Expect another day at the office for the Huskers

[HuskerWeekly.com]

Expect another day at the office for the Huskers

By Josh Peterson (ttheKid1*18) with Contributions from Editor

HuskerWeekly Sports Analyst

 

“He’s to the 15, the 10, the 5, touchdown! What an option keeper that was.” Those were the words that seemed to come from every Husker announcer since the beginning of time. Well those catch phrases came to an end when Bill Callahan became head coach in January of 2004, but on Saturday September 9th, the once vaunted option of Nebraska makes a return to Memorial Stadium. And in case you’ve been in a Big Red coma, the Huskers won’t be the team running it.

 

Fans couldn’t wait for the opener, and now no one can wait for “that next game” to end, when the Huskers travel to USC to play the game that could “bring the program back to prominence” in some people’s minds. Well in between that game and the opener, the Nicholls State Colonels travel to Lincoln for the second game of the season, to play the role of that ever dangerous “in-between game”.. which could very well be a trap.

The option is always difficult to prepare for - just ask any Nebraska opponent from Husker heyday. It’s tough to simulate the speed of the quarterback - and this week Brian Hildebrand is tying to do just that. Will it prepare the players for what they will see on Saturday? It will, but not nearly as much as needed. However, the players will know what they are dealing with, once the Colonels take that first snap.

 

The front seven are itching to show that the off-season hype was warranted. They didn’t have one of their more dominant games last week, and playing a ground oriented team will give a good opportunity to show that they can walk-the-walk, by stuffing the run. Those guys are excited about all the running the Colonels will do, and should have a big game.

Unfortunately one area fans won’t be able to see improve much this week is the secondary. With the option offense, the Colonels only throw the ball a few times a game, so the likes of Andre Jones and Cortney Grixby won’t be tested as much as they would like to be.

 

On offense, it will be business as usual for the team. Run the ball early and often, and let Zac Taylor pick apart the defense with nip-and-tuck like precision. If there is a running back that is going to set himself apart from the 4-horsemen before the SC game, it will have to happen here. Will Lucky and Glenn continue to shine? Will Jackson get more carries and show that his big run wasn’t a flash in the pan? When Wilson takes the field, will he prove he doesn’t have a nasty case of that F word that ends in “itis”? I think the answer to all of these is yes.

 

It will resemble the spring game with little passing, and a lot of running. I think Lucky will continue to show fans why he was a five-star phenom out of California, and one of the top recruits in the nation. But I also see Kenny Wilson making some big runs, and show that all the summer talk surrounding him was, and is, true.

 

The line has improved significantly from last season, and should play even better this week against a Division 1-AA opponent.

Overall Nicholls State will be out of their element playing in front of 80K+, and the locals are still in an early season feeding-frenzy - which could make the Colonels wish they would have “opted” to stay in the air during this trip to Nebraska and College Football’s capital city.

 

Josh's Prediction: Huskers-63, Nicholls State-7

Make your predictions here.

 

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Thanks guys - Blackshirt