Nebraska/Ohio St - This One's On Bo

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Last week's 48-17 defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers was the worst loss in Bo Pelini's career with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

It wasn't just the defense's inability to stop the Badgers offense. It was that the team basically quit after T-Mart's interception to begin the second half. After limiting the Badgers running game to mild success in the first half (Wisconsin's plays were all coming off Russell Wilson's improvisational skills), the Blackshirts laid down in the second half. They rolled over. They quit.

The key to the defense's success under Bo Pelini has been the defensive line. Well, last Saturday night, the defensive line was useless. They generated no pressure on plays that they didn't blitz. They offered little resistance in the running game. Cameron Meredith's name hasn't been heard since Week 1. I'm told Jason Ankrah starts opposite him - news to me. Jared Crick either can't get the job done by himself, or is failing to live up to his Ndoversized expectations. And don't get me started on Sean Fisher, who might be the worst starter in the entire Big Ten conference. (Yes, I realize he is not on the defensive line, but I just couldn't wait any longer.)

I realize there is a good chance that the Wisconsin Badgers are simply the best team in all of College Football (I'd put them right there with Alabama), which would make everything that occurred semi-tolerable. However, that's dependent on seeing some improvement out of the defense, and the team as a whole. Which means...

It's time for Bo Pelini to do some coaching.

There certainly can't be any excuses flying around after this week. THEE Ohio State's offense is anemic. They scored 7 points on Michigan State last week, and they were to lucky to even get that (33 yard TD with 10 seconds left in the game). They scored 6 points on the Miami Hurricanes two weeks Pryor (see what I did there?). They scored 37 points on Colorado in between, which is counterproductive to my argument, but I'm limited in ways to make fun of the Buffaloes these days. You suck Colorado.

If Ohio St. is able to move the ball on the Blackshirts, it might be time to start asking some serious questions about Bo Pelini...

• Why was Alfonzo Dennard not on Wisconsin WR Al Toon the entire game? They had one good receiver. Nebraska has one good cornerback. And yet, Toon was repeatedly beating Ciante Evans in coverage (whodathunkit?).
• How has the defense suffered so much? The Blackshirts lost Prince Amukamara, Dejon Gomes, Eric Hagg, and Pierre Allen from last year. Is that enough lost talent to warrant the slip in play we've seen? Where is the (Bo Pelini recruited) talent behind them?
• How are the linebackers so bad? Lavonte David has been good, but not great. Will Compton makes a play here and there. Sean Fisher was so bad last week that my buddy John's head nearly exploded trying to explain how bad he was. Is this the best they've got?
• How can they keep Taylor Martinez's pants dry? T-Mart has not handled the big situations he's been thrown into very well. He seems fine until one thing goes wrong, and then all bets are off. This isn't Bo's wheelhouse, but if these problems persist, Bo might have to address the QB position. Or just run the ball...
• Why does Nebraska never seem to run the ball enough? The Huskers ran the ball down Wisconsin's throat their first two drives of the game and then became obsessed with throwing the ball. In a big game, on the road, stick with whatever's working please.

I'm still a Bo Pelini guy. He has this program headed in the right direction. All he needs now is to lead his team to victory in a big time game. He might get his chance in a rematch with Wisconsin this year. (Remember the upset in the inaugural Big 12 Championship.)

As far as this week's game goes, I see a big bounce back from the Cornhuskers. This smells like a game where Nebraska races out to an early lead and spends most of the game holding Ohio St at an arm's length. I'll say a decisive 24-10 triumph for Nebraska.

His Dirkness

2010 College Football Preview: Nebraska Cornhuskers

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Two years ago, Nebraska was considered almost irrelevant amongst the national College Football scene.

Two days ago, Lee Corso picked Nebraska to defeat Florida in the 2010 BCS National Championship.

The man that Big Red Nation can thank for this is Sir Bo Pelini (is anybody named Bo ever not great?). I stated last year that I would take Bo over any coach in the nation aside from Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, and Bob Stoops. After Meyer's health problems and uncertain future, Carroll's departure from college, and reconsidering Saban's nomadic ways, the list has been reduced to only Stoops and Tressel. And I wouldn't instantly make those trades either, believing that Pelini's upside could be higher. We really don't know how good he could eventually become. Just look how downhill LSU has gone since he left. And if you don't trust a biased Nebraska fan's opinion on the matter, then take a look at this stat:

Defense PPG Allowed:
2007 (Callahan's last year)- 37.9 PPG
2008 (Pelini's first year)- 28.5 PPG
2009- 10.4 PPG- #1 in the nation

While many expect the defense's dominance to continue, but are they underestimating the impact that Ndamukong the Great had? Not if you were to believe Pelini's history of developing Defensive Tackles. While you couldn't unanimously agree on the following matter at hand, few would take objection with the following statement: The three best Defensive Tackles in College Fooball of the last ten years were Ndamukong Suh, Glenn Dorsey (LSU), and Tommie Harris (Oklahoma). What did they all have in common? They were all coached by Pelini. Bo knows Defensive Tackles. Enter stage left, Jared Crick, who earns this quote from an opposing Big 12 assistant coach via Athlon Magazine:

Suh, that dude was a manchild (I love that band!). The scary thing is the guy who lined up next to him, Jared Crick, has a different skill set but definitely is as hard to block.

The rest of the defense is stacked at the Defensive Line and Cornerback positions, while questions exist at Linebacker and Safety. Injuries have become a bit of a problem, already losing LB Sean Fisher for the season, and the loss of other starting LB Will Compton for part of the season with a bum foot. Look for them to be replaced by Special Teams madman Eric Martin and Ft. Scott CC product, Lavonte David.

A majority of the Blackshirts' success on defense last year was their ability to shut down spread offenses, which had taken the Big 12 by storm. They did this with hybrid Cornerback/Safety players, Eric Hagg and Dejon 'Bones' Gomes, who excelled at stopping the run and the pass. Both players return. The secondary is captained by shutdown CB Prince Amukamara, who some 2011 NFL Draft rankings have rated as high as 3rd overall. Like 3rd overall pick. The highest drafted CB in the last ten years were Terrence Newman and Quentin Jammer, taken with the 5th overall pick. The secondary will be integral in continuing the Blackshirt Revivalist Party.

I have yet to touch on the most noteworthy aspect (biggest question) of the Cornhuskers, the QB position. All signs continue to point to a battle between incumbent Zac Lee, sophomore Cody Green, and redshirt frosh Taylor Martinez. I'm all for competition, but with hopes so high for this season, The Wildman (Lee) has got to get the call. There is too much to lose with an inexperienced QB. I would be shocked (and maybe somewhat disappointed) if he's not the signal caller at least until a game is lost. The argument on his side is that he had a hurt shoulder all last year, and thrived in the bowl game once he received time to rest it. I look for The Wildman to be much improved, and think this issue goes rather quietly into the night.

Lee's job should be made easier with the two-headed Roy-Rex monster in the backfield (Helu and Burkhead, respectively). Nebraska should field a run-first offense, with playaction passing mixed in at the right times. Defenses will be stretched by big play extraordinaire, Niles Paul (Holiday Bowl MVP). The offensive line returns 4 of 5 starters (but loses Mike Smith to season-ending injury). With little knowledge on the subject, my insider, John Clements, tells me to keep an eye on redshirt freshmen linemen Brent Qvale and Jeremiah Sirles, while undersized ass-kicker Mike Caputo will anchor the line at center. Now I must fulfill my Pat Summerall obligation with a big "Thanks Jaaaahn."

Expectations are higher for the 2010 season than I could've imagined and it has me a little scared. Pelini's teams have stumbled out of the gates in his two seasons, and an early season matchup at Washington could prove tricky if they're not ready. If Nebraska continues to win, they should be favored in every game of the season prior to their bowl game (unless Texas overly impresses or Oklahoma is similarly undefeated going into the Big 12 Championship). I'm not sure how many teams can say that. Another interesting factor of the season will be the mindsets of other teams (and fans) when playing Nebraska. Gameday atmospheres will be raucous in opposing Big 12 stadiums, with Nebraska pinpointed as the villain from the near crumbling of the conference, and fans out for blood. Fans will get their chances in Manhattan, Stillwater, Ames, and College Station. The rest of the conference's fans will have to settle for pouring their support behind any and every Husker opponent. Can Nebraska handle it?

Here's to hoping that Nebraska takes the last Big 12 title and never gives it back (and beats Texas in the process). Upside down hook em horns.

And if you're not ready, enjoy this...



Go Big Red,
His dirkness

2009 Holiday Bowl Reaction: Nebraska-Arizona

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What Could Have Been

The biggest thought going through my head during the game, aside from the excitement of watching Nebraska put the BEATDOWN on Arizona, was a curiosity of what could have been. Nebraska was much much better than what their year end record showed. You have to look not only at the closeness of the losses this year, but the circumstances that surrounded them. O'Hanlon falls asleep and allows an 80 yard pass with under a minute left vs. Virginia Tech. They lose to Iowa St in the most Ndominant loss I've ever seen. Finally, they somehow lose to Texas after leading with no time left in the game. Texas Tech is the only game of the season that the Huskers had no business winning, and I'd still take Nebraska in that game 7 times out of 10. Obviously, this isn't how games get recorded though, so where does blame find itself?

Bo Pelini- I would say that when you lose games you should be winning, you blame coaching. Bo Pelini may have some short-term concerns, but looking at the big picture I am extremely impressed. Not only did he turn one of the worst defenses in the country(2007) into THE best(right now), but you can see dramatic improvements from them throughout the year. The Blackshirts went from a below mediocre defense to a pretty good defense in 2008. In 2009, they started out as a pretty good defense and ended as the most Ndominant in the country. The defense is so good right now that I want to line up the best offenses in the country and give them one drive to try and score a touchdown, similar to a Madden mini game. Aside from the Top 5 coaches in the country (Stoops-dropping, Saban-afraid of commitment, Meyer-afraid of life after Tebow, Carroll-overrated, Tressel-underrated), I cannot think of anyone that I'd replace Pelini with if given the opportunity.

2010- Everyone talks about how the defense next year could be even better than this year. I won't go that far, especially at the beginning of the year, but they will still be a top 20 defense in the country, even without the Man-boy named Suh. Suh even nominated the next version of himself in sophomore Jared Crick. Pair him with 5-star recruit Baker Steinkuhler and the middle of the defense is already set. Find some safeties to play and the defense looks stacked. The offense will return 10 starters and only loses center Jacob Hickman. You have to stick with the Wildman at quarterback and hope that he improves dramatically. Cody Green just hasn't shown enough to be handed the job right now. The offense should have earned back some of the trust in the bowl game that it had lost following the Iowa St game this year, and with playmakers Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul, and Mike McNeill all returning, it will be much more dynamic and allowed more opportunities to score points. With a schedule where every game is very winnable, I hate to say it, but here it goes, keep an eye on Nebraska running the table next year and earning the honor of getting whooped by the best SEC team in the National Championship.

I just noticed I went the whole post without even really talking about the game that just occurred against Arizona. That was one of the most thorough beatdowns I've seen amongst two supposedly even-matched teams. Their quarterback was from Austin and received texts from his friends all week warning him about Ndamukong Suh, and I think it worked. I've never seen a quarterback so scared going into a game. Thanks Matt Jones' coked out friends. There's not much else to say except that I'd like a shot at a BCS team to see what we could do. I'll just have to take solace in the beating Colt McCoy is about to take in T-minus 5 days.

2009 Holiday Bowl Preview Nebraska vs. Arizona

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I'll start by saying that I love the matchup between Nebraska and Arizona tonight in the Extenze energy drink Holiday Bowl tonight. I've thought Arizona was underrated most of the year and had them ranked higher than any of the major polls throughout the year. I was pretty shocked to see that Arizona started as the favorite(now underdogs), expecting something more along the lines of the 73% of America that picked Nebraska to win via ESPN. Let's take a look at how I see this one playing out.

Arizona- All the talk is about two stingy defenses playing in this game, but I'm not really seeing it. They gave up the following point totals: Iowa(most similar offense to Nebraska-very basic)-27, Oregon St-32, Washington-36, Stanford-38, Oregon-44(2 overtimes at least). I don't see it. The majority of those high scores are running teams similar to Nebraska. They have a better pass defense but who knows if that will even matter much against Nebraska. Their offense is led by their 7 foot quarterback Nick Foles who resembles Matt Jones from Arkansas a few years back (minus the Coke problem hopefully). My biggest fear is running back Nic (finally someone who spells their name right) Grigsby, who is finally healthy after an injury plagued year. Quarterback and overall offense advantage-Arizona. My other biggest worry is the Stoops connection. I'm sure Mike was asking brotha Bob all kinds of questions over Christmas dinner, so lets just hope that Bobby did the honorable thing and refused to gossip.

Nebraska- My first thought is that Ndamukong Suh is under a lot of pressure going into this game. The Big XII Championship is fresh in every one's mind and all eyes will be on him tonight-including Arizona's. I expect him to be as dominant as he has been all year, but to put up paltry stats compared to his last outing. He will go down as the best defensive player in Nebraska history, if not Big XII history(can't think of anyone better), if not NCAA history(too hard to judge).

My next thought is how big a game this is for "The Wildman" Zac Lee. We know he will be amped up for the game for better or worse, lets just hope he hits his peak in the 4th quarter. I think the Wildman is playing for his job going into next year. If he struggles like he did in the Big XII Championship, I think the Cody Green era starts in the first game next year. However, Nebraska has a chance to compete at a very high level next year and might not want to go through the growing pains of a first year starting quarterback. That's why I think if he can play well in this game then he will go into next year as the starter. Green is supposed to see some action tonight as well, but has been unimpressive so far, otherwise the job would probably already be his.

Prediction- I feel very confident about Nebraska winning this game. I think they boast the best defense in the country, and I don't think Arizona will be able to score much unless Grigsby is able to regain his form to the tune of over 300 yards in the first two games this year. I envision Nebraska shutting down the run and then pressuring Matt Jones Lite, who is pretty immobile from what I hear on the streets. I think Zac Lee plays well throwing mostly from playaction along with Helu cracking the 100 yard barrier, and Sexy Rex Burkhead chipping in for 50 yards. Nebraska should be extra motivated after getting screwed against Texas, and I think they take it out on the pretty boys from Arizona.

Nebraska 24, Arizona 9