Tomey: Huskers dominated in fourth quarter
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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
For three quarters, Dick Tomey and his San Jose State Spartans were sailing along.
A strong performance by quarterback Kyle Reed and a stirring defensive effort had the Spartans right where they wanted to be.
San Jose State’s Jared Strubeck kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-12.
Coach Dick Tomey had some philosophical words for his San Jose State team after Saturday’s loss to Nebraska.
“I told them you need to feel good about the effort, but feel empty because we came here to win and we didn’t. If it hurts you enough, you won’t lose much. And if you can accept it too easily, you’ll lose a lot. You can appreciate your teammates and the effort we made, for a time, but we still have to feel empty inside.
“That’s the great thing about football. It leaves you with an empty feeling when you don’t win, regardless of the effort. It leaves you with a good feeling when you win. It becomes a matter of how much you are willing to do to be better.”
Get your kicks: Last year, the Spartans recovered eight of the 13 onside kicks they attempted. Tomey said he didn’t consider an onside kick after San Jose State cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-12 in the fourth quarter.
“Their guys weren’t retreating at all. We will onside kick, but trailing 14-12, that’s not necessarily the time to do that. We just needed to cover the damn kickoff. Because we covered kickoffs great and then they gashed us. I have no idea what happened. Other than that, we played very well in the coverage part of the kicking game, not the field-goal kicking part.”
What it was was football: “The crowd, they were nice people. But once the game starts, it’s just football,” said receiver Kevin Jurovich. “You hear the crowd a little more and it’s a little louder, but other than that, you just get into the game.”
Deceptive numbers: Carl Ihenacho said he didn’t pay attention to the score, even after the Spartans cut the deficit to 14-12.
“You just keep playing and don’t look at the scoreboard. Since my freshman year, our coach has preached to us ‘Don’t look at the scoreboard, it’s a liar.’ So we don’t look,” Ihenacho said.
“That’s what we practice for — that we can be in the hunt in the fourth quarter with a chance to win. And we were right there,” Tomey said. “But Nebraska shut the door on us, made some plays and dominated the fourth quarter. That’s what you have to do to win.”
The first big play the Huskers made was Niles Paul’s 85-yard return of the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Nebraska tacked on two more scores en route to a 35-12 victory.
“Obviously, the kickoff and the play down on the goal line, the interception, were huge,” Tomey said. “The kickoff return and the interception return for a touchdown are plays that take the wind out of your sails.
“The ball is going one way and all of a sudden it’s going the other way and it’s a touchdown.”
Zach Potter had a hand in both of the Huskers’ interceptions. The defensive end swatted a screen pass in the first quarter, which Ndamukong Suh gathered in and raced 49 yards for a score.
And in the fourth quarter, with the Huskers leading 28-12, Potter’s interception and 11-yard return ended the Spartans’ hopes.
Until then, San Jose State fared better than the Huskers, with 351 yards of offense to Nebraska’s 230. The final numbers were 353 yards for San Jose State and 315 for the Huskers.
Kyle Reed passed for 161 yards and rushed for 32 before he was sacked and knocked out of the game with a concussion in the fourth quarter. Senior running back Yonus Davis rushed for 58 yards and had one reception for 9 yards.
“I thought we moved the ball pretty well until we got to the money zone, which is what we call the red zone,” said Spartan receiver Kevin Jurovich, who caught four passes for 84 yards. “We just didn’t convert. That’s a credit to Nebraska and their defense. The offensive line gave Kyle a lot more time this week. And Yonus was running through tackles.”
The Spartans sent an early message of their intent when Carl Ihenacho and Adonis Davis each sacked NU quarterback Joe Ganz on the Huskers’ first series of the game.
“We needed to make a lot more plays. But those key ones started us off right,” said Ihenacho, who finished with seven tackles. “We were just trying to be physical. But we had a lot of mental busts. Later on down the line, Nebraska just outexecuted us.”
The early defensive effort got the Spartans off to a quick start.
“When the defense held to start off, we fed off that,” Jurovich said. “ The defense made play after play after play. I was proud watching those guys fly around.”
Tomey said that gave the Spartans the opportunity they wanted.
“We felt we could stop them, we just couldn’t stop them enough,” he said. “We stopped the run and when they threw the ball, we let them have too high a percentage. We held them under 100 yards rushing, barely, but that’s what we were trying to do. We just gave up too much at the end.”
Tomey said there are bright spots for the Spartans, who will play host to San Diego State next week.
“Kyle Reed suffered a slight concussion, but I think he’ll be OK,” he said. “Myles (Eden) came in and threw a couple of deep balls that couldn’t have been more perfect. One was dropped and one was caught. We just felt we could run the football and we were a little more patient than we were a week ago.
“We just weren’t quite good enough to get it done or well-coached enough to get it done.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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