knapplc
International Man of Mystery
So we meet again. Our nemesis, the thorn in our side in the Big Ten - the NW Wildcats.
Three years ago they came into Lincoln the week after we'd defeated a solid Sparty team and stunned the Huskers, stuffing Taylor and Rex and killing us time and again with that damned crossing pattern route. After the game, players would admit we had taken Northwestern lightly, hadn't properly prepared for them.
Jump forward to 2012, Northwestern is now a team we should be aware of, a team we should not overlook after the debacle the year before. But 78 fumbled punts later, Nebraska trailed by two scores midway through the fourth quarter. And that's despite the fact that nearly half ofthe high school stadium Northwestern rents for their games (What's that? That's an actual college football stadium? You're joking. Really? OK.) Northwestern's stadium being full of Husker fans. Husker fans were so loud at Northwestern's field that they had to go to a silent count in the second half. Then, late in the game, Taylor led yet another comeback.
So 2013 rolls around, and we KNOW what this team is. We know we can't overlook them, we know we have to take them seriously. Except this time Kain Colter's a Senior, Taylor Martinez is unavailable, and we're down, again, to this team late in the 4th quarter. No Taylor to save us. No Rex to save us. So Ameer saves us, bailing the team out on a ridiculous 4th-and-15 conversion, setting up the Westerkatch Hail Mary, and there was much rejoicing. Ron Kellogg III ran the fastest QB sprint since Martinez torched Kansas State in 2010.
And that brings us to today. A three-game series at 2-1 in favor of the Good Guys, but just barely. It should be 3-0 in favor of Nebraska by talent, but by play on the field it should be 3-0 in favor of Northwestern. The simple fact is this - Nebraska has better overall athletes than Northwestern, but Northwestern is not devoid of talent. Add a +6 advantage in turnovers to the last two games to Northwestern's talent level, though, and suddenly you have two fairly even teams.
For Nebraska it's simple - don't turn the ball over, you win the game.
But that's a bit of a simplistic fix, especially as good as this Northwestern team is at forcing turnovers. After starting a dismal 0-2 on the season the Wildcats bounced back, going 3-1 to claw their way back to .500, fueled in large part by a +7 turnover margin in their last four games.
Both teams come into this game on a down note, the Huskers losing on the road at East Lansing and Northwestern losing on the road to Minnesota.
There should be a lot of Husker fans in the stands again today. There will be no Venric Mark for Northwestern, and most importantly no Kain Colter. Trevor Siemian is poor-running pocket quarterback, and should be embattled all game long by Randy Gregory and Greg McMullen. Daniel Davie is back. Kenny Bell is back. Brandon Reilly is back. All signs point to a Husker victory in Evanston tonight.
So no reason to worry, right?
Right?
Three years ago they came into Lincoln the week after we'd defeated a solid Sparty team and stunned the Huskers, stuffing Taylor and Rex and killing us time and again with that damned crossing pattern route. After the game, players would admit we had taken Northwestern lightly, hadn't properly prepared for them.
Jump forward to 2012, Northwestern is now a team we should be aware of, a team we should not overlook after the debacle the year before. But 78 fumbled punts later, Nebraska trailed by two scores midway through the fourth quarter. And that's despite the fact that nearly half of
So 2013 rolls around, and we KNOW what this team is. We know we can't overlook them, we know we have to take them seriously. Except this time Kain Colter's a Senior, Taylor Martinez is unavailable, and we're down, again, to this team late in the 4th quarter. No Taylor to save us. No Rex to save us. So Ameer saves us, bailing the team out on a ridiculous 4th-and-15 conversion, setting up the Westerkatch Hail Mary, and there was much rejoicing. Ron Kellogg III ran the fastest QB sprint since Martinez torched Kansas State in 2010.
And that brings us to today. A three-game series at 2-1 in favor of the Good Guys, but just barely. It should be 3-0 in favor of Nebraska by talent, but by play on the field it should be 3-0 in favor of Northwestern. The simple fact is this - Nebraska has better overall athletes than Northwestern, but Northwestern is not devoid of talent. Add a +6 advantage in turnovers to the last two games to Northwestern's talent level, though, and suddenly you have two fairly even teams.
For Nebraska it's simple - don't turn the ball over, you win the game.
But that's a bit of a simplistic fix, especially as good as this Northwestern team is at forcing turnovers. After starting a dismal 0-2 on the season the Wildcats bounced back, going 3-1 to claw their way back to .500, fueled in large part by a +7 turnover margin in their last four games.
Both teams come into this game on a down note, the Huskers losing on the road at East Lansing and Northwestern losing on the road to Minnesota.
There should be a lot of Husker fans in the stands again today. There will be no Venric Mark for Northwestern, and most importantly no Kain Colter. Trevor Siemian is poor-running pocket quarterback, and should be embattled all game long by Randy Gregory and Greg McMullen. Daniel Davie is back. Kenny Bell is back. Brandon Reilly is back. All signs point to a Husker victory in Evanston tonight.
So no reason to worry, right?
Right?
