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A UCLA team less experienced both on the field and on the coaching staff got stronger down the stretch while Nebraska wilted in a 36-30 loss to the Bruins Saturday night in Pasadena.

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Inconsistency continues to follow Bo Pelini and the Nebraska football program.

Here are my top three observations this week. Talkback and tell us what you think.

1. Nebraska’s defensive line got pushed around, which did not come as much of a surprise, but in the second half, UCLA’s defensive line got the better of the Nebraska offensive line.

I did not expect the Huskers to lose the battle of the trenches on offense, but they did, more than doubling up Nebraska in second-half rushing yards.

2. The Nebraska kicking game went from lousy to erratic, so I guess that’s a small step forward. Brett Maher kept his cool and nailed some gutsy field goals after a 54-yarder and a 35-yarder were nullified by time outs and penalties, but the Huskers’ consistently poor field position was the result of UCLA’s better performance in this aspect of the game.

3.Shoddy tackling plagued Nebraska at times last season, and the problem took a turn for the worse Saturday night. UCLA backs broke one and sometimes two tackles on most plays in the second half. Senior linebacker Alonzo Whaley was in position to make several big tackles for loss, but in each case allowed the ball carrier to escape. He was not the only one having tackling problems, though.

Tad Stryker is the former sports editor of the North Platte Bulletin and provides 1-2-3 point analysis after each Husker football game for Bulletin readers. Stryker also writes for HuskerMax. (http://www.huskermax.com.