[Husker] Nebraska - USC

[Jeff Volk]

I wake up Sunday morning and am excited, genuinely excited about Husker
Football. I leave on Thursday to make the trek from Minneapolis to So
Cal for the game and time can't move quickly enough. 

 

Call it Big Red Blinders, but I think we have a legit shot at winning
this game. Our Huskers are light years ahead of where they have been at
any point in the Callahan era and this could be a landmark win for the
program - at least for this era of the program. 

 

My biggest concern about USC continues to be Smith and Jarrett against
our undersized (and not overly good) corners. Was Bowman playing in this
game I would feel a whole lot better, but with him out this gives me
great cause for concern. Unless the front 7 can mount a consistent pass
rush and put Booty on his back more often than not those guys could be
running free all over the field catching passes. We also need to pay
close attention to their TE Davis, he can get up and down the field as
well as anyone. The USC running game is emerging, but at this point
doesn't give me great cause for concern. Our number 1 duty has to be to
slow the passing game and get in Booty's grill. Remember, Booty is a new
QB with limited experience - let's hope he has a game like McCoy had for
Texas last night - average at best.  

 

On offense we will certainly be helped by the fact that USC lost their
all world safety, Josh Pinkard, for the season to a knee injury. His
replacement is a freshman, and that really gives the Huskers an edge as
Pinkard was the QB of that defense so his lost hurts the Trojans a lot.
My guess is that you will see the Huskers come out with a lot of
intermediate passes and that they will try to get Herian involved in the
game as soon as possible. I also look for Purify, who is our biggest and
most physical receiver, to have a breakout game if the Huskers have any
chance of winning. Personally I like the RB by committee as each back
brings something a little different to the table that teams have to game
plan for. For us to be in the game we will need to have about a 60/40
run - pass ratio - if for no other reason than keeping the USC offense
off the field. Taylor has to play a near perfect game for us to stay in
it. 

 

If anything the Texas - OSU game last night gave me even more hope. It
shows how hard it is to replace an all world QB with a new one when
playing a tough opponent early. While we certainly aren't the caliber of
Ohio State, we are certainly a lot better than what USC saw from
Arkansas - quite a bit better in fact. 

 

So, if the Huskers can keep pressure on Booty, run the ball effectively
and not be overwhelmed by the biggest game of the Callahan era I think
we can pull the upset and put Husker Football back on the national
radar. My early in the week homer prediction is NU - 27, USC - 24

 

And if we win this game, the season sets up very nicely for us. No team
in the North except maybe Mizzou has looked even average in the first 2
weeks of the season and in the South OU hasn't looked good (and will
lose at Oregon this week) and while Texas will certainly improve they
definitely looked beatable (by the Huskers) last night as well. Heck,
even if we lose to USC I still think we are a lock to win the B12 North
(barring a Taylor injury) and stand a pretty good chance in the B12
Championship Game. 

 

Oh, and don't read too much into Troy's performance against FSU. FSU
played HORRIBLE and has some definite issues on offense. FSU is one of
the youngest teams in the nation with something ridiculous like 9
seniors on the roster. The real developing story line in Tally is if
Bobby can fire or demote his son/inept Offensive Coordinator Jeff. If he
can't it might spell the end of the Bowden era at FSU. No matter what
happened in Tally or what happens in So Cal we will roll Troy. 

 

At any rate let's hope the beers I am sipping at the Padres - Dodgers
game in L.A. on Sunday afternoon are to celebrate a Husker win and not
to ease the pain of a blowout loss. 

 

GO BIG RED!!!  

 

Sincerely,

 

Jeffrey Volk