Tag Archives: UW vs. Nebraska

UW vs. Nebraska Predictions

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a local farmer’s market.  Corn was in season.  I bought 4 ears of corn for $1.50.  Several days later, I had maybe the worst day of my year thus far.  I went to work and by noon had a pretty good cold.  The afternoon was fairly miserable, and then I went to the dentist after work, who gave me less than great news.  When I finally got home at 8:00 that night, I lit up the barbecue to make a hamburger.  As I was waiting for it to cook, my dad called.  Our family dog, Monte, whom 11 years ago I had brought home from work where he was dropped off as a stray puppy, had died.  He was literally the best dog on the face of the earth.  It was a crappy day.

Know what else I did that day?  I husked some corn.  I like corn.  I especially like to barbecue corn on the cob, and that’s what I did that day.  It didn’t even taste good.

Anyone can be a corn husker, but few can be Dawgs.  Let’s win this one for Monte.

Andrew

I had meant to put up a preview of Nebraska and a recap of last week on the blog but never got around to it.  The Huskies left me feeling a bit more optimistic after last week but they still had quite a few problems.  The Cornhuskers seem to have holes too.  They blew out Chattanooga but took a while to get rolling in that one.  Last week, they struggled with Fresno State and held on for the win.  Fresno is close to even with Hawaii, if anything they’re a little bit worse.  I believe Nebraska is worse than they were last year, but not by much.  When they stomped the Huskies last September I thought they’d be the National Champion.  So, maybe these teams are a lot closer to even than the betting line suggests.  On defense, the Huskies have to stop Taylor Martinez from running all over them.  He’s the only thing that really scares me for the Huskers.  On offense, the challenge will be to run the ball even though Nebraska knows that the Huskies will be running.  If the Dawgs can get a few big pass plays to start the game, then I think the offense will have some success.  They have to tackle well, not lose any assignments, create turnovers, and play smart physical football.  Frankly, I’m excited for this game.  We can see how the Huskies truly measure up.  Last week we saw glimpses of what the Huskies could be (in the first quarter) and this week they’ll have to be that team for the whole game to win.  I don’t think they’re quite able to pull it off but I think they’ll keep it close, making it a fun game to watch.

Nebraska 31, Huskies 21

Dan

Of all the outcomes, I would only be surprised if the Huskies blowout the Huskers. Outside of this, anything seems possible. Before the season began, I was thinking we would get thumped in this game, because in some ways it really is a recipe for disaster. You have the unbelievable road environment in Lincoln, with its red sea and tradition. The revenge factor is there too, and the talent favors NU as well. Throw in a healthy Taylor Martinez, and a repeat of the 56-21 score last year seems possible. But the strength of the Huskies is their D-line, and nothing Nebraska throws (or runs) at them is going to be a surprise. I doubt Martinez gets bottled up all day, but I think the Dawgs will keep him in check, and force him to throw the ball. I also expect UW to score a little, especially with news that Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska’s stud cornerback, is likely out. Dennard is capable of shutting down one side of the field in the passing game, so his absence could be huge. Despite these reasons to be optimistic, I just see every call, and every bounce going the Cornhuskers way tomorrow. The players in red and white will be amped for this game, and I still think emotion plays a large factor in college football.

Nebraska 45, Washington 20

Joe

I just don’t like where the UW’s defense is at.  I realize Neb runs the ball primarily, and I think UW is much better suited to stop the run.  That said, I think Neb does throw and tries to exploit the Dawgs weakness.  UW  must throw the ball well, because Neb is going to key on Polk, so UW needs to flip conventional thinking: throw to set up the run.  Neb was embarrassed in the Holiday Bowl and they will be jacked up, crowd will be nuts, there’s nothing about this game I like on the road.  Neb simply because of the home field advantage and the revenge factor.  Close early, Neb pulls away late.

Neb 38 – UW 21

Matthew

This is such a strange game.  Everyone knows about the 3 games in a year, with the first two being as different as could possibly be.  Taking away the history, this is a pretty favorable game for the Huskies considering Nebraska is considered a possible top 10 team.  Nebraska is certainly talented, but passing isn’t their strength.  Their secondary, which was the major difference in the first game, has taken a step down, especially if Alfonzo Dennard doesn’t play (probably wishful thinking).  So far, Nebraska has shown themselves to be nowhere near the same team they were last September.

Even with that being the case, I still consider Nebraska the favorite.  They have more talent, they have more experience winning games, and they’re at home.  Plus, it’s not like the Huskies have been dominant this year.  It’s scary but easy to picture Keith Price interceptions, no holes for Chris Polk, and Taylor Martinez running for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns.

For the Huskies to win, I think they have to be balanced on offense and get to at least 27 points.  I think they can do this.  I expect more out of the receivers, and as long as Price doesn’t let the situation get to him, he should have some success.  The defense needs to play like they did in the Holiday Bowl.  Anything much short of that and they could be in trouble.  They can’t let Martinez run wild too often, and they have to consistently control the line of scrimmage.  Up until Friday morning I didn’t give the Huskies much chance, but I’ve talked myself into an upset.  Go Dawgs.

UW 30, Nebraska 24

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Scouting Nebraska

The Huskies face their toughest task yet this week in Husky Stadium, a top-ten Nebraska team.  We know a little more about Nebraska than the first two teams of the season just because they don’t have so many question marks.  That being said, there are still a few unknowns for the Huskers.  Nebraska hasn’t played anyone good yet.  They played Western Kentucky the first week and beat them 49-10.  Last week they beat Idaho 38-17 in a very sloppy game.  Let’s looks at this Good Guy’s style, position by position:

Quarterback: Taylor Martinez starts for Nebraska.  If you have read anything at all about this game you’ve probably heard Martinez’s name come up.  He’s a red-shirt freshman that surpassed last year’s starter, Zac Lee, during the off-season.  Martinez is fast.  Jake Locker fast.  He’s said to have 4.5 40 and has run up and down the field against his first two opponents.  Martinez is averaging 13.8 yards a carry and has the capability to break a huge run.  I could see him running right by the Huskies defensive ends the entire game.  Throwing may be a different story.  He’s said to be perfectly capable with his arm but hasn’t proved that yet.  Frankly, Nebraska hasn’t needed to throw the football very much yet.  Martinez is 22-34 on the season throwing the football.  That’s a good completion percentage, but keep in mind the competition.  Martinez, and the Nebraska offense as a whole, has been a little turnover-prone in the first couple games.  Last week, the Cornhuskers fumbled 8 times!  Yes, 8 times!  They lost 3 of them and Martinez also threw an interception.  All in all, the quarterback position seems to be in good hands at Nebraska.  Still, it’s the first road start for a freshman in a Husky Stadium that should be louder than it has in years.  Martinez is a stud but still unproven.

Running Back: Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead are Nebraska’s main backs.  Helu is supposedly the lightning to Burkhead’s thunder.  Burkhead is a very solid guy with a good burst but is lacking the big-play speed.  He is also a good receiver out of the backfield.  Helu is a lot the same except he isn’t used as a receiver quite as much.  Helu did rush for 1,147 yards last year.  Obviously, he’s a proven, good player.  He may have a little better overall speed, but Martinez is the big play guy in the Nebraska backfield.  The Huskers go without a fullback generally, because of their spread offense attack.  Think Oregon as far as formations go.  Burkhead has also lined up in the Wildcat quite a bit.  I don’t really understand why the Huskers would do this since they have Martinez now but don’t be surprised if you see that on Saturday.

Wide Receiver: This is probably the biggest question mark for Nebraska.  They have two really big guys, Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie, who are both over 6’2″, 220.  Paul also runs a little bit in a fly-sweep type play.  The two guys I mentioned are possession type receivers, but given their size, it seems like they would be pretty good down-field, also. The Huskers don’t really have any proven deep threats, yet.  We’ll see if they take any chances this week.  Mike McNeil plays a tight end/receiver type role.  He’s another giant, standing at 6’4″, 230.  The rest of the receiving corps is an unknown and they seem to lack consistency as a whole.

Offensive Line: Nebraska returns 4 of 5 starters on the offensive line but did lose their best player to graduation.  The line doesn’t have any huge stars but they’ve been solid thus far, leading the Huskers to 324 rushing yards a game.  The line wasn’t great last year, but wasn’t bad either.  Their line might not be quite as good as BYU but it’ll be a tough match-up for the Dawgs up front.  The Huskies will most likely bring a lot of guys in the box to try to stop the rushing attack.  The Husker line is pretty strong, all in all.

We’ll get to the defensive side of the ball after the jump. Continue reading

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