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• Aaron Green set to transfer from Nebraska
• Nebraska Football to play prime time games
• Must Read From Greg Doyel Regarding Nebraska Basketball Hiring
• 2012 Rule Changes For College Football
• Nebraska adds Idaho State to the 2012 schedule
• Nebraska’s 2012 Recruiting Class
• Huskers fall 30-13 in Capital One Bowl
• Nebraska vs South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl
• Nebraska gets hammered in Michigan
• Huskers fall 28-25
• Blackshirts are back after 24-3 win over Michigan State
• Nebraska rolls by Minnesota and eyes Michigan State next
• Second half pushes Nebraska past Ohio State
• Thoughts after loss in Madison
• Nebraska heads into Big10 play 4-0

It was a hell of an offensive performance by Nebraska on Saturday as they won a shooting down in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Taylor Martinez led the explosive offense with five passing touchdowns and the defense got a couple of stops in the second half as the Huskers pulled away for the 51-41 victory. With the ten point win, the Huskers control their own destiny in the Big12 North and can take a big lead in the standings with a win over Missouri on Saturday.

So how did the Big Red put up 51 points and not score a rushing touchdown? The receivers came up with most of the balls that they should have and special teams came up huge with the kickoff return by Niles Paul and field goals by Alex Henery. Great job by the special teams units for scoring. Brandon Kinnie was the main target for Martinez as he hauled in three touchdowns to lead the receiving corps.

I liked the fact that Shawn Watson put Martinez behind center for some plays this game. It allows the defensive ends to stay in a little bit longer and not have a full look at the quarterback. Mix that in with some play action like they did you can see why they had such success through the error. The Cowboys defense may not be that good but Martinez looked pretty good throwing the ball and hit the receivers right on the hands. I would never have thought T-Magic would threw for five touchdowns and not run for one. The freshman sure grew up in my eyes and did so at a hostile environment on the road.

The bad part of the game? The secondary still missed a ton of tackles. No matter who is at safety it seems they cannot wrap up and tackle a running back. The big time match up between Prince Amukamara and Justin Blockmon was dominated by Blockmon. Prince had a hard time picking up the ball on underthrown balls and also got caught looking in at the line of scrimmage on a trick play that Blockmon took to the house. A bad game by Price but one that he can learn from. It also didn’t help that the d-line wasn’t stopping the run to help out.

Overall I’m happy with the ten point victory but the defense really needs to step up. Saturday’s match up with Missouri is basically for the Big 12 North title and a return trip to Dallas for the championship. Nebraska’s defense is setup to stop the spread attack that Missou will bring into Lincoln but the defensive line needs to show up and shut down that running game for the Big Red to win. It will be very interesting and I cannot wait!

Dropped passes, terrible line play, bad decisions in the zone read and some questionable injuries. That is what every Nebraska fan was left to talk about Saturday evening and Sunday after watching Texas come into Lincoln and give the Huskers their first loss of the season. The 20-13 defeat to the Longhorns was not what everyone was expecting before the game but coming off a bye week, Texas knew what they wanted to do and that was take Taylor Martinez out of the game and that is exactly what they did.

Martinez could never get on track in the running game as Will Muschamp had the best scheme setup to slow Martinez down. Sitting in row 18 in the North end zone I was able to see the game up close. I don’t fault Taylor for not being able to execute the zone read plays because it made no difference if he would have handed the ball off or ran it. A longhorn defender was there waiting. So how do you beat that defense?

You put the ball in the air and trust that your receivers and running backs can catch it. Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie all dropped balls that should have been caught for touchdowns. Had Rex come up with the touchdown early in the game, I don’t think we would be talking about a loss right now. Niles, the guy just needs to strap it up and go out there and make plays like he is capable of doing. You want the ball, CATCH IT!

Sure it sucks losing to Texas. It was the game every fan was looking forward to. However, it is not the end of the season and the team is still looking good to make it to the Big 12 Championship. The guys must rebound in a hostile environment down in Stillwater this coming Saturday but I have faith that they will bounce back and pick up a big conference victory.

Kansas State fans were talking smack all week long on message boards and the airwaves but that smack talk was quickly put to rest Thursday night once Taylor Martinez had the ball in his hand. Martinez quickly made the wildcats fan think “wtf was that” as he scored from 14 yards out and then added a 35 yard td run in the first quarter. It was just the beginning for the big red as they rolled up 587 total yards on offense in route to a 48-13 butt whooping on national tv against K-State.

Martinez was pretty damn impressive against a wildcat defense that did not know how to tackle and defend the zone read play. Martinez set a freshman rushing record as he ran all over the wildcats and finished the game with 241 yards on 15 attempts. His 80 yard td run to start the second half put the game out of question for good and left Bill Snyder wishing it really wasn’t his birthday as it was a downright terrible game for his team. T-Magic would also throw for 128 yards on 5 of 7 passing. Martinez hit Kyler Reed for a 79 yard touchdown to account for most of his passing yards.

I gotta give some props to the offensive linemen and wide outs that were out there blocking down field for Martinez and Roy Helu Jr. who scored on a long 68 yard td. When your linemen can get downfield and knock linebackers and on their butts, you are going to break some long runs and that is exactly what Nebraska did. Great job guys!

The defense was once again led by linebacker Lavonte David who had a game high 16 tackles. David was out there flying around and if I remember correctly he had 10 tackles in the first quarter alone. David had a lot of help out there as the entire Blackshirt defense came ready to play. They allowed just two long field goals and a late touchdown. They also shut down Kansas State super running back Daniel Thomas to just 63 yards on 22 carries.

It was great to open up Big12 play with a butt whooping like that. Now all the attention goes to next Saturday when the Texas Longhorns make a trip into Lincoln. This game has been on a lot of fans mind since the Big12 Championship. I’ll be making the seven hour drive and attending and cannot wait!

Well, some of you have probably been wondering where the game recap is for the South Dakota State game that was played last Saturday. Yeah, today is Thursday and I have just woken up after watching one of the most boring and slow paced games that I can remember. The coaching staff, the players and the fans all thought the Big Red would roll right through the Jack Rabbits but the exact opposite happened. I’ll give SDSU all the credit as they came to play and should have only lost the game 17-10 by my count.

(Yeah, that running play in the first quarter was a touchdown)

I can see why Coach Pelini does not like to play FCS schools. You just can’t get players as excited to play down a division. I know they should always be up to strap on the pads and play with the “N” on the side of their helmet but sometimes those 12-23 years old players just don’t do it.

Congrats to the Coyotes on playing a hell of a game though. I hope it gives them the confidence to get their season going in the right direction after dropping two games before they played in Lincoln. It’s always nice to see teams from the area do good in their divisions.

Now the Huskers will turn their attention to Kansas State who they will play Oct 7th in Manhattan, Kansas. The game will be shown on ESPN so the entire nation will get a glimpse of the Huskers. I hope the players are ready to roll because Bill Snyder will have his team ready to go no doubt.

In front of 20,000 fans that traveled out to Seattle, the Big Red did not disappoint as they completely dominated the Washington Huskies 56-21 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The game was really never in doubt as the Huskers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead after just five offensive plays. The Blackshirts made Jake Locker look like a sixth round draft pick rather then then number one overall pick in the upcoming draft and left the Husky fans leaving their own stadium before the game was over and shaking their heads and what just happened.

The T-Mart show once again was in full affect. The freshman quarterback opened up the second half with a 80-yard touchdown run which was the longest td run by a freshman qb at Nebraska. Martinez would also score two other times on the ground and also hit Mike McNeill in the first quarter for a touchdown. When it was all said and done, Martinez finished with 137 yards rushing and 150 yards passing. Not bad for a freshman qb on the road playing in a loud stadium!

Martinez wasn’t the only Nebraska player to rush for over 100 yards. Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead both went over the centry mark with 110 yards and 104 yards respectively.

I came away very impressed with the game plan that Carl Pelini and the coaching staff came into the game with as they hoped to slow down Locker. They made Locker look terrible as they brought multiple blitzes and also dropped back extra linebackers in coverage to confuse him all game long. Locker finished 4 of 20 for 71 yards and two interceptions. One big play of 45 yards on a broken coverage was the only big play that the Huskies had all game long. Great performance by the blackshirts!

Now it’s time for the Big Red to prepare for South Dakota State. This will hopefully be the last game on pay per view for the Huskers and kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Memorial Stadium.

Big Red Nation is showing the city of Seattle just how much they love the Cornhuskers and love to travel around the country to see their team. Every report and twitter that I have read today is saying “Nebraska fans are everywhere” “Everyone is wearing red” “We are being taken over by Husker fans!”.

Congrats Husker fans. It sounds like there will be a lot of you at the stadium on Saturday and you are going to have to be loud when the blackshirts are out there playing to affect Jake Locker and the Huskies. Help the team jump to an early lead and take their fans out of it! I wish I was out there with you all, but a five week old baby is keeping me at home. Be loud and be proud!

If you can’t get to Seattle or can’t watch the game on tv remember that ESPN3d will have the game. ESPN3d is a great service as long as they work with your internet provider so give it a shot if you can’t get it on the tv or don’t have a ticket to the game.

So it’s Monday morning and I’ve had some more time to think about the Nebraska vs Idaho game. I know a lot of people are upset with the game and the coaching staff wasn’t too much pleased but there were quite a few positives to come out of the game in my opinion.

The Huskers can line up and run the ball no question about it. You have the speedster Taylor Martinez and running backs Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead who can all break a long run and score from anywhere on the field. Helu Jr. and Burkhead aren’t getting as many carries as most would think, but that is because Martinez is scoring from 50 and 60 yards out taking up a lot of yardage.  I love how the running game is shaping up and the team will need to execute it again this coming Saturday when the Big Red invades Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies.

The defense played very good. I liked the d-line was able to put pressure on Nathan Enderle and force him into 5 interceptions. The defensive backs did a wonderful job of being physical with the Idaho receivers and made Enderle look like a junior varisty qb not a quarterback that is projected to be a 4-7th round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Anytime your defense sacks the opposing team over five times and your defense picks the ball off five times things are going to turn out good.

The negatives to come out of the game were stupid and costly penalties along with bone headed turnovers. Ben Cotton, c’mon man! Niles Paul, hold onto the ball kid! Martinez will need to learn to read coverages more and know to get rid of the ball quicker. All those mistakes that were just boneheaded mistakes that can be fixed. They will have to be fixed soon or you juts might see some other players in there at the tight end position etc.

What was everyone’s thoughts on the game? Leave a commend or let us know through Twitter @nebsports

Thought I would add a clip from Huskers.Com/YouTube from the Western Kentucky game on Saturday night. I know not everyone was able to order the pay per view so hopefully you can see the highlights here.

The Big Red kicked off the 2010 season with a 49-10 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night. The team was sparked by redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez at the quarterback position and the defense played good enough to keep the Hilltoppers out of the end zone for the most part.

My thoughts on the game were up and down. The offense played nice with Martinez doing most of the damage. Making his first college start, and the first time the Huskers opened up a season with a freshman quarterback, Martinez wowed the crowd with a 46 yard touchdown on his first rushing attempt. He would later add touchdown runs of 19 and 15 yards and finish the game with 127 yards rushing on seven carries.

I also thought that Rex Burkhead did well as he had over 100 all purpose yards including a 20 yard touchdown. Niles Paul and Austin Jones would also both get in the end zone for the big red.

On the defensive side of the ball the Huskers were good in the first half but did let down in the second half. Bo Pelini called the defense “embarrassing” even though they allowed just 10 points. The d-line did not get any sort of push and sometimes were getting pushed back off the line of scrimmage two or three yards. It’s time to toughen up guys and dominate that line of scrimmage!

The one player on defense that It thought really stood out was juco transfer Lavonte David. David would finish with a game high 13 tackles. David needs to do a little bit better job of stopping the run from his linebacker position but overall for his first game at the D1 level, he played outstanding.

Overall it was a good way to start the season but there are things that do have to be worked on and improved on. Defense needs to man up especially on the line and the offense needs to continue to move the ball. Roy Helu Jr. and Burkhead didn’t run the ball to often as Martinez was running around with the ball. Both backs will be counted on more as the season goes on and they will need to step up and take some pressure off Martinez.

What did everyone else think of the game? Your highlights? Things to improve on?

Last night on the Big10 Network, the league announced how the divisions would be split up starting with the 2011 season when Nebraska joins the league. The Huskers were placed in the same division as: Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan and Northwestern. The other division will consist of Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue and Penn State.

I like this division for the Huskers as the travel will be easy for fans as well as the team. The only trip that won’t be liked to much is traveling to Happy Valley to face Penn State every other year as they were chosen as Nebraska’s rivalry game. I kind of expect the end of the year game against Iowa to become the actual rivalry however as long as both teams continue to play good.

Speaking of playing Iowa. Check out the schedule that was also released last night.

2011

10/1 @Wisconsin
10/8 Ohio State
10/15 bye
10/22 @Minnesota
10/29 Michigan St.
11/5 Northwestern
11/12 @ Penn State
11/19 @Michigan
11/26 Iowa

2012

9/29 Wisconsin
10/6 @Ohio State
10/13 bye
10/20 @Northwestern
10/27 Michigan
11/3 @MSU
11/10 Penn State
11/17 Minnesota
11/24 @Iowa

Wow, that is one hard schedule for the first two years of conference play. “Welcome to the Big10″ I think the conference is saying. Two tough games to start conference play and then three tough ones to close out the 2011 season.

It’s time to buckle up and play some Big10 football in 2011!