Will Saturday be the first of two trips to Pasadena?

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).

 

Being cautious with Burkhead would be the right thing

It sounds like the mystery of Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead’s status for Saturday’s game at UCLA will not be much of a mystery.

The senior running back sat out of practice Wednesday for the third straight day, recovering from a sprained MCL in his left knee.

However, “He's doing his work,” Nebraska running backs coach Ron Brown said. “He’s not just sitting still, doing nothing. We’ll see what happens during the rest of the week. He tends to be a fast healer, and when he comes back, he comes back strong. He doesn’t come back trying to feel his way through again.

“The main thing is, we want what's best for his health, obviously.”

Hopefully, head coach Bo Pelini learned from the situation surrounding quarterback Taylor Martinez in 2010. Then a freshman, Martinez’s early season play was drawing comparisons to former Husker great Eric Crouch (the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner). However, as Nebraska was on its way to beating Missouri 31-17, Martinez sustained a high ankle sprain and later turf toe. He sat out just two games, perhaps because Pelini did not feel like he could trust backup Cody Green, but was not the same player in part because the coaching staff’s insistence on playing him ensured that Martinez never healed sufficiently.

If Saturday’s game is any indication, sophomore Ameer Abdullah (15 carries, 81 yards) and freshman Imani Cross (11 carries, 62 yards) might afford the luxury of being cautious with Burkhead. The senior running back is co-main cog in the Husker engine along with Martinez.

I’m not surprised the Huskers are at least publically taking it cautious with Burkhead and think it is for the best since Nebraska appears to have a deeper of very good young running backs.

Even if you took Burkhead’s injury out of the equation, I felt Burkhead should be used judiciously until conference play began anyway. I think the Husker offense will still be able to produce without him. That’s not to say that he isn’t a valuable asset, but just that there is quality talent behind him.

Rice had over 300 yards of total offense against UCLA. I have to believe that NU will put up substantially better numbers even without Rex.

Granted, UCLA’s defense will never be mistaken for Alabama but Rice’s offense won’t draw any comparisons to Oregon either.

 

Husker defense cannot rest

I've seen a lot of posts and comments regarding the performance of Nebraska’s defense in the Huskers 49-20 season-opening win over Southern Mississippi.

Granted, the Huskers gave up just 260 yards of total offense but forced just one takeaway and allowed 7 of 14 third down conversions, not the stuff of championship defenses. However, it is also important to understand why certain things are done. Linebackers Will Compton and Alonzo Whaley showed signs of greatness

First, there is a lot to be cleaned up:

Defensive line lining up off the ball: I’m just giving people reasons for things. You don’t have to like them, I just think it’s important that people know so it can make you somewhat less mad when you see it. When running a 2-gap, it’s important that you are able to get to whatever side you want to of the offensive linemen. If you are too close to them, they can wall you off and you essentially lose one of your gaps you are responsible for and give the other linemen a clean path to the linebacker that is responsible for the running back. Nebraska’s front seven will never be confused with Alabama’s version. Baker Steinkuhler and Chase Rome aren’t going to be chasing down quarterbacks like Alabama’s front four, so the comparisons to them and how their guys lines up are apples to oranges. Also, they don’t run a 2-gap. Now, you can make the argument that Nebraska shouldn’t run 2-gap against heavy run teams or mobile quarterbacks, but the Huskers showed a little wrinkle when Anthony Alford was in the game of going to three down linemen and shifting defensive end Cameron Meredith to a linebacker. Think of the possibilities when Eric Martin isn’t hurt?

The big holes:  Much of this comes back to missed tackles and getting caught up in traffic by our guys responsible for the running back or the motion man across the quarterback’s face. Look no further than the first play from scrimmage of Compton getting reached by a guard that Rome was doing a heck of a job occupying. Compton and Whaley can’t get reached by those guys because the guy eating the two blocks is essentially taking himself out of the play trading 2 for 1. What is encouraging is they didn’t really push Nebraska off the ball, what is concerning is when we had someone in the hole they didn’t make the tackle and we relied heavily on our safeties to come up and make the play. That is going to have to change moving forward, as you just can’t miss tackles. Alford is not as good as Dennard Robinson and Braxton Miller without the experience, but has the same speed and less weapons. Bottom line, the holes are going to be there against 2 gap, it’s up to good/great linebacker play.

Rushing yards and third down conversions: I don’t understand why everyone is so down on how many rushing yards we gave up, but I definitely understand being a little worried about their 50% conversion percentage. In the 2-gap scheme, you aren’t going to stop both run and the pass. They tried running on Nebraska still when the Huskers were up four scores, Pelini will stay in 2-gap all day if they are going to continue to do that. Nebraska is not going to have defensive stats like they did in the 1990s because this defense doesn’t play behind the line of scrimmage. That being said, they need to blitz on first and second down sometimes rather than only waiting on third. They converted those screens a lot, like they one step ahead of on third down blitzes. If you can blitz a little on first and second down, put them in 2nd and 3rd and long, you will see that percentage fly downwards.

The defense gave up 13 points and held them under 100 yards passing, exactly what a 2-gap scheme is designed to do. I don’t care what they gave up rushing. If you hold someone to 13 points on defense I'll give up 400 yards rushing. But there are some definite glaring things that need fixed; I think the tackling was good when they got our hands on them.

I know it can be frustrating seeing the defense line up far from the line of scrimmage, or not blitzing and being behind the line of scrimmage as much as Alabama or LSU, but Nebraska have different athletes and are trying to play to those strengths. I think it’s important to understand why they do things, and why things happen. I will say this, they jumped out of 2-gap a couple times and went to a blitzing safety and/or linebacker and it looked real effective when they didn’t run that screen.

Solid win for openers but bigger goals lie ahead

The opening game is always a very special time filled with much uncertainty and nervous anticipation. This year the biggest questions were surrounding third year starting quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Without a Spring Game to gauge progress, we were left with rumors that Martinez had worked on and shown some improvement in his footwork and throwing motion. After game one, there appears to be some basis to those rumors. Granted, this Southern Miss defense returned only four starters from last year and will never be confused with Alabama, let alone Michigan State but a 49-20 season opening win that saw Martinez complete 26 of 34 passes for 354 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions is a tremendous way to open the season.

Even more than his improved footwork, Martinez had more zip and accuracy on his passes as he distributed the ball to ten different receivers. I know Husker fans love seeing their team pound teams into submission with the run but the pass can set up the run just as well if not better than the run setting up the pass. Martinez also seemed to have a much better presence in the pocket going through his progressions and reading his receivers better than ever before. It also helped that his receivers cooperated by catching about anything thrown close to them.

The biggest downside is the knee injury to running back Rex Burkhead, who left the game with a sprained MCL, which at its worst can sideline a player for eight weeks, at its lightest, only a few days. Husker head coach Bo Pelini said the sprain is the lowest grade, meaning, that Burkhead could be available for Saturday’s game at UCLA.

Burkhead’s injury came on his third carry of the game, a 9-yard run, when the Nebraska I-back was tackled by Southern Mississippi defensive end Jamie Collins. The good news was that sophomore Ameer Abdullah carried 15 times for 81 yards and caught four more passes for 39 yards including a touchdown.

Losing Burkhead is really a tough blow, but his being out may have been fortuitous in that it allowed other backs the opportunity to get needed game experience. Abdullah seemed to run stronger the longer he played. Braylon Heard also improved as he played and as the Southern Miss defense began to really tire. Imani Cross is a man-child. This kid will only get better. Mike Marrow is a load and it’s nice to see the fullback get some touches. Seven touchdowns distributed to seven players and very nice play by both the wide receivers and tight ends. Kenny Bell continues to improve, Quincy Enunwa is a stud, and Jamal Turner is exciting every time he touches the ball. Catch of the game, though, goes to Steven Osborne for his touchdown grab falling out of the end zone. Finally, the big boys up front who gave Martinez time to throw and opened holes to generate 632 yards of total offense deserve huge props. Most importantly, there were no false starts and only one offensive penalty to go along with no turnovers.

The defense showed why the Blackshirts have yet to be distributed. The good news is that the defense only gave up 13 points to a reasonably talented offensive unit. With Southern Miss having a new coach and new personnel, Pelini and defensive coordinator John Papuchis had to prepare for a little of everything. The defense, however, continues to be extremely vulnerable to mobile quarterbacks and giving up big chunks on third down. I don’t remember a three and out all day. Defensive end Cameron Meredith seemed slow trying to track down their QB. Cornerback Ciante Evans looks much improved over last year, and in general the secondary looked solid. When Southern Miss had to pass, the defense shut them down. I’ll take 7 for 19 for 75 yards from the opponents all year long. Linebacker Alonzo Whaley looked good and bad at times. Fellow linebacker Will Compton was generally solid, but the linebackers and defense in general were whiffing and trying to arm tackle way too much. We have a lot to clean up before we play a very capable UCLA offense with a very mobile quarterback next week in Pasadena.

We all know that the worst part of the game for the Huskers were the special teams which were anything but special. The 100 yard kickoff return was inexcusable and as everybody seemed out of position, it makes one wonder if they practiced at all during fall camp. Preseason All-American Brett Maher doesn’t need to worry about his press clippings in the near future. He left six points on the field with misses of two very makeable field goals and the shanked punt and kickoff out of bounds made me wonder what happened to disrupt his pregame preparation. He is much better than he showed and I am looking forward to him getting out of his two field goal misses in a row slump and performing like the star he can be. One highlight on special teams was reasonably decent punt and kickoff returns setting up good field position.

There are many things to be excited about with this year’s version of the Huskers. There are talented players on both sides of the ball and special team potential. We won handily on a day when many other Big Ten teams struggled (including Wisconsin). Every week we will learn a little more about how special this team can be. I’m also looking forward to the offense building on their sterling performance in the opener and the defense and special teams cleaning up the miscues.

Football is upon us

Good old fashioned football has arrived, as in an actual matchup on the field. Nebraska enters what it hopes will be a much more consistent 2012 campaign than last year’s 9-4 season that culminated with a 30-13 Capital One Bowl loss. That game in a nutshell encompassed the Huskers season between 1/3 good moments, 1/3 bad moments and 1/3 that made you scratch your head.

In the Bo Pelini era, Nebraska has gone from bad to good but fans are getting relentless and wanting that moment to go from good to great. The Huskers open Saturday at home against what can be a pesky Southern Mississippi club. In fact, Associated Press writer Ralph Russo picks the Golden Eagles to come into Lincoln to upset No. 17 Nebraska. Both programs met three times from 1999-2004. In 1999, the Huskers (who finished 12-1 that season) needed two defensive touchdowns and six takeaways to overcome five turnovers on offense to beat Southern Miss 20-13 in Lincoln.

In 2003, the teams met in Hattieburg, Miss., for a Thursday night ESPN game. Nebraska took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter to win 38-14. In 2004, however, it proved to be a harbinger of things to come under Bill Callahan in just his second game as Husker head coach. Nebraska’s offense turned the ball over six times on the way to a 21-17 loss.

So how will things transpire in the 2012 game? The obvious common denominator is that if the Huskers don’t beat themselves, they should win but that would be too obvious. To that end, let’s take a closer look at the game itself.

Nebraska ranked No. 66 in total offense last season but fluctuated more often than the stock market. With offensive coordinator Tim Beck entering his second season, the Huskers should be much better offensively.

The team has two lynchpins in quarterback Taylor Martinez and running back Rex Burkhead. The Huskers have more depth at wide receiver than it has had in the past, but also has an offensive line that is patched together.

Southern Mississippi will use a 4-2-5 defensive alignment. The weakness of Southern Mississippi’s defense is their front six, where the Golden Eagles only return one starter (linebacker Jamie Collins). The strength of the Southern Mississippi defense is their secondary. The Golden Eagles return three starters from a pass defense that was good last season.

It will take time for Nebraska’s offensive line to gel, but Southern Mississippi could be the perfect opponent for the Cornhuskers offensive line to begin the season against.

Defensively, Nebraska lost their top three players from last year (DT Jared Crick, LB LaVonte David and CB Alfonzo Dennard) but since they were never on the field collectively at the same time, it is not unreasonable to think Nebraska’s defense will be better.

The Husker defense might not have proven impact players but the cupboard is certainly not bare led by defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler, linebacker Will Compton and safety Damion Stafford. Nebraska will rotate many players into the lineup to keep players fresh and utilize each player’s strength.

Southern Mississippi lost their star quarterback Austin Davis to graduation. There was a three-way battle for the starting quarterback position but junior Chris Campbell gets the call against Nebraska.

The player to watch on the Southern Mississippi offense is wide receiver Tracy Lampley. Last season, Lampley was the backup running back and still had 47 receptions and four touchdowns. This season, Lampley moves to his natural wide receiver position.

The Golden Eagles will use a variety of running backs to try and move the ball on the ground while their new quarterback gets his feet under him with senior Desmond Johnson.

Last season, Southern Mississippi had the No. 17-ranked offense in the country but lost far too many players to expect to be that good again this season.

While Nebraska’s defense is trending up, Southern Mississippi’s offense is going the other direction. Last season, Nebraska played a bend-but-don’t-break defense that did the latter as much as the former. This year, the Huskers will return to the swarming defense that Cornhuskers fans are used to under head coach Bo Pelini.

Nebraska also appears to have the edge on special teams even though the Golden Eagles return Lampley as a kick returner. The Huskers have a dynamic kicker in Brett Maher and potentially so at returner in Ameer Abdullah.

The strength of Nebraska’s team in 2012 is their defense. The Cornhuskers have one of the best kickers in the country in Brett Maher and a dynamic kick returner in Ameer Abdullah.

If this game was played in 2011, Nebraska would have a difficult time beating Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles lost too many players to graduation to be able to come into Memorial Stadium and defeat the Cornhuskers.Special Teams

Eric Francis/Getty Images

The strength of Nebraska’s team in 2012 is their defense. The Cornhuskers have one of the best kickers in the country in Brett Maher and a dynamic kick returner in Ameer Abdullah.

Last season, Southern Mississippi’s placekicker, Danny Hrapmann was a Lou Groza Award finalist (given to the best placekicker in the country). This season, the Golden Eagles will be looking for a new placekicker. Southern Mississippi does return their star kick returner, Tracy Lampley.

Edge

Nebraska will have the edge in special teams on Saturday.

It will be interesting to see what the Cornhuskers' plan is in the return game. Abdullah ranked No. 9 in the country in kickoff return average last season. Nebraska may use wide receivers Tim Marlowe, Jamal Turner or running back Imani Cross as returners to keep Abdullah fresh at running back.

Prediction

Eric Francis/Getty Images

If this game was played in 2011, Nebraska would have a difficult time beating Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles lost too many players to graduation to be able to come into Memorial Stadium and defeat the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska will impress the fans on Saturday as the Cornhuskers try to return to the dominant team they once were.

Nebraska will win the game, 34-14.

Line: Nebraska is favored by 19.5, according to Caesars/Harrah's (h/t Vegas

Follow me on Twitter @HuskerMagic

Begin Slideshow

 

Opening games set the tone for process as much as result

I have never been big on a team looking great on opening day (unless they are playing a Top 10-15 team). Let’s face it, getting a group of 18-22 year olds to pick up the offense or defense in fall camp after a summer off etc. Also, the fact they scrimmage each other and not another team makes it hard to get up to “game speed.”

You have to look at the process as much as the result. Remember 2004? Nebraska kicked off the Bill Callahan era with a 56-17 win over Western Illinois but the process was anything but good as the Huskers turned the ball over six times, which was a problem through a 5-6 season. In 2006 and 2007, Nebraska looked smooth in a 49-7 win over Louisiana Tech and 52-9 win over Nevada but had 9-5 and 5-7 records respectively.

We have heard a lot about how players are making each other more accountable on and off the field. Besides head coach Bo Pelini’s persuasive personality and running back Rex Burkhead leading by example, leadership has been lacking. I am interested who steps up on offense and who steps up on defense. Leading by example is great but at some point you need a couple of players that will grab the team by the scruff of the neck.

Untimely penalties and turnovers have prevented the Huskers from making the jump from good to great in the Bo Pelini era. The first place to start is getting the plays in on time, players in the right position and turning the right direction to catch a pass. On defense, that means no misreads by defensive backs leaving a wide receiver running free. That also means wrapup when you tackles as opposed to giving a shoulder block tackle. Oh yes, and no injuries.

On offense, seeing an improved Taylor Martinez as a passer would be nice as well as seeing other weapons besides running back Rex Burkhead emerge. However, it is equally true that receivers need to hang on to the ball and show skills of running after the catch. Of course, the offense’s success also comes down to the offensive line developing cohesiveness.

The Huskers enter their second year of employing a more “up-tempo” offense, which means to run it at its intended purpose, the ball should be snapped off before the play clock even gets under 15 seconds.

On defense, forcing turnovers would definitely be nice, preferably a few forced and recovered fumbles. Those type of takeaways show more desire than interceptions but I won’t turn those down either. It all starts with the pass rush, which the Huskers seldom generated last season.

Linebacker Will Compton has demonstrated more leadership, how does that translate as a player? How much will cornerback Andrew Green improve as a junior? Green was brutal to watch at times early last year but improved markedly in the second half.

 

At what point is Nebraska "back?"

Moments after Nebraska destroyed Arizona 33-0 in the 2009 Holiday Bowl, Husker head coach Bo Pelini said over the loudspeaker, “Nebraska is back and is here to stay.”

That win culminated a 10-4 season in which Nebraska won six of seven games to close the season with the lone loss being a 13-12 defeat to Texas in the Big XII Title Game. The Huskers went 9-4 in Pelini’s first season in 2008 and despite the 2009 win-loss record not being what most fans would like, you at least got the feeling the program was trending up. Instead, the Huskers went 10-4 in 2010 and 9-4 in 2011, trending down at the end of both seasons. In 2010, Nebraska went 5-4 after a 5-0 start and in 2011, the Huskers were 6-1 and seemed poised for a trip to the Big Ten Title Game but closed the season with a 2-3 record.

Every time the Huskers have a moment that makes people take notice, whether it’s the aforementioned Holiday Bowl win, the 56-21 road win over Washington in 2010 or a 24-3 home win over Michigan State, you hear statements like, “Nebraska’s back.” The phrase, “We’re back!” is an expression often times uttered when a perennially outstanding team hits a valley (be it for a year or a few years) and struggles before rebounding. Nebraska football is like that fallen champion trying to rebound. From 1962-2001, the Huskers epitomized consistency even beyond their five National Championships. It was not a matter of “Are we going to a bowl game?” It was a matter of “Which one?”

From 2002-2007, there was a lot of mediocrity in going 44-28 but even that record was inflated by a 10-3 campaign in 2003. After that season, then athletic director Steve Pederson (that phony, disingenuous and deceitful piece of crap) got on his podium after firing Frank Solich and justified a 58-19 tenure by saying, “I refuse to let this program gravitate toward mediocrity.” Pederson has since been replaced by Tom Osborne and returned to the University of Pitts-puke!
Pederson’s hire of Bill Callahan made mediocrity look inviting as Nebraska went 27-22 with two losing and bowl-less seasons under Callahan.

Pelini enters his fourth season and while his era has been an improvement over the Callahan debacle, Nebraska is no closer to being “back” than it was at the end of the 2009 season. Can this team get to the point of being “back” with Pelini as its coach? Yes but there is a difference between being “on the way back” and “being back.” If you are driving Eastbound on I-80 and you’ve reached Des Moines, Iowa, you don’t say, “We’re in Chicago now,” you say, “We’re on our way to Chicago.”

So as the Huskers open their 2012 season Saturday at home against Southern Mississippi on Saturday, I ask, what constitutes Nebraska being “back?” Well, being “back” means different things to different people.

What if Nebraska goes say, 12-2, wins their first conference since 1999 but falters back to being say a perpetual 7-5 or 8-4 team? That would qualify as being a flash in the pan. Just like Arizona State in 1996.

If the team is a consistent 9-4 to 11-2 team but occasionally (say every 6-8 years) goes say 13-1 or better and vies for a National Title, then I think you can say “Nebraska is back.”

If the teams goes on a run like 1993-1997 where it goes 60-3 – now that’s a program that is “back.” However, runs like that come along once a generation. We might never see a run like that again from any team let alone ours.

The main thing is to be consistent. And if a coach manages a roster with the emphasis on building a “program” rather than “a team,” then the recipe for consistent success is there.