BLACKSBURG, Va. - Nebraska's defense held No. 13 Virginia Tech's explosive offense to 10 points and only 190 total yards on 59 plays.
It only took one mistake to negate those efforts and send NU home with a 16-15 loss.
On second-and-six from his own 15-yard line, Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor found a wide-open Danny Coale on an 81-yard pass that would have gone for a touchdown had safety Matt O'Hanlon not made a shoestring tackle.
"You've got to go make the sack," NU coach Bo Pelini said. "You've got to go get them, and we didn't do it. (Taylor) got them to stop and hesitate, and the guy made a play. Good job by them."
O'Hanlon sacked Taylor for an eight-yard loss on the next play to give NU a chance, and Taylor threw an incomplete pass to make it third-and-goal from the 11.
After scrambling around in search of a receiver, Taylor found receiver Dyrell Roberts on the back right of the end zone with 21 seconds left in the game.
Without a timeout, NU didn't stand a chance from there. NU quarterback Zac Lee's last-ditch throw downfield was intercepted by Tech corner Rashad Carmichael.
NU defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders said the play call was a Cover 2 defense, and once Coale got past cornerback Anthony West, the play fell apart.
"The guys got behind us and we probably took a bad angle," Sanders said. "We were in a two-deep zone and we had some guys on the quarterback, but he unfortunately got out."
NU clung to a small lead over Tech for nearly all of the second half thanks to a career day from Alex Henery.
The junior kicker put up all of the Huskers' points on field goals of 40, 27, 19, 38 and 38 yards to help keep NU in a game in which its offense failed to get in the end zone of all five of its red zone possessions.
"We had our chances and we didn't take advantage," Henery said. "I'd like a win over my stats every time."
Roy Helu Jr. rushed for 169 yards on 28 carries to pace Nebraska's offense. Lee completed 11 of his 30 passes for 136 yards and two interceptions.
NU's defense held Taylor and the Hokies' offense in check offensively for much of the game. Taylor threw for 192 yards on the day and was held to 5 rushing yards.
Tech tailback Ryan Williams rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but NU's defense managed to bottle him up in the second half. The speedy redshirt freshman was limited to 13 yards in the game's final two quarters.
"I don't measure on yards or how we play," Pelini said. "You've got to win the football game. We didn't win the football game so we didn't play good enough in any phase of the game. I measure on results."
After rushing for 444 yards last week against Marshall, the Hokies managed only 86 yards on the ground Saturday, due in part to a dominant day from NU defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Suh collected a team-high eight tackles and a half a sack on the day while setting a school record for defensive linemen with four pass breakups.
Nebraska (2-1) will face Louisiana-Lafayette next Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. The homecoming game will commemorate the 300th-consecutive sellout of the stadium.
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16 comments
Why didn't Pelini challenge?
This is going to be a very good team this year
Santa Clause is coming to town
Anderson's Rule
Robin's Eggs are BlueWas Here
Helu looked like Johnny Rodgers at times.
Suh...simply an animal!..Henry answered each bell.
Huskers weren't supposed to win.
They are better now...than they were last year at the end of season.
They will win 10 games this year.
Love ya Huskers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!