Finishing Name Of Game For Huskers

Everywhere you looked in the hotel lobby, you saw Husker fans.
 
That translated later in the day on Saturday, as the Nebraska support overwhelmed the home crowd, once again creating a Sea of Red in a road venue.
 
Then, the visiting fans, some who traveled so far west, cringed as Nebraska, favored to win, faced late adversity.

The first defeat of a young season appeared inevitable.
 
But Big Red persevered. Players united and executed when needed, and the Huskers returned to Lincoln victorious, still undefeated.
 
Yes, it's true.
 
The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team overcame a 2-1 deficit and played an error-free fifth game to defeat No. 25 San Diego 22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11, to improve to 4-0.
 
"I saw, when we got to the fifth game, how unified and together they were and how much they were playing for each other," Nebraska coach John Cook said. "It was pretty cool to see this, 'We're going to do this together,' and just how tight they pulled together."
 
Also, USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion welcomed considerably more Husker fans that those for the home team.
 
"I knew we'd have some fans," Cook said. "I didn't know we'd have that many."
 
Cook relived the difficult match to begin Nebraska's weekly volleyball and football news conference Monday at Memorial Stadium. That, of course, prefaced discussion of another difficult battle Nebraska faced Saturday in front of enormous support from Big Red fans who traveled west, hoping to will the Huskers to victory.
 
Oh, so close.
 
Whereas a volleyball team and its veteran coach have been in many a tight quarter, and most often exceled, Nebraska's football team, only in season two of coach Scott Frost's system, is still learning hard lessons.
 
Specifically, in finishing.
 
Nebraska played arguably its most complete half of football under Frost in establishing a 17-0 lead at Colorado. But when the Huskers didn't keep their foot on the pedal, and merely maintained their margin through the third quarter, the home team, suddenly feeling a pulse, responded.
 
"For whatever reason, we throttled down, and that's what happens when you throttle down," Nebraska offensive tackle and team captain Matt Farniok said. "It's been preached to us time and time again that you've always got to go, and we failed to do that.
 
"It's got to be an attack mentality four quarters, regardless of the situation."
 
Nebraska experienced a near identical road loss last season to Northwestern – also in overtime, by the exact same score, after the Wildcats scored a game-tying touchdown in the final minute, just like Colorado did.
 
In both games, Nebraska led 31-21 in the fourth quarter. Also in the fourth quarter, Northwestern produced a 99-yard touchdown drive, and Colorado scored on a 96-yard touchdown pass. Both teams produced more total yards in the fourth quarter than in the first three quarters combined.
 
Frost indirectly mentioned the Northwestern game on Monday when he discussed the importance of staying on the attack. It's one of two games last season Nebraska lost after leading by two scores or fewer in the fourth quarter. The other game, of course, being the season-opener against Colorado.
 
"That's a hurdle you need to get over as a team to make sure you win those games," Frost said. "And again, that's on us as coaches to make sure that we get that mentality."
 
Frost said his team played "three really solid quarters" on offense – good enough to win despite a rough third quarter. Defensively, the Huskers produced what Frost said was as close to three quarters of good football as he's ever had a defense play.
 
"And then," he said, "it fell apart."
 
Frost said playing in mile-high altitude "might have had something" to do with Saturday's fourth-quarter woes, but he wasn't interested in using that as an excuse.
 
Nebraska last season outscored Ohio State and Iowa in the fourth quarter in having to rally in narrow road defeats, and overcame a 6-0 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Michigan State, holding the lead for the final 5:13. Faced with a two-score lead entering the fourth quarter against Minnesota, the Huskers stormed past the Gophers for their first victory. Those games would indicate that physical stamina hasn't been the issue late in games.
 
"I think more than anything, it's a mentality to get over," Frost said. "The expectation to win and desire to go out and make the play that's going to make it happen."
 
Frost told his team at halftime on Saturday that one of two things would happen – they mess around and let Colorado back in the game, or they finish off the Buffaloes. He saw an excited team, and sensed the former would happen.
 
It didn't.


 
"We gave them a chance to get back in it, and that's exactly what they did," Farniok said. "We failed to come out with the same intensity and focus that we had when we started the game, and we let them back into it, and the results are because of that.
 
"That's on all of us regardless. Like I said earlier, we can't throttle down."
 
Players on Monday discussed Frost's 24-hour rule – win or loss, let your emotions simmer for one day before cleaning the slate and preparing for the next game. Do that, and continue to practice well, which Farniok said the team did Monday.
 
"I would say it was one of the best Mondays we've had," Farniok said, "and maybe that gut punch was what we needed to understand what it takes to dig a little deeper and find more of ourselves."
 
What else does Nebraska need to learn to finish its foe?
 
"There's nothing magical about it," senior linebacker and team captain Mohamed Barry said. "You just have to do it."
 
Nebraska's next opportunity could come Saturday, when Northern Illinois visits Lincoln. Rest assured, the Huskers are focused, ready to atone for last week's loss, and knowing the Huskies won at Memorial Stadium two seasons ago.
 
"Every team we're facing this year, we're going to give them the respect that they deserve like they're the best team," Barry said. "That's how we're preparing for NIU."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.