Nebraska Blog

December 2, 2009

Colorado Recap/Big 12 Championship vs. Texas preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

Well, chalk up another winning ugly performance from Nebraska that depended on the Blackshirts.  Even if you take away the final meaningless 80-yard drive for a last second touchdown by Colorado, the Buffs still were able to outgain NU 323 to 217 yards.  Two scores in the 28-20 win in Boulder came from a punt return and an interception return.  Despite another dud from the offense, there were some bright spots in the game:

1. Rex Burkhead: The freshman from Texas has had a lot of hype since cracking the rotation from game one, but the statistics were not quite there to back it up early and then he suffered a foot injury that derailed his season for a number of games.  That all changed at Colorado as he ran for 100 yards on 18 carries.  The game-finishing drive of 80 yards to put NU up 28-14 featured an impressive nine rushes by Burkhead for 55 yards. 
2. Ben Cotton: The coach’s son stepped up large with three catches for 33 yards and a big touchdown.  He just adds to the fine corps of tight ends that have been employed more as blockers this year, but still pose a major receiving threat.
3. Bo Pelini’s “fire”: While everyone outside of the team was already looking ahead to Texas, Coach Pelini kept the Huskers focused on Colorado.  Also, while the game was over and the last second touchdown by Colorado didn’t affect anything, Bo was visibly upset by it.  This kind of intensity and focus will not only help this week against Texas, but hopefully for years and years to come as Nebraska returns to prominence in college football.

Next up is National Championship contender Texas in Arlington for the Big 12 title.  The Longhorns have owned Nebraska since the formation of the Big 12 by winning seven of the eight matchups between the two teams even when UT was the weaker of the two teams on paper.  This year, it is Nebraska that is considered the weaker team as the Huskers are 14 point underdogs in Vegas.  All signs point to a fairly easy Texas win, but the Blackshirts give Nebraska a fighting chance.  Zac Lee will need to protect the ball, Roy Helu and Burkhead will need to run hard (and protect the ball), and the defense will need to limit the Texas offense as much as possible (and take away the ball a few times) in order to have a chance.  This game should be somewhat low scoring and that would be the only way Nebraska has a chance.  The Texas defense was somewhat exposed against Texas A&M last week, but the Aggies offense is vastly superior to the unit NU has, so do not expect anything close to that effort should this game turn into a shootout. 

Texas 28 Nebraska 7

Other note – Congrats to the All-Big 12 roster members!  Ndamukong Suh was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and was joined on the first team by his Blackshirt teammates Jared Crick, Prince Amukamara, and Larry Asante.  All were very deserving of the honor.  On the second team were Alex Henery, Roy Helu, and Phil Dillard.  Henery pulled off a likely rare feat by also cracking the honorable mention list as a punter and was joined there by Jacob Hickman, Mike McNeill, Niles Paul, Dejon Gomes, Eric Hagg, Matt O’Hanlon, and Barry Turner.

November 25, 2009

Kansas State Review/Colorado Preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

The Huskers got the job done on Saturday against Kansas State to clinch the Big 12 North and a book a trip to Dallas.  Thanks to another great defensive effort and just enough offense, Nebraska earned a spot in the Big 12 Championship and will face Texas in the brand new Cowboys Stadium next Saturday.  Despite being outgained in yardage, NU made the plays that KSU didn’t and produced a solid 17-3 win.  Ndamukong Suh was great yet again, Larry Asante made a lot of plays including a huge forced fumble at the Nebraska 1-yard line, and Alex Henery was extra good punting the ball inside the 2-yard line twice.  The offense did just enough with Zac Lee making both good plays and bad mistakes, Roy Helu was solid as he went over 1,000 yards on the year, and Niles Paul continued to make big plays catching the ball.

Next up is Colorado in Boulder and this could be a trap game for Nebraska.  The Big 12 Championship is around the corner and the Buffs have been pretty awful all year, so looking ahead would be easy to do.  That said, I do not see a Bo Pelini squad ever doing that and the Huskers should take care of business on the day after Thanksgiving.  Some things to watch for:

Things are looking up for Husker Nation as things appear to be on track as step one is complete after winning the North.  The defense will give NU a chance in Dallas, but that is still an uphill battle this year.  But let’s not look ahead just yet.

Prediction: Nebraska 30 Colorado 10

November 19, 2009

Kansas recap/Kansas State preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

It’s an all-Kansas blog entry this week as we wrap up the big win in Lawrence and the upcoming game against the Wildcats.  Against Kansas, the Husker offense stepped up and made some big plays early and late as they came from behind in the 4th quarter to win 31-17.  Roy Helu carried the load yet again with 156 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.  Shawn Watson did open things up a little bit as well with multiple deep throws called that Zac Lee and Niles Paul executed well.  Paul finished with four catches for 154 yards.  Coach Tom Osborne apparently offered up some tips to Watson and those were implemented with success during the game.  It’s pretty nice to have a Hall of Fame coach offering advice when you need it.  The defense was not as dominant as expected, especially on the line, but in the end they got the job done.  The average effort could have been due to the amount of energy needed the week before in the win against Oklahoma. 

Coming off the KU win, Nebraska now faces Kansas State on Senior Day in Lincoln.  The winner of the game will represent the North in the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas against Texas most likely.  It is an interesting situation for KSU, as they need this win to just become bowl eligible, so it’s all or nothing for them.  Some things to look for on Saturday night in Lincoln.

1. Seniors: The crowd should be amped and ready to cheer on the seniors one last time.  This group will hopefully be remembered as the base for a return to prominence for the Huskers.  The obvious star of the group is Ndamukong Suh, who is in line to win all sorts of awards at the end of the year, but the others have been very important as well.  Larry Asante, Matt O’Hanlon, Philip Dillard, Barry Turner, and Jacob Hickman are the other starters that will be playing in their last game in Lincoln. 

2. Run defense: After facing so many passing offenses in conference, the Blackshirts finally face a run-first offense that should give some of the linebackers a chance to see the field more often.  Look for more Will Compton and Sean Fischer, in addition to Phil Dillard, on the field.  If the D steps up as expected, then Wildcats RB Daniel Thomas should be mostly ineffective. 

3. Special Teams coverage: One of the most exciting playmakers in all of college football is Brandon Banks, the quick wideout for Kansas State.  He has four kickoff returns for touchdowns this year, so maintaining the gaps on kickoff coverage will be key.  Hopefully Adi Kunalic just forces a touchback on every kick, but if not, then look for Eric Martin and Co. to come up with some big plays to limit Banks’ effectiveness.

Prediction: Nebraska 28 Kansas State 10

November 13, 2009

Game 10-Kansas Preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

At the beginning of the season, this game was looked at as the likely decider in the Big 12 North race.  Kansas and Nebraska were deemed the two favorites by most pundits, but only one has lived up to that billing.  The Huskers come into the game at 3-2 in conference and in control of their own destiny in order to make it to Dallas.  KU, on the other hand, has collapsed in conference after starting the season 5-0.  They have lost their last four games and have been eliminated from title contention.  With all of this said, the game could still be a tough one for NU.  Here are some things to watch for:

I avoided discussing the offense much, but look for another fairly basic gameplan designed to protect the football and eat up clock.  Zac Lee will likely get the start after finishing last week’s game, but seeing some Cody Green would not surprise anyone.  The Jayhawk defense is not very good right now, so hopefully the Huskers can maybe push for the 20-point mark. 

Prediction: Nebraska 17 Kansas 10

November 10, 2009

Game 9 –Oklahoma Recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

The Blackshirts are officially back!  After holding a very good Oklahoma offense down in a 10-3 victory, the Nebraska defense is looking better and better each week.  They forced OU quarterback Landry Jones into five interceptions and kept Oklahoma out of the end zone for the first time since 1998. The main downside to the win is that the Husker offense still looks pretty lost.  Granted, Oklahoma’s defense is one of the best in the country, but the Cody Green/Zac Lee tandem was only able to muster 180 total yards (63 was on one Roy Helu rush) and a paltry seven first downs.  The offense has a chance to break out this week against a very weak Kansas defense, but that is still a huge unknown.  The same cannot be said about the NU defense though since everyone knows they are one very talented group after that performance on ABC.  Some more highlights:

Assuming the offense does not make any huge errors, this team could still do some big things by riding the amazing Blackshirts.  The next game is a bit scary as the Huskers travel to Lawrence to take on a wounded, but still dangerous Kansas Jayhawks squad.  It should be a victory, but, like every remaining game this year, the margin of error will be very small on both sides of the ball.  A preview of that game will come later this week.

November 2, 2009

Game 8 – Baylor recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

Well it was not very pretty, but a win is a win after two rough losses in a row. Cody Green did indeed get his first career start and was decent in his initial outing. He managed the game fairly well in the 20-10 victory, but did have a fumble and his one interception was returned for a touchdown by Baylor. While this effort was good enough to win on the road against a fairly weak Bears squad, it will not be good enough to beat Oklahoma this coming Saturday in Lincoln. Here are some observations from the game:
• Jared Crick: He took full advantage of Baylor double-teaming Ndamukong Suh. He had five sacks, another 1.5 tackles for loss, 13 total tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. This performance earned him the National Defensive Player of the Week award and should make all Husker fans very excited to have him for another two years!
• The Offensive Line: Something is just not quite right about this unit that was supposed to be one of the strengths of the team coming into the year. Holes were almost non-existent for the running backs to find and when they could not blow Baylor back on a couple of short 3rd downs to sustain drives. This is unlikely to be fixed this year and until it is, it will not even matter what kind of talent is at the skill positions because they will not have the opportunities to make many plays.
• Play calling: Shawn Watson has been criticized heavily of late and some of it is deserved with his lack of aggressiveness at times. That said, it is hard to call a game when the offensive line mentioned above cannot be effective. I would like to see some more designed runs by Green to the outside and hope he can just create with his legs. There is the possibility that the Freshman could be dinged up at some point with this strategy, but you always have Zac Lee ready to come in if necessary. Lee is not great, but he is capable, so let Green utilize all of his skills.
• Husker fans: Despite being known as a great traveling fan base, it would have been understandable if there was a poor turnout for the game on Saturday. The team had just suffered two difficult losses, it was Halloween, and, the biggest factor of them all, the game was in Waco. That did not stop Husker Nation from showing up yet again though and they likely made up over half of the 31,702 in attendance. By the way, the attendance was the lowest to see a Nebraska game since a 1991 game in Stillwater (30,150)
As said before, a win is a win, and the Big 12 North is still very winnable, but the offense continues to sputter along, so nothing will come easy. The defense needs to stay stingy and hope Cody can do enough to put some points on the board. The toughest test remaining comes this week with the Sooners visiting Lincoln, so that should tell us quite a bit about how the season will end.

 

October 30, 2009

Baylor Preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

Game 8 - at Baylor 11:30 am on Versus

It's clichéd for this time of year, but assuming the Huskers don't have any tricks played on them in Waco, then it should be full of treats. Coming off one of the most frustrating losses in Nebraska football history, a 9-7 defeat at home to Iowa St., look for the team to rebound very nicely. That prediction comes with a major caveat though: they need to hang on to the ball this week after eight turnovers last week. Baylor is without its speedster quarterback, Robert Griffin, for the rest of the season. This should hamper anything the Bears want to do on offense, especially against the Blackshirts. Some things to watch for:

- Cody Green watch: This has become a weekly feature, but there are some signs pointing to the freshman finally starting a game. Zac Lee wasn't terrible against Iowa St., but he also wasn't very good. It is worth the risk to start the youngster just to see what he can do.

- Dontrayevous Robinson: Another freshman may get the start in the backfield as well. With Roy Helu banged up, the best option to start in his place if it is needed is Robinson. He showed flashes against Iowa State and should do well against Baylor if given the opportunity. He needs to just make sure he secures the football on every run.

- The wide receivers: Lots of shifting this week with Meno Holt and Curenski Gilleylan being dropped down to scout team duty and the continued rise of Khiry Cooper, Brandon Kinnie, and Antonio Bell. Expect that trio to play major minutes in Waco and may even be the featured wideouts with Niles Paul having issues catching and hanging onto the ball.

So as you can read, this game is almost all about the offense. The Blackshirts should be their usual solid selves and prevent Baylor from doing anything aside from the potential fluke big play. Unless this game turns into a repeat of last week with the turnovers, expect a fairly easy Nebraska win.

Prediction: Nebraska 31 Baylor 7

 

October 28, 2009

Game 7 - Iowa State Recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

There is not too much you can say about this game, so this post will be short and not very sweet. Nebraska committed eight turnovers in their 9-7 loss to Iowa State at home with four of them occurring inside the Iowa State 5-yard line. The Huskers outgained the Cyclones with 362 yards to 239 and the only big plays ISU made were consecutive snaps in the 2nd quarter. On 4th down, they ran a fake punt that worked perfectly to earn the first down and then they completed a 47-yard pass for a touchdown as Eric Hagg got turned around in coverage that lacked safety help over the top. It was one of the craziest games in Nebraska history, but it still does not completely ruin the season. If the offense somehow finds an identity, then a North title is still very possible.
Next up: Saturday at Baylor 11:30 am on Versus

October 24, 2009

What has gone wrong?
By Tad Young

The Nebraska football team has gone through a bad turn as they have lost 2 in a row (Iowa st, tex tech) 2 games they expected to win. They were both at home. The D has been great but the offense? Where are they? 8 Turnovers in one game??!?!? You cannot win games with 8 turnovers in one game.  Things need to be changed.
       

October 23, 2009

Iowa State Preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

Game 7 – Iowa State 11:40 am FSN

If you had asked most Husker fans last week at this time what they thought of the Iowa State matchup, most would have marked it down as a blowout win at home, but that was before the offense laid another egg and Texas Tech came into Lincoln and beat NU. This game still has blowout potential, but everything will need to click perfectly for that to happen. I am still of the opinion that this Nebraska team is very good despite last week’s result, but a close game against ISU will knock away even more confidence in the fan base that was sky high after the Missouri win. The Cyclones have been playing much better this year under first-year head coach Paul Rhodes and should not be overlooked. Austin Arnaud is the main offensive threat at quarterback, but he is banged up some, so his running threat could be minimal and allow the Blackshirts to tee off on him. Nebraska has won the last four matchups between the two teams after ISU won two of three between 2002 and 2004. Some things to look for on Saturday:

• Who’s the QB?: Zac Lee’s hesitation against Texas Tech was the main reason he was replaced by Cody Green, but I think he’ll be back behind center to at least start the game against Iowa St. His numbers were not terrible and there were other circumstances that hindered the offense as well, but he will be on a short leash this week. If the offense struggles at all in the early going, look for Green to get a chance. Should Green succeed, it could signal a changing of the guard and make the newcomer from Texas the first freshman to start a game since Tommie Frazier in 1992.

• Turnovers: The defense failed to have any takeaways against the Red Raiders, so that needs to change against the Cyclones. I expect it will or things could remain tight throughout the game. The offense needs to avoid any more devastating fumbles that result in defensive touchdowns like the one by Niles Paul that felt like it ended the game in the first quarter last week.

• Dontrayevous Robinson: He burned his redshirt last week as expected, but he was only used on special teams. Expect him to see some action in the backfield this week and maybe even be used as the goalline back. If he can do well there, then maybe some of the red zone issues will go away after so many struggles all year trying to punch the ball in when close.

I do think this can be an easy win for Nebraska, but the chance for a close one does exist. I do not think the Blackshirts give up much ground and the offense should be good enough.

My Prediction: Nebraska 31 Iowa St. 7

In other Husker news – LB Blake Lawrence has decided to quit football after suffering his fourth concussion in 18 months. He was one of the smartest guys on the team and I think he just made another smart move by not risking further brain injury by continuing to play….4-star wideout Curtis Carter from Louisiana committed this week and things are looking up in general on the recruiting front. This year should be a smaller class than in the past, but should have some gems included, and next year’s is poised to be one of the best in the country should the momentum of Tyler Moore’s commitment continue through next season.

October 20, 2009

Game 6 – Texas Tech Recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

It was a rough Saturday in Lincoln as the Red Raiders stormed in and beat up on Nebraska 31-10.  The final score was not quite indicative of what transpired on the field, but nonetheless the Huskers did not look very good and were beaten by the better team that day.  Things got off to a rocky start with Texas Tech converting a lucky third down on a tipped pass and converted that into a touchdown.  That was followed up by a Niles Paul dropped backwards pass deep in Raider territory that was returned for a touchdown by the Tech defense.  It was 14-0 Tech very quickly when the score could have easily been 3-0 or 7-0 Nebraska.  A combination of factors prevented any sort of comeback.  The offense sputtered throughout the day as Zac Lee, the offensive line, the running backs, and wide receivers all struggled to put anything consistent together.  Special Teams were not very good either with poor punting and a missed long-range field goal from Alex Henery.  Penalties were also a major issue, although it could be argued that a majority of the calls were border-line at best.  All that said, there were some highlights:

1. Cody Green: He took his first meaningful snaps in a game and showed the flashes that will likely make him the starting quarterback next year, if not next week.  He is still raw and made some very questionable decisions, but the cannon arm also lead the Huskers to their only touchdown of the day.  His ability to run could also play a major factor should Roy Helu continue to suffer from a bum shoulder.
2. The Blackshirts: Like Green, it was all good from this group, but if you hold Texas Tech to 24 offensive points and only 259 yards, that should be more than enough to win the game.  A few too many missed tackles, but for the most part the defense did its job.
3. Phil Dillard: I’m singling out Dillard from the above category because he was extra good.  He finished with 12 tackles, eight of which were unassisted, and shined after taking over for Will Compton as the only linebacker on the field for most of the game.  Four of his tackles were for a loss.  It’s great to see the senior step up in his final year and perform like we thought he could after a disappointing finish to his junior season.

Again, it was a very disheartening loss, but the season is definitely not over.  The defense is still very good, special teams should not have a game like that again, and the offense has some weapons that should help it break out of its funk against good teams.  It should be interesting to see what the team can accomplish in the next two weeks against Iowa State and Baylor before facing off against Oklahoma in what can still be a very winnable game.

 

October 15, 2009

Game 6 – Texas Tech preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

Coming off the huge win in Columbia, the Huskers return home to face the high-powered offensive attack of the Red Raiders. The wide splits on the offensive line, quick drops on passing plays, and general oddities that come from playing Mike Leach’s team will pose a threat in Lincoln. Texas Tech is one of the top scoring teams in the nation and even a change in quarterbacks has not slowed them down. After Taylor Potts started to begin the season, Steven Sheffield has come on after Potts’ concussion two weeks ago. Sheffield threw for 490 yards and seven TD’s last week against Kansas State, so the backup may actually be better than the original starter for Tech. It is not known who will start for the Raiders in Lincoln (Sheffield is the favorite), but either one has the talent to make the Leach offense successful.

That said, the Raiders have not faced a defense featuring Ndamukong Suh. Suh’s performance against Missouri has garnered him national attention and even some Heisman buzz this week. He’ll need to continue to impress to keep that going, but he has the ability to do it. The rest of the Blackshirts should be more than able to at least slow down the Tech attack and give the Husker offense a chance to find it’s rhythm. We will find out if the offensive struggles against Virginia Tech and Missouri were because they were road games or just against better defenses. I think the performance Saturday will fall somewhere in between those games and the annihilation of the three Sun Belt conference teams. Some things to watch for:

• Who’s #2? : Super freshman Rex Burkhead went down in practice on Monday and will be out for some time with a foot injury. So the question is now, who will step up? Roy Helu Jr. will continue to carry a huge load, but he can’t do it all. Lester Ward, Marcus Mendoza, AJ Jones, and Collins Okafor all have been mentioned as possibilities to move up the depth chart. The real name to watch though is Dontrayevous Robinson, a true freshman out of Texas. A likely redshirt season may not happen now as he has shown well in practice this week. If he has picked up enough of the pass-blocking schemes, I expect him to make an appearance on Saturday.

• Secondary: Alfonzo Dennard continues to start this week at corner and DeJuan Gomes is now the starter in the dime package, so a couple new explosive talents will be on the field to combat the Raider offense. If they play as well as they did at Missouri, then expect a few interceptions to stifle any momentum by Tech.

• Wideouts: Freshman Khiry Cooper is on the verge of making an impact, so keep an eye on him should the starters falter like they did in the first half last week. Niles Paul stepped his game up in the 4th quarter, but Meno Holt and Curenski Gilliyan failed to make many plays against the Tigers, so their positions may be vulnerable. Aside from Cooper, Antonio Bell and Brandon Kinnie could also see some meaningful snaps on Saturday.

I expect another hard fought battle after last year’s great game in Lubbock. The Raiders offense should keep it close for a while, but Suh and the Blackshirts will do more than enough to get Nebraska the win. If that happens, it will be the Huskers’ first win over Tech since 2001 (0-3 and outscored 141-72).
Prediction: Huskers 31 Tech 21

Heisman?
By Tad Young
 

There was a lot of talk around the nation about Heisman contendors. One of those players named was DT Ndamukong Suh. He is in most peoples Top 3. That would be a huge accomplishment for a DT to even get invited to New York. Suh is having a monstorous year. Leading the team is sacks, tackles, tied for INTs, and leads in batted passes. He is 3rd in the nation in batting passes. 1st among DTs. (The next DT is 97 spots behind suh!)
 
 
Rex Burkhead. Sigh. Rex aka Superman is out 6-8 with a broken foot. Maybe the whole year. That is not good news as he was our backup rb to Roy Helu. He averaged 6 yards a carry and was also a good punt return.  He could run and catch the ball out of the backfield. He will be missed.
 
 
Commits- It was a huge week for recruiting as we got 2 big names to Commit. 4 star DE Chase Rome de-commits from Okie St and commits to Nebraska. He could end up being a Jared Crick, later on getting moved to DT. The Huskers also got 2011 OL Tyler Moore. Tyler's dad also played at Nebraska. Tyler was also getting recruited by Florida, Ohio St, and Cal.
 
Momentum- Nebraska now has controll and momentum in the Big 12 North after there huge win in Columbia Thursday on National TV. There 4th Quarter surge led them to a 27-12 stomping. The defense controlled that game.
 
Blackshirts?- Bo Pelini told Erin Andrews that she would be the first to know if the Blackshirts would be handed out. Well just a hint Erin won't be hearing that the Blackshirts are out This week.

 

October 10, 2009

Bam!
By: Tad Young

The story going into the game was all about Blain Gabber. All because he de commited from Nebraska and chose to go to Mizzou. How will the affect? Your about to find out why he will regret it.

Through the first 3 quarters the Huskers offense and special teams were terrible. Muffing 3 punt returns, having a safety on a punt, and not scoring a single point on offense was just embarrassing. The defense was the only reason we stayed in the game. The rain was probably a problem.

The 4th Quarter was a lot different. First play of the 4th the huskers go deep to Niles Paul for the first TD of the game for the skers. That was the biggest play of the game as it gave Nebraska momentum. First play for Mizzou Blaine Gabbert throws an INT to none other then the All American SUHHHHHH. 2 Plays later the Huskers lead 13-12. Very first pass again for Blaine Gabber throws another int!! This time to Dejon Gomes. Dejon was awarded his first start this week. That also lead to another Nebraska TD. Huskers up 20-12 with under 5 minutes left. They force Mizzou to go for it on 4th but the Tigers do not succeed and the Huskers take over. That was capped off by a huge run by Roy Helu. He was hurt on that play. Coaches say they aren't worried. Final score 27-12

The huskers get a huge win in Columbia and take control early in the Big 12 North.

 

October 9, 2009

Game 5 - Missouri Recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

Well it has finally happened!  The Huskers were able to go on the road and beat a ranked team for the first time since 2006 and, if you use the Coaches’ Poll, their first over a top-20 team since 1997.  After a sloppy three quarters in the constant rain, the Huskers trailed 12-0 and it really looked bleak.  The defense had been stellar all game except for one big play with Prince Amukamara slipping on the turf, which led to Mizzou’s only TD right at the end of the first half.  The offense could not muster anything at all.  Through three quarters, they had yet to manage 100 total yards and Zac Lee’s completion percentage was abysmal (9 for 27, 33%).  He was throwing it all over the place and, when he was on the mark, his receivers did not do a very good job catching it in the rain.  The special teams play was not very good either.  Bad snaps on punts led to the Missouri safety (side note: a great play by Henery to not force that punt which may have lead to a TD instead) and lots of problems fielding punts.  All of this combined for one of the uglier three quarters you can imagine, but that all changed on one play. 
With the rain finally easing up some and Cody Green taking warmup snaps, Zac Lee was able to connect with Niles Paul on a 56-yard touchdown strike to put Nebraska on the board.  That play seemed to fire everyone up.  The very next defensive play, the unstoppable force that is Ndamukong Suh picked off Blaine Gabbert deep in Missouri territory.  Paul made an outstanding adjustment on Lee’s pass a couple of plays later and split two Tiger defenders to reel in the go ahead and game-winning touchdown.  In just 59 seconds, Nebraska went from being shutout and looking awful, to taking the lead 13-12 and in great shape to win the game.  From that point on, the Blackshirts kept the pressure on with another interception that led to a terrific pass from Lee to Mike McNeil just before being sacked to go up 20-12.  A great last drive by Nebraska, capped by a Roy Helu touchdown, finished off one of the greatest comebacks in NU history and a potential springboard win for the season and beyond. 
The highlights:

1. The Blackshirts: They are officially back.  Maybe the rain helped a little bit, but the Missouri offense could only put up 225 total yards, with 38 of those coming on the previously mentioned play where Amukamara slipped.  Dejuan Gomes was inserted into the dime defense NU used all day and came up with a spectacular interception that led to the third Husker touchdown in the 4th quarter.  Expect to see more of Gomes this season.  Suh continues his utter dominance of everyone and, in my opinion, should be up for Heisman consideration at the moment.  He is a force unlike anything I’ve seen before from the defensive tackle position.  Credit to the entire defensive back unit too.  Their ability to break on routes with the wet turf was amazing.  They recorded nine pass breakups, with a few of them being dropped interceptions.  That crew was all over Gabbert’s reads for most of the night.
2. Niles Paul: The leader of the receiving corps stepped up huge in the 4th after early struggles catching some passes and one punt.  He broke open for the first touchdown and then made a great play on the ball for the second score as mentioned above.  He showed up like a leader should in the critical moments of the game.
3. Youth is served:  It will be interesting to follow the use of the young players that saw more time than ever before in the game.  Receivers like Brandon Kinnie and Antonio Bell and defensive backs like Alfonzo Dennard and Dejuan Gomes should continue to see more of the field.  The WRs may have just been in there due to some dropped balls from the top guys, but on paper they have the talent to join that elite group.  Again, this year has been great, but watch out for next year.

Again, this game was huge on many different levels.  The road-win curse against good teams is now gone, gaining some revenge for the past six years in the Missouri series is very satisfying especially in Columbia, and now Nebraska is in great shape to take the North title as long as they take care of business the rest of the way.  In a sloppy mess, the Huskers were the stronger team that persevered in the end, which is a credit to Bo Pelini and his staff.  As long as Bo is around, this kind of effort should become commonplace, just like it used to be under Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.  It was a great night to be a Husker!

 

October 6, 2009

Missouri Preview – Thursday 8 pm ESPN
By: Bobby Ludemann

Thursday night is a huge night for the Nebraska football program. It was not long ago that a game against Missouri was chalked up as another win without too much thought. After winning every game in the series from 1979 to 2002, the Huskers have had their troubles with the Tigers over the last six years going 2-4. The last three games in Columbia have all gone for Missouri by a combined score of 123-54 with the Blackshirts giving up 41 points in each game. In addition to the problems in Columbia, the Huskers even lost badly in Lincoln last year 52-17. So this game is no longer a pushover and is a pivotal game for the rest of the 2009 season and beyond.

The two teams both come into this game ranked for only the third time since 1981 (1998 and 2006) with Missouri 18th in the coaches and 24th in the AP and Nebraska at 22nd and 21st in the same polls. A win by either team will provide a huge boost starting the conference season and, being the only game on Thursday, it should also help with national exposure and recruiting. So how does Nebraska go about winning this tough one at Missouri?

Offense:
Zac Lee will be making his second career road start and it will be against another ranked team after struggling in his first attempt at Virginia Tech. He will need to be much better in Columbia and he likely should be after having the experience facing that atmosphere in Blacksburg and the very good Hokie defense. The Missouri defense is nowhere near as good as that VTech unit, so Lee should be fine.

The big question will be can the Huskers finish in the Red Zone when they get there. Settling for field goals all game will not put Nebraska in a position to win like it did two weeks ago. The Mizzou offense is too good to settle for three points instead of seven. I think Rex Burkhead could play a larger role in this game than he did at Virginia Tech, especially near the end zone with his aggressive running style. The NU offensive line is also as healthy as it has been all season, so that could also prove to be a big advantage.

Defense:
This will be the key matchup in the game. Will Coach Pelini and the Blackshirts learn from last year’s shellacking in Lincoln? Will former NU commit Blaine Gabbert be able to lead the Mizzou offense as well as Chase Daniel did? The fact that Missouri cannot run the ball very well will play a large factor. That will allow Ndamukong Suh and the rest of the tremendous defensive line for the Huskers to focus on getting to Gabbert. The young QB has yet to throw an interception this year, but he has also yet to face a good defense, so he is still a bit of an unknown. Gabbert’s physical tools are unquestioned with a huge frame and cannon arm, but he has not been tested much at all this year.

The main plan of attack from Nebraska will likely be a Dime package of six defensive backs and one linebacker to counter the no-huddle spread offense Missouri employs. The hope is that the defensive line will be able to put lots of pressure on the backfield without the help of any blitzes and let the DB’s wreak havoc with various zones to confuse Gabbert. The increased overall speed of the Husker D should also be able to contain the various screens that the Tigers often run.

Special Teams:
This is no contest at all with Nebraska employing all-everything kicker/punter Alex Henery and Mr. Touchback Adi Kunalic on kickoffs. Grant Ressel has been perfect for Missouri, so they should at least be adequate in that department.

Prediction: After having gone through this whole preview it would seem that all signs point to a solid Husker victory, but the atmosphere will be rowdy and Gabbert could prove to be more than capable against a great defense. I have high hopes for a Husker victory, but until that actually occurs on the road against a ranked opponent I cannot pick it. Missouri 24 Nebraska 23

 

October 3, 2009

Off Week
By: Tad Young

Nebraska goes into there bye week 3-1. No big surprises. The blackshirts have improved termendously as it is 2nd in the nation in allowing points. Last week was a big week for recruits. They had a bunch of big names that came, and left happy. Could be some upcoming commits this week.

Larry Asante looked shaken up after he ran the INT back for a td. After the game Bo confirmed it was just a bruise and Larry has been practacing this week. Ricky Thenarse on the other hand is done for the year and will Medical redshirt. That is a blow because he was the backup to Matt Ohanlon and was our big hitter

Next Thursday is a huge game that might decide the North. If Nebraska can go into Columbia and win there for the first time since 2001 that will be huge for Nebraskas program. It will be huge because when recruits look at Nebraska they see a team that used to dominate but haven't lately. If we can win there recruits will see we are going into the right direction.

Nebraska has a bye this week and Bo will head out to recruit.

Visotors at the game Saturday for the 300th sellout:
Ciante Evans	DB	5.7	5-11/170	Sep 25th	Nebraska
Chase Harper	TE	5.8	6-6/248	Sep 25th	list
Joshua Reese	WR	5.8	6-1/182	Sep 25th	list
Chase Rome	DE	5.8	6-3/290	Sep 25th	Oklahoma State
Bud Sasser	WR	5.7	6-3/200	Sep 25th	list
Bobby Swigert	WR	5.7	6-1/175	Sep 25th	list
Colin Tanigawa	OL	5.5	6-3/286	Sep 25th	list
Willis Wright	WR	5.5	6-2/185	Sep 25th	list

Many of them rated there visit a "10 out of 10"

 

Game preview next

 

September 29, 2009

Louisiana-Lafayette Recap
By: Bobby Ludemann

It was a great night in Lincoln this past Saturday as the Huskers recorded their first shutout since 2006 (vs. Troy) and the fans celebrated the 300th consecutive sellout with a 55-0 rout over the Rajin’ Cajuns. A week after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Nebraska came out focused and determined to not let that game affect them for even a quarter. Coach Pelini promised this kind of effort and that is exactly what was shown on the field Saturday. Some notable performances:

• The Blackshirts: This one is pretty obvious, but the defensive unit as a whole was dominant. They recorded the first two sacks allowed by Lafayette all season, put up the first shutout in three years as already mentioned, and had three takeaways as well. The biggest defensive play was the 74-yard interception return by Larry Asante in the 2nd quarter to put the game completely out of reach at 34-0. Asante was hurt on the play, but should be ready to go for Missouri next Thursday. (Side note: that was the first INT for a touchdown by a Husker defensive back since Fabian Washington in 2002!)

• Alex Henery – I could probably include Alex each week, but he was excellent in this game. Of course he made his two field goal attempts (39 and 46 yards), but it was his pinpoint punting skills that truly impressed. He had two of his three punts place the Cajuns at their own 2 and 1-yard lines. It was spectacular. It was so good that a friend of mine jokingly wondered if Alex might turn pro early after this year.

• Chris Brooks Sr. – The senior wideout and former 4-star recruit out of St. Louis has been a bit of a disappointment during his career in Lincoln, but he was a major part of the offense early in this game and that may be a sign of great things to come. He caught three passes for 50 yards and hauled in the first touchdown of the game. Chris is a great guy, so having him see some more production on the field would be fantastic.

• The QBs – Zac Lee started things and Cody Green finished it off as they combined to go 22 of 26 for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Zac looks like he put the Virginia Tech performance behind him and didn’t let a bruised left thumb affect his game. He should be ready to go in Columbia. Cody continues to impress as well with accurate throws and another stellar touchdown run that capped the Husker scoring for the night.

• The fans – The night was mostly about the Nebraska fans that have sold out Memorial Stadium 300 consecutive times. The Huskers wore throwback uniforms to honor the 1962 team that started the streak and numerous video messages from various past and present Huskers were played on the video board as part of the evening’s festivities. The night finished with a post-game video tribute and fireworks show. Now that Coach Pelini has the ship back on the right track by all accounts, this streak will likely continue for some time to come.

So now the Huskers have a week and a half off until a huge conference opener in Columbia, Missouri next Thursday night. It is a late 8 pm kickoff for ESPN and the crowd should be wild, but I think the Virginia Tech experience should pay huge dividends for this team in handling that atmosphere. The time off should allow the team to heal up (Ricky Thenarse appears to be the only major injury at this point with a potential ACL tear that might cost him the year) and give Bo ample time to come up with a scheme to slow down the Missouri offensive attack. We’ll discuss this game further as it nears next week.

September 27, 2009

Greatest fans in America
By: Tad Young

Nebraska, Home of the greatest fans in all of college football, reached 300 consecutive sell outs. It was honered by have the '62 team, throwback jerseys, logo on field, fireworks, and a video at the end. It was an amazing night for the football team. Not just because of the 55-0 blow out. They set a record attendance.
 
 
Nebraska got up early leading the game 34-0 at halftime thanks to a 74 int td by Larry Asante. After the play Asante came up shooken with an injury. Bo says it's not bad, just a bruise. Bo knows.
 
 
Middle way in the 3rd Quarter the future of Nebraska football came into play. With freshman RB (Rex Burkhead) and Freshman QB (Cody Green) Showing off there skills. Cody went 7-8 with 62 yards and a touchdown. He also had 3 rushes 22 yards and a touchdown. Rex "superman" had 6 rushes for 27 yards. He led the team in catches Saturday with 4 for 26 yards and a td.
 

September 26, 2009

Milestone!
By: Tad Young

 
Saturday night when Nebraska comes out of the tunnel walk they will make history. 300 Straight sell outs and counting. Incredible right? To celabrate this they will wear uniforms from the 60's, when the streak started, they will also have a 300th sellout logo on the field, and they will have the capitol building red.
 
Last week vs Va Tech could be the turning point this year. A tough loss, but the team learned a lot.  This week Bo Pelini also said that Thursday was the best practice of the year!
 
Rumors were that Zac Lee would'nt play Saturday, well those are wrong. He is playing Saturday with a thumb injury.
 
Zac Lee's sub par performance last week, in his first road start, was the worst QB performance of a husker since 2007 against Okie St! Zac Lee has learned a lot after that and looks to thrive off that.
 
Against Va Tech Nebraska proved that they can play some football. All they had to do was minumize the penalties and capitolize in the redzone, and they win the game. That could of been a huge win.
 
Saturday look for Nebraska to run Roy Helu Jr hard and he will have a big game. Nebraska will win bad with the crowd and the thrive of the last weeks loss. I am going to this game and Cannot wait! Will post pictures.
 
 
My Prediction

UL Lafayette: 3

September 25, 2009

Louisiana-Lafayette Preview
By: Bobby Ludemann

The big story this weekend for Nebraska football isn’t the opponent or the Huskers themselves, but the fans. Memorial Stadium will welcome the 300th consecutive sellout on Saturday night and, to celebrate, the team will wear 1962 throwback uniforms honoring the year the steak began. It should be a great night all around. Aside from that though, there is a football game and here are some of the things to watch for:
• Zac Lee’s hand – The NU QB injured his left (non-throwing) hand in the game against Virginia Tech, but will be ready to start. It is unclear if this will affect much of anything he can do, but I would think the biggest issue may be the center exchange on the snap. Hopefully it is nothing to worry about, but watch for any issues with fumbled snaps either under center or in the shotgun position.
• D-Line pressure – The Ragin’ Cajuns offensive line has yet to give up a sack all season, which includes games against Kansas State and LSU, so getting to the ULL QB Chris Masson could be difficult. I would expect a defensive gameplan similar to that against Florida Atlantic with the D-Line focusing on gap control, stuffing the run, and knocking down passes instead of all out pressure. That said, there will be at least one sack by the Blackshirts.
• The youngsters – I’ve discussed it before, but this should be another chance for Cody Green and Rex Burkhead to get in lots of playing time. Green was working with the top unit with Lee sitting out Monday’s practice, so he may be even more comfortable now than he was in game one against FAU. Burkhead was hardly used against Virginia Tech, but that should not be the case in this game.
• Mentality – Coach Pelini has already stated that last week’s difficult loss will not affect the team, but we won’t truly know that until gametime. By all accounts it has been a great week of practice and the team is looking forward, but we’ll know if that’s true in the first quarter if they come out fired up and focused. If the team can avoid a sluggish first quarter or half, then Pelini has done a wonderful job and big things could still be accomplished over the course of the remainder of the season.

Prediction: Huskers are focused and take care of business as the fans celebrate 300. NU 45 ULL 7

 

Nebraska Recap
BY: Jason Nafziger

After hammering Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State, Nebraska fell one point shy of upsetting Virginia Tech on the road.
Stats so far: Nebraska is 5th with 6.27 yards per rush attempt and 47th with 7.6 yards per passing attempt. Overall, they have scored 34 points and gained 442.3 yards on offense per game. Defensively, they are 39th with 3.19 yards allowed per rush attempt and 57th with 6.4 yards allowed per pass attempt. Overall, they have allowed 9.3 points and 303.3 yards per game. Coming up: The Cornhuskers have a breather against Louisiana-Lafayette before big-time clashes with conference foes Missouri and Texas Tech.

Jason Nafziger writes about Pro and College Football at
http://onfootball.wordpress.com

September 23, 2009

Game 3 - Virginia Tech Recap – “Heartbreak in Hokieland”
By: Bobby Ludemann

Apologies for a lack of posts last week, but we should be ready to roll for most of the rest of the season at this point. This past Saturday represented the toughest test for Nebraska thus far and they came up just short. After building a 15-10 lead on the strength of another perfect day from Alex Henery’s leg and a stellar defensive effort for 58 minutes, Nebraska could not seal the deal. Tyrod Taylor overcame a mostly dreadful day to connect on an 80-yard bomb on a broken play and then made one last good pass for the game winning score. It was a brutal finish for Husker fans, but things continue to look up for the program as it could easily be argued that Nebraska was the better team throughout the game.
Some general observations after attending the game in Blacksburg:
• Ndamakong Suh is unbelievably good. I know this isn’t all that newsworthy, but seeing the big guy consistently beat double-teams to pressure the QB, knock down passes, and stuff the run is fun to watch.
• The offensive line is mostly average. I’m sure part of this is due to the talented Virginia Tech defense, but the Hokies were in Zac Lee’s face often and the only reason the Husker offense racked up any rushing yards was because of Roy Helu.
• The aforementioned Roy Helu continues to impress as the featured back. Time after time he beat VTech around the edge and even made good gains going up the middle. I had some doubts about him being able to handle the full load, but so far in three games he has been outstanding. He has 381 yards rushing on 58 carries (6.57 yards per carry), 80 yards on 9 catches, and 3 touchdowns.

I thought I would comment on the atmosphere in Blacksburg since I did make it all the way there for the matchup. After having been to many road games, I can safely say that I’ve never been treated better than I was by the Virginia Tech faithful. I heard over and over again from various fans about how they went to the game in Lincoln and wanted to return the hospitality they received from Nebraska fans. During the game, the “Enter Sandman” entrance lived up to the hype. Here’s some video of that, although it doesn’t truly capture the scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITSE1YGv18w The only huge drawback to the whole atmosphere is the odd decision to put the visitor’s seating right next to a huge student section. This nearly led to an incident between the two sections near me and I can’t imagine what may happen when a rival like Virginia comes to town. Overall though, Blacksburg is one of the best college football experiences if you can find a way to get there.
Up next: The 300th consecutive sellout and homecoming in Lincoln vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.

Heart Break
By: Tad Young

 
Saturdays game vs the Hokies was very disapointing. We could not capitolize. We could'nt even score a touchdown! 5 field goals? You can't win a game like that.
 
 
The Huskers showed up to play. Well for the 2nd, 3rd, and most of the 4th quarter. Just that one play in the 4th when Tyrod Taylor connected with Danny Coale for 81 yards. There was 1:11 in the game after that play.  After that it took them 2 plays to finally score to take the lead 16-15. They missed the 2pt conversion.
 
 
The Blackshirts are back: Tyrod Taylor was non exsistant that whole game accept for one play. The D looked fast and dominant as they flew to the ball and did not let Tyrod scramble.
 
Finish:  That was the word Bo used in his press confrence after the game. That his team needed to finish. All the great teams do it.
 
Injuries:  On Mondays practice Larry Asante and Zac Lee both wore green jerseys and sat out of practice. Coach Bo Pelini said they would be fine.
 
Capitolize: Nebraska had many oppurtunities to capitolize and score touchdowns but everytime were forced to settle for 3. Also give credit to that Va Tech Defense.

 

September 11, 2009

Week 2 Preview – Arkansas State Red Wolves
By Bobby Ludemann

The Huskers welcome their second Sun Belt team to Lincoln in as many weeks as Arkansas State comes to town for a 1 pm kickoff. After an easy 49-3 victory over Florida Atlantic, this week could prove to be quite a bit more difficult. The Red Wolves are coming off a dominating 61-0 win over Mississippi Valley State in their season opener in which they gave up only 69 total yards to the Delta Devils. Obviously MVSU is not very good, but this kind of victory is impressive no matter who it is against. Arkansas St. also has experience in coming into a loud, massive stadium and coming out victorious after last year’s 18-14 win at Texas A&M, so they are not to be taken lightly. All that said, Nebraska should do just fine as they look to improve upon week 1 after a great week of practice. Here are a few things to look for on Saturday:
• The offensive tempo – This was a bit of a problem last week as the play clock ran down close to 0 often and Zac Lee did not have as much time for his pre-snap reads. This improved throughout the game, but ideally the offense becomes a well-oiled machine moving from play to play. A quicker pace can also help wear down the opponent’s defense as they have less time for substitutions.
• Cody Green – Do we see him earlier this week to change things up a little bit or will he have to wait for mop up duty again? My guess is he’ll stay on the sidelines until the 4th quarter when the game is in hand, but it is something to watch for on Saturday.
• Keith Williams – He should be back and full healthy this week at left guard, which could improve both the running game and pass protection. Keep an eye on him if you’re able to see the game in person or on PPV.
• Corey Leonard – The Red Wolves’ senior starting quarterback is their all-time total offense leader (passing former Miami Dolphins’ “great” Chet Lemon) and should not be rattled coming into Lincoln. That said, the Husker D-Line should be able to get more backfield pressure than last week and force Leonard to make his decisions a lot quicker than he did against Miss. Valley St.
The bottom line is that this should still be a fairly easy win heading into Virginia Tech week, but there is a chance that Arkansas State hangs around for longer than Husker fans would like. I expect the Blackshirts to continue their great scoring defense but may give up a late touchdown once the game is in hand.
My Prediction: Nebraska 34 Arkansas St. 13
Next week: @ Virginia Tech 2:30 pm
Direct any questions or comments to bludemann@hotmail.com

 

September 10, 2009

Week 1 Recap – Florida Atlantic
By Bobby Ludemann

This season is finally underway and you would be hard pressed to come up with a better opening effort by the Huskers against the Owls. There are still some concerns going forward, but the first week of the season has only increased the excitement in Lincoln for this year and, perhaps more so, for next year. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives from the 49-3 trouncing of Howard Schnellenberger’s Florida Atlantic team.

Positives:

- Zac Lee: He knows the playbook in and out and should not be a concern going forward. Yes, some of his early throws were behind the receivers some, but he improved upon this greatly throughout the game and acknowledged some first-game jitters that may have contributed to that problem. I also think we will see him run more in the future because of…

- Cody Green: The future isn’t quite now, but the freshman assuaged many concerns about any possible injury to Lee during the season with his fine performance in mop up duty. His 49-yard run in the 4th quarter showed his athleticism and the strong arm was very noticeable as well, despite all three of his pass attempts being rather short.

- Young LBers: I was very excited to see Will Compton, Sean Fisher, et al coming into the game and I was not disappointed one bit. Compton looks like a natural at the MIKE spot and Fisher is an athletic freak that should be able to defend both the run and the pass equally well. There were a few mental breakdowns, but compared to last year’s issues, this was a huge improvement. When you add Eric Martin’s extreme energy to this bunch, you can see why both the present and future is very bright!

- Big Suh: Not like there was ever going to be an issue with the potential top pick in the NFL Draft, but Ndamukong Suh once again showed what kind of disruptive force he can be. His ability to run down running backs from behind is just another amazing feat to add to his list.

- Stadium improvements: I had some trepidation about the new video and ribbon boards when I heard they would be installed. I really liked the old school feel of the exposed cement facades and North towers, but I must say that the ribbon boards were expertly used. The new video boards on the northwest and northeast corners also did make sitting in the North end zone much more tolerable. I also loved the transition to high definition, which made…

- The Tunnel Walk: They finally got back to basics and it is awesome! All you ever need to do is play Sirius over some collection of highlight plays and National Title trophies to get people fired up and they certainly did that with this version. Here’s a good version of it with the crowd’s reaction to get the full effect: Watch it here

- Howard Schnellenberger’s ability to take a hit: A scary moment late in the game occurred when a play went to the sideline and finished with FAU’s 75-year old coach hitting the ground really hard. At least he’s ok and it led to this gem of a quote:

“Well, I have a great knack when I see that there’s no escape route, and the adversary is a hell of a lot bigger, stronger and faster than I am. I go into a voluntary relax mode and become a rag doll, and I can survive almost anything. I was born on a farm where they had a lot of possums around and learned the possum trick.”

Negatives (aka nitpicking since none of these are major concerns as of yet)

- Pass Rush: By all accounts, the lack of pressure on the FAU quarterbacks was by design in combination with their maximum protect sets. Blitzes were few and far between and the defensive line appeared to be playing for the run and screens knowing FAU intended to throw quick routes that would make a pass rush mute anyway. I imagine that going forward we’ll see plenty of pressure on opposing passers.

- Penalties: On paper, the penalties look really bad (9 for 86 yards), but I would say that they are not as big of as an issue as some would think. Three of them were 15-yard personal fouls that were either very questionable (Jared Crick and Eric Martin were called for late hits) or easily correctable (Niles Paul’s so-so taunting penalty after a TD). Add in another false start penalty that clearly should have been encroachment and you only have 5 penalties for 36 yards. I can live with those numbers every game.

- Husker Power: No, not the strength of the football team, but the actual pregame Husker Power chant. The timing of the band finishing up and the start of the Tunnel Walk was off, which caused the always amazing Husker Power cheer to be skipped over. Need to get that cleaned up for next week and the rest of the year.

That’s it for this recap. Every week from here on out will feature a recap similar to this one as soon after the game as possible (Monday or Tuesday at the latest from here on out), a preview of the upcoming opponent on Thursday or Friday, and then should have a miscellaneous article in between those two to discuss various topics. Looking forward to a great season!

Questions and comments can be directed to bludemann@hotmail.com

 

Posted to PhilSteele.com August 9, 2009

Nebraska College Football
By Erik Kohl

http://nebraskacollegefootball.blogspot.com/
Fans of all teams feel free to visit my blog and post your opinions.  I have many more blog entries at the site listed above and will be adding new entries on a regular basis.

Thursday, July 30, 2009
NU vs. The Sun Belt
Nebraska plays three teams from the Sun Belt this season, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, and Louisiana-Lafayette. I think the Sun Belt is usually the weakest conference in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and should be the weakest conference in '09. After that uplifting news for Sun Belt fans, the conference does have five road wins over BCS teams the last couple years. This will be the ninth year of football in the Sun Belt, Troy won the conference last year and is expected to repeat. Let's get to Nebraska's three Sun Belt opponents.

Florida Atlantic Owls

Phil Steele predicts FAU to finish tied for second with fellow NU opponent Arkansas State. Last year Florida Atlantic lost at Texas (52-10), at Michigan State (17-0), and Minnesota (37-3). In 2007, the Owls beat Minnesota 42-39. FAU has gone to two straight bowls (won both) and finished last season going 6-1 over the final 7 games including the bowl. PS (Phil Steele) rates QB Rusty Smith as the 11th best draft eligible QB who will be throwing to PS's number one Sun Belt receiving unit (top 7 receivers return). Rusty Smith is already the career passing leader with the Owls heading into his senior year. FAU only returns 3 starters on defense (lose their top 6 tacklers from '08). Inexperienced Zac Lee and the unproven Nebraska receivers should be able to get off to a confidence building start.

Way too early prediction: NU 44-20

Arkansas State Red Wolves

Phil Steele predicts Arkansas State to finish tied for second with Florida Atlantic in the 9 team Sun Belt conference. Last year Arkansas State won at Texas A&M 18-14 and lost at Alabama 35-0. In 2007, Arkansas State lost at Texas 21-13 in the first week of the season. I'm not calling this an upset special, but the placement of this non-conference game makes it the second most difficult non-conference game for the Huskers. The following week Nebraska plays at Virginia Tech. I will call for this game to be similar to last year’s San Jose State game in which NU only led 14-12 early in the fourth before winning 35-12 (SJSU outgained NU 353-315). ASU returns their QB, the top 4 rushers, and the top two receivers. However, the offensive line only has 19 career starts returning in '09 (tied with Army for the lowest). The Red Wolves return 6 of their top 7 leading tacklers from '08. Arkansas State opens their season up against FCS member Mississippi Valley State who went 3-8 last year and should be fired up for NU.

Way too early prediction: NU 31-9

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

Phil Steele predicts the Ragin' Cajuns to finish seventh in the Sun Belt. By the time ULL will face the Huskers they will have played Kansas State in Lafayette and on the road against LSU. Last year, Louisiana-Lafayette lost close games at Illinois (20-17) and at Kansas State (45-37). The Ragin' Cajuns return 8 out of their top 9 tacklers from a defense that allowed 430 yards per game and nearly 34 points per game. Last year the offense was the strength of the team averaging 449 yards per game and 33 points per game. This year, ULL loses their QB (1,876 yards, 62.8%, 13 TDs, 11 Ints), their top 2 rushers (combined for 2,410 yards, 24 TDs, 6.5 yards per carry), and their top receiver (46 catches, 656 yards, 7 TDs) but returns 113 career offensive line starts (fourth most). Depending on how Louisiana-Lafayette plays against their first two BCS opponents and Nebraska's attitude after Virginia Tech, this could be the ugliest game of the season for the Huskers.

Way too early prediction: NU 45-12
Posted by Erik at 8:28 PM 2 comments
Monday, August 3, 2009
Nebraska's Top 25 Struggles

Since Nebraska beat Oklahoma in 2001, every BCS team except Duke and Nebraska has beaten a top 19 team. This is a staggering stat, think about some struggling BCS teams, Baylor, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Syracuse. They have all found a way. Nebraska's only win during this time frame against a team that finished in the AP Top 25, is a 24-17 win over Pittsburgh in 2004 (Pitt ended 25). Since the Oklahoma game, Nebraska is 1-24 against teams that finished in the AP poll.

Can Nebraska get off this list before Duke? Let's compare schedules against teams that have potential to finish the year in the top 19.

Nebraska's Potential Top 19 finishers

9/19 @ Virginia Tech
10/8 @ Missouri
10/17 Texas Tech
11/7 Oklahoma
11/14 @ Kansas
11/27 @ Colorado

Dukes Potential Top 19 finishers

9/19 @ Kansas
10/3 Virginia Tech
11/7 @ North Carolina
11/14 Georgia Tech
11/21 @ Miami, FL
11/28 Wake Forest

Surprisingly, Nebraska and Duke have two of the same teams on this list. For Nebraska, the only teams that should end the season in the top 19 are Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Duke only has one team, Virginia Tech. Nebraska only has two teams on their list that will be home games for the Big Red, Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Texas Tech will almost have to pull off one major upset over Texas, Oklahoma, or Oklahoma State if they also are to lose to Nebraska and still remain in the top 19 at season’s end. Texas Tech would probably need to win against Kansas and Baylor as well. If Nebraska makes it to the Big XII Championship and a bowl game there should be one or two more chances.

Thanks Brent for sending me the article which had this chart in it. The article is called, "When will we know if Nebraska is 'back'." As Brent wrote, "it is from a national perspective." This is a good read, especially for the Husker fans that have very high expectations for this year's team.
Posted by Erik at 4:09 PM 2 comments
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
How important is starting experience?
Phil Steele did a great article that showed every FBS teams' career returning starters at each unit.

Here are the rankings of the Big XII teams in terms of career returning starts:

1. Baylor (9th overall) - 362 career starts returning
2. Oklahoma State (16) - 320
3. Oklahoma (34) - 294
4. Iowa State (36) - 293
5. Texas (42) - 285
6. Kansas (62) - 269
7. Kansas State (78) - 252
8. Texas Tech (80) - 251
9. Colorado (93) - 229
10. Nebraska (101) - 216
11. Texas A&M (102) - 215
12. Missouri (111) - 189

This list does a lot of talking. In the South division, Baylor seems to have even more of a case to be thinking of a bowl this year. Oklahoma State looks like they have a great chance to be at least third in the South. Even though Texas Tech only has more experience than Texas A&M in the South, the Red Raiders still have more starting experience returning than three North teams.

The North division should be a battle each and every week. Missouri, who represented the North in the Big XII title game last year, returns the least amount of starts from any Big XII school. Iowa State, who had the worst conference record of all Big XII schools, has the most returning career starts out of any team in the North (and has a coach who cares about ISU, sorry Gene). Kansas has the second most career starts returning in the North behind only Iowa State. Nebraska is fifth in the North ahead of only Missouri. I was a little surprised when the college football magazines came out and Nebraska was first in the majority of them. Then, the Big XII media picked Nebraska first. Kansas will have a lot of extra fuel for a motivating fall, even with all their offensive fire power returning, they are still looked as an inferior representative of the North, nationally and apparently regionally also. Looking at this list, this year could be more open than at any time during North division play. There are four teams in the North who have a shot at going to the Big XII title game, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Nebraska's non-conference opponents:

Florida Atlantic (47) - 281
Arkansas State (58) - 273
Virginia Tech (18) - 316
Louisiana-Lafayette (25) - 305

Nebraska's career starts at each position:

QB: 0
RB: 3
WR/TE: 24
OL: 61
DL: 49
LB: 12
DB: 67

Offensively, Nebraska returns 88 career starts (ranks 114). Defensively, NU returns 126 career starts (ranks 63). Examining the specific units closer, even though the running backs only have 3 career starts, Helu had the same amount of carries as the starter (Lucky - 125 carries), and Castille had 106 carries last year. Basically, 13 starts could be added to the RB position. I didn't realize Nebraska had 24 starts at the WR/TE position, but Mike McNeill has 12 starts, Menelik Holt has 4, and Niles Paul has 4 as well. At linebacker, Nebraska will most likely be down to 11 career starts of experience because Matt Holt is likely out for the year with a shoulder injury. Philip Dillard has 8 career starts and at this point is not expected to start (was 3rd string during spring practices), Blake Lawrence has 2 starts of experience, and Colton Koehler has 1. Needless to say, the Huskers defensive success early on will be based on the amount of pressure from the defensive line and the ability of the defensive backs to play effective coverage while the linebackers mature.

Nebraska's Top 3 Players with starting experience:

1. Ndamukong Suh - 25 career starts
T2. Jacob Hickman - 22
T2. Larry Asante - 22
Posted by Erik at 3:43 PM 0 comments

 

July 29, 2009

Nebraska College Football
By: Erik Kohl
http://nebraskacollegefootball.blogspot.com/
Fans of all teams feel free to visit my blog and post your opinions.  I have many more blog entries at the site listed above and will be adding new entries on a regular basis.

Thursday, July 23, 2009
Nebraska Preview Part 1: The Offense

This post will discuss Nebraska's offense. Shawn Watson is the offensive coordinator, this will be his fourth year with Nebraska and third year as offensive coordinator.

QB - The uncertainty at the Quarterback position is one of the biggest question marks on the team. Zac Lee is anticipated to take over for Joe Ganz. It is hard to imagine Zac Lee (0 starts at Nebraska) being as effective as Ganz, however Ganz only had three starts before starting all of last year. It will be interesting to see if Cody Green is redshirted this season or getting playing time as the year goes on. Latravis Washington is also in the QB mix.

RB - This is one of the strongest positions for the Huskers. Last year Roy Helu Jr. led the team in rushing (803 yards, 6.4 ypr) and had over 100 yards rushing in three of the last four regular season games. Quentin Castille finished the season with 467 yards (4.4 ypr) including 125 against Clemson in the Gator bowl.

WR/TE - The other question mark offensively is who will catch the ball besides TE Mike McNeill? Nate Swift and Todd Peterson combined for 125 receptions for 1,727 yards last year as seniors. On top of that Nebraska only returns 43.3% of last years receiving yards (1,584/3,650). Wide receivers Menelik Holt (30 rec, 355 yards last year), Niles Paul (23 rec, 214 yards LY), Chris Brooks (2 rec, 27 yards LY), and Curenski Gilleylen (2 rec, 11 yards LY) will have great chances for major playing time if all/any take advantage of their opportunity. Tight ends Mike McNeill (32 rec, 442 yards LY) and Dreu Young (9 rec, 140 yards LY) will also play a vital role offensively.

Offensive Line - The Huskers return 61 career starts on the offensive line which ranks 6th in the Big XII (1. Oklahoma State/Texas 91 career starts, 12. Kansas 26). Nebraska's offensive line is arguably the strongest offensive unit although the running backs are a very close second. Five players on the o-line have at least 7 career starts, Jacob Hickman, Keith Williams, Andy Christensen, Jaivorio Burkes, and Mike Smith. Expect DJ Jones Jr. and Marcel Jones to get plenty of playing time and possibly start as well. The offensive line helped the rushing game improve to 4.5 ypr, the highest total since 4.7 ypr in 2004. Last year Nebraska got sacked 21 times, three more times than the previous year.

Kicker - Alex Henery Jr. What else needs to be said besides he kicked a team record 57 yarder to push Nebraska past Colorado last year? Well he also made 18/21 field goals (two of the three misses were 50+ yards).

What can be expected this year? I have a hard time believing Nebraska will be as potent with the ball this year as last year. Nebraska's lack of experience at quarterback and at the receiver position will most likely result in fewer passing yards. However, Nebraska's running game should be just as productive if not more so than 2008. If Nebraska can win the time of possession like last year (NU: 34:01 a game, Opp: 25:59), this year's offense will still be successful even if the total yards and points are down this year.

My next post will be on Nebraska's defense for the upcoming season.

Friday, July 24, 2009
Nebraska Preview Part 2: The Defense

Carl Pelini will be entering his second year as Nebraska's Defensive Coordinator. Of course second year Head Coach Bo Pelini will be heavily involved.

Defensive Line - The D-line will be centered around the play of Ndamukong Suh. Big Suh was named Preseason Big XII Defensive Player of the Year by the media earlier today. Last year he incredibly led the Husker defense with 76 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. Most likely Suh will be double-teamed every game. This year is when Pierre Allen becomes well-known. Allen has been in the shadow of Suh even though Pierre's numbers stand out compared to other defensive lineman. Last year Allen was tied for third on the team with 52 tackles, was third with 10 tackles for loss, and third in sacks with 5. Barry Turner will be back and hopefully can match his pre-broken leg year of 2007 when he had 32 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. It won't be easy replacing Zack Potter (47 tkls, 16 tfl, 5.5 sks) and Ty Steinkuhler (48 tkls, 8 tfl, 2.5 sks). However, I assume Nebraska's D-line will be just as good as last year, if not better. Phil Steele tends to agree, he rates NU's defensive line as the second best in the conference (1. Oklahoma).

Linebackers - This is the unit that worries me on defense and is easily the biggest question mark to how well the defense performs this season. Phillip Dillard had the most tackles (38) and starts (5) out of the returning linebackers last season, however four defensive linemen had more tackles than him (Suh, Allen, Steinkuhler, and Potter). Blake Lawrence has the second most tackles (21) and starts (2) out of the '08 LB's who return. Expect many young players to play significantly. Sean Fisher, Will Compton, Matt Holt, Chris Williams, Mathew May, and Alonzo Whaley will all have opportunities. Expect the linebackers to be one of Nebraska's strengths in a couple of years, unfortunately not this year.

Defensive Backs - Remember when the opposing quarterback would throw the ball and we would want to cover our eyes in fear of what was going to happen? Well those days appear to be moving farther and farther behind us. Phil Steele ranks the Husker's DB's as tied for third best in the Big XII (1. Texas, 2. Oklahoma, T3. Kansas). Seven players return who combined for 55 starts last year. Strong safety Larry Asante was the second leading tackler last season with 67 and has been Honorable Mention Big XII the last two seasons. Other productive defensive backs return such as Matt O'Hanlon (52 tkls), Eric Hagg (39 tkls, 7 pass deflections), Prince Amukamara (34 tkls), Anthony West (29 tkls, 9 pass deflections), and Rickey Thenarse (24 tkls, 6 tfl, 2 sks). I anticipate this unit will have more interceptions than the 12 in '08.

Kickoffs - Adi Kunalic was #1 in all of the NCAA with 29 touchbacks out of 81 kickoffs.

Punter - Alex Henery Jr. will be replacing Dan Titchener who averaged 39.3 yards per punt last year. This position will be important to pay attention to as very few players punt and kick field goals.

What can be expected this year? An even better defense than the much improved '08 squad. In '08, NU drastically outperformed the '07 defense in points allowed per game (37.9 in '07 to 28.5 in '08), total yards per game (477 in '07 to 350 in '08), rushing yards per game (232 in '07 to 116 in '08), yards per rush (5.2 in '07 to 3.6 in '08), and sacks (13 in '07 to 35 in '08). I don't want to say this year will return to the dominance of the mid-nineties Blackshirts, but the defense is getting closer to that level in this age of explosive spread offenses.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Nebraska Preview Part 3: The Schedule

Why would I talk about the schedule in Nebraska's preview? Well, a lot can be learned from a team's schedule, such as how a team will be prepared going into conference play, what teams will be played from another division (in Nebraska's case, the South Division), and one of the biggest determinants of two equal teams, where the games are played. On to the schedule...

Florida Atlantic, Sept. 5, 6:00 PM
Arkansas State, Sept 12, 1:00 PM
@ Virginia Tech, Sept 19, 2:30 PM
Louisiana-Lafayette, Sept. 26, 6:00 PM
@ Missouri, Oct. 8, Thursday 8:00 PM
Texas Tech, Oct. 17
Iowa State, Oct. 24
@ Baylor, Oct. 31
Oklahoma, Nov. 7
@ Kansas, Nov. 14
Kansas State, Nov. 21
@ Colorado, Nov. 27, Friday 2:30 PM

Later today or tomorrow I will do a piece on the three Sun Belt teams Nebraska will be playing (Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette). However, all you need to know for now is none of these teams are named Troy (popular #1 pick for the final Sun Belt Standings) and the Huskers will be favored by double-digits in each of those contests. The third game of the season at Virginia Tech is a great game to prepare Nebraska for conference play. This will be the first ever road game for Zac Lee and the teams first of 2009. This won't be an ordinary road game either, the Hokies of Blacksburg, Virginia, averaged 66,233 people in attendance during the '08 season (which is also the maximum capacity at Lane Stadium). Add to the fact that since 2000, Virginia Tech has won 85.2% of their home games (conversely, Nebraska during the same time span has won only 45.2% of their road games). I haven't even mentioned that the Hokies will be ranked anywhere from #5-#15 in the AP standings before they play Alabama in their first game of the season or that VT beat Nebraska in Memorial Stadium last year 35-30. The most important part of this game will be for Nebraska to gain experience playing a top notch team to prepare them for Missouri (first conference opponent) and the rest of the Big XII.

Fast forward past Louisiana-Lafayette and the bye week to Nebraska's first conference game at Missouri on a Thursday night. Can you imagine the atmosphere in Columbia, Missouri which should be attended by more than 68,000 fans? Nebraska has not won in Columbia since 2001 when Eric Crouch won the Heisman.

I see Nebraska's schedule in three parts, the non-conference games of September, the first four conference games of October, and the final four conference games of November.

The middle part, at Missouri, home against Texas Tech and Iowa State, and then at Baylor, will be crucial for a run to be North division champs. Missouri and Texas Tech will look much different from last year’s 10 and 11 win teams, however neither team will be a pushover. One would think Nebraska should and has to win against Iowa State to have a chance at winning the North. Then, the game in Waco, Texas against Baylor. The Bears, the keepers of the Big XII basement, have lost at least 8 games every year since 1997 except in '05 (went 5-6). However, this year the Bears will be quite the handful. QB Robert Griffin is one of the most exciting players in the nation, the Baylor defense has at least one quality player at each unit on defense with DL Phil Taylor Jr. (Media's '09 pick for newcomer of the Big XII, transfer from Penn State), LB Joe Pawelek (Media '09 Preseason Big XII First Team member, 128 tkls and 6 ints in '08), and DB Jordan Lake (also a Media '09 Preseason Big XII First Team member, 97 tkls and 3 ints in '08). If the Huskers limp through this part of the schedule, they will need to regroup quickly for the third and final part.

Part three of schedule includes Oklahoma, at Kansas, Kansas State, and at Colorado. This will be the section of the schedule where Bo Pelini and the rest of the staff will really work for their salary. Oklahoma is predicted by most and assumed to be #3 when the AP poll is released. The game in Lawrence against Kansas is where most forecasters think the North will be decided. NU hasn't won at Kansas since 2003, the first and only year with Bo Pelini as the Huskers defensive coordinator. Never count out Bill Snyder with Kansas State (easily the most successful KSU coach), even though his team struggled his final two years before retiring in '05 (9-13 combined in '04 and '05). Then the final game in Boulder against Colorado. Dan Hawkins is a quote machine, such as when he said his team will have "10 wins and no excuses" (Hawkins did say on his turn at Big XII Media Days that "I didn't guarantee anything. I didn't promise anything").

After an in depth view of Nebraska's schedule, this will hardly be an easy season for Nebraska. Yes, NU avoids Texas and Oklahoma State from the South, but as of previewing the conference on this date in July, the only team from the South that would appear as a likely win, isn't on the schedule either (Texas A&M). Possibly the most important factor when looking through Nebraska's conference schedule is looking at the away games. The Huskers play Missouri, Baylor, Kansas, and Colorado all on the road. Nebraska would most likely be favored in all those games if they were played in Lincoln. Can NU trade the home games of Iowa State and Kansas State for home games against any of the four scheduled on the road? Probably not. For Nebraska to win the North, it will have to be won on the road.

For more Nebraska coverage, check out Erik's website at http://nebraskacollegefootball.blogspot.com/