2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Jan. 1
Cotton Bowl
Auburn 17 ... Nebraska 14
Auburn managed just 178 total yards and did absolutely nothing
in the first half, but scored on a Carl Stewart nine-yard catch
and a one-yard run converting off a fumbled fake punt attempt
and an interception return deep into Husker territory. Nebraska
dominated the first half getting a 13-yard Nate Swift touchdown
catch and a 20-yard Brandon Jackson scoring run, but was shut
out in the second with the passing game struggling to get
moving. Auburn's offense wasn't much better, but it did just
enough to get a 42-yard John Vaughn field goal. The Huskers had
a chance late, but chose to go for it on fourth and 11 instead
of a long field goal. Zac Taylor's pass went out of bounds, and
Auburn had the game in hand. Player of the game ... Auburn CB David Irons made three tackles, one
tackle for loss, and broke up one pass that led to the early
interception. He also did a great job of putting the clamps down
on the Husker receivers. Stat Leaders: Auburn- Passing: Brandon Cox, 10-21, 111 yds Rushing: Kenny Irons, 24-72 Receiving: Courtney Taylor, 6-70 Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 14-25, 126
yds, 1, TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 25-88 Receiving: Marlon Lucky, 6-67 Notes & Thoughts ... Quarter by quarter
game notes...
It wasn't exactly the prettiest
Cotton Bowl. Auburn finished up its season with 11 wins despite
the lack of a consistent offense, while Nebraska ended with two
major disappointments in losses in the Big 12 title game and now
in the Cotton. ... Nebraska's offense seemingly pulled out every
play in the book, but it didn't seem to matter. The receivers
couldn't get open against the speedy Auburn defensive back
seven, while the running game wasn't used enough in the second
half to take control. ... As soon as Auburn got out of the first
half tied, it seemed like it was going to be its day. It's hard
to play that poorly, get that thoroughly dominated and come away
tied. ... Brandon Cox had a better second half than the stats
will show, while Zac Taylor struggled to get anything going. ...
Nebraska didn't necessarily get outcoached, but it was almost
like the Bill Callahan and his crew tried to hard and outthought
itself. There were several bizarre, ill-timed, and curious play
calls.
Dec. 2
Big 12 Championship
Oklahoma 21 ... Nebraska 7
Oklahoma forced five Nebraska turnovers, including Marcus
Walker forcing a Maurice Purify fumble on the second play from
scrimmage, leading to a two-yard Allen Patrick touchdown run. A
Malcolm Kelly 66-yard touchdown catch later in the first quarter
put the game out of reach. Zac Taylor and Hunter Teafatiller
connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, but
the turnovers and the lack of a balanced offense proved to be
too much to overcome. Kelly closed out the scoring with a
three-yard touchdown catch late in the third. Neither team ran
the ball well, and Nebraska gained OU 282 yards to 265 through
the air, but the Sooners came through with the bigger plays. Player of the
game ... Oklahoma WR
Malcolm Kelly caught ten passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Oklahoma- Passing: Paul
Thompson, 19-34, 265 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Allen Patrick, 15-35, 1 TD Receiving:
Malcolm Kelly, 10-142, 2 TD Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 23-50, 282
yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 13-70 Receiving:
Brandon Jackson, 5-28 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... All of
Nebraska's issues were exposed by Oklahoma. Mediocre secondary:
check. Inconsistent running game: check. Not enough big plays
from the receivers against a good defense: check, too. Of
course, the biggest problem from the start was the inability to
hang on to the ball killing too many chances to change the
momentum around. The run defense did a great job of keeping OU
in check, but nothing else worked well enough to pull off the
win.
Nov. 24
Nebraska 37 ... Colorado 14
Nebraska used a variety of trick
plays and a huge day from Brandon Jackson to put Colorado away.
Tied at 14 late in the third quarter after a 45-yard Mell
Holliday touchdown run, the Huskers scored the final 23 points
of the game on a two-yard Jackson run, an 18-yard Jackson catch,
a seven-yard Kenny Wilson scoring run, and a safety on a sack of
CU QB Bernard Jackson. Jackson connected with Riar Geer for a
14-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to answer a 7-0
Husker lead off a 15-yard Terrence Nunn catch. Player of the game ... Nebraska RB Brandon Jackson ran
34 times for 142 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for
42 yards and a score Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 19-28, 249 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 34-142, 1 TD. Receiving:
Brandon Jackson, 6-42, 1 TD Colorado - Passing:
Bernard Jackson, 11-23, 131 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mell Holliday, 8-67, 1 TD Receiving:
Cody Crawford, 5-79 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Shouldn't
Nebraska have saved a little something for the Big 12 title
game? Either Bill Callahan and his coaching staff were giving
the South team more to think about by running so many trick
plays, or it might have ruined the surprise on several good
ideas and schemes. Brandon Jackson did a little of everything
well and Zac Taylor was razor sharp, but the big key was the
play of the defensive line that came up with four sacks, and
outside of a few big runs, consistently stopped the CU ground
game. On a three-game winning streak, this looked like a team
with confidence.
Nov. 11
Nebraska 28 ... Texas A&M 27
Nebraska turned a blocked field goal
into an 11-play, 75-yard drive finishing with a nine-yard Zac Taylor lob
to Maurice Purify for the game-winning score with :21 to play. The
Huskers got up 21-7 in the first half on two Cody Glenn touchdown runs
and a four-yard Todd Peterson catch. Then the Aggies went on a 20-point
run highlighted by a 57-yard touchdown run from Stephen McGee, but when
they had a chance to put the game away with a 42-yard Layne Neumann
field goal, the Huskers got the block to keep the game alive. With the
win, the Huskers clinched the Big 12 North title. Player of the game ... In the loss, Texas A&M LB Mark
Dodge made 17 tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 21-35, 267 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 12-52. Receiving: Todd
Peterson, 7-82, 1 TD Texas A&M - Passing:
Stephen McGee, 18-31, 244 yds
Rushing: Mike Goodson, 11-80, 1 TD Receiving:
Martel Bennett, 6-67 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska's win over Missouri last week was huge, but on a national
scale, the win this week over Texas A&M might have been bigger. This was
a true, big-time road win that showed heart, clutch play, and great
defensive pressure over and over again getting into the Aggie backfield
all game long. Taylor set the Nebraska record for career passing yards
and set the school's single-season record for touchdown passes with 22.
It helps that the program almost never threw the ball, but Taylor's
two-year career is still impressive.
Nov. 4
Nebraska 34 ... Missouri 20
Nebraska efficiently took control of
the Big 12 North race getting up 17-0 on a trick play with Maurice
Purify throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Nunn and catching a
seven-yard pass. Missouri got on the board in the first half on two Jeff
Wolfert field goals and got within 14 on a six-yard touchdown pass to
Martin Rucker, but the Huskers put it out of reach with a 13-play,
85-yard drive finished off by a two-yard Brandon Jackson run. The Tigers
managed one more score on a 19-yard Chase Coffman touchdown catch midway
through the fourth. Player of the game ... Nebraska RB Brandon Jackson ran
32 times for 111 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 61
yards Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 13-21, 208 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 32-111, 1 TD. Receiving:
Marlon Lucky, 4-46 Missouri - Passing:
Chase Daniel, 20-38, 244 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Tony Temple, 18-99 Receiving: Dana
Alexander, 4-84 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Talk
about bouncing back. Nebraska did a great job of tightening up on the
Missouri passing game early while the offense coolly and calmly took
care of business with a balanced attack that converted 11 of 17 third
down chances. Brandon Jackson has been the star of the offense over the
last few weeks doing a little of everything well with his ability as a
receiver bailing the offense out of a few jams. Now the North title is
there for the taking needing to beat either Texas A&M or Colorado in the
final two games to get into the Big12 title game.
Oct. 28
Oklahoma State 41 ... Nebraska 29
Nebraska got up 23-13 on two Brandon
Jackson touchdown runs and a 22-yard pass play from Zac Taylor to
Maurice Purify, and then Oklahoma State kicked it in with a 45-yard
touchdown pass to Adarius Bowman with :16 left in the first half as part
of a 28-point run with Dantrell Savage scoring his second rushing
touchdown of the game, Julius Crosslin pounding it in from one-yard out,
and Nathan Peterson putting a cap on things with a 19-yard fumble
recovery for a score. Nebraska managed a five-yard touchdown pass to
Purify with five seconds to play, but it was way too late. Player of the game ... Oklahoma State QB Bobby Reid
completed 13 of 21 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns with an
interception. He also ran eight times for 61 yards. Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 21-39, 241 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 21-182, 2 TD. Receiving:
Maurice Purify, 6-66, 2 TD Oklahoma State - Passing:
Bobby Reid, 13-21, 229 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing:
Dantrell Savage, 17-117, 2 TD Receiving: D'Juan Woods,
4-87 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska's secondary was going to be an issue against Oklahoma State,
but no one thought the D was going to get its doors blown off by the
Cowboy running game. The offensive line couldn't protect Zac Taylor,
there wasn't any consistent offense in the second half, and the
secondary, as expected, allowed too many big plays. The Huskers must
have a short memory with Missouri coming up next week. This game, in the
scheme of the Big 12 race, won't mean anything if Nebraska beats the
Tigers, Texas A&M and Colorado.
Oct. 21
Texas 22 ... Nebraska 20
On his first attempt of his career, Ryan Bailey hit a 22-yard
field goal with 23 seconds to play and the defense broke up two
Hail Mary passes in the end zone as Texas came back to beat
Nebraska. The Huskers were up 20-19 late and were trying to run
down the clock, but Texas CB Aaron Ross forced a fumble with
1:45 to play leading the way to the game-winning drive. The
Huskers got three big plays with a 63-yard touchdown pass to
Maurice Purify in the first quarter, a 49-yard score from
Brandon Jackson off a shovel pass, and with just under five
minutes to play, a 25-yard halfback pass from Marlon Lucky to
Nate Swift. Texas moved the ball, but had problems with the
kicking game as Greg Johnson got an extra point blocked and
missed from 39 and 31 yards out. Colt McCoy threw two touchdown
passes with a six-yard strike to Quan Cosby and a 55-yard throw
to Limas Sweed. Player of the game ... Texas CB Aaron Ross made four
tackles and forced the fumble that led to the game-winning score Stat Leaders: Texas- Passing: Colt
McCoy, 25-39, 220 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Jamaal Charles, 9-63. Receiving:
Limas Sweed, 8-119, 1 TD Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 15-28,
277 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 7-40 Receiving: Terrence
Nunn, 5-84 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska was just this close
to coming up with a huge, corner-turning win under Bill
Callahan. The Huskers have nation respect, but a win over Texas
would've put the team into top ten territory. The offense wasn't
afraid to open it up and pull out all the stops; Husker fans
have to be wondering where this offense was against USC earlier
in the year. To beat the best, you need a few breaks, and
Nebraska had a hard time getting enough of them with Texas
falling on four of its own fumbles. The defense failed to get
the big stop it needed at the end of the game after the Terrence
Nunn fumble. Don't fret too much Big Red fans; win out, and
you'll get a second shot at the Horns.
Oct. 14
Nebraska 21 ... Kansas State 3
Nebraska only ran for 22 yards and
only managed a 53-yard Jeff Snodgrass as Nebraska dominated from
start to finish. The Huskers got a 17-yard touchdown catch from
Hunter Teafatiller off a fake field goal to kick off the scoring,
and then let the offensive guys do the rest with Zac Taylor throwing
a three-yard scoring pass to Josh Mueller in the third and Marlon
Lucky running for a 40-yard score in the third. The Huskers only
gained 356 yards, but managed to hold on to the ball for almost 35
minutes. Player of the game ... Nebraska LB Stewart Bradley led
the defense with ten tackles and a tackle for loss Stat Leaders: Kansas State- Passing:
Josh Freeman, 23-47, 272 yds, 2 INT Rushing:Daniel Gonzalez, 1-38
Receiving:
Jermaine Moreira, 6-86 Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 12-21,
149 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 16-92 Receiving:
Maurice Purify, 4-73 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska appears to have settled
into the role of being workmanlike and efficient against mediocre teams.
Outside of an awful second half against Kansas, there haven't been any
problems over the last four weeks with an easy win over Kansas State the
latest solid performance. However, to beat Texas next week, there will
have to be more pop. The gloves have to come off and there must be more
big plays from the passing game. Playing it safe and letting the defense
control the game won't work over the next few weeks.
Oct. 7
Nebraska 28 ... Iowa State 14
Nebraska outrushed Iowa State 251 yards to 53 with Brandon
Jackson rushing for 120 yards and a score and Cody Glenn tearing off 148
yards with scoring runs from three and five yards out. A one-yard Bret
Meyer touchdown run tied it at seven, but the Cyclones didn't get back
on the board until a 13-yard scoring pass to Todd Blythe with six
seconds to play. The Husker passing game got into the act with a 27-yard
scoring play to Maurice Purify, while the offense held on to the ball
for almost 37 minutes. Player of the game ... Nebraska RBs Cody Glenn and
Brandon Jackson combined for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 41
carries Stat Leaders: Iowa State - Passing: Bret
Meyer, 18-39, 262 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Bret Meyer, 13-26, 1 TD. Receiving:
Todd Blythe, 6-96, 1 TD Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 17-21,
131 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Cody Glenn, 19-148, 2 TD Receiving:
Marlon Lucky, 3-28 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska's secondary was saved by the offense and the running game. It
was an impressive gameplan against Iowa State running the ball, running
the ball, and running some more with Zac Taylor coming up with one of
his most efficient passing games of the season. It might not always have
been exciting, but in a hostile environment, the ball control game
worked. There's still a stunning lack of pressure into the backfield and
the pass defense is still a concern, but Nebraska is 5-1 going into a
date with Kansas State before the Texas showdown. There can't be too
many complaints from Husker fans at the moment.
Sept. 30
Nebraska 39 ... Kansas 32 OT
Nebraska got a one-yard Cody Glenn touchdown run in overtime,
and then the defense held as Kansas stalled on the nine-yard line. The
Huskers got up 17-0 early with a 75 yard Terrence Nunn touchdown and a
six-yard Todd Peterson catch,, but Kansas slowly crept its way back
until it finally took the lead 25-24 late in the fourth on a one-yard
Derek Fine touchdown catch. Nebraska responded with a 75-yard touchdown
pass to Frantz Hardy, but the defense couldn't hold as KU went 81 yard
in 11 played culminating in a 26-yard touchdown grab from Brian Murph,
who took the pass and sprinted his way into the left side of the end
zone. KU outgained Nebraska 574 yards to 511 thanks to a 405-yard
passing day from Adam Barmann. Player of the game ... Nebraska QB Zac Tayor completed
15 of 33 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns Stat Leaders: Kansas - Passing: Adam
Barmann, 27-54, 405 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing: Jon Cornish, 31-145, 1 TD. Receiving:
Brian Murph, 8-129, 1 TD Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 15-33,
395 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 13-40 Receiving:
Maurice Purify, 4-91 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Nebraska's secondary is a weak point, everyone knew that, but to get
ripped up by Kansas is cause for major concern with good passing games
coming up on the schedule. Zac Taylor might not have been efficient, but
he bombed away with two huge pass plays, and he kept his composure when
things started to go south. Three fumbles and an ineffective ground
game, along with a huge passing day from QB Adam Barmann, helped allow
KU to get back in the game, but the Huskers survived. They needed to
prove they could come up with a close win like this when things weren't
going quite as well as planned.
Sept. 23
Nebraska 56 ... Troy 0
Nebraska cranked out 597 yards of total offense and scored 14
points in each quarter highlighted by touchdown runs from from Marlon
Lucky from 34, 45, and 51 yards out. Kenny Wilson added scoring runs
from three and eight yards out, and Zac Taylor connected with J.B.
Phillips for a six-yard score. The Huskers cranked out 316 rushing yards
and held Troy to 48 rushing yards and 1.8 yards per carry. Troy only
converted one of 11 third down conversions and committed ten penalties. Player of the game ... Nebraska RB Marlon Lucky ran ten
times for 156 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Troy - Passing: Omar
Haugabook, 12-21, 88 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Josh Allen, 4-39. Receiving:
Smokey Hampton, 4-16 Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 14-17,
268 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 10-156, 3 TD Receiving:
Terrence Nunn, 4-102 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
We know Nebraska is good enough to blast the Troys and Louisiana Tech's
of the world, but it's time for this team to show up against a good
team. To be fair, USC has been the only test so far, but there's no
reason this offense should be held down by Kansas, Iowa State, or Kansas
State over the coming weeks. The running game was terrific against a
Troy D, that's been solid so far. Finally, the great Husker defensive
front generated some pressure.
Sept. 16
USC 28 ... Nebraska 10
John David Booty threw three touchdown passes, with two to
Dwayne Jarrett, and Chauncey Washington ran for a seven-yard
score as USC wasn't pretty, but won easily. Nebraska got up
early on a 38-yard Jordan Congdon field goal, but wasn't able to
get the offense moving in the first half and only managed a
one-yard Zac Taylor touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The
Trojans outgained the Huskers 399 yards to 211. Player of the game ... USC WR Dwayne Jarrett caught 11
passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Stat Leaders: USC- Passing: John David
Booty, 25-36, 257 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Emmanuel Moody, 9-70. Receiving:
Dwayne Jarrett, 11-136, 2 TD Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 8-16, 115
yds
Rushing: Kenny Wilson, 19-46 Receiving:
Brandon Jackson, 4-36 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Nebraska didn't get any pass
rush on USC QB John David Booty ... ball game. The secondary
simply wasn't good enough to stay with the Trojan receivers. The
bigger problem was the Husker passing game; there wasn't any.
Where was the West Coast offense? How could Zac Taylor only
throw the ball 16 times? It was almost like the Huskers were
playing not to get blown out instead of taking full advantage of
the national spotlight and the opportunity to make a statement.
This is still a good enough team to win the Big 12 title and
potentially run the table along the way, but it proved that it's
not back among the elite.
Sept. 9
Nebraska 56 ... Nicholls State 7
Nebraska had no problems against Nicholls State showing a
balanced offense and a little bit of explosion. NSU didn't
complete a pass and was outgained 261 yards to 187 on the
ground. The Huskers scored 14 points in each quarter with Zac
Taylor throwing four touchdown passes including a 19-yarder to
Matt Herian and a 42-yard strike to Maurice Purify. Toney Edison
and Kareem Moore combined for 31 tackles for NSU. Player of the game ... Nebraska QB Zac Taylor completed
19 of 23 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 19-23, 202 yds, 4 TD Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 18-103, 1 TD Receiving:
Matt Herian, 4-38, 1 TD Nicholls State - Passing: Chris Bunch,
0-3
Rushing: Grant Thorne, 3-65. Receiving: None Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It was
only against Nicholls State, but Nebraska showed excellent
offensive balance for the second week in a row getting Marlon
Lucky and the running game going to take some of the workload
away from a razor-sharp Zac Taylor. To beat USC next week, all
the parts have to be working on offense and Taylor has to spread
it around every bit as well as he has over the last two weeks.
Just a guess: Nebraska's secondary won't hold the Trojans to no
passing yards like it did against the Nichols State passing
attack.
Sept. 2
Nebraska 49 ... Louisiana Tech 10
Nebraska spread the ball around to ten different receivers
with seven different players scoring. Matt Herian, in his first
game back from a devastating leg injury, started the scoring on
a 13-yard touchdown grab late in the first quarter. Following a
13-yard touchdown run by Nebraska's Marlon Lucky, Tech got a
brilliant one-handed 39-yard touchdown catch fro Johnathan
Holland to pull within four. That was it for the Bulldogs as the
Huskers scored 35 unanswered points. Player of the game ... Nebraska QB Zac Taylor completed
22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns with an
interception. Stat Leaders: Nebraska- Passing: Zac
Taylor, 22-33, 287 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Cody Glenn, 13-88, 1 TD. Receiving:
Terrence Nunn, 5-54 Louisiana Tech - Passing: Zac Champion,
12-27, 231 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Patrick Jackson, 9-43. Receiving:
Johnathan Holland, 7-139, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Who says
Nebraska doesn't have a running game anymore? Gaining 252 yards
rushing and 332 passing yards on Louisiana Tech will make the
Husker faithful happy, while holding on to the ball for over 35
minutes will make the coaches sleep well. Converting 11 of 16
third down chances will make the overall stats look great. Now
the defense has to crank up the sacks again after getting good
pressure, but not enough big plays. Expect ten sacks next week
against Nicholls State.
Everyone knew it would take a few years for Nebraska to go from
being one of the purest running teams in all of football to a West
Coast attack that, despite cries to the contrary, would become too
heavily reliant on the passing game. But the Big Red Nation was
still getting a bit gruff and grumbly as the Huskers became the
worst running team in the Big 12 while going through some big
growing pains in blowout losses to Missouri and Kansas. And them
came the Alamo Bowl.
With the 32-28 win over Michigan, the defense confirmed
that it could get into the backfield any time it wanted to against
anyone, while the offense found a little bit of confidence with
several big plays and three touchdown passes. Quarterback Zac Taylor
didn't have his best game passing, but he threw for three touchdowns
while the ground game had its third best game of the season rushing
for 151 yards. That game was the spark for what Husker fans hope is
a return to the glory days, albeit in a vastly different way.
However, the question still has to be asked; was the 180-degree
change in offensive philosophy really necessary?
While everyone likes to talk about the Husker offense, the real noise
has been made by a defense that led the nation with a whopping 50 sacks
to go along with a ridiculous 140 tackles for loss. With a defense like
this one, and a power, grinding running game like the Nebraska of old,
this could've been a national title caliber season. Of course, this
isn't the Nebraska of old.
That's not to say this year's offense doesn't have the potential to be
explosive in a way far different than from what Nebraska has ever done.
Taylor knows what he's doing now and should set all sorts of school
passing records with an improved line in front of him, speedy backs, and
a receiving corps full of veterans and superstar newcomers. Getting
tight end Matt Herian back from a brutal broken leg adds yet another
dimension to the attack.
The defensive front seven will be as good as any in America with
talented backups at each spot, too many good linebackers to get on the
field at any one time, and, perhaps, the nation's best defensive ends in
Adam Carriker and Jay Moore. If the secondary is merely competent,
there's no reason the Huskers can't have a top ten D.
High expectations never left Lincoln over the last few seasons, but they
were held in check a little bit. No more. It's Big 12 title or bust as
the program makes it return to national prominence. At least, it had
better return to the spotlight.
The
Schedule:
The Huskers get two warmups before what could be the game that truly
turns the corner in the Bill Callahan era at USC. Even with a loss
against the Trojans, things look promising with a likely 4-1 start
before not-that-bad road trips to Iowa State and Kansas State to try to
get North
title hopes rolling. Not only do the Huskers get one player in the 2006
Rose Bowl, it gets the other when Texas comes to town. However, that
might be a good thing. No matter where the Huskers are ranked in the
preseason, if they beat the Trojans and Longhorns on the way to an
unbeaten season, they're in the national title game no matter how many
other teams are unbeaten. They get a huge break playing Oklahoma State
and Texas A&M from the South while missing Oklahoma and Texas Tech, but
those two games are on the road.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior QB Zac Taylor.
Actually, if he's back to the player he was two years ago, tight end
Matt Herian is the team's best offensive player and will be a threat to
win the Mackey Award. Taylor is an average talent who'll blossom into a
statistical star this year with all the rising talent around him. He's a
heady leader who appears to have the offense and the speed of the D-I
game under control.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior DEs Adam Carriker and Jay Moore. Outside of
injuries, the only thing that can stop these two from combining for at
least 15 sacks and about 30 tackles for loss would be the play of some
excellent backups that'll demand time in the rotation. The NFL tends to
like huge ends who can rush the passer. Carriker goes 295 pounds while
Moore checks in at 280.
Key player
to a successful season: The entire offensive line. Tackles Chris
Patrick, Matt Slauson and Lydon Murtha, guards Greg Austin, Mike Huff
and Andy Christensen, and center Kurt Mann can't hold a candle to any of
the great Husker offensive lines of the past, but they'll form a much
better unit than the one that got Taylor battered and couldn't open up a
hole for the running game. The skill players are there to blow up if
they get time to operate.
The season
will be a success if ... the Huskers win the Big 12 North. While many will set the
sights on winning the league championship, this isn't as good a team as
Oklahoma or Texas. Just getting to the title game for the first time
since 1999 would be a fantastic step forward.
Key game:
Sept. 16 at USC. Talk about your tone-setters. If Nebraska can pull
off the win over a Trojan team that might be the best in America, it'll
set the table for a potentially monster season complete with national
title dreams. Outside of the home date with Texas, the Huskers will be
the favorites the rest of the way.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Sacks: Nebraska 50 for 381 yards - Opponents 38 for 253 yards
- Average yards per carry: Opponents 3.2 - Nebraska 2.7
- Fumbles: Opponents 31, lost 9 - Nebraska 27, lost 11
The Last Time Nebraska…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Alamo Bowl vs. Michigan)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…2003 (Iowa State)
…was shutout…1996 (Arizona State)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Baylor)
…went undefeated…1997
…won a conference title…1999 (Big 12)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2004 (Cory Ross)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…never
…had a first-round draft choice…2005 (DB Fabian Washington)
