Early miscues, OU defense prevent Ganz from recovering
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
NORMAN, Okla. — Joe Ganz had been sacked, and the Nebraska senior quarterback was slow to get up from the turf.
Once finally on his feet, Ganz hobbled to the sideline, his day surely done, what with the Huskers trailing by six touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Not quite.
Ganz returned, presumably hoping to find some momentum and garner something positive out of what had been a downright miserable game.
It didn’t happen.
Ganz completed a pass that was negated because of a holding penalty, and his final throw of the night, thrown under pressure, was incomplete, forcing a punt.
Then, finally, the night was over for Ganz. He was replaced by redshirted freshman Patrick Witt with 5 minutes, 56 seconds remaining in Nebraska’s 62-28 loss to fourth-ranked Oklahoma.
Ganz, who’d performed so well in Nebraska’s previous three games, had his worst stat line of the season: 14-of-26 passing, 206 yards, two interceptions, one touchdown.
It’s not the performance anybody had expected from Ganz, nor one that Nebraska could afford against these high-scoring Sooners.
“He started off bad,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “He started off and had some tough things happen to him. I mean, here’s a guy who’s been carrying us and really making a ton of plays for us. They made a couple of plays to start the game and jumped a couple things.”
Like on Nebraska’s first play from scrimmage, when the well-prepared Sooners snuffed out one of Nebraska’s staple plays in its ball-control offense: The bubble screen pass.
Dominique Franks stormed through the line, swatted away his blocker, Nate Swift, and intercepted Ganz’s pass toward the flat, intended for Todd Peterson. Franks returned it 18 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 lead.
Nebraska’s next two passing plays didn’t fare any better. They led to turnovers, too. One was a fumble by tight end Dreu Young, the other an interception on a high pass intended for Marlon Lucky that was high and deflected.
They led to touchdowns, too.
“He was just off rhythm a little bit,” Pelini said. “Let’s face it. He’s a guy that there’s been a lot put on his shoulders. We ask him to do a lot. He’s asked to manage the game and do a lot of that stuff for us.”
Ganz wasn’t available for comment, as Pelini made players and assistant coaches off-limits for post-game interviews.
Pelini compared this game to last week, when Ganz misfired early before settling down in Nebraska’s 32-20, come-from-behind victory over Baylor. Against Oklahoma, Ganz rebounded with a 67-yard pass to Swift that set up Nebraska’s first touchdown.
“To his credit, I thought he came back and played better,” Pelini said of Ganz. “It’s very similar to how he started last week. He was kind of off a little bit to start the game and kind of came back.
“I thought he responded well. He has a lot of character about him. I was proud of how he came back. You know, that can make somebody wilt.”
Ganz had been a key element in Nebraska’s ball control offense that, over the Huskers’ last three games, averaged 80 plays and more than 37 minutes in time of possession. In games against Texas Tech, Iowa State and Baylor, Ganz had completed 75 percent of his passes (96 of 128) for 1,021 yards.
His stat line against Oklahoma was his worst of the season, with his previous season low coming in week two against San Jose State, when Ganz was 17-of-25 for 216 yards, with an interception.
“When I say he was off, I’m not putting this game on Joe Ganz,” Pelini said. “Joe Ganz is a big reason why we’re sitting here at 5-4 instead of 2-7. I mean, Joe Ganz is a stud. He’s played good football. When he started off, he made a couple of miscues. That’s going to happen some.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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