September 19, 2004 HUSKERS HOLD, PANTHERS FOLD Nebraska jumps to early lead, holds on for 24-17 win at Pittsburgh By Jim D. Berryman MissingNebraska.com Improvement, yes. But shoulda, woulda, coulda just the same. Yes, Nebraska was an improved team in its game Saturday against the Pitt Panthers from what we saw in Lincoln against Southern Miss on Sept. 11. Final score: Huskers 24 Panthers 17. But it wasn't a thing of beauty. Nebraska shoulda scored a few more first half touchdowns, and if they woulda, the coulda put Pitt away for good much earlier than they did Saturday. And darn it if the Huskers didn't seem as if they wanted to give the game away just like they did against Southern Miss. The Huskers jumped to a 24-7 lead in the 2nd quarter and led 24-10 at halftime. It could have been even worse than that for Pitt fans. NU quarterback Joe Dailey was on target and played well in the first half. Problem is, his receivers had slippery fingers. Dailey was running the show, but Ross Pilkington must have thought it was rehearsal, dropping three on-target passes from Dailey deep in Pitt territory. Those dropped passes were killers for those who like to see the score keep changing for Big Red, but against a better team, those dropped passes would have been Husker killers. A scoreless second half for NU saw Pittsburgh start to move the ball with some success. Nebraska had to stop Pitt in the final seconds of the 4th quarter, where the Panthers were driving to tie the game. Nebraska held and escaped Steeltown with a road win. They also take with them a positive feeling about nice comments received from TV pundits. The "new Nebraska" made an overall positive impression in the 1st half in living rooms across the country. So the Huskers hold on for a nice win. Nebraska was much improved from a week ago, and even though numerous Pitt fans were unable to make it to the game because of severe flooding from the night before, Big Red was able to win a game on the road in unfriendly, albeit soggy, environs. Nebraska improves to 2-1. Pitt drops to 1-1. A note on the flooding in Pittsburgh. It surely affected the overall attendance at the game. Viewers of the ABC national telecast could see thousands of empty seats. Only about 40,000 people were in attendance. ABC play-by-play guy Brent Musburger pointed out the swollen river behind Heinz Field, however didn't really point out that Point State Park, right on the tip of where the rivers come together, was completely underwater. I kept wondering when the floodwaters would rush onto the 50-yard line at Heinz Field. So we move on to the Big 12 schedule after a bye week on September 25. The Huskers won't be in action this Saturday, but will be in Lincoln for a home date with the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, October 2nd. Game time and TV information has not yet been announced. Feedback NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS vs. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS GAME STORIES & LINKS 09-19-04: Pitt wakes up too late to rally vs. Nebraska More from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 09-19-04: Huskers hang on for road win More from Omaha World-Herald 09-19-04: Pennsylvania Clutch: Huskers turn back Panthers 24-17 More from Lincoln Journal-Star 09-19-04: Huskers hold off Pitt More from Grand Island Independent 09-19-04: It's a new world at Nebraska - the dawning of forward pass More from Philadelphia Inquirer 09-19-04: Huskers hold off Pitt Story & Video from KETV-Omaha Nebraska Football '04 Schedule / Results Huskers on ESPN.com Husker Hot Pics Photos from AP Husker Game Watch Locations Nationwide