Scott Frost was supposed to make his Nebraska coaching debut last week, but nature intervened. Today was a much nicer day in Lincoln, but it still didn’t end up the home-opener most Cornhusker fans wanted.
It looked good for a long time, though. Late in the fourth quarter, Colorado’s hope seemed lost as they faced a 3rd and 19 near midfield, trailing by a point. But while this ball was very much overthrown, a penalty for a hit on a defenseless receiver moved the Buffaloes 15 yards closer to the end zone:
Colorado made Nebraska pay right away:
That put Nebraska in the position of needing to drive for a touchdown with little time left, which is difficult enough under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances, as Nebraska was down to walk-on quarterback Andrew Bunch after starter Adrian Martinez went down with a leg injury.
Bunch did lead a drive of sorts, but things stalled in the red zone, with a false start penalty forcing Frost to burn his last timeout to avoid a runoff. In the end, Nebraska faced this fourth down play:
That’s a gutsy blitz call, but if ever there was a time for it, it was then; walk-on quarterback, knowing he needs time for receivers to get to the end zone before he can even throw it. It worked out perfectly for Colorado, who hadn’t beaten Nebraska since 2007.
