Normally efficient Husker offense defused by SJSU

Nebraska's victory over San Jose State on Saturday was not what many thought it should've been.

It was a victory that briefly raised blood pressure levels inside Memorial Stadium as the Spartans stayed too close for too long.

It was also one where the highlight-reel prone antics of Nebraska's offense were absent through much of the game.

Nebraska's offense sputtered during the majority of the team's 35-12 victory. Players and coaches both lamented that the Husker offense never found a rhythm in their game, despite the lopsided final score.

Penalties and mental mistakes halted the offense's momentum. It took strong performances from Nebraska's defensive and special teams units to bolster the lack of offensive firepower in the first three quarters.

Nebraska compiled 315 yards of total offense from 57 plays, but only 99 of them were gained on the ground. Senior quarterback Joe Ganz threw for 216 yards, but he also had an interception and no touchdowns.

By halftime, the offense had punted three times, compiled only 111 yards of total offense - including 22 rushing yards - and gained just seven first downs.

The score was 14-9 at the half. Nebraska's offense wouldn't create points again until the fourth quarter.

"In the first three-and-a-half-quarters, our offense was anemic," Ganz said. "Once we did one thing right, we would do a couple things wrong."

"We just can't keep putting ourselves in that situation," he said.

Head Coach Bo Pelini said the team's weaknesses weren't the result of a lack of energy, but perhaps a lack of focus.

"We had a myriad, just a multitude of errors in the first half," Pelini said.

Nebraska's running game woes didn't go unnoticed by Pelini either.

"We're not all on the same page. In order to run the football, it has to be 11 guys doing their job. When you have a breakdown here and a breakdown there - it wasn't executed very well. And the times when we did execute, we didn't run it very well," he said.

Nebraska started the game with a five-play opening drive that took 3:12 and netted negative 10 yards.

San Jose State responded with a five-play, 59-yard touchdown drive that took two minutes - they missed the extra point attempt, however, and later missed a 32-yard field goal try.

Nebraska retaliated with a nine-play, 86-yard touchdown drive late in the first quarter.

But a dramatic 49-yard interception return for a touchdown in the middle of the first quarter by junior defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh extended Nebraska's lead and helped boost the offense.

"When you see your defense playing like that when your offense is doing so bad, it's really easy to get up after that and say, 'They're doing it. We need to go out and do it,'" senior offensive lineman Matt Slauson said.

San Jose State scored a field goal to begin the fourth quarter, but their momentum was shattered when sophomore Niles Paul took the ensuing kickoff return 85 yards for a touchdown.

The kickoff return was a key moment in the game that helped prompt the Husker offense to two consecutive scoring drives to end the game.

"It gave us a boost of energy, it was a good play for us," Pelini said of Paul's kickoff return. "They were hanging around, hanging around, so that gave us a little breathing room and that helped."

Despite the win, Pelini and his players still addressed the need to improve on Saturday's efforts and prepare for next week's matchup against New Mexico State.

Saturday was a wake-up call, Ganz said.

"It's something that we can fix," he said. "Now, we realize that we aren't as good as we thought we were. We can go back to work on Monday, learn from everything and just try and get better."

johnnyperez@dailynebraskan.com