• Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf
• Randy Gregory to enter draft
• What a crazy year for Nebraska Football
• Nebraska and Miami battle it out in Lincoln
• Nebraska rolls past Florida Atlantic
• Three Nebraska Football night games announced
• Statement from athletic director and my quick thoughts
• UCLA embarrasses Nebraska 41-21
• Nebraska survives 37-34 against Wyoming
• I’m ready for some football!
• Thoughts heading into the 2013 season
• It’s Nebraska vs Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship
• Thoughts on the Huskers season so far
• Big10 releases schedules for 2015 and 2016
• Aaron Green set to transfer from Nebraska

I’m finally back from Las Vegas after attending a conference and staying over the weekend. Had some fun at the Bellagio Sportsbook on Saturday as I watched football all day long and wagered on games. Came out far ahead on wagers and yes, that included the Wisconsin vs Nebraska game. I didn’t have good thoughts heading into the game for Nebraska but also didn’t think they would look as bad as they did.

I thought the game turned in the second quarter when Ciante Evans barely missed an interception and Wisconsin completed the a long pass play. Had Evans been able to pick it off, Nebraska would have got the ball back with a little bit of momentum and it would have kept the Badgers from putting another touchdown on the board. Instead, the Badgers score, and offensive coordinator Tim Beck decides hey, lets start throwing the ball 15 out of 21 plays even though we have a stud running back that can move the chains. Yep, you all know how the passes went with with a total of three interceptions. Including one on the first play of the second half that was a stupid play call in my opinion. No reason to come out from halftime and throw the ball.

Beck and company need to slow down up on the press box and think things over a little bit. Stop trying to score 21 quick points with the way the offense is currently going. Slow things down and let the guys actually think the plays through.

The defense played as I expected them too. Russell Wilson and company did anything they wanted to. Wilson knew exactly where to throw the ball and his receivers did a great job of out running the coverage or sitting down and making a nice grab in front of the Nebraska defenders. It seemed like the Huskers tried to get pressure with some blitzes but besides the first drive of the game, they were not working and it left linebackers and safeties trying to run all over the play defending.

I hope things get simplified a little bit for both the offense and defense and they come out and have a better performance on Saturday against Ohio State. There is no reason that the Huskers cannot win the game by 10 points which is the current point spread. Move the ball by handing it off to Rex and throwing some quick screens to Jamal Turner. Screw this chucking the ball 40 yards down the field in to double coverage crap. Four yards at a time with Rex and 8-10 yards a time with Tuner until the Buckeyes can actually stop it.

Prediction, Nebraska 21 Ohio State 14

Good morning everyone, sorry for the lack of game recaps the past couple of games but I’ve been pretty busy and haven’t been able to blog as much as I would like to.  It sure is nice to head into Big10 play with 4-0 record even though the wins haven’t been pretty and a lot of fans are wondering what is going on.

We will know a lot more about this team after Saturday’s game against Wisconsin. The Badgers come into the game undefeated as well but the difference in their wins is that they are blowing out their opponents compared to Nebraska who has had to pull away late in the games to secure their wins. ESPN Gameday will be live in Madison and you can expect their fans to be plenty loud when kickoff happens.

So what does Nebraska have to do to pull out a victory in Madison? First and foremost is fix things on defense. The d-line has got to get pressure on Russell Wilson and also make a tackle when they hit the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. The linebackers need to keep an eye on Wilson as well because he will take off and run the ball when needed. The secondary will have to play their best game of the season. No more blown coverages or being slow and getting beat right at the line of scrimmage. Get physical and play your man while securing the tackle.

Of offense it’s HOLD ONTO THE BALL! The Huskers are fumbling so much that one of these times they will lose four of them and it’s going to result in a loss. Taylor will need to hit his receivers in stride against the Badger zone that everyone expects them to play. Receivers need to catch the ball and then turn to get up field.

Rex Burkhead needs to be the main guy on Saturday night for the offense in my opinion. Rex can keep the ball in the Huskers hands and keep Wilson and the Badger offense on the sideline. Hoepfully the O-line can block well and Rex can put up some good numbers while taking a lot of time off of the clock.

Currently Wisconsin is favored by -9.5 points. The spread opened up at -7 in Las Vegas at the Wynn and after 30 minutes it hit -8. I’ll be in Las Vegas for the game this weekend, so hopefully I’ll see the Huskers pull off the upset and improve to 5-0 on the season.

I didn’t get to pay attention to the game as close as I would like and haven’t had time to watch the full game replay yet so don’t have a detailed game recap but Nebraska improved to 2-0 on the season with a 42-29 win over Fresno State. It was a very slow / sloppy first half but then the offense turned things up in the second half and Ameer Abdullah ran back a kickoff for a 100 yard touchdown to put the game out of reach for good.

Some things that were disappointing:
The lack of a defensive rush / pressure from the front four
Defense overall playing slow and not getting after the Fresno guys
Defense being on the field so much (Due to quick scores and 3 and outs)
First half for the offense
Interceptions

Some things that looked good:
Ammer Abdullah and Jamal Turner with the ball
Offense coming together in the second half
Taylor Martinez breaking some long runs
Rex Burkhead when he was given the ball to keep the clock ticking late

It doesn’t sound promising that Alfonzo Dennard will be back for the Washington game. once Dennard is back expect the defense to pick things up as a few players will move around and be able to be in better position to make a play. I hope to see more improvement and a complete game from the offense against Washington. If not, things are going to get ugly as BIG 10 plays isn’t too far off.

Well the season opener as come and gone and Nebraska has a 1-0 record after beating Tennessee Chattanooga 40-7 on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln. It’s always good to get a win the first week of the season no matter who the opponent is but I thought that the offense left a lot to be desired and after reading comments from Coach Beck I was left thinking if he is ready to be a big time offensive coordinator?

The offense struggled for pretty much the whole game I had though. Terrible option plays, terrible line play and terrible blocking on the outside led to three and outs and fans wondering where the heck the new offense was that had been greatly talked about all off season. Coach Beck said he would get in a position where he wanted a play to succeed so badly that he just kept calling it even though there were probably better play calls that could have been made in those decisions. Yeah, like not running the option when your line is getting blown off the ball and the spacing between quarterback and running back is not where it needs to be.

Can we please get Jamal Turner the ball more than 2-3 times a game? The talented Freshman wowed the crowd with his one reception and he could be a big time play maker if given the ball more. The same could be said for Ameer Abdullah who flashed around on punt returns. I love his Turner’s and Abdullah’s running styles and they can really spark the offense if given the chance I think.

I’m hoping for a much improved offense and hopefully a more relaxed offense when Fresno State comes to Lincoln on Saturday night. If not, the Bulldogs just might make a game out of it.

The bright spots I thought were was the defense and special teams. The blackshirt defense held Mocs to just seven points and pretty much controlled the game from the get go. I thought that Cameron Merideth really stood out on defense and made some big plays including two sacks and an interception. Lavonte David had a team high nine tackles while fellow Senior Jared Crick finished with five tackles (two being for losses).

Special teams was led by Brett Maher who converted four out of four field goals. Maher connected from 50, 48, 34 and 21 yards out. Maher looked great out there and answered the question of who would fill in for Alex Henery who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Overall the defense is there and will play even better once Alfonzo Dennard is back. The offense has a lot of work to do both from the players and coaches perspectives. Coach Beck needs to move away from plays that are not working and also work with Taylor Martinez to read through his progressions as well as spacing throughout the option plays. Hopefully the two can figure it out!

I’m not going to do much for a game recap after the 9-6 loss to Texas A&M Saturday night but I do want to hit on the subject of Bo Pelini and his temper. First off, you can’t explode on your player like that on the sideline. You know damn well that the cameras are on you in the middle of every play do to your reactions. That butt chewing should have happened in the locker room, I don’t care what was said or what was done. Certain things just need to be taken care of behind closed doors.

We all know Bo has a temper but things are not going to change in the next two games. Refs know he has a temper, they know Eric Martin lays guys out on kickoffs. It’s time scale things back a notch and play smarter. Even if a hit is legal, with what has happened in the past the refs are going to have their hand on their flag during every play and all it takes it one little thing and that yellow bean bag will be being tossed towards a Nebraska player. Enough of the crying, that’s just going to be how it is.

Bo might have taken the first step in calming things down Sunday night when rumors started to fly around that Taylor Martinez was quitting the team. For a good three hours these rumors were being spread around blogs, twitter and facebook. Finally things were put to rest when Bo told the Omaha World Herald that Taylor is still part of the team and Taylor’s high school coach said that he has just spoken to him and he did not quit the team. It’s time for both parties to calm down, grow up and act better. It’s what the players need and it’s best for the team.

It will be a short week of practice as Colorado comes into Lincoln for a game on Friday. Win this one, and you are right back in the Big 12 Championship which is the number one goal for this team. Forget about the A&M game, it’s time to beat those buffaloes and look forward to Dallas.

A long standing tradition has come to an end on the football field as Nebraska beat Kansas 20-3 in their final game of their storied history together. It was a cold night in Lincoln and it seemed like that had a little affect on the players as the game was low scoring but fast moving. It wasn’t a pretty win for the Huskers, but a win is a win just like they got against Iowa State last weekend. All you can do is keep on winning games no matter how it gets done.

It was nice to see Taylor Martinez back in there at quarterback. The coaching staff kept it safe in the first half as he mostly handed the ball off or threw to receivers. Martinez really didn’t scramble or run until the second half when he ran three straight times to open up the half. Taylor once again fumbled the ball and also threw a bone headed interception but overall he had a decent game and the turnovers didn’t do much damage as the defense played lights out.

The Huskers held the Jayhawks to just three points and 87 yards of total offense. The Jayhawks were only able to pass for 15 yards as the Blackshirts dominated the line of scrimmage and also played lock down defense in the secondary.

Lavonte David had another kickass game as he was causing problems for Kansas all game long. David finished the game with 10 tackles and two sacks. David and d-lineman Jared Crick really showed up and played up their potential. Those two players and the rest of the blackshirt defense is what won this game even. It’s nice when the defense can pick up the offense when they struggle to put but the ball in the end zone. Great job defense!

Like I said before, it sure wasn’t pretty but at this point in the season all you can do is grind out the games and hope to come away with victories. With a victory over Texas A&M on Saturday, the Big Red can clinch the Big12 North for the second year in a row. The game down in College Station sure won’t be easy. I know I’ll be in front of my tv and watching on ABC!

Sorry for not having our normal game recap up on the site after the Iowa State game but I was traveling with the wife out of state and was only able to watch the second half. Gotta please the wife at least one weekend during the season as she puts up with me sitting in front of the tv’s or traveling to games every other weekend while games are on.

Wow, did the Huskers get lucky in that game. Thank god they chose to play overtime into the wind as it made a difference in the game. No doubt about it, Iowa State wins that game if the wind isn’t blowing directly into the place holder as he attempted to throw the ball. Teams do get lucky during the season and this is just one of those games that you are happy to get the win. Look at what happened to Oklahoma and Missouri as they traveled on the road for conference games.

Despite the one point victory, the Huskers did drop in the pools. But really I don’t even care about the polls because so much has to happen for Nebraska to make it to the National Championship game and I just don’t see that happening. Right now the team is playing for the Big12 North title and then hopefully a Big12 Championship and a birth in the Fiesta Bowl.

Look for the Huskers to get back on track against Kansas. Everyone that I talk to say that Taylor Martinez should be back behind center. I would also expect to see Zac lee back in there at the #2 spot in case Taylor is not able to make a go of it. Look for the Huskers to roll by at least three touchdowns. The game is on PPV, so remember to get out that credit card one more time.

Twitter @nebsports

Nebraska and Missouri were facing off for basically the Big 12 North Championship on Saturday and it was the Husker who took advantage of a quick 24-0 lead as the beat the Tigers 31-17 in Lincoln. The big man of the day was Roy Helu Jr. as the senior running back scored from the first place of scrimmage and added two other long touchdown runs to finish up with a 307 yards which set a new school record. Helu ran for touchdowns of 66, 73 and 53 yards.

Helu carried the ball so much especially in the second half because starting quarterback Taylor Martinez did not play due to a bone bruise after being tackled late in the second quarter.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing the three man front completely dominate the missou offensive line and put pressure on Blaine Gabbert all game long. The lock down defenders in the secondary allowed three linemen to rush Gabbert and sack him three times. Gabbert got some scrambling yards but also took some big hits as he paid for those yards.

Nebraska ended their 13 game losing streak against top 10 teams with the victory. They have also moved up to #7 in the BCS standings after being #14 before the Missouri game. Right now the computers are loving back to back wins over undefeated teams.

The Huskers will look to build off the big win when they travel to Ames, Iowa on Saturday to take on the Cyclones. Iowa State upset the Huskers last year in Lincoln when the Big Red had turnover after turnover so I expect them to come out and win by at least two touchdowns.

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.