page_title: Taylor Martinez
section_title: 2012
hierarchical_section_title: Taylor Martinez / College career / 2012
caption_attribution_description: Wisconsin Badgers linebacker w:Chris Borland tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback W:Taylor Martinez in the w:2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game where Wisconsin went on to defeat Nebraska 70-31.
context_page_description: Taylor Todd Martinez is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Nebraska.
context_section_description: Leading up to the 2012 season, Martinez was heavily criticized by fans and media for his awkward passing motion and tendency to turn the ball over.  During the spring and summer of 2012, Martinez spent time working on his throwing motion with Steve Calhoun, a private quarterback's coach that operates a football camp in California called "Armed and Dangerous." Calhoun was known for his work with college quarterbacks, and had helped prepare some college quarterbacks for the NFL, including Cam Newton and Jake Locker. Although Martinez had only completed 56% of his passes in 2011, he was confident that his second season as quarterback for in  Tim Beck's offense would be better. When asked if he had a completion rate goal for 2012, Martinez responded "70 percent or above."
  The season opener against Southern Mississippi ended up being a showcase for Martinez's improvement over the spring and summer. Martinez went 26/34 passing with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions and lead Huskers to a 49–20 win. His throwing motion improved and no longer appeared to be an issue. In the game against Wisconsin defensive end David Gilbert wasn't convinced of Martinez' improvement. When asked he said, "It still looks like he’s skipping rocks out there to me... He still can’t throw. I’m just going to say it. He still can’t throw. He’s not going to beat us with his arm." Martinez led scoring drives on 5 of Nebraska's last 6 possessions to take a 30–27 lead late in the 4th quarter—which ended up being the final score. Martinez accounted for all 4 of Nebraska's touchdowns, throwing for 2 and running for 2 more. The victory was Nebraska's 2nd largest comeback in school history, 2nd only to the 21 point comeback win against Ohio State the season before (also featuring Martinez at QB).
  One of Martinez's best games of 2012 came at Michigan State on November 3. Michigan State was 5–4 heading into the game, but featured the best defense statistically in college football at that point in the season, including the best run defense in the Big Ten. Martinez ended the day with the second best rushing performance of his career with 205 yards on 17 carries. Despite throwing 3 interceptions, Martinez was able to make important throws late in the game. Down by 3 with no timeouts and only 1:20 left, Martinez led an 80-yard drive that included a 38-yard completion to Kyler Reed on 4th and 10 at the Nebraska 40-yard line, and the game-winning touchdown pass to sophomore WR Jamal Turner with :06 seconds left. Martinez received Player of the Week honors in the Big Ten for his performance. During the game, Martinez passed former Heisman winner Eric Crouch as the all-time leader in total yardage at Nebraska.
  Martinez helped lead another comeback the following week against Penn State, where he rushed for 105 yards and threw for 171 more with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Martinez had another fine passing performance in the next game against Minnesota when he completed 72% of his passes for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.
  Nebraska finished the regular season at 10–2, and headed to the Big Ten championship for a rematch with unranked, 7–5 Wisconsin. Nebraska was a 10-point favorite heading into the game. However, a bad defensive performance by the Cornhuskers led to a 70–31 loss. After the loss, the Huskers went on to lose to #7 ranked Georgia in the Capital One Bowl 45–31. Martinez threw for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 2 interceptions (including a late-game desperation throw).
  The 2012 Cornhuskers finished the season at 10–4 and Nebraska was ranked No. 25 in the final AP Top 25 Poll. Martinez improved statistically, and had nearly 800 more passing yards, 10 more touchdowns, and a 6% higher completion rate than the season before. He also rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season for the first time in his career. Although he fell short of his 70% completion goal, it was clear that he had improved his passing while still being a major threat running the ball.
  Martinez had broken many QB records at Nebraska and headed into the 2013 season as one 
caption: Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland tackles Martinez in the 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game
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