October 24, 2006

Lincoln, NE (CSTV U-WIRE) -- For all the mishaps and small glitches that factored into Nebraska's nail-biting loss to Texas on Saturday, one area remained fairly reliable for the Cornhuskers - the defense.

The Blackshirts were downright dominant at times against a Longhorn offense that ranks atop the Big 12 Conference in scoring.

"Early in the game I felt good because the kids told me they felt good," NU Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said after the game. "They felt good about it, and they were winning their matchups. The kids executed pretty well today."

The Blackshirts set the tone early against the Longhorns.

On the game's opening kickoff, Texas's Quan Cosby broke loose for a 78-yard return to Nebraska's nine-yard line.

But after gaining only four yards on three plays against the Blackshirts, Texas settled for an anticlimactic 22-yard field goal on its opening possession.

"To have the defense stand up right on that initial series and hold them to three points down in the red zone I thought was an outstanding job by our defense on the initial possession of the game," NU Coach Bill Callahan said.

Though the No. 5 Longhorns scored four of the five times they got inside Nebraska's 20-yard-line, three of those scores came on field goals.

"We played tough, especially considering we had some bad field position against that team," NU junior linebacker Bo Ruud said. "To let them in the red zone and then hold them to field goals and missed field goals, it's a big thing against teams like that."

The Huskers rank second in the Big 12 in red zone defense, behind only Texas A&M. NU opponents have scored 69.2 percent of the time inside Nebraska's 20-yard line.

But the red zone wasn't the only area where Nebraska's defense was effective against the Longhorns.

Helped by the snowy and cold conditions, the Blackshirts forced five fumbles. However, only one of those fumbles was recovered by Nebraska.

NU senior defensive end Jay Moore said the Huskers did a good job disrupting the Longhorns' offense, but luck was on Texas's side.

"It puts a sick feeling in your stomach," Moore said. "It happened so many times where they were just in the right place at the right time."

Despite the 22-20 loss, NU senior defensive end Adam Carriker said Saturday's game was another step in the right direction for the Blackshirts.

"The defense has been getting better every week for the last three or four weeks," Carriker said. "We've been playing well. We gave up a couple big plays that really hurt us, but as a whole we played with a lot of intensity and a lot of fire."

In their game at Kansas State on Oct. 14, the Huskers held the Wildcats to only a field goal in a 21-3 win. And in allowing Texas to score only 22 points, the Blackshirts held the Longhorns 18 points below their season average.

Texas had put up an astounding 63 points against Baylor in its previous game.

After Saturday's game, the Blackshirts' effort even earned praise from their offensive counterparts.

"Our defense was in some tough spots, but they played great today," sophomore wide receiver Nate Swift said. "There were a couple times where we had a turnover and the defense held them to a field goal. That's what you need a defense to do, and our defense is outstanding."

(C) 2006 Daily Nebraskan via CSTV U-WIRE