It appears all Nebraska's rushing attack needed was a little nastiness. They got it in the form of 6'7" 315-pound offensive tackle Lydon Murtha and his return to the playing field Saturday in NU's 38-7 win over New Mexico State.
It was the senior's first game of the season after he missed Nebraska's two first games because of a staph infection in his left leg.
"It was good to see the big man back out there," said Head Coach Bo Pelini. "He's a heck of a football player. He brings an attitude with him and a physicalness. We're a better football team with him in there."
With the return of Murtha came the return of two Nebraska traditions: a productive option attack, and three Cornhuskers (Marlon Lucky, Quentin Castille, and Joe Ganz) exceeding 50 yards rushing. It's difficult to determine how much Murtha's return had to do with Nebraska's 330 rushing yards, a total that surpassed NU's output on the ground in its first two games combined, but the senior definitely had an impact.
On one monster 58-yard side-stepping gait from Lucky early in the third quarter, Murtha definitely made his presence known after connecting on a key block to spring the back.
"I remember I think I pancaked the guy and his helmet came off," Murtha said. "I kind of went down on him and threw him a little elbow. He got hit on the nose and he was out for the rest of the game so I don't know if I hurt him, but I booted his helmet and acted like I tripped over it. You know, the ref was eyeing me."
No wonder Cornhusker running backs were dashing through wide open running lanes all game to the tune of 7.5 yards per carry - NMSU defenders were probably scared of Murtha.
Murtha said he was just finishing the play and that it's all a part of a relentless attitude the offensive line wants to embody on Saturdays. Murtha said the offensive linemen have a catch phrase for each other: "Up Front Relentless."
"Coach Cotton and Coach Watson told us we we're going to run the football period," Murtha said. "If we're not getting yards, we're still going to run it - period.
"We had to take that mentality (Saturday night) and put a helmet on someone and play some football. To just go out there and run the football period and keep running it was a lot of fun."
Lucky and Ganz said that they came in with a "basic" rushing gameplan, sticking to just four or five plays, but running them out of different sets.
Pelini said that he felt the difference in the running game this week was the team's attitude, and that the coaching staff decided to go with a "basic" approach so his team could focus on being aggressive.
Murtha was perhaps the most aggressive Husker on Saturday, leading the offensive line in knockdowns.
Coach Cotton said on Friday that he wasn't sure if Murtha could start, but that his star tackle was taking reps away from other guys in practice by cutting them in line just to show that he could go on Saturday.
"I knew I was going to play because I had to play," Murtha said. "I can't miss three games."
Ganz said that Murtha brought a dominating physical presence, an attitude and also a cohesiveness to the offensive line that was missing without him.
"(Murtha) can do anything he wants, really, out there," Ganz said. "He can be as good as he wants to be. Getting Murth(a) back is just the last piece of the puzzle."
Senior guard Matt Slauson was quick to point out that the tackles that filled Murtha's shoes during the first two games, sophomore Jaivorio Burkes and freshman Marcel Jones, played well and have outstanding futures ahead of them, but said that it's hard to compete with the experience Murtha brings to the line. That said, Slauson agreed that having Murtha beside him in the trenches Saturday had a lot to do with the Husker running game finally breaking out of its shell.
"Murtha brings experience and he brings speed," Slauson said. "He knows every play what he's going to do as soon as he walks up to the line ... Murtha just brings a fire off mentality, so I think it really added to our success tonight."
Murtha said he asked the coaches "from day one" if he could play next to Slauson. He said that playing next to a great player like Slauson makes him feel like he can play better, and that a new level of intensity is added to his game when he plays next to Slauson.
The reunion of Slauson and Murtha on the right side of NU's line obviously paid huge dividends on Saturday, and at least temporarily silenced the grumbling of Husker nation about NU's running game.
"Me and Lydon have been really close ever since I got here," Slauson said. "He's probably my best friend on the team. We've played together so long that we kind of know how each other work, how we play, how we move. So I think we really compliment each other well, and to be able to play together as one with all that experience behind us is huge."
krisknowlton@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this article!