Shuck a Duck, look who’s coming to Lincoln!
Last week the Nebraska Cornhuskers entertained their neighbor to the west, the Wyoming Cowboys. The Huskers were a little too hospitable in the first 3 quarters, keeping the Cowpokes in the game all the way into the fourth quarter. What happened after that isn’t something we have seen much of the last 4 years. The Huskers held it all together while the opponent came unraveled.
Let’s be real here, Bo Pelini was fired as much for his inability to hang on to leads and his teams penchant for blowing a gasket in big games and getting run over as he was for his boorish sideline behavior. He also had a hard time getting his team to play hard against perceived lesser opponents. The McNeese States and South Dakota States of this world probably were a precursor to greater issues within the program than the Wisconsin and Ohio State avalanches.
This time however, the Huskers poured it on in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive week, beating a lesser team by a much greater margin that the game play would have led you to believe.
Nebraska is an improving team and we are seeing it before our very eyes. And not a moment too soon, because guess who is coming to Lincoln? Yeah, the Mighty Ducks from Oregon. This isn’t your mom and pops Oregon teams from the 70s and 80s that played Nebraska and took some large beatings. This is the second most winning program behind Alabama the last few years. Oregon has become a hot item in college football overnight, as much for their Nike garish uniforms as their winning success, but they have had great success recently and it has turned this matchup into the ultimate measuring stick for Nebraska.
One might argue that since Chip Kelly moved to the NFL and Marcus Mariota followed, that Oregon has been moved down a peg or two. That may be the case, but nationally, the Ducks cache is still great and believe me, they have enough weapons that if Nebraska doesn’t come to play on Saturday afternoon, the Huskers will get boat raced.
This Nebraska team is probably equipped to play Oregon as well as any Husker team in the last four years. The last two years with Coach Pelini led to some dog races against teams with more perimeter speed than Nebraska and last season with the changeover in staff, the Huskers couldn’t stop Purdue, let alone one of the top offenses in the country.
Things seem to have turned for this Husker team this season. Coach Riley and Coach Banker have really upgraded the defense in their second year and position coaches at each level are having a great effect on their groups and it’s starting to show. Brian Stewart has the defensive backs intercepting passes; Trent Bray has the linebackers leading the team on the field and newly hired defensive line Coach John Parrella has the line playing better than they did all of last season when Nebraska had two NFL draft picks starting next to each other.
This Nebraska team is built to stop the run first and that is what they will need to do with Oregon. The Ducks try to force you to use all your resources to stop the perimeter runs, then beat you over the top with quick hit passing when the safeties come up to far to help with the run. I expect the fact that Coach Banker and Coach Riley have spent over 10 seasons playing against Oregon should allow for them to plan their schemes adequately. I think Nebraska’s defense should keep the Huskers in the game.
That leads us to the Husker offense. As much as we all want the defense to play well, this game really hinges on the play of Tommy Armstrong. If Nebraska is to have any chance this weekend, Armstrong is going to need to limit turnovers to no more than one and Tommy will need to run the ball with authority to keep Oregon honest enough that he can find wide open receivers down the field. I don’t know how much faith I have in this happening, but Nebraska is due to win a game that it should, against an opponent that they maybe have equal talent with. If Nebraska can find a way to do well offensively this weekend, I think they can come out of this game 3-0 going into conference play.
Quick Notes:
Getting Mick Stoltenberg back on defense should be a nice boost to the defensive line this weekend. Oregon plays fast paced and Carlos Davis may need a breather for a few series. Mick is a beast when healthy and should provide enough depth to help Nebraska slow the Ducks run game.
Losing Brandon Reilly for this game sucks. Missing Brandon in the first game of the season showed that the WRs that are backing him up weren’t quite ready for prime time. Having him back against Wyoming opened up the field and Nebraska had WRs running open all over the place. This week they won’t have that luxury, so Alonzo Moore, Jordan Westerkamp and De’Mornay Pierson El will need to step up their games this week to make up for it.
Nebraska needs to limit Oregon possessions. You can put it however you want, but the Huskers need to stay out of a track meet with the Ducks. Oregon has an Olympic hurdler on their team at wide receiver and has plenty of speed at almost every skill position. Nebraska has to be patient on offense and not turn the ball over. Keeping Oregon from having the ball keeps them out of rhythm and keeps them from scoring. Both of those things would be a great help in winning for Nebraska.
The home crowd needs to show up. In the past Nebraska fans have been better than great for night games. Afternoon games have been kind of a tossup how loud the fan base is. If Nebraska repeats the crowd rowdiness from Miami and Michigan State of the last couple of years, Oregon will be in for surprise that they aren’t expecting. And yes, I will be there losing my voice with the rest of the Big Red Faithful!
Expect to see some trick plays. Oregon and Nebraska will have a trick or two up their sleeve this weekend. Whoever is successful in running one or two may be the difference maker in a game that is bound to be close.
Score Prediction: After thinking this over, I think Nebraska is going to pull this game out. I don’t know how, I’m not sure I believe it anywhere but in my heart, but something tells me it’s Nebraska’s time to shine this Saturday. I think they pull out a close on, Huskers 33, Ducks 30. Let’s hope I’m able to type next week, as I expect a nail biter! GBR!
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