Aggies fail to exploit early chances
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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
Chase Holbrook wouldn’t accept the excuse that this was New Mexico State’s first game and Nebraska’s third.
“For me, it wasn’t that big a deal. The mistakes I made had nothing to do with being the first game,” the Aggies’ senior quarterback said. “I just played like a freshman.”
The Aggies couldn’t capitalize on an encouraging first drive and turned the ball over to Nebraska after Kyle Hodges’ 20-yard field- goal attempt was blocked.
Typical first game? New Mexico State was making its 2008 debut because its game on Sept. 4 against Nicholls State was postponed because of Hurricane Gustav.
“The last couple of years, we played our first games against I-AA championship division opponents and we had a chance to make those mistakes and not get punished for them,” said Aggie coach Hal Mumme. “You can’t control hurricanes. Our small problems of straightening out timing are nothing compared to the people of the gulf coast.”
Hats off: “(Marlon) Lucky is a real good back, (Roy) Helu is quick. And (Joe) Ganz does a good job with the bootlegs and tip of the hat to Coach Pelini for getting it together here so fast.”
Inexperienced?: “Their linebackers played like they’ve been playing. I read that they are young?” said running back Marquell Colston. “They played like they’d been there, real smart. We were just going with the flow, whatever look they gave us.”
DEFENSIVE LEADER: “Our defensive scheme sets it up for me,” said safety Derrick Richardson, who led the Aggies with 17 tackles. “I’m always free. No one blocks me. They got to our secondary today with the run, so a lot of things came my way.”
“Of course we wanted to score. It’s a letdown when you have a drive like that and don’t score,” Holbrook said. “They didn’t do anything different. We just didn’t execute.”
The missed opportunities early — the defense forced Nebraska to attempt a field goal on its first possession and the Huskers came away empty — were a sign of the night, according to coach Hal Mumme.
“That was the story of the whole night. We looked like we were playing our first game and they looked like a very good team playing their third game,” he said. “We were hoping to get on top and have a shot but when we didn’t do that, the mistakes took too big a toll.”
Mumme said he’s not worried about the Aggies’ future after losing 38-7.
“We didn’t convert early and get scores and put them in position where they had to take chances,” he said. “They kind of did what we thought they would do. This is an opening game. We just have to go correct mistakes.
“In our offense, three or four inches here or there on a pass play means a lot. The result of the play looks really bad, but if you just straighten those little things out, then all of a sudden, you have touchdown plays.”
It was also the Aggies’ execution on defense that made it possible for Nebraska to have such success, according to Mumme.
“Coach Dunn has a good plan for the option,” Mumme said of his defensive coordinator, Joe Lee Dunn. “We just didn’t execute it. The quarterback hurt us and we didn’t take care of responsibilities.”
The Aggies used 15 plays to march down the field to open the game. They converted third-and-short twice, but on fourth down at the NU 3-yard line, Hughes came on for the field-goal attempt and Zach Potter broke through to block it.
The New Mexico State defense allowed Nebraska to march down the field, but then stiffened, forcing a 35-yard field-goal attempt that was wide-right.
“The defense came through with a stop and we got it back. But when we went three-and-out, I think that killed our rhythm,” wide receiver Chris Williams said.
“You could definitely tell this was our first game and their third. When you describe our performance, from my standpoint, there were so many plays I was rusty on, that I hadn’t done in awhile at that speed.”
Holbrook said the Nebraska defense caused any number of problems for him.
“I have to hand it to the secondary. They tricked me,” he said of Matt O’Hanlon’s interception on the first play of the fourth quarter. “It was something I just didn’t see. They showed blitz and I thought I had Chris (Williams) manned up, but 33 (O’Hanlon) rolled and he got me. It was stupid.
“It’s always a problem when you start to get pressure. I felt the pressure but it didn’t really bother me. I thought our tackles did well. Those are some big D-ends to block and I thought we did a decent job.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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