Nebraska can only hope to forget its woes
One day after the most lopsided loss in the 115 years of Nebraska football, the coaching staff told the Cornhuskers to forget about it.
The fans, to be sure, won’t soon forget Saturday’s 70-10 flogging at the hands of Texas Tech.
But players must, because wallowing in the past won’t help the players get ready for this week’s game against Baylor, according to defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove.
“The one thing you have to do is put it behind you. There’s nothing you can do about it,” Cosgrove said. “The coaches hurt, the players hurt, the fans hurt, you guys (the media) hurt. We all hurt. But we also know what we can do. Just correct what was wrong, show them why things happened and move on.”
“If you dwell on a game like that, it can be devastating to the team and program because it would be hard to play that next game,” said defensive tackle Titus Adams. “We’ve got a lot of football left.”
Trojans resilient to end
For all of the talk about Southern California’s overwhelming talent, the top-ranked Trojans’ best traits so far have been their poise and resiliency.
USC’s offense has been on and off, at times explosive and at other times average. Defensively, the Trojans have been faulty in pass coverage and far softer against the run than they were last season.
Despite it all, USC is 5-0 after surviving a masterful performance by California quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Saturday to beat the Golden Bears 23-17.
The Trojans had already overcome two halftime deficits this season before using a late defensive stand against Cal to earn their 14th straight victory.
“This game is the mark of a champion,” defensive end Shaun Cody said. “We pull the close ones out. We know a target is on our backs as the No. 1 team, but we have to take care of our business. We just credit the coaches.”
Oklahoma closes in on USC
The gap between No. 1 USC and No. 2 Oklahoma is smaller than it’s been all season.
The Sooners’ 12-0 shutout of Texas and Southern California’s close call against California persuaded some voters in the Associated Press Top 25 to change their first-place vote.
USC received 41 first-place votes, a season low, and 1,601 points in the media voting. Oklahoma got a season-high 23 first-place votes and 1,582 points, leaving the Sooners 19 points behind the Trojans with the Bowl Championship Series standings just a week away from making their 2004 debut.
Idle Miami moved up one spot to No. 3. No. 4 Auburn received the remaining first-place vote and Purdue moved up four spots to No. 5.
Montana Tech ends Carroll win Streak
A 1-yard touchdown run by Josh Johnson lifted Montana Tech to the third-quarter lead it would keep Saturday in defeating two-time defending NAIA champion Carroll College 17-14 in Butte.
The loss ended top-ranked Carroll’s 24-game winning streak.
Warriors beat Wolf Pack
Michael Brewster became Hawaii’s first 100-yard rusher in three years and Chad Owens scored on a punt return for the second straight week as the Hawaii Warriors (2-2, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference) defeated Nevada Wolf Pack (2-4, 0-2) 48-26 on Saturday night in Honolulu.
Brewster had 150 yards on nine carries and Timmy Chang threw for 322 yards.