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Heisman Trophy Winner
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Revived running game brings happy medium
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Among Division I-A teams, only NU and Louisville head into the postseason averaging better than 250 yards passing and 175 rushing per game. That helps Nebraska rank No. 9 in total offense at 434.0 yards a game - a far cry from No. 96 last season at 320.3.
"We always talk about balance, and I've talked about that since the first day I've been here," Huskers coach Bill Callahan said. "There are some situations that will require you to throw the ball a little bit more than less, or less than more. But we try to mix and blend what we do and try to keep people off balance.
"I believe it's the nature of any attack, but for ours, it's a real staple."
Nos. 18 and 19 Nebraska (9-3) next takes its two-pronged attack to Kansas City, Mo., for the Big 12 championship game. But without a major increase in run production, the Huskers might not be playing Oklahoma on Saturday night with a Bowl Championship Series slot at stake.
"Last year we threw a lot, and that just kind of played to our strength," NU quarterback Zac Taylor said. "But we knew if we wanted to get to the championship game that we needed to be a lot more balanced. It's really worked out for us. I think we're probably one of the most balanced teams in the country right now."
Nebraska will give OU (10-2) two things to monitor with its averages of 250.8 yards passing and 183.3 rushing. Other than the Huskers and Louisville (280.8 passing, 187.6 rushing), only Houston and Oregon are close to balancing offenses near the 250-175 marks.
NU was nowhere near it a year ago when it threw for 224.3 yards per game and ran for just 96.0. The 96.0 stuck with Callahan through the offseason.
"Our ranking was so poor," he said. "It was hideous. We were 107th in the country. So we're pretty proud of the fact that we've taken it from 107th to 18th right now."
Callahan has talked at length about how it goes back to spring practice and the re-emphasis of a physical approach. He said on a Big 12 teleconference on Monday it actually started in Alamo Bowl preparations last December.
"Just based on where we were a year ago, we've come a long way," Callahan said. "We only averaged 2.7 a carry and now we're averaging what we want to be, and that's 4.4.
"Anytime you run the football you allow yourself to do more things. If you run it successfully, you're in more normal yardage situations and you can be a little more unpredictable in your play-calling. We just try to stay in the normal down and distance and try not to back ourselves up into those long-yardage categories, which are really detrimental to anyone's offense."
Oklahoma will test that balance with one of the best defenses the Huskers have seen this season. In other games against high-ranked opponents, Nebraska managed just 68 yards rushing vs. Southern Cal and 38 vs. Texas.
In eight of its other 10 games, however, NU has run for at least 180 yards. In all but two games overall, the Huskers have run the football more than they've passed it -something that happened just four times a year ago.
All four I-backs in the Huskers' stable have rushed for 337 yards or more, led by junior Brandon Jackson at 881.
"Any quarterback will tell you he loves to have a great running back, and for me, I've got four of them," Taylor said. "Obviously the offensive line was pretty young last year and they're just getting older and older and better and better with each game.
"It's exciting for me to hand the ball off five or six times in a row and still know that the drive is going to be alive. I'm definitely very happy that the running game's been so effective this year."
I strongly believe our passing game will have to be used extensively to open up the running game. OU is very good at stopping the run with their speed.
Revived running game brings happy medium
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Among Division I-A teams, only NU and Louisville head into the postseason averaging better than 250 yards passing and 175 rushing per game. That helps Nebraska rank No. 9 in total offense at 434.0 yards a game - a far cry from No. 96 last season at 320.3.
"We always talk about balance, and I've talked about that since the first day I've been here," Huskers coach Bill Callahan said. "There are some situations that will require you to throw the ball a little bit more than less, or less than more. But we try to mix and blend what we do and try to keep people off balance.
"I believe it's the nature of any attack, but for ours, it's a real staple."
Nos. 18 and 19 Nebraska (9-3) next takes its two-pronged attack to Kansas City, Mo., for the Big 12 championship game. But without a major increase in run production, the Huskers might not be playing Oklahoma on Saturday night with a Bowl Championship Series slot at stake.
"Last year we threw a lot, and that just kind of played to our strength," NU quarterback Zac Taylor said. "But we knew if we wanted to get to the championship game that we needed to be a lot more balanced. It's really worked out for us. I think we're probably one of the most balanced teams in the country right now."
Nebraska will give OU (10-2) two things to monitor with its averages of 250.8 yards passing and 183.3 rushing. Other than the Huskers and Louisville (280.8 passing, 187.6 rushing), only Houston and Oregon are close to balancing offenses near the 250-175 marks.
NU was nowhere near it a year ago when it threw for 224.3 yards per game and ran for just 96.0. The 96.0 stuck with Callahan through the offseason.
"Our ranking was so poor," he said. "It was hideous. We were 107th in the country. So we're pretty proud of the fact that we've taken it from 107th to 18th right now."
Callahan has talked at length about how it goes back to spring practice and the re-emphasis of a physical approach. He said on a Big 12 teleconference on Monday it actually started in Alamo Bowl preparations last December.
"Just based on where we were a year ago, we've come a long way," Callahan said. "We only averaged 2.7 a carry and now we're averaging what we want to be, and that's 4.4.
"Anytime you run the football you allow yourself to do more things. If you run it successfully, you're in more normal yardage situations and you can be a little more unpredictable in your play-calling. We just try to stay in the normal down and distance and try not to back ourselves up into those long-yardage categories, which are really detrimental to anyone's offense."
Oklahoma will test that balance with one of the best defenses the Huskers have seen this season. In other games against high-ranked opponents, Nebraska managed just 68 yards rushing vs. Southern Cal and 38 vs. Texas.
In eight of its other 10 games, however, NU has run for at least 180 yards. In all but two games overall, the Huskers have run the football more than they've passed it -something that happened just four times a year ago.
All four I-backs in the Huskers' stable have rushed for 337 yards or more, led by junior Brandon Jackson at 881.
"Any quarterback will tell you he loves to have a great running back, and for me, I've got four of them," Taylor said. "Obviously the offensive line was pretty young last year and they're just getting older and older and better and better with each game.
"It's exciting for me to hand the ball off five or six times in a row and still know that the drive is going to be alive. I'm definitely very happy that the running game's been so effective this year."
I strongly believe our passing game will have to be used extensively to open up the running game. OU is very good at stopping the run with their speed.
