When Nebraska wide receiver Terrence Nunn hauled in that third-and-three pass from quarterback Zac Taylor with a mere two minutes remaining in Saturday’s game at Lincoln, he held the fruition of a significant upset in his hands. The Cornhuskers were then leading 20-19 and all they had to do from that first down on was run out the clock on the half-frozen Texas Longhorns. Fortunately Aaron Ross had other plans. As Ross and his magnificent helmet jarred the ball from Nunn’s grasp, momentum dramatically switched once Marcus Griffin fell upon it. Through sheer luck and a touch of resiliency, the defending national champion Longhorns salvaged any hopes of Texas repeating its glorious 2005 title run.
While some consider backing into a win like that as an early sign of an impending apocalypse, others see it as a mark of a seasoned thoroughbred. Victory may most often come from a combination of great planning, talent, and execution, but it’s also quite common for great teams to have wins fall right into their laps based largely upon a projected aura of superiority. In this case, it was if Nunn felt a shock of extreme cognitive dissonance when it must have momentarily passed through his mind that he was icing the game with his timely reception. Apparently it was just too much for the Houston native to handle, to the point that he coughed up the football and essentially the biggest thing to happen to Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium since Eric Crouch.
In LSU’s 38-6 routing of Fresno State, it was especially rewarding to watch running back Alley Broussard flash signs that he’s fully recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2005 season. Broussard’s punishing style of rushing through would-be tacklers will likely lead him to a job on Sundays, even if the LSU junior never again ascends to the top of the Tiger’s crowded depth chart. While waiting for Broussard to appear off of the LSU bench like an incoming wrecking ball, remind yourself with the following highlight reel what makes the Lafayette native such an offensive threat…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TJok-aXKhB8
Speaking of electrifying offensive performances, Bastrop’s Dentray Washington rushed for 328 yards and scored 4 touchdowns in a 35-17 win over Anderson. Meanwhile AISD rushing leader Marcus Mann made 186 yards and three touchdowns look effortless in a 28-7 victory over Manor. Round Rock’s Marcus Jackson logged 174 yards rushing along with three touchdowns in a 41-19 win over Georgetown. At the quarterback position, Chase Rich of Westwood threw for 319 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-24 win over McNeil.
This article appears in October 20 • 2006.