Five keys to Texas Tech

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

NE Statepaper

 

Five Keys to Texas Tech

Crucial game awaits regrouped Huskers in Lubbock

by Samuel McKewon

 

October 09, 2008

 

Behind one door is an escalator. Behind the other, a slide.

 

Beginning with Saturday's game at No. 7 and undefeated Texas Tech, Nebraska football starts to make the choice about its 2008 season: A slow, steady progression toward being competitive in the Big 12, or a quick descent to the league's cellar.

 

Is it really that drastic? Consider the evidence already submitted.

 

Last year's Cornhuskers faced the same choice following a 41-6 loss at Missouri. They returned on the bus from Columbia, had a team bonding session Sunday, and were expected to honor returning members of the 1997 national championship team with a spirited effort against Oklahoma State. Instead, they turned in the worst half of football in Nebraska's history. The happy talk of that week masked over a major crisis of confidence.

 

NU Redux, under head coach Bo Pelini, has the desire. The Huskers have the will. Now, Pelini, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and their respective staffs are trying to mold their plans around the players' talents, rather than asking them to execute at a level that's currently beyond their capabilities. That's smart, and maybe overdue.

 

Last week, the Huskers threw themselves into the deep end. The stage was too bright, the defensive plan was too cute, and Missouri was too good. Worst of all, Nebraska played nearly 60 minutes of chippy, grabby football. Forget the Raiders; NU's performance was parody, achieving the grace of a mobster in one of those sweatsuits they like to wear.

 

And if it hadn't been for Husker Enemy No. 1, Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel, well, who knows what "long on tough, short on smart" mentality the Huskers might have dragged to Lubbock.

 

But Daniel's "Spitgate" accusation was the perfect alarm bell. Who's right in this "he said, he said" contretemps? Doesn’t matter. What matters is that Nebraska's zeal to proverbially punch Daniel in the facemask was a key underpinning of the plan Pelini now says he regrets. NU clearly got in Daniel's head; it simply made no impact on his play. Daniel had his victory cake and got to whine about its taste, too. Nebraska couldn't have lost that psychological war by a larger margin.

 

So a wiser, regrouped team heads to West Texas. The team NU finds there will take less mercy than Missouri did; Texas Tech doesn't just play to the whistle - it plays to the gun. As we all witnessed four years ago, when the Red Raiders butchered Nebraska 70-10 because of a bizarre, almost cruel decision by head coach Bill Callahan to insert true freshman Beau Davis into the game when Nebraska was already deep in a hole.

 

This is worst coaching performance I've ever seen, I recalled thinking at the time. It still is.

 

Last week's meltdown against Missouri wasn't much better, but don't take that as a raw comparison.

 

Pelini, see, deserves credit for immediately taking fault in the post-game interviews.

 

He didn't walk around it or smirk or feign cluelessness, as Callahan often did. He didn't gaze absently into empty space. He didn't recite what seemed like a prepared statement of fortitude. And he did not claim he was doing "excellent in all areas."

 

Instead he pointed the thumb, he encouraged his assistants to do the same, and Nebraska began the second half of its season with sobriety instead of desperation. NU responded with a strong week of practice. And Tech, while explosive, has not been residing inside the minds of Husker players for a full calendar year, like Missouri was. Expect a calmer, steadier performance. A win isn't likely. But respect is within reach.

On with the keys.

 

The Madness (and Method) of Mike Leach: I never would have guessed that any Texas Tech coach could have been quite the character Spike Dykes was. Dykes was good ol boy quote machine, well-liked, and a coach well-suited to the unique landscape that is West Texas.

 

Poor Spike. Mike Leach stole most of that colorful thunder, and Bob Knight took the rest, making a ton of thunder of his own.

 

Back to Leach. As I’m sure you’ve heard, he likes pirates. He likes movies, too, and used to recommend them on Big 12 Coaches Teleconference. His taste wasn’t bad. He runs what’s called an “elf” formation, in which he has wide receiver Eric Morris – or Michael Crabtree – take a direct snap and run the option, much like New Mexico State did. Leach has revolutionized offense in many other ways, too, including the consistent use of wide line splits and the use of that quick pass to a receiver running parallel to the line of scrimmage, which is like a toss play, only faster and more stressful on the cornerbacks.

 

Leach is a self-made guy who coaches by his own rules. He pretty much never stops calling pass plays. He runs short yardage plays out of the shotgun. He goes for fourth downs that any other coach would balk at, admits he shouldn’t, then does it again. Leach coaches by the seat of his pants, doesn’t always remember he has a defense. It has cost his Red Raiders a few games. But it’s won a few, too.

 

There are two hallmarks, among many, that I find interesting about Leach’s teams.

 

First, his offensive skill players are remarkable improvisers, often conjuring big plays out of thin air, or, Houdini-like, squirming for extra yards you didn’t think were possible. Tech players break a ton of tackles. Backs and receivers are slippery.

 

Second, his teams – and their opponents – never really believe the Red Raiders are out of a game. Almost without exception, Tech’s offense will go on a touchdown binge. Might be two, might be more, but it happens. Similarly, TTU will have a scoring drought of two or three drives. Leach and his troops never seem too high or too low either way, and it helps them in bowl games, when teams are shocked by their ability to come back.

 

Golden Graham: He may not be Chase Daniel or Todd Reesing, and he might be a product of Mike Leach’s system, but senior Graham Harrell is a skilled distributor of the ball. He makes surprisingly few mistakes for a guy with so-so mechanics, and he makes up for his weak arm with a number of throwing angles and tough-to-fit passes. His great receiving corps, led by Michael Crabtree, does the rest.

 

“You can’t just put anybody in there,” Pelini said. “Obviously, (Leach) picks his guys well and finds a guy who can execute the system. Graham has done a nice job of doing that over a long period of time now.”

 

Tech quarterbacks struggle in the NFL. The speed and intelligence of NFL defenses expose their weak arms and tendency to fit passes where they can’t go. If Pelini creates basic scheme that keeps his players in sync Harrell’s reads, the Huskers can, like Colorado did last year, force some interceptions. Harrell completed 75 percent of his passes for 431 yards and three touchdowns against CU; he also threw four picks. Colorado earned an unlikely 31-26 win because of it.

 

Downhill: Nebraska apparently whittled down its rushing plays this week, went back to the basics and tried to forge more of an offensive identity, according to coordinator Shawn Watson. NU wants to [go] back to running right at teams, finding a rhythm, and using quarterback Joe Ganz off of that. Well, we’ll see. Nebraska surely needs to do better on first down.

 

We know this: Tech is giving up only 102 rushing yards a game, but Nevada gashed the Red Raiders for 227, so it is possible to put them on their heels.

 

Giants: Pelini has to find a way to get around Tech’s mammoth offensive linemen, whom Pelini said “engulf” their assignments. Harrell’s only been sacked once, and rarely has been pressured into errors. The longer Harrell sits, the more likely he is to find Crabtree fighting to an open space. You definitely don’t want that guy getting it.

 

Those same giants have given Tech a decent running game to compliment Harrell’s passing. Leach, deciding he had to commit more to the ground if he was going contend year after year against Oklahoma and Texas, has developed new plays and schemes for this year.

 

Cody Glenn: If the senior weakside linebacker is not reasonably healthy for Saturday’s game, you’ll notice it, because Glenn lurks around the ball a lot. If he’s a step too slow, he’s almost too small to be effective, so Pelini will have to consider contingency plans. Blake Lawrence? A dime scheme? Tyler Wortman, as strongside plays instead?

 

Glenn’s absence would be significant. He’s the heart of that defense, and the best raw playmaker in the back seven, where most of your highlight plays are made.

[holvy83]

Is something wrong or is it just me? When did Glen become the heart of the Defense? Yeah he may play with a lot of fire and determination, but can't say any teams are trying to keep the plays away from him. Or any one else with an "N" on their helmet

[mjmartin1970]

Is something wrong or is it just me? When did Glen become the heart of the Defense? Yeah he may play with a lot of fire and determination, but can't say any teams are trying to keep the plays away from him. Or any one else with an "N" on their helmet

 

If not Glenn, then who?

[holvy83]

Is something wrong or is it just me? When did Glen become the heart of the Defense? Yeah he may play with a lot of fire and determination, but can't say any teams are trying to keep the plays away from him. Or any one else with an "N" on their helmet

 

If not Glenn, then who?

 

EXACTLY, who was the last true "LEADER" we had on this defense? I will say Carriker, if we are talking Callahan era and beyond.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Is something wrong or is it just me? When did Glen become the heart of the Defense? Yeah he may play with a lot of fire and determination, but can't say any teams are trying to keep the plays away from him. Or any one else with an "N" on their helmet

 

If not Glenn, then who?

 

EXACTLY, who was the last true "LEADER" we had on this defense? I will say Carriker, if we are talking Callahan era and beyond.

Carriker was probably the last "true" leader we had on defense. Bowman tried to be last year but he was thrown to the wayside and forgotten about

[HuskerT]

The Article says that Bo and staff are going to simplify things now, but isn't that what Bo said he was going to do when he first got here? Bo said he was going to simplify things because he felt one of the reasons that the D struggled last year was because they were having to think too much instead of just making plays. Why would he say that than go and make the same mistake as KC.

[BigRedPowerWagon]

I will tell you one day way to win this game.

 

freekin out score them sheesh is it that hard.

[HuskerT]

I will tell you one day way to win this game.

 

freekin out score them sheesh is it that hard.

 

Wow! You're right. Sure hope Bo's reading this!

[BigRedPowerWagon]

I will tell you one day way to win this game.

 

freekin out score them sheesh is it that hard.

 

Wow! You're right. Sure hope Bo's reading this!

 

sure hope he is to because he hasnt done it in the past 2 games.