Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez still respects the Big Ten more than the SEC

Apparently even a 45-31 defeat by Georgia isn’t enough for Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez to give the SEC a little bit of respect.

In the weeks leading up to the Capital One Bowl, Martinez said Georgia’s defense was “just another typical Big Ten defense” and after the loss, he stood by his comments and added a few more logs to the fire.

"I think the Big Ten, talent-wise, is a lot better, and the defenses in the Big Ten are better than SEC defenses," Martinez said. "This was supposed to be one of the top defenses in the SEC, and we pretty much did anything we wanted against them."

Anything except win.

Martinez is right, though. The Nebraska offense was able to rack up 443 yards of total offense and the 31 points was the second-most the Bulldogs have given up this season, but it was Nebraska’s defense that decided to sit the game out in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska had a 31-23 lead midway into the third quarter before Georgia tied it. But then the Bulldogs tightened up on defense following an Ameer Abdullah fumble while Nebraska’s seemed to loosen. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray threw for 427 yards and five touchdowns – two of which came in the fourth quarter.

So while the offense might have been able to exploit Georgia, especially in the run game, the Nebraska defense isn’t quite SEC ready.

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