Texas Tech football classics: “Sticks”, defense humble Nebraska in 2009

Tech has success against the “Blackshirts” defense

For decades, the Nebraska defense was known as the “Blackshirts” because of the black jerseys they would wear in practice.  But when former Husker head coach Bo Pelini arrived in 2008, he temporarily suspended that tradition in order to motivate his team to earn the privilege of wearing of being blackshirts.

Prior to this game, the Nebraska defense was allowing just eight points per game.  Thus, Pelini found it a good time to return the black practice jerseys to his defense ahead of the matchup with Mike Leach and the Texas Tech “Air Raid” offense.

This was one of the best Nebraska defenses in the history of the program.  Featuring future NFL stars Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick at defensive tackle and Prince Amukamara (a future first-round NFL Draft pick) at corner, the Blackshirts would surrender more than 20 points just once that season…and of course, that was to Texas Tech.

To say that this was a classic Leach-era offensive performance would be a misnomer.  Tech would muster just 259 total yards of offense and would put up a modest 276 through the air.  (Due to sacks, Tech would actually lose yards in the ground game).

But Tech would find a way to somewhat neutralize the dominant Nebraska defensive line.  Suh would be held to just four tackles (though two were for a loss) and no sacks.  Yes, he did make his impact felt, but the mobility of Texas Tech QB, Steven Sheffield, helped keep Suh and his running mates from taking over this game.

Nebraska would register five sacks on the day, but that number could have been much higher given that, on Tech’s second drive of the game, three starting offensive linemen would go down with an injury.  Though two would return, starting left tackle Terry McDaniel would not thus forcing Chris Olson into action.

For the game, Tech would manage 24 offensive points.  When you consider that the Huskers would hold seven opponents under ten points and put up two shutouts in 2009, putting up 24 against the Blackshirts was an impressive showing, even if Tech would score only seven points and muster 47 yards of offense in the second half.

And what makes it all the more impressive was the fact that Tech did so with a former walk-on at QB.