SB Nation - Cortez Gent

A Review of Nebraska’s Keys To Victory Over Florida Atlantic

Jon Johnston — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:00:22 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

3 months ago: In this photo taken on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, Nebraska nose tackle Ndamukong Suh (93) goes after Florida Atlantic's William Rose (46) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb. In his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, , Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said his team's defense against Florida Atlantic was soft.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

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Last Friday I listed three keys for victory - three of the items that the Huskers had to do to guarantee victory over the Owls. Today I'll look back and review just how they did.

Physical Dominance

I talked about the fact that Nebraska's offensive line needed to establish themselves as a physically dominant force, which they finally did at the beginning of the third quarter. The Huskers scored on a solid 67-yard drive that consumed a little over two minutes and featured some excellent runs by Roy Helu Jr. Helu ended up with some decent stats for the day - look at that 9.5 per carry average!

vs Fla. Atlantic / 9.5.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Roy Helu Jr	16	152	9.5	3	1	3	3	0

Despite the Huskers' apparent success, the play wasn't good enough for Bo Pelini who yesterday stated he felt the Husker defense played "too soft", that they didn't attack blocks and weren't crisp. Giving up 358 yards to Florida Atlantic wasn't good enough.

Discipline

I stated that we'd see a lot of screens and misdirection from Florida Atlantic on Saturday, and that's exactly what we saw in the first half. While they didn't get in the end zone, the Owls did a decent job on offense, racking up 358 total yards in the process.

There were some discipline breakdowns, in particular a second quarter play in which FAU's fullback Willie Rose was wide open for a 38-yard reception, and another in which Cortez Gent was left uncovered for a 27-yard reception. Rose wasn't fast enough to make it to the end zone, being chased down by the linebacker who missed the coverage, Blake Lawrence. The play lead to Florida Atlantic's three points.

It may be easy to dismiss a single play or two as opening game jitters, but given the performances by Kansas and Missouri last Saturday, the Huskers must improve to play mistake free football if they wish to win the Big 12 North.

Start The Stats Counter Early

The Blackshirts tallied no sacks and only three hurries Saturday, much of that due to the aforementioned screen plays, and FAU quarterback Rusty Smith getting rid of the ball quickly. While that was disappointing, Nebraska did end up at +2 in turnover margin, garnering two interceptions and a fumble while only giving up one interception in Zac Lee's first start.

Bottom line

The game was a butt-kicking, with fans and Florida Atlantic in agreement on that. But it wasn't good enough for Bo Pelini, and it wasn't good enough for the Husker players. That says volumes about the expectations that Pelini has for this team.

A question for Husker fans - do you think Pelini's "too soft" statement was true sentiment, or was it made to be used as a motivational tactic?

Previewing 2009 Wyoming Opponents: Florida Atlantic Owls

Jeremy Mauss — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:30:35 -0000

Florida Atlantic made history last year by attending the Motor City Bowl; which they won by defeating Central Michigan. The big deal was that FAU from the Sun Belt was the first team from the league to get an at-large berth to a bowl, which also happened to be the first time the Sun Belt sent two teams bowling in a year.

The Owls have possibly the best quarterback in the league with Rusty Smith who is a giant at 6-5, and while he did struggle last year the hopes for FAU is that he can return to his sophomore year where he threw for 3,688 yards, 32 touchdowns to only nine picks. His Junior year did take a dip with 400 less yards, eight less touchdowns, and five more picks.

The main concern in 2008 for Rusty Smith was that his accuracy dipped to five points to 53.8, and the job to help increase that is former Louisville assistant coach Jeff Brohm who is now the Owls quarterback coach. The Brohm name is familiar because he is the brother of Brian Brohm who had an amazing career while quarterback at Louisville.

To help out the passing game the Owls return their top receiver and potential all-conference receiver Cortez Gent as well as tight end Jason Harmon who was out all of last year with a knee injury, and then finally fullback Willie Rose who is a solid blocker but also has good hands and can be the check off pass for Smith.

The down fall of the offense that is the Owls lose both starting backs from last year, and are breaking in four new offensive lineman.

On the defensive side of the ball the Owls lose Frantz Joseph who was the schools all time leading tackler, as well as half of secondary, their three starting linebackers, and have to reshuffle the defensive line. The defensive line does have some hope with Jarvis Givens who is a large man at 300 pounds but played little last year, and incumbent starter Josh Savidge. Besides that the defense is in trouble, but of the starters nine are upper class man, so there are experienced players within the program but they have had little playing time.

The Owls are quite possibly going to be one-dimensional unless a running game is found to help balance the air-attack that Florida Atlantic will show off. Hopes of another bowl in 2009 cold be dicey, since the only guarantee is the conference champ, and seven wins seems like a reach for FAU.

2009 Husker Football Opponent Prevew: Florida Atlantic

Husker Mike — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:00:21 -0000

Florida Atlantic finished 7-6 in 2008, with a season ending victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl. With a solid offensive backfield returning led by senior quarterback Rusty Smith, expectations are high for the Owls. Smith is getting some serious buzz going into his fourth season as FAU's starting quarterback. Phil Steele named Smith his #11 quarterback in the nation in his preseason magazine. Junior wide receiver Cortez Gent also was recognized by Steele, rating him the #33 wide receiver in the country. Smith will also benefit from the return of all-conference tight end Jason Harmon, who missed the 2008 season with a knee injury. Tight end Jamari Grant is another name Husker fans need to know. All told, the Owls return six offensive starters, with the key losses being at running back and on the offensive line.

The Owls' defense only returns four starters, led by juniors corners Tavious Polo and Tarvoris Hill. Polo, a freshman all-American in 2007, was slotted by Steele as the #21 cornerback in the country. The defensive line is anchored by tackle Josh Savidge, who is the sole returning starter up in the front seven.

The Owls 7-6 record is a little misleading, as Jeff Sagarin rated the Owls #102 in the country last season. Those seven victories were against Alabama-Birmingham (4-8, Sagarin #116), Western Kentucky (2-10, Sagarin #161), Louisiana-Monroe (4-8, Sagarin #135), North Texas (1-11, Sagarin #171), Louisiana Lafayette (6-6, Sagarin #106), Florida International (5-7, Sagarin #113), and Central Michigan (8-5, Sagarin #96). Against BCS conference opponents, the Owls didn't fare well. In the season opener against Texas, the Owls lost 52-10. 9-4 Michigan State shut out the Owls 17-0, and 7-6 Minnesota beat FAU 37-3.

Florida Atlantic's top 25 offense represents a solid challenge for a Nebraska secondary which had a tendency to break down and give up huge plays at inopportune times. But the Owl defense will need to find some more playmakers in 2009 than were on the field last season. The Huskers can ill afford to overlook any opponent in this day and age of parity in college football; just look at what fellow Sun Belt conference foe Arkansas State did to Texas A&M last season.

[Update]

The Owls weak defensive line got weaker this week as two key members of their defensive line, starter Andy Czuprynski, and his backup, Jamere Johnson, will miss the game due to injuries. This will leave them more susceptible to wearing down late in the game, and you know that the Huskers will be running the ball at them to start the game.

The Owls did get some good news as one of their offensive line starters, Carl Spitale, has been cleared to play after injuring his neck a couple weeks away. This means Florida Atlantic will have their full range of starters on offense.

If the Huskers pay attention to business, Nebraska should be able to handle the Owls in the season opener. Hell, let's be honest - this game should be over by half time.

(Florida Atlantic Preview updated by Corn Blight - originally published June 2009)

Owls vs Cornhuskers coverage

Poll

If you were Vegas oddsmaker, what would the spread be on the Husker/Owls matchup?

Huskers by three touchdowns or more

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Huskers win a close one

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Owls pull off the upset in Lincoln

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Post-Spring Previews: Florida Atlantic

Gamecock Man — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:09:35 -0000

After a tough opening stretch, the Gamecocks get a slight breather when they host Florida Atlantic in the home opener. While they're not NC State or UGA, the Owls aren't exactly a cupcake; the team won the Sun Belt in 2007 and played in the New Orleans Bowl in 2007 and the Motor City Bowl in 2008, winning both. The Owls are coached by the legendary Howard Schnellenberger, who won a national title at Miami in the early 1980s. While we should be able to beat them comfortably, this team won't be a total pushover and is capable of pulling off an upset if we don't show up. They'll certainly be looking to make a splash with a victory.

Let's take a look at how we stack up against the Owls.

Offense

Quarterback

The Owls--who ranked 25th in the country in passing offense last year--have a prolific, experienced senior quarterback in Rusty Smith, who threw for 3224 yards with a rating of 127.8 last season. While Smith's statistics are somewhat inflated because Florida Atlantic has been a pass-first team with Smith under center, his success cannot be ignored. However, it is worth noting that his performance dipped last year after a fabulously successful 2007 campaign in which he had a 141.6 rating and a 32-9 TD-INT ratio. All of this said, I think that Stephen Garcia is more talented and has more potential than Smith, who has racked up most of his gaudy stats against other Sun Belt teams. Let's not forget that in 2007 Smith threw for almost 1000 more yards on the year than Tim Tebow, but when the Gators faced the Owls, it was Tebow racking up the yards. Garcia has a bit of work to do before he approaches Tebow status, but the point still holds: Garcia gets a slight edge here.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Running Backs

The Owls are not a running team, and they lose their top two backs from a year ago, Charles Pierre and DiIvory Edgecomb, to graduation. That doesn't bode well for them in a game in which they'll be taking on what will likely be the toughest defensive front they'll see all season. Carolina, on the other hand, should field a much improved rushing attack next year; Gamecocks get the edge here.

Verdict: Strong advantage South Carolina

Receivers and Tight Ends

The Owls return an experienced, proven receiving core. The go-to guy is receiver Cortez Gent, but in addition the Owls have a set of talented tight ends to throw to. However, while the passing game is a strength for Florida Atlantic, I still feel like we just have more talent here.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Offensive Line

The Owls return their left tackle Levoris Williams, who did a good job protecting Smith's blind side last season, and overall should have a serviceable unit. However, while our line was a liability last year, it should be much better this year, and should at least be better than Florida Atlantic's.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Defense

The Owls lose a ton on defense this year, having to replace 8 starters from a defense that was already the team's liability. This means that this could be a breakout game statistically for our offense.

Defensive Line

The Owls lose star defensive tackle Jervonte Jackson from a line that was already so-so at best. The Owls had trouble defending the run and generating pressure against top competition last year, and this year they project to have the same issues. Whether it be Garcia scrambling or our tailback-by-committee unit running the ball, the Gamecocks should be able to rack up serious yards on the ground against this team. We have a strong advantage here.

Verdict: Strong advantage South Carolina

Linebackers

Same story here. The Owls lost some players from a unit that wasn't great last year, leaving major questions coming into this year. Another big advantage for us.

Verdict: Strong advantage South Carolina

Defensive Backfield

The Owls return their most defensive experience at secondary, including Tavious Polo, who has eight interceptions over the past two years. Moreover, their recruiting class features some good pickups at this position. All in all, this is the Owls' defensive strength this year, but despite the question mark in the defensive backfield this year for Carolina, I still feel confident saying we have a sizeable advantage here. That said, I think it would be best for our offense to try to pound it against these guys to avoid playing to their strengths.

Verdict: Strong advantage South Carolina

Special Teams

The Owls graduate their placekicker, Warley Leroy, so there are some questions regarding whether they can find someone to adequately replace him. That job might go to Ross Gornall, who got a little action last season. In the return game, they'll need to improve returning kickoffs but had a lot of success with Polo returning punts. The coverage units were solid. While we have our own questions at placekicker, our overall talent and speed edge in the return games should give us the advantage here.

Verdict: Slight advantage South Carolina

Head Coaches

Steve Spurrier has become known as a guy that gave up a sweet gig at Florida to (via a short stop in the NFL) coach at the unforgiving task that is South Carolina football. Spurrier says he enjoys the challenge of Carolina, the job of doing something nobody has done before. If that's what drives him, he may be meeting a kindred spirit in Schnellenberger. Schnellenberger's career, to say the least, has been an odd one. Schnellenberger revived a struggling Miami program in the mid-80s by installing a pass-first offense and effectively recruiting South Florida. In 1983, he won an improbable national title by upsetting top-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. After an abortive jump to the USFL, Schnellenberger began his own errand into the wilderness when he took over a struggling Louisville program. After building that program up in the late 80s and early 90s, he headed to Oklahoma to coach the Sooners for one year, which was a failure. After resigning unexpectedly after his first season in Norman, he worked in the financial sector for a few years before taking over at Florida Atlantic, where he once again built the program up from almost nothing to where it is today. The guy has had a strange career, but, his Oklahoma stint notwithstanding, he's a had a successful one. Even though he's 75--he played at Kentucky under Bear Bryant in the early 50s!--it would be difficult to say that he doesn't have it anymore. Of course, many similar things could be said of Spurrier, making this an interesting coaching matchup.

Verdict: Push

Overall

The Owls' offense worries me a bit. If his line can protect him against Eric Norwood and our pass rush, I think Smith and his receiving corp will be able to pick up yards in the air against our young secondary. However, this team's defense is going to be bad even by mid-major standards, so even if the Owls' manage to keep it within a couple of touchdowns for most of the game, eventually they're just not going to be able to keep up with us. Expect a questionable defense performance but a convincing win in the end for the 'Cocks.

Prediction: South Carolina wins by 3-5 touchdowns