SB Nation User Blog: corn blight

Nebraska vs Kansas Coverage Map for ABC/ESPN

corn blight — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:10:50 -0000

Nebraska vs Kansas Coverage Map for ABC/ESPN

No reverse mirror stuff happening this week, so I'm guessing many of us will be buying GamePlan. If not, be sure to stop by for our game thread this Saturday so you can follow the action!

Under the Hood: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Kansas Jayhawks Statistical Comparison: Embrace the Chaos

corn blight — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:10:58 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

We're coming for you...... (or not, I really don't know).

Browse more photos »

In some ways, these are useless articles at this point in the season. We know that Nebraska's offense is a mess. Dirk Chatelain's article points that out in ways that resemble being murdered with a blunt instrument.

We know that Nebraska's defense is outstanding..... well... you and I know that. Last night I called into EDSBS Live, talking to BON's Peter Bean and EDSBS's Orson, and heard the comment that Nebraska's defense (paraphrased) is merely pedestrian. After all, we play in the Big 12 North...... and therefore whatever we have to offer when compared to the mighty Florida and Texas squads must pale in comparison. Bastards.

I'll continue with the "Under the Hood" articles in the current format because some day we will look back on this and laugh, and the ability to put a stake in the ground is important when you're a few years down the road.

The theme on last night's EDSBS live was chaos - whether or not fans were rooting for chaos to occur (rather than the natural order of things, which... of course, is Florida vs Texas if you're Bean/Swindle) as if that could harm the monstrosity that is the BCS.

On my call, I subtlety pointed out that Nebraska is the only Big 12 North team capable of beating Texas. (This of course elicited the defense "ain't that great" comment by Bean.) Nebraska is capable of creating massive chaos by accomplishing that feat...... of course, Nebraska is also capable of losing the next three games.... that "kick a field goal on first down" joke from a few weeks ago isn't so funny any more.

What's going to happen against Kansas? Who knows. No one knows. That is chaos - specifically, a state lacking order or predictability. Most see it as a bad thing, which I've always found puzzling. If everything is predictable, isn't that the most boring life imaginable? Is that what people really want - a boring life? Perhaps.....

Husker fans may do well to embrace chaos as a friend for the rest of this season. It could be beautiful - think of it - if we can win the Big 12 North and somehow manage to beat Texas, then a lowly, disrespected half of a conference would take a BCS bowl, bringing howls and cries to the rest of the nation.

Or it could be horrific, beating beaten by Kansas, Kansas State, or Colorado (or any combination), losing the North, going to a lesser bowl game and knowing that the best defense this century was wasted because the offense couldn't be counted on to score ten points.

If I were in charge (and I mean, really really in charge) and I offered you a choice:

- Nebraska beats Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado, but for compensation for that favor must lose to Texas in the Big 12 title game.

- Nebraska's fate is it's own, with the chance to beat Texas in the Big 12 title game.

Which would you choose? Order? Or Chaos?

Offensive Statistics

Nebraska Kansas

Rush YPG 145.56 (63/6) 127.78 (86/8)

Rush YPC 4.34 (50/4) 3.77 (88/9)

Rush TDS 13 (73/10) 17 (34/6)

Pass YPG 201.4 (77/10) 303.8 (8/2)

Pass YPA 6.8 (80/10) 7.4 (49/5)

Pass TDS 13 (63/8) 17 (27/5)

Pass Efficiency 126.49 (71/9) 137.13 (38/5)

Total Offense 347.0 (84/11) 431.6 (24/3)

	Nebraska	Kansas
Rush YPG	145.56 (63/6)	127.78 (86/8)
Rush YPC	4.34 (50/4)	3.77 (88/9)
Rush TDS	13 (73/10)	17 (34/6)

Pass YPG	201.4 (77/10)	303.8 (8/2)
Pass YPA	6.8 (80/10)	7.4 (49/5)
Pass TDS	13 (63/8)	17 (27/5)
Pass Efficiency	126.49 (71/9)	137.13 (38/5)

Total Offense	347.0 (84/11)	431.6 (24/3)

Defensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Kansas
Rush YPG	93.33 (9/3)	117.67 (35/7)
Rush YPC	2.66 (5/2)	3.58 (46/8)
Rush TDS	5 (9/3)	15 (76/11)

Pass YPG	179.6 (21/2)	227.2 (69/4)
Pass YPA	5.3 (5/2)	6.3 (33/5)
Pass TDS	3 (1/1)	12 (55/8)

Total Defense	272.9 (11/3)	344.9 (47/7)
Scoring Defense	10.3 (2/1)	24.2 (62/8)

Nebraska vs Opponent Positional Ranks

Total Offense Rank	Nebraska Opponent	Total Defense Rank	Total Offense Rank	Kansas	Total Defense Rank
11	Florida Atlantic	113	-	Northern Colorado	-
94	Arkansas State	48	54	UTEP	115
70	@Virginia Tech	23	65	Duke	28
81	UL-Lafayette	88	26	Southern Miss	64
56	@Missouri	45	69	Iowa State	94
5	Texas Tech	56	111	Colorado	74
69	Iowa State	94	32	Oklahoma	9
75	@Baylor	91	5	Texas Tech	56
32	Oklahoma	9	79	Kansas State	43
54.78	Average	63	55.13	Average	60.38

Nebraska vs Oklahoma - Game Action Photos (Part II)

corn blight — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:50:40 -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 Safety Matt O'Hanlon is Big 12 Player of the Week, Kicker/Punter Alex Henery Ignored

corn blight — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:09:05 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Henery - a masterful weapon overlooked by most.

Browse more photos »

The Big 12 selected Matt O'Hanlon as Defensive Player of the Week yesterday. It wasn't that difficult a selection. O'Hanlon tied a school record for interceptions in a game, the fourth player in Nebraska history to do so. The last time this happened was 30 years ago (almost to the day), on November 10th, 1979, when Ric Lindquist intercepted three passes against Kansas State. The other two times came in the first week of November as well - Dana Stephenson against Colorado on November 1st, 1969, and Joe Blahak against Kansas State on November 14th, 1970.

O'Hanlon had a career-high 12 tackles against Oklahoma, include nine solo tackles. While his three interceptions all came in the second half, nine of his tackles were in the first half, so you might say he spent the first half getting warmed up. He stopped Oklahoma from scoring with his interceptions coming at the NU 25, NU 19, and at the NU six-yard line to seal the game.

Kicker/Punter Alex Henery had a masterful game. I'm surprised that more hasn't been written this week about him. He was not selected as Big 12 Special Teams player this week. Texas A&M's Cyrus Gray got that honor for returning a kick 99 yards for a touchdown, and another for 45 yards for the Aggies final score in a game in which they lost to Colorado. I guess it's more important that you score rather than recognize the value of field position in a field position-based game.

Fans don't recognize the value of punting as easily as they would O'Hanlon's interceptions, but as far as the game went, they were just as valuable. Henery consistently punted the Huskers out of trouble, and for the most part kept Oklahoma's dangerous playmaker Ryan Broyles out of the game. Henery had two punts downed inside the 20, including the 66-yarder (mentioned in the postgame overreaction article) that flipped field position in Nebraska's favor. He would have had two more punts inside the 20 had it not been for returns.

Here's Henery's work as a punter against Oklahoma (I only listed return yardage where the ball moved past the 20):

from the 16 for 43 yards
from the 11 for 44 yards
from the 30 for 35 yards
from the 32 for 66 yards, downed at the two-yard line
from the OU 42 for 34 yards, downed at the eight-yard line
from the 31 for 39 yards - out of bounds at the OU 30
from the 40 for 43 yards to the OU 17, returned to the 29-yard line.
from the 11 for 48 yards to the OU 41
from the 27 for 44 yards to the OU 29, out of bounds
from the 33 for 42 yards to the OU 25
from the 41 for 43 yards to the OU 16, returned 35 yards to the NU 49-yard line.

His performance against Oklahoma gives him 19 punts downed inside the 20 this season. He was leading the Big 12 in that category before the game (Still is, depending upon whether you go by number or percentage).

Unfortunately, Henery broke his streak of 25 straight field goals of less than 50 yards when he missed a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter. He did hit a 28-yarder in the third quarter to extend Nebraska's lead. Between the two field goals he is 12-for-15 on the season and 38-for-44 for his career.

Henery is an incredible weapon on a team desperately looking for them. He deserves more recognition than he's getting.

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon Is Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

corn blight — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:33:57 -0000

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon Is Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

Matt O'Hanlon gets selected as the Bronko Nagurski defensive player of the week, Three interceptions and 12 tackles will do that for you. See, Crick, Jared, Suh, Ndamukong.

Nebraska vs Oklahoma - Game Action In Photos by Dennis Hubbard

corn blight — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:55:04 -0000

Professional photographer Dennis Hubbard provides us with some great shots of action against Oklahoma. Hubbard does a pretty darned good job. Makes you wonder about all the ones he keeps for himself.... right???? Ha!

Roy, looking for the ball, obviously.

The Big Man.... btw, if you think that grabbing someone is holding, that would be no. They let them use their hands like this on the inside. As long as their hands don't get to the outside, they're fine.

Roy Helu looked pretty darned good in this game, better than he had in weeks.

Tim Marlowe.....

I haven't seen much comment yet this week on the Lee vs Green situation. Husker Mike mentioned it, but not many comments here.
.

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma Animated Drive Chart

corn blight — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:11:43 -0000

FULL SCREEN VERSION

CBS Sports Blog Poll Week 10 - November Starts to Eliminate the Weiners

corn blight — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:16:59 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Stanford is ranked????? That ought to tell you how weird a season this is.

Browse more photos »

Yes, weiners. Not losers, but those teams that just aren't going to have the guts and the depth to make it. By this time, teams should be playing their best and making statements.

- I'm ranking Navy... and not just because they did us all a favor by knocking off Notre Dame.... okay, maybe that has something to do with it. Was I thinking about Notre Dame when I picked the "weiner" headline? Yes. Yes, I was. They are weiners, especially offensive genius Charlie Weis. Come to think of it, Lou Holtz is a weiner too.

- USC didn't lose, but thinking about it further, they suck, at least by USC standards. So, despite beating Arizona State, they're dropping.

- Which of the undefeated non-BCS teams is the best? Between TCU, Cinncinati, and Boise State, I'm picking TCU.Oh... yeah, the Big East IS a BCS conference. Kind of.

- Pittsburgh higher than Miami? Yeah, for now. They'll meet up with Cincy to determine Big East leader.

- Should LSU drop further? They played Alabama pretty tough, but it's not like the SEC has any great offenses, so every game looks tough.

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Alabama
4	TCU	4
5	Boise State	1
6	Cincinnati
7	Georgia Tech	3
8	Ohio State	6
9	Pittsburgh	7
10	Miami (Florida)	5
11	Utah	2
12	Oklahoma State	7
13	Houston	5
14	LSU	5
15	Southern Cal	3
16	Arizona	4
17	Penn State	6
18	Oregon	11
19	Iowa	14
20	Wisconsin	2
21	Virginia Tech	3
22	Brigham Young	3
23	West Virginia
24	Navy
25	Stanford
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma (#17), Notre Dame (#21), California (#23).

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

corn blight — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:19:44 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

That look says it all......

View full size photo »

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 Cornhuskers vs. Oklahoma Sooners - Game Thread

corn blight — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:03:36 -0000

Welcome to your game day open thread - please join us for comments and conversation about the Nebraska Cornhusker and the Oklahoma Sooners!

To post, you need to create an account by clicking on the 'Sign Up" button at the upper left. All you need is an email address. Here's a complete explanation of the process, including how to use some Hot Keys to more easily navigate the comment system.

Once you join Corn Nation, you're free to join any other SB Nation blog with the same account. SB Nation has around 220 sports sites, so that's a whole lot of access through one account.

If you need more incentive, accounts are free!!

Time: 7:00 pm Central

Internet-Streaming Audio: Huskers.com

Television: ABC/ESPN - Coverage Map after the jump

Radio: Affiliates

Live Stats

Opponent Blog: Crimson and Cream Machine

I would wake up screaming...... Photo by Dennis Hubbard

Next Game

Oklahoma Sooners
@ Nebraska Cornhuskers

Saturday, Nov 7, 2009, 7:00 PM CST
Memorial Stadium

Nebraska and Oklahoma - Just Old Friends Getting Together Again.....

posted by Cobby 1 day ago

2 comments | 1 rec

Q&A With An Oklahoma Sooner Expert

posted by corn blight 1 day ago

0 comments | 0 recs

posted by Husker Mike 1 day ago

4 comments | 0 recs

Complete Coverage >

Coverage Map

Nebraska Statistics

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Cody Green	5	60.0	31	54	57.4	313	62.6	5.8	2	2	16	123	24.6	7.7	2	-	-
Zac Lee	7	93.0	118	197	59.9	1461	208.7	7.4	10	6	43	73	10.4	1.7	0	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Rex Burkhead	5	23	118	23.6	5.1	1	8	66	13.2	8.3	1
Ben Cotton	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	10	3.3	5	0
Cody Green	5	16	123	24.6	7.7	2	0	0	0	0	0
Roy Helu Jr	8	119	668	83.5	5.6	6	16	134	16.8	8.4	0
Austin Jones	4	6	15	3.8	2.5	0	1	2	.500	2	0
Zac Lee	7	43	73	10.4	1.7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marcus Mendoza	3	4	10	3.3	2.5	0	6	40	13.3	6.7	0
Collins Okafor	1	1	9	9	9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Niles Paul	8	2	28	3.5	14	1	28	413	51.6	14.8	3
Dontrayevous Robinson	2	28	138	69	4.9	2	3	22	11	7.3	0
Lester Ward	2	8	24	12	3	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Antonio Bell	1	1	3	3	3	0
Chris Brooks	5	13	177	35.4	13.6	1
Rex Burkhead	5	8	66	13.2	8.3	1
Wes Cammack	1	1	2	2	2	0
Khiry Cooper	4	9	67	16.8	7.4	1
Ben Cotton	3	2	10	3.3	5	0
Curenski Gilleylen	7	16	299	42.7	18.7	1
Roy Helu Jr	8	16	134	16.8	8.4	0
Will Henry	1	1	1	1	1	0
Ryan Hill	1	1	7	7	7	0
Menelik Holt	6	15	175	29.2	11.7	1
Austin Jones	4	1	2	.500	2	0
Brandon Kinnie	2	4	32	16	8	0
Mike McNeill	7	16	182	26	11.4	3
Marcus Mendoza	3	6	40	13.3	6.7	0
Niles Paul	8	28	413	51.6	14.8	3
Kyler Reed	5	5	52	10.4	10.4	0
Dontrayevous Robinson	2	3	22	11	7.3	0
Dreu Young	2	2	61	30.5	30.5	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Alex Henery	8	-	-	-	-	-	11	14	80.0%	26	26	100.0%	59

SB Nation User Blog: corn blight

Nebraska vs Kansas Coverage Map for ABC/ESPN

Nebraska vs Kansas Coverage Map for ABC/ESPN

Under the Hood: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Kansas Jayhawks Statistical Comparison: Embrace the Chaos

Offensive Statistics

Defensive Statistics

Nebraska vs Opponent Positional Ranks

Nebraska vs Oklahoma - Game Action Photos (Part II)

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon is Big 12 Player of the Week, Kicker/Punter Alex Henery Ignored

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon Is Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon Is Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

Nebraska vs Oklahoma - Game Action In Photos by Dennis Hubbard

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma Animated Drive Chart

CBS Sports Blog Poll Week 10 - November Starts to Eliminate the Weiners

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

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Oklahoma Sooners - Game Thread

Next Game

Nebraska and Oklahoma - Just Old Friends Getting Together Again.....

Q&A With An Oklahoma Sooner Expert

Coverage Map

Nebraska Statistics

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Kicking

Oklahoma Statistics Aren't Working....