It's something that crosses most fans of sports teams minds, had certain injured/absent players been healthy/available for a big game, would it have been enough to get a win instead of the loss that happened?
1998: Nebraska vs Texas in Lincoln
With Bobby Newcombe and DeAngelo Evans out with injuries, along with D-Tackle Steve Warren gone for his grandmother's funeral, would their presence (assuming Newcombe and Evans were healthy) have been enough to turn the loss into a win?
I'm not saying that Nebraska should have won the game with Texas, the Horns defense was solid and their offense showed up big on their last possession to get the victory. Nebraska had their chances even without the three mentioned but came up short.
Before being injured early in the year, Newcombe was operating at a high efficiency along with Evans, and had they both been able to get to the Texas game mostly unscathed, their experience and talent certainly gives Nebraska a better shot to win. Crouch played well most of the time he was in there, as did the other backs Buckhalter and Alexander, but a healthy and more experienced Newcombe, in my opinion, gives him the edge, and Newcombe was plenty fast when healthy. Ditto for Evans, he was a homerun threat every time he touched the ball.
And of course, Steve Warren was a force on the D-Line, he would have made things even more difficult for Texas to move the ball at any point during the game. We'll never know if all three being in would have been enough to get the win, but it would have been interesting to see the results had they been able to play at full strength. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference as Texas always found ways to win in the 4th quarter of most contests against Nebraska.
Side note: Nebraska's top blocking tight end, TJ DeBates went out in the second quarter with a knee injury.
What is your player/game scenario?
1998: Nebraska vs Texas in Lincoln
With Bobby Newcombe and DeAngelo Evans out with injuries, along with D-Tackle Steve Warren gone for his grandmother's funeral, would their presence (assuming Newcombe and Evans were healthy) have been enough to turn the loss into a win?
I'm not saying that Nebraska should have won the game with Texas, the Horns defense was solid and their offense showed up big on their last possession to get the victory. Nebraska had their chances even without the three mentioned but came up short.
Before being injured early in the year, Newcombe was operating at a high efficiency along with Evans, and had they both been able to get to the Texas game mostly unscathed, their experience and talent certainly gives Nebraska a better shot to win. Crouch played well most of the time he was in there, as did the other backs Buckhalter and Alexander, but a healthy and more experienced Newcombe, in my opinion, gives him the edge, and Newcombe was plenty fast when healthy. Ditto for Evans, he was a homerun threat every time he touched the ball.
And of course, Steve Warren was a force on the D-Line, he would have made things even more difficult for Texas to move the ball at any point during the game. We'll never know if all three being in would have been enough to get the win, but it would have been interesting to see the results had they been able to play at full strength. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference as Texas always found ways to win in the 4th quarter of most contests against Nebraska.
Side note: Nebraska's top blocking tight end, TJ DeBates went out in the second quarter with a knee injury.
What is your player/game scenario?
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