SB Nation - Larry Asante

Under the Hood: 2009 Regular Season Nebraska Stats Review

Jon Johnston — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:00:37 -0000

I've done Wednesday "Under the Hood" segments for the year, and it's time to do the same tally on our 2009 regular season statistics. The bottom line - as good as the defense looked, the offense looked just as bad.

As much as we'd like to blame a massive conspiracy for giving Texas a second back on the clock, the fact is that an abysmal showing on offense cost us the Big 12 championship and a BCS bowl bid. I hate to squash a good conspiracy theory, but the Big 12 had more interest in us winning that game than losing. That one second cost the Big 12 conference a second BCS bid, a payout of $17.5M.

There's a lot of speculation about what will happen with the offense as we head into next season. The two biggest questions involves coaches. Will Shawn Watson be retained? Should Barney Cotton be fired? Before I speculate on either, let's take a look at the regular season's statistics.

Offensive Statistics

Offense
Rush YPG	141.23 (68/6)
Rush YPC	3.96 (71/6)
Rush TDS	18 (67/7)

Pass YPG	175.9 (101/11)
Pass YPA	6.7 (87/9)
Pass TDS	15 (76/10)
Pass Efficiency	122.30 (83/8)

Total Offense	317.2 (102/11)

Scoring Offense	24.5 (80/8)

Obviously two things stand out, the passing yardage per game at 101st, and the total offense at 102nd.

The other statistics look better only because the aforementioned are so horrific. We finished in the lower half of all other offensive statistics nationally. That's a pretty lousy offense.

Defensive Statistics

Defense
Rush YPG	94.69 (11/4)
Rush YPC	2.77 (7/3)
Rush TDS	7 (8/2)

Pass YPG	189.1 (25/3)
Pass YPA	5.4 (6/2)
Pass TDS	7 (2/1)

Total Defense	283.8 (9/3)
Scoring Defense	11.2 (2/1)

There's not much you can say here other than "Wow!". The fact that we gave up only seven passing touchdowns all season is just incredible.

The Details

3rd Down Conversions (Pctg)	37.16 (79/8)
Red Zone Conversions (Score %)	80.43 (69/8)
First Downs (Per Game)	15.9 (113/12)
Turnover Margin	+4 (45/6)
Sacks – Total	42 (2/1)
Sacks Per Game	3.23 (3/2)
Tackles for Loss – Total	89 (14/3)
Tackles for Loss – Per Game	6.85 (23/3)
Sacks Allowed – Total	19 (43/5)
Sacks Allowed Per Game	1.46 (39/5)
Punting (Avg)	41.46 (45/5)
Punt Returns	11.34 (34/4)
Kickoffs (Avg)	68.30 (1/1)
Kickoff Returns	23.31 (34/5)
Penalties (Yds/G)	64.5 (102/7)

Nebraska did fairly well in kick and punt returns thanks to the services of Niles Paul. The guy showed that he is a playmaker, especially during the Big 12 Championship game when he provided a 43-yard punt return and a 42-yard kick return. Unfortunately, he had only one reception for four yards because Zac Lee proved incapable of getting him the ball. More on that in a bit.

The second thing that stands out are the penalties. This was a problem early in the season and plagued the Cornhuskers throughout the entire season. You could attribute the Virginia Tech and Texas loss to penalties. Remember that at Virginia Tech two touchdowns were called back due to penalties, and then there was Larry Asante's horse collar tackle at the end of the game that put Texas within field goal range.

First downs, ugh. 113th in the nation and dead last in the Big 12. When you think about it for a minute, there wasn't a single offensive player that was the go-to guy when it came to picking up first downs. No receiver performed consistently enough and/or Zac Lee's passes were off target. Even Roy Helu, who didn't have too bad a season, couldn't be counted on to pick up short yardage throughout the season. Rex Burkhead might be that guy next year, but injuries kept him from further development.

Zac Lee

I don't mean to single out Lee as the cause for all our offensive problems, but the fact is he had a lot to do with them. Below are his passing stats for the season.

Opponent	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD	Rating
Fla. Atlantic	22	15	68.2	213	9.7	1	2	170.42
Arkansas St.	35	27	77.1	340	9.7	0	4	196.46
@ 12 Virginia Tech	30	11	36.7	136	4.5	2	0	61.42
La.-Lafayette	18	15	83.3	238	13.2	0	1	212.72
@ Missouri	33	14	42.4	158	4.8	0	3	112.64
Texas Tech	22	16	72.7	128	5.8	0	0	121.6
Iowa St.	37	20	54.1	248	6.7	3	0	94.14
@ Baylor	0	0	-	0	-	0	0	-
Oklahoma	9	5	55.6	35	3.9	0	1	124.9
@ Kansas	21	13	61.9	196	9.3	0	0	140.31
Kansas St.	19	13	68.4	166	8.7	1	1	148.65
@ Colorado	14	9	64.3	73	5.2	0	1	131.66
2 Texas	19	6	31.6	39	2.1	3	0	17.25
Totals	279	164	58.8	1970	7.1	10	13	126.29

First of all, a 17.25 quarterback rating for the Texas game.... well, it's beyond horrible. I mentioned Niles Paul's playmaking abilities earlier, but in the Big 12 title game, it looked as if Lee just chucked the ball up in the air because that's what the play called for. There seemed to be little concern for where it was going, other than the general vicinity of our receiver, and that's why he had three interceptions.

I don't understand why Lee didn't make any progress throughout the season. He looked fine early in the season (admittedly against Sun Belt teams), and his performance at Virginia Tech could be written off as a quarterback making his first start on the road against a ranked opponent. The rest of the season, though, is pretty disappointing. Chalk it up to a lack of confidence, whatever, but at the end of season, it wasn't good.

As for Shawn Watson and Barney Cotton - I've moved that into another article as it became fairly long and deserved it's own space. It'll publish later today.

Thoughts On All-Big 12 Football Team

Beergut — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:25:36 -0000

by Jerry Larson - AP

Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Christine Michael. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jerry Larson)

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I thought Jordan Shipley should have been named Offensive Player of the Year instead of Colt McCoy. McCoy had a poor first half of the season; Shipley was remarkably consistent game-in and game-out this year, and I thought that should count for something.
Mack Brown getting Big 12 Coach of the Year is something of a joke, in my opinion. texas was favored to win the Big 12 South and the conference in the preseason, and they....won the Big 12 South and will play for the conference championship this weekend. What about Paul Rhoads, who took a team picked to finish last in the Big 12 North to a fourth place finish and bowl contention?
I don't agree with the pick of Jeron Mastrud for all-conference TE over Jamie McCoy at all. McCoy had better numbers (31 receptions, 328 yards, 1 TD vs. 21 receptions, 233 yards, 1 TD), and was versatile enough to play some H-back and FB.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Christine Michael make Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. I thought he had a terrific season, but I figured the coaches would take the easy way out and give it to Landry Jones, who did receive some votes.

I think it is interesting that outside of Earl Thomas, texas had no other players make the first team defense. I thought Lamarr Houston deserved some serious consideration, although I can't argue against including Jared Crick, Ndamukong Suh, or Gerald McCoy at the DT position.
It was a surprise to see Michael Hodges receive some votes for Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
I am also happy some coaches think Jerrod Johnson deserved to be Offensive Player of the Year.
Von Miller received votes for both Defensive Lineman of the Year AND Defensive Player of the Year. With a freak of nature like Suh in this conference, you knew he wouldn't win either award, but the recognition of his performance this year is nice.
This conference is ridiculously loaded at wide receiver; show me another conference that can name a talented trio like Ryan Broyles, Kerry Meier, and Brandon Banks as their SECOND team.
I think Trent Hunter should be on the first team over Larry Asante, but I guess I'll have to be happy with a second-team selection. I think Asante had an easier job, since heplayed behind Suh and Crick, and just had to clean up on a lot of play. Hunter had to be a playmaker for us a lot more often, as attested by the 87 tackles he had on the season.
It is baffling to me that Sergio Kindle makes second team DL while Sam Acho did not. If you look at their play on the field or their statistics, Acho is obviously a better player, and this while playing on the strongside, so often facing double-teams.
It is nice to see that Uzoma Nwachukwu received some consideration for Offensive Freshman of the Year.

2009 All-Big 12 Football Awards - Suh Defensive Player of the Year, Crick, Amukamara, Asante Make First Team

Jon Johnston — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:17:06 -0000

More photos » by Dave Weaver - AP

Look! Two at once! You'll see the same thing Saturday night except that'll be Colt McCoy getting squished and flying apart like Mr. Potato Head.

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The 2009 All-Big 12 football awards have been announced, with some nice surprises for Husker fans.

Ndamukong Suh was named Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year. He and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy were the only unanimously-selected players on the first team. Is that appropriate or what?

Nebraska placed four on the first-team All-Big 12 list, all from the defense including defensive linemen Suh and Jared Crick. Cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Larry Asante from the secondary. The selections should give pause to Texas fans who are convinced the Blackshirts are lacking in pass defense.

Roy Helu made second team, as did Alex Henery as placekicker. Phillip Dillard gets rewarded with a second-team placement at ilnebacker, a great recognition of how far he's come since spring.

Mack Brown as coach of the year..... I'm not sold on that. Brown has all the players, had a pathetically easy non-conference schedule, and didn't have to deal with the NCAA suspending any star players. The guy had an easy path to where he is now. Why coach of the year for him?

Interesting to note that Texas did not have a single offensive or defensive lineman selected on the first team. Instead Chris Hall and Adam Ulatoski dropped to second on offense, and Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston are regulated to second team defense.

The complete list of awards is after the jump.

2009 INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

Coach of the Year	Mack Brown, Texas
Offensive Lineman of the Year	Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
Defensive Lineman of the Year	Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
Offensive Freshman of the Year	Christine Michael, Texas A&M
Defensive Freshman of the Year	Aldon Smith, Missouri
Special Teams Player of the Year	Brandon Banks, Kansas State
Defensive Newcomer of the Year	David Sims, Iowa State
Offensive Newcomer of the Year	Daniel Thomas, Kansas State
Defensive Player of the Year	Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
Offensive Player of the Year	Colt McCoy, Texas

2009 ALL-BIG 12 FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM

Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Class	Hometown/Previous School(s)
QB	Colt McCoy **	Texas	Sr.	Tuscola, Texas/Jim Ned
RB	Daniel Thomas	Kansas State	Jr.	Hilliard, Fla./NW Mississippi CC
RB	Keith Toston	Oklahoma State	Sr.	Angleton, Texas/Angleton
FB	Bryant Ward	Oklahoma State	Jr.	Stillwater, Okla./Stillwater
WR	Jordan Shipley	Texas	Sr.	Burnet, Texas/Burnet
WR	Danario Alexander	Missouri	Sr.	Marlin, Texas/Marlin
WR	Dezmon Briscoe	Kansas	Jr.	Dallas, Texas/Cedar Hill
TE	Jeron Mastrud	Kansas State	Sr.	Beaverton, Ore./Southridge
OL	Russell Okung ^	Oklahoma State	Sr.	Houston, Texas/Bush
OL	Trent Williams ^	Oklahoma	Sr.	Longview, Texas/Longview
OL	Nick Stringer	Kansas State	Sr.	Topeka, Kan./Hayden
OL	Brandon Carter	Texas Tech	Sr.	Longview, Texas/Spring Hill
OL	Nate Solder	Colorado	Jr.	Buena Vista, Colo./Buena Vista
PK	Grant Ressel	Missouri	So.	Jackson, Mo./Jackson
KR/PR	Brandon Banks	Kansas State	Sr.	Garner, N.C./Bakersfield College
Defense
DL	Ndamukong Suh **	Nebraska	Sr.	Portland, Ore./Grant
DL	Gerald McCoy ^	Oklahoma	Jr.	Oklahoma City, Okla./Southeast
DL	Von Miller	Texas A&M	Jr.	DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto
DL	Brandon Sharpe	Texas Tech	Sr.	Lyons, Ga./Fresno City CC
DL	Jared Crick	Nebraska	So.	Cozad, Neb./Cozad
LB	Sean Weatherspoon ^	Missouri	Sr.	Jasper, Texas/Jasper
LB	Jesse Smith	Iowa State	Sr.	Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk
LB	Travis Lewis	Oklahoma	So.	San Antonio, Texas/Robert E. Lee
DB	Earl Thomas	Texas	So.	Orange, Texas/West Orange Stark
DB	Perrish Cox	Oklahoma State	Sr.	Waco, Texas/University
DB	Dominique Franks	Oklahoma	Jr.	Tulsa, Okla./Union
DB	Prince Amukamara	Nebraska	Jr.	Glendale, Ariz./Apollo
DB	Larry Asante	Nebraska	Sr.	Alexandria, Va./Hayfield/Coffeyville CC
P	Derek Epperson	Baylor	Jr.	Southlake, Texas/Keller

** - Unanimous Selection
^ - Repeat first team selection from last season.

2009 ALL-BIG 12 FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM

Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Class	Hometown/Previous School(s)
QB	Jerrod Johnson	Texas A&M	Jr.	Humble, Texas/Humble
RB	Roy Helu Jr.	Nebraska	Jr.	Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley
RB	DeMarco Murray	Oklahoma	Jr.	Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman
FB	Jamie McCoy	Texas A&M	Sr.	Midland, Texas/Lee
WR	Ryan Broyles	Oklahoma	So.	Norman, Okla./Norman
WR	Kerry Meier	Kansas	Sr.	Pittsburg, Kan./Pittsburg
WR	Brandon Banks	Kansas State	Sr.	Garner, N.C./Bakersfield College
TE	Riar Geer	Colorado	Sr.	Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita-Monument
OL	J.D. Walton	Baylor	Sr.	Allen, Texas/Allen/Arizona State
OL	Chris Hall #	Texas	Sr.	Irving, Texas/Irving
OL	Kurtis Gregory #	Missouri	Sr.	Blackburn, Mo./Santa Fe
OL	Adam Ulatoski	Texas	Sr.	Southlake, Texas/Carroll
OL	Brody Eldridge	Oklahoma	Sr.	La Cygne, Kan./Prairie View
OL	Lee Grimes	Texas A&M	Sr.	Brownwood, Texas/Brownwood
PK	Alex Henery	Nebraska	Jr.	Omaha, Neb./Burke
KR/PR	Perrish Cox	Oklahoma State	Sr.	Waco, Texas/University
Defense
DL	Sergio Kindle	Texas	Sr.	Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson
DL	Lamarr Houston	Texas	Sr.	Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty
DL	Jeremy Beal #	Oklahoma	Jr.	Carrollton, Texas/Creekview
DL	Jaron Baston	Missouri	Sr.	Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs
DL	Daniel Howard	Texas Tech	Sr.	Wichita, Kan./Butler County CC
LB	Joe Pawelek	Baylor	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas/Smithson Valley
LB	Roddrick Muckelroy	Texas	Sr.	Hallsville, Texas/Hallsville
LB	Phillip Dillard	Nebraska	Sr.	Tulsa, Okla./Jenks
DB	Jamar Wall	Texas Tech	Sr.	Plainview, Texas/Planview
DB	Quinton Carter	Oklahoma	Jr.	Las Vegas, Nev./Cheyenne
DB	Brian Jackson	Oklahoma	Sr.	De Soto, Texas/De Soto
DB	Jordan Lake	Baylor	Sr.	Houston, Texas/Memorial
DB	Cha'pelle Brown	Colorado	Sr.	La Puente, Calif./Los Altos
DB	Trent Hunter	Texas A&M	So.	Katy, Texas/Katy
P	Tress Way	Oklahoma	Fr.	Tulsa, Okla./Union

A tie in voting created an additional second-team offensive line and defensive back spot.
# - Repeat second team selection from last season.

2009 ALL-BIG 12 HONORABLE MENTION

Baylor	Justin Akers, TE; David Gettis, WR; Jason Lamb, DL; J.D. Walton, Off. Lmn of Yr.; Kendall Wright, WR
Colorado	Jake Behrens, FB; Jalil Brown, DB; Benjamin Burney, DB; Marquez Herrod, DL; Scotty McKnight, WR; Ryan Miller, OL; Jeff Smart, LB; Jimmy Smith, DB; Rodney Stewart, RB
Iowa State	Michael Brandtner, P; Kelechi Osemele, OL; Paul Rhoads, Coach of Yr.; Alexander Robinson, RB; Reggie Stephens, OL
Kansas	Tanner Hawkinson, OL; Jake Laptad, DL; Todd Reesing, QB; Alonso Rojas, P; Darrell Stuckey, DB
Kansas State	Jeffrey Fitzgerald, DL; Tysyn Hartman, DB; Joshua Moore, DB; Bill Snyder, Coach of Yr
Missouri	Danario Alexander, Off. Ply. of Yr.; Carl Gettis, DB; Jake Harry, P; Dan Hoch, OL; Jared Perry, WR; Kevin Rutland, DB; Jasper Simmons, DB & Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Aldon Smith, DL; Derrick Washington, RB
Nebraska	Dejon Gomes, DB & Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Eric Hagg, DB; Alex Henery, P; Jacob Hickman, OL; Mike McNeill, TE; Matt O'Hanlon, DB; Niles Paul, WR; Barry Turner, DL
Oklahoma	Jeremy Beal, Def Ply of Yr.; Chris Brown, RB; Ryan Broyles, PR/KR; Keenan Clayton, LB; Auston English, DL; Landry Jones, Off. Fr. of Yr.; Jonathan Nelson, DB; Gerald McCoy Def. Lmn. of Yr. & Def Ply of Yr.; Ryan Reynolds, LB; Adrian Taylor, DL; Trent Williams, Off. Lmn of Yr
Oklahoma State	Hubert Anyiam, WR; Ugo Chinasa, DL; Patrick Lavine, LB; Swanson Miller, DL; Zac Robinson, QB; Andre Sexton, LB; Quinn Sharp, P
Texas	Emmanuel Acho, LB; Sam Acho, DL; Curtis Brown, DB; Blake Gideon, DB; Kyle Hix, OL; Michael Huey, OL; Sergio Kindle, Def. Lmn. of Yr.; Hunter Lawrence, PK; Alex Okafor, Def. Fr. of Yr.; Keenan Robinson, LB; Jordan Shipley, PR/KR; Charlie Tanner, OL
Texas A&M	Ryan Epperson, P; Jeff Fuller, WR; Cyrus Gray, RB & PR/KR; Michael Hodges Def Nwcmr. of Yr.; Jerrod Johnson, Off. Ply. of Yr.; Patrick Lewis, OL; Kevin Matthews, OL; Jamie McCoy, TE; Von Miller Def. Lmn. of Yr. & Def Ply of Yr.; Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR & Off. Fr. of Yr.; Jordan Pugh, DB; Ryan Tannehill, WR; Garrick Williams, LB
Texas Tech	Baron Batch, RB; Bront Bird, LB; Cody Davis, Def. Fr. of Yr.; Alex Torres, Off. Fr. of Yr.; Colby Whitlock, DL; Marlon Winn, OL

Corn Flakes: NU wins the North, wants more

JLew — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:16:27 -0000

Whew that was a game. Crowd seemed loud, though it seems that UNL decided to put KSU fans in the upper corner of the North stadium so it was quieter up there. Saw some KSU fans around, all were nice enough. Lazlos in the Haymarket was good as usual, tailgating was fun and the Husker got a win.

Report card: Nebraska vs. Kansas State

A's and B's nice effort all around

Huskers beat Kansas State, claim Big 12 North title

Steven M. Sipple: Pelini has Huskers back on solid ground

Game notes: Henery’s punts product of hard work -- and a little luck

Senior Night Goes Right - Nebraska Football

College Football's Home On The Internet - Blog - Road Trippin'

They head to Lincoln in this edition

Video: Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

Asante keys Nebraska's defense, victory - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

"He was giving me a hug, telling me how much he loved me and how far along I’d come as a player," Asante said, chuckling at the memory. "Then out of nowhere, I got dumped. But I didn’t get mad. It was joyous. I was happy."

Husker Mike's Blasphemy: Huskers Beat K-State and Win the North

Great points about the game from Corn Nation's Husker Mike

Big 12 Bowl Analysis | Upon Further Review

Has NU punched their ticket to the Holiday Bowl?

Scout.com: Instant Analysis - Nebraska 17 ... KSU 3

2) If the Heisman Trophy really, really, really is supposed to determine the most outstanding player in college football, Ndamukong Suh deserves a seat at the Downtown Athletic Club on Dec. 12 in New York. Maybe Rolando McClain of Alabama should get an invite, but this much needs to be said: In one of the least enthralling Heisman races of all time, surely a defensive player should be named as one of three to five finalists for the award.

Nebraska beats K-State 17-3, clinches Big 12 North - College Football - Rivals.com

Sunday Morning Quarterback- DXP

NE StatePaper.com - A Division Title, By Way of the Cupboard

NU clinched a North title because it had the better personnel. Much better. Ndamukong Suh. Barry Turner. Phillip Dillard. Larry Asante. Eric Hagg. Prince Amukamara. You and I may choke on the written words – but they're Callahan guys. From, let's see, Oregon, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Arizona, squared. Guys who'd probably never seen Nebraska before their 17th birthday. Guys who were probably coaxed to Nebraska for the wrong reasons – and coached into the right ones. But Callahan coaxed them here nonetheless.

This was an interesting take.

Omaha.com - The Omaha World-Herald: Big Red Today - Chatelain: Hats off to big Suh, but we hardly knew him

But Callahan got exposed. Talent is coached, not recruited.

This finishes the story above.

TheMercury.com - K-State Grade Card

Huskers pull away from TCU, 90-77

And the basketball team won!

Huskers sweep Kansas in Lawrence

The ninth-ranked Huskers, in winning 21 of 25 rallies in one stretch, were as dominant as any point this season. Nebraska hit .433 and limited KU to 26 kills in blasting the Jayhawks 25-15, 25-12, 25-18 before a crowd of 1,145 Saturday.

Nebraska Ends Kansas State's Season And Wins the Big 12 North

Jon Johnston — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:50:05 -0000

More photos » by DAVE WEAVER - AP

Yehaaaa!!!!! One Goal Realized!!!!!!!!!

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Nebraska won the Big 12 North with a 17-3 win over Kansas State last night. It won't be considered pretty or stylish, but if you've come to love defense (and if you're a Huskers fan, you'd better love defense) it was another masterful performance by the Blackshirts.

Kansas State took their opening drive, marched down the field like they were on fire and being aided by yet another personal foul penalty on Larry Asante (at least he got it out of the way early this game). The Wildcats stalled at the 31 and Josh Cherry kicked a 44-yard field goal. With the way the Wildcats looked on their first drive, it was hard to imagine those were the only points they'd score.

The Huskers responded with a field goal of their own, moving down the field with a mixture between Roy Helu's rushing and Zac Lee's passing. On the next possession the Wildcats gained a first down and after two consecutive Thomas rushes, but their drive stalled after Eric Hagg nailed quarterback Grant Gregory with a 14-yard sack. Doerr punted, giving the Huskers great field position at their own 43.

The Husker offense was aided by a Wildcat personal foul penalty, then Zac Lee found Mike McNeill all alone in the end zone. The score made it 10-3, where it would remain until the Huskers scored another touchdown on the opening possession of the third quarter. The offense was incredibly efficient, scoring on four plays that included a 47-yard to Niles Paul and a subsequent 14-yard touchdown run by Roy Helu.

The Wildcats fared well on their second half opening drive until running back Keithen Valentine fumbled near the goal line and Prince Amukamara recovered. The Huskers spent the rest of the game trying to run the ball, but gained only 35 yards in four possessions.

Ndamukong Suh did his best impersonation of the greatest college football player in the nation, taking over the game in the fourth quarter. He sacked Gregory twice (one being aided by Barry Turner when they turned Gregory into a quarterback sandwich), batted down a pass, and picked up four of his nine tackles.

Kansas State playmaker Brandon Banks was held in check all night. Adi Kunalic consistently kicked off into the end zone, and when Banks chose to bring it out, he was buried before he got to the 20-yard line. Only once did Banks seem to be a big-play threat, when he broke free for a 22-yard return in the third quarter, giving Kansas State the ball at the Nebraska 43-yard line.

Despite such great field position, the Wildcats gained only two yards on eight plays. They made it as far as the 32-yard line when linebacker Phillip Dillard sacked Gregory, forcing a fumble and driving the Wildcats back to the 41.

There was some ugly as the offense managed only 267 total yards. The Husker missed opportunities to score some more points when Lee missed a wide open McNeill in the end zone, and later threw an interception in the opposite end zone. There was some good, too, as the offense finished the game without a single penalty. The Huskers had three for the game, with Larry Asante picking up another personal foul penalty, Justin Blatchford was called for running in to the kicker, and Eric Hagg picked up a pass interference call. That's pretty darned good for a team that has been consistently hit with false starts and holding calls throughout the year.

Alex Henery once again showed his mastery of punting an opponent into a hole. In the second quarter, he booted a punt that went out of bounds at the KSU one-yard line. In the fourth, he had a booming 61-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Kansas State three. All told, Henery had six punts for a 45-yard average. That's a good day of work any way you look at it.

Let's not kid ourselves. The Huskers have plenty of football left. First, there's the derelicts from Boulder, and then there's that championship game against Texas, who clinched the Big 12 South with a 50-21 win over Kansas. There's still a chance to have an incredible season.

Husker Report Card: NU 10, Oklahoma 3

Husker Mike — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:08:45 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Prince Amukamara's interception return to the Oklahoma 2 yard line put the Huskers in control of the game. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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If you love old-fashioned defense, you had to love last night's Nebraska-Oklahoma game. Neither offense was able to get untracked, and it became a battle between defenses. One team tried to be the aggressor on offense, and the other one played a little bit of rope-a-dope. And in the end, it was the team that made fewer mistakes and forced more mistakes that won the game. Both teams are in the top 15 nationally in most defensive categories, so in that light, it's not surprising that we watched that battle unfold under the lights in Lincoln.

QB: Last night's game called for a game manager, not an inexperienced playmaker. Oklahoma sent out an inexperienced playmaker... who threw five picks. Facing a stout defense with your own stout defense, it came down to a battle of who made the least number of mistakes. Early on, I thought that would give Oklahoma an edge because Landry Jones had a little more experience than Cody Green. But after sensing that while Green hadn't made a mistake, he didn't give you the comfort level that wasn't going to happen. Enter Zac Lee, who threw the game winning touchdown pass. He did most everything that he was asked to do, which wasn't much. Could Green have made a game changing play? Absolutely. Could he have made a game changing mistake? Almost certanly, and once Nebraska got into position to win the game, that's a risk Bo Pelini and Shawn Watson couldn't take. Grade: C

IB: I offer Nebraska's biggest, if not only, offensive weapon: Roy Helu. Since Helu injured his shoulder late against Missouri four weeks ago, Nebraska's offense has sputtered. Helu finally felt comfortable and came up with a huge game. He also played smart, staying inbounds to keep the clock running rather than take a chance of going out of bounds and stopping the clock. My only criticism of Helu was an ineffective block that led to a sack of Lee. I still don't think his shoulder is 100%. Grade: A

WR: Nebraska went with double tight ends all night and typically only Niles Paul at receiver. Occasionally Brandon Kinnie or Khiry Cooper came in for fullback Tyler Legate, but the only receiver to catch a pass was Kinnie. The name of the game last night was blocking for the I-backs. Would have liked to see Nebraska try to stretch the field more to open up the running game, but I certainly understand why...and have no complaints about the results. Grade: C-

OL: The Sooners stacked the line and made it very difficult to get the line in flow. Some early penalties by the line didn't help Green in the early going. But every so often, the line created a seam up front to allow Helu to burst into the open. Grade: B-

DL: Ho hum...another Ndamukong Suh blocked field goal. I just don't see what the fuss is all about. Well, people who stare at the stat sheet might consider last night to be a ho-hum performance for the defensive line, but the those who watched the game know how disruptive the line was. Grade: A

LB: Since the Huskers lined up in dime coverage almost all night, this was all Phillip Dillard. And what a night: an interception, a 13 yard sack, and the unenviable task of trying to cover DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. Grade: A+

Secondary: Larry Asante may have had one of the biggest hits of the game, blasting Adron Tennell to force an incompletion and knocking Tennell to the sideline for much of the game. Ironically, it was Asante who would eventually leave the game with a concussion. Alfonzo Dennard is becoming a star in pass coverage. Then, we get to last night's heroes. Matt O'Hanlon goes out and exorcises the ghosts of a blown coverage at Virginia Tech. 12 tackles and THREE interceptions. And some people still doubt this kid? For shame. I think they're the same idiots that used to criticize Barrett Ruud and Scott Shanle. And then there's Prince Amukamara, who broke up two passes and had the crucial interception that set up Nebraska's touchdown. Nebraska's shut-down corner; you throw at him at your own risk. Grade: A+

Coaching: The defense was ready to play, but the Shawn Watson took the gamble to play ultra-conservative. The play of the Blackshirts made that the correct decision in the end, but it was a risky gamble since playing not to lose is typically not a winning strategy. But considering the Huskers offensive futility the last few weeks, it was the correct decision. Grade: A

Overall: A Oklahoma has lost four games this season: One point losses to a pretty good BYU team and ranked Miami. Three points to Texas. And now, seven points to the Huskers.

Elsewhere in College Football

Iowa: D The fantasy of Iowa being in the BCS mix finally came to an end. Sadly, it took an injury to Ricky Stanzi to burst that balloon.

Missouri: F Somebody send out the ski patrol; Missouri's defense got lost in the Flatirons around Boulder at halftime last week and haven't been seen since.

Notre Dame: F Here's a suggestion on priorities. Start winning games of national prominence, then worry about things like the BCS and Heisman. Then you don't look quite so silly when you fail.

Poll

Rate the Huskers performance against Oklahoma

A Absolutely outstanding! What a huge victory!

63 votes

B Good defense, but the offense is still a concern

176 votes

C About what you expected. Defense carries this team.

52 votes

D Thank goodness Oklahoma's offense is as bad as the Huskers.

18 votes

F Did you see that offense? Phew.

4 votes

313 votes | Poll has closed

5 Questions With Corn Nation

Mark Kieffer — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:11:33 -0000

This week fellow SB Nation writers from Corn Nation took some time out to answer some questions I had about the Huskers this week. Read what they have to say about this Week 8 matchup below:

1. What happened last week? Was it an off day for the Huskers, or did Texas Tech expose Nebraska? How is the fanbase handling this?

Husker Mike: It was confirmation of all the question marks that we've previously excused. Question marks existed with the offensive play against Virginia Tech and Missouri, but we had excuses. Virginia Tech is a perennial defensive power, and neither team could move the ball in that monsoon in Columbia. But against Tech, the Husker offense was exposed, and the fan base has turned against offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and quarterback Zac Lee for the most part.

Corn Blight: Mike provided a good answer with regards to the offense. With regards to the fan base, the answer is "poorly". As you might know, Husker fans booed the offense, or Zac Lee, or the refs, depending upon who you talk to. Fact is, halfway through the season, the team is still trying to figure out what works (besides Roy Helu running the ball).

2. It seems like all of the attention this week has been on the Huskers QB situation. Do you think it matters who starts for Nebraska this week in terms of expecting a win?

Husker Mike: From my perspective, no, because the problems on offense are bigger than the quarterback situation. Playcalling last week was questionable at best and discombobulated at worst. The injury situation at I-back is a huge complicating factor, as Roy Helu is not 100% and Rex Burkhead is out until Thanksgiving or beyond. I'm hoping that the coaching staff went back to the drawing board and figured out what this squad does best, then assembles the personnel who do that best. That may - or may not -call for a change at quarterback.

Corn Blight: No, although if Cody Green starts and plays a lot, things might get pretty interesting. Green is raw - perhaps as raw as they come. We really don’t know much about him, so whether he targets our receivers or yours, hey, someone’s going to get the ball when he throws it!

As Mike stated, the offensive problems are more than just quarterback. The offensive line continues to make drive-killing mistakes at the worst possible time. Until that’s corrected, anything can happen.

3. Going along with #2, do you think that the QB controversy in Lincoln, combined with being a heavy favorite in this game will be a distraction in the players' preparation?

Husker Mike: I hope not. I've been impressed with the Cyclones this season for the most part, and I'm not sure the Huskers should be 18 point favorites --- even if they had somehow found a way to win last weekend.

Corn Blight: No. If anything the team will be more isolated, have more of a "us against the world" attitude, which may work in their favor.

4. We know about Suh and Helu. Who's someone else on the Huskers that's either underrated or just not being talked about enough that you think Iowa State fans should be on the lookout for?

Husker Mike: I'll throw two names out. Jared Crick is that "other" guy on the inside of the defensive line. Double team Ndamukong Suh, and that means you've got to go one-on-one to stop Crick...and Missouri found out how tough that was. On one play against Missouri, Crick fought through a double-team and drew a holding call. It's also no coincidence that Steven Sheffield got injured with all the pressure the d-line put on.

Prince Amukamara is the Nebraska's best cornerback. He's a force both on run support and in pass coverage (except for last week).

Corn Blight: Larry Asante, one of the best safeties in the Big 12.

5. What does Nebraska have to do this week to gain the confidence of Husker fans? Is simply winning enough, or is there more?

Husker Mike: I think Husker fans are overconfident this week once again. I don't know what Iowa State did against Iowa and Kansas State, but they've shown remarkable improvement this season. Nearly beat Kansas two weeks ago, and handled Baylor with relative ease. So simply winning won't be enough, and that's probably enough of a task this week. Ideally, the Husker offense gets unstuck and leaves Alex Henery to worry about kicking extra points most of the day...but I'm expecting more of a battle than that.

Corn Blight: The defense is fine as is. The offense, however, needs to cut down on stupid mistakes. It would be a sign of progress if we could eliminate penalties that should be gone by now - false starts, illegal procedures, and idiotic holding penalties that have cost us at least one game.

Thanks again to Corn Nation for answering these questions, and looking forward to the game tomorrow!

Q & A with Corn Nation

Seth C — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:20 -0000

Thanks to the fine friendly folks over at Corn Nation, DTN and CN have traded questions and answers regarding tomorrow's game (see all sorts of game-day coverage here). Enjoy.

I asked this same question of TB of Bring On The Cats and I'm curious as to what you believe to be the biggest change in philosophy of Bo Pelini from the Callahan regime? Name one thing on the field and one thing off the field.

Husker Mike: I about lost my lunch on Monday night when Jon Gruden started praising Bill Callahan for his teaching ability. Maybe that was true as a position coach, but all that when out the window when he became the man in charge. Teaching never really happened; Callahan just pushed as much as he could of his system, and never worried whether it was ever mastered or even understood. Pelini on the other hand is just the opposite; he wants players to know and understand their roles on the team and what they are doing right (and wrong, if you've ever caught him on the sidelines). Last year, he tried to get to fancy against Missouri and the team got slaughtered. He simplified the defenses the rest of the year, and the team finally started to get the concepts. On the field, he's concentrated on making the team more agile. Look at Ndamukong Suh now; he wouldn't even be considered in the NFL draft if Callahan was still at Nebraska. They wanted players bigger, and he wouldn't be in position to run down quarterbacks. He certainly wouldn't have been agile enough to be able to jump up, deflect, and intercept passes. In fact, that's a skill that Pelini had to teach the defensive linemen when he arrived.

JLew: Seems like an odd thing to ask TB, what does he care about Callahan and Pelini? I kid I kid. Can I say everything? Because it seems like everything in the program is different. I was going to talk about player development but Mike got to it first. So I'll say team toughness. There is a toughness that Bo's teams have taken from him, which the Huskers were missing under Callahan. Down in and to Missouri, in a cold rain the Huskers never gave in. That's not the case before Bo. Also Bo has the players believing they can win games.

Corn Blight: There's night and day difference between the two. Callahan had not a clue about how to manage people which is a requirement as a head coach. He has poor communication skills, micromanages instead of allowing others he's hired to do their jobs, and would give you up without ever being tortured. Bo Pelini is the exact opposite.

2. The Nebraska defense has been stellar all year, do you think there's an inherent advantage in playing a spread team like Missouri prior to Texas Tech and do you expect Nebraska to carry-over the same type of defensive scheme and game-plan this week?

Husker Mike: Well, it's better than playing a triple-option team, but Tech does things quite a bit different than Missouri. I do want to see how Tech tries to defend Ndamukong Suh with those wide splits. Missouri struggled with double-teaming Suh and Jared Crick, and forcing Blaine Gabbert to scramble with a bad ankle. Whichever Tech quarterback is going to need to be ready to either scramble or fire the ball, being careful to not let Suh get his mitts up.

JLew: Spread is such a ubiquitous word to describe those offenses. Pelini said this week that they are different, and so defending them is different. I think covering the Missouri receivers will be a good experience for our defensive backs though.

Corn Blight: I think there's a benefit to it, yes. There are enough similarities between Missouri's and Texas Tech's offenses that the coaches can be consistent in how they teach defense and make sure that the overall philosophy is intact before introducing the nuances of the week. Repetition is the key to getting something down so that you're no longer thinking about what you're doing, it becomes instinct.

Not only that, but playing against Missouri's spread allowed us to get more defensive backs experience on the field. I don't think you can say enough about the Husker secondary. They're all playing very well right now.

The same defensive scheme will apply - Nebraska will expect the front four to contain the run and put pressure on the quarterback. This will allow the back seven to be more flexible in what they're doing, whether it be cover or blitz.

One key to the Husker defensive line - they're not just blowing up the field. This is why you're not seeing high sack totals. Note that Suh has a lot of pass break-ups, but not a lot of sacks. They're plugging holes on the inside, while the ends are containing on the outside, not just pushing up the field.

3. NU has been more successful on offense than people give them credit (15th in the nation in scoring offense), what's the biggest reason for the success of the offense?

Husker Mike: Most Husker fans wouldn't agree with that assessment; Nebraska went 7 quarters without a touchdown against Virginia Tech and Missouri. Much of those stats were put up against Sun Belt teams, so you have to take those stats with a grain of salt. You did see a spark late against Missouri; the key is getting wide receivers like Curenski Gilleylen and Niles Paul deep to open up lanes underneath. That opens up tight end Mike McNeill and opens up the running game as well.

JLew: I think the offense has played well. Lee has struggled some on the road, and against better competition. But one game was against VaTech in Blacksburg, which was Lee's first start on the road and the other was in the driving rain in Columbia so we'll see how he plays as the season progresses. Watson has said that the offense will take what the defense gives them. Being adaptable has helped. Also NU has avoided turnovers on offense.

Corn Blight: Opposing fans keep expecting us to revert back to the glory days and run the ball a lot more than we do. I think a lot of Husker fans have that expectation as well. However, the versatility of Nebraska's offense is what makes it successful. If the defense stacks against the run, the pass is available. And vice versa.

Zac Lee has been pretty accurate at home, and it has been his accuracy that's hurt him in road games, not a lack of receivers being open or there being a lot of pressure.

4. Normally, Ndamukong Suh deserves his own question, but Suh's gotten so much press, tell us a bit about some of the other defenders who aren't getting as much credit because of the dominating presence of Suh?

Husker Mike: Jared Crick doesn't allow you to triple-team Suh. On one play last week, the Tigers tried to double-team Crick...and couldn't until they finally had to haul him down for a holding penalty. Another guy to keep an eye on is cornerback Prince Amukamara. He dropped a pick in the monsoon last week, and he's been stout on run defense as well. Dejon Gomes and Alfonso Dennard were inserted last week and are proving to be quite the playmakers back there as well.

JLew: I'd agree with Crick. The young linebackers have been playing well, with Dillard in there as well. As a whole the defense has been tackling well, they were lights out against Missouri.

Corn Blight: How the hell could you guys not mention safety Larry Asante? He's played very well this season.

5. Last year, Joe Ganz was outstanding at moving the chains and the Nebraska receivers did a tremendous job of just taking what the defense gave them, can you envision Zac Lee having a similar performance this year or do you foresee a different game-plan offensively?

Husker Mike: With injuries at running back, I think it's going to be almost a necessity for Zac Lee to keep the chains moving. Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson is a firm believer in taking what the defense gives you, and last week, that almost killed Nebraska. In that monsoon, the Tigers dared the Huskers to throw the ball, essentially using the weather as an extra 3 defensive backs. And throw they did, with miserable results for the first three quarters until the rain let up a bit.

JLew: I don't think as much. The game of keep away was really dependent on NU protecting a suspect defense. I think NU will take some shots down the field, and let the defense cause havoc.

Corn Blight: Well . . . I don't see much difference in the game plan, but I wouldn't expect the same performance. It'd be nice, but you have to give credit to the Ganz/Swift/Peterson threesome last season. Swift and Peterson were incredibly dependable and great at getting open. I'm not sure we have the same kind of receivers now. Do I sound a little skeptical about our offense.…. yeah, I do. That's because I am. Put it this way - we have a new quarterback with a lot of potential whose performed well at home against suspect competition. We have a bunch of decent receivers, but until Niles Paul's big play performance last week, none of them had particularly shown greatness. We have one of the best running backs in the Big 12, but our offensive line is only decent, not great. His backup, Rex Burkhead, is out "for a while" and had done a good job doing the tough running, but we now need to find a quality backup. There's a lot of reasons to be skeptical about the Husker offense. If they can sustain drives against Tech this weekend, more of those questions will be answered.

Anatomy of "No Gain" -- Missouri's running game against Nebraska

RPT — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:14:45 -0000

People asking what's wrong with the Missouri running game right now are a dime a dozen. People with answers to that question are far more rare. The analysis that follows is in no way a complete diagnosis of what ails the Missouri rushing attack. Instead, it takes a look at one isolated play in which what looks like a potential big gain is quickly rendered into no gain.

Missouri comes out in a 3x1 Trips Left formation with the back (Derrick Washington) to the weakside. The play call appears to be a counter play to Washington, who approaches as if it is a sweep to the left before quickly planting and moving right. Highlighted here is Ndamukong Suh, who appears to be in a two-technique over the right guard (Kurtis Gregory).

Before we go any further, let's address the playcall (or more importantly for Missouri fans, the play direction). Not since Lewis and Clark came through in the early 1800s have people in Missouri been so worked up about North/South vs. East/West. While the shotgun counter (explained in depth in the middle of the page at this link) is nowhere near the North/South equivalent of say, a halfback lead from an I-formation jumbo set, it is far more North/South than most people are giving it credit for. Just because Washington begins the play moving laterally doesn't mean the play isn't designed to go vertically. The point here is for the pull block and Washington's misdirection to create a lane on the playside. Yes, when executed correctly, it is very much a North/South run.

There's a little bit of trouble from the start, as the snap is low to Blaine Gabbert, who has to bend down to snag it, putting a small hitch in the timing. The other immediate observation to be made is what happens at the defensive tackle spot opposite Suh. Highlighted here is DT Jared Crick, who will shoot the gap thanks to the pulling action of left guard Austin Wuebbels. Here, you can already see Wuebbels preparing to pull into the B-gap on the right side. That leaves left tackle Elvis Fisher alone to chip Crick and then return to his assignment on the defensive end. Center Tim Barnes has to scramble back to push Crick out of the play from behind.

Here we see Crick way upfield with Barnes trailing behind. With this being a counter play, Crick's presence isn't incredibly disruptive, as the run is designed to suck defenders to Missouri's left and then hope the overpursuit opens up the right side. The dearth of defenders in the box and Missouri's numbers advantage make it appear like Washington will have lanes both inside and outside once he reaches the line of scrimmage.

It looks like Gregory has tied up Suh, right tackle Dan Hoch has tied up Pierre Allen, and Wuebbels is out in front to lead for Washington. The second level looks relatively barren, and things are looking promising. Right?

Wrong. Suh fights off an overpowered Gregory, who gets caught leaning a little bit. Just like that, a promising opening for Washington results in minimal gain.

Here we see it from SkyCam. Crick is shaded in a three-technique over Wuebbels, who will be pulling right. The responsibility then gets put on Fisher to chip Crick, buying Barnes time to pick him up. This is all fine and dandy, except for the fact that it leaves Gregory one-on-one with the best defensive tackle in the country.

Wuebbels begins the pull, Fisher gets his chip and Gregory appears to have turned Suh in the proper direction. If your linemen have their butts facing the hole, odds are that they're doing their job. Here we see the linebacker (presumably Will Compton??), stepping up to fill in the gap.

Wuebbels engages the backer effectively, and the hole appears to open for Washington. Looking downfield, it looks like that if Washington can get past the line of scrimmage, he should ideally only have to deal with the safety in the top right corner of the frame en route to a substantial gain. The only problem? Highlighted on the left side is the Suh/Gregory battle, where Suh reads the play and begins to get a beat on Gregory with that right-arm swim move.

Suh latches onto Washington as Gregory dives to try to get a hand on Suh, but it's too little, too late. Washington doesn't even get the chance to make safety Larry Asante miss at the second level, and Missouri is again stuck in second and long with a hobbled quarterback in the midst of a monsoon.

The Takeaway: Screw the "Power of Red," you can rename this play the "Power of Suh." In the play's early development, Nebraska's pass-heavy defensive look and the movement of Missouri's offensive line makes it look like an easy gain. But on this single play, one lost battle in a one-on-one matchup was the difference between 5+ yards and zero yards. These were the kinds of battles that Missouri won consistently in 2007 in run-powered wins over Texas Tech and Arkansas. The players are saying that the failure of the running game is all about "the little things," and on this play, they're absolutely correct.

Matchups :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:55 -0000

Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-2, 1-1)

vs.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-0)

Game Information:
October 17, 2009 :: 2:30 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lincoln, NE
TV: FSN :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

The figures next to the team name are, in order: yards per game / national rank / conference rank.

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Nebraska Passing Defense

Texas Tech (443.50 / 2 / 1): QB Steven Sheffield has been electric in two games for Texas Tech, albeit he's done it against two teams that aren't top 25 teams, like Nebraska. In 1.5 games for the Red Raiders, Sheffield is 53-70 for 780 yards, 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Not to be too critical, but Sheffield's interception on Saturday night seemed like a play where Sheffield had determined where he was going to go as the play was snapped. That cannot happen against Nebraska. Tramain Swindall has become this team's playmaker amongst the receivers, averaging 92.8 yards a game and 19.33 yards per catch. The rest of the group is rounding out their roles. I think I mentioned last week that Texas Tech would need at least 1 receiver to step up their game, and right now, Swindall is in a zone. The bigger the threat that Swindall is, the easier it becomes for Detron Lewis, Alexander Torres and Lyle Leong. And this doesn't even take into account Jacoby Franks big night (3 receptions, 99 yards and 1 touchdown) against KSU. Quite simply, there's a lot of receiving threats out there and Sheffield is finding them. There's no doubt that the offensive line has looked better in the last two games, in part because Sheffield's mobility has allowed him additional time, but this unit still leads the conference in sacks allowed at 13 and must play like a cohesive unit. Perhaps the matchup of the night will be RG Brandon Carter and the below-mentioned Suh.

Nebraska (162.60 / 14 / 1): The Cornhusker pass defends begins and ends with DT Ndamukong Suh, who may be the best player in college football right now, and has an unbelievable stat line: 32 tackles (leads team), 5.5 TFL (leads team), 3 sacks (leads team), 7 passes broken up (leads team) and an interception. Suh is an absolute dominate interior defender and to think that Texas Tech's offensive line is going to control Suh to an extent would be wishful thinking. The pass defense is 14th in the nation and have played prolific passing teams such as . . . Missouri, in a rain-storm. In other words, much like Kansas St. last week, the Cornhuskers haven't really played a team that's truly proficient passing the ball other than the Tigers. And to give Nebraska credit, they held Blaine Gabbert to 17-43 for 134 yards and 2 interceptions. I think you'll see a lineup of Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard at cornerback and Matt O'Hanlon and Larry Asante at safety. Keep in mind that Nebraska has a distinct advantage that other Texas Tech opponents haven't had, which is a dominant player up front. Nebraska has broken up 25 passes during the year and had 17 quarterback hurries. That's 42 pass plays that have been affected by the secondary or the defensive line.

Verdict: This is the strength of the Texas Tech offense and the offense is clicking.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Nebraska Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (78.00 / 114 / 12): Baby steps. The Red Raiders went from the worst rushing offense in the NCAA to the 114th worst rushing offense, all in one week. But there's progress there to those of us who watch closely. I mentioned after the game on Sunday that the running backs rushed for 182 yards on 21 carries. That's an 8.67 yard per carry average and for a team that's absolutely struggled to garner any sort of run game, the fact that this team has pulled itself up a bit, especially after having such a tough time establishing anything resembling a running game is encouraging. The truth be told though is that the Red Raiders hae steadily improved the rushing game after a somewhat slow start (73 and 60 yards in their first 2 games). It's still tough to be sure what offensive line coach Matt Moore will do, although you would expect that unless something drastic happened, he would settle on the offensive line that would be the most successful against Nebraska, which was to start Lonnie Edwards at LG rather than Chris Olson, who Moore may be figuring will need to give multiple positions a break against the Cornhuskers. The more I think about this idea, the more I like it.

Nebraska (110.80 / 33 / 5): Nebraska is sitting 5th in the conference, although Nebraska has been a team that you could run on (i.e. there's yards to be gained), but the difference is that they are yielding few points on the ground and allowing less than 5 yards a rush. In addition to all-world Suh, the defensive line is rounded out by Barry Turner and Pierre Allen at defensive end and Jared Crick joins Suh up front. I'm not sure how much the linebackers will play on Saturday and would guess that Pelini will adjust with an additional defensive back, which should, in theory, open things up for the Texas Tech running game. When Nebraska is in their base package, I think you'll see Phillip Dillard, Will Compton and Sean Fisher. This is a stout run defense, and last year, I think you might see a defense more focused on the run as Texas Tech and Baron Batch ran for 137 yards on 23 carries and 3 touchdowns.

Verdict: Nebraska, hands down.

Nebraska Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Nebraska (236.60 / 44 / 7): I'll be the first to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised by Zac Lee's passing efficiency thus far this year. Lee's been very effective and probably most important to a Pelini offense, he doesn't turn the ball over, with only 3 interceptions this year to 10 touchdowns. Lee's not prolific as his biggest game this year was 340 yards against Arkansas St. A very balanced group of receivers lead the way for Nebraska, including receivers Paul Niles, Curenski Gilleylen, and Chris Brooks. TE Mike McNeill is a receiving threat as he's caught a pass every game thus far this year, but the truth is that the 3 receivers mentioned above are the main threats for Nebraska. Nebraska is 10th in the country in sacks allowed, giving up only 4 all year. Other than RT Marcel Jones, the Nebraska offensive line is a veteran group, including LT Mike Smith, LG Keith Williams, C Jacob Hickman and RG Ricky Henry. We're looking a the short passing game, keeping the Texas Tech offense off of the field and that can be so painful to watch.

Texas Tech (242.50 / 92 / 11): Texas Tech has really struggled here, and this may be an indication that Texas Tech played some proficient passing teams early in Texas and Houston (although the killer game was 316 to New Mexico). Still, this unit has been a little up and down, giving up yards, but not necessarily points. Despite the yardage given up, Texas Tech leads the conference in passes defended, including 33 passes broken up and 4 interceptions. Perhaps part of the reason is that the secondary hasn't been healthy in weeks, as SS Franklin Mitchem was out early in the season, FS Cody Davis was out last week, and LaRon Moore missed almost the entire game last week. This has forced two freshmen, S Will Ford and CB D.J. Johnson to step up their game. Also sitting a-top the conference is Texas Tech (along with Oklahoma) with 18 sacks for the year. Same as the secondary, much of this has been done with players that no on else in the conference would recognize. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, this group isn't as physically gifted as others, but they will out-work out and it seems that this unit gets more sacks late in the game. It's constant pressure.

Verdict: Statistically, I feel like I have to give this to Nebraska.

Nebraska Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Nebraska (168.00 / 43 / 8): When I first started to look at the numbers, I was surprised that Nebraska was only 8th in the conference in rushing. I was expecting a bit more. RB Roy Helu, Jr. is 13th in the nation in rushing, and was a bit under the weather against Missouri last week. Helu had a monster game against Virginia Tech (169 yards on 28 carries) and that's the sort of thing that bothers me about what Nebraska is capable of on any given night. There's not much behind Helu as true freshman, and DFW guy, Rex Burkhead is seeing the most significant carries behind Helu. Right now, Burkhead is a change of pace sort of back, getting 5 or 6 carries a game, although he's fairly effective.

Texas Tech (107.17 / 28 / 4): I'm shocked by those numbers and I'll keep repeating this and hope that it becomes true, but one of the hallmarks of a team that does well is a good to great rush defense. Much like most other things this early in the season, you can partially blame opponents, but thus far, the Red Raiders have only allowed a little over 100 yards a game. The DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones have quietly been very solid and give plenty of credit to a linebacking corp of Brian Duncan, Bront Bird and Marlon Williams that seem to be getting better game by game. You would think that Duncan and Bird would be tailor made for Nebraska and it will be interesting to see if Whitlock, Jones and Victor Hunter, to an extent, will be able to allow the linebackers to scrape and make plays.

Verdict: Seems strange, but the stats play the winner out here.

Texas Tech Special Teams vs. Nebraska Special Teams

Texas Tech: Freshman P Ryan Erxleben has been a breath of fresh air, handling 14 punts on the year, but being able to pin a few inside the opponents 20 yard line is a nice weapon have, especially in a game that could come down to field position. You'd like to see more consistency from K Donnie Carona kicking off, but he's still 6th in the conference and Matthew Williams hasn't had to kick a lot of field goals, but he has been solid in PAT's (34/35) ending the horror that was 2008. Texas Tech hasn't been spectacular returning punts and tried WR Austin Zouzalik for a number of games, but switched to CB Jamar Wall last week. Wall might be a bit more daring, but Zouzalik is solid. The Red Raiders are 2nd in the conference in kickoff returns, led by true freshman RB Eric Stephens.

Nebraska: P Alex Henry is 6th in the conference in punting. Much like Texas Tech, there's nothing really spectacular there. PK Alex Henery is clutch, making 8 of 9 field goals this year and making all of his PAT's. WR Niles Paul is returning punts, and again, like Texas Tech, aren't lighting the world on fire and as far as kickoff returns, Niles is again, mediocre (59th in the county and 9th in the conference).

Verdict: These teams are about as even as you could be for the most part, with slight advantages in one category over another. PUSH