SAN DIEGO — Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee, injured or not, entered the final game of his junior season with a Bo Pelini-issued challenge fresh in his mind.
“We talked about getting that swagger back,” Pelini said.
The second-year coach didn’t elaborate. Lee was free to interpret Pelini’s words as the QB wished.
It helped produce Lee’s best performance since September as he completed 13 of 23 passes for 173 yards and rushed a team-high 18 times for 65 in the Huskers’ 33-0 romp past Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.
Lee did more than post nice numbers, though. He led Nebraska with a certain moxie, converting seven third-down opportunities. He rushed for Nebraska’s first touchdown, threw for its last and directed NU to scores on six of his first seven possessions at the helm.
And this wasn’t against a Sun Belt Conference defense. Arizona ranked 21st nationally before Wednesday night, allowing 315.8 yards per game. NU gained 396, its second-best output in the past 10 games, and reached 33 points with nearly 19 minutes to play.
Lee’s said he felt “a little bit of redemption” at the end of a turbulent season. His performance only adds intrigue to a quarterback situation that figures to draw major attention in the offseason as Cody Green attempts to come of age and untested Taylor Martinez gets a look.
“It helps with the confidence level,” Lee said.
Lee revealed after the game that he’s played with an injury to his throwing arm for more than three months. He said he suffered a wrist injury Sept. 12 in the Huskers’ 38-9 win over Arkansas State.
As a result of the wrist problem, Lee tore the flexor tendon below the elbow in his right arm. He’ll undergo surgery next week to repair the tendon. It requires 10 to 12 weeks of rehabilitation, jeopardizing Lee’s availability to throw during spring practice in March and April.
“I was going to play with (the injury),” Lee said, “whether you guys knew about it or not.”
He said he was unsure exactly how the injury hurt his arm strength or accuracy. But he said the arm felt better against the Wildcats after Nebraska had gone 3½ weeks without a game.
His performance adds to the optimism about next season, with a healthy quarterback and starters set to return at nine of 10 other offensive positions.
“I think, for the first time in awhile, we started to get healthy (in San Diego),” Pelini said. “That cures a lot of ills. I thought we were able to open up and use more of the tools we have available to us, and it worked out for us.
“We have a lot of facets to this offense. We don’t always use them, for a lot of different reasons.”
Pelini said he thought Lee had a “great night” against Arizona.
“I thought he led this football team the right way,” the coach said. “I thought he played with confidence. He played with a swagger. He did a lot of good things. I love the way he ran the ball with a purpose. He managed the football game the right way from start to finish.”
Lee’s performance also drew a salute from offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.
“Zac’s been hurt all year,” Watson said. “He’s just had to fight through a lot. He took a lot of shots, from everybody — not only opponents but everybody. I’m really proud of his perseverance.”
Lee simply described 2009 as an up-and-down ride.
“We’re thrilled that we’ve been winning,” he said, “but we won some ugly games. I think this (last) win showed more of what we can do, how we are as an offense. We can be explosive.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds