Suh Wins Lombardi Award

Nebraska lineman Ndamukong Suh won the Lombardi Award on Wednesday, award to the nation’s best linebacker.

Suh has been a disruptive force for the Cornhuskers all year, but it was never more evident than on Saturday, when Suh ratcheted up 4.5 sacks on his own against the Texas Longhorns, who were playing for their spot in the BCS National Championship.

Suh was involved in the second-to-last play of the Texas/Nebraska game, when he chased Longhorns QB Colt McCoy out of the backfield and forced him to throw the ball out of bounds, leaving one second on the clock to set up a last-second game-winning field goal.

“I wish I didn’t get to him,” Suh said. “I pushed him down and forced him to throw that ball away. I should’ve let him run around a little bit longer, then we wouldn’t have had to worry about trying to block a field goal.”

Suh apologized to fellow Lombardi finalist, lineman Jerry Hughes of TCU, about his mistake with McCoy, as TCU would have likely been Alabama’s championship opponent had Nebraska won the Big-12 on Saturday.

“I told him, ‘No apology needed, you did everything you could,’” Hughes said. “We were all rooting for Nebraska, obviously. One second from probably going to the national championship game, that’s not too bad, you know? TCU has come a long way and for us to even be mentioned in the conversation with the national championship is a great honor.”

Suh also won the Nagurski Trophy – awarded to the nation’s top defensive player – and is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 11:58 pm by bryan

Nebraska edged by Texas, 13-12

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had a stunning win taken away in a 13-12 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the BCS national championship game.

The Cornhuskers showed absolutely no signs of offense all night long, but their defense kept them in the game.

Nebraska’s offense was so inept that they were only able to score off of turnovers, and the result was just four field goals.

They took a lead late in the game and appeared to have won when time ran out on the Longhorns.

Officials ruled that one second should be put back on the clock, and Texas knocked home a 46-yard, game-winning field goal.

Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 9:13 am by steve

Cornhuskers look to finish strong in Holiday Bowl against Arizona

By Bud L. Ellis

They made news by nearly knocking Texas from the BCS championship game. Now the Nebraska Cornhuskers looks to finish its 2009 season on a good note.

The Cornhuskers close the season in the Holiday Bowl against Arizona, on Dec. 30 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. For Nebraska, it’s a rematch of the 1998 Holiday Bowl, a game Arizona rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Nebraska 23-20.

The Cornhuskers (9-4) are on the upswing after several down seasons, the traditional Big 12 power having posted back-to-back nine-win seasons since 2000-2001. In the Big 12 championship game last weekend, Nebraska stuffed high-power Texas in a heart-breaking 13-12 loss that nearly booted the Longhorns from the BCS title contest against Alabama.

Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska is a player to watch. The Heisman Trophy finialist is one of the nation’s dominant defensive players, and stopping him from causing havoc is a key for Arizona’s offensive line.

The matchup is the third time the two teams have faced each other. In addition to the Holiday Bowl in 1998, the two squads played to a 14-14 tie in 1961.

—30—

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 11:59 pm by bud

Tags: Arizona, Heisman Trophy, Holiday Bowl, Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, Qualcomm Stadium, Texas

Nebraska in Top 25 Showdown With Arizona in Holiday Bowl

Fresh off nearly pulling an upset with monumental implications, the No.22 Nebraska Cornhuskers can wash off the disappointment of losing to No. 2 Texas with a matchup against No. 20 Arizona on Dec. 30 in the Holiday Bowl.

The Cornhuskers won the Big 12 North with a 6-2 conference record, setting up a date with then-No. 3 Texas for the Big 12 championship. Nebraska nearly pulled the upset before a last-second Texas field goal gave them a 13-12 win, and sent them on the road to the national championship.

Nebraska has been giving teams trouble all season, scoring wins over Oklahoma and Missouri when they were both ranked.

The Cornhuskers were bolstered all season by Heisman Trophy finalist Ndamukong Suh, who notched 4.5 sacks in the Texas/Nebraska game alone. He is the first defensive finalist since 1997, when Charles Woodson became the first defensive player in history to win the award.

Despite their heartbreaking loss to Texas, Nebraska gets a consolation prize in the form of Arizona, who finished second in the Pac-10 behind Oregon. ‘Zona locked up its place in the Pac-10 after a huge 21-17 road upset of USC, which snapped the Wildcats’ seven-game losing streak to the Trojans.

The two teams faced off in the Holiday Bowl in 1998, where the Wildcats rallied to beat Nebraska, 23-20. Needless to say, Nebraska will do everything it takes to make sure they don’t have a repeat performance of the ’98 Holiday Bowl.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 10:13 pm by bryan

Nebraska gets past Colorado, 28-20

The Nebraska Cornhuskers turned in a sluggish performance in a 28-20 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes.

Nebraska got off to a quick start and took a 21-7 lead into halftime, but seemed to stop playing in the second half.

They allowed an inferior Colorado team to hang around and make things interesting in the fourth quarter.

That’s not the type of momentum the Cornhuskers were looking for heading into the Big 12 championship game.

The good news is that Nebraska feels fairly confident going up against a Texas team that looked a little bit shaky last week.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 7:40 pm by steve