the real key to Texas success will be their ability to run the ball. They haven’t done it well for a few years now, the excuse being that Colt McCoy could carry them through, but reality is that their offensive line is full of good players, but without the nastiness required to establish a quality run game.

Otherwise, if they can’t run the ball well, it’s going to be open season on Gilbert.

For all that Husker fans are anticipating the big game on 16 October, the vote totals are looking decidedly Longhorn-ish at the moment. Who’s voting in this thing? Do we really think it’s not gonna happen? (For the record, I voted NU in a squeaker)

Good luck huskers. Beat Texas.

Looking forward to seeing a PSU NU game in Beaver Stadium

And I really think that Jon Johnston said it best. It will really depend on the strength of our running game. If we are able to run the ball, I think our defense is good enough that we can go undefeated and return to the NC game. However, if the run game stalls, it will be interesting to see what Greg Davis does. Do you keep GG under center and stick with the I-formation and Ace formation? Or do you put him in the shotgun to give him more time?

If we haven’t figured out a way to run the ball by the OU game, chalk OU and Nebraska up as losses.

That being said, I have a feeling that this Texas team is similar to the 2008 one, with expectations being lower than in previous years. I think they are going to surprise some people.

and ended up going with UT in a squeaker. I think these two teams will be very similar overall, with outstanding defenses and offenses with some question marks. Texas’s issues will stem, as others have said, from a lack of experience, as most of the key pieces of last year’s aerial show are now gone. Nebraska…well I don’t need to go into our questions on offense.

Overall, I’d be stunned if either team goes north of 24, and I’m betting on a game somewhat like last year’s. Texas has been magical in close games with Nebraska the last decade, so I’m taking them. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Frankly I’m going to miss Nebraska in the conference and I’m surprised there aren’t more Huskers fans lamenting the loss of traditional rivals like Kansas and Oklahoma — if you don’t meet them in the championship game this year, when will those two teams play again? No more Oklahoma-Nebraska isn’t good for college football. And even though the Huskers’ record against Texas hasn’t been what Nebraska fans would hope, they’ve all been crackerjack contests. And we’ll all acknowledge that until recently the NU program has been a shadow of its former self. Seems like our dance partner is leaving right when the music is starting to get good.

Looking at the Huskers schedule I can see why this game was circled — what other contest comes close? But for the Horns, the game two weeks earlier against Oklahoma will always be the most important of the year. Remember that this season UT will be coming off a brutal 3-game stretch: at Texas Tech (always a tough place to win), vs. UCLA (should be a win but should also be a test), and the RRR (against a very motivated Oklahoma team hungry for revenge). Then an off week.

Here’s a Longhorn Truism: The Horns are always a different team after they play Oklahoma. Those teams expose each others’ weaknesses better than anyone else, and difference-makers are discovered. Last season it was the emergence of Marquise Goodwin (remember that name, Husker fans) and the realization that the Texas O-line had trouble with dominant, athletic DTs (something Husker fans know very well).

So I will defer my vote in this poll till after the OU game next season. An undefeated Longhorn team, to my mind, stands a better-than-even chance of getting upset in Lincoln. But if the Horns lose in Dallas, I predict they take out their frustrations on Nebraska in the last meeting between these two stories programs. After that, we’ll miss you. Send a postcard from Big 10 Country.