 "Photo: Shannon Cross")
Statistics don't always give the most accurate picture of a player's performance.
For example, Adam Carriker's stat line from Saturday's game doesn't do justice to the impact he had against Troy.
The Nebraska defensive end was credited with three tackles, including one for loss, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries in the Cornhuskers' 56-0 shutout of the Trojans.
But what the stats don't show is how the 6-foot-6, 295-pound senior from Kennewick, Wash., had Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook on the run all night, forcing Haugabook to make numerous bad passes and generally just disrupting the Trojans' offensive rhythm.
On numerous occasions, Haugabook got off a pass right before Carriker was about to record a sack.
"You noticed him tonight, that was obvious," NU Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said of Carriker. "We expect all our guys to be able to do that, but it sure helps when you have a guy like that."
Carriker said he was trying to redeem himself from the Huskers' 28-10 loss to No. 2 Southern California on Sept. 16 in which he recorded just two tackles and a pass breakup.
"Personally, I felt I didn't play very well last week," Carriker said. "I was kind of a man on a mission tonight."
While NU Coach Bill Callahan said Carriker played great and took advantage of a good matchup Saturday, he also noted the play of the rest of the defensive line.
"I thought our front four played extremely well tonight," Callahan said. "They put a lot of pressure and a lot of heat on (Troy's) quarterback."
The shutout marked the first for Nebraska since the 2003 season, when the Blackshirts blanked both Iowa State and Troy.
The shutout also was Cosgrove's first in his three seasons running the Nebraska defense.
Against 24th-ranked Georgia Tech in their previous game, the Trojans scored 20 points. The week before, they put up 17 points against No. 19 Florida State.
The Blackshirts executed the defensive game plan and made the plays needed to disrupt Troy's offense. Cosgrove said.
"It was a pretty successful day for the defensive line," NU senior defensive end Jay Moore said. "We just wanted to get after it. We put constant pressure on their quarterback all day and really muddied up their game plan, I'm sure."
So what exactly provided the spark for the Blackshirts to post their first shutout in three years?
Carriker said watching film from last weekend's USC game in which the Trojans rolled up 399 yards provided some extra motivation.
"We wanted to prove that we're a better team than what we showed (against USC)," Carriker said. "We knew they were going to throw the ball a lot, so there were plenty of opportunities to get sacks and knock them down. That was a major priority for us tonight."
