Offense Finally Clicking?

"Nebraska quarterback passes for 431 yards" sounds a bit like telling someone the tooth fairy is running for congress- it simply does not happen. Well, get ready for some loose teeth in Washington, because this past Saturday in Lincoln, Zac Taylor showed why some in Huskerland are so high on him, passing Nebraska to a thrilling 27-20 double overtime win against 23rd ranked Iowa State. The win over the Cyclones put the Huskers atop the Big 12 North standings with a 4-0 record. Iowa State continues to struggle in Lincoln- the Cyclones have not won there since 1977.

The game started off sluggish for the Husker offense, although Taylor looked sharp. Typical to the west coast offense, the Huskers piled up yardage but had trouble once they reached the red zone. Settling for field goals will not cut it against the likes of Oklahoma or Texas Tech, the Huskers' opponent this week, especially with a freshman placekicker who missed a chip shot against Iowa State. Before anyone gets to carried away, remember that Texas Tech beat up the Huskers last season in Lubbock, 70-10, Nebraska's worst loss in school history. Perhaps the revenge factor will come into play this week, although Tech still looks to be virtually unstoppable on offense. The Husker defense will have its hands full, and this will be the key matchup in the game. If the Nebraska D can stop- or at least limit- the Tech O, the Huskers could make a game of it. Kansas "held" the Red Raiders to 30 points last week, so at least we know they won't score over 50 points every week this season.

One factor that will be easy to overlook in this matchup is the Red Raider defense- Tech has been untested so far this season, playing perhaps the softest non-conference schedule ever, and did not look very impressive in the Kansas win. Perhaps coach Mike Leach is taking scheduling tips from Bill Snyder at Kansas State- we have all seen the damage his scheduling methods have caused to the success of Wildcats' program of late. Tom Osborne faced similar criticism in the 80's when Nebraska regularly rolled up huge scores on patsies, only to lose in a bowl game to a school (pick one) from Florida.

Since the game is in Lincoln, I give the Huskers a legitimate shot to knock off the Red Raiders, but the defense will have to step it up a few notches if Nebraska is to have any chance. The Huskers will have to score more than 13 points (last week's total before OT) to have any shot in this game- you can bet Texas Tech will not be held to less than 30. If the game becomes a shootout, Tech will have a clear advantage- on the same token, if the game is a low scoring affair, the Huskers should prevail. Initially, I believe this game will come down to turnovers, and the Huskers' ability to keep the Red Raider offense off the field as long as possible.

I will offer more in-depth analysis on Thursday, including any injury updates and weather information that may factor into this game- right now it looks like clear skies in Lincoln for the 3:00pm local start time. Despite a couple blowouts in the early 90's, Texas Tech always seems to play the Huskers well, particularly in Lubbock. Thankfully for Nebraska, this game is in Lincoln- that may be the only chance the Huskers have.

Tuesday's (somewhat uninformed) prediction- Texas Tech 38, Nebraska 20.

Texas Tech at Nebraska
Saturday, October 8 2005 3:08pm CDT
Early Line- Tech (-4).