Hey members of the Corn Nation!  It’s been a while since I’ve chimed in, but with Turkey Day behind me, I look forward to stepping out into the sunshine and chatting with you all more often.  The team was looking at Colorado with a lot of attitude and swagger (swagger like us, (swagger) swagger like us) which I’m glad to see, but I think that dipped into the dangerous level of overconfidence.  Still, after being down 14-0, I at no point felt that all was lost.  I think we’ve reached a point where a 14 point deficit does not scare fans anymore barring that there’s not 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter. 

The seniors get to go out on a positive note and while the game was incredibly entertaining (read: tight) and came down to two fantastic plays (thank you Alex Henery and Ndamukong “Yeah, I do this every week” Suh), I would’ve liked to have seen Beau Davis get a few snaps in just to make up for the Massacre in Lubbock back in 2004.  Seriously, the guy’s stuck through the program knowing he was more than likely never going to get a shot.  Isn’t that worth a snap or two in junk time?

I give Colorado all of the credit in the world.  They came to play and they had to.  Their team was dinged up, a bowl bid was on the line much like last year and also much like last year Nebraska was standing in their way.  Unfortunately, 2008 Nebraska feels a little bit better about themselves than 2007 Nebraska. 

Roy Helu gets the start and it was bittersweet as while Roy is the future and a guy I think has the potential to be Nebraska’s next great I-Back, Marlon Lucky, a guy who has done a ton for the program and a guy who, in my opinion, will never get the props he deserves had to stand on the sidelines with turf toe.  A big thank you goes out to both Roy and Marlon, the former for his performance on the field and the latter for everything he has done as a Husker.  I sincerely hope that we get to see them both in the bowl game.

On that note...BOWL GAME!  Now, where are the Cornhuskers going to end up? I’m going to perch myself on the limb and say the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville where they face FSU.  A great throwback game, FSU usually puts up a good fight in their bowl games (pay no attention to what you saw against Florida please) and beating a Florida team, especially one of the Big Three, in Florida would be a major recruiting tool in the off-season. 

Regardless of where or whom the Cornhuskers play, there’s no doubt that Bo will be working his charges as if they’re playing for the national title.  A 9-4 season would be a fantastic opening campaign for Pelini and again a great recruiting tool.  Yes, I’ve mentioned recruiting twice and there’s a reason for that.  In the upcoming weeks and months, I plan to focus a little bit more on recruiting than anything else because not only do I have a passion for it but it allows me to slack until early February regarding what to write.

This regular season has had its ups and its downs, but overall, much like the past two home games against Kansas and Colorado, it’s been a fun rollercoaster.

In watching the Kansas State-Nebraska game once more, I decided to do so from a different perspective.  Sure, I enjoyed seeing the plays ran again, but it was how they were ran and how eerily familiar this was.  In a year where Michigan is not only staying home for the holidays but having their worst season since they began playing which I believe is somewhere between the fall of Rome and the founding of the United States, Kansas State reminds me of us one year ago: they just didn't care.

The current Cornhuskers, however, are playing with a sense of pride on both sides of the ball, Ndamukong Suh only gains confidence and thusly the eye of every offensive coordinator he faces with each passing game and Joe Ganz throws for 300 yards much like many of us mow the lawn during the time when it’s green.  It’s gone well every week before, so let’s bring out the key ring and have a look:

1.) Stop Josh Freeman – Well big checkmark next to that one.  Freeman was held to a 7 of 18 day with one long bomb TD of 63 yards helping him to a whopping 114 yards passing.  Husker Mike and I are in agreement on two things: Josh Freeman is not a legitimate NFL prospect and if I were a KSU fan, I’d be getting on the Chase Coffman bandwagon yesterday.  As went Freeman, so went KSU and the shame of it is that if properly cultivated, Freeman would be an absolute beast quite possibly as efficient and dominant as Tim Tebow or at least a quarterback in that vein.

Against Nebraska, however, Freeman is still winless after shunning them for the soon-to-be-departed Ron Prince.  He has broken record after record at Kansas State, but aside from him and his coach beating Texas twice, what he has truly achieved?  Under Bill Snyder, this young man could’ve been special but under Ron Prince, his time spent at Kansas State was a waste of both his and everyone else’s within the program.  It’s hard to be #1 when you go 0-3 against a team you turned your back on.

2.) Infuriate Ron Prince – On Friday when the Keys to the Game article was published, I actually thought about this one in particular and asked myself if this was possible.  Prince probably already has his bags packed, so why would he be infuriated?  What’s the point in being mad when you have no reason to express extreme emotion?  What’s going to happen?  He could’ve won his last two games 100-0 and it wouldn't matter.

As the saying goes more often than not a team will emulate the personality of their coach and Kansas State looked downright depressed.  It seemed like half the team didn’t even want to be there and once the heat got ratcheted up, it wasn’t pathetic, it was sad.  KSU players got decked and dropped like flies, Nebraska fans took over Bill Snyder Family Stadium and once the final whistle blew Prince and his team looked like visitors wearing their home uniform.

3.) Blitz – I wouldn’t say a ton of blitzing occurred because quite honestly it wasn't necessary.  Four sacks, three forced fumbles, eight tackles for loss, it was unruly.  Truly this KSU team is lost and nothing short of Bill Snyder returning or a Mark Mangino coaching effort will save this program.  Right now KSU looks like their old 1988 selves and while I love to watch Nebraska pound a team into their own turf, it’s a little more entertaining when they, you know, try.

In Summary: Nebraska kicked the snot out of Kansas State and has completed the second chapter in the Quest to Become 3-0 in Their Last Three Games.  The Colorado Buffaloes come to Lincoln and I don’t like their chances much.  I think it’ll be closer than this contest because their coach has a future and a team that can make plays happen, but I see Nebraska pulling out a closer one.  I’m thinking 7-14 points myself which would be fine leading into a pretty darn good bowl for a first year coach.

Husker Mike and I agreed on two premises when it came to KSU’s QB situation, but there’s one thing I do wish to speak out on. Two outta three ain't bad, though:

“Nebraska had to insert yet another freshman walk-on into the game at linebacker.  Matthew May moved from safety to linebacker, and entered the game after Blake Lawrence suffered a concussion.  So now we've seen walk-ons Tyler Wortman, Matt Holt, Colton Koehler, and May (not to mention converted I-back Cody Glenn) all having to fill the void created by bad recruiting.”

Unfortunately, Jax, what you saw with Mr. May was not the result of bad recruiting.  Far from it, in fact.  No one can honestly tell me that Will Compton couldn’t have played well this entire year if they watched him during last.  Very few redshirts were burned.  I think maybe two or three out of a crop of what?  20+?  Pelini has been using the cards that are on the table that are either expendable or have to be used due to no more redshirts being available.

This is both a good and bad thing in my eyes.  Good because it states that Pelini’s schemes are able to take advantage of the players he inserts while masking deficiencies and bad in how Nebraska is sending a vibe out that says “We don’t play true freshman a lot.”  That’s not something several top recruits want to hear, but at the same time I do praise the staff as the team has improved as the season progressed and really isn’t that all we ask for aside from yearly nine win seasons and a national title in every decade?

To Jax I say bad recruiting?  No sir.  A fantastic amount of talent waiting in the wings?  Most definitely.

Time to go beat our non-rivalriest of non-rivals.

Ron Prince is on everybody’s mind, the last road game of the season is upon us and people are talking about Josh Freeman.  Yup, it’s K-State week.  I felt that Nebraska would go 3-0  and so far so good.  The Wildcats don’t put the fear of God into me nor should they.  Given, Cody Glenn is suspended, but the front four have been playing like their hair is on fire what with intercepting passes and catching touchdowns.  If Josh Freeman stays in the pocket, he’ll get eaten for lunch which when playing against Ndamukong Suh or Mark Mangino isn’t exactly outside the realm of possibility.  Enough with the schoolyard taunts.

1.)  Stop Josh Freeman – I could stop here but that wouldn’t make for much of an article, would it?  Freeman is the heart and soul of this team (what’s left of it anyway) and if he’s stopped dead in his tracks, Nebraska will cruise.  Right now Ron Prince is comfortably nestled between a rock and a hard place.  He has no way to escape dismissal. He knows it, the players know it and when a downtrodden coach starts to rub off onto his players when hosting a coach with a mad as hell defense that just got awarded Blackshirts for the first time in his tenure come to visit, bad things are bound to happen.

Freeman’s always been a talent but he still has not been brought along properly.  He’s got natural ability, but I still don’t see refined mechanics just instinct and a good call every now and again.  I’m sure he’ll burn the safeties deep and get the short routes between a linebacker or two, but if he starts running for his life, KSU will be done from that point on.

2.) Infuriate Ron Prince – Last year’s mud-stomping of Kansas State in Lincoln is going to be used as fodder for Kansas State’s pre-game psych up.  The problem is if Nebraska can continue that sort of rout one year later or at least appear to start revving that engine, Prince is going to get livid in a hurry and make stupid calls.  You know, what am I talking about?  It’s Ron Prince.  The guy’s made of stupid calls.  He makes Frank Solich look like Knute Rockne.

3.) Blitz – I don’t have a lot of faith in Freeman’s line and he shouldn’t either.  This is a game in which I would blitz the ever loving hell out of Larry Asante because we all know he wants to put a hurting on someone and I can’t think of anyone better than Text Boy.  Suh, Potter, Allen and the big dogs up from should be able to part the KSU O-line like the Red…er…Purple Sea and even Tyler Wortman and Blake Lawrence could look All-Big XII if the defense plays like they did against Kansas.

In Summary: Nebraska has the potential to make these next two games look similar to 2007.  A year ago Kansas State was shell-shocked.  It wasn’t Nebraska vs. Kansas State, it was Nebraska vs. Jordy Nelson.  Jordy is gone and soon Ron Prince will be, too.  The Cornhuskers want style points going into the bowl and the second chapter of 3-0 involves turning Manhattan, Kansas into ground zero of a megaton blast.

For those of you who were not in attendance or watching yesterday’s game: I feel sorry for you. The game itself ran like a children’s book. This happened and…and then this happened and and then, well you get the idea. From the no-look toss fakes to the Wildcat Formation, Mark Mangino and his crew got outcoached. Instead of keys to this game, Bo and his bunch just kicked the door down.

1.) Bring the “Hyde” out of Reesing – Coming into the game, a lot of people I spoke to (or just talked at me and I chose to ignore) went on about how Reesing was going to carve the secondary up like a Thanksgiving turkey, but thanks to the defensive line having its best game of the year (See: Suh, Ndamukong) that was far from the case. Suh may be the Man of No True Position what with playing fullback and catching touchdown passes aside from enveloping quarterbacks, but he wasn’t the only guy doing damage.

Zach Potter put his hands out in a heads up play and snagged one of Reesing’s passes, Pierre Allen got all up in his grill even Tyler Wortman and Eric Hagg got in on the anti-yard-retention effort against the Jayhawks. Forget Reesing, I think the “Hyde” got brought out of the Blackshirts and it was pretty to watch.

2.) It’s Either Lucky or Helu – BZZZZT. Quentin Castille must’ve had duct tape and a football in one hand this week which was promptly removed before game time. Admittedly during every one of his impressive runs I was saying, “Hold onto the ball” in repetition until the whistle. I can apparently do that very quickly, but that’s not the point. Castille is a force, but again when holding onto the ball. I was surprised to see Lucky cough it up for what I believe was the first time this season. Watching him run though, I can’t be led to believe he’s 100%

What I believe we are witnessing here though is a passing of the torch. I don’t think Marlon will ever get the credit due for what he’s actually done as many compared him to the next Reggie Bush and thought national titles would ensue with his signing, but unfortunately NU’s OL is not as good as USC’s and ain’t gonna be for a while. Fingers crossed it is some day though. That said it’s obvious that Roy Helu is the future and the only major aspect of his game that needs to be fine-tuned his is catching. Other than that he has an insane ability to cut while running a straight north-south line. With 115 yards and two touchdowns punctuated with a 52 yard long run and hurdling tacklers, Nebraska has seen the future at I-back and it wears #10

3.) Keep Bo Happy – Bo’s demeanor was a complete 180 from Oklahoma. He acted like your standard Division 1-A coach which impressed me for several reasons. It shows that he actually cares how he represents himself and understands where his temper can get him. As a matter of fact, I thought it was not only appropriate but hilarious when Bo went after the refs the most he had Memorial Stadium screaming just as loudly! It was kinda fun. I see why he gets into it.  

For those who visit the site and were thinking that perhaps Mike Eckler is in the doghouse, I wish you could’ve seen Eck and his players on the sideline yesterday. I think he could move into a DC slot some day and he doesn’t just handle the ‘backers when it comes to spreading the love. He gets into every aspect of the game and celebrates along with the players. I can see why he’s so good at his job from coaching to recruiting.

In Summary: I like Mark Mangino a lot and I know he’s a good coach. Definitely is good enough to beat Nebraska and was good enough to beat them yesterday, but he was out-foxed by Pelini’s crew. That’s a pretty nice feather in your cap and best of all Nebraska is officially bowl eligible. With Kansas State and Colorado coming down the pike along with a likely mid-tier Big Televen team, 9-4 looks like a distinct possibility after the toppling of Kansas. Wildcats and Buffs alike beware: The chain has been released because the Cornhuskers are now officially off it for the duration.

After a merciless pounding in Norman, Nebraska returns home to what sounds like the welcoming but chilly confines of Memorial Stadium. Their next foe: The Fightin’ Manginos! The Jayhawks offer up an honest challenge for the Huskers and many feel there’s next to no shot for the Cornhuskers to pick up a “W”. PHOOEY to that, I say! I think Nebraska has an honest chance to go 3-0 in the final stretch here. Of course it’s one game at a time so let’s talk about what needs to be done to clip the Jayhawk’s wings.

1.) Bring the “Hyde” out of Reesing – Todd Reesing is a great quarterback, but in the Big XII that seems to come standard like a CD player in a car these days. Still, he can do damage and that’s the last thing that Nebraska’s back seven wants to hear. Zach Potter, Ty Steinkuhler and Ndamukong Suh need to break through and do damage. The latter needs to have himself some monster games if he wants to succeed and find fame and fortune in the NFL. There’d be no better day to come out and slam Reesing to the turf. It’s no secret that there is a “Hyde” to his “Jekyll” and if Nebraska pulls it out of him, we could see one of the finest defensive displays of the season.

2.) It’s Lucky or Helu – Unfortunately for Quentin Castille he puts more balls on the carpet than a CEO with a cocktail glass and a putter. Right now Lucky doesn’t seem to be in the best of shape, either. I admire the guy for all he’s done, but he can only do so much. Helu is a young, raw talent who I can’t wait to see grow within the program along with many others, but regardless of how injured Lucky is, both he and Roy need to carry the rock not Castille. At this point, I’d say it’s linebacker or bust for Quentin. If Nebraska wants to win out, it can’t be with #19 carrying the rock with any less than half of a yard line to go and even that’s iffy.

3.) Keep Bo Happy – Well…Bo being “happy” is a relative term. I suppose “Keep Bo less red in the face” would be a more appropriate request. There are some aspects of Bo’s gameday attitude I really like. He’s attentive, he knows what’s going on from all angles, but he’s letting things get to him far too easily. I’d like to think he will look back on what’s happened so far and end 2008 out with a nice, solid demeanor for the most part. Hey, we can’t expect the guy to stop hollering at the refs overnight. Still, he has to reign in his temper at some point. If he doesn’t, we’re not going to get calls going our way and that can, and I can almost guarantee you will, play as a big negative recruiting point.

In Summary: Nebraska has to play focused much like they did versus Texas Tech. They’re at home and they want to put on a show for the crowd. I say let ‘em. Last week’s first play shows that obviously it’s time to go to page 26 of the playbook blind and see what your finger lands on. Start out slow, make a bit of progress then begin with the screwing of the minds. Mangino is a crafty coach and a good fella, but he can be beaten and that is one thing that Bo knows.

First, if the polls are still open and you haven’t: GET OUT AND VOTE!

Now then: Norman, Oklahoma. I spent a month there one night. One thing I’ve learned in the game of football is that when a cornerback can not only jump your quarterback’s pass but do so in stride perhaps you’ve become too predictable. That pass is Shawn Watson’s Solich moment and reports indicate he hasn’t left the shower since Sunday trying to scrub that stank off. Yes, Nebraska got clobbered and they should’ve and why? Because a team, not just an extraordinarily loaded team, a team executed well. There are other Big XII North teams that have given Oklahoma more of a fight than Nebraska did. Take Kansas State for example.

I was chatting with a good friend of mine who pointed out KSU was tied with Oklahoma at 28-28 during their game at one point. Now the Okies did score four touchdowns in seven minutes to go into half at 55-28. Why is it that Ron Prince, a man that will surely not make it through the rest of the year, can coach a team that can come back from a 21 point deficit with 3:04 left in the first quarter against a team like Oklahoma yet Bo Pelini cannot? As my friend dutifully pointed out talent can be used as an excuse for half of that argument only and he’s right.

You know what I found interesting? There’s a young man by the name of Travis Lewis on Oklahoma’s roster. Travis was down to Nebraska and Oklahoma before deciding to go to OU at the last moment. I see a lot of talented true freshman on Nebraska’s sideline. David Whitmore, Josh Williams, Cameron Meredith, Sean Fisher, Will Compton. None of these young men have played. Travis Lewis is a fantastic talent and indeed, he redshirted, but he could afford to. He plays for Oklahoma in 2008. He led the team in tackles against Nebraska last Saturday. More than half he made himself.  

I’m going to preface my following statement with this: I have no reason to dislike any player on the Nebraska roster until I hear a reason to do otherwise and you guys know that I make my dislike unknown. Vast majority of ‘em are probably great guys, I’ve gotten to meet a few really great ones, but you know what? Josh Williams would beat out Pierre Allen. Cameron Meredith would beat out Clayton Sievers. There is an answer to Larry Asante and Matt O’Hanlon and yet it’s not being scribbled down on the test that is athletic competition on Saturdays and I ask why?

If you can tell me, I’d love to know. Oh, of course the coaches play the best players, right, I forgot. So when these same guys who are not on the field beat out the same guys who are playing now next Spring then what? S&C Magic? Here’s a better question: WHEN, not if, WHEN these players beat out their competitors, what happens because they haven’t seen a down of Division 1-A football? I’ve said it before and I’ll said it again until I drop dead: Talent can only cover up so much.  

Nebraska plays Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State before travelling to Blacksburg to play the Virginia Tech Hokies and return the favor for this year before coming home to play my lovable losers, the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. Be glad. Be VERY glad because next comes Missouri in Columbia and while they may not be as good as 2008, they will be good enough to put a hurting on a team with a new starting QB and a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball.  

I think Nebraska beats Kansas, I really do. I think Nebraska goes 3-0 in these final three games, beats a mediocre Big 10 team in a hot place and goes 8-4. Decent record, but there are still many management changes that need to be made both in personnel and staff. 2008 ain’t done yet, but I can still see glaring errors a mile away. Dave Gillespie recruited for Nebraska once. I know trouble when I see it.

…what? You want me to try to spin this? Oklahoma’s got so many ways to absolutely use and abuse our secondary it’s not even funny. Okay, I understand.  It’s the interest of fairness, any given Saturday, etc. and, indeed, this team is not the same team, etc. etc. etc. Here is what has to happen for Nebraska to beat Oklahoma in Norman this Saturday:

1.) Perfect Football – This means no mistakes, no stupid penalties, no fumbles lost, no silly interceptions, no personal fouls, excellent blocking from whistle to whistle, gorgeous blitz calls, the light to come on for Larry Asante at safety and Matt Holt has the game of his life ala Brandon Rigoni.

2.) Divine Intervention – The Almighty looks down on the Sooners and for every time they have cheated (I said they, back off), for every time Sooner Magic has reared it’s ugly head, for every piggy bank Barry Switzer smashed to pay off students, for everything and anything, God himself will look down upon each and every Sooner and he will say, “I SHALL SMITE THEM!”

3.) G-Virus Outbreak – The Nebraska locker room accidentally houses a vial of the experimental G-Virus currently being developed by the Umbrella Corporation which specializes in biochemical research. The Cornhuskers knock over said vial during the pre-game psych up and are instantly mutated into horrific beasts and manifestations of nature that make every Sooner need a jock change. Post-game clean up is required and pays well.

4. Bizzaro World - The Oklahoma Sooners are kidnapped by Bizzaro Forces which have invaded Earth for approximately four hours. They don the uniforms of the Sooners but wear none of the equipment properly. They run when they should pass, pass when they should run and occasionally punt on first down. Essentially many would compare this to Frank Solich’s tenure at Nebraska except for the order in which the plays are called and lack of option carries.

In Summary: I’ll happily eat my plate of crow should Nebraska up and dethrone the Sooners, but I ain’t seein’ it happening. Still, tell me you wouldn’t pay to see any one of those four options happen.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the bar table commentary that your buddies make just about each and every time you sit down for a pint. If there’s a wedding, birthday party, bar mitzvah, etc., you can schedule it on game day and some people HAVE to be there. Not me. I have my priorities in line. Unfortunately when called into work during a Cornhusker game…the line, she is somewhat blurred.

So here I am missing my first televised and/or live game in the history of time and I can now say brothers and sisters: I feel your pain. Texting 15 people asking for score updates, having to jump to the lone computer that has access to certain sites allowing us to see scores because we all know that if we could watch tickers (and we do) that nothing would get done. It makes you wonder what Ben Franklin did when he wanted to find out college football scores from across the country.

Normally we’d go by the keys to the game for this article, but I’m going to go from a different perspective this week: The guy who had to work and is extremely pissed off that he missed watching the game. It appears I was mistaken in pushing Baylor’s RB and QB combo to the side, but what I was impressed with was the way errors in play were clamped down on in the second half by Nebraska.

As I had agreed with an individual here on Corn Nation earlier this season, this team is not be the same team that began the season. This is why I go into the next game against the Sooners with a bit of optimism. Do I expect Nebraska to win? Not necessarily, but with no pressure on their shoulders, who knows what could happen? Given when you’ve got the weaponry that Bob Stoops has in this matchup, the talent level is obviously on the side of Oklahoma. That being said I was glad to snag a win (and a safety) against Baylor as I feel that KSU and Colorado should be “W”s both.

End result if that happens: Nebraska finds itself playing in a bowl game and I think that Year One of the Bo Pelini Era can be considered a success. Cart before wagon time there, though as it’s time to concentrate on the TRUE RIVALRY, there, happy now? 

What did we learn from this week, boys and girls? Perhaps Castille needs to invest in duct tape and you’d better get used to that frickin’ song.

A second Big XII win in two games sounds really good to any team in the conference right now, but for a Nebraska team looking to build off of a dominating road win against Iowa State, it’s huge. It’s cliché to say that every game counts, but for Nebraska’s season each one most certainly does especially when gauging just how successful Year One of the Bo Pelini Era went. Of course that’ll depend who you talk to. That said, I give you the keys to beating the Bears:

1. Keep Ganz in a rhythm – It’s easy to say that I or anyone else liked what we saw last week against Iowa State, but it wasn’t so much the performance as how it was created. The system is built around its quarterback and right now Joe Ganz is the man. As long as he is humming smoothly, Nebraska has a chance to dismantle the remainder of its Big XII foes with the possible exception of the Boomer Sooners.

Joe’s been able to have the heat kept off of him which is great because if you can force him to make a decision, about four come into his mind and he’s not the best at choosing the correct one. I feel, however, that Nebraska’s offensive line can take care of Baylor to the point where Nebraska will have the freedom of being as two-dimensional as they like.

2. Lock ‘er Down – With most folks you’ll hear “Stop the run, win the game” or some variation thereof. Nebraska’s defensive line has been slowly showing improvement especially from the likes of Zach Potter who is really doing himself a service this year. I’m not so concerned with Baylor RB Jay Finley as I am with QB Robert Griffin and the WR duo of Thomas White and Kendall Wright.

If first year coach Art Briles learned anything from ISU, it’s that you need to go deep early and often on Nebraska. The only problem is that you’re going up against a coach in Bo Pelini that likes to blitz and isn’t afraid to say it to your face.

3. Go for Two! – No, not a conversion, but how about a second game where
penalties are a thing of the past? Given it’s not exactly an “Oklahoma”-type game, but sooner or later (ugh), Nebraska will have to face the Crimson and Cream. If they want a SHOT at taking down OU in Norman, mistakes are going to have to be kept to a minimum. Penalties and lest I mention fumbles will kill you. Two areas to be improved on, two areas I expect to be better vs. Baylor.

In Summary: Baylor can very easily be Iowa State II in both dominance and score in front of a friendly crowd. I feel that this team knows that and if they can execute the way that they’ve proved that they obviously can, a large margin of victory is not out of the realm of possibility. If they pull out the ol’ six-shooter and aim it at their foot, things might get a little scarier.

One of my friends at my place of employment is an Iowa State fan so as you can imagine we had some good-natured ribbing over the past week. I was curious about ISU as I hadn’t seen them play this year admittedly and was curious about their offense, how it would match up versus what the Huskers have put on the field thus far and vice versa. In regards to the offense he felt Austen Arnaud was a gamer and he was right, but he wasn’t impressed with the receiving corps. He did feel good about the running backs, however.

On defense it was a different story. When prompted about ISU’s defense he asked jokingly, “Do you guys pass much?” Well you could say that. Time to get the keys out and kick the this SPB off of the tee.

1.) K.I.S.S. – You can refer to this as “Remember the Red Raiders” – Okay, I officially like the “Nebraska Offense” which, of course, features no implements of the West Coast Offense whatsoever because that is evil and wrong. All kidding aside, let’s have a look over the numbers, shall we? 538 total yards (328 passing, 220 rushing), 7.0 yards per play average, and 37+ minutes worth of possession. Yeah we did good.  

It seems like everyone got their cake and ate it too as all three backs had at least over 65 yards with three TDs amongst them. Several receivers got in on the act including Swifty’s 100+ yard game, of course and lastly but certainly not least, Joe Ganz went 27-37 for 328, one touchdown and, that’s right folks, no picks. This works. Me likey.

2.) Remember San Jose State! – Going into the game I was concerned that ISU was going to toy with Nebraska using Arnaud and they did to an extent but far less than I ever anticipated. He had a mere 20 yards rushing and tried to use the passing game as his bread and butter but only managed 113 yards there while being sacked twice. I guess Bo remembered San Jose State. Moving on!

3.) Please…let…go – A special kudos goes out to Barney Cotton (yes, read that again. I am giving praise to Barney Cotton) and his offensive linemen who did not allow a silly thing like penalties stifle Shawn Watson’s creativity. I feel that Barney’s best line is in right now and have confidence in some rotation. I still feel Mike Huff shouldn’t see the field, but as long as he minds his manners, what the heck. Four penalties on NU still isn’t great, but it’s improvement and that’s what counts. In this case I’ll take three less for under half a football field’s length in yardage as Nebraska found themselves close to 20 first downs in the FIRST HALF.

In summary: While I much like everyone else wasn’t a fan of the severe case of Fumbilitis that was going around Ames (it is the fall/winter times, though so bring your chicken soup), it was a well played game by Nebraska on the road against a Big XII foe that they should have beaten and did so with gusto. Adjustments were made in an attempt to come back by the ‘Clones, but tweaks were made right back, there were some fantastic heads up moments by the team and that turns into a solid day at the ballpark.  

Next up come the Bears of Baylor which present a similar scenario to Iowa State except they come to the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium which will be filled to the brim with 85,000+ that will probably be pretty happy to see a little bit more of what they saw against Gene and his bunch. I think Baylor has the potential to be scrappy, but we’ll get into that a bit more this week. For now, I say we savor the win for a moment before pressing on.