Barney Cotton has been under fire for the last couple of weeks. The Nebraska offensive line coach has seen his unit struggle at times while adjusting to new faces and a new offense. He’s been second-guessed by many people, few of whom truly understand all the facets of his job.
So after a strong performance by the offensive line in Saturday’s 51-38 win against Washington, how did Cotton plan to celebrate, a reporter asked. Was it time to kick back and relax? Enjoy a beer, perhaps?
“I’m going to go home and probably go to sleep,” Cotton said. “It’s been a tough three-week run so far. This hasn’t been a cakewalk. Tonight’s a night to rest and get ready to get up tomorrow and get ready to do it all over again.”
At least after this game, he can sleep easy.
The Huskers posted their highest rushing total of the year by far (309 yards) despite missing starting left guard Andrew Rodriguez and replacing him with Seung Hoon Choi, a walk-on who had played in just two career games previously.
Much of NU’s success was due to a new wrinkle Cotton and assistant John Garrison implemented. The Huskers started Yoshi Hardrick, Choi, Mike Caputo, Spencer Long and Tyler Moore, but unlike previous weeks in which only five or six linemen played, NU rotated players on a predetermined schedule. Jeremiah Sirles, Marcel Jones and Brandon Thompson were subbed in to keep everyone fresh, and the results were promising.
NU averaged 5.6 yards per carry and scored a season-high 51 points. As the game progressed, Sirles said he could see the Washington linemen start to wear down.
“There was no way we were going to lose that game,” tight end Ben Cotton said. “We wanted to do it up front. We wanted to be the ones that finished on the field. It didn’t matter if they played 11 guys in the box. We’re going to run the ball right at you and that’s what we did.”
Nothing exemplifies this point better than a string of fourth-quarter plays. Trying to bleed the clock, passing was nearly out of the question for NU. So the Huskers lined up and ran Rex Burkhead over the right side of the line time and time again, 10 times in 11 plays during a span of two drives.
One of those drives resulted in a touchdown, the other a turnover on downs after moving the ball to the Huskies’ 22-yard line.
“It’s pretty demoralizing when you say, ‘All right, we’re going to line up right here and run it right here. Stop it,'” Sirles said. “We just kept doing it and doing it and it seemed to work.”
“That’s the kind of football we want to play,” Thompson added. “We were calling the same exact play the last few drives when we were moving on them.”
Another reason for the success was increased level of comfort for several of the younger players. Moore, Long, Hardrick and Choi had never started a game before this season, but are beginning to get comfortable and settle in.
“I think all those guys that are starting for the first time are starting to figure it out, and it’s only going to get better as the year progresses,” Sirles said. “I remember last year in my first few starts, it felt like the world was spinning. As you progress, you start growing into your role and start figuring out what’s going on. I think that’s what happened to those guys.”
So don’t blame Barney Cotton if he just wants a chance to rest. He’s had to quickly prepare a group of green youngsters while adjusting to a new offense and hearing criticism from nearly every direction. Saturday’s performance validates the job he’s done, and while Cotton said the line isn’t a finished product, it’s improving.
Now maybe he can get everyone off his back.
“People have no idea,” Cotton said. “All I care about is doing a good job for Bo, doing a good job for our linemen. I absolutely will not now, or will not ever, derive my self-esteem by what others think about me.”