Zack

My 2 cents on the Huskers' 20-17 loss to Indiana. I love the game of golf. It rarely loves me the way I love it, but it is what it is. My golf handicap is 10.5. Not great or even good, but respectable on occasion. I can shoot 83 or 103, like in the same day!  My son Keenon is a 5.7 handicapper. There are rounds that I can play him close and compete. He may miss a fairway, fly a green, or miss a putt he normally makes. I may go on a rare par run and even sneak in a birdie or two (I actually hit a bird once...another story:) However, Keenon rarely duffs shots as his old man does. He doesn't miss many putts within five to 10 feet, and I do, like a lot! His short game is beautiful; mine, let's not discuss it. The point is, I can compete with him, but I usually fail to complete the round and beat him. Small errors...they cost you on the overall score. It's always self-inflicted errors or course management. NU played a good front 9 today in football. But started leaking oil on the back 9, late in the half. Miscues, game management, and penalties. Yes, they competed their tails off, and there was NO quit on either side of the ball! Competing wasn't the problem today. Completing is something they are still lacking, and against a top-tier team such as Indiana, competing is admirable; completing is the rule! The Huskers didn't see much of the dreaded yellow laundry (penalty flags) in the first half. The second half said, "Hold My Drink." NU ended up with 7 penalties for 59 yards. Yes, improvement from last week. But Indiana committed just 3 penalties for 35 yards. Did the refs catch all of them? Of course not, but the refs definitely didn't decide the outcome of the game and were a much better crew than last week. NU had 25 first downs to Indiana's 13. NU outrushed Indiana 128 to 65. Passing yards were identical at 263 apiece. We held the ball on offense for almost twice the amount of time they did. In fact, I was telling some buddies that if you just looked at the stats without seeing the teams or the score, you would assume that NU won the game. Ohh, but those pesky details, and that's where the devil is! There were other stats that were intriguing as well. But in my humble opinion, there is a stat that was a major difference maker. 4th down conversions. Nebraska was 1-3, not bad at all. Indiana was 1-1, and that one conversion was a TD. Like golf, football is a sport where the margin of error will cost you against good teams. Of course, I could go to other factors in the game: the missed field goals, missed tackles, big plays, etc. NU competed today, NO doubt about that. But competing isn't the issue; completing is. Like my golf rounds that go well on the front 9 or even up to hole 13th before I self-implode on the last few holes. It leaves you frustrated and just pissed off. I hope that NU will be pissed off, but only until midnight, as tomorrow all that frustration must be forged into attention with a focus towards an Oregon team who is looking to rebound after a tough home loss today against UCLA. Yes, compete they did today. Complete is what we as fans hope to see in Eugene, Oregon next Saturday! Big Red Until I'm dead! GBR! #Huskers #Nebraskafootball #GBR #BigRedUntilImDEAD