DesertRat

Um, yeah, you guys can keep him. I shudder to think of him on the same team as the Rodgers brothers and Sean Canfield. Oregon St. was a pretty darn good football team this year; they just needed help on defense. With Suh this year, they probably stomp to the Rose Bowl.

No one was really excited about the Heisman race this year, and I think people were really sick of the beauty pageant that it had become between McCoy and Tebow. You can make a case for Ingram. But suddenly at the end of the season, they discovered two guys in Gerhart and Suh who were not just good, but capable of dominating a football game unlike anyone else. I've seen Gerhart in person, and he's a steamroller. Suh can destroy entire offensive game plans by himself. I'm good with either of those two winning it.

Not a really mobile QB, true, but it's hard to sack a QB if he doesn't have the ball. On passing plays he rarely has the ball longer than a two-count. The plays call for quick throws, and he has a very fast release. You're likely to see plays where the ball is in the air 30 yards downfield by the time most QBs would have started going through their reads. How well do your special teams play? The big thing that's haunted Arizona all year has been losing the field position battle. The defense is actually pretty damn solid, but they've played on the wrong end of a short field too many times this year. One example is the Washington game, where the defense only gave up 256 yards but the Cats ended up losing 36-33. If you guys can stay in good field position, then you've got a much better chance at winning. No matter how good or bad an offense is, it's easier to go 45 yards than 80. This is also why your defense is key. Stop Arizona in their own territory, and make them kick the ball; our punter has had flashes of brilliance this year, but he's as likely to kick one 13 yards as he is to pin you deep. If you can make Arizona kick from their own 20, you're likely to get the ball back at about midfield. That's the way it's been this year. (I would just like the old Keenyn Crier back. The one who put three straight punts at the 3-yard line against Oregon State in the 4th quarter. I'm not fond of the current "hey, 33 yards isn't bad" version of him.)

Not a really mobile QB, true, but it's hard to sack a QB if he doesn't have the ball. On passing plays he rarely has the ball longer than a two-count. The plays call for quick throws, and he has a very fast release. You're likely to see plays where the ball is in the air 30 yards downfield by the time most QBs would have started going through their reads. How well do your special teams play? The big thing that's haunted Arizona all year has been losing the field position battle. The defense is actually pretty damn solid, but they've played on the wrong end of a short field too many times this year. One example is the Washington game, where the defense only gave up 256 yards but the Cats ended up losing 36-33. If you guys can stay in good field position, then you've got a much better chance at winning. No matter how good or bad an offense is, it's easier to go 45 yards than 80. This is also why your defense is key. Stop Arizona in their own territory, and make them kick the ball; our punter has had flashes of brilliance this year, but he's as likely to kick one 13 yards as he is to pin you deep. If you can make Arizona kick from their own 20, you're likely to get the ball back at about midfield. That's the way it's been this year. (I would just like the old Keenyn Crier back. The one who put three straight punts at the 3-yard line against Oregon State in the 4th quarter. I'm not fond of the current "hey, 33 yards isn't bad" version of him.)

You've gotta blow a day at the beach. We like to go to Mission Beach when we're there. Take a spin or two on the old wooden roller coaster, and there are plenty of shops to rent bikes, rollerblades, surfboards, etc. from. If you get hungry hit Roberto's Taco Shop and get an order of taquitos. All of this is in one convenient spot, so you can park your car and have a great time without blowing much cash at all.

Arizona had the second best run defense in the Pac-10 this year. This is in a conference with Toby Gerhart, Jacquizz Rodgers, LaMichael James, Jeremiah Masoli, Joe McKnightm etc. I know Nebraska runs the ball a lot, but the run D has been solid. The AZ secondary is also a concern for the Huskers because they are fast when it comes to run help.

Edit: double post.

Wildcat fan here. I like this draw and I think it's a good chance to see just how good the Cats are. You guys present a top-tier opponent and came within one bad call of melting down the BCS. Arizona will present a very tough test for the Husker defense. Our offense is extremely multi-faceted. The run game is not too bad, but doesn't own many teams. However, the passing game is a different beast from what you normally see in football. The passing game is essentially an extended running game. Nick Foles will stretch the field regularly, but it's the short passes that kill you. Four yards here, five yards there, and pretty soon you're talking about some serious yards. He is especially effective against the pass rush because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. The Cats have plays in their playbook that will get 30-40 yards off of a one-step drop. Most of the passing plays are snap and throw; there's really no time to get to the QB. I don't really worry about Suh harassing Foles because of this, although I do look for a lot more shotgun snaps to get that extra second of space. Foles is a very smart quarterback and an accurate thrower. He makes very quick reads, and while not a running threat, is very good at avoiding pressure. He owns the passing records at his high school, which is notable because the previous record holder was Drew Brees. With the way he's played this year, we have really high hopes for next year. Where the Nebraska D worries me is their ability to close on the football extremely quickly. You guys have some fast guys up front. Many of Arizona's passes are thrown only a yard or two upfield, and it's up to the receiver to get yards after the catch. Your linebackers have shown they can bring down a ball carrier before he's able to get very far at all. If you take the Cats out of the short game, then Foles is having to drop back more often, and then Suh and Co. are going to get a chance to go after him. I really don't think we can run much at all on you guys. If Nic Grigsby is healthy, he may be able to break one or two, but I think this is up to Foles and the receivers. I gotta say that some of the tackles your LBs made Saturday night had me shaking my head, wondering how the heck did you get to the ball carrier that fast. On defense, the Cats have gotten their groove back. This unit is as fast as any in the country. Earl Mitchell and Ricky Elmore are dangerous DEs. Our secondary is not a world beating unit, but the have played very well this year. CB Devin Ross in particular is a beast on run help and has a good nose for breaking up passes. Trevin Wade has five picks this year. The LBs are our concern area. The Cats just aren't deep there and have had some struggles. But they've schemed well and are doing a good job of holding opponents in check. From what I've seen from the Huskers, it shouldn't be a problem keeping the score down. What I'm expecting is a tough game. If Nebraska can keep the heat on defensively, Arizona will be in trouble. We like to put up big numbers on the scoreboard and that will be a tough order. This game could easily be decided by a couple of lucky bounces going one way or the other. If the Cats can break a couple of big plays early, they might be able to boat race you guys. If not, well, I don't think it's going to be a good thing to let a motivated and angry Husker squad stick around. This should be a fun game.