Red Raiders invade Lincoln to take on streaking Cornhuskers

Sports Network | October 14, 2009

Lincoln, NE (Sports Network) - In a Big 12 matchup, the 15th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers host the Texas Tech Raiders at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln this weekend.

The Huskers are coming off an important win, as they edged then 24th-ranked Missouri, 27-12, in their Big 12 opener on October 8th. The win was the team's first in Columbia since 2001 and it gave Nebraska the all important tiebreaker against a Missouri club that had won the last two Big 12 North titles.

"This game, it's just like I said, it's just part of the process, part of where we are," said head coach Bo Pelini, who knows their is still a lot of football left. "We're not going to address or handle this win any different than we do any other week'

Nebraska now sits at 4-1 on the campaign and if not for a late loss at Virginia Tech (16-15) this team could very well have been ranked in the Top 10 already. The Huskers have also had great success at home this season, going 3-0 and outscoring their foes 142-12. All three games however, came against Sun Belt Conference schools and those programs aren't the caliber of this weekend's opponent.

For TTU, it has won all four of its games at home, while losing both of its road outings. The Raiders, who dropped their league opener to Texas (34-24), notched their first Big 12 win this past weekend, trouncing Kansas State by a 66-14 score.

"I thought we were on the threshold of it," said head coach Mike Leach, commenting about his team finally putting it all together. "I felt like we've been on the threshold of it a couple of times. And then just let off or relaxed or somebody gets to it."

Winners of two straight, TTU appears to be moving in the right direction and is now set to play its third road game against a ranked opponent this season. Aside from losing at highly-ranked Texas, the Red Raiders were edged at nationally-ranked Houston in back-to-back weeks.

In regard to the all-time series, Nebraska holds a 7-3 lead over the TTU, but the Red Raiders have won the last three meetings, including a 37-31 overtime triumph in 2008.

Even with starting quarterback Taylor Potts out with a concussion, TTU's pass- happy offense didn't miss a beat, as Steven Sheffield stepped in and threw for 490 yards and seven touchdowns in a rout of KSU this past weekend.

"I thought he played really well," coach Leach said. "The best thing he does is he's decisive. He is a really good presence out there for the entire offensive unit, and I think he has a lot of presence for the whole team."

Leach obviously had high praise for the former walk-on, who was impressive enough in his first career start to possibly get another chance even if Potts (questionable) is available. Whomever does under up under center will surely get plenty of opportunities to throw the ball in Leach's spread attack that is averaging a healthy 443.5 ypg through the air.

Detron Lewis certainly enjoyed having Sheffield calling the shots, as he was his primary target against KSU with eight receptions for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tramain Swindall also had good success with five receptions for 97 yards and a score. The Red Raiders have nine players that have caught double-digit passes already, so obviously spreading out the ball is a priority.

TTU doesn't run the ball a whole lot, but when given the opportunity to do so, Baron Batch has fared well. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry thus far and is coming off a solid performance in which he gained 86 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries against KSU.

The Red Raiders' defense matched the performance of its offense last weekend and held KSU to a mere 284 total yards of offense. TTU, which has done well to limit opponents to 349.7 total ypg on the year, gave up just 10 first downs to KSU and only one offensive touchdown.

"Everybody just thought as a defense to stay together, you know, the whole defense works as a team," Leach said.

The defense certainly played as one and even forced a pair of turnovers to go along with four sacks. Brandon Sharpe had two of the sacks, bringing his total to four for the season, and he has played part in a pass rush that has helped TTU record 18 sacks on the year.

Due to tough conditions that included heavy rains, the Huskers' offense had a difficult time getting started and managed only 263 total yards against Missouri last week. However, Nebraska, which is averaging over 400 total ypg on the season, came on in the fourth quarter where it scored four touchdowns to take a 27-12 decision.

"Well you know, we made some plays in the fourth quarter," said coach Pelini. "We had the opportunities before that. We didn't take advantage of them in the first half, but we were able to get that done in the fourth quarter. I just think our football team showed a lot of character tonight."

Quarterback Zac Lee showed his resiliency and threw for three touchdowns in the final period after three miserable quarters. It was a gritty effort from Lee, who has completed 59.4 percent of his pass attempts for 1,085 yards, with 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions this season.

Niles Paul was Lee's go-to-guy against Missouri, as he finished with six catches for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He now leads the team with 16 receptions, including three for touchdowns.

In the backfield, Roy Helu Jr. went for 88 yards and a score on 18 carries and he is one of the top rushers around with 552 yards and six scores in just five games.

Nebraska's stout defense will be put to the test this weekend against TTU and how this unit responds could determine the success of the season. The defense has been terrific up to this point and is allowing a mere 8.0 ppg and only 273.4 total ypg. The Huskers have been especially tough against the pass, allowing only 162.6 ypg and one touchdown through the air.

In last week's win, the Huskers were sharp on defense once again and held Missouri to 225 total yards, including only 134 through the air on just 17- of-43 completions. The unit forced three turnovers and added a pair of sacks, while holding the Tigers to just a field goal in the second half.

"(Ndamukong) Suh played his you know what off," said Pelini. "You can add the others guys up too. They played hard, they played well. And you can say that about everybody that lined up on defense today."

Suh turned in a noteworthy performance, as he posted six tackles, in addition to notching a forced fumble, interception and sack. It was a complete effort from the tackle, who leads Nebraska in stops (32), TFLs (seven) and sacks (three) on the season.