... HUSKERS LOSE GRIP, THEN HOLD ON
Nebraska had victory sealed, then fumbled it away, then came up big, all in the final 4 minutes of the Cornhuskers' ECFA Week 2 game against the Clemson Tigers. In the end, it added up to a 17-10 Nebraska win.
Leading, 17-3, in the fourth quarter, the Cornhuskers (1-1, 0-0 Western)seemed to have things well in hand. But they couldn't move the ball much in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers (0-2, 0-0 Eastern) closed within a touchdown when Parker hit Ashe for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
After a Nebraska punt, Clemson drove a short field and looked a certainty to score again, and and again, Ashe was involved. But this time, the plan turned to dust, when Ashe caught a pass, was hit at the Nebraska 10 by Smith, and fumbled. The Cornhuskers recovered and tried to run the clock out with 3:56 left. But on 1st-and-10, Legate ran 5 yards and fumbled himself! Maxwell recovered for Clemson, and the Tigers were 15 yards from paydirt again with 3:15 to go and three time outs.
Parker had to scramble on 1st down, gaining 1, as he was pressured by Nebraska defensive lineman Williams. That was a story all day, as Williams had a whopping 11 tackles, including three for loss (1 sack). A 10-yard penalty on Clemson on second down wiped out a short gain, and Ellington caught a pass on 2nd-and-19, getting back 8 yards. But a pass toward the end zone was inadvertently caught at the line of scrimmage by Dye on third down, leaving 7 seconds left. Ashe broke a double team and got open at the 6, and caught the pass, but he was tackled by Nebraska LB Fisher from behind to end the game.
Both teams have all their conference games in front of them, so national title dreams aren't yet dead for Clemson. For Nebraska, it's a second straight game that came down to the final play, but this time the ending was much better than their 25-23 loss to Purdue.
Ed
