There may be no truth to a moral victory, but if there ever was, the Huskers got one against the Buckeyes.
Far and few between could you find someone that thought Nebraska would take a 17-14 lead against Ohio State in the fourth quarter, but that’s just what they did. Largely thanks to the Blackshirts, the Huskers stayed in the game, and on the offensive side, they were just a few plays away from capitalizing from the defenses strong play. It’s easy to wonder how this game would’ve finished out had Malcom Hartzog gone another 6 yards into the end zone on his momentum shifting interception return, or, if the ball wasn’t placed a yard and a half shy from the true spot on the field before the failed fourth down attempt at the goal line. I don’t think the narrative of this game should be focused on officiating, but it would also be untrue to not at least mention it. Golly, was it bad.
Apart from the officiating, there was a lot of good, too. John Hohl went 3/3 on the day on field goals, including a 54 yard bomb to end the first half which brought the game to a one score deficit. It’s probably fair to say bettors across the country could’ve cashed in big on the over for Nebraska field goals made. After being written off as an asset altogether, Hohl proved the critics and his coaches wrong, and that should be a major positive coming out of this game.
The field goals were impressive, but the defense may have been even more so. Once again, they reaffirmed that they are the veteran, hard nosed group they were made out to be. After coming off the kind of game that was Indiana a week before, they locked in and played with an energy that was not present against the Hoosiers. Why there can be such a wide margin between good play and bad is hard to figure out, but if they could come out every week with the same poise and tenacity that they did against the Buckeyes, this group would be elite. Next week is an opportunity for the Blackshirts to show some consistency.
The offense was not impressive, per se, but they didn’t turn the ball over five times like the week before, and that alone is a reason to celebrate. There is a lot of heat directed toward Marcus Satterield at the moment, and it may be warranted to some degree, maybe largely. Matt Rhule seems to be a very loyal person when it comes to his peers and the people he has entrusted with leading the Huskers in the right direction, and that may be why fans are under the notion that Rhule is protecting Satterfield. Though, it would be shocking to think Rhule would put friendship before success when it came to the team’s betterment. Rhule should be trusted when it comes to what coaches he puts in place, whether that means them sticking around, or being let go. We’re barely a year and a half into this thing. Getting trigger-happy this early on into what has very obviously been something trending in the right direction would be foolish.
Moral victories are not the stars Nebraska is shooting for. At the end of the day, the loss was disappointing, but I think every fan can agree— it was exciting that it was a game at all.
Go Big Red.
