The Big 12 Championship game Saturday night held in the sparkling new Cowboys Stadium nearly made the BCS computer programs go haywire. A game winning field goal by Hunter Lawrence as time expired saved Texas from a monumental upset at the hands of Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers played a truly inspired defensive performance with a scheme that gave the Longhorns and Colt McCoy everything they could handle all night long. Ndamukong Suh made sure anyone who didn’t know his name before the game was sure to know it when it was over.
In the words of a great Johnny Cash song, “My name is Suh! How do you do? Now you’re gonna die.” Suh threw Texas offensive linemen and McCoy around like a rag doll. He fought through double teams and made tackles while being held, but it wasn’t just Suh who played great, it was the entire defense.
Unfortunately for the Huskers, their offense was horrific. Despite a great coaching job by Bo Pelini and his brother and defensive coordinator, Carl, the game came down to the final seconds and a replay review that put a second on the clock allowing time for the game winning field goal. Sometimes even your best isn’t enough.
Instead of being able to praise his players for their inspired performance in a tough loss, Pelini spewed expletives in the tunnel under the stadium, calling for Commissioner Don Bebe to be brought to him, meanwhile Carl went back on the field to yell at Texas players that they should be ashamed to accept the Big 12 trophy. It was a sorry display for a coach and his brother who have been known to have anger issues.
All the while, Athletic Director Tom Osborne, a man who’s seen his share of championships and bitterly tough losses was left to try and make sense of what he was witnessing. Pelini has brought the Cornhuskers back to relevance after a few years in the dessert, but he needs to take a page from Osborne’s book and learn that you win and lose with class. And he owes Texas and the Big 12 a public apology.
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