During Nevada's first drive on Saturday, quarterback Nick Graziano confidently passed three completions for 43 yards.
While the drive ended without a score, it seemed the sophomore was going to put some pressure on Nebraska's defense in his first career start.
But by the end of the game, the self-assurance Graziano had shown was replaced by utter frustration as the Blackshirts' front line wore down the Wolf Pack offense and ended Nevada's season opener in a 52-10 loss.
"Our offense really let our defense out to hang in that first half," Nevada Coach Chris Ault said. "Not getting first downs, not converting some opportunities that we had - the defense was just on the field too much."
The Wolf Pack failed to keep control of the football, allowing Nebraska more than 40 minutes of possession. Nevada failed to score an offensive touchdown, with its 10 points coming from a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter and an 80-yard interception that was returned for a touchdown by its defense a few minutes later.
As the Cornhusker defense halted all attempts at Wolf Pack rushes, Graziano began using the air.
After completing four of six passes in the first quarter, Graziano tossed for negative yardage in the second. By the third quarter his percentage fell quickly, as he threw only three completions on 14 attempts.
Graziano ended the game with eight completions on 24 passing attempts.
"We had our opportunities," Graziano said. "Like coach said, first downs killed us - put us in bad situations and the frustration built. We felt comfortable out there but just kept shooting ourselves in the foot and kept our defense on the field."
Most of the trouble came from a lack of execution on first downs, which put the Wolf Pack far behind the chains. By the time third down opportunities came, Graziano couldn't do enough to push Nevada through for a conversion, Ault said.
The 23-year coach also added that Nebraska's experienced linebackers and secondary caused chaos for Graziano and his receivers. Graziano was forced to release quickly, something he can only learn to do better with more game experience.
"He was OK," Ault said of Graziano. "When he did make a mistake, he knew what he did. He knows what we are trying to do offensively, and he got an idea and knew why he made a mistake and what he can do to correct it."
With three full quarters of experience - redshirt freshman Colin Kaepernick tried his luck in the fourth - in front of more than 84,000 boisterous Husker fans, it seems Graziano can only improve.
And the only way to accomplish that is to get back on the field.
"You just have to come back out on Monday and get ready for the next game," Graziano said.
KATELYNKERKHOVE@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
