Husker defenders say problems are correctable
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Kevin Cosgrove accepted blame. So did his players. And they all agreed on one important factor regarding Nebraska’s troublesome defensive performance against Kansas.
The mistakes the Blackshirts made Saturday night can be prevented.
“They’re all correctable,” said Cosgrove, the Huskers’ defensive coordinator. “Believe me.”
Nebraska surrendered 574 yards of total offense — the sixth-highest total in school history — in a 39-32 overtime victory over Kansas.
Exactly why that happened against what was seemingly a mediocre Kansas offense — the Jayhawks ranked 49th nationally in total offense and started their backup quarterback against NU — has been a hot coffee-shop topic in recent days.
On Tuesday, players said their confidence has not been shaken as No. 22 Nebraska prepares for Saturday night’s Big 12 Conference game at Iowa State.
“I think it’s the opposite,” senior linebacker Stewart Bradley said. “If you can have a game where you pretty much play horrible and still win, that’s good.
“I mean, you guys saw it. We all know what it was. It wasn’t our best performance.”
On that, everyone can agree. But why so many problems?
“We made a lot of mental errors, mental mistakes,” senior defensive end Adam Carriker said. “A lot of miscommunication. Guys not hearing calls, guys maybe not giving them as loud as they should. A lot of it was our own undoing.”
Bradley said personnel matchups weren’t a reason for Nebraska’s problems defending the pass. Kansas quarterback Adam Barmann, who was filling in for injured starter Kerry Meier, threw for 405 yards. Nebraska did intercept him three times, all in the first half.
“They were running some nakeds and throwing behind guys,” Bradley said. “That has nothing to do with the speed of the player. It’s the positioning and the patience of the guy in coverage.”
As for the running game, Bradley said the Huskers “definitely” weren’t getting beaten at the point of attack. Many of Kansas’ runs, he noted, were cutbacks, when defenders were not disciplined in their gaps.
Kansas running back Jon Cornish ran for 145 yards on 31 carries.
“We had a really good scheme going in,” Bradley said. “When you give a stunt to the lineman, and it takes the linebacker out of the gap but he doesn’t get the stunt, so they’re both in the same gap, you’re going to get gashed.
“Same with the pass game. Communication wasn’t great when we were trying to pass the receivers off. If the guy isn’t hearing you, no one is picking him.”
Cosgrove and players agreed that crowd noise at Memorial Stadium — a sellout crowd of 85,069 attended the game — caused communication problems among Nebraska defenders. It was especially a problem against Kansas, they said, because of the high number of checks.
“We want the crowd to be loud,” Carriker stressed. “It’s our fault.”
Carriker said he’s heard and read plenty about the fact Nebraska officially had zero sacks in 54 pass attempts. (The Huskers had one sack on a two-point conversion attempt that doesn’t count in official statistics.)
Cosgrove said after the game he reined in Nebraska’s defensive ends because he was concerned with Kansas’ threat for draws and shovel passes, plays with which the Jayhawks had gashed Nebraska the previous season.
How much did that factor into Nebraska’s lack of pressure?
“A major factor. It was a big factor,” Cosgrove said Tuesday. “That’s on me. That’s not on the kids.”
Bradley said to expect “a more attacking style” of defense Saturday, when the Huskers face veteran mobile quarterback Bret Meyer.
In Iowa State’s 28-27 come-from-behind victory Saturday night over Division I-AA Northern Iowa, every Cyclone play from scrimmage in the second half was a Meyer pass attempt or rush.
“You have to contain this guy,” Cosgrove said. “You don’t want to let him out on the perimeter.”
Meyer has been sacked 14 times in five games. He was sacked seven times in Iowa State’s only Big 12 game, against Texas.
“We always want sacks,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “That will be a key emphasis this week. You’ve got to put pressure on this guy. It’s going to be important that we pick up our production in that particular area.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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