it held Clemson to just 210 total yards and four rushing yards. Although Spiller made hay in the return game, he and running back James Davis combined for just 49 total offensive yards. The Blackshirts sacked Harper five times and forced nine punts. The Tigers were constantly put in no-choice passing situations, converting 3 of 16 third down tries.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh led NU with eight tackles, two sacks and a blocked field goal. Suh’s counterpart, Ty Steinkuhler, had six tackles, a sack, and he created an interception with a deflection. In all, Nebraska had 11 tackles for loss.

“(The defense) dominated us,” Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said. “I’m disappointed it. We knew they were good upfront. I just thought they were disruptive. They caused a lot of problems for us.”

Nebraska (9-4) finished the game with three kneel-down plays – hardly indicative of the drama that preceded them. Quarterback Joe Ganz – who would be named MVP despite having two turnovers that directly led to first-half Clemson touchdowns –tucked the ball under his arm, fielded a hug from defensive end Zach Potter and celebrated Nebraska’s first bowl win since the 2005 season. It doubled as the largest bowl comeback in Husker history, too – as NU twice climbed out of 11-point holes, mostly of its own making.

It ended an emotional, ultimately hopeful season of new beginnings, close losses and exciting victories with a ninth win – once believed the standard of a Nebraska football program – and resounding rebuttal to the lost year of 2007, when the Huskers thought themselves capable of winning a national title, but instead limped to a 5-7 record. That led to the firing of Bill Callahan and the eventual hiring of Pelini.

“I told the seniors last night and I talked also about it today: You can put some more cement on that foundation we’ve laid,” Pelini said. “It keeps the momentum going. The kids are excited. They’re starting to believe…the character and resolve of this team showed again today.

“…It’s been a tough 12 months. But there’s been a lot of hard work involved by a lot of people.”

And a lot of highlight plays. There was no shortage of them in the Gator Bowl, where Nebraska and Clemson gave a lively, vocal crowd of 67,282 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium their money’s worth – and then some.

After a first quarter dominated by defenses, Clemson drew first blood with linebacker DeAndre McDaniel’s 28-yard fumble return after he deflected a lazy option pitch from Ganz. The Huskers answered with an Alex Henery 48-yard field goal, and then got a gift late in the second quarter when Anthony West intercepted a deflected Harper pass. After a celebration penalty, NU was set up at Clemson’s 32-yard line with 1:05 remaining.

That’s when Ganz, under heavy pressure, short-armed a sideline pass for Niles Paul. Clemson quarterback Crezdon Butler stepped in front and returned the interception 63 yards inside the NU’s 20. CU scored two plays later when Harper floated a fade pass to Aaron Kelly, who leapt under it for a touchdown.

Nebraska quickly cut into Clemson’s 14-3 halftime lead with a five-play, 54-yard touchdown drive to start the third quarter. Ganz hit senior receiver Nate Swift with a 17-yard fade pattern in the corner of the end zone; Swift caught the ball with one hand and dragged one foot for the score.

Then, after Clemson padded its cushion back to 11 with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Harper to Ford – a play set up by Niles Paul’s fumble on a punt return - NU answered with a touchdown in four plays. Sophomore running back Quentin Castille – who had a career day with 125 yards rushing - started the drive with a 58-yard gash through the heart of the Tigers’ defense; Ganz finished the drive with a 17-yard pass to Todd Peterson on a slant pattern.

Ganz, whose first half probably ranked as his worst of the season, rebounded to finish with 236 yards passing and two touchdowns.

“He had some bad things happen to him in the first half,” Pelini said. “There are a lot of kids - who aren’t as strong and don’t have as much character -would have wilted under those circumstances. Joe just kept going. It takes mental toughness to do that. I think Joe epitomizes that. A lot of people can learn from what he went through today.”

The Huskers weren’t done in that memorable third quarter. Sophomore linebacker Blake Lawrence picked off a deflected Harper pass, setting up NU at CU’s 11-yard line. Nebraska was held to a field goal there, as it was after safety Rickey Thenarse’s blocked punt set up the Huskers at the Tigers’ 31. Alex Henery’s two nailed chip shots gave NU a 23-21 lead to end the third quarter.

The fourth started with drama. Ganz was temporarily knocked out of the game when he was drilled to turf on a rollout pass play. Enter backup Patrick Witt for a third down.

If you can believe it, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called a pass. Witt scrambled, gained four yards, and was jolted hard as he went to the turf. He fumbled and Clemson scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.

The referees upheld the fumble. Instant replay reversed it, as both of Witt’s knees had just touched the ground the ball came out.

“We had a couple calls go against us,” Swinney said. “It’s a game of inches and that’s very disappointing.”

With 5:20remaining in the fourth quarter, Henery added another 22-yarder for a 26-21 lead, a score set up by another long Castille run.

Clemson’s final drive was arguably its best of the day, considering all of its touchdowns were set up by turnovers. Harper hit Kelly for an 11-yard gain on third-and-eight. Later, on fourth down inside Nebraska territory, he found Ford for 16 yards. Then Kelly again for 17 yards to set up the climactic, decisive four downs.

Out of that sequence, the only play Clemson ran that had a chance of scoring was Harper’s throw to Spiller, which hit his hands before O’Hanlon punched it away. The other three were lost in the fog of Pelini’s blitz schemes.

Swinney struggled to contain his frustration about the endgame scenario, especially Harper’s play, under wraps.

“We had several chances to win the game,” he said. “Golly! Several chances!”

Though Pelini could have lingered on Nebraska’s many errors in the game – three turnovers, awful kick and punt coverage, 81 yards in penalties – he didn’t.

Instead, he heaped praise on the Gator Bowl, a “first-class operation” that put on, in Pelini’s opinion, the best bowl of which he’d ever been a part. He thanked his team, too, for choosing to win the game in the memory of his and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini’s father, Anthony, who died last week after a long bout with illness. The Huskers wore black “AP” stickers on their helmets Thursday.

“It means a lot,” he said. It really does. Me and Carl are looking forward to taking some time off. I haven’t really had time to think about it. But it was a difficult week.”

Punctuated with a big win.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

12:00: We're nearing kickoff. Nebraska will be wearing a sticker today in memory of Anthony Pelini, the father of Bo and Carl Pelini who died last week.

12:11: Dabo Swinney delivers a rousing locker room speech. Does he look like a leader? Ya think?

12:12: Cool looking field - a rarity in most bowl games.

12:12: More bad kickoff coverage. Clemson gets a gift at the 40. Nebraska gets the gift right back when Clemson gets stupid, tries to run a trick play, and has to call a timeout. That says the Tigers think they need to get cute today.

12:15 Three and out. Nebraska's front four does the job on the pass rush. Let's see what NU's offense has.

12:17 Bo wearing the sweatshirt/collared shirt combo today.

12:19 Clemson forces its own three-and-out. The Tigers are fast, folks. Fast. And CJ Spiller, with two good returns, is the fastest of the bunch.

12:25 Clemson foolishly tries to single-block Stein and Suh, and suffers the consequences. CU has twice wasted very good field position provided to them by Spiller.

12:30 Thank you Todd Peterson!

12:31 Clemson pulls an almost Oklahoma on NU's bubble screen. Yeesh...CU is fast.

12:35 Nebraska not quitting on the running game, which is good. Niles Paul missed an easy catch, which is bad. Niles has to make those plays. Roy Helu getting hit - hard. When's Marlon Lucky make an appearance?

12:37 When will Clemson stop single-blocking Steinkuhler? Hopefully never.

12:39 Rickey Thenarse blows a tackle, lets Clemson out of jail.

12:42 Steinkuhler is the Nebraska's best player on the field right now. Four really good plays already.

12:45 Nebraska gets a big stop on fourth down.

1:03 CJ Spiller's the big difference in this game so far, flipping the field position on the Huskers twice. Nebraska's defense will eventually wear down.

2:15 We begin the third quarter, and Nebraska better figure out a way to move the ball against Clemson's fast, aggressive defense. CU is ahead 14-3 thanks to two giant turnovers by Ganz. Heck, you saw em.

2:21 Nebraska's back in it! Thanks to good individual plays by Alfonso Dennard, Todd Peterson and Nate Swift, the Huskers drop a touchdown on Clemson and cut the lead to 14-10. Ain't over, folks!

2:29 NIles Paul absolutely kills the Huskers with a fumbled punt after NU forced a 3-and-out.

2:44 The action is heating up! Clemson strikes with a 41-yard touchdown pass. Nebraska answers right back with a four-play drive, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ganz to Peterson.

2:48 Blake Lawrence makes a pick, and the Huskers have a chance to take the lead. Wild one, huh!

2:58 Now Rickey Thenarse blocks a punt!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

The first leg of this journey called the Bo Pelini Era is coming to an end. We see the campfire in sight and a bunch of new football recruits waiting there, figuring out how to saddle a horse, cook baked beans in a frying pan, and learn the West Coast Offense (or, as the case may be, the “Boflex” defense).

It’s time for the Gator Bowl. The final exam, if you will. The one that shows how well you spent the last month in study and practice, and how focused you are upon returning to the field.

The cool thing about bowls is that they’re rarely about emotion – at least by opening kickoff - and almost always about simple, effective execution.

*Bowls favor the teams that act and play like the professionals they aren’t yet, but would like to be.

*Bowls favor coaches who maintain a good balance of fun and discipline.

*Bowls favor football teams whose fans actually give a darn, and are willing to travel to a bowl site.

*And bowls favor teams with the speed to cover up mistakes and adjust on the fly.

The Huskers fare quite well in three of those four categories. They’re professional, loose-yet-focused, and buttressed by red-clad fans that will be in Jacksonville County Municipal Stadium. Do they have the mental and physical speed, though, to stay on top of a better-than-its-record Clemson squad, which will also have the fans and the proper approach?

We’ll see. We know this: The Tigers are confident and armed with the kind of defense that could make for a nightmarish experience for NU quarterback Joe Ganz. And CU’s offense has enough weapons to do exactly what teams like Colorado were able to do vs. Nebraska’s defense.

Let’s look at little closer at the keys, shall we?

Bo vs. Dabo: Two new head coaches, with plenty of fire and energy around them and their players. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, along with looking like a younger version of John Edwards, seems to have a good handle on what he wants his team to look like and how he wants it to play. It takes guts, after you’ve been named the coach in the middle of a season, to fire the offensive and defensive coordinators in such short order, and replace them, at least temporarily, with guys even younger than he is.

Translation: This is a coaching staff very in tune with its players, and more than willing to let loose in the bowl game. Expect Clemson to put a few more dishes in the kitchen sink, just so it has more to throw at NU.

Bo Pelini, meanwhile, is also a young guy. But he’s a bit of old-school dude, too. Expect he and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson to dance with what got the Huskers to Jacksonville: A strong defensive line and Joe Ganz.

Speaking of…

Graveyard or Playground: We’ve already seen two Big 12 quarterbacks – Chase Daniel and Zac Robinson – get chewed up and mostly spit out during this bowl season. They learned what we imagine other Big 12 quarterbacks will learn during this bowl season: The bank isn’t quite as open as it was during conference play.

Indeed, we suspected that, halfway through the season, some of the Big 12 defenses started slowing down and laying off in expectation that the offenses would handle the job of winning the game, or just out of sheer lack of confidence.

Ganz was a beneficiary of that, to some extent. He, like Daniel and Robinson, enjoyed some freedom to make plays – especially in the defensive-flag-happy Big 12 – that he won’t have in the Gator Bowl. How does he handle that? Effectively? Poorly? If CU takes away the bootleg with its defensive speed, how does he compensate? Does he try to go wide with his zone read run, as he did all season? Will it work? Does he shy away from receivers Nate Swift and Todd Peterson, who will be well covered, or does he try to force passes into them?

The Gator Bowl will be Ganz’s toughest test of the year short of Oklahoma. May he fare better in Jacksonville than he did in Norman.

Bend or Break: Now that we’ve praised Clemson’s defense, let’s see just how well that Cover 2 defense holds up against a West Coast Offense designed to pick it apart. The offense that gave Clemson the most trouble – Florida State – uses some of the same elements – the zone read game, rollouts, big receivers - that the Huskers employ. What wrinkles does CU use. Or do the Tigers play their base defense and stand firm that NU won’t move the ball against it?

Playmakers: You could fold Joe Ganz into this key, too, but we’d rather focus on some of the other luminaries in the game. How does the Thunder and Lightning duo of James Davis and CJ Spiller fare? Can CU’s wide receiver Aaron Kelly bust loose on a bubble screen? Can Roy Helu, Jr. bust a big run? Will the Tigers’ Jacoby Ford or the Huskers’ Niles Paul crack open a game-changing return? Will CU’s Michael Hamlin make a critical interception, or will NU’s Zach Potter force one with those giant paws of his?

The Atmosphere: First, kudos to the Gator Bowl for having the foresight to select Clemson – a team whose fans actually wanted to be in Jacksonville – over Florida State, which would have dragged its 10,000 fans to populate the lower bowl and called it good. The bowl game will be that much more interesting because of a big crowd.

Let’s see if that full house affects either team. CU should have more fans than the Husker contingency, but NU fans haven’t forgotten how to get loud. In fact, I’ve found the Nebraska faithful who don’t park their rears in Memorial Stadium for every home game are a lot more boisterous than the ones who do.

Pay special attention if the game reaches overtime; who doesn’t win the toss will get to play that first OT in end littered with its own fans. Just something to consider. It helped Missouri a couple nights ago in the Alamo Bowl.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Here's more photos of Nebraska's trip to the Gator Bowl...courtesy of the bowl itself...enjoy!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Ah, so we've come to it - the end of the line, as far as Nebraska football season goes.

How optimistic are you about this Gator Bowl? We've gone back and forth on it. For one thing, Nebraska going to be playing one of the fastest, most athletic teams it has played all year. Short of Oklahoma and Virginia Tech, Clemson might have the most raw talent on both sides of the ball.

Beyond that, the Tigers are now motivated by new coach Dabo Swinney. They "believe" again. Coupled with top ten talent, that's a scary proposition.

So we'll see. We think Nebraska's West Coast Offense has grown mightily since that Va Tech game, and thus can stress Clemson in ways that no offense has all year. We think NU's defensive line can beat CU's offensive line, too. BUT, we also think Clemson's defensive line might be as tough for the Huskers' o-line to handle as any this year.

We expect a close, well-played game with more scoring in the first half than the second. It's a even-up contest, frankly - one of the best pure matchups of the bowl season, and we like Nebraska to emerge with a 24-21 win - thanks to an Alex Henery 45-yarder with less than a minute in the game.

What's your take?

Not a member? Create your free profile to guess the score!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

We want your photos, your stories, your adventures and your experiences from the Gator Bowl here on Husker Locker!

Post blogs! Upload photos! And if you need any help, just let us know, and drop us a line either here, or at sam@ne.statepaper.com.

We want to celebrate Nebraska's first trip to the G-Bowl in true style!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

Bowl games generally boil down to star players making – or not making – the crucial plays to win. We’ve got a list of big name difference makers for you to enjoy, too, but here’s a rundown of eight “lesser-known” dudes who might play a factor in Thursday’s Gator Bowl. Keep your eye on them.

Clemson center Bobby Hutchinson and Clemson guards Thomas Austin and Mason Cloy: The three men responsible for blocking Nebraska defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Ty Steinkuhler. Austin is the best of the bunch, Cloy’s a freshman who had the flu earlier this week and Hutchinson is the feel-good story of volunteer-coach-turned-starter. How they handle one of the nation’s toughest tandems will dictate how easily the Tigers get the running game going.

Nebraska running back Quentin Castille: Long ago NU chose to cast its lot on short-yardage plays with Castille, the 240-pounder who seems to run better in the open field than between the tackles. Expect two or three moments, whether it be on third down or near the goal line, when Castille will need to deliver without fumbling.

Clemson receiver Tyler Grisham: He might be CU’s No. 3 receiver, but Grisham is a crafty senior who will often be put in the slot, matched against a NU safety or nickel back. Don’t be shocked if he slips behind the defense once or twice. Nebraska needs to know where this guy is on third down, too.
Nebraska tight end Dreu Young: Doesn’t get the pub or the catches of starter Mike McNeill, but Young will be counted upon to bust Clemson’s zone twice or thrice during the game. He’s also handy down by the goal line.

Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers: The best of the Clemson bunch up front, from our vantage point. And a true freshman, to boot. Bowers is a big, hard-driving pass rusher who will try to go right through NU tackles Mike Smith and Jaivorio Burkes. He’s a first-round NFL pick in two years. Maybe the first pick. Watch him.

Nebraska punter Dan Titchener: Didn’t have a good first half of the season, but a mid-year benching seemed to wake him up a little. He won’t get better punting conditions than he’ll have in Jaxtown.

Nebraska defensive end Pierre Allen: Doesn't get the accolades of his other defensive line mates, but he'll be working against an offensive line that can beaten by his outside move.

Create your free profile today![/b

Permanent Link to this Blog Post