Plenty of numbers could have been running through Chris Bunch's mind after Nebraska's 56-7 defeat of Nicholls State on Saturday.
The Cornhuskers were 7-of-12 converting third down attempts compared to the Colonel's 3-of-13 tally.
Nicholls State passed for zero yards on three attempts while NU quarterbacks Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz combined for 237 yards passing. And the Colonels' 187 rushing yards were overshadowed by the Huskers' 261 yards on the ground.
But really, for Bunch, it came down to the number five.
After five plays in the first quarter, starting quarterback Vince Montgomery went down with a knee injury and Nicholls State Coach Jay Thomas was calling Bunch's number.
"It seemed like we had something going there and then when he went down, it was a big swing," Thomas said. "Certainly we hate that Vince got hurt, but it was good to get Chris out (there). We got him a ton of work today."
While Thomas had planned on giving Montgomery and Bunch even minutes on the field, he said throwing Bunch into the atmosphere of Memorial Stadium earlier than expected and asking the freshman to run the offense was a great learning experience.
Overall, Thomas said, the entire Colonel team learned a lot from the afternoon, even though the scoreboard may haven shown a little bit different story.
"Earlier in the week I wanted to thank Nebraska for giving us the opportunity to come and play and to help our program," Thomas said. "It's been good for our players to come and have the opportunity to play here. Now they've got something when they go on; they can tell their kids they played here."
For all the pressure surrounding him during the game, Bunch said he thought he had prepared accordingly.
But, with the speed and size of the Nebraska defensive line and secondary, Bunch said it was difficult to get anything going for long periods of time with Nicholls State's triple option system.
Defensive back Toney Edison added that the Colonels' field position was never very good, especially in the second half. While the Huskers had plenty of opportunities to start at or beyond the midfield, Nicholls State found themselves 70 yards or more from the goal line on most occasions.
"We made a lot of good plays," Edison said. "We played them real good the first half, and then in the second half we had bad field position. We were on the 30- and 40-yard lines sometimes, and it was really tough for us."
With the status of Montgomery's injury unknown following the game, Nicholls State heads into their next week of practice, preparing for Louisiana Tech, who Nebraska defeated 49-10 last weekend.
Saturday's experience, though difficult, showed the Colonels that they have a lot to work on, but that they also have players that can be counted on.
"I prepare myself to get ready for something like this - the starting quarterback going down," Bunch said. "I practice all week so that if something goes wrong, I have to go in and take over the offense, so that's what I tried to do today."
