It’s difficult to recall the last time I’ve seen a Nebraska QB throw interceptions on back-to-back passing attempts. Ditto, accounting for 8 turnovers in the first two games of the season. If there’s another QB for a prominent college football program who has as many turnovers (or even just INTs) as Joe Dailey has, I’d like to know who and where.

That said, what happened on Saturday wasn’t all on Dailey. But it was close.

Southern Miss played better against NU in Lincoln (both times) than they did at home. They have a good defense and an okay offense. National championship material they are not. But they’re certainly good enough to win with a 5 to 1 turnover advantage. Of course, few Div. I-A teams will typically win against another with as many turnovers as Nebraska had.

By anyone’s count, Dailey gave Southern Miss two fieldgoals (off the first two picks) and a TD in the second half when pick #3 was returned all the way. Honestly, Dailey handed the opponent 12 of their 21 points. And that’s not even considering the botched scoring chances…

After Ross’s late 4th and 1 conversion, Dailey’s “in the clutch” performance consisted of incompletions (one of which could’ve easily been a TD to Herian if Dailey threw sooner), a delay-of-game penalty, and a tuck-and-run attempt on 4th & 15. The last of those was the most baffling. That was one instance where risking another INT would’ve been appropriate. (What if Scott Frost hadn’t thrown into coverage with the game on the line a few years ago?) And did anyone else notice that Dailey came up short by about, oh, say, a delay-of-game-penalty’s-worth of yardage on that last run?

Corey Ross and Matt Herian have emerged as our most-reliable offensive players. Having no meaningful offensive contributions from the triumvirate of Horne, LeFlore, and Fluellen over the course of two games makes us about 95% of the team we could be. I know most of the focus in the aftermath of this game will be on the turnovers, but some of the coaching decisions seem to also be an issue.

What’s with us getting down close to their 30-yard-line twice and going for it on 4th and long instead of trying field goals? If DeAngelis earned the right to be the kicker (over Dyches, who as a freshman last year was putting it through from 40+) then shouldn’t he be out there in situations like these? I realize his 35-yarder was no thing of beauty. Try Dyches then. If we get field goals instead of a Dailey interception and incompletion on those plays, 6 points is helpful in a game decided by 4. Even if we only make one of them, then at the end of the game we only need another field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 15. Even if we miss them both, we don’t get that 4th down INT returned back into our territory.

On defense, as much as I’d like to believe the hype, I’m not sure this is the best secondary in the nation. For sure, with Grixby in, we aren’t. Strangely, at one point in the game Fabian Washington seemed to be celebrating after a Southern Miss completion. Daniel Bullocks continues to play well. Still waiting for his brother to be heard from.

Overall, it’s safe to say Dailey will no longer be on any Heisman watch lists after this outing. If he keeps giving the ball up, there isn’t an opponent left that can’t take advantage like Southern Miss did. The scariest thing for me watching Dailey is how many INTs defenses have had in their hands but dropped. If the losses start to add up, I suspect Dailey will become a captain without a starting position.

THIS WEEK

Pitt probably has comparable talent to Southern Miss. Also, they are playing at home. Although they lost Larry Fitzgerald from last year, they have almost their entire defense back. This is the week we find out how the 2004 Nebraska team responds to something bad. We’ll see what Dailey is made of. Will he bounce back and play well, or go in the tank like his predecessor?

NATIONALLY

If you take a look at what happened in the Big 12 North (Kansas St, Missouri), NU’s loss doesn’t seem that catastrophic. As they say, it’s better to have lost early rather than late.

NFL, JUST FOR FUN

Tune into Monday Night Football this week and check out Ahman Green and the Packers going against Mike Rucker and Mike Minter of the Panthers. Just for a little nostalgia, remember: These three guys were once on the same championship Husker team (1995). Green and Rucker were backups in the national championship game that year. Oh…what days those were.

AN ABSOLUTELY CLASSY TRIBUTE

The loss notwithstanding, the thing I want to remember about Saturday is the pre-game Sept. 11 tribute in the stadium. Nice of ABC to show some of it. On the Husker radio broadcast, one of the commentators was left nearly speechless.

What is the significance of college football? Well, I write columns but I don’t mind admitting: It’s just simple, fun entertainment. What happened in the game wasn’t that important. Our QB problems aren’t a life and death matter. When you consider that 70,000+ people sat safely through several hours in a packed stadium on Sept. 11, 2004—meanwhile there are people plotting to kill Americans who would like nothing more than to attack us in large settings—at the same time, countless Americans are risking their lives every day to prevent those very threats—well…kinda puts it all in perspective. It’s certainly worth not forgetting.

Kudos to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the nice tribute. Mammoth kudos to the people who take the heat every day so the rest of us have the freedom and the security to sit around watching college football.

The voice of Scarlet Commentary is Jeffrey A. Leever, a Nebraska native also stuck behind enemy lines in Jefferson County, Colo. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Nebraska (Kearney) and a freelance writer and author. Some of Jeff’s writings of the nonfootball kind can be found online at Barnes & Noble 1, 2, Amazon.com 1, 2, and at MenofIntegrity.net 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Contact Jeff at [email protected].