SB Nation - Roy Helu Jr

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.

How Nebraska Will Beat Texas And Win the Big 12 Championship

Jon Johnston — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:42:01 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Bo Pelini has done an incredible job in getting his Husker team this far. Now we get to see if they can be champs.

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The odds are stacked against Nebraska so much to the point that it's doubtful you'll find a single paid pundit pick the Huskers in this game. If they do, their colleagues might think they're mad.

It's a given that Nebraska will have to play mistake-free football. They can't give up the big play (Virginia Tech), they must minimize turnovers (Iowa State) and they can't afford to have drives killed by silly false starts or holding penalties (too many games this season). There's little margin for error.

To win, Nebraska will require a perfect game in all areas. It can happen, and here's how.

- First Quarter Draw

It's imperative that the Huskers to keep Texas off the scoreboard in the first quarter. The Blackshirts could give up a touchdown at, but if Nebraska goes down by two scores, the task will become nearly impossible.

Expect Nebraska's first series to be an experiment to see how Texas is going to line up. It'd be nice if we got a drive going right away, but don't get too worried about initial results. Expect that Texas will want to get on the board right away, although look for short passes from them in the hopes that the Blackshirts will miss tackles. We haven't seen much of that this season, and as long as we're tackling well, we should handle the one-on-one match ups with their receivers. It's time that Texas found out just how well Alfonzo Dennard and Prince Amukamara can cover and Larry "Assasin" Asante can hit.

Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick must get going early. Texas will double-team Suh, single Crick and hope to run their zone read plays with that combination. If Suh and Crick can occupy space in the middle with an upfield surge (not an all out rush), while Barry Turner and Pierre Allen contain the edges, the Huskers can negate the zone read. If Crick can play well enough to demand a double-team, getting to the edge will be that much more difficult. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis will take time to adjust his offensive scheme, and with each series failure, the Huskers confidence will grow.

- One On One Excellence

Any offense looks for the match up to get their best player in a one-on-one situation. Defense counters by doubling that player, and by default that leaves an offensive player to be accounted for. Texas has too many weapons on offense for Nebraska to double any one player. Take McCoy out of the zone read, and Tre Newton or Fozzy Whittaker will burn you. Double-team Jordan Shipley and you take your chances with James Kirkendoll and Malcolm Williams.

Move that concept to a defensive zones and the thought remains the same. The game will be a chess match of Texas trying to maneuver their receivers into a one-on-one situation in the hopes that the Blackshirts miss a play. That is the biggest key to this game - defenders consistently making plays in one-on-one situations. A single missed tackle or assignment in a low-scoring game means you lose.

- Bore America To Death

Americans hate games that end 10-3, or 16-13. There just isn't enough scoring. You could chalk it up to the need for constant excitement, but whatever it is, Husker fans have to hope most of American is bored by watching this game. If it turns into a track meet, it's going to be a one-sided affair in favor of the Longhorns.

Don't expect many gimmicks in this game. The Huskers are not going to go to a no-huddle. They're not going to try to spread out the Texas defense and run the zone read as a core part of their offense. Fans will see the same approach the Huskers have used throughout their winning streak - a conservative offense that tries to pick up first downs on the ground and takes occasional shots down the field.

The long shots are the key to offensive success. Niles Paul has been the recipient of most of the long balls, while tight end Mike McNeill has largely gone unnoticed this season. McNeill has the speed and game awareness to pull in the big play - and his lack of production may leave him ignored by the Texas defense when it counts the most.

- No Fear

Quarterback Zac Lee has had problems when running zone read and option plays. He hasn't held the ball long enough to make the unblocked defender commit, a key to making those kinds of plays work properly. Lee must play this game fearlessly. If he's not a threat to run the ball when it's called for, he's given the defense a huge edge. Example - if Lee runs an option pass, the defense won't respect his feet enough to not cover his receivers.

Having no fear doesn't mean that Shawn Watson whips open his whole bag of tricks to see what might fool the Texas defense. It means he must commit to the running game, even if it isn't working early. The downfield shots will only work if the Huskers can establish something on the ground with Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead.

Before this season started, Husker fans heard plenty of rumors about Ricky Henry's "fiery nature" and Jacob Hickman's longevity. Put Tyler Legate at fullback behind them, and smash that ball right into the center of the Longhorn defense.

The Huskers don't need an offensive explosion, but an implosion will kill any hope this team has of winning.

- Special Teams Convergence

Alex Henery had a 76 yard punt against Virginia Tech. He leads the Big 12 in punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Niles Paul has had some big special teams plays, including his punt return against Colorado. Adi Kunalic can negate any chance of a kick return with his touchbacks. Ndamukong Suh and his counterparts have the ability to block kicks. Add to these the fact that Nebraska's special teams haven't given up a touchdown yet this season.

Bring great special teams plays all together in one game and we've got a shot.

- Leave It All On The Field "Bo's Way"

The Texas A&M game didn't tell us as much about the ‘Horns defense as we think. Turn the table and ask yourself if the Colorado game was an example of how well the Blackshirts have played, then look again at the Longhorns' performance. Chalk both teams poor performance up to a short week and lack of incentive. Add to that that we're coming down to the end of the season - both teams had to be a little exhausted.

The teams have had over a week off, which has given time them time to heal and rest. That's good news, especially for the Blackshirt defense that's had to carry a heavy load this season. They've seen more plays than any other top 25 defense in the nation, and they'll see it again in this game.

Husker fans have seen Ndamukong Suh take over a game. He'll have to do it again, early and keep making plays throughout the entire game. His brothers-in-arms will have do the same. The effort must be solid on every play. Double the effort for the offense, particularly on the line.

Bo Pelini has taken a group of players who were left for dead two years ago and gotten them to a shot at the Big 12 title and a BCS Bowl. It wasn't just the genius of understanding defense that got them this far. It happened because Pelini demands consistency of effort, settling for nothing less. It's "Bo's Way".

It's time to see how his team responds when not many believe they can be champions.

Under The Hood: Nebraska vs. Colorado Statistical Comparison

Jon Johnston — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:28:37 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Tyler Hansen's favorite pose this season. Hansen has taken 31 sacks, over twice as many as the Huskers total. Part of that can be explained on Colorado throwing the ball all the time. Part of it..... CU Sucks.

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Statistics are good to know before you head into a game against a team that hates your guts. If they start giving you too much crap, you can just throw statistical information back at them. Unless they've been following along, they have little choice to respond with the phrase common to losers everywhere:

"YOU SUCK!"

Some stats can be dismissed, or made to say whatever you want, but when you're ranked at the bottom of several categories across several facets of football, things aren't going well no matter how much you rationalize.

That's where Colorado is this season. Before I looked, I thought that it would be Colorado's defense near the bottom of the NCAA rankings, but it's not. It's their offense.

Offensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Colorado
Rush YPG	147.73 (62/6)	83.73 (113/11)
Rush YPC	4.18 (65/5)	2.62 (117/12)
Rush TDS	17 (54/7)	14 (81/11)

Pass YPG	197.7 (85/9)	222.5 (53/8)
Pass YPA	7.1 (63/7)	5.7 (109/12)
Pass TDS	14 (75/10)	15 (67/9)
Pass Efficiency	128.82 (62/8)	105.86 (111/12)

Total Offense	345.5 (82/10)	306.3 (108/12)
Scoring Offense	25.4 (73/8)	22.5 (91/10

If you thought our offense was bad, welcome to the Buffs. Rodney Stewart is the Buffs top running back, ranked 67th nationally in averaging 69.4 yards per game. Stewart is averaging 3.92 yards per carry. The very low team per carry average is because of all the sacks and negative plays that Colorado has had this season - Cody Hawkins has lost an average of 12 yards per game (-84 yards rushing). That's icky.

I'm not going to say much about Cody Hawkins or Tyler Hansen because you can read some incredibly in-depth stuff here. Buff receivers Scotty McKnight and Markques Simas are dangerous, but not overwhelming. McKnight averages just over 70 yards per game, and has four TD receptions. Simas has come on strong lately, with 135 and 128 yards receiving against Texas A&M and Iowa State, respectively. He dropped to 92 against Oklahoma State, but I don't think anyone is going to confuse the Blackshirt defense with any one of those teams.

The Huskers don't have a good offense any way you look at it. We're only around average in rushing, and below average everywhere else. i don't know about you, but I'm going to spend the next two games playing the "Shawn Watson has kept the real offense under wraps until the end of the season!' angle. I find it irritates opposing fans when I refuse to listen to reason, which is the only way to make a cruddy offense enjoyable.

Hate to point this out, but the Buffs have more passing touchdowns than we do despite much worse statistics in this area. That speaks volumes about our inability to get in the end zone earlier this season.

Roy Helu is ranked 29th nationally, just under 100 yards per game at 96.09. Not bad considering he's been injured.

Defensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Colorado
Rush YPG	98.09 (13/4)	162.73 (83/10)
Rush YPC	2.85 (8/3)	4.18 (75/9)
Rush TDS	6 (8/2)	15 (58/8)

Pass YPG	182.3 (17/1)	213.5 (57/4)
Pass YPA	5.3 (3/1)	7.3 (75/10)
Pass TDS	4 (1/1)	18 (81/10)

Total Defense	280.4 (8/2)	376.3 (72/9)
Scoring Defense	10.3 (3/1)	28.9 (88/11)

Look at the Huskers defensive stats. If that ain't beauty.... I don't know what you're looking for. Four passing touchdowns given up so far this season.

The Buffaloes on the other hand.... oy vey. Their defensive stats are not beautiful. They're not hideous, though, as they have not dropped to the Nebraska 2007 level (112th total defense - 476.8 yards per game, 114th scoring defense -37.9 points per game) or to Kansas State 2008 (118th total defense - 479.1 yards per game, 111th scoring defense- 35.8 points per game) so those comparisons are inappropriate.

The Huskers have given up 16 pass plays of 25+ yards, compared to the Buffs at 25 of 25+ yards. When watching Colorado football this year, they have a real problem with letting receivers get behind their deepest defenders.That explains poor passing touchdown defense.

The Details

	Nebraska	Colorado
3rd Down Conversions (Pctg)	40.13 (58/8)	35.06 (94/10)
Red Zone Conversions (Score %)	79.55 (72/9)	84.21 (43/6)

Turnover Margin	+2 (53/6)	-4 (82/10)
Sacks	32 (12/5)	24 (43/8)
Tackles for Loss	73 (33/5)	62 (63/9)
Sacks Allowed	15 (31/3)	42 (117/12)
Punting (Avg)	41.12 (51/5)	37.71 (103/11)
Punt Returns	10.15 (47/7)	2.96 (117/12)
Kickoffs (Avg)	68.20 (2/2)	64.86 (22/4)
Kickoff Returns	23.07 (39/5)	24.24 (20/3)
Penalties (Yds/G)	66 (102/7)	79.4 (117/10)

- Both of these teams are awful in picking up penalties. The Huskers haven't gotten any better in November, still ranked 102nd and averaging 64.3 yard per game. But the Buffs have gotten worse (yes, that's possible), dropping to dead last in FBS, 120th at 94.7 yards per game. Both teams have tendencies to pick up personal foul penalties at the worst possible moments. One wonders how sloppy Friday's game will be.

- 117th in sacks allowed? Wow! Insert your jokes about a Jared Crick - Ndamukong Suh feast in the comments section, while I stick with a "turkey shoot" meme. Tyler Hansen has taken 31 sacks so far this year. It'd be nice if he'd take about ten more this game.

- The Buffaloes do have a potential game-breaking weapon in kickoff returns. Brian Lockridge is 61st nationally with a 24.07 average. (By comparison, Niles Paul is 36th with an average of 25.69. 1.62 yards means a huge difference in ranking, but not an enormous difference on the field). Lockridge's sole touchdown came last week against Oklahoma State. The Huskers have done a great job of shutting down kickoffs this season (hence the #2 ranking), thanks largely to Adi Kunalic.

- Colorado's punting average is pretty hideous. There's an understatement for you.

- What did I miss?

In Perspective: Further Nebraska vs Kansas State Statistical Comparisons

Jon Johnston — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:38:25 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Is that a legal tackle? Arrrghhh!!!

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It's safe to say that the game against Kansas State is being viewed with cautious optimism. The cautious part comes from still not having a real solid handle on what's going to happen with our offense, while the defense, even after the defensive line disappeared against Kansas, should give Husker fans plenty of optimism no matter the opponent.

Statistics obviously don't tell the whole story about a team, but looking at them can give you a good idea about what they do well and don't do well. Most of that is after the jump. KSU went 2-2 in non-conference, then picked up wins against Iowa State, Texas A&M, Colorado, and a surprising rivalry win over Kansas, a team that's coming apart.

I don't feel bad about this game. There's nothing that says we shouldn't beat Kansas State by double digits. Their primary offensive strength, the running game, plays right into our primary defensive strength. Their defensive weakness doesn't necessarily align with our offensive strength, running, unless Zac Lee and Niles Paul can duplicate the big play display they put on against Kansas.

	Nebraska		Kansas State
	National	Big 12	National	Big 12
3rd Down Conversions	60	8	96	12
Red Zone Conversions (Score %)	73	8	96	11

Turnover Margin	59	7	22	2
Sacks	15	4	68	10
Tackles for Loss	27	3	87	11
Sacks Allowed	32	4	64	7
Punting (Avg)	61	6	93	10
Punt Returns	40	5	47	8
Kickoff Returns	46	6	6	2
Penalties (Yds/G)	106	9	79	3

- Some good news! Nebraska's national ranking in red zone conversions rose from 97th to 73rd after the KU game!

- Kansas State's red zone conversion ranking looks awful, doesn't it, worse than Nebraska's. The news for Wildcat fans gets worse. In September and October, KSU was scoring touchdowns over 65% of their trips to the red zone. In November, that percentage has dropped to14.29%, while the field goal percentage has increased from 6.67, 17.39 and then to 42.86 in November.

- The Huskers had a horrible October regarding red zone conversions. Score percentage dropped from 94.12 in September to 57.14 in October. Part of that drop is understandable, having transitioned from non-conference to Big 12 play, but there was the downpour in Missouri, Iowa State and Texas Tech. November has seen the score percentage go back up to 88.89%, with equal parts touchdowns and field goals (44.44% each).

- If we can stop Brandon Banks from having good returns on kickoff returns, it'll go a long ways to a win. You're thinking I'm Captain Obvious, right? Well, yes, but trying to emphasize a point as well as Banks currently leads the NCAA in kickoff return touchdowns with four. He's currently ranked ninth in kickoff return average at 29.92 yards per return. The good news? Banks hasn't returned a touchdown yet in November and his average has dropped to 20.67 per return.

- If you're not thinking about Husker kicker Adi Kunalic here, you should be. Kunalic is third nationally in touchbacks with 23, and third in touchback percentage with 41.07. Can't score if you don't have the ball - there's your Captain Obvious for you!

- Niles Paul is showing he's no slouch. Nebraska's kickoff return ranking went from 74th to 46th after the Kansas game. Paul had two returns against Kansas for 72 yards, including a return for 44 yards that set up the go-ahead score.

- Take away (pun!) the eight turnovers against Iowa State, and Nebraska would be +9 on the season in turnover margin. That would be good enough for a 15-ranked spot. Ah, well.

- Looking at explosive plays from both quarterbacks: Zac Lee has completed 71 passes for first downs, with 35 of those going over 15 yards, and 19 going over 25 yards. Grant Gregory has only 43 passes for first downs, 22 of 15 plus, and eight of 25 yards or more. Lee has attempted 227 passes to Gregory's 144, so Gregory has had a third less opportunities for big plays. I find the eight for 25+ for Gregory a little surprising given Banks' existence.

- Explosive plays in the running game. Nebraska has had 344 rushes, 41 of which have gone for 10 yards or more, and 18 of 20 yards or more. 12 of those big plays are from Roy Helu Jr, two from Traye Robinson, one from Niles Paul, Zac Lee, Cody Green... and I'm missing one.

- KSU has 470 rushes with 71 going for 10 yards or more, and 19 going for 20 or more. Half of the 20-yard plus gains have come from running back Daniel Thomas, five from backup running back Keithen Valentine, two from Banks, one from Gregory and the guy we expected to start at quarterback, Carson Coffman.

- I'm going to change this format so that it's easier to read, incorporates both statistical articles for next week and start using that from now on. Any suggestions or items you'd like to see are encouraged. Or, if you like splitting the statistics stuff into two..... well, anything. I'm all ears. Ha!

Nebraska vs Oklahoma - Game Action Photos (Part II)

Jon Johnston — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:06:09 -0000

Part II because I screwed up and didn't include this great set with the first ones. Again, these are from professional photographer Dennis Hubbard.

I'd like to point out that these are shot at a night game, yet they're crystal clear, in focus, beautiful stuff. Mere mortals cannot accomplish this stuff..... I'd like to think I could, given a 2.8 pro lens, but I'm just fooling myself.

Ricky Henry holding his own against OU's Gerald McCoy. I think Henry has a lot of potential, but he has to avoid making dumb mistakes.

Excellent action photo of Roy Helu Jr.

Excellent shot of Zac Lee.

Cody Green looks serious enough, doesn't he?

Nebraska vs Oklahoma: Post Game Overreaction - Blackshirt Defense Puts a Beatdown on the Sooners!

Jon Johnston — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:50:28 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

That look says it all......

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What a win! Nebraska's defense proved they don't need a huge offensive effort to come away with a big win. The Huskers had only seven first downs, 39 yards passing, converted one of 14 third downs and had 180 yards of total offense, but came away with five interceptions to stop the Sooners 10-3.

If you're one of those who want to see a Husker team that smashes it's opponents and puts a lot of points on the board, you're going to have to wait at least another season. If you're one that wants to see defense take over and win a game, you're going to be having a lot of fun for the rest of the season.

Over halfway through the season, it seems as if this team has finally accepted who and what it is. The defense recognized the fact that a great offense isn't just going to appear out of mid-air and decided that they'd help out. Prince Amukamara intercepted a pass and returned it to the one. First-and-one at the one??? Hey, this Husker offense can handle that, and they did, scoring on a play-action pass to tight end Ryan Hill. That was all the points that was needed as the defense continues to show why it's the best in the land.

Earlier in the week, our Q&A session indicated that Sooner quarterback Landry Jones would be accustomed to facing a tough defense, having already played against Miami and Texas. Not so fast, my friend!The Huskers only sacked Jones twice, but they harassed him all night. They harassed him straight into five interceptions. Every time it seemed that Oklahoma was about to break the game open, there was a Blackshirt getting their hands on the ball. I loved that part.

The offense did just enough to keep the defense from getting completely exhausted. Roy Helu Jr was magnificent, rushing 20 times for 138 yards. He didn't look injured or hesitant, but was the Helu we saw at the beginning of the season. Cody Green started, but was replaced by Zac Lee on that first-and-one at the one drive. Shawn Watson apparently decided that he didn't need a playmaker behind center, but a game manager. Lee ran the option with more deliberation after Pelini was seen yelling at him for a poorly executed option play in which Lee pitched the ball way too early, resulting in a turnover while the Huskers could have put more points on the board.

Matt O'Hanlon had three interceptions - not bad for a walk-on. He and linebacker Phillip Dillard were everywhere at once. If they weren't destroying the Sooner offense, Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick were. O'Hanlon is the easy choice as the defensive player of the game until you consider Alex Henery. He started off a little rocky, but then became a field position, Sooner squishing machine all by hisself. Henery routinely punted the Huskers out of trouble an turned the battle of field position against the Sooners. You could say that Henery won the game in the first quarter. Oklahoma had started the game with three consecutive drives on Nebraska's side of the field, coming away with nothing (ha!). The Huskers' field position was horrible until Henery ripped off a 66-yard punt that the Huskers downed at the two-yard line. One big play, and the field position was re-arranged.

The win means that Nebraska controls it's own destiny in the Big 12 North. Win your games, you win the North. It's that simple. With this Blackshirt defense it's certainly within reach.

Nebraska vs Baylor - Postgame Overreaction: Positivity Ain't That Hard To Find!

Jon Johnston — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:31:20 -0000

More photos » by Jerry Larson - AP

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Cobby woke up for a bit and here's what he told me:

My corny-sense tells me there is much negativity throughout Corn Nation. I can feel it now, yet it was not there in the first half! How can it be that such a mood swing happens in so short a time?

It is because of such feelings I feel compelled to be positive. To bring good tidings to you and your kind even though it seems a little early to cash it all in on the season when we don't know what the future brings.

It is not that I won't be critical when it's called for, if you doubt me, stop by for a game day thread. But I am as always a contrarian. There's a lot of positive to take away from this game, and that's where I'm going:

- It was a youth movement on offense. Cody Green got his first start, as did Khiry Cooper. We saw a lot of youth on offense, as Dontrayevous Robinson (D-Rob, D-Tray, Tray-Rob, all suggestions for a nickname, vote!) played a lot of this game. The offense actually fell down when (guy for whom I'd like a nickname) left the game. Kind of like losing Rex Burkhead, eh?

- Kyler Reed made a great play then left, Ben Cotton played, Lester Ward finally got some carries, and Brandon Kinnie got some time. Khiry Cooper made some plays.

- Holy Cow! That's a whole bunch of young ‘uns!!!

- In his first series, Cody Green made a play that Zac Lee could not or would not make when he scrambled for a first down. His long pass play to Niles Paul was a thing of beauty, wasn't it?

- Alfonzo Dennard. Why didn't I think much of him? I don't know, but after he was hurt, wow, the secondary was a lot worse than it was with him in there.

- Ricky Henry. Oh, dude. If you ever decide to play every down and get a brain, you'll be great. You're either dependable or a liability. And right now, you're a liability. Unfortunately, you must be the best right guard we have. Am I picking on Henry? Yes. Why? Because after hearing about how fiery he is, I expect greatness. Step it up, Ricky, you sluggard.

- I'm surprised that Zac Lee didn't play. I'm equally surprised Roy Helu continued to be put in the game. Rest the guy, get him ready for bigger games.

- Husker fans got what we asked for. Cody Green started. Young players played. The offense didn't play well in the second half. As fans, what did we expect? Perfect execution from the youngest guys on the team? If you did, then let me ask you this - when you started your job, did you do everything right the first week? Did you replace someone else who was fired for sucking? If you understand where I'm going here - then you get it. If you don't, then I can't help you. I can't. You're going to be angry and upset because we didn't win by 40 and there's not a damned thing anyone can do for you.

- What you will not see from me is this - no predictions for who's winning the Big 12 North the rest of the season. I'm going to take the same approach that the coaches ask from the team - take it one game at a time.

- After saying that, I have to say this: the Big 12 North is nuts. It's completely unpredictable and with today's win, Nebraska is in it. With a loss, we'd be out of it. So take heart, dammit!

We won this week! Forget that it was "Baylor". It's a win. Be Happy! That is my suggestion for you, Husker fan.

Next week's opponent is Oklahoma. If you think they'll kill us, if you think they'll destroy us, I'm going to tell you you're wrong. It will be a game, but don't think about it just yet. Wait ‘til Wednesday to start yer bitching.

Poll

What Should We Be Calling Dontraveyous Robinson? (We're getting big on nicknames)

tray - it's what his teammates call him, and that's good enough

119 votes

D-Tray

16 votes

D-Rob

9 votes

Tray-Rob

5 votes

what does his Mom call him? Go with that!

37 votes

186 votes | Poll has closed

Under the Hood: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Baylor Bears Statistical Comparison

Jon Johnston — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:45:17 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Replace the Oklahoma uniforms with Nebraska's and we should see similar photos of Baylor freshman quarterback Nick Florence come next week.

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First Iowa State, now Baylor. When you see them listed on the schedule, as a Husker fan you don't think twice about marking them down as easy wins. Last week's loss to Iowa State should have made it clear - there are no easy wins this season. Not with an offense that's sputtering as badly as the Huskers.

Before the season started, both Husker Mike and I pointed to the Baylor game as a potential loss on the road. I can't speak for Mike, but a lot of my reasoning had to do with Baylor phenom quarterback Robert Griffin. Griffin is an incredible athlete, but he was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in a body bag game (if such a thing exists for Baylor) against Northwestern State.

If that weren't enough, Baylor senior backup quarterback Blake Szymanski suffered a shoulder injury in the same game. He aggravated the should injury last week against Oklahoma State, and if he can't go, the Bears will start freshman Nick Florence. Either way, Nebraska will face another backup quarterback, and as ESPN's Tim Griffin recently pointed out, we haven't exactly done well against backups.

Offensive Comparisons

	Nebraska	Baylor
Rush YPG	146.29 (61/6)	136.86 (77/9)
Rush YPC	4.63 (31/3)	4.78 (24/2)
Rush TDS	12 (50/8)	12 (50/8)

Pass YPG	235.1 (42/7)	223.7 (53/9)
Pass YPA	7.2 (54/7)	6.8 (77/10)
Pass TDS	12 (42/8)	9 (74/11)
Pass Efficiency	130.82 (56/7)	124.68 (73/10)

Total Offense	381.4 (58/8)	355.6 (75/11)

Defensive Comparisons

	Nebraska	Baylor
Rush YPG	100.86 (20/6)	184.43 (100/12)
Rush YPC	2.77 (11/3)	4.32 (86/12)
Rush TDS	5 (15/3)	11 (74/9)

Pass YPG	164.1 (13/1)	216.7 (63/4)
Pass YPA	5.5 (11/3)	6.2 (28/5)
Pass TDS	3 (2/1)	8 (30/4)

Total Defense	265.0 (7/3)	401.1 (91/11)
Scoring Defense	11.4 (4/2)	24.3 (66/10)

Opponent Positional Rank

Total Offense Rank	Nebraska Opponent	Total Defense Rank	Total Offense Rank	Baylor	Total Defense Rank
10	Florida Atlantic	113	59	Wake Forest	67
84	Arkansas State	42	53	Connecticut	37
60	@Virginia Tech	31	xx	Northwestern State	xx
83	UL-Lafayette	103	100	Kent State	61
62	@Missouri	52	29	Oklahoma	6
4	Texas Tech	73	55	Iowa State	83
55	Iowa State	83	30	Oklahoma State	56
51.14	Average	71	54.33	Average	51.67

Northwestern State is FCS, so they're not included in statistics.

- Nebraska clearly has an offensive edge over Baylor's defense. Given that, you'd expect that Nebraska's offense should be able to move the ball against the Bears.

- Alas the Huskers (and the fan base) have been snake bitten - if the offense is going to move the ball, clearly a playmaker or two must emerge. Had Niles Paul made it into the end zone, giving Nebraska 13 TDs through the air, they'd have risen to a tie for 35th in the nation instead of 42nd. Had Roy Helu and Dontrayevous Robinson not fumbled and made it to the end zone (for two more TDs), the Huskers would be tied at 32nd instead of 50th. Both would seem at the least a little more impressive.

- Nebraska's defense obviously has a stated edge against the Bears, as they will against every offense we'll see the rest of the regular season.

- Nebraska's yard per carry on the ground isn't as miserable as their rushing average. Does that mean we should be rushing the ball more? I would say yes - and it isn't just a feeling that Shawn Watson wants a passing game.

- Both teams are on losing streaks, with Nebraska having lost their last two to Texas Tech and Iowa State at home, while scoring only 17 points. The Bears have lost their last three at Oklahoma, at Iowa State and to Oklahoma State, while scoring a combined 24 points.

- Stating the obvious - this game will be won by the team whose offense sucks the least. Given how good Nebraska's defense is - it darned well better be Baylor.

- Thoughts?

Husker Youth Movement Shows A Positive Future - But Is The Future Now?

Jon Johnston — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:41:41 -0000

More photos » by DAVE WEAVER - AP

I don't know how you could find Dontrayevous Robinson's play Saturday anything but encouraging.

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Over half way through the 2009 season, you'd swear there wasn't much positive happening with the offense. After two consecutive home losses, and trying to get the idea of eight turnovers in a ball game out of our heads, that's not surprising.

Still, the Huskers have had some positive output from first-year players. For a team looking for playmakers, that's not such a bad thing. If the more experienced players aren't going to win games, perhaps there are difference makers to be found amongst the first-year guys.

Against Iowa State, true freshman Dontrayevous Robinson showed that he could contribute to the offense, carrying the ball 15 times for 77 yards for a 5.1 yard per carry average. He scored his first career touchdown, the only touchdown scored by the Husker offense against the Cyclones. Robinson was impressive, giving the Huskers some tough rushing yards despite having a fumble near the goal line. Given the state of the running game, he should see many more chances in upcoming games.

Despite a foot injury that derailed his season, true freshman Rex Burkhead remains the team's second-leading rusher with 23 carries for 118 yards. Burkhead provided a straight-ahead, tough running style that gave the offense a boast when he was in the games. He also provided an alternative to Niles Paul in fielding punts, and while he had only four chances, he has the highest average in that category.

After Roy Helu Jr, the top leading rushers (in order) are Burkhead, quarterback Cody Green, and Robinson, all first-year players. Zac Lee gained 128 yards, but has also lost 55, netting him 73 and putting him behind the aforementioned players. That should speak volumes about the state of the offense.

JUCO transfer Brandon Kinnie has gotten involved in the offense, with three receptions for 27 yards against Iowa State, giving him four total receptions this season. At 6' 3" and 215 pounds, Kinnie is a big receiver of the Maurice Purify mold. Husker fans can hope the experience gave him some confidence and we'll see more of him as the season goes on.

Antonio Bell has already burned his redshirt season as well, but has only one reception. If Menelik Holt and Curenski Gilleylen have been regulated to the scout team, perhaps it'll mean more playing time for Bell this week against Baylor.

Quarterback Green remains a center of fan focus. The status of Green remains a mystery. Pelini stated after the Iowa State game that Green isn't ready, yet he was ready enough to insert into the Texas Tech game, told to take risks if necessary, and not hold back.

In fairness to the coaches, it's relatively easy to learn the running back and wide receiver positions. The only thing you have to know is what you're supposed to be doing - a running back doesn't have to know what the receivers are doing and vice versa. But as a quarterback, you must know and understand what everyone is doing. Hence the learning curve is higher - any any offense, not just Shawn Watson's.

In deference to Pelini's post-game comments, Zac Lee wasn't the problem this past weekend. He played a reasonable game. Unfortunately, his offense has no heart right now, and if you're going to burn Green's redshirt season, then why not give him some series in a game just to see what happens?

Pelini's recruits are showing that they're ready to get on the field and play some football. At what point does this offense tip over and start giving way to the youth movement?

Nebraska's Keys To Victory Over Texas Tech

Jon Johnston — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:15:21 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee celebrates after throwing a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Niles Paul for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Missouri Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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If this game doesn't worry you at least a little, you're not paying attention. Forget that Tech is on the road. Forget that they don't have Michael Crabtree or Graham Harrell, they're still the same ol' Texas Tech that can put up yardage and points at a faster rate than nearly anyone in the nation.

Last year's Tech game was a freakazoid affair with Nebraska holding the ball for 40 minutes. The Huskers controlled the game with a ball control passing offense. Can that happen again this year? With Zac Lee as Joe Ganz, Niles Paul as Nate Swift, and a whole gob of other guys playing Todd Peterson, why not?

As much as you'd like to think Nebraska can line up in tight end heavy sets and pummel the Tech defense, it's not going to happen.

Take What You're Given

Much has been made this week about the Huskers throwing the ball so often in the rain at Missouri. Mid-week we discovered that Watson's calls were biased toward the rain, but changed to passes by Lee after reading the Missouri defense. I don't understand the angst over this, especially given the outcome of the game.

If Tech moves up to stop the run, then take what you're given and throw the ball. It would be foolhardy to run when you're outnumbered at the line of scrimmage. If that means throwing the ball 40 times, then so be it. Zac Lee has performed well at home, as has his receiving corps. There's no reason to expect that this game will be any different.

Keep in mind, it's not the Huskers who are looking for an offensive identity. It's the media that creates this "run the ball" frenzy so they can feed off it. The team is looking to win football games by whatever means they can. Keep in mind that we have one very good running back, while we have quite a number of very good receivers - Niles Paul, Mike McNeill, Curenski Gilleylen included.

If winning means Roy Helu gaining 150 yards on the ground, then yay for him. If it's Zac Lee throwing for 250 yards, then there's nothing wrong with that either.

Win First Down

This key, along with the first, are just another way of saying "ball control", and that is just another way of saying to win we need to keep Tech's offense off the field. I wouldn't expect the same level of a ball control offense we saw last season, but things will go much easier if we get solid yardage on first down.

Play selection is much easier when you're working with second or third and three as opposed to seven. Rex Burkhead will be missed because of his straight ahead tough running style, but Shawn Watson will have to discover that talent in another of his young running backs.

Eliminate Stupid

Last week, Nebraska recorded 12 penalties for 108 yards. Some of those can be written off because of the inclement conditions, but many of them were the result of poor discipline. Husker fans don't need to be reminded of the drive-killing nature of penalties.

We're midway through the season. It's time for the stupidity to end. Nebraska's offense can't afford to lose points because of it, especially not against a team that's known for rolling up yards and points like Tech.

The bottom line is this - the offense can't expect the defense to bail them out of every game this season, so stop shooting yourselves in the foot.

Control The Lines

Ndamukong Suh has played with such a fervor that it's difficult to imagine him being stopped by anyone, but in this game he'll be going up against one of the Big 12's best offensive linemen in Tech guard Brandon Carter. Let's assume that Carter is able to control Suh better than most, which means it will be time for Jared Crick, Pierre Allen, and Barry Turner to get some big plays.

The rest of Suh's counterparts will need to get pressure on Tech's quarterback, but they'll also be responsible for stopping Tech's running game, ala the 11 touchdowns on the ground alluded to earlier this week. That means controlling the gaps, standing your ground and getting an even push upfield. It does not mean exploding up the field in an all-out pass rush.

The offensive line must perform better to win this game. They'll need to pick up the short yardage situations to sustain drives. They must also be better disciplined in run blocking, not allowing linebackers to shoot through and blow up a play because someone missed an assignment.

It will be a good sign if Nebraska is able to run the ball in the middle of Tech's defense. Last week we were all about running wide. If we're going to run the ball, we need to make sure we're getting yardage in the middle as well as the edges.