[Husker] Saturday's matchup

[jonlists at cbsol.com]

I put a comparison together, the format of which I'd stolen from another 
blog - Burntoragnenation.com - Texas guy, that shows a bunch of the stats 
as they relate to schedule....
http://www.cornnation.com/story/2006/11/27/21710/576

There is one thing that isn't in my post that both teams are very bad at 
(and Skylar points out)- and that's fumbles lost. OU is around the bottom 
of the NCAA in fumbles lost, and we're in the 100 or so range. 

One thing I'd like y'all to think about - who has Oklahoma beaten this 
year? Where's their signature big win? you might say Oregon, but that's 
BS. If OU had played pass defense, they'd have won the game, but they 
didn't. They don't have a signature win. Neither do we. 

The biggest difference between these teams is OSU. Oklahoma had six 
fumbles against Texas, losing three. They lost the game. Against OSU, they 
had zero. They won. We know how Nebraska did against OSU. Turnovers let 
them back in the game. 

This game will go four quarters, and the team that doesn't make these 
mistakes will win it. Forget analyzing the cold - both teams will be 
heavily affected by it - so that's even. I think this is a very very very 
even game, even though the vast majority of the nation has written it off 
as an Oklahoma win. 

I've originally told people 

Nebraska 30
Oklahoma 28

I'd cut that down by a TD apiece due to how bad the weather looks, though. 


Jon Johnston
http://www.cornnation.com

husker-bounces at tssi.com wrote on 12/01/2006 10:59:40 AM:

> Hello Husker Fans,
> 
>   OK,  We've got to figure this out.  Who's going to win Saturday...
> 
>   NU's offense is clearly better than OUs.  OU averages just 5 yards
>   more rushing per game, but come up almost 70 yards short passing per
>   game.  NU is in the Top 20 nation wide in all 5 major offensive
>   categories while OU is only in the Top 20 in rushing.
> 
>   On defense, OU ranks in the top 20 in every category except Pass
>   defense (they're 27th) and is the top 1 or 2 in the Big XII in each
>   of those categories.   NU is not in the top 20 in any of those, but
>   comes in at a decent 30th in scoring defense (vs OU 18th).
> 
>   NU holds the turnover margin at +.33 vs OU's -.33.  NU is clearly
>   better in the red zone with a stunning 96% scoring in Big XII play
>   (23 of 24 with the only miss coming last week on BJax's fumble and
>   20 touchdowns.  WOW!)
> 
>   Not sure how it's calculated, but NU has played the tougher
>   schedule (39th nationally vs OU's 68th nationally) per the NCAA.
> 
>   So it's offense vs defense.  NU's balanced attack vs OU's power
>   attack.
> 
>   Pro OU: NU has struggled this year against a good defensive line to
>   really get the running game going.  Taylor was sacked 9 times last
>   year vs OU (although these are 2 totally different teams).
> 
>   Pro NU: NU has played very well in adverse weather this year.  A
>   couple preseason game blowouts and a snowy game vs UT.  NU's much
>   maligned passing defense has not been great, but they are fairly
>   good in pass efficiency (37th / 4th Big XII) meaning they give up a
>   lot of yardage but not a high percentage.  Also NU's scoring D is
>   pretty good, further supporting Cos's "bend-don't-break" philosophy.
> 
>   Result:  If NU can get OU to turn the ball over (OU ranks DEAD LAST
>   in the NCAA for fumbles lost at 21 vs NU with 14) and play smart
>   overall, I think they will win.
> 
>   NU 28 - OU 23
> 
>   OU moves the ball well, but fails to get in the endzone much (2 TDs
>   and 3 FGs). Taylor throws 3 TDs, BJax runs for 105 on 28 carries
>   with a TD and Marlon Lucky catches a screen pass for a TD later in
>   the game.
> 
>   Do we even need to play the game now?
> 
> -- 
> Go Skers,
>  Skylar                            mailto:Sklarbodds at cox.net
> 
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