[personal] Re: [Husker] Saturday's matchup

[Skylar Dodds]

Hello Husker Fans,

I'm going to add (regrettably) that Gary Barnett said something to the
effect of, "Before I really looked at it, I was going to say OU by a
touchdown or two.  But after I really examined the matchups, I'll take
NU"

I know many on this list are going to be torn about siding with
Barnett on anything, so for what it's worth, I'm sorry for bringing it
up.

-- 
Go Skers,
 Skylar                            mailto:Sklarbodds at cox.net

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

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

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

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

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

jcc> I've originally told people 

jcc> Nebraska 30
jcc> Oklahoma 28

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


jcc> Jon Johnston
jcc> http://www.cornnation.com

jcc> 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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