Horns Face Big Road Test Vs. Nebraska
GAME NOTES: A Big 12 battle will ensue in Lincoln this weekend as the 17th- ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers host the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns. Texas owns a 6-1 record and all six wins have come by 17 or more points. While the Longhorns have beaten up on some poor competition, including the likes of Rice, North Texas and Sam Houston State, they did handle the Oklahoma Sooners rather easily two weeks ago. The lone defeat suffered by Texas came at the hands of the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Last weekend, the Longhorns rolled to a 63-31 decision over the Baylor Bears. As for Nebraska, it has recorded four straight victories since its only setback of the season, an 18- point loss to USC on the road. Like the 'Horns, the Cornhuskers are 6-1 overall and perfect in Big 12 play. It took Bill Callahan some time to get his players and his system rolling in Lincoln, but it now appears that the team is ready for a return to prominence. Last weekend the squad was stellar defensively in a 21-3 victory over Kansas State. Texas owns a 6-4 edge in the all-time series between these storied programs, including a 31-7 thrashing of the Huskers in 2003.
Texas ranks 27th nationally in total offense, as it is gaining an average of 393.7 ypg. More importantly, the squad places second behind only Clemson in scoring offense with 42.7 ppg. Colt McCoy has been the young man in charge of filling the enormous void created by Vince Young after last season's National Championship run. Although he struggled against Ohio State, as most quarterbacks have, McCoy has been sensational in all the other games. Through seven outings he has completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 1,229 yards with 18 touchdowns and only three interceptions, which means McCoy has to be considered a strong candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year honors. Limas Sweed is the top receiver on the Texas team, having racked up 476 yards and eight touchdowns on 27 catches. As for the ground attack, Jamaal Charles has posted 463 yards and three touchdowns, while Selvin Young has added 353 yards and four scores. Henry Melton hasn't had as many carries as Charles or Young, but he has reached the end zone six times. McCoy torched Baylor last weekend to the tune of six touchdown passes and 275 yards. Sweed and Billy Pittman had two touchdown receptions apiece.
Opponents are scoring only 13.7 ppg and gaining 258.0 total ypg against Texas, which ranks 11th nationally in total defense and 15th in scoring defense. Opponents are gaining just 1.9 ypc and 47.7 ypg on the ground against the Longhorns, who own the second best run defense in all Division I-A. Opponents have posted some decent numbers through the air against Texas, but sometimes stats can be deceiving. Because the Longhorns have been ahead by such a wide margin in many games, foes have been forced to abandon the run and throw the ball much more than the game plan initially dictated. Michael Griffin is a standout for the defense who has made 62 total tackles, 15 more than his closest teammate. Tim Crowder has been a force for the Longhorns, as he has made 14 TFLs thus far, including 7.5 sacks. As for Aaron Ross, he has four of the team's seven interceptions.
Nebraska possesses one of the nation's most balanced offensive attacks and as a result the team ranks eighth in total offense (448.4 ypg) and ninth in scoring offense (37.0 ppg). The Cornhuskers have racked up 19 rushing touchdowns, with 207.7 ypg on the ground on 4.8 ypc. Rather than rely on one back to carry the load, Callahan has rotated his runners, the result is that four different players have at least 300 rushing yards and three touchdowns to their credit. Quarterback Zac Taylor isn't a running quarterback at all, and while he differs from former Nebraska greats such as Tommy Frazier and Eric Crouch in that respect, he is much better at throwing the ball than his predecessors. Taylor has connected on 65.2 percent of his throws for 1,547 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. The team lacks a stud receiver, making Taylor's accomplishments all the more impressive. Last weekend the Nebraska signal-caller completed 12-of-21 passes for 149 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the win over Kansas State. Brandon Jackson led the ground attack with 92 yards, while Marlon Lucky contributed 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Cornhuskers are surrendering only 13.4 ppg this season, as the defense has certainly been an equal of Taylor and the offense. Opponents have struggled to run the ball against Nebraska, which has yielded only five rushing touchdowns and 98.3 ypg on the ground. Against the pass, the Huskers have eight interceptions while giving up seven scores, and opposing quarterbacks have barely completed 50 percent of their pass attempts. With 16 takeaways, this defense has certainly made its fair share of impact plays. Stewart Bradley paces Nebraska with 44 total tackles, and Ndamukong Suh is tops with eight TFLs, including 3.5 sacks. The Cornhuskers intercepted a pair of passes against Kansas State last weekend, a major reason they were able to limit the Wildcats to three points. Nebraska permitted fewer than half of the passes it faced to be completed, and the squad yielded only 22 rushing yards in the victory.
Expect a close game from start to finish this weekend, as Nebraska is far better than three years ago when it was crushed by the Longhorns. Expect Texas to win once again, but this one will be decided in the fourth quarter.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas 31, Nebraska 24
