SB Nation - Alex Carrington

Keys to Victory for the Nebraska Cornhuskers over Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

Jon Johnston — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:27:09 -0000

More photos » by Steve Helber - AP

None of this kind of stuff going on this week. We're playing an inferior opponent and there is no reason for stupid mistakes.

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The Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns are the third Sun Belt opponent of the year, the worst of the teams from we'll play from that conference. Let's not bother pretending that there's much of a challenge here - the Ragin' Cajuns are in a rebuilding year and are coming to Lincoln for a paycheck. They may not have realized that they'd be the answer to a future trivia question (who did the Huskers bash for their 300th consecutive sell out?), but they're in Lincoln just the same.

On to the keys to victory over the Ragin' Cajuns.

Destruction Demo

We know it, they know it - the Ragin' Cajuns are in this one for a paycheck. Games against inferior opponents have a simple formula - get on top the lesser team early, crush their will, and then destroy them.

The Cajuns have one bright spot - their offensive line. ULL is one of only two teams (Kentucky the other) has yet to give up a sack this season. It's time for Ndamukong Suh, Barry Turner, Jared Crick, and Pierre Allen to demolish that statistic. None of this blitzing off the edge stuff - Git R Done with the front four.

Intensity

The Huskers have lacked it in their other games against Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. During Florida Atlantic it came in the first half, which is a little surprising given that it was the first time the Huskers had a chance to hit someone besides themselves.

Despite the score, there should be no lacking for intensity throughout the entire game tomorrow. There's no excuse for it, and if it shows up again, fans should be prepared to lower their expectations for the season because it will come back to bite us.

Perfection

During the Arkansas State game, a beautiful 70-yard touchdown pass to Niles Paul was called back because of holding. Stupid mistakes cost the Huskers the game against Virginia Tech. In the third quarter when the Huskers had a first and goal they responded by getting two holding penalties - the first of which negated a touchdown pass to Mike McNeill - and a false start - resulting in no points.

There's a theme here, and it's not a good one. The theme is slop. Eliminate the slop and the Huskers are 4-0 and part of a national conversation. But they're not, and that's solely because of mistakes.

It's time to end the them. ULL has no Rusty Smith, Alex Carrington or Jason Worilds. They have some good offensive linemen like Brad Bustle, and a good linebacker in Antwyne Zanders and that's it.

The Huskers are playing in front of their home crowd - there are no excuses for mistakes. Eliminate them. Or prepare not reach your goals and to suck this season. Again, nothing mysterious, nothing magical - just stop making stupid mistakes.

Zac Lee needs a good performance before heading into Big 12 conference play. You might excuse him for the lousy performance against Virginia Tech because of his thumb injury, but that's a little weak, isn't it? If the performance against the Hokies is what we're going to see when Lee plays decent opponents, don't expect this team to get very far. Lee should do well against the Cajuns and restore the faith.

(Wow. Can you tell I was grouchy as hell when I wrote this?)

An Honest Look at Nebraska versus Arkansas State

Jon Johnston — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:17:51 -0000

by Nati Harnik - AP

Arkansas State fans should get ready to see a lot of this scene come Saturday - Roy Helu breaking out!

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Ah, the story lines of a body bag game. They're nearly always the same. OMG, anything can happen, remember Appalachian State! Reality is - it was fun when the Mountaineers upset the Wolverines, but now we get to hear about it every time some small school team comes up against a major conference opponent. Another reality - it's the greatest sales tool ever for athletic departments to schedule inferior opponents for home games.

Arkansas State won't be intimidated, they've beaten a BCS school on the road! Reality is they beat a Texas A&M team so poorly coached that that head dude is number four on the hot seat in only his second year.

Oooooh, but what if the Huskers are looking ahead to Virginia Tech? That's trouble, right? Sure it is, but let's turn that around - what if the Red Wolves are looking ahead to Troy, a game that actually matters to them since it might determine their conference winner. Or what about Iowa the following week? The Hawkeyes are a BCS team the Red Wolves are fully capable of beating given the Big 10's level of suck already this year.

Oooooh, but Corey Leonard is a mobile quarterback and the Huskers always have trouble with mobile quarterbacks! Fact is, everyone has trouble with mobile quarterbacks, that's why they're so sought after in college football.

Oooooh, the Red Wolves run the spread and that's dangerous! Gee, the Huskers haven't ever seen a dangerous spread offense as everyone in the Big 12 is still running the triple option. As if.

Let's get some things straight. Arkansas State is being paid a lot of money to come to Memorial Stadium and get their asses kicked. That's why Steve Pederson picked them for an opponent. Despite all the talk about Arkansas State being a quality opponent, they'll play their part well and get destroyed. There aren't a lot of reasons to think otherwise.

After Bo Pelini's comment about ‘being soft', there's not much of a chance the Huskers will be looking past Arkansas State. The competition for playing time didn't end just because Pelini published a depth chart at the beginning of the season. Go out and suck, and you're going to be replaced by someone else - it's not difficult to keep a team motivated with that kind of coaching philosophy.

A big problem for Arkansas State is that their strengths play into Nebraska's strengths. If Arkansas State is going to win the game, they're going to have to run the ball. It's highly doubtful they can run right at the Huskers' defensive line, so like Florida Atlantic, they're going to have to rely on screens, draws, and misdirection to gain some yardage.

The defense recorded zero sacks against Florida Atlantic last weekend, something that won't be forgotten by Jared Crick, Barry Turner, Pierre Allen, and some guy named Ndamukong Suh. That 358 yards given up against Florida Atlantic will only serve as motivation for the Blackshirts to seek and destroy the Red Wolves offense.

Arkansas State does have some good players, just not enough of them. Beyond their starters are many younger players with little game experience. There are some good match ups - for example, it'll be interesting to see how defensive end and NFL prospect Alex Carrington does against the Husker tackles. Carrington was virtually non-existent in the Red Wolves' opener, so maybe he'll be playing with a chip on his shoulder.

The game should be over by halftime, and if not, it won't take much past the beginning of the third quarter. The Husker offense looked rusty (pun!) at the start of last week's game, and will come out with a vengeance this week. Roy Helu won't wait until the third quarter to get going. Look for him to have another big day rushing. Niles Paul wasn't very involved in the offense last week, so he'll be looking to prove himself come Saturday.

Bottom line: The only way Nebraska loses this game is the same way anyone loses a body bag game - taking the opponent for granted, turning the ball over and letting them stay in the game. That ain't happening here.

If you happen to be an Arkansas State fan reading this, you're welcome to stop by our game thread on Saturday and give us your take on the game. Hey, if the Red Wolves are playing well - maybe you can at least say "I told you so".

2009 Husker Football Opponent Preview: Arkansas State

Husker Mike — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:24 -0000

In Nebraska's bid to win the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2009, Arkansas State stands to be the biggest challenge of them all. Florida Atlantic seems to be the team that Husker fans look most warily at, with a top 25 offense and a four year starter at quarterback. But frankly, I think Arkansas State is the best of Nebraska's three Sun Belt foes.

The Red Wolves, who changed their mascot from the Indians last season, are lead by seniors Corey Leonard and Reggie Arnold on offense. Leonard will also be a four-year starter, and is a dual-threat quarterback who can hurt you with his legs and his arm. Ask Texas A&M about Leonard; he gashed the Aggies for 86 yards on the ground in wrecking Mike Sherman's debut in College Station. For last season, he rushed for 516 yards and threw for 2347, totalling 16 touchdowns through the air and four more on the ground.

Three-time all-conference running back Reggie Arnold rushed for 1074 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He'll be backed up by sophomore Derek Lawson, who added 695 yards and an impressive 7.2 yards per carry average in his freshman season.

Defensively, the Red Wolves will be led by returning Sun Belt defensive player of the year, defensive end Alex Carrington. All told, Arkansas State returns eight starters from the second best defense in the Sun Belt Conference. Phil Steele named junior defensive tackle Bryan Hall to his first-team all conference list, and added five more defenders on his second and third all-conference teams. Arkansas State finished 2008 as the #2 defense in the Sun Belt behind Troy.

Arkansas State finished 2008 at 6-6, though they added a nice pelt with a road victory over Texas A&M in the season opener. Their other BCS conference opponent, Alabama, blanking the Red Wolves 35-0.

With a mobile quarterback, solid running backs, and a stout defense, the Red Wolves are the best of the Sun Belt foes the Huskers will face in 2009. It's almost a no-win situation for the Huskers in this game: you are expected to win, and if you lose, you face uproar and embarassment. But if fans were planning to spend the money on any of the pay-per-view broadcasts of the Sun Belt schedule, the Arkansas State matchup is likely your best bet. If the Huskers are on their game, the Huskers should win this game going away, but if they're not, Arkansas State could claim another upset over a Big XII foe.

[ Update - CB]

Arkansas State started the season with a 61-0 win over Mississippi Valley State. They scored 40 points and had 294 yards by half time, and allowed only 69 yards to MVS for the game. There was some bad news for the Red Wolves as they lost two fifth year senior starters for the season, effectively ending their college football careers. Starting left guard Dominic Padrta suffered an apparently leg injury while free safety Evan Van Dolah suffered an injury during a full-speed collision while making a tackle. Van Dolah started all 12 games last season and was one of the Red Wolves' top tacklers and a leader on the defense.

Redshirt junior Alfred Louis will replace Padtra, while true freshman Cliff Mitchell will be in the rotation to back up Louis. Van Dolah's replacement will be redshirt junior M.D. Jennings, who started every game at strong safety last season. Another redshirt junior, Kelcie McCray, will move into the free safety position.

Poll

If you were a Vegas oddsmaker, what would you set the line for the Nebraska/Arkansas State matchup at?

Huskers by three scores or more

133 votes

Huskers by double digits

136 votes

Huskers in a close one

19 votes

Red Wolves in a shocker

13 votes

Red Wolves stun the nation with a blowout upset win in Lincoln

8 votes

309 votes | Poll has closed