Lincoln Logs Loss

Legs Lift Longhorns at Lincoln

There were a few upsets in college football on Saturday. Notably, Nebraska fell 20-13 to unranked Texas at Memorial Stadium. Heisman hyped quarterback, Taylor Martinez and the number five Cornhuskers had 94 penalty yards and couldn’t stop the Texas rush in their bid to go 6-0 for the first time since 2001. The Longhorns were led by sophomore, Garrett Gilbert. Gilbert’s dazzling display behind center accounted for two rushing touchdowns as the visitors took a 17-3 advantage into the intermission. Garrett finished with 62 yards through the air and scampered for 71 more. Mack Brown’s Longhorns snapped a three game losing streak and improved to 4-2 overall in a rematch of last season’s Big 12 championship.
Justin Tucker’s 27 yard field goal five minutes into the first quarter put Texas on the board. The hosts couldn’t garner a first down on their first possession and fumbled the ball away on their second. Texas took full advantage of the Husker miscues. The Longhorns attacked with the run, unleashing their lanky quarterback to set up the first touchdown of the game. Gilbert raced three yards on the fifth play of a 21 yard drive to give the Longhorns a 10-0 lead midway through the opening quarter. The visitors’ dialed-up defense demolished the high octane, ambivalent Husker offense.
The Huskers scored early in the second quarter on Alex Henery’s 45 yard field goal, but the punted away their final two possessions of the quarter. The Longhorns’ defense smothered the mobile Martinez by employing two defenders on the freshman sensation. Martinez completed just 4-of-12 passes and was pulled from the game after rushing for a mere 21 yards. Texas’ passing game was nonexistent, but Gilbert did convert a crucial third down pass to set up a one yard touchdown run before the half. Gilbert found junior running back, Foswhitt Whittaker, for a 41 yard grab to extend the drive.
Tucker booted a second field goal to open the third quarter scoring and pad the visitor’s lead to 20-3. Nebraska, with Zac Lee replacing Martinez, managed a field goal late in the third to cut the deficit to two scores. Texas chewed up over three minutes of the clock and the Longhorn defense stopped Nebraska on fourth down with seven minutes to play. Eric Haag broke a school record with a 95 yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the Huskers’ only touchdown of the game and it occurred with 3:02 remaining in the contest. Texas recovered a key onside kick and were aided by a Nebraska penalty to snag a fresh set of downs. The nine point underdog Longhorns ran out the clock on a game they were never expected to win. Nebraska’s offense was held to 202 yards and Martinez was outrushed by Gilbert by 50 yards. You could argue Brown’s team beat the Huskers at their own game on Saturday.

Parting Points: Terrible day yesterday for this sports fan. First, the Yankees’ atrocious pitching continued as Phil Hughes was shelled in Texas. The Yankees couldn’t overcome a five run deficit for the second time in less than 24 hours. Then, the real heartache came after the Badgers from Wisconsin knocked out number one, Ohio State, in Madison. Bummer. Ever hear of a pass rush, Buckeyes?