Video:
Jamal Turner Talks About Winning Catch
Randy York’s N-Sider
Whoever switched channels on their TVs, turned off their
radios, bolted from their favorite watch site or left the stadium early because
they expected a different outcome Saturday should know better. When are you
going to learn not to give up on a Nebraska football team that has now recovered
from double-digit deficits in the second half to win three Big Ten Conference games this fall? If beating Wisconsin in Lincoln and Northwestern in Evanston didn’t
teach you anything, maybe the rally that hijacked Michigan State, 28-24, in East
Lansing, will.
Those with
stout hearts and stainless steel stomachs saw the Taylor
Martinez legacy continue to grow, plus the beginning of the place Jamal
Turner seeks
in Husker history – a milestone that just might be big
enough to take Bo
Pelini and his express all the way to a Big Ten
Championship in Indianapolis and a Rose Bowl berth in Pasadena.
If you were one of the guilty parties that pulled the
plug on your favorite team or became a Doubting Thomas in whatever overcrowded
pew you were sitting, or standing, or pacing through, you missed the capstone
of Martinez passing Eric
Crouch as Nebraska’s career total offense leader, not to mention
Turner’s first career Husker touchdown.
We all know how Jamal Turner lit up high school
scoreboards in Texas. He was a quarterback with speed, talent and swagger. He
was also smart and strategic when he caught a glimpse of what life might be
like watching Martinez at the controls of an explosive offense one year after another.
Turner
Did What It Takes to Be a Go-To Man
That thought triggered another – looking at a different
field of dreams and envisioning yourself catching passes instead of throwing
them. What Turner didn’t factor in was everything else related to making the move
to receiver. You know, little things, such as learning how to block and how to run
precise routes, plus how to study, what to absorb and why it’s so hard to compete immediately
at a position you’ve never played before.
But there was Turner, a sophomore and onetime prep quarterback superstar,
in the end zone, late Saturday afternoon in East Lansing. He was calm and
collected catching a five-yard pass from Martinez, a pass loaded with 500 pounds
of pressure. Talk about two proud, polished and poised athletes connecting for 6
points with 6 seconds left on the clock and 6 teammates that immediately want
to surround the hero, slap him on the back and send him to the sidelines with the
kind of celebratory hug that a catch like that deserves.
“I can’t believe that I won the game,” Turner said. “I’ve
been dreaming about this my whole life.” If he wondered what a magical moment like that
would feel like, he need not wonder anymore. The experience included yelling
and hugging and young men on the verge of tears, some tears so real that their
owners turned away to avoid detection. This was a true celebration, and Turner
was right in the middle of it. “It was crazy,” he said.
Crazy
Describes Game, Postgame Celebration
Somehow, crazy was an appropriate word for Pelini, too,
especially when he tried to balance and reconcile the jubilation with the
boatload of mistakes and penalties his team made. As always, Pelini was harder on himself than he should
have been. When Nebraska took the Big Ten’s best offense into a stadium that’s
home to the league’s best defense, who wouldn’t expect a train wreck when both
teams get on the same track and start coming full speed right at each other?
Yes, the game’s biggest hero threw three interceptions.
Martinez also fumbled, but Pelini mentioned twice that he couldn’t say enough
about his junior quarterback with senior stats and how he played and finished
the game.
“He made some mistakes, but you know, everybody does,”
Pelini said. “When it came right down to the end, he didn’t blink an eye. He
put this football team on his back, and he made some plays with his arm and his
legs.”
Martinez
Had a Hand in All Four Touchdowns
In addition to throwing short touchdown passes to Turner
and Ameer
Abdullah, Martinez scored two touchdowns himself – the first on a
71-yard run in the second quarter to pull the Huskers into a 14-14 tie and the
second on a 35-yard sprint to bring Nebraska within 24-21 with 7:02 remaining
in the game. On 17 carries, Martinez gained 236 yards and lost 31, giving him a
net of 205 yards rushing for a 12.1-yard average.
The biggest Martinez stat of the day was accumulating 176
of his 355 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter after the
Nebraska offense went AWOL in 3Q and the Blackshirts struggled
repeatedly to get off the field.
Here’s another amazing stat to mull over: Before
Saturday, Michigan State had given up only two second-half touchdowns all
season. Yet Martinez engineered two TDs himself in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring one and throwing for another.
The biggest play of the game came on a fourth-down-and-10
at the Nebraska 42 with 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Martinez
found senior tight end Kyler
Reed for a 38-yard strike that took the Huskers to the Michigan State
20. You know the rest of the story, but let's add this footnote from Martinez,
who said: "We've been in that situation before, and we know that we can't
be stopped. Coach Pelini called a great series of plays on that last drive, and
our receivers were able to make some big plays, especially Jamal on that last
play. It's great that he was finally able to get that first career touchdown."
Beck
Said Pass to Reed Was the Best Call
Pelini revealed on his postgame radio show what went
through his mind before giving the green light to the play designed to keep the
winning touchdown drive alive. “I asked Tim
Beck: ‘Is this your best call?’” Pelini related. “Tim said: ‘Yes, I
like it going to Kyler’ and I trusted Tim on that.”
Pelini also trusted the last Nebraska play of the game. “That
was definitely going to be our last snap from center,” Nebraska’s head coach
said. “I trusted Taylor to make the play. It was a big-time throw and a big-time catch.”
At that point of the game, five yards looked more like
50. “Every yard was tough to get, and every yard was earned,” Pelini
said. “I’m proud of these guys. We’ve had to come from behind in the fourth
quarter in two straight road games. That’s good, but I told the kids: ‘Let’s
not do it that way anymore’. I wish we could make it easier on us. I’m aging
quick … I’m 44, but I don’t know how old I am now after the last couple weeks.”
Pelini does know the Huskers are halfway home on the
six-game winning streak required to keep them in the Cat Bird’s seat and
control their own destiny in the Big Ten's Legends Division. Next up is Penn State
Saturday. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The matchup could be another
intense Big Ten battle, so whether you have a game ticket or decide to watch or
listen somewhere else, here's a suggestion: Don’t give up on Pelini’s Kardiac Kids.
Huskers
Have Leadership, Character, Heart
“I’ve been saying all along this is a special group with great leadership and tremendous character,” Pelini said. “These kids want it
bad. We don’t always play as smart as we need to play, but one thing you can’t
question about the guys in that locker room is their heart.” In my opinion, there's no doubt about that. It’s the rest of our hearts that need tuning up.
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Voices from Husker Nation
My son and I
live in Illinois and attended the Northwestern game. One Wildcat fan with
whom we exchanged friendly banter referred to his team as the Cardiac Cats
because they always seem to be involved in nail-biters. After the Huskers
made another of their game-winning fourth-quarter rallies at Michigan State, I
suggested that Nebraska was perhaps the "Corn-ary Kids." By
the way, hats off to Northwestern fans. You were very friendly and cordial. One
even told us that he went to Lincoln for last year's game and was impressed
with how well they were treated before, during, and after the game, even though
Nebraska lost. I am always proud to hear that. Congrats on another
incredible win at MSU, and GO BIG RED. Rich MacMillan, Shorewood, Illinois
Somewhere up in Heaven late Saturday
afternoon, all the Saints were hearing, "Man,
Woman, and Child!" Kevin Horn, Alliance, Nebraska
Your
article after Michigan State was excellent, witty and captured the character
and grit of the team. Penn State will be rough! Dan Holstrom, Morrisville,
Pennsylvania
I just had a chance to read your
article about the presentation of the game ball to the Marine after the
Michigan game. That was a great piece and quite a story. It was great to
read about the deep emotional effect that Major Kapitulik had on the
team--and I'm sure the coaches---and reflect on the outcome of the
Michigan game. What was really penetrating was reading the article
this morning after the outcome of last night's game at Michigan State. One
can only imagine that the deep impact from the week before carried over to
last night with only seconds remaining. Let's hope there is continuing
carry over through the remaining games--including a Rose Bowl victory. We
can only hope that a bit less drama is needed for our coming wins.Tony
Acone, Lincoln, Nebraska/Palm Desert, California
Aren’t some of us getting a
little old to handle these kinds of come-from-behind Husker victories? Ken
Thomas, Overland Park, Kansas
Thanks for one of the greatest
articles I have read on the Huskers since graduating from NU in 1954. I am due
for my third pacemaker in three months, but after Saturday’s game at Michigan
State, I may have to move that date up!! Dick Weller (I live 20 miles south of Rapid
City, S.D., in the Black Hills, 2.5 miles on the backside of Mt. Rushmore)
Christmas
comes early to Nebraska. spartyonjim@yahoo.com
