Washington at Nebraska Preview

[HowlingHusky]

If there's one thing I think everyone is overlooking it's Nick Holt. He's a great defensive mind, and if Bo Pelini showed us anything it's that a good defensive mind can turn around a defense.

.

 

Ty left the Huskies with some talent but it was being wasted. To protect the team from injuries the didn't do any tackling until game time...ugh. There were no workout warriors under him either, they were fat. Last year the Hhskies DL lost, on the average, something like 25 pounds of fat and put on 10 - 15 pounds of lean muscle mass. The biggest loser was Ta'amu dropping from 345 to 330 but estimates are that he shed 35 pounds of fat and 20 pounds of muscle.

 

Anyway my point is that the defense has had a lot of problems to overcome rather than just installing a new scheme. Are they where the need to be? I'm not sure they are on par with Nebraska but if these guys can play to their potential they'll surprise more than a few teams. That's my hope any way. I'm often called a pessimist by other Husky fans but I'm a realist. My realist view is this D will be very good.

 

I'm most excited to see Josh Shirley play. He gave the offense fits all spring.

 

I think that Nebraska had less problems to recover from and had better athletes onboard. Holt has been firey from day 1 and has never altered his approach, his scheme, or his expectations. I think that they will get a good play at linebacker. That's my biggest concern on defense. They're not deep there yet...the potential is there but the experienc is lacking in the 2-deeps.

[Enhance]

Now having said that our offense is the biggest question mark and in my mind particuliary the offensive line. The line was poor last season, whether some want Martinez to shoulder the blame for the performance in the Big XII championship is neither her nor there. They HAVE to get better.............bottom line. I believe we'll be fine at receiver or at least on the same level we were last season, which isn't saying much, but we should be better given the athletes we have in those positions. The running back position is full of talent, but only Rex has the experience at this time. I'm confident that they will do fine in their respective positions. Martinez is going to be the second biggest question mark with his ankle and how he will run the new offense.

 

Looking down Phil Steele's Big 10 1st - 4th teams there aren't many offensive players and a single lineman. How big of a concern is the OL. This is the first I've heard of that. I've always thought of Nebraska as an OL factory. Is this a down year for it? It has been for the Huskies of late, but the quality is coming back...and for the Huskies really the key. I guess when I look back at the Holiday Bowl the Huskies were able to make it a long day for TM in the backfield, but I thought that to be an aberration. Historically hasn't NU had stout OL's?

Nebraska used to be an OL factory in the Osborne era, especially during the mid to late 90's. We also had pretty solid offensive lines in Solich's era and Bill Callahan was an accomplished offensive line coach and still is. So yes, historically speaking, NU has been extremely good on the offensive line.

 

However the last three seasons I haven't been overly impressed with our offensive lines which directly correlates to the line coach and then the coordinator. I've heard several people (including a couple of former Husker players) say our lines are sloppy and have poor technique often. We have talent there including a guy that Urban Meyer really, really wanted at Florida when he was still coaching there. I don't know if a new offensive coordinator will directly correlate to a better line with the same o-line coach. I hope it does but we'll have to wait and see.

 

As far as the Holiday Bowl is concerned, I don't know what there really is to take from that game. Washington got into a good bowl for them and Nebraska fell into a bowl below what they thought they would get earlier in the season. Combine that with an injured (and uncomfortable-in-the-pocket) Martinez along with a slew of other injuries, it made it easy pickings for the Washington defense. Martinez HAS to gain his confidence back this year after it was somewhat shattered after the Missouri game and on last season once he got injured.

[RedDenver]

Sounds to me like UW is counting on quite a few inexperienced players with potential. NU doesn't have nearly the number of "hope he's better" guys than the OP description of UW. Even if NU's offense is just as woeful as last year, the defense is going to be tremendous. This game is in Lincoln, and NU has revenge as a motivator. I just don't see UW doing better than a 2 TD loss to NU, unless turnovers are a big factor.

 

Not exactly firm evidence, but also take a look at what people are predicting for NU in the B1G this season - a lot of folks are picking NU to win the conference or be very close. That's substantially better than UW's predicted performance. Take what you will from that.

 

I'm predicting a 27-10 NU victory

[bbhusker]

Welcome to the board!

 

I just don't see this game going well for the Huskies. Several Husker players have said that they were embarrassed by their showing in the Holiday Bowl against a team they knew they were better than. So the motivation to redeem themselves has already been stated. We all know Pelini will use the bowl game film as motivation and I see this game being over early in the second half. We will still have a VERY green offense with a lot of bugs to work out but the Blackshirts will be the stars of this game. Price will make too many mistakes and our D will score at least one TD taking the pressure off of Martinez and the O. Burkhead will keep the chains moving and we grind out a 35-10 win.

[EZ-E]

NU throws out a more balanced, well-coached, more talented football team and wins it by 17. Takes care of some unfinished business.

 

We have three All-Americans on our defense. Not many teams we will play can say that.

 

 

Good straight forward analysis, take out all the emotion and I just don't seen the Huskies winning. Even if the teams were even it would come down to the home field and the huskies would still lose. For what it is worth I lived in seattle area for a while and the Huskies are a team I like, I still have an old pretty cool Purple Haze Sweatshirt from 1990 when they had a good defense in the back of the closet.

 

The people that know me know that I dont pu&&y foot around. Get to the point. I just dont see the Huskies as potent enough to beat us on our turf. I really like what they have going on in Seattle. Just don't think that they will be able to beat us at home this year. We are very well balanced and talented as hell.

[Astrodawg]

Well I'm back from my last post which was pre-Holiday Bowl urging Huskers to show some respect to Washington. They didn't and look what happened. Bravado and whatnot, I get it, but it would be doubly silly to make the same mistake twice.

 

I didn't figure UW would actually win the Holiday Bowl, but I figured it would be a battle. And I was home at Grand Island over X-mas to watch the game, and I can say nobody was like, "Meh whatever, it was just the Holiday Bowl," after the loss. In fact most people were pretty pissed. And yes, I was rooting for UW. Bash me for split loyalty, but they needed it more. But saying NE wasn't motivated...I just don't buy it. If you come into it and expect to roll and don't take it seriously in the first half, okay. But. It was a 10-7 game at half time, and I don't care what you say, if you're right in the game and in danger of losing to a team you killed earlier in the season on national television, you're motivated. Maybe NE didn't have much to gain, but they still had a lot to lose. Being born and raised in NE, I can tell you it is not "okay" for Nebraska to lose football games...ever. I don't buy it.

 

As for UW, when the word came out we'd be against NE again in our long-awaited bowl game, most people were not so thrilled either for the exact same reason NE wasn't. We got killed in the first game. Thrilled to be in a bowl game, not so thrilled to be in a bowl game we were likely to lose.

 

Skimming through the posts here about why NE wasn't at full strength can pretty much be countered by the same circumstances for UW:

 

1. T-Mart was hurt. So was Locker (broken rib not fully healed).

2. Watson's offense was one-dimensional. Locker didn't even have a completed pass in the first half!

3. There were a slew of other injuries. UW couldn't even sub on the D-line, and our best starting corner Richardson got injured in game and had a true frosh replace him.

 

And the OP covered other issues. Locker had no TE at all that season. Our "TE" was a converted lineman brought in for blocking and only for blocking.

 

As for this upcoming season's game, I also doubt UW will win. I don't think that not having Dennison on D was that big of a deal, personally. Fact was it was game three against a team that played 16 true frosh that at times looked lost and blew their assignments. Fast forward ten games to the Holiday Bowl, and those true frosh are really sophomores and they know what they're doing, having been coached well for a full regular season. It will be a similar situation next game. The previous "coach" at UW left the cabinets pretty bare and Sark will once again be stuck with a very green team against a tough opponent in the early season. I wouldn't be terribly surprised at a lopsided loss for UW, but similarly I wouldn't be terribly surprised if UW won a late season rematch. There is a lot of untested talent coming into UW, and Sark has proven ability to develop talent, but UW will not be able to field a veteran early season team for at least another year, probably two.

 

I also don't think this game is really all that important in the grand scheme of things. NE may want "revenge" but this will be a post-Locker era UW led by a (for all intents and purposes) freshman QB. Even if it is Price and not Montana (it is not yet set in stone), Price has started a grand total of one game. He may technically be a sophomore, but he's a freshman. One game does not a year make, imho. If they win, NE can talk some trash, but they can't revenge themselves against the Holiday Bowl team because that team no longer exists (the difference makers were Locker, Polk, Foster and Aiyewa of which only Polk is still on the team). But those players can certainly "redeem" themselves by playing a good game if they thought they didn't play a good game in the Holiday Bowl, that is certainly valid.

 

Nebraska will have much more important games with their transition to a new conference. Sure, losing would be bad, but I don't think anybody in the Big 10 is going to be impressed with a win over Washington. For UW, losing to NE won't kill their season or anything. Been there, done that, still got to the first bowl game in eight years and got Sark's first winning season.

 

This whole pop rivalry thing is way over-hyped. End summary is that both teams are going through major transitions and this game is best viewed as a litmus test for how those changes have gone, due to the familiarity of the programs from playing two games the season before. I can't say which way my emotions will go, but I'd like to think I'll be fairly even and just want to see the two programs playing well.

 

I don't think either program should be too upset with a loss. I think whoever loses can point to the victor and say, "That is a legit well-coached and talented team, no shame in losing to them." Lots of Huskers seem to think UW was a bad team last season, and I get why, but look at the fact UW finished third in the Pac 10 behind only Stanford and Oregon, the #4 and #3 teams in the country! Then add that Washington played the Sagarin third hardest schedule, and UW was not nearly as bad as most people would have you believe. And then both teams will still have to cement their status in two new conferences. Like I said, bigger fish to fry. Should be fun, I look forward to it.

 

*PS one good thing about having a team in the Big 10 and Pac 12 is I'll still get to enjoy beating up Colorado every year!

[Enhance]

Well I'm back from my last post which was pre-Holiday Bowl urging Huskers to show some respect to Washington. They didn't and look what happened. Bravado and whatnot, I get it, but it would be doubly silly to make the same mistake twice.

 

I didn't figure UW would actually win the Holiday Bowl, but I figured it would be a battle. And I was home at Grand Island over X-mas to watch the game, and I can say nobody was like, "Meh whatever, it was just the Holiday Bowl," after the loss. In fact most people were pretty pissed. And yes, I was rooting for UW. Bash me for split loyalty, but they needed it more. But saying NE wasn't motivated...I just don't buy it. If you come into it and expect to roll and don't take it seriously in the first half, okay. But. It was a 10-7 game at half time, and I don't care what you say, if you're right in the game and in danger of losing to a team you killed earlier in the season on national television, you're motivated. Maybe NE didn't have much to gain, but they still had a lot to lose. Being born and raised in NE, I can tell you it is not "okay" for Nebraska to lose football games...ever. I don't buy it.

 

Of course it's not OK to lose a football game in Nebraska. It's not OK to lose a football game anywhere that I know of.

 

But to think motivation wasn't a factor in this game, you're crazy. Motivation and willpower is a huge part of any organized sport. It often comes down to who wants it more in the end. Nebraska didn't have much to gain or lose from the Holiday Bowl. A win would have been a "well, they should have won". Washington, on the other hand, had a lot to gain from winning that game. More-so than Nebraska did from winning. Washington clearly cared more about winning that entire game.

 

Skimming through the posts here about why NE wasn't at full strength can pretty much be countered by the same circumstances for UW:

 

1. T-Mart was hurt. So was Locker (broken rib not fully healed).

Since when does a not-fully healed broken rib equate to a sprained ankle and turf toe on a running quarterback? Might as well hand over the pink slip before the race.

 

2. Watson's offense was one-dimensional. Locker didn't even have a completed pass in the first half!

A one-dimensional offense and an overrated Washington quarterback do not mean the same thing. Nebraska showed earlier in the season that Locker was not a good passing quarterback and they showed it again in the Holiday Bowl. Besides, Nebraska couldn't do anything but it wasn't because of the offense Watson was calling, it was because of the poor execution like it always is.

 

3. There were a slew of other injuries. UW couldn't even sub on the D-line, and our best starting corner Richardson got injured in game and had a true frosh replace him.

This is really the only argument you have that I agree with.

 

And the OP covered other issues. Locker had no TE at all that season. Our "TE" was a converted lineman brought in for blocking and only for blocking.

 

As for this upcoming season's game, I also doubt UW will win. I don't think that not having Dennison on D was that big of a deal, personally. Fact was it was game three against a team that played 16 true frosh that at times looked lost and blew their assignments. Fast forward ten games to the Holiday Bowl, and those true frosh are really sophomores and they know what they're doing, having been coached well for a full regular season. It will be a similar situation next game. The previous "coach" at UW left the cabinets pretty bare and Sark will once again be stuck with a very green team against a tough opponent in the early season. I wouldn't be terribly surprised at a lopsided loss for UW, but similarly I wouldn't be terribly surprised if UW won a late season rematch. There is a lot of untested talent coming into UW, and Sark has proven ability to develop talent, but UW will not be able to field a veteran early season team for at least another year, probably two.

Washington has a lot to be proud of for this next season, especially with the talent coming back.

 

I also don't think this game is really all that important in the grand scheme of things. NE may want "revenge" but this will be a post-Locker era UW led by a (for all intents and purposes) freshman QB. Even if it is Price and not Montana (it is not yet set in stone), Price has started a grand total of one game. He may technically be a sophomore, but he's a freshman. One game does not a year make, imho. If they win, NE can talk some trash, but they can't revenge themselves against the Holiday Bowl team because that team no longer exists.

You're right, this game isn't important. Beating Washington won't mean much of anything for Nebraska and, no offense, was an extremely poor non-conference choice although those things are sometimes unavoidable. Losing, however, would garner a far worse reaction.

 

Also, your buffer against revenge doesn't make a lot of sense. When Nebraska wanted to beat Texas, we weren't trying to avenge McCoy beating us - we were trying to avenge an entire program beating us. Similarly, I don't think anybody cares about Locker or the previous Washington players. They care about beating the team and that's usually how rivalries work.

 

Similarly, we didn't always want to beat Oklahoma because of their players - we wanted to beat Oklahoma because it's Oklahoma.

[Astrodawg]

Since when does a not-fully healed broken rib equate to a sprained ankle and turf toe on a running quarterback? Might as well hand over the pink slip before the race.

Locker was not a run first quarterback either of the two years under Sark, in fact Sark was criticized for not running Locker enough. I've never had a broken rib, but I'd imagine it would be a major hindrance period, but certainly in the passing game. What most perceived as Locker's issues were actually mostly issues of his receiving corps and offensive line. He was behind a different O-line every other game, there were six line changes over thirteen games and our best O-lineman was a true freshman. A LINEMAN true freshman. There is no way to sugarcoat it, UW's line was bad and couldn't hold a pocket which is why Locker got crushed and broke a rib in the first place. As for going against NE corners, it could have been Peyton Manning out there, but if your receivers can't get open, you're not going to be completing any passes. Plus, when they did get open, they had a well-known tendency to drop balls. The whole "overrated" thing, well we'll see, and that is now just between the Titans and their #8 overall draft pick!

 

Also, your buffer against revenge doesn't make a lot of sense. When Nebraska wanted to beat Texas, we weren't trying to avenge McCoy beating us - we were trying to avenge an entire program beating us. Similarly, I don't think anybody cares about Locker or the previous Washington players. They care about beating the team and that's usually how rivalries work.

Undoubtedly, but like I said, the whole rivalry thing is over-hyped. Laughable even. Rivalries do not result from one single bowl game. It was just a freak accident we're even playing three games in two years. I think the last game between UW and NE before that was 1991! It'll be decades before we schedule again, if ever. Hardly a rivalry. Plus, if the players do actually hate the Washington program over one game many on here claim they didn't even care about, well, yeah...hmmm. I think there is a contradiction in there somewhere! Plus, the lost fact in this is they DID beat Locker. Badly. He had the worst statistical game of his career.

 

I don't get all the masochism here. There is so much desire to make a team you won one and lost one to look bad, why? Locker and UW were not a bad team. They were not a good team either, but you don't win seven games off the third hardest schedule if you're a bad team. They were an average team with some key skill position players, that if healthy and on their game, were capable of beating most teams. Sark beat Pete Carrol's #3 USC his first year, after all. Any given Sunday, as they say for pro ball.

 

I completely agree with Texas. As I said, I'm actually from Nebraska, and only moved when I joined the Navy and got stationed north of Seattle. We hate Texas as a program, check. If anything, be pissed off about that loss, because Texas really was a rival and a bad team. Washington was a chance non-con like you said, and I don't understand why everybody is so worked up about a game that really isn't that important, especially moving into the Big 10. It's just a non-conference game with a little extra spice to it that cannot be overlooked heading into conference play. That's it. I don't get the fixation.

[Enhance]

Locker was not a run first quarterback either of the two years under Sark, in fact Sark was criticized for not running Locker enough. I've never had a broken rib, but I'd imagine it would be a major hindrance period, but certainly in the passing game. What most perceived as Locker's issues were actually mostly issues of his receiving corps and offensive line. He was behind a different O-line every other game, there were six line changes over thirteen games and our best O-lineman was a true freshman. A LINEMAN true freshman. There is no way to sugarcoat it, UW's line was bad and couldn't hold a pocket which is why Locker got crushed and broke a rib in the first place. As for going against NE corners, it could have been Peyton Manning out there, but if your receivers can't get open, you're not going to be completing any passes. Plus, when they did get open, they had a well-known tendency to drop balls. The whole "overrated" thing, well we'll see, and that is now just between the Titans and their #8 overall draft pick!

 

When I said "running quarterback" I was referring to Martinez and not Locker. My bad.

 

I won't pretend that I'm an NFL draft expert or a great person at judging talent. Perhaps the Titans and all those other NFL teams that were looking at Locker see something I don't. Honestly speaking, Locker has great intangibles like leadership and the ability to command respect. He also has great size for what the NFL wants. However, I just can't get over one thing: when Locker was put against the best defense he had seen all year, he put together his two worst performances of the season. Twice, Nebraska made him look like a bad quarterback. It's just my honest opinion that Locker has too much to overcome to really be a successful NFL quarterback. But I usually hope for the best so I hope he proves me wrong. Right now, I just don't see it.

 

Undoubtedly, but like I said, the whole rivalry thing is over-hyped. Laughable even. Rivalries do not result from one single bowl game. It was just a freak accident we're even playing three games in two years. I think the last game between UW and NE before that was 1991! It'll be decades before we schedule again, if ever. Hardly a rivalry. Plus, if the players do actually hate the Washington program over one game many on here claim they didn't even care about, well, yeah...hmmm. I think there is a contradiction in there somewhere! Plus, the lost fact in this is they DID beat Locker. Badly. He had the worst statistical game of his career.

I meant to say this before but forgot. Personally, and from what I've heard/read, nobody considers this a real rivalry. More or less it's a bad taste in the mouth. The players don't hate the Washington program, they just hate that they lost like any team would. But when you embarrass a team early in the season and then lose to them at the end of the season, it's tough to really work up a hatred.

 

Nebraska and Washington last played in 1997, just so you know.

 

I don't get all the masochism here. There is so much desire to make a team you won one and lost one to look bad, why? Locker and UW were not a bad team. They were not a good team either, but you don't win seven games off the third hardest schedule if you're a bad team. They were an average team with some key skill position players, that if healthy and on their game, were capable of beating most teams. Sark beat Pete Carrol's #3 USC his first year, after all. Any given Sunday, as they say for pro ball.

It's just the nature of sports, to be honest. I would prefer to embarrass every team we line up against. It just makes it fun to truly dominate another opponent.

 

I completely agree with Texas. As I said, I'm actually from Nebraska, and only moved when I joined the Navy and got stationed north of Seattle. We hate Texas as a program, check. If anything, be pissed off about that loss, because Texas really was a rival and a bad team. Washington was a chance non-con like you said, and I don't understand why everybody is so worked up about a game that really isn't that important, especially moving into the Big 10. It's just a non-conference game with a little extra spice to it that cannot be overlooked heading into conference play. That's it. I don't get the fixation.

I don't know if there really is a fixation with it. To be honest, the first games I truly care about winning are Wisconsin and Ohio State. Most people here aren't even considering our first test to be until the conference. Some might see that as overlooking Washington, but at the same time Nebraska really shouldn't lose to Washington so why get worked up over them?

 

I think, if anything, the players just want to win like any players do. I haven't heard many players talking about Washington. But if I were a player, my mindset would be that I want to beat the team we should have beaten. Forget the non-con game - no matter which way we slice it, Nebraska should have won and they didn't. That's probably the only bad taste in their mouths and I highly doubt they are treating this game much more than that.

 

I will say this, however. After last year's non-con game against Washington, I heard several Husker players say the Huskies were (by far) the team that trash-talked the most before the game and that it also happened again in the bowl game. Some teams do that and some don't. It's whatever and I don't think less of teams that do it, for the most part. But I'm sure that adds a little fuel to the fire to get back at the Huskies.

[knapplc]

I will say this, however. After last year's non-con game against Washington, I heard several Husker players say the Huskies were (by far) the team that trash-talked the most before the game and that it also happened again in the bowl game. Some teams do that and some don't. It's whatever and I don't think less of teams that do it, for the most part. But I'm sure that adds a little fuel to the fire to get back at the Huskies.

 

Not just the players, but the assistant coaches, too. And the players have not forgotten it.

[Saunders]

As far as the Holiday Bowl is concerned, I don't know what there really is to take from that game. Washington got into a good bowl for them and Nebraska fell into a bowl below what they thought they would get earlier in the season. Combine that with an injured (and uncomfortable-in-the-pocket) Martinez along with a slew of other injuries, it made it easy pickings for the Washington defense. Martinez HAS to gain his confidence back this year after it was somewhat shattered after the Missouri game and on last season once he got injured.

Washinton was able to stop us because they used the same defensive front that OU did. They had their big fat DT sit right on Caputo, and blow him up on every play. Mike was the only Center we had that could play, and he was playing with a muscle tear and a shoulder injury (had offseason surgery). Caputo had issues all game long, and it's why Washington was able to get into the backfield. When you combine that with a broken Taylor Martinez, we were pretty screwed. You also had bad playcalling, and an uninspired team to make things worse. Even with all theses issues, and a fumble near our RZ to give them an early score, it was closer than it should have been.

 

The question is, can Washington run the ball. I think we'll do alot better in rushing D this year because we won't be playing nickle and dime all game long. Ithink it will be close for a half, if Price can keep the mistakes down. The Pelini bros D has shown that it kills quarterbacks. At this point, early guess is something like 28-10 Nebraska.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Now having said that our offense is the biggest question mark and in my mind particuliary the offensive line. The line was poor last season, whether some want Martinez to shoulder the blame for the performance in the Big XII championship is neither her nor there. They HAVE to get better.............bottom line. I believe we'll be fine at receiver or at least on the same level we were last season, which isn't saying much, but we should be better given the athletes we have in those positions. The running back position is full of talent, but only Rex has the experience at this time. I'm confident that they will do fine in their respective positions. Martinez is going to be the second biggest question mark with his ankle and how he will run the new offense.

 

Looking down Phil Steele's Big 10 1st - 4th teams there aren't many offensive players and a single lineman. How big of a concern is the OL. This is the first I've heard of that. I've always thought of Nebraska as an OL factory. Is this a down year for it? It has been for the Huskies of late, but the quality is coming back...and for the Huskies really the key. I guess when I look back at the Holiday Bowl the Huskies were able to make it a long day for TM in the backfield, but I thought that to be an aberration. Historically hasn't NU had stout OL's?

Yes, historically NU has had good O-lines, but for the past 3 years or so our lines have been average at best. Watch the Big XII championship game if you want to see what I'm talking about or even the Texas game. We played okay at times during the season, but alot of our success was brought on by good skill position players exploiting a defense either too aggressive to know better or being caught out of position by misreading a play. Now I know there were games where the O-line did a good job, but I think the success that we had from those skill players skewed the way we, as fans, looked at the performance of the O-line. I'm not going to watch tape because frankly I don't have time and I'm not that crazy, but I bet the O-line got extremely lucky at times by a defense helping them out so we could bust a 60+ yard run.

[The Dude]

It's been a long, long, LOOOOOOOOOONG time since we've had an O-line up to snuff. At least by Nebraska's standards. I'd say 10+ years.

[Enhance]

It's been a long, long, LOOOOOOOOOONG time since we've had an O-line up to snuff. At least by Nebraska's standards. I'd say 10+ years.

I would agree with that. We've had a few good players and some solid lines, but we haven't had a great one for awhile.

[walksalone]

Well I'm back from my last post which was pre-Holiday Bowl.....

 

.....one good thing about having a team in the Big 10 and Pac 12 is I'll still get to enjoy beating up Colorado every year!

 

Congrats on the Holiday Bowl win, but that was last year, and I'll only say this, you better hope Price is faster than a striped ape...