LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The fallout from Nebraska’s latest collapse on the national stage is going to last a while, and coach Bo Pelini knows it.

With FCS South Dakota State coming to Lincoln this week and an open date the following, the Cornhuskers’ fervent fans will have a hard time getting past Saturday’s 41-21 loss to UCLA.

“We can’t worry about what people are saying,” Pelini said. “It’s going to be negative. It’s going to be negative by the fans, by the media, by everybody. In times like these, all we can do is stick together because the only people who can fix it is us.”

Pelini and his staff have quite a repair job waiting for them when they go back to practice Monday. The offense has underperformed in the first three games, and the defense looks no better than it did when it surrendered gargantuan numbers in end-of-the-season losses to Wisconsin and Georgia.

The Huskers (2-1) surrendered 38 points in a row after leading UCLA by 18 points late in the first half.

It was the biggest blown lead in a home game since 1920, the worst non-conference home loss since 1961 and the sixth double-digit loss in 15 games against BCS-level opponents.

Plenty of predictable vitriol was spewed via fan call-in shows and social media.

The most eye-catching reaction came from Tommie Frazier, who quarterbacked Nebraska to national championships in 1994-95. Frazier, who was honored at halftime for his selection to the College Football Hall of Fame, took to Twitter Saturday night and called for the firings of the defensive coaches.

“If this is what is going to happen for the remainder of the season, count me out,” Frazier wrote in an extended tweet.

Frazier did not respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Nebraska managed 135 yards in the second half against the Bruins. Taylor Martinez completed just 10 of 19 passes for 87 yards after halftime and never showed the kind of breakaway threat he can be. He was sacked twice and netted just 2 yards on eight other carries. His longest run was an inconsequential 12-yarder in the second quarter.

Martinez was wearing a walking boot on his left foot after the game. He said the boot was precautionary and that his injury — he said it was minor and occurred before the game — had no effect on him.

Asked about Martinez’s health and if the quarterback is limited, Pelini said, “Taylor’s fine.”

The Huskers’ turnover problem cropped up again, with Ameer Abdullah fumbling inside the UCLA 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Dropped passes were another issue.

Offensive coordinator Tim Beck said his play-calling was too conservative late in the first half, and the Bruins were able to get the ball back with enough time to score a touchdown to trim the Huskers’ lead to 21-10.

After the Huskers scored their final touchdown in the second quarter, they netted more than 19 yards on only two of their last 10 possessions.

“We let the avalanche continue,” Beck said. “We helped the avalanche. We might have started it.”

Nebraska’s defense mostly contained quarterback Brett Hundley in the first half, but he led the Bruins to touchdowns on their first four series of the second half.

UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said the Bruins did nothing different in the second half. The Huskers did, though. They started missing tackles and losing one-on-one battles with receivers. UCLA finished with 504 yards, 298 after half.

“They got momentum and we didn’t respond well,” defensive coordinator John Papuchis said. “To give you a great answer on why we didn’t play better, it’s really hard at this point.”

What confounded Papuchis was how his charges became deflated as UCLA’s surge continued.

“We were up 21-3 and then 21-10 at half, and all of a sudden it’s within a couple minutes (left) in the third quarter and we’re down 10,” Papuchis said. “They were a little bit shell-shocked from that. No excuses for that to happen.”

All the Huskers can do, Papuchis said, is learn from their mistakes and move on — even if the fans won’t.

“The idea that one game, win or lose, is going to dictate your whole season, that’s ludicrous,” he said. “So you go get ready for the next one. That’s just the reality.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Jim Mora can’t imagine a more difficult situation for his UCLA football team.

Less than week after the death of receiver Nick Pasquale, the 16th-ranked Bruins visit No. 23 Nebraska on Saturday.

Mora says the Bruins must control their emotions and remain poised in a tough environment in Lincoln. He said the game can help his players channel their grief over the death of Pasquale, who was struck by a vehicle Sunday while he was walking in his hometown of San Clemente, Calif.

Both teams should know a lot more about themselves after Saturday, particularly on defense.

UCLA is 1-0 after beating Nevada 58-20 two weeks ago. The Huskers are 2-0 after last week’s 56-13 win over Southern Mississippi.

Lincoln – The Nebraska football team wrapped up preparations for UCLA on Thursday by holding a 90-minute practice on the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields outside of the Hawks Championship Center.

Head Coach Bo Pelini talked to the media afterwards and expressed pleasure with his team’s performance this week.

“We had a good practice to finish up our week,” Pelini said. “We still have some things to clean up tomorrow and the mental part of it comes into play.”

Pelini added that it was “business as usual” and said the defense is continuing to progress.

“I think all the guys are getting better,” Pelini said. “They are understanding. They are learning a new opponent and the challenges that come with a game plan. It’s going to be fun to see how our guys react. It will be a heckuva challenge for us.”

Pelini also talked about junior linebacker Zaire Anderson’s play last weekend against Southern Miss.

“I thought Zaire played pretty (well) in the game,” Pelini said. “He had a couple good series. With Zaire, it’s going to come down to if he is prepared enough to understand what we are trying to do defensively. I think he’s working hard at it. I think he’s improving. He can be a factor for us.”

The Huskers and Bruins kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday and will be televised to a national audience on ABC.

Husker fans will not be allowed to bring in bottled water to Memorial Stadium for Saturday’s game against UCLA with temperatures returning to near normal.  With heat warnings and excessive temperatures at game time the past two weeks, Nebraska Athletics, stadium officials, and the local Pepsi distributor, LinPepCo, agreed to allow fans to bring in their own unopened bottles of water but the “No Outside Food and Drink Policy” is back in effect  for the remainder of home games.  Fans are allowed to bring in an empty plastic bottle to refill inside the stadium or to purchase water from authorized vendors.

Memorial Stadium/Nebraska Athletics Facilities Food and Beverage Policy

Food and beverages from approved game-day vendors selling on University grounds are allowed inside the stadium.  Personal empty water bottles (plastic only) are allowed into the stadium for fans to be able to refill at the fountains inside.  All other outside food and beverage is prohibited.

Lincoln, Neb.-  The Nebraska football team continued its week of preparation on for Saturday’s nonconference showdown with UCLA on Tuesday afternoon. The team practiced in full pads for just over two hours inside the Hawks Center and outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice Fields.

Defensive Coordinator John Papuchis addressed the media after practice, explaining the difficulties of facing UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley.

“I think what’s good about Brett Hundley is that he is efficient,” Papuchis said. “He doesn’t make a lot of bad decisions with the ball. When things aren’t there, he pulls it down and can hurt you with his feet. He’s effective in the running game, and he has the ability to throw the ball well, so you have to make sure you’re very balanced in the way you defend him.”

Hundley passed for 305 yards and four touchdowns in UCLA’s 36-30 win against Nebraska at the Rose Bowl last season. However, Papuchis and the Nebraska coaching staff have had 12 months to go over every second of the game film.

“Over the course of spring and summer preparations and this week, I’ve probably seen that game film 20 times,” Papuchis said. “We’ve studied it inside and out. We’ve studied how they tried to attack us, where we were vulnerable, where they exposed us in some areas and the things we did well. We’re just trying to fix a lot of the things that hurt us in that game and trying to make sure those things don’t creep back in this week.”

In the Bruins’ lone game this season, Hundley racked up 274 passing yards and two touchdowns, while adding two more scores on the ground to beat Nevada, 58-20. One key to their victory over the Wolf Pack was converting on nine third downs, the same amount that they converted against Nebraska a year ago. This season, the Huskers have given up only five third-down conversions in 24 tries, something that Coach Papuchis is proud of.

“I think we’ve done pretty well on third down,” Papuchis said. “I hate the idea of having to pressure every third down and be in man coverage all the time, because we can’t get a four-man rush. Our four-man rush the other night was good. It allowed us to play more coverage and force the ball out quickly, because we got some good pressure.”

A player who has shown his ability early on to put pressure on the quarterback is Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory. The sophomore transfer from Arizona Western Community College has five quarterback hurries in his first two games as a Husker. He joins another newcomer, freshman defensive tackle Maliek Collins, on a young defensive line that has promise to be a force for years to come. Papuchis explained what he thinks Collins will have to do to take the next step and see more snaps in the future.

“Maliek Collins has played well when he’s had his opportunities,” Papuchis said. “He knows that one of the things that’s going to get him on the field more often on Saturdays is his consistency during the week. He’s explosive and talented, but there are some things as a young guy that he has to clean up. As time goes on, I could see his role increasing.”

 

Nebraska will hit the practice field again on Wednesday, as the team moves closer to its third game of the season. NU will face the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.