Husker Z

The problem is that the Huskers might be up 14-0 right away on two Martinez carries, but if an offense can be patient, the ground game will work.

Has anyone else noticed Martinez hasn't hit paydirt on the ground since KSU nearly a full month ago? Sure would be great for him to break the streak. It's been too long since one of his game-breaking highlight TDs.

 

I've noticed. He's definitely lost a step or two in the last month. He hasn't been able to gain the edge as easily as in the beginning of the season, and I attribute that entirely to the several solid hits he's taken this year. He's banged up some, there's no doubt about it.

 

I met Taylor's uncle this weekend and asked him about that, and his response was guarded - he said that nobody is injury-free this time of year. That's true in a contact sport, but it's also true that not everyone loses that fifth gear like Taylor seems to have.

 

I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with TMart, but I do think he's half a step slower. Turns out he's mortal after all.

You might be right on that, it does seem like he's been a little slower to the corner. But, I also think, since KSU, teams have geared their entire gameplan around keeping him from getting that corner. We've played some pretty solid teams that all have great athletes as well.

I have a feeling we'll see that 5th gear again these next two weekends a few times!

I say it is down to OU and Baylor, for whatever reason, OSU is not playing as well after they played NU. OU sets up the best story for the NU exit. Let's hope the officials let the kids play and we aren't robbed. I hope we get into the national championship game but if not, a BCS meeting with an undefeated TCU or BSU is the next best thing.

 

I say Tositos in AZ would be awesome for this program.

OSU has only played one game since us, @KSU. They put up like 600 yards of offense without their best player, they just had some issues punching it in the endzone. OSU is a very good team and with the shaky defenses in the south, they have a shot to wreak some havoc to finish out the year.

The problem is that the Huskers might be up 14-0 right away on two Martinez carries, but if an offense can be patient, the ground game will work.

Has anyone else noticed Martinez hasn't hit paydirt on the ground since KSU nearly a full month ago? Sure would be great for him to break the streak. It's been too long since one of his game-breaking highlight TDs.

I'll trade those rushing TD's for a solid overall game where he keeps defenses back with his arm and gets solid yards when he pulls it down and runs. I'll also trade those rushing TD's for back to back wins over undefeated, ranked teams!

But, yes, I'd also like to see him go crazy this weekend and get his numbers back up as well!

Most everyone has had SOME success against us running the ball, but this cannot be stressed enough - this is entirely due to the scheme we are running on defense. We are ranked 115th in the country in Tackles For Loss. This is not an accident, and it's not because our D Line sucks.

 

Bo went into this season knowing that he did not have the kind of transcendent player on the D Line like he had with Suh. He changed his D Line philosophy to an even more conservative approach than we had last year, where our guys are instructed to guard their gaps, control their push upfield, contain the QB in the pocket, and NOT to over-pursue. Suh was able to guard his gap, contain the QB and stop over-pursuit WHILE rushing pell-mell up the field and wreaking havoc; Crick and Stein cannot do this consistently, so we cannot do what we did last year.

 

This year we have Kunalic and Henery, both of whom are capable of making the opponent start deep in their territory every time. The goal of our defense is to force those long drives through short gains. We do this very well, and although it's not a sexy defense, it's damned effective. Consider: We've already played two of the three highest-scoring offenses on our schedule, yet we're still 16th in the nation in scoring defense - a stat which will only improve.

 

We don't stuff many running backs, but we do a great job of slowing them down. That's our philosophy this year, and so far it's working.

Yup, you nailed it. The coaches have been saying this all year, but everyone just thought it was coach-speak and they were covering for their guys. But, it's 100% true. This DL doesn't suck and they CAN rush the passer when asked to do so, just ask Gabbert. That MU line was maybe the best line we've seen all year and our front 4 (and sometimes 3) completely dominated them from the start. When told to pin their ears back and go, they can!

An absolute unbelievable performance by that kid last Saturday! He was thrown to the dogs, against a VERY good offense and they went at him time and time again and all he did was step up big every single time! I was REALLY nervous when Dennard went down, but this just goes to show you what kind of depth this team has all of a sudden and not only that, but that depth is not only paying attention in practice and film sessions, but they are also getting the COACHING they need to be ready if their name is called!

The things this team and this staff is doing right now is special folks! There are going to be some GREAT days ahead!

All I read is BLAH BLAH I once turned an ankle on this one deal, on this one fat girl, blah blah blah.

Magic practiced again today, with no noticeable limp and will absolutely DESTORY the clones this weekend!!!

I thought the other day when the coaches said that there wasn't any swelling that he'd be playing this weekend. Swelling = bad, no swelling = rub some dirt on it and get back in there.

In the replay you could tell the ankle got caught a little, but it didn't get rolled up on and didn't bend in the wrong direction too bad. I have a feeling we'll see the old Magic Man out there this Saturday shredding a pitiful ISU defense.

Too bad Rex is already "Superman"

Magic Man

INCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson says injured quarterback Taylor Martinez practiced "surprisingly well" Tuesday and will be ready to play Saturday at Iowa State.

Martinez sprained his right ankle in the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers' (No. 7 BCS, No. 9 AP) game against Missouri last week and was on the sideline for the second half. He missed practice Monday.

Watson said there's no swelling in Martinez's ankle and that the freshman's workload will increase at Wednesday's practice.

Watson said he was impressed with Martinez's ability to bounce back, calling him "Superman."

Great post. The most telling thing about this is that you can hear the hesitation in the referee's voice after the review.

That's what I was going to post as well. The ref couldn't even say it clearly or properly. He didn't say that forward progress was stopped prior to the ball coming out, he simply says, "the play is ruled.....forward progress....." So stupid!

Lawrence Phillips on video call.

If Missouri plays even an average QB last Saturday, we win that game 50+ - 0. The ONLY thing that kept Misery in that game was Gabbert's ability to rifle passes into VERY tight spaces. He didn't hit an open WR all day, they were blanketed.

I don't care much for him, mainly because he plays for Mizzou, but I don't hold his decommitment against him, there was just way too much crap going on in our program for him to be comfortable with it. HOWEVER, I do feel like his family lacks a LOT of integrity by the way they handled his little brother's.

I would say if he's not 100%, sit him. If he can't push off when passing or get to full speed as quick as normal, sit him and let him rest for the stretch run, we'll need him more in future games than we do this weekend, I think.

This weekend should be a lesson in power football, similar to the Misery game. Our OL should be able to dominate the LOS and eventually impose our will on ISU and come away with a comfortable win. Keep the turnovers under 8 or so and we should be okay.

That was before last week as well. It changes every week and I would assume it will change again this week.

I haven't seen this discussed yet....

 

Obviously the first quarter was phenomenal! No real complaints from me. 2nd Quarter though...what the hell happened? Did NU go flat or did MU adjust?

Bo said in his post game comments that he felt that we lost the field position battle in the 2nd Q which caused us to slow down.

We were backed up the whole quarter and when you are up 24-0, you probably aren't going to take a bunch of shots downfield. Just needed to flip the field position, but couldn't do it.

I expect this NU team to come out with its hair on fire every single week from here on out. MU game was a HUGE win, but now they can see that all their goals are still there for them and WELL within their grasp. This is something that Pelini and staff are very good at, keeping guys focused on the task at hand. That's why I was so dumbfounded by the UT buildup by them, it was just really out of character.

I kind of expect a slow first quarter on Saturday and then we'll wear them out at the LOS and end up running all over them and forcing them into situations that get them out of sync. I don't know about a score prediction, but I'd probably start at 38-10, maybe 38-20 or so.

Yeah, he'll suspend him. Even though no flag was thrown just like against OSU. That no review on Gabberts fumble was a bunch of B.S. Officiating sucked it up once again.

 

You can't review it if the fumble was not called on the field.

Not true. NCAA and NFL instituted a new policy before last year where a team CAN recover a fumble by review if it's part of the immediate action after the fumble. Basically if the other team gets possession of the ball immediately after the fumble. I certainly thought that was the case today, but we never got any kind of an explanation.

 

I have never heard of that or seen it happen in college or NFL. Not saying it isn't possible, but that's not my understanding of the replay rules.

RedDenver is right, they changed this a few years ago.

Hey man, I've lived through that my entire life, my WHOLE FAMILY is MU fans, so I've seen it first hand. I was even a Tiger fan in my youth, until I saw the light and was able to see that I had been brain washed!!

 

Around what time did you become a Nebraska fan? Sounds like you're bragging about being a front runner...very noble of you.

When I was in Jr. High (early 90's), I believe and went to a game up there (against MU actually). I thought the experience was pretty cool and it stuck in my mind until it was time to select a college and I chose NU. I didn't choose it solely on Football, although as much as I like sports I wouldn't be embarrassed to say so, I chose it because of their Construction Management program and the fact that because MU didn't offer CM, I could get in state tuition. I took a lot of heat in Jr. High and HS, my entire school was MU fans, or at least 98% of them were. But, winning 3 national titles when I was at NU wasn't horrible, I'm not gonna lie!!

I lived in NW Missouri and I cheered for MU because that's all I knew growing up with my parents. However, it was almost impossible to follow their football team. They were SO BAD and TV wasn't like it is now, so they were never on and there wasn't the internet either and the only paper we got was the Omaha paper or the St. Joe paper, so following one of the worst teams in football wasn't easy. I never really abandoned MU until the past 5 years or so and my friends are so obnoxious I just couldn't do it anymore.

I can honestly say though, I will probably cheer for MU once we are in the Big 10, it just makes family gatherings MUCH, MUCH nicer. Unless we meet in a bowl game, then I will hate them with all my passion, like I do now.

personally i dont think that its that they only think MU is a good team. I believe its because at the end of 2007 and the start of 2008 every tom,dick and harry jump on the Mizzou band wagon and MU didnt perform. They fell apart in the second half against OU in 07, then just when all the national guys believed after the NE game in 08 they played like crap and lost to OSU then got blown off the field against TX. I think MU burned them and they will not pick them again in those type of games until MU proves they can win them. If mu wins on saturday there will not be enough spots on the wagon for all those who want to jump on. If they lose, then everyone is safe.

 

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

Good point. Also, it's probably a lot of people just thinking/knowing that "Missouri is Missouri" the other shoe is bound to drop sometime.

 

edit: I don't mean that to be an a**hole either, I just know a lot of MU fans that have that feeling/attitude. Afraid to get too high because they know what's coming.

 

your not an a-hole Z. Its the truth. there is a reason i nearly vomitted on myself when OU picked up that fumbled KO and nearly returned it. I started having flashbacks of all the 'almosts' for MU. There is a reason we are at the top or near the top of every bad list. Most NCAA tourney wins without a final 4, most wins during such and such without a BCS, Most blah blah without a blah blah. Its the life of a Tiger fan.....

Hey man, I've lived through that my entire life, my WHOLE FAMILY is MU fans, so I've seen it first hand. I was even a Tiger fan in my youth, until I saw the light and was able to see that I had been brain washed!!

I hope they appeal that, TODAY!!! That's complete crap and those d-bag announcers will be ALL OVER it this weekend, pumping themselves up for bringing it to attention!

What complete sh*t. It was BORDERLINE at best and that f'ing kid should have been paying attention, the damn play was right in front of him and he was standing there with his thumb up his a**.

personally i dont think that its that they only think MU is a good team. I believe its because at the end of 2007 and the start of 2008 every tom,dick and harry jump on the Mizzou band wagon and MU didnt perform. They fell apart in the second half against OU in 07, then just when all the national guys believed after the NE game in 08 they played like crap and lost to OSU then got blown off the field against TX. I think MU burned them and they will not pick them again in those type of games until MU proves they can win them. If mu wins on saturday there will not be enough spots on the wagon for all those who want to jump on. If they lose, then everyone is safe.

 

Once bitten, twice shy.

Good point. Also, it's probably a lot of people just thinking/knowing that "Missouri is Missouri" the other shoe is bound to drop sometime.

edit: I don't mean that to be an a**hole either, I just know a lot of MU fans that have that feeling/attitude. Afraid to get too high because they know what's coming.

I honestly think that most people think the UT game was nothing more than a fluke and a group of coaches, the university, the media, the fans making WAY too big of a game out of it. They went into it with all the wrong reasons to be motivated. We weren't getting motivated to win the division or to win the conference, they went into it with nothing but "redemption" and 0:01 and 1-9 and a defunct conference on their mind. They went into it to beat a NAME, not a team and they couldn't live up to the hype.

 

On the other hand, I think people see MU for what they are. I think they are a good team, not great, but very good. Coming off of their biggest win in program history and they know how hard it is to rebound from that high in this short amount of time. Not only tough to rebound from that high, but then to have to get up to AT LEAST that level again in order to beat another VERY good Nebraska team, on the road. That's not an easy task at all.

 

I see your point and it's a VERY good one. But, if NU doesn't completely wreck themselves this weekend with dumb mistakes, they will be in good shape.

Unfortunately, the best thing nebraska does is completely wreck themselves with dumb mistakes at the worst times. lol

Pelini's teams have shown to come out of that about this time of year and start playing their best ball of the year.

I honestly think that most people think the UT game was nothing more than a fluke and a group of coaches, the university, the media, the fans making WAY too big of a game out of it. They went into it with all the wrong reasons to be motivated. We weren't getting motivated to win the division or to win the conference, they went into it with nothing but "redemption" and 0:01 and 1-9 and a defunct conference on their mind. They went into it to beat a NAME, not a team and they couldn't live up to the hype.

On the other hand, I think people see MU for what they are. I think they are a good team, not great, but very good. Coming off of their biggest win in program history and they know how hard it is to rebound from that high in this short amount of time. Not only tough to rebound from that high, but then to have to get up to AT LEAST that level again in order to beat another VERY good Nebraska team, on the road. That's not an easy task at all.

I see your point and it's a VERY good one. But, if NU doesn't completely wreck themselves this weekend with dumb mistakes, they will be in good shape.

I grew up in Atchison and I'm guessing they need to up their patrol up there!!

This will bore people to death but I have coached football for 10 years and I think some of you might not be thinking about what the real "let down" factor is. Its usually being TO up for a game and thinking you will win with ease. When you go into a game like that and things dont go your way in the first 10 minutes or so, you tend to see a snowball effect. Its weird, easy plays dont get made, you miss a block, a punt bounced back instead of forward.

 

I have seen it happend up close many times. That team starts thinking that only good things will happen or that they can "turn it on" at any point but usually its just not the case.

I would say that would be more of an "overlooked" team.

Eerily similar to last week, here are some more predictions rolling in.

Nebraska victory J. Darin Darst, CBSSports.com

Nebraska victory Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com

Missouri 27, Nebraska 23 Jason Horowitz, CBSSports.com

Nebraska victory Adam Jacobi, CBSSports.com

Nebraska victory Chip Patterson, CBSSports.com

Nebraska 26, Missouri 23 John Tamanaha, MSNBC.com

Nebraska victory Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com

Nebraska victory Richard Cirminiello, CollegeFootballNews.com

Nebraska victory Matthew Zemek, CollegeFootballNews.com

Nebraska 24, Missouri 23 Dale Jones, Capstone Report

Nebraska victory Mike Huguenin, Rivals.com

Nebraska victory Tom Dienhart, Rivals.com

Nebraska victory Olin Buchanan, Rivals.com

Nebraska victory Gerry Ahern, Rivals.com

Nebraska victory Pat Forde, ESPN.com

Nebraska 34, Missouri 31 The Sports Network