The win will probably send Nebraska to the Holiday
Bowl in San Diego. The Huskers went 9-3 (5-3 Big 12) and were
ranked No. 25/23 (AP, Coaches) going into Friday's tilt.
Solich teams have
been notoriously bad on the road, especially in the last two
seasons. A loss Saturday, some thought, would likely be followed by
Solich losing his job.
Anonymous
NU boosters told the Lincoln Journal-Star last week that
Pederson indicated he wanted to replace Solich.
Pederson
said the story was baseless. (As one TV commentator put it Friday:
"What could be sleazier than an anonymous booster?")
Of
course, some people probably think it was pretty sleazy of Pederson
not to show up in the Husker locker room with congrats for players
and coaches after Friday's victory. After all, Colorado beat
Nebraska last year and the year before. This contest was of
gargantuan import for the team, the coaches, the program and the
fans.
One
Solich assistant said to a reporter: "Why don't you guys ask where
the athletic director's at?" A legitimate question,
certainly.
Solich
himself was all smiles, even when he got the ol' Gatorade
bath. Still, deeper emotions were visible on his face. He said the
Husker program deserved better than the controversy that had
swirled around him. Someone asked him if he thought his career at
NU was over.
"Until somebody tells
me differently, I'm anticipating lining up and coaching," he
said.
"I'm planning to got
to work Monday, business as usual," Solich said. "I could go
through a list of reasons why I wouldn't resign. I don't plan on
resigning. I don't see my situation any different than it has been.
I haven't had anyone tell me differently."
A
question: Does Pederson simply want to dump Solich, and bring in
someone to revise the NU offensive scheme? Nebraska has been wedded
for decades to an option game requiring a quarterback who can run
and pass.
Other
questions: How in hell do you fire a coach – whose
team had a 9-3 record – without looking like a cold-blooded
maniac? How many first-rank coaches want to work for a pack of
rabid taskmasters who reward that kind of Big Red success with a
little pink slip?
Pederson
beat it out of his skybox suite without talking to
reporters.
Pederson
and others obviously are looking at more than the salvation of this
season. The Huskers have been skidding south for two years.
Nebraska is 16-12 in its last 28 games. Some of those defeats were
blowouts. Is the issue coaching? Recruiting? What?
Pederson
will ultimately have to decide if Solich needs more time. Put
another way, he will decide if NU needs Solich.
As
for the game itself:
Without
the Solich drama – and the question of whether Nebraska could
return to the status of a nine-game winner – this would have
been nothing more than a see-saw contest between two teams that
can't generate a lot of highlight film. The lead changed hands four
times.
I-back
Cory Ross gained 103 yards for the Huskers on 22
carries.
Defense
made the winning difference for NU. That's been the case all year.
Colorado (5-7, 3-5 Big 12) lost a chance to become bowl eligible.
The Buffs weren't consistent on offense or defense. That's been the
case all year, too.
Jammal
Lord, the ever-beleaguered NU quarterback whose passing has usually
been ineffective, connected on a 58-yard pass play with Matt Herian
in the first quarter. NU 7, CU 0.
CU
quarterback Joel Klatt returned the effort with a 33-yard scoring
pass to D.J. Hackett, tying the score. The drive covered 80
yards.
Colorado
went up, 10-7, on Matt Crosby's 44-yard field goal in the second
period.
Josh
Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards, and another 15 yards
were tacked on because of a face-mask penalty. NU was at the Buffs'
20 yard line. Lord scored from five yards out, three plays later.
NU 14, CU 10.
Solich
showed his bolder side a few minutes later. Faced with fourth down
at the CU 31, holder Kellen Huston turned a fake field goal into a
15-yard gain and a first down. He was helped when an official
blocked the path of a Colorado defender. Maybe two of them. Cory
Ross eventually scored from the two yard line. NU 21, CU
10.
Nebraska
has failed to protect its punter several times this season,
including Friday. Hackett blocked a punt on special teams duty. On
the next play he caught a six-yard pass from Klatt and scored. A
try at a two-point conversion failed. NU 21, CU 16.
Nebraska
was scoreless in the third period. Colorado went ahead with 10:46
on the clock when Klatt rifled a 31-yard scoring pass to Derek
McCoy. Another two-point conversion failed as Nebraska's DeMorrio
Williams intercepted a Klatt pass. CU 22, NU 21. Legendary
broadcaster Keith Jackson announced that the game was
close.
Those
failed attempts at two-point conversions would haunt the
Buffs.
Nebraska
took the lead for good when David Dyches booted a 19-yard field
goal with 8:30 left on the clock. NU 24, CU 22.
Colorado's
best hopes for a comeback were dashed when T.J. Hollowell
intercepted a Klatt pass and returned it 25 yards to the Buffs' six
yard line. Judd Davies scored moments later from one yard out. It
was another example of Solich daring. He could have booted a field
goal, but on fourth down he sent Davies into the line and the TD
resulted. There was 5:38 on the clock. NU 31, CU 22.
Someone
asked Solich if he was showing more "daring" in his play
selection.
"It
probably will be perceived that way. But it seemed like the right
thing to do at the time to win a football game," he said. "We had
some opportunities to make some big plays and our players stepped
up and made them. To come in here and win the final game of the
season for nine wins and to upgrade ourselves in the bowl
situation, it all adds up for us."
With
time running out, Colorado mounted a last-ditch drive, but it was
thwarted when Pat Rickets picked off a Klatt pass in the endzone
and wound up returning it, perhaps by accident, to the one.
Nebraska ran out the clock.
Later,
CU Coach Gary Barnett put it this way: "We're every bit capable of
beating Nebraska. We just didn't play well enough to
win.''
If
that doesn't sum it up, what would?
--Meanwhile,
Denver Post columnist John Henderson says Nebraska's
ills are rooted in lousy recruiting.
--And
Irv Moss, citing
player support for Solich, suggests that Nebraska might be the
only place where a 9-3 record can still get you fired.
