NU’s conservative offense leads to victory over CU

BOULDER, COLO. — If the tryptophan from the leftover turkey didn't put college football fans to sleep, Nebraska's offense probably did the trick during the Cornhuskers' 28-20 win against Colorado on Friday.

Fans who turned on the television to one of the few games being played the day after Thanksgiving watched a conservative Husker offense convert just five first downs and compile a total of 89 yards in the first half. That's because while most Americans were helping themselves to extra portions of day-old pumpkin or cherry, NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson served himself a big slice of humble pie Friday afternoon.

Watson, a guru of the West Coast offense, has had to do what he calls "fight the urge" ever since an embarrassing 9-7 loss to Iowa State in October.

"Dude, going deep," Watson said when asked what the urge was. "You want to throw it, you want to sling it around."

Instead, Watson has implemented a sometimes plodding offensive strategy that had Nebraska finish with just 217 yards against the Buffaloes.

"You don't know how hard it is to fight the urge," Watson said. "But we're trying to protect and help our younger players develop, like our wide receivers and our quarterback."

A big part of the game plan is minimizing risks, especially on inherently difficult third-and-long conversion attempts. This has led to conservative play calls, like two quarterback draw plays that were called when Nebraska needed more than 10 yards for a first down. Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee said he doesn't mind the conservative play calls, as long the Huskers are winning – which they have been in the five games since the loss to the Cyclones.

"There's no reason to take chances when we have a defense like we do," Lee said.

Niles Paul doesn't feel slighted by the dumbed-down strategy, either. The Huskers were 3 of 10 on third down conversions, but Nebraska's leading wide receiver said he understands why he isn't asked to run a deep pattern when the Huskers need it for a new set of downs.

"Sometimes it can get a little frustrating, but I trust in coach Watson and all the offensive coaches that they're going to do what they feel is right at that time," Paul said. "Of course, they're my coaches, and I believe in what they're doing."

The unadventurous offensive scheme is actually exciting to at least one sect of the team. Center Jacob Hickman said he loves Nebraska's emphasis on running the ball. The Huskers attempted just 14 passes and ran 40 plays on the ground, including 12 on Nebraska's second-to-last drive of the game.

"Conservative play calling kind of plays into a fat kid's world," Hickman said. "I like it, especially that last drive where we put it all the way in with pretty much the same play. I like conservative play calling because it's smart and keeps the ball in our hands."

Hickman said Nebraska used slight variations of the same inside zone running play that accounted for 70 of Nebraska's 80 yards on the game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter. Watson said he didn't have any other choice.

"It's one of those situations where you're managing a win. It's a hard situation," Watson said. "We're young; you don't want to put the game in the quarterback's hands or the receiver's hands quite yet."

So the conflicted coach once again went away from the kind of offense he prefers and kept it simple. The Huskers played to their strengths, relying on the most experienced players on their offense: the lineman, tight ends and running backs – according to Watson. He only called two passing plays on the drive, one of which was completed to Paul for a 10-yard gain on third down.

It served as a microcosm for the game, where Watson said his group played to the Husker defense and special teams, and tried to stay out of the way.

"It's not romantic, and you're not going to get any style points for it," Watson said. "Everyone had to check their ego at the table. You want to do all of these things, but hey, it's working. It's working, and I can't apologize for 9-3, man. I can't do it."

krisknowlton@dailynebraskan.com