LINCOLN, Neb.—Tentative quarterback play, dropped passes, lack of a running game and inconsistent offensive line performances all have contributed to Nebraska’s embarrassing home losses in the past two weeks.
Mike Smith also believes another factor is at work.
“Luck’s not going our way right now,” the offensive lineman said.
Smith wasn’t the only one grasping for explanations for how Nebraska could bumble and fumble its way to a 9-7 loss to Iowa State. The Cyclones came to Lincoln as an 18 1/2-point-underdog, without its regular starting quarterback and its Big 12-leading rusher.
The major story line Saturday was Nebraska’s school record-tying eight turnovers, four of which came inside the ISU 5.
As for Smith’s bad-karma theory, consider: two of the three interceptions thrown by Zac Lee were the result of tipped passes; Niles Paul fumbled even though no one touched him as he was heading to the end zone after catching a long pass; and Dontrayevous Robinson was stripped of the ball after his forward motion appeared to be stopped.
Video reviews confirmed officials’ rulings that resulted in three of the turnovers.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson wasn’t interested in close calls. He’s a believer that a team makes its own luck, good or bad.
“Sloppy ball-handling,” he said. “You’ve got to handle the rock.”
As Nebraska struggled to keep a grip on the ball, Iowa State plugged away with a conservative game plan with Jerome Tiller filling in for Austen Arnaud at quarterback and Jeremiah Schwartz for Alexander Robinson at running back. The Cyclones generated just 239 yards, with Tiller attempting only 19 passes and completing just nine of them.
The Huskers (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) lost for the first time since 1981 when holding the opponent to 10 points or fewer.
They will start over this Saturday at Baylor (3-4, 0-3), which has lost seven straight to Nebraska since 1977 and has failed to score more than 10 points in five of those games.
Unlike a week ago, the Huskers are set at quarterback. Lee held onto the job after the competition between him and Cody Green was reopened in the wake of the 31-10 loss to Texas Tech.
Lee now has the full backing of Watson and coach Bo Pelini. Both said they never considered taking Lee out of Saturday’s game.
Watson said Lee was “perfect” in moving the Huskers into scoring position. He said Lee couldn’t be held responsible for turnovers he didn’t commit, and the two interceptions he threw late in the game were the product of desperation.
“We should have never got into that situation with Zac at the end,” Watson said. “He managed the game and got us down the field. I thought he was having a good game and we self-destructed.”
Lee completed 8 of his first 10 passes and finished 20 of 37 for 248 yards.
“We just didn’t finish,” Lee said. “If we just kicked a field goal any of the times we were in the red zone, it’s a whole different game.”
Robinson, a freshman who ran for 77 yards on 15 carries in his most extensive action, showed up well as a backup to Roy Helu Jr. Helu still is hampered by a sore right shoulder, and he was limited to five carries for 24 yards, and he fumbled twice.
Paul caught six passes for 143 yards, both career highs, but he was called for holding and had the fumble and two drops.
The offensive line improved. After getting penalized five times for 40 yards against Texas Tech, the line was not flagged Saturday. The line also got solid work from backup center Mike Caputo, who took over after Jacob Hickman twisted an ankle in the first quarter.
“We told the team we were going to take it on our backs,” Smith said. “I think we controlled the line of scrimmage. I think we dominated the other side. But it doesn’t show in the score.”
The Ndamukong Suh-led defense, on the other hand, continues to rank among the best in the nation. The Huskers held their sixth straight opponent under 300 yards and they are eighth in total defense at 266.4 yards per game. They are fifth in scoring defense (11.4 ppg).
Suh had a sack and another tackle behind the line in addition to six other stops, and he blocked an extra point and a field goal.
Suh said he and his defensive mates have to continue to be patient with their brethren on offense.
“You just have to roll with the punches,” he said.
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