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Lincoln – The Nebraska Cornhuskers continued preparations on Wednesday for this weekend’s showdown with the Michigan State Spartans. The Huskers practiced for two hours in half-pads, split between the Hawks Championship Center and Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields.

Following practice, Assistant Coach John Papuchis spoke to the media about the challenges that Michigan State’s special teams unit will present to the Huskers.

“They’re good,” Papuchis said. “They play hard, they’re well-coached. You can tell it’s an important aspect of what they’re trying to get done and that’s usually true of any good program. I think so far we’ve had a good week of practice and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”

Papuchis also discussed the improvement of the defensive line’s depth over the past years.

“I think right now we’ve been fortunate to develop some more depth over the course of the last couple years,” Papuchis said. “That allows us to still feel very comfortable going into this game with the guys we’ve got. The depth is better than it has been.”

While he acknowledged that injuries are difficult, Papuchis reiterated that the team will press forward.

“That’s part of the game,” Papuchis said. “You feel bad for the guys who get hurt, but that’s just part of the game and we’ll move forward.”

The Huskers will practice again on Thursday as they march toward their divisional matchup against Michigan State on Saturday. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. in Memorial Stadium with a national telecast on ESPN.

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Randy York’s N-Sider

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Talk all you want about the X’s and the O’s and the uber-explosive Nebraska offense against the ultra-physical Michigan State defense. Talk about the battle royal between the fast and the furious Taylor Martinez vs. Kirk Cousins, college football’s newest folk hero. We all know what everyone’s wondering: Which quarterback has the confidence and the control to launch the biggest missiles in the biggest game of the year for both teams?

Hey, it’s all monumentally relevant, but not necessarily the most relevant. We would like to submit something that may well be the difference in a battle of 6-1 teams trying mightily to see which one can stake its claim as the Legends Division favorite to qualify for the first-ever Big Ten Conference Championship Game in Indianapolis.

James Dobson, Nebraska’s strength and conditioning coach, despises publicity more than he’s repulsed by a flabby stomach, but we believe that his 12 Rules for a Championship Season are, in essence, a manifesto to help you understand Nebraska’s chemistry, commitment and camaraderie. Once you read Dobson’s 12 rules, you will be able to understand what might happen if each team punches the other one in the nose for the first three quarters Saturday. The fallout of a game like that will go to whichever team still has its legs, its heart and its swagger in the fourth quarter. That team not only will be the winner, but move on to more national telecasts in the next month.

We are serious about connecting Saturday’s outcome to the physical road Nebraska has taken since last January. Dobson’s rules are designed to deliver results in college games that might remind some of a black-and-blue Chicago Bear/Green Bay Packer brawl. This matchup between head coaches who know each other and have shared with each other is bound to become a battle of strategy and a test of will, and should those become equalizers through three quarters, the survivor will be the one that still has a vial of oxygen in each nostril, not the one that’s gasping for air.

Michigan State’s athleticism has been recruited, honed, chiseled and continuously refined for five years under Mark Dantonio, who preaches physicality based on aggression and an assault-like mindset. The Spartans have their eyes squarely on the prize – their first Rose Bowl appearance in 24 years. Nebraska’s process is based on continuous quality improvement and a firm belief that no matter how the first three quarters play out, one team is going to have more gas in the tank and more acceleration despite the rigors of fatigue. Nebraska and Bo Pelini covet the same 2012 Rose Bowl, the site of the Huskers’ last BCS postseason appearance 10 years ago.

Cook, Others Find Value in Dobson’s 12 Rules for Success

If you don’t think Dobson’s 12 rules for a championship season have merit, ask the man who read them on Huskers.com and promptly sent them to every coach he knew in the state of Missouri. Then there’s John Cook, Nebraska’s volleyball coach who didn’t read Dobson’s 12 rules until well after they were published. But he enjoyed them, embraces them and has shared them with a team that has climbed to the nation’s No. 1 ranking.

If those 12 rules mean that much to those competitors, imagine what they mean to a roster full of players that have committed themselves to living and breathing that philosophy every day they get up and every night they go to bed. We all know that big games are decided in the trenches, but they’re also influenced in the recesses of players’ minds, so it makes sense to revisit Dobson’s attitudinal intangibles and measure the impact they might have on your Nebraska Cornhuskers in late October:

Rule #1) Never complain. Has anyone heard Nebraska complain about losing Jared Crick, one of college football’s best, down the stretch? Me neither.

Rule #2) Don’t ever feel sorry for yourself. If anyone had reason to hang their head after a certain game in Wisconsin, the Huskers did, but a week later, they staged the biggest comeback in school history against Ohio State, the six-time defending conference champion.

Rule #3) Compete. Has anyone seen Rex Burkhead find his second wind in the fourth quarter and make 4, 5, 6 and 7-yard gains out of what would have been no-gain or negative plays from a whole fleet of other talented running backs.

Rule #4) Crush your enemy totally. We’re not there yet, but we see this more from an emotional perspective than anything on the stat sheets. The last quarter-and-a-half against Ohio State is the standard for this rule. Dominance doesn’t come from a defense ranked where Nebraska’s is, but opportunity always knocks. Remember Lavonte David, who just might have made the play that will define the rest of the season?

Rule #5) Ignore the noise. Let’s hope that becomes a Spartan problem Saturday, and that means even the oldest Big Red fans in the stadium are going to have to warm up their vocal chords. We should also point out we’re part of what Dobson considers “noise” because we’re speculating while they’re hunkering down to diagnose strengths and weaknesses so they can exploit some and hide others.

Rule #6) Prepare. Bo Pelini has been doing that with a sharpened focus since adding two new coaches to his offensive staff and two more new coaches to his defensive staff. Anytime you overhaul your offensive philosophy and field a young team, you go into it knowing that radical change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes a team coming together on both sides of the ball at the same time.

Rule #7) Amidst turmoil, never lose your mind. Bo didn’t, even when everything went south in Wisconsin. He apologized to the fans and moved on. Have you?

Rule #8) Create a sense of urgency. See Rex Burkhead. He’s a calm, cool, collected customer, but he may sic Yoshi Hardrick on anyone who doesn’t have that look in their eye when they all meet for breakfast Saturday morning.

Rule #9) Know your role. This may be the most important rule of all in this Big Ten showdown. Trust yourself. Trust your teammates. Do what you’re taught to do and do not panic, regardless of what might go wrong and, of course, something will go wrong. Even though Nebraska’s young defense can’t match the stat sheets of Michigan State’s veteran defense, it will have to show some of the explosiveness that helped the Spartans win back-to-back-to-back games over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Rule #10) Work hard – outwork your opponent. That started last winter, continued through spring practice and is now in full gear this fall. Ask Nebraska’s first-teamers how deep that work ethic is woven into the team’s fabric. Because depth is better now than it’s been in Pelini’s four seasons, Nebraska’s scout teams are providing much stronger looks than they have in the past.

Rule #11) No excuses. Take this one to the bank. Bo is all about accountability, and he puts himself at the top of the list every day, every week, every month, every season. Remember his apology to Nebraska fans after the Wisconsin game? He meant every word of it.

Rule #12) Focus on the process. Every time the Huskers come up short, their coaches keep reminding them about the importance of this rule and why they have to keep improving every day. Win or lose Saturday, that will continue to be the bond that holds Nebraska together.

Bo’s Teams Improve the Last Half of the Season

Here’s the deal. Bo has a performance standard that needs to continue like his first three Nebraska teams have, if not better. In the second half of his first three regular seasons at Nebraska, Bo’s teams have gone 5-1 in 2008, 5-1 in 2009 and 5-1 in 2010. If process is king, this might be the season those 5-1 finishes can become 6-0. And that’s not all. Nebraska’s ground game can be both explosive and the kind that can control the clock, especially in the fourth quarter when conditioning is ultra-critical. The Huskers’ second-half rushing attacks have raised some eyebrows over the last five games.

Nebraska went from 92 first-half rushing yards to 217 second-half yards against Washington. At Wyoming, the Huskers went from 113 in the first 30 minutes to 220 in the last 30. At Wisconsin, they went from 60 to 99 and, here’s where stamina and conditioning get dramatic: Nebraska went from 37 first-half rushing yards to 195 second-half yards in the 34-27 comeback win over Ohio State.

Last Saturday, the trend reversed itself, but that can happen in a lopsided result. At Minnesota, Nebraska had 213 first-half rushing yards and 133 after intermission. I would ask Dobson why Bo’s teams are stronger in the second half of the season and why the Huskers are so much more effective in the second half rushing the ball, but really, there’s no reason to ask either question. Nebraska’s superior physical conditioning has been the difference. You know it, and I know it. You just hope that Michigan State does not accomplish what Wisconsin pulled off against the Huskers. Turnovers, as always, are critical, and penalties, as always, have a dramatic impact on field position and momentum. Did we mention that after a flurry of personal foul penalties at Michigan, the Spartans had no penalties against Wisconsin in East Lansing? Huge factor, even immeasurable.

Therefore, the biggest question in my mind this week is simply this: Will Nebraska come out strong and be able to “Pound the Rock” that greets them on their way out of the locker room and onto the field? Another important question is what kind of “12th man” will Nebraska’s crowd be? To help spur the Huskers on, let’s hope Big Red fans are ready to rock and roll, even though kickoff is just a few hours after most of us have finished our orange juice and bagels with cream cheese and marmalade.

Foundation is Built on Confidence, Tempo, Physicality

Now that you know the 12 rules, you can come to your own conclusions about why Nebraska is considered a slight favorite against a Top 10 team. Obviously, most of that advantage comes from playing at home, where the Huskers come to work every day and believe in the foundation that Dobson and his staff have built. Hopefully, it will enable the Huskers to compete with a certain confidence, a fast “No Huddle” tempo and relentless physicality that must meet or exceed what will be coming right at them all day long.

Here’s one final point for Big Red fans that like to count down to kickoff. If you’re lucky enough to have a seat for what could be a classic showdown, make sure you leave the stadium with a sore throat. You can always buy some cough drops on the way home.

Send a comment to Randy at ryork@huskers.com (Please include name and residence)

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Lincoln— The Nebraska football team practiced for a little over 90 minutes Thursday afternoon as they wrapped up preparations for Saturday’s Big Ten home opener against Ohio State. The Huskers practiced in helmets only on the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice fields northeast of Memorial Stadium.

Head coach Bo Pelini said his team had a good, physical week of practice.

“It was a good week of practice,” Pelini said. “A good tough week. A pretty physical week, and we’ll put it to the test on Saturday.”

The Buckeyes (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) have started two quarterbacks this season with senior Joe Bauserman and true freshman Braxton Miller both rotating behind center. Pelini said each quarterback possesses different skill sets that the Huskers will have to prepare for, but says their offense doesn’t change a whole lot with either of them.

“Their skill sets are different,” Pelini said. “Braxton Miller is a pretty athletic guy, a run around guy. You’ll probably see some quarterback run game (with him), that kind of thing. Bauserman is not that type. He’s more of a drop back guy. The offense doesn’t change a whole heck of a lot though.”

On the injury front, freshman running back Braylon Heard is questionable for Saturday’s game with a knee injury. Pelini also announced that redshirt freshman Jake Cotton suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this week.

The Huskers and Buckeyes will kick off from Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. The game can be seen nationally on ABC.

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Nebraska-Cornhuskers-switching-conferences-isnt-always-rosy-100511

For everyone scrambling for that greener grass just across the way in the next conference, it might be time to pause and reflect on the benefits of tradition.

TRIUMPH, TRADITION
& TURMOIL
A season-long look at the culture of college football.

There’s the comfort and joy of longstanding rivalries. There’s a sense of being connected to a history as deep as fans’ passion. There’s the familiarity of knowing the styles, tendencies and strategies of common opponents and coaches.

There’s no comfort in kicking off a new era in a new conference — like, say, the Big Ten — and getting crushed 48-17.

Yep, I’m talking to you, Nebraska. Hope you enjoyed your soft landing out of the now shaky and potentially crumbling Big 12. Hope just as much that you enjoyed your warm welcome to the Big Ten at the hands of the Badgers, their dynamic quarterback and a brand of football you may not yet be ready for.

On Saturday night in Lincoln, Big Ten moment No. 2 will get underway against Ohio State, and once that’s over we’ll know a lot more. The Buckeyes might already have losses to Miami and Michigan State, but they remain a storied program in a conference Nebraska is not familiar with. Anything can happen — which is exactly what fans of wandering-eye universities should keep in mind.

On Tuesday, Missouri’s board of curators gave its chancellor permission to look into conference realignment. The smart money is on the Tigers joining Texas A&M and bolting for the SEC.

Who knows? Maybe it’ll all work out. Maybe Nebraska, despite being at a scouting and preparation disadvantage in having to play unfamiliar teams all season long, will get its mojo back and clean up moving forward in the Big Ten.

Maybe A&M will be successful in the SEC. Maybe Mizzou’s move south will mean a safer landing pad and a football team that continues to hold its own.

Maybe, if the Big East comes apart or gets raided, or schools like BYU make a change, the schools that find new homes will end up enjoying living in them.

Thing is, come what may in the long run, there’s a short run that may be less pleasant than fans grasp. Just because a school like Nebraska or Mizzou or anyone else finds a fit they like elsewhere doesn’t guarantee all their hopes and dreams will suddenly spring to life.

Just look around the sport. Colorado and Utah are a combined 0-3 in their first year as members of the Pac-12. Texas A&M, though not officially in the SEC yet, lost to SEC member Arkansas last week and has lost six straight games against teams from the conference. And then there’s TCU, reportedly headed to the Big 12 next year but not inspiring much confidence after a 3-2 start out of the gate this season.

I’d bet Missouri (if they go) and A&M (too late) get crushed in the SEC next year, and probably for a long time going forward. I imagine Nebraska is going to find the Big Ten tougher territory than they thought, even during a supposed down year like this one.

For the Cornhuskers, there’s some added importance to making their Big Ten transition a quick and easy one.

Despite being teed up in the Big 12 North where, presumably, they should have been the team to beat, Nebraska had instead just finished a lost decade. They have not been in the Top 5 since 2001. They have not won a conference championship since 1999. That’s a long time since the program Tom Osborne built was remotely relevant.

So, it’s even more troubling that in their opening Big Ten game they were beat the way they used to beat everyone else — by simply getting manhandled. Wisconsin was bigger, tougher, meaner. They rolled over a Nebraska team that once rolled over them in the same way.

Wisconsin aside, it’s a down year for Nebraska’s new conference. Michigan is rising, but not ready, Iowa is off this year (but given it’s a Kirk Ferentz team, they won’t be for very long) and Penn State is not what they once were.

So, as Nebraska cedes some edge in its adjustment to playing all these unfamiliar teams, the conference they once knew inside out is also down — Kansas a joke, Texas beatable, Missouri solid but not insurmountable, a place where a very good team like Nebraska might have been able to finally break through.

The time, then, is now. If Nebraska can’t get it done in its first few years in the Big Ten, they might be staring at another lost decade blossoming before them.

So take care, everyone, and be careful what you ask for. Sometimes getting what you want — like the chance to trade tradition for something new and shiny — can end up feeling like the last thing you need.

You can follow Bill Reiter on Twitter or email him at foxsportsreiter@gmail.com.

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