Watch Husker writer Rich Kaipust's post-game analysis

LINCOLN — Cody Green still believed after Saturday's 31-10 loss to Texas Tech that Zac Lee is Nebraska's starting quarterback.

Some at Memorial Stadium might not agree with him, possibly starting with Bo Pelini and Shawn Watson.

Neither the head coach nor the offensive coordinator came out and said that a change is in the offing after Lee struggled for the second straight game and Green produced Nebraska's only touchdown against the Red Raiders.

But there were no votes of confidence for Lee, either.

Asked if he was considering a change at quarterback, Pelini said, “Yeah, absolutely. We're thinking about a lot of changes. Every position.”

Watson diplomatically addressed a question about whether Nebraska had a “quarterback competition” on its hands.

“We'll take a look at the film,'' he said, “and we'll make our decisions based on that. We'll sit down and evaluate it and take a good look at it and see what we need to do.”

Green, the true freshman from Dayton, Texas, entered the game on the second possession of the second half with Nebraska trailing 24-3. He threw three incompletions and NU was flagged for a delay-of-game penalty.

Lee returned for the next two series, the first ending with a missed 51-yard field goal and the second with an incompletion in the end zone. The misfire came on the 16th play of a possession that saw the Huskers move from their 37-yard line to the Texas Tech 4 before Ricky Henry's personal-foul penalty took some of the steam out of the drive.

Green replaced Lee and completed 5 of 7 passes, the last a 13-yard scoring throw to Khiry Cooper to finish a 40-yard drive. Green's final series saw him complete passes of 29 and 18 yards before an interception ended the drive at the Texas Tech 4-yard line.

He finished 7 of 16 for 87 yards on his three series. Lee's line was 16 of 22 for 128 yards, but he also was sacked four times. He appeared tentative at times.

Lee struggled through the first three quarters of Nebraska's previous game against Missouri before throwing three fourth-quarter touchdown passes in rallying the Huskers to a 27-12 win.

He admitted he heard fans chanting Green's name when things weren't going well Saturday against the Red Raiders.

“That's part of it, and you can't let it get to you,” Lee said. “You just have to focus on what's going on.”

Asked if he felt he needed to go out this week in practice and reclaim the starting job, Lee replied, “We're always competing. That's not going to change.”

Green, too, heard the fans calling for a quarterback change in the third quarter.

“You try to block it out, but when they're screaming and you're right in front of them, it's hard not to hear them,” he said. “You have to stay calm and humble to it. I'm not the guy. Zac's the guy.

“Everybody has bumps in the road, and today wasn't Zac's day.”

Though he downplayed a suggestion that the position is open, Green said he would be ready to start if given the chance.

“The main thing Coach Pelini and Wats always say is that you have to compete,” he said.

Pelini and Watson agreed that Green did some good things when given the chance.

“What I liked about Cody is that he really competed,'' Watson said. “He made some nice throws. He does a nice job of keeping his composure and poise.''

Watson said Green was first put into the game so that Lee might have a chance to regain his composure. Nebraska's first 32 plays with Lee at the controls produced 122 yards and three points.

“I just don't know if he was seeing it well, maybe overanalyzing it,'' Watson said. “I don't want to take anything away from Tech, but there are a lot of options to take advantage of.”

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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