Saturday, October 01, 2005

So what will we get today vs. the Clones?

Nebraska's "strength of schedule" took yet another hit last night as Rutgers held off a 2nd half comeback by Pitt and won 37-29. Yes, Nebraska is 3-0. But most division 1-A schools would be 3-0 after playing the 144th toughest schedule out of 240 division 1-A and 1-AA schools.

Some of the "excuse makers" ignore those facts and point to the relative newness of the coaches and some of the players. However, it's tough to ignore that Nebraska's offense is 107th out of 117 division 1-A teams. Heck, Frank Solich's Ohio squad is 102nd, and they've at least played the 44th toughest schedule. The schedule only gets tougher from here.

So what will we see from the offense today? My guess is that the gameplan will be similar to the 2nd half last year against Iowa State, and close to the game plan used by Callahan against Baylor and Oklahoma. Perhaps a 70-30 run/pass ratio. Establish the ground game, and then use play-action to try and get the passing game untracked.

Nobody is expecting a monumental improvement, but we do need to see some improvement today. Cory Ross is a warrior and has the heart of a champion, but cannot bear the whole load himself. Limit Ross to about 25 carries, and try to get Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky about 15 carries combined.

1 comment:

  1. It's going to be an interesting battle this afternoon...which Husker squad is going to show? Me thinks the same one that couldn't adjust last season in Ames. Barney's going to pull a few tricks out of his bag today...'Clones 24, 'Skerz 17...

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