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Five Keys To Oklahoma
First quarter should reveal Nebraska's chances to win
by Samuel McKewon
October 30, 2008
No preamble. Let’s just get to it.
Well, wait: If head coach Bo Pelini’s comments this week are any indication, No. 4 Oklahoma is not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. But a whole different creature; in short, OU is the best team NU will face all year.
Here’s why. On with the keys:
First-round knockout: Oklahoma is a front-runner. That’s not a knock on the Sooners – simply a reality. OU rarely starts slow, and is very good at scoring bunches of points early, putting a team in a hole, and keeping that team at arm’s length with an explosive offense. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is often remarkably accurate to start the game. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson dials up aggressive, physical plays, trying to establish run and pass with brutality. The defense tries to impose its own will. Sometimes, OU switches into a no huddle attack. It’s all designed to get a team on its heels, reeling from all the speed and talent.
But Oklahoma rarely sustains that energy. It would be almost impossible to do it. Over the last five years, the Sooners have either taken quarters off or checked out defensively for whole stretches of a game. If Nebraska can withstand that early barrage and counter the Sooners’ big plays with some of its own, it stands a chance in Norman. But the Huskers have to come out hot and ready, and capitalize when they can.
Clock Chewers: We don’t have to remind you that offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, along with quarterback Joe Ganz and the rest of the NU offense, has provided a three-game response as to why Nebraska runs a version of the West Coast Offense. No, this isn’t Bill Walsh’s two-back offense, or Mike Holmgren’s attack. But Watson was smart enough to scrap the traditional two-back idea earlier in the season when it became clear it wasn’t working. He managed to keep the essence of the WCO – a short, controlled passing game mixed with an effective running game, all while keeping the quarterback mobile – while molding it to the shotgun formation. Good for him.
Here comes the elephant on the schedule.
Oklahoma’s defense is fast, aggressive, and full of gamblers. Now the Sooners lay smart odds and take wise chances, but they still take them.
“They’re gonna try to get you off the field,” Watson said. “They wanna get you behind the sticks right from the very beginning.”
So this isn’t Texas Tech’s please-don’t-break-us defense that plays a soft, porous zone. This is an OU defense that has a terrific front four and confident, if occasionally burned, secondary. The linebackers play uniformly hard, if not always that well. If the Sooners have a weakness, it’s that unit. That means tight end Mike McNeill. That means Todd Peterson, who’s big enough to run those square in patterns. That means – to me anyway – isolating Marlon Lucky or Roy Helu, Jr. on one of those guys in coverage.
Can Nebraska really eat up 40 minutes of the clock again? Doubtful.
Busting Free: Nebraska leads the Big 12 in limiting opponents first downs – just 18 a game. First, that means teams struggle to piece together 10-play drives against the Huskers. Second, it means those aren’t having to spend 10 plays and several first downs getting to the end zone, because they’re picking up chunks of yards on a single play.
Eight games into the season, and the Huskers are still struggling to stop the big play. Really struggling; Baylor used five plays over 30 yards to keep itself in last week’s 32-20 loss.
OU specializes in big plays; it has 70 plays of 20 yards or more this season. Oklahoma isn’t used to taking very long to score, and Nebraska isn’t used to it, either. Taking the last 14 touchdowns scored against NU – we’re throwing out the overtime score for Texas Tech and Missouri’s interception return – and opponents have taken roughly 5.5 plays to go 71 yards per touchdown drive. That’s 13 yards per play.
“I can’t finger on it exactly what’s going on,” safety Larry Asante said of the missed assignments that allow big plays. “All the points that they got is all off of busts. It was just guys misaligned, and guys not being in their gaps.”
Smoking out the screens: Both Oklahoma and Nebraska like to have their quarterbacks throwing short, horizontal passes to their wide receivers. However, what the Sooners and Huskers hope to achieve with them is different.
In the last three games, NU has used screen passes from Joe Ganz to Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Niles Paul as running plays, essentially – a way to gain four or five yards without wearing out your running back or risking the chance for a big loss. If Swift/Peterson/Paul breaks a tackle, maybe the play becomes a first down, but generally it’s a means of ball control. If OU’s cornerbacks inch up to challenge Nebraska’s wide receivers – and we expect them to – then the quick pass becomes harder to execute. How the Huskers adjust to OU’s aggression may determine whether NU can possess the ball like it wishes to keep its defense fresh.
OU, meanwhile, runs a more drawn out screen designed, like a running back screen would be, to catch the defense off guard and hopefully create a bust, which in turns becomes a big play for the Sooners.
“They’ll hold onto the ball a long time,” NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “A lot of teams, they do that in such a hurry you’re able to read it quickly. Oklahoma’s very patient with that screen.”
And very good at executing it. Bradford’s become very good at drifting back just the right amount before throwing, and OU’s receivers are quick and shifty.
“They’re really elusive with the ball in their hands,” Carl Pelini said.
You recall that Missouri and Texas Tech scored their first touchdowns against Nebraska on similar plays. Both times, NU blitzed the quarterback heavily.
Poise in the Moment: Nebraska has played two big night games so far. In losses to Virginia Tech and Missouri, NU didn’t exactly pass the composure test: 21 penalties combined and four turnovers. While the Huskers have grown over the last three weeks, particularly on offense, consider Saturday night, on national television, at a rival, as a final exam of sorts. Does NU come out tight and undisciplined? Or does the atmosphere galvanize the Huskers?
Five Keys To Oklahoma
First quarter should reveal Nebraska's chances to win
by Samuel McKewon
October 30, 2008
No preamble. Let’s just get to it.
Well, wait: If head coach Bo Pelini’s comments this week are any indication, No. 4 Oklahoma is not Missouri. Not Texas Tech. But a whole different creature; in short, OU is the best team NU will face all year.
Here’s why. On with the keys:
First-round knockout: Oklahoma is a front-runner. That’s not a knock on the Sooners – simply a reality. OU rarely starts slow, and is very good at scoring bunches of points early, putting a team in a hole, and keeping that team at arm’s length with an explosive offense. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is often remarkably accurate to start the game. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson dials up aggressive, physical plays, trying to establish run and pass with brutality. The defense tries to impose its own will. Sometimes, OU switches into a no huddle attack. It’s all designed to get a team on its heels, reeling from all the speed and talent.
But Oklahoma rarely sustains that energy. It would be almost impossible to do it. Over the last five years, the Sooners have either taken quarters off or checked out defensively for whole stretches of a game. If Nebraska can withstand that early barrage and counter the Sooners’ big plays with some of its own, it stands a chance in Norman. But the Huskers have to come out hot and ready, and capitalize when they can.
Clock Chewers: We don’t have to remind you that offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, along with quarterback Joe Ganz and the rest of the NU offense, has provided a three-game response as to why Nebraska runs a version of the West Coast Offense. No, this isn’t Bill Walsh’s two-back offense, or Mike Holmgren’s attack. But Watson was smart enough to scrap the traditional two-back idea earlier in the season when it became clear it wasn’t working. He managed to keep the essence of the WCO – a short, controlled passing game mixed with an effective running game, all while keeping the quarterback mobile – while molding it to the shotgun formation. Good for him.
Here comes the elephant on the schedule.
Oklahoma’s defense is fast, aggressive, and full of gamblers. Now the Sooners lay smart odds and take wise chances, but they still take them.
“They’re gonna try to get you off the field,” Watson said. “They wanna get you behind the sticks right from the very beginning.”
So this isn’t Texas Tech’s please-don’t-break-us defense that plays a soft, porous zone. This is an OU defense that has a terrific front four and confident, if occasionally burned, secondary. The linebackers play uniformly hard, if not always that well. If the Sooners have a weakness, it’s that unit. That means tight end Mike McNeill. That means Todd Peterson, who’s big enough to run those square in patterns. That means – to me anyway – isolating Marlon Lucky or Roy Helu, Jr. on one of those guys in coverage.
Can Nebraska really eat up 40 minutes of the clock again? Doubtful.
Busting Free: Nebraska leads the Big 12 in limiting opponents first downs – just 18 a game. First, that means teams struggle to piece together 10-play drives against the Huskers. Second, it means those aren’t having to spend 10 plays and several first downs getting to the end zone, because they’re picking up chunks of yards on a single play.
Eight games into the season, and the Huskers are still struggling to stop the big play. Really struggling; Baylor used five plays over 30 yards to keep itself in last week’s 32-20 loss.
OU specializes in big plays; it has 70 plays of 20 yards or more this season. Oklahoma isn’t used to taking very long to score, and Nebraska isn’t used to it, either. Taking the last 14 touchdowns scored against NU – we’re throwing out the overtime score for Texas Tech and Missouri’s interception return – and opponents have taken roughly 5.5 plays to go 71 yards per touchdown drive. That’s 13 yards per play.
“I can’t finger on it exactly what’s going on,” safety Larry Asante said of the missed assignments that allow big plays. “All the points that they got is all off of busts. It was just guys misaligned, and guys not being in their gaps.”
Smoking out the screens: Both Oklahoma and Nebraska like to have their quarterbacks throwing short, horizontal passes to their wide receivers. However, what the Sooners and Huskers hope to achieve with them is different.
In the last three games, NU has used screen passes from Joe Ganz to Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Niles Paul as running plays, essentially – a way to gain four or five yards without wearing out your running back or risking the chance for a big loss. If Swift/Peterson/Paul breaks a tackle, maybe the play becomes a first down, but generally it’s a means of ball control. If OU’s cornerbacks inch up to challenge Nebraska’s wide receivers – and we expect them to – then the quick pass becomes harder to execute. How the Huskers adjust to OU’s aggression may determine whether NU can possess the ball like it wishes to keep its defense fresh.
OU, meanwhile, runs a more drawn out screen designed, like a running back screen would be, to catch the defense off guard and hopefully create a bust, which in turns becomes a big play for the Sooners.
“They’ll hold onto the ball a long time,” NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “A lot of teams, they do that in such a hurry you’re able to read it quickly. Oklahoma’s very patient with that screen.”
And very good at executing it. Bradford’s become very good at drifting back just the right amount before throwing, and OU’s receivers are quick and shifty.
“They’re really elusive with the ball in their hands,” Carl Pelini said.
You recall that Missouri and Texas Tech scored their first touchdowns against Nebraska on similar plays. Both times, NU blitzed the quarterback heavily.
Poise in the Moment: Nebraska has played two big night games so far. In losses to Virginia Tech and Missouri, NU didn’t exactly pass the composure test: 21 penalties combined and four turnovers. While the Huskers have grown over the last three weeks, particularly on offense, consider Saturday night, on national television, at a rival, as a final exam of sorts. Does NU come out tight and undisciplined? Or does the atmosphere galvanize the Huskers?
