Ndamukong Suh - Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuhperman! It's time to talk about this guy as one of the best defensive lineman in Nebraska history, and he's approaching Rich Glover territory at the nose (yeah, he's that good). Dude is a beast of a human being, he has incredible agility, and he can get anywhere on the field because he never stops. He gets stronger as the game goes on. And he's a smart cookie. He has an amazing way of demonstrating both his perceptive and athletic abilities during a single play. Blaine Gabbert was the victim of many of these feats, but two in particular stand out. Early in the game, Suh broke through the interior of the line and latched on to Gabbert, executing his patented QB throwdown technique and twisting Gabbo's ankle in the process (he limped the rest of the game). And of course, there was Suh's interception on the first play after the long touchdown pass to Niles Paul, an act of foresight, instinct, and athletic supremacy. In retrospect, I feel that this was the most important play in the entire comeback. Listen, I haven't had this much fun watching a Husker since Eric Crouch. And, by the way, you know what Eric Crouch has, don't you?

Niles Paul - That's it. I don't care anymore about what he did in the preseason. This Paul is a baller. Forget about the muffed punts and the holding penalty for now. Niles Paul stepped up and made two big plays in the 4th quarter, when the Huskers absolutely had to have them to make a game of it, with the entire receiving corps in the midst of their biggest disappearing act of the year (and that's saying something). First, he torched freshman DB Robert Steeples on a post route, hauled in Zac Lee's finest pass of the game, and easily outran safety Jarrell Harrison, who had to come from the other side when Jasper Simmons bit on a short route. The touchdown snapped Husker fans and players alike out of a vicious stupor, and it seemed to flip a switch on the Nebraska sideline. Paul's next play carried a bit larger degree of difficulty. He worked around Kevin Rutland's outside shoulder and got airborne just in time to snare another Lee spiral before the oncoming safety could interfere. Once the Huskers took the lead with that play, it was all but over. No matter what happens in his career, Niles Paul will always have last night in Columbia. Just please stop catching every punt.

The cornerbacks - Getting pressure from the front four helped, but this group was the other big factor in shutting down Mizzou's passing game. Prince Amukamara, Dejon Gomes, and Alfonzo Dennard all have the speed and instincts to stick with burners like Danario Alexander, and they have the timing to make plays on seemingly-open receivers. Support in the run game was excellent as well, including clutch TFLs from Gomes and Dennard to help salt away the win. Unfortunately, the one thing they don't have is receiving skills (no major suprise), with Gomes the only one who could hang onto a pass. Prince dropped an easy pick, and he committed a face mask penalty, but he also looked like the best player of the bunch. Inconsistent in the past, I loved seeing him on top of his game in a tough environment. But credit really goes to the entire unit, and even Larry Asante and the safeties, for effective pass prevention against a play-making offense.

Zac Lee - Who does he remind you of with those crazy antics? I was thinking The Riddler. He's a very weird dude, and I mean that in the best way. Would I mean that in a good way if he'd lost? You know, probably not. Yes, I talked about wanting Cody Green in, maybe just for a series, maybe just try to run a little option. Was it madness? Frustration? Would it really work? No, it probably wouldn't. But that's how bad Zac Lee was for three wet, depressing quarters. It was a worse performance than Lee submitted at Virginia Tech. This was not a Bud Foster defense. This was just Lee missing open receivers, on short throws even, and he was also non-existent as a runner. But then, late in the game, when all seemed lost and Green was on the doorstep, a receiver got separation, a safety jumped an underneath route, and Zac Lee found it in him to make the throw of his life. And then, what do you know? He made the throw of his life again a few plays later. Then he found his tight end under pressure to seal the deal, and he stood facing the Husker sideline, posed, with his arms stretched wide, his jubilation radiating outward through all of Husker Nation. Those throws from Zac Lee, plus a big play from a very big man, are what won a crucial road game on a miserable night in Misery.

It's come time to choose a temporary rooting interest for this year's playoffs. As Royals fans, we've had longer to think about this than most. The following are my personal slants, but in some cases I believe they are common among most Royals fans.

The AL Central winner is generally unappealing, not because of any serious rivalry or hatred, but because they're just not that damn interesting. Except for the White Sox. I will never root for the White Sox, even against the Yankees. Cleveland is more of an annoyance than anything, and the Twins are distasteful (though I do envy them). The Tigers are neutral to me, perhaps because the KC got the better of them many times in the days when the Royals weren't a joke. They were also quite awful themselves just a few years ago, which always wins sympathy with me.

The Twins play the Yankees, that's an easy choice. Yes, I'm what you'd call a Yankee Hater, but aren't we all? I guess one thing is I have the T-shirt. I will mildly root for Joba when he starts because I am a Husker at heart. But the news that Brian Duensing, another former Husker, will start for the Twins today solidifies my support.

I liked the Red Sox in '04 because a good friend was from Boston and I followed them alongside him. It was fun, but I have distanced myself from those times. The Angels are the most non-threatening professional team ever (think about it), and I give them points for sustaining success with a somewhat original style of play. That's rare these days. Go Angels.

Twins or Angels? Angels won most recently. Twins won more often. Angels have less history. Twins are in the Central.

It's close. But the Twinsare in the Central. And the Angels did take a ring off Barry Bonds' finger. Go Angels!

How do you decide who to root for? Who are you taking this year?

Recaps

The big news this week was Virginia Tech (3-1) handling Miami (FL) easily on a wet day in Blacksburg, 31-7. The Canes came in with the reputation as the hottest team in the country, and while that was clearly a bit overblown, Miami is still a legitimate Top 20 team with a lot of speed on offense. Tech played the same game they always do: power running, stingy pass defense, and excellent special teams. The Huskers didn't have to deal with poor weather along with a tough defense, but they did look a lot better than the Canes did. Virginia Tech, after playing one of the toughest schedules in the country through four games, looks like a legitimate Top 10 team and has to be considered the early ACC favorite. All this should help increase the confidence of a Nebraska team that knows they outplayed the Hokies. The only question mark so far is the suspect Hokie run defense; was Nebraska just the first of many teams to exploit a weak unit, or are the numbers still skewed by the Bama game? Tech did shut down a rugged Miami ground attack.

Florida Atlantic fell to 0-3 with a close conference loss to Louisiana-Monroe. It's tough to tell how good either team is: FAU's other two losses are to NU and South Carolina, while ULM's lost to Texas and Arizona State and got their only win against an awful FCS team. Offense wasn't a problem for the Owls as QB Rusty Smith continues to put up big numbers, but they gave up 8.3 yards per pass attempt and couldn't get many stops. More importantly, Florida Atlantic looks like a team that will always rack up the yardage, which is a good sign for the Blackshirts.

The other Sun Belt opponent also suffered a close loss, as Troy used a late touchdown to edge Arkansas State (1-2) in an offensive show. It was also another reason to take Zac Lee's early performance this season with a grain of salt. Troy shredded the Red Wolves' pass defense for 373 yards (although no play went longer than 29 yards), and we're talking about a team that scored only 14 points against Bowling Green. ASU's offense peformed poorly by its standards, and it'll need to bounce back if the Wolves are going to be any good this year. On a brighter note, the run defense has been very good thus far, which seems to explain Roy Helu's mediocre outing against it.

Offensive Stats

Florida Atlantic: 48th total, 28th passing, 83rd rushing

Arkansas State: 72nd total, 100th passing, 37th rushing

Virginia Tech: 79th total,115th passing, 16th rushing

Louisiana-Lafayette: 91st total, 74th passing, 74th rushing

Defensive Stats

Virginia Tech: 38th total, 22nd passing, 91st rushing

Arkansas State: 68th total, 102nd passing, 25th rushing

Louisiana-Lafayette: 84th total, 78th passing, 78th rushing

Florida Atlantic: 111th total, 73rd passing, 116th rushing

Next Week

Florida Atlantic vs. Wyoming: Both teams seem quite awful, so this one's a toss-up.

Arkansas State @ (13) Iowa: Don't think Iowa has to worry about a letdown here.

(6) Virginia Tech @ Duke: Why is Duke in a BCS conference again? Mark down a win for Tech.

Louisiana-Lafeyette is idle: Probably for the best.