[Husker] Two Keys for the USC Game

[Steve Stone]

Travis Stephens wrote:

I just got an e-mail listing some things that might be critical for 
Saturday's game.
   1). Husker RB backs- Not the backs themselves exactly.  More like 
their ability or lack of it to break off big runs.  Back during the 
Ssolich era people used to lambast the Alexanders, Buckhalters, and 
Diedricks of the world for their inability to "take it to the house". 
Yet in the WCO era NU has had only 1 run of longer than 40 yards and 
that's playing some fairly moribund competition. 
    As was explained to me some of this is because of the West Coast 
Offense.  Apparently the Husker's emphasis on passing more means more 
zone coverage which allows secondary players to see the running plays 
develop and come up and force the play.

Certainly there's a degree of truth in the above, but I attribute the 
acknowledged lack of long TD runs to a deterioration in the quality 
of offensive line play beginning in Solich's penultimate season as 
head coach and just now beginning to right itself - - but not fully 
as yet. For years there existed a decline in quality and depth due to 
injuries, expulsions, and a recruiting dropoff, the result being 
fewer long runs on the field.

Last season saw a truly mediocre running attack, statistically 
speaking, even though Cory Ross was a gifted runner. During the 
season, Ross had several games in which he scored long TD runs off 
dump passes across the line of scrimmage that gave him a broken field 
in which to run in, and he made the most of it. In those games, he 
has low running stats but excellent receiving stats. The important 
thing, of course, was that he traversed a lot of territory and scored 
well. His longish run in the Alamo Bowl showed that he had the 
ability to take it to the house when the situation and the blocking 
was there.

Another factor is math: the Huskers have about 80 offensive plays per 
game. Not counting punts and field-goal tries, if 15 are passing 
plays, the running backs have 65 chances to take it to the house. If 
45 are passing plays, the running backs have only 35 chances to do so.

Ultimately formations have little to do with offensive fortunes. 
Rather, the players - - mainly linemen and specifically tackles - - 
largely determine outcomes.

    2).  USC's punt coverage.  USC gaver up 17.0 yards PER return last 
season.  That's abysmal.  I have never seen a major Div 1. team do so 
poorly.  One of the reason's USC defense gave up so many more points 
per game than the previous three seasons was the graduation of their 
all-American punter.  I don't even know if last year's punter is 
still around or if USC has replaced him.  If he's still pinting that 
has to be something the Huskers must exploit.

Dr. Tom always stressed that in football there are not two but three 
first teams, offensive, defensive, and kicking. He emphasized that 
kicking is fully one-third of the game. As a result of that emphasis, 
a high percentage of Husker punters and kickers have had success not 
only in the college game but on Sundays.

So far Titchener has shown great promise of replacing Sam Koch 
adequately. Let's wish him well next Saturday.

But the Huskers do need to do something about the kickoff situation.

Steve Stone