Huskers fall to Texas 20-13

Nebraska dropped more than the ball against Texas.

The Huskers entered Saturday's game as a legitimate national title contender, with a No. 5 ranking and a quarterback in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

But in the 20-13 loss to the unranked Longhorns, the Huskers let three would-be touchdown passes slip through their hands, benched their Heisman-candidate quarterback and all but fumbled away any national championship dreams.

Nebraska wide receiver Niles Paul, who campaigned publicly for a bigger role in the offense earlier this season, dropped a pass that would have likely scored a touchdown. Running back Rex Burkhead bobbled a first-half pass inside the 10-yard line, and wide receiver Brandon Kinnie added to the series of follies in the fourth quarter. Paul said those miscues cost the Huskers a 6-0 record.

"If we make those catches," he said, "we win that game."

NU coach Bo Pelini agreed, saying his team's loss could be attributed to a series of missed opportunities and failed plays.

"Football comes down to execution. It comes down to fundamentals. It comes down to technique. It comes down to playing the right way," Pelini said. "We didn't play the right way today. We didn't get it done. We got beat."

Nebraska spent virtually the entire game playing from behind, and Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert more than quadrupled his season rushing total with 71 yards.

Husker cornerback Prince Amukamara said Gilbert's speed caught the Nebraska defense off-guard. That element of surprise led to two Texas scoring drives in the game's first seven minutes, on which Gilbert scored his first rushing touchdown of the year and the Longhorns took a 10-0 lead.

NU kicker Alex Henery answered with a field goal early in the second quarter, but Gilbert added his second rushing touchdown to make it 17-3.

The two sides then traded field goals and made it 20-6 before a late punt return for a touchdown by Eric Hagg off a trick play — it was the first return of Hagg's career and the longest in school history — made it a one-possession game with less than four minutes to play. A failed onside kick and underwhelming defensive stand allowed Texas to run out the clock.

But it was the offense, not the defense, which failed most poignantly. Stopping the Husker offense became a joint project between the Longhorn defense and the Nebraska receivers. Texas contained the running game while the Husker wide receivers paralyzed the passing game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez — yes, the same Taylor Martinez who ran for 241 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas State — was held to 21 rushing yards, zero touchdowns and two fumbles before being benched in the third quarter in favor of Zac Lee.

Lee, the 2009 starter who was criticized for a lack of mobility, outgained Martinez on the ground and led a late field goal-scoring drive that was buoyed by a series of Texas personal fouls. But the Nebraska wide outs did not discriminate in whose passes they dropped, as Kinnie coughed up a would-be score on a fourth-down play that shattered the hearts of the 85,648 fans in attendance.

Still, more stinging than the loss in a rematch of last year's Big 12 Conference Championship Game was the fact that the dream season that so many had predicted for the Huskers came to a crashing halt.

Barring an unprecedented collapse of powerhouse teams, Nebraska won't even sniff the BCS National Championship game. And after being benched in two of the last three games, Martinez will probably have to wait a few years to win that Heisman.

Pelini said, however, that his team still has plenty to play for. If the Huskers win their remaining six games, they could clinch the Big 12 North and earn a return trip to the conference title game.

"Our first goal is to win the Big 12," Pelini said. "It's still out there for us to go do."

Running back Roy Helu Jr. said pushing past Texas will be the focus as the Huskers prepare for next week's game at Oklahoma State.

"We have to put it in the past, move on and persevere through this loss," Helu said. "It's a lot of mental stuff."

Even after dropping so many passes and postseason opportunities against Texas, Pelini said his team shouldn't have any problem regrouping for the Cowboys.

"It's pretty easy when you look in the mirror and take responsibility for it," Pelini said. "You look at it in black and white and you move forward."

mitchsmith@dailynebraskan.com