University Of Nebraska Gearing Up For Final Showdown With Texas Longhorns
The University of Nebraska Cornhuskers are preparing for a global red out come October 16, 2010. That’s the day the Cornhuskers take on their recent nemesis, from the Big 12 Championship game to fallout from conference expansion, the University of Texas Longhorns in one final conference showdown.
The Cornhuskers haven’t beaten the Longhorns since the Big 12 Championship in 1999 by a score of 22-6. But Bo Pelini is got the Cornhuskers primed to create some noise outside of the Big 12 and possibly land in a BCS Bowl Game. There might not be Ndamukong Suh in Lincoln this year but there definitely will be a Jared Crick sighting. Let the talking begin.
Primetime College Football: Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
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In a rematch of the 1998 Holiday Bowl, Arizona Wildcats clash with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 32nd edition of this event at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Wildcats have enjoyed a terrific campaign, although it had the potential to be even better. Arizona showed its resiliency and finished the regular season with two straight wins, including a 21-17 triumph at USC. This is Arizona’s 15th all-time bowl appearance and its second in a row under head coach Mike Stoops. The Wildcats are 6-7-1 all-time in such games following a 31-21 win over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl last season.
For the Huskers, they were just moments away from shocking the nation and playing in a BCS Bowl. Instead, Nebraska faltered in the final moments and watched Texas boot a 46-yard field goal on the last play of a 13-12 loss in the Big 12 title game. Despite the setback, the Huskers gained a lot of credibility for that effort, if their 9-4 record wasn’t enough already. Nebraska will be making its 46th all-time appearance in a bowl game, owning a 23-22 mark in such bouts. Last season, the Huskers participated in the Gator Bowl and they defeated Clemson, 26-21, in that game.
Nick Foles took over the starting job at quarterback earlier in the season and that move paid immediate dividends for the Wildcats. The sophomore gunslinger played like a veteran and completed 66.0 percent of his pass attempts, with 19 touchdowns against just eight picks. It didn’t hurt that Foles was well protected either, as Arizona gave up just nine sacks. Juron Criner, a 6-4 wideout, uses his size well and was one of Foles’ main targets with 43 receptions, 580 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. Mike Stoops Wildcats are by no means a one-dimensional team, as the ground game is churning out 168.3 ypg behind a 5.0 yard per carry average. Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin have combined for 1,127 yards and nine scores on the ground and they can rip off chunks of yards at time. Grigsby however, is listed as questionable for this game with a shoulder injury.
Arizona’s defense has been good for the most part this season and ranks 21st nationally in yards allowed, surrendering 315.8 ypg. The unit has given up two touchdowns or fewer in four out its last five games and is permitting just 23.2 ppg for the season. The Wildcats have done a better job versus the run (112.1 ypg) than the pass (203.9 ypg), and they have fared well in generating 34 sacks. The unit though, has only forced 19 turnovers, with 12 of them coming on interceptions. Trevin Wade tops the rosters in interceptions with five and he has also made 66 stops. Earl Mitchell and Ricky Elmore are two players to keep an eye out for up front, as they have combined for 17 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.
Offensively, Bo Pelini Cornhuskers have struggled this season, averaging a measly 317.2 total ypg. The team had issues down the stretch as well, as the offense was held below 270 yards in four of the squad’s final five outings. Tailback Roy Helu Jr. is the most important player to the offense. Helu Jr. rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season and figures to see a bulk of the work in this game. The ground game has had to be good this season, as quarterback Zac Lee has struggled with consistency. Lee threw for just 13 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, while completing 58.8 percent of his tosses. Niles Paul is the main threat in the passing game and he leads the team with 36 catches and 673 receiving yards.
On the defensive side of the ball is where the Huskers have stood out, ranking second nationally in scoring defense (11.2 ppg) and ninth in total defense (284.5 ypg). Texas had been averaging 451.6 ypg and 43.0 ppg.The Huskers have been dominant against the run, yielding 95.5 ypg, and every bit as good against the pass, surrendering 189.1 ypg. The defense can also make the big play, racking up 19 interceptions to go with a whopping 42 sacks.
Highlighting the defense is Ndamukong Suh, a 6-4 defensive tackle that finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race and took home several awards. A unanimous First-Team All-American, Suh was a force all season and he led the team with 82 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks. He made an even bigger name for himself in the Big 12 title game, when he racked up 12 tackles and 4.5 sacks despite facing double teams all game long.
This is the third time these two schools are meeting on the gridiron and the first since Arizona scored a 23-20 win over Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl. The teams played to a 14-14 tie in the first meeting, which took place in 1961.
PICK: University of Nebraska Cornhuskers
Primetime College Football: Huskers vs Longhorns
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Mack Brown’s Longhorns look to claim their first conference title in four years when they face Nebraska on in the Big 12 Championship game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The last time Texas (12-0, 8-0) played for a Big 12 title, it pounded Colorado 70-3 in 2005. Behind the play of quarterback Vince Young, the Longhorns then upset top-ranked Southern California 41-38 in the BCS title game.
Four years later, the Big 12 South champs again have a chance to head to Pasadena for a shot at the BCS title, but first must record a fifth straight victory over North champion Nebraska (9-3, 6-2).
Colt McCoy’s Heisman Trophy resume got a little more impressive after he passed for 304 yards and ran for a career-high 175 on 18 carries against the Aggies in a 49-39 on the road game on Thanksgiving night. McCoy has passed for 1,791 yards and 18 touchdowns with two interceptions in his last five contests. His 3,328 total passing yards this season ranks fourth in Texas history.
While McCoy has thrown for 401 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a pair of wins over Nebraska will face a stiff challenge versus a Cornhuskers’ defense that’s allowing a league low 11.1 points per contest.
Opponents are scoring a mere 15 ppg against Texas while gaining just 263.2 total ypg. Roddrick Muckelroy continues to pace the Horns with 87 total tackles, and he has made 10 tackles for loss. As for Earl Thomas has recorded eight interceptions while placing second on the roster in stops.
Though Nebraska ranks 11th in total offense 334.7 yards per game, the Cornhuskers are averaging 25.6 points per game and have won five in a row heading into this contest. Junior Roy Helu has paced the Cornhuskers, rushing for 1,111 yards and 10 touchdowns. Talented freshman Rex Burkhead ran for a career-high 100 yards and a TD on 18 carries in a 28-20 win at Colorado last Friday. As for quarterback Zac Lee, he has completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 1,931 yards and 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Nebraska lacks a standout wide receiver, a major reason that the offense is so average.
Pelini is a defensive-minded coach, and he has made a huge impact on the Huskers who lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing a mere 11.1 ppg. They are allowing only 101.9 rushing yards per game at a clip of 3.0 yards per carry, and just six rushing scores have been surrendered in 12 outings. As for the pass defense, Nebraska has recorded 16 interceptions versus only seven touchdowns allowed.
Ndamukong Suh is a standout defensive lineman for Nebraska who has recorded 7.5 sacks this season, despite the fact that he is constantly forced to fight through multiple blockers. Suh gets plenty of help from Jared Crick, who has nine sacks to his credit.
Two years after finishing 5-7 in Bill Callahan’s final season as coach, Pelini has guided Nebraska to consecutive nine-win seasons and an upset away from earning its first league title since last beating Texas 22-6 in the 1999 Big 12 championship game.
This is the first meeting between the teams since the Longhorns won 28-25 at home Oct. 27, 2007.
PICK: University of Texas Longhorns
Primetime College Football: Wildcats vs Huskers
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The Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3) are 4-2 in league action and will close out the regular season altogether with a trip to Colorado on November 27th. The team was on the road last weekend and turned that experience into a 31-17 triumph against the Kansas Jayhawks.
As for Kansas State (6-5), it has alternated wins and losses over the last four outings as the 6-5 team approaches the end of the regular season. Last week, KSU was throttled by Missouri in a 38-12 final, as the ‘Cats dropped to 4-3 in conference.
The Huskers hold a significant lead in the all-time series with K-State at 76-15-2 entering play this season.
Quarterback Grant Gregory hit on 21-of-30 passes for 239 yards, adding 32 points on the ground, while Daniel Thomas checked in with 79 yards on 23 attempts against Missouri. KSU ranks last in the conference and 105th in the nation at the moment with only 170.9 ypg passing. As a group the Wildcats have just 7 passing scores and 7 interceptions thus far. Thomas has been the top performer for the squad this season with his 1,166 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Coach Bill Snyder’s Wildcats have trouble tackling for loss as they rank second-to-last in the conference and 99th in the nation with just 4.7 per contest. Sacks are also somewhat of a rarity for the group with just 1.64 per outing, ranking K-State 10th in the Big 12 and 84th nationally this week. Emmanuel Lamur, who leads the program with his 61 tackles, has three interceptions and a pair of blocked kicks to his credit thus far.
Roy Helu finished last week with 28 carries for a game-high 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. The team’s rushing attack accounted for 214 yards on 42 attempts, while Zac Lee converted 13- of-21 passes for another 196 yards as well. Although he didn’t make it into the end zone, Niles Paul had 4 catches for 154 yards and leads the team with his 29 catches for 567 yards, while Helu handles the ground attack for the Huskers with his 962 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaging almost six yards per attempt for a team that is averaging less than four and a half yards per rush and is coming up with only 152.4 ypg.
Coach Bo Pelini’s Huskers currently own the top scoring defense in the conference and the third-best squad in the nation this week, permitting a mere 11 ppg. Five times this squad has given up less than 10 points on the campaign, turning the trick three times in the first four games of the season. Leaders on the unit include Jared Crick 9 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and Ndamukong Suh 5 sacks, 13 tackle for loss, three blocked kicks.
PICK: University of Nebraska Cornhuskers
Primetime College Football: Sooners vs Huskers
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The Battle of the Big Reds has been a bit unbalanced lately. While Nebraska has been rebuilding, Bob Stoops has been able to win four straight games in the series and keep the Sooners (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) among the nation’s top teams headed into the game with the Huskers.
Instead of the rivalry determining the conference champion – as it did 31 times in 36 years in the Big Eight – and even a national championship, the game has had less panache in recent years. There was the series’ second “Game of the Century” in 2000 and the teams met for the Big 12 title in 2006, but it’s been nothing like the days of Barry Switzer vs. Tom Osborne in the 1970s and ’80s.
This time, both teams are just trying to make up ground in the divisional standings. It’s the fourth straight time Nebraska (5-3, 2-2) enters the rivalry unranked and, before that, Oklahoma was outside the Top 25 for six of eight meetings in the 1990s.
Oklahoma won 62-28 last year in Bo Pelini’s debut in the rivalry. Dominique Franks intercepted Joe Ganz’s first pass and returned it for a touchdown, and Oklahoma opened a 28-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. The Sooners’ final point total was their highest ever in the series.
This time around it will be the debut of Landry Jones and his future with the Sooners.
PICK: University of Oklahoma Sooners
Primetime College Football: Huskers vs Tigers
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Nebraska has had little trouble shutting down opponents, while Missouri has been scoring with ease. With both squads coming off a bye, the Cornhuskers and Tigers open their conference schedules at Faurot Field where those trends seem unlikely to continue.
Bo Pelini’s Huskers (3-1) have faced few challenges during non-conference play, defeating Sun Belt Conference foes Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State and Lafayette by a combined 142-12. Nebraska’s loss came at Virginia Tech, when the Hokies scored with 21 seconds left for a 16-15 win.
The Huskers bounced back from that stunning loss with the lopsided victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns, allowing a season-low 222 yards in their first shutout since 2006. The offense had another solid performance with Zac Lee passing for 238 yards and a TD, while running back Roy Helu scored twice.
Nebraska is 19th in the country with 440.0 yards per game and ninth with 39.3 points a contest, but the defense lead by Ndamukong Suh has been even better. The Huskers are first in scoring defense (7.0) and their 28 points allowed are their fewest yielded through four games since 1990. In Pelini’s first year as Huskers’ coach last season, the defense allowed an average of 28.5 points.
Nebraska opened conference play with a 52-17 loss to then-No. 4 Missouri last Oct. 4 in its most lopsided defeat at Memorial Stadium since 1955. The teams went on to tie for first in the Big 12 North.
Missouri (4-0) is led by Blaine Gabbert who passed for 414 yards and 3 TDs in a 31-21 win at Nevada. He has thrown for 1,161 yards and 11 TDs with no interceptions this season. The sophomore directs an offense that ranks 15th in points per game (36.8) and 16th in yards per contest (453.0), although he has yet to face a defense that is nearly as talented as Nebraska’s.
The combined record of Gary Pinkel’s Tigers four opponents is 6-12, with Furman accounting for three of those victories.
The Tigers should have an advantage playing at Faurot Field. Missouri has won 23 of 27 home games and taken three straight over Nebraska at Faurot. Nebraska has lost seven in a row and 14 of 15 road games against ranked opponents.
PICK: University of Nebraska Cornhuskers
