Ganz: It was a tough day

Todd Neeley
sports@hastingstribune.com

Anna Mostek/Tribune Nebraska's Niles Paul (24) ran in an 85-yard kickoff for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday. Nebraska defeated San Jose State 35-12 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

LINCOLN — Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz found himself and the Husker offense in place it hasn't been for awhile — stuck in neutral for four quarters.

The Huskers could do little to muster anything on offense in Saturday's 35-12 win over San Jose State in Lincoln, relying on a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ndamukong Suh and an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore Niles Paul.

Ganz finished the day 17 for 25 passing with 216 yards, no touchdowns and three sacks, as Nebraska struggled to just 315 total yards, including only 99 on the ground.

For Ganz, it was the first time in his Nebraska career that he didn't record a touchdown pass.

"We just couldn't get a rhythm," he said. "We can't just keep putting ourselves in that situation. We were in third and long too many times. We realized we're not as good as we thought we were. It was a tough day — frustrating. We've just gotta start faster."

Nebraska's best drive of the game was in the first quarter when NU drove 86 yards in nine plays for a touchdown to take the lead at 7-6. Sophomore running back Roy Helu Jr. tallied 67 of those yards. Helu led Nebraska with 59 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Despite his struggles behind center, Ganz became the 16th player in Nebraska history to pass for 2,000 yards in a career. His 2,118 yards are good for 15th on NU's career passing list.

Head Coach Bo Pelini said that while his team has "a long way to go" he was pleased with how Nebraska responded.

"I thought they reacted well," he said. "There was no panic on the sideline, no finger pointing. I liked their demeanor."

As for the struggles with the Nebraska running game, Pelini said it continues to be a mystery.

"We're not all on the same page," he said. "In order to run the football, it has to be 11 guys doing their job. When you have a breakdown here and a breakdown there — it wasn't executed very well. And the times when we did execute, we didn't run it very well. We need to take advantage of some things. We'll get back to work on Monday."

Offensive line coach Barney Cotton said he's not giving up on his offensive line, which for the second consecutive game to start the 2008 season struggled to move the chains on the ground.

"I'm not ready to throw up the white flag," he said. "It's not time to surrender. When you look at the film, you realize you're never as bad as you think you are or as good as you think you are."