Taylor Martinez went off a week ago against Kansas State, leading many (including myself) to think he could be the second coming of Tommy Frazier and lead Nebraska back to the promised land.
Nebraska fell 20-13 today to a Texas team that has been listless at times this season. The Longhorns held the explosive dual threat quarterback to 21 yards rushing on 13 carries. Nebraska only mustered 125 yards on 44 carries as a team. It wasn’t much better through the air, as Martinez and backup Zac Lee combined for 77 yards on 8-of-21 passing. On the bright side, they didn’t throw any interceptions. So there’s that.
It’s a big step for the Texas defense, which three weeks ago was embarrassed by UCLA. But mostly it’s a big wake-up call for Martinez and the Cornhuskers, who had moved all the way up to No. 5 in the rankings despite really not having beat anyone of consequence.
It’s too early to completely write off the Cornhuskers. Texas was coming off of a bye week, so that definitely helped. Plus, Martinez is young and he’ll have games like this every once in a while. Nebraska will just have to hope that when that happens, its defense can do enough for the win.
This is a stark reminder, however, that what you think you’re seeing in college football is normally not what you’re really seeing. This is one of the only sports in which that sentence makes sense.
