Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Wisconsin Badgers Preview

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The current national perception of the Nebraska Cornhuskers is that they can't win the big game. There's little doubt that Bo Pelini's resume is lacking that signature win (partly because Missouri always falls apart after Nebraska beats them). Tonight is a great opportunity for Bo and the 'Skers to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten. "We may be new, but make no mistake, this is OUR conference."

That being said, I feel good about this game. It feels like the pressure is off of Nebraska (Wisconsin now a 10 point favorite). Almost nobody (and their mother) has the Huskers winning tonight (although Lee Corso just did). Pelini may have learned his lesson from putting too much pressure on his own team against Texas last season, so he has been downplaying everything about this historic game for the Huskers (read about it here). Good move, Bo.

My biggest fear about the game is the Wisconsin running game. The Blackshirts' run defense has been rather un-stout (more like a Belgian White) so far this year. The Badgers will attack you with run, run, run, and then hit you with a playaction over the top. I trust the discipline of the Husker defense, I'm just skeptical of their ability to stop the run. However, the Blackshirts haven't been at full health yet this year. Tonight should be the first game that both CB Alfonzo Dennard and DT Jared Crick will both be on the field (Fonz missed first three, Crick last week). It could make a huge difference to have all three leaders of the defense (combined with LB Lavonte David) on the field at once.

How bout some stats...

~~Stats you need to know~~

• Taylor Martinez is 12-4 as a starter. He has averaged 113 rushing yards per game in his 12 career victories. In his 4 losses, he's averaged 7.25 yards per game.
• T-Mart's 2011 numbers running the option: 19 attempts, 175 yards, 3 touchdowns.
• Nebraska's 2nd half rushing totals the last two weeks: 217 (vs. Washington), 220 (vs. Wyoming).
• Wisconsin is 1 of 3 teams in the nation to average 240 yards both passing and rushing (Baylor, Missouri).
• Since the start of 2010, Russell Wilson leads all quarterbacks with 16 first down runs on 3rd and 5+.

Key Matchup: Wisconsin WR Nick Toon vs. Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard - A favorable matchup (if the Fonz is 100% - he looked good last week) for the Huskers, as they can match strength vs. strength on the Badgers' biggest weapon. I expect Dennard to follow Toon (son of Tecmo Bowl star Al Toon!) all over the field. This is a matchup you could see on future Sundays.

X-Factor: The Nebraska specialty teams - The Huskers might need a big play out of the kicking game tonight. They definitely have the tools. Returner Ameer Abdullah is explosive (averaging 42.5 yards per kick return). K Brett Maher is 8 of 9 on the year, and his only miss was from 50+ and it even looked good to me (but you couldn't tell because of those damn short goalposts in Wyoming).

Keep Your Eye On: Nebraska WR Jamal Turner - Recruited to play QB, this dynamic freshman is like butter when he gets the ball in the open field. He will be one of the most exciting players in College Football over the next four years of his career.

Everybody is on Wisconsin because they've dominated all of their games up to this point, but might that actually be a condemnation? First off, the Badgers' best opponent (Northern Illinois) was beaten by Kansas. Second off, they haven't played a meaningful snap in the second half. Meanwhile, Nebraska has broken open two close games after the intermission, and then dealt with an undefeated Wyoming team last week. This is why...

If the game is close, I'm taking Nebraska.

Unfortunately...

I don't think the game will be close enough. I'm afraid the Blackshirts have been faulty up to this point, but not bad enough to make any defiant changes. It's best to know your weaknesses and I'm not sure if Nebraska views anything as a problem yet. It all comes down to whether the Huskers can stop the Badgers ground game tonight. If they can, I expect a close game and a Nebraska victory. But if they can't...

Prediction: Wisconsin over Nebraska 30-17*

*However, if the Huskers come out in the much-rumored black uniforms ("oops" photo preview can be seen here in the top left corner), to match the expected 30,000 Nebraska fans in Madison tonight, I'll take the Huskers in a landslide.

Go Big Red,

his Dirkness

2010 College Football ~ Upset Saturday

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Last week may have had more prestigious matchups, where traditionalists were rewarded with recognizable uniform clashes, but this week could prove to be much more significant. Their's only one bout involving two Dirkness ranked teams- (6) Iowa at (16)Arizona- in what seems like a passover Saturday. But, nah-unh, not so fast my friends! Many of the top teams have potential stumbling blocks (some more hidden than others). What do I see a chance for? Upset Saturday (not good for thy Huskers). So I'm gonna lay some of these out for all of you to see, and let you know which of them have the best chance of happening.

I'll be rating them in Not so Fast my Friends's! (This, of course, is in reference to Lee Corso, who became a Dirkness favorite after predicting Nebraska to win the National Championship). The more NsFmF's the greater chance I believe there is to be an upset, with 5 being the greatest. That's a 0-5 scale, low chance-high chance. With me? Let's boogie...

Games (teams ranked according to Dirkness Top 25):

11am- Kent St at Penn St- Hey, don't say I didn't warn you. The Golden Flashes are my surprise team out of the MAC so how could I turn my back on them now? This is more of a testament to how bad Penn St. might be this year (they were never in that game with Alabama). They lost too much from last year, so hopefully JoePoo can grunt out another year. 1.5 NsFmF's.


2:30- Air Force at (4)Oklahoma- Did this one slip by you when looking over this week? Don't let it. Air Force beat BYU who beat Washington who might beat Nebraska who almost beat Texas last year. Think about that. But, seriously, Air Force runs a difficult offense to prepare for and Oklahoma struggled with Utah St in the first game of the year. If they're ready, it won't be close, but if they aren't....3.5 NsFmF's.

2:30- USC at Minnesota- Wait, that's right, USC is no longer relevant. No further comment. 2 NsFmF's.

2:30- (9)Nebraska at Washington- Absolutely terrified of this game. If you noticed my Preseason Predictions I had them losing a non-conference game. It wasn't to Idaho. I can't shake a rainy game nightmare of getting behind 10-14 points on something like a punt return out of my head. Why won't it leave? I'm confident in our guys as long as we don't get behind two scores. That changes everything. What QB do we play? Stick with T-Mart (way better than T-Magic)? Incumbent Zac Lee appears to have no chance of playing this year. Cody Green was very erratic last year. We will have to deal with a deficit at some point this year. But, there is also the chance we beat the Starbucks out of the future first-round bust for the Arizona Cardinals, Jake Locker. I'm predicting Nebraska 21, Washington 20 in a comeback victory. 4 NsFmF's.

2:30- (3)Alabama at Duke- Maybe not, but it is the matchup of the past National Champions in football and basketball. Hopefully, Greg Paulus is playing. Maybe they should bowl to decide the ultimate college champion. Or play Flip Cup. 0 NsFmF's.

3:30- Baylor at (7)TCU- One of these games starting in the afternoon will see an upset on Saturday (or atleast a major scare), so you better find one you like. Upsets always seem to breed other upsets though. Baylor's QB Robert Lee Griffin III appears to be at full strength after missing all of last year. I'm expecting big things from Lil' Baylor this year, and for them to finally break their bowl-less streak This one goes into the 4th quarter. 2.5 NsFmF's.

7- (5)Boise St at Wyoming- I made mention of this at the end of my Article on Boise St. and I meant it. Wyoming gave Texas fits for a half last week. However, if I hear one other person on espn say this before Saturday, the deal is off. It needs privacy like airing it on Fox Sports Mountain Hills will give it. Keep an eye on SM West graduate (poppin' up all over these days) WR David Leonard, who leads them in receptions. 2 NsFmF's.

7- (14)Texas at Texas Tech- The Longhorns have turned in two subpar 1st half's this season. Lil' G.G. Allin (Garrett Gilbert) is the Kevin Kolb of College Football. Everyone assumed he would be a minimized step down from Colt McCoy (Kolb to McNabb), when there was every reason to think it would be a gigantic leap. You're replacing two all-timers. Meanwhile, the Bell Ringin' Red Raiders have averaged 43.5 points so far this season. Maybe Mike Leach's B.O. remained behind. Wait, that's Lubbock's natural smell? 4 NsFmF's.

9:30- (6)Iowa at (16)Arizona- The best game on paper of the weekend. The Hawkeyes beat Arizona 27-17 last year in Iowa City. This time they head to Tuscon. Arizona has a promptly spelled RB named Nic Grigsby. Iowa made my revised National Championship prediction (along with Oregon), which may be more of a kiss of doom than anything. 3 NsFmF's.

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