HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
Big 12 Game of the Week
Texas (6-1) at Nebraska (6-1) 12 PM EST ABC Saturday October 21st
Why to Watch: Is this a preview of the Big 12 Championship game? Nebraska gets Missouri in Lincoln, while Texas could win this game and probably survive an upset loss along the way and still get in. The Longhorns are thinking bigger hoping to creep its way up from the No. 9 spot in the initial BCS rankings and get in range for the national title game. Nebraska was ranked 17th in the first rankings, and it still has dreams of playing in the BCS somewhere with a win this week being a huge step for the program and officially announcing that it's back to being a powerhouse. Outside of a strange second half collapse in the win over Kansas and the loss to USC, the Huskers have been coldly efficient winning five games by double digits with few problems on the road the last two weeks in wins over Iowa State and Kansas State. Texas bounced back from its loss to Ohio State to win its next five games by a combined score of 236 to 65 and coming off a 63-31 shootout victory over Baylor. Both teams are better than you think with the winner taking a huge step in national respect. Texas has won the five of the last six between the two with the last loss coming in the 1999 Big 12 Championship.
Why Texas Might Win: Does Nebraska actually have the ability to bomb away if needed against a halfway decent defense? Has it actually beaten anyone with a pulse? Of the six wins, only one came over a possible bowl team (the Kansas/Kansas State winner will likely get the final Big 12 bowl spot). Oh sure, the offense has been ultra-efficient relying on a balanced attack, no mistakes, and a decent defense to get through the wins without a problem, but the coaching staff went Red State conservative against USC and didn't show any of the punch to make it interesting. Texas is starting to mix it up and is starting to put up big points with home run hitting passing game. The Nebraska secondary is burnable, the UT QB Colt McCoy will bomb at will unless ...
Why Nebraska Might Win: ... the Huskers get into the backfield. Texas has been able to dominate because of its offensive line, but the Husker front won't be pushed around and it has enough talent (even though it hasn't shown up to expectations so far) to provide more of a pass rush on McCoy than he's seen since the Ohio State game. Just because Nebraska hasn't exploded for a full sixty minutes since early September, that doesn't mean it doesn't have the ability. If Zac Taylor and the passing game turn things loose, like Baylor was able to do last week against UT, there should be a few big plays against a suddenly suspect secondary.
Who to Watch: Limas Sweed has literally provided some punch to the Texas passing game. Sweed appeared to punch Baylor CB Anthony Arline last week, but was only flagged for a penalty and wasn't suspended by the Big 12 of Texas. He's been Colt McCoy's main target all year long catching at least one touchdown pass in every game but one, the loss to Ohio State, with eight scoring grabs on the year while averaging 17.6 yards per catch.
What Will Happen: Nebraska will come up with a few scores early to get the crowd into the game, but Texas will slowly, methodically work its way back into it and pull away in the fourth quarter thanks to the running game. Both teams will look good, and Nebraska will establish that it's back to being a power, but Texas will show why it belongs in the national title discussion.
CFN Prediction: Texas 31 ... Nebraska 20 ... Line: Texas -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Knights of Prosperity) ... 4.5
Texas (6-1) at Nebraska (6-1) 12 PM EST ABC Saturday October 21st
Why to Watch: Is this a preview of the Big 12 Championship game? Nebraska gets Missouri in Lincoln, while Texas could win this game and probably survive an upset loss along the way and still get in. The Longhorns are thinking bigger hoping to creep its way up from the No. 9 spot in the initial BCS rankings and get in range for the national title game. Nebraska was ranked 17th in the first rankings, and it still has dreams of playing in the BCS somewhere with a win this week being a huge step for the program and officially announcing that it's back to being a powerhouse. Outside of a strange second half collapse in the win over Kansas and the loss to USC, the Huskers have been coldly efficient winning five games by double digits with few problems on the road the last two weeks in wins over Iowa State and Kansas State. Texas bounced back from its loss to Ohio State to win its next five games by a combined score of 236 to 65 and coming off a 63-31 shootout victory over Baylor. Both teams are better than you think with the winner taking a huge step in national respect. Texas has won the five of the last six between the two with the last loss coming in the 1999 Big 12 Championship.
Why Texas Might Win: Does Nebraska actually have the ability to bomb away if needed against a halfway decent defense? Has it actually beaten anyone with a pulse? Of the six wins, only one came over a possible bowl team (the Kansas/Kansas State winner will likely get the final Big 12 bowl spot). Oh sure, the offense has been ultra-efficient relying on a balanced attack, no mistakes, and a decent defense to get through the wins without a problem, but the coaching staff went Red State conservative against USC and didn't show any of the punch to make it interesting. Texas is starting to mix it up and is starting to put up big points with home run hitting passing game. The Nebraska secondary is burnable, the UT QB Colt McCoy will bomb at will unless ...
Why Nebraska Might Win: ... the Huskers get into the backfield. Texas has been able to dominate because of its offensive line, but the Husker front won't be pushed around and it has enough talent (even though it hasn't shown up to expectations so far) to provide more of a pass rush on McCoy than he's seen since the Ohio State game. Just because Nebraska hasn't exploded for a full sixty minutes since early September, that doesn't mean it doesn't have the ability. If Zac Taylor and the passing game turn things loose, like Baylor was able to do last week against UT, there should be a few big plays against a suddenly suspect secondary.
Who to Watch: Limas Sweed has literally provided some punch to the Texas passing game. Sweed appeared to punch Baylor CB Anthony Arline last week, but was only flagged for a penalty and wasn't suspended by the Big 12 of Texas. He's been Colt McCoy's main target all year long catching at least one touchdown pass in every game but one, the loss to Ohio State, with eight scoring grabs on the year while averaging 17.6 yards per catch.
What Will Happen: Nebraska will come up with a few scores early to get the crowd into the game, but Texas will slowly, methodically work its way back into it and pull away in the fourth quarter thanks to the running game. Both teams will look good, and Nebraska will establish that it's back to being a power, but Texas will show why it belongs in the national title discussion.
CFN Prediction: Texas 31 ... Nebraska 20 ... Line: Texas -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Knights of Prosperity) ... 4.5
