The Huskers are headed to the Rose Bowl. The question is,
will Saturday’s game against UCLA be their only trip or the first of two?
If Nebraska wins its first conference title since 1999, a
return trip to Pasadena would likely await them.
Nebraska had a solid season-opening performance in a
49-20 home win over Southern Mississippi but the Huskers must continue that
forward momentum if they are to continue to have visions of having a
breakthrough season.
Yes, UCLA appears to be better under head coach Jim Mora
but they are still a fair-to-middling Pac 12 club who is college football
ticket # 2 in Los Angeles behind USC.
Although the Nebraska defense struggled at times, the Huskers
won in large part because of what appears to be the “new and improved” version
of quarterback Taylor Martinez, who went 26-for-34, passing for 354 yards and
five touchdowns with no interceptions. The only downside was that running back Rex
Burkhead left the game in the first quarter to an MCL sprain and is listed as
questionable for the game against UCLA. Wide receiver Tim Marlowe will also be
out until late October with a broken clavicle.
UCLA, meanwhile, blasted Rice 49-24 on the road as redshirt
freshman quarterback Brett Hundley at went 21-for-28 for 202 yards and two
touchdowns and rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. Hundley’s debut started in
electrifying fashion as he rushed a 72-yard touchdown. Running back Jonathan
Franklin rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns, and UCLA compiled 651 yards
of total offense against the Owls.
This matchup certainly has intrigue and importance for
both clubs. For Nebraska, the game is an opportunity to go on the road and
establish itself as a legitimate top-10 team by beating what has been a talented
but underachieving UCLA squad on its homefield.
For UCLA, if it can upset Nebraska it would be an
opportunity to generate some momentum for what had become a downtrodden program.
the game has the possibility to set a positive tone for new head coach Jim
Mora, Jr. Yes, the Bruins represented the Pac-12 South in the inaugural
conference championship game but that was more reflective of USC being on
probation than anything the 6-8 Bruins did.
While it is easy to point to the quarterbacks, Martinez
and Hundley will once again play vital roles in the outcome of Saturday’s
contest. Even though Martinez looked dynamite as a passer against Southern
Mississippi, teams are likely to still make sure to shut down the Nebraska
ground game (even if Burkhead is out) and make Martinez beat them.
As for Hundley, it is no secret that mobile quarterbacks
have given the Huskers fits. Hundley is definitely mobile as he carried 15
times for 84 yards against Rice.
The Nebraska offense that took the field last week in
Lincoln will also need to be present in Pasadena. While Martinez’s numbers were
tremendous, the Huskers also looked like a much different offense from last
season, running out of the no-huddle with far more efficiency.
With the addition of fullback Mike Marrow and true
freshman running back Imani Cross, Nebraska now has a between-the-tackles
threat to compliment a speed threat posed by Ameer Abdullah and Braylon Heard. However,
Abdullah runs between the tackles more than his 5-9, 175 pound frame would
suggest. If the Nebraska offensive line can perform as it did a week ago, the
offense will be difficult to stop. What stood out was that not only did the
Huskers run and pass block well but avoided the untimely penalties that had
hamstrung the offense in the past.
On the defensive side, Nebraska, Pelini teams versus
mobile quarterbacks has become a mixture of punch-line and cliché. The notion
against mobile quarterbacks is usually a mixture of “keep them in the pocket”
or “rush four and drop seven.” Pelini usually prefers the latter approach, the
problem is that Nebraska lacks the personnel its front four. In the win over
Southern Mississippi, Nebraska’s best pass rush involved blitzing. However, I’m
of the mind that even against a mobile quarterback the “keep them in the pocket”
or “rush four and drop seven” is not necessarily the best approach because if a
quarterback is on the run, he’s not going through his reads.
The Huskers last trip to the West Coast against a Pac-12 team thought to challenge NU ended in a rout, with Nebraska beating Washington 56-21. UCLA’s offense should be good enough to keep up and put points on the board but UCLA’s defense, which gave up 347 yards and 24 points to Rice, should struggle to stop Nebraska's offensive diversity.
In the Pelini era, the Huskers have lost one game per year against a team they have “no business losing to,” but those losses have normally come at home (see Iowa State 2009, Texas 2010, Northwestern 2011).
