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Capital One Bowl
Monday in Orlando, Fla.
1 p.m. ET on ESPN
Nebraska vs. South Carolina
If you’re expecting high-octane passing games and thrilling offensive attacks, look elsewhere. This game will come down to the trenches as the Huskers’ offensive line will wage one of the best battles of the bowl season against the terrific Gamecocks defensive front. Nebraska’s inaugural season in the Big Ten was a success, for the most part, and finishing out with a 10th win by giving its new conference a victory over an SEC team would be special. The Huskers (9-3) have a two-man attack with quarterback Taylor Martinez and running back Rex Burkhead leading the way for a ground game that averages 224 yards per game, but South Carolina’s defense is loaded and has had a month to prepare to stop the rushing stars. The Gamecocks’ defense has helped bail out an offense without star running back Marcus Lattimore and with top NFL receiver prospect Alshon Jeffery kept down because of poor quarterback play. Arguably the SEC’s fourth best team behind LSU, Alabama and Arkansas, South Carolina (10-2) is playing for its first 11-win season.

2012 Capital One

Nebraska vs. South Carolina

- 2011-2012 CFN Bowl Central

National Rankings
N S
59th Total Offense 74th
36th Total Defense 4th
42nd Scoring Offense 45th
38th Scoring Defense 13th
13th Rushing Offense 26th
66th Run Defense 44th
103rd Passing Offense 96th
18th Passing Defense 2nd
55th Turnover Margin 38th
Position Rankings
relative to each other
5 Highest – 1 Lowest
N S
4 Quarterbacks 2
4 RBs 2.5
2 Receivers 3.5
4 O Line 3.5
3 D Line 5
3 Linebackers 4
4 Secondary 4
5 Spec Teams 2.5
4 Coaching 5
Nebraska (9-3) vs. South Carolina (10-3) Jan. 2, 1 pm, ESPN

Here’s The Deal … For everyone who believes the Big Ten can’t play with the SEC, the Capital One Bowl has traditionally proved otherwise with the SEC holding a 10-9 advantage since the two leagues combined forces in 1992. Last year wasn’t the norm – with Alabama looking like the Green Bay Packers and Michigan State barely able to run a play in a 49-7 obliteration – and now Nebraska has to show it can hold up its end of the bargain as the newest member of the Big Ten.

The Huskers know a little something about bowl game clunkers, failing to file the papers to get on the ballot for the 2010 Holiday Bowl in a stunning 19-7 loss to Washington, but before that the program won four of its previous five bowl dates. However, the last game against an SEC team was a 17-14 loss to Auburn in the 2007 Cotton, and the last win over an SEC team – granted, the only other game was a loss to Ole Miss in the 2002 Independence – was a win over Tennessee in the 2000 Fiesta.

2011 has been a bit of a disappointment considering the chances were there to win the Big Ten Legends division and play for the conference title, but getting the league’s No. 1 non-BCS bowl slot and getting a chance to be showcased on a big stage isn’t bad. It’s been an interesting first year with big moment after big moment, starting out Big Ten play in a primetime showcase against Wisconsin and with the biggest spotlight on the creepy game at Penn State the week the scandal broke. The team has been through a lot.

Of the three losses, two were blowouts against Wisconsin and Michigan teams playing in the BCS, and the other was a letdown home gaffe to Northwestern a week after blasting Michigan State. Beating the Spartans was nice, but a win over the Gamecocks would mean a third straight ten-win season and 39 wins over the last four years.

Speaking of bad bowl performances, South Carolina has been a disaster in the post-season under Steve Spurrier. This might be the greatest era in Gamecock football history, and the Ball Coach can all but officially be called the program’s greatest coach ever, but a bowl win is a desperate must after going 1-5 in bowls since 2001 including puzzling blowouts to Iowa in the 2009 Outback and to Connecticut in the 2009 PapaJohns.com. For whatever reason – some have argued that Spurrier doesn’t put in the legwork once the regular season is over – the Gamecocks haven’t shown up. But this team might be different; it already knows how to handle adversity.

At the beginning of the year, the hype was about the special skill triplets with Stephen Garcia a veteran quarterback, Marcus Lattimore one of the top returning running backs, and Alshon Jeffery looking like a next Calvin/Andre Johnson. Garcia stunk and got booted off the team for being a knucklehead; Lattimore got knocked out for the year with a horrible knee injury; and Jeffery can’t buy a decently thrown pass to come his way. Even so, this could still be the greatest season in South Carolina football history with an 11th win, and while it hasn’t always been pretty, the talent has been assembled to come up with a special year and look like a team to look out for next year.

The best win of the year was a blowout over ACC champion Clemson to go along with a win over a Georgia team that doesn’t have a great win. Beating Nebraska isn’t a must for this to be a successful season, but a loss would cement the belief that Spurrier can’t get it done anymore in the bowls.

And South Carolina doesn’t want to be the SEC team that loses to the Big Ten.

Why Nebraska Might Win: South Carolina has one of the most inconsistent offenses in the SEC, and it’s not going to scare the Huskers a lick with the passing game.

Yes, the Gamecock attack was balanced and strong over the final few games of the year, and yes, Connor Shaw started to come into its own, but rivalry game or not, Clemson was looking ahead to the ACC title game and the other big performance came against Citadel. The Gamecocks are more likely to struggle to hit the 100-yard mark in passing as they are to actually come up with a big play down the field. The offense has come up with just three games this year with more than one touchdown pass, doing against Kentucky, Clemson, and Citadel. Alfonzo Dennard and the Husker secondary don’t allow much through the air, with most of the big plays coming on breakdowns, so as long as the focus and concentration is there, the USC passing game won’t be.

Offensively, there’s no guesswork to what the Huskers are going to do. They’re going to run Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez and dare the Gamecocks to hit the fastball. It sounds easy in theory to stop a two-man offense, but the million-dollar USC defensive front can be run on and it should have problems as the game goes on.

It’s a bit of a stretch to call the South Carolina front four a finesse defensive line, but it’s a finesse defensive line, better suited to rush the passer than it is to hold up to a punch in the mouth. Citadel runs the option and came up with 241 yards. Auburn was able to beat the Gamecocks by giving it to Michael Dyer 41 times and using quarterback Keihl Frazier from time to time as a runner. As Nebraska showed in the second half of the Ohio State game, when it wants to get physical, it can pound the ball on anyone. However …

Why South Carolina Might Win: What stops an option offense, including a spread attack? A veteran defensive front seven with athleticism.

The South Carolina defensive line really might be too good, too athletic, and too fast for the Husker offensive front. The combination of Devin Taylor, Melvin Ingram, and Jadeveon Clowney on the outside are devastating, while senior Travian Robertson and freshman Kelcy Quarles locks things up in the middle. Nebraska can hit, but the holes might close in a big hurry if there are any plans to run inside. Linebackers Shaq Wilson, Ronnie Paulk, and Antonio Allen know what they’re doing and they’ll be disciplined enough to hold their lanes and maintain – overused football cliché alert – gap integrity. In other words, Nebraska might not be able to run win any consistency, and if it can’t run, the offense won’t go anywhere.

No, South Carolina hasn’t faced many teams that can throw – getting bombed on by Arkansas for 299 yards and giving up eight touchdowns to both East Carolina and Georgia – but the secondary really is good. Yes, the stats are a bit inflated because of playing teams like Navy, Mississippi State, Citadel, but Nebraska is one of those teams that struggles to move the ball through the air. The Huskers are 103rd in the nation in passing and aren’t efficient when they do try; even though the opportunities are there against teams that cheat up against the run. Martinez isn’t a good enough passer to make the Gamecocks pay.

What To Watch Out For: Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead is about as imposing as a glass of warm milk. He’s listed at 5-11 and 210 pounds, but that’s generous on all counts, and he’s not necessarily a blazer when he gets into the open field. An argument could be made, though, that he’s the pound-for-pound toughest runner in college football, taking a beating game after game with 35 carries against Michigan State, 38 against Iowa, and 26 against Ohio State. These aren’t speed runs with seven-yard dashes and a run out of bounds; they are usually between-the-tackle runs that finish with taking a huge pop. Quietly – at least on a national scale – he ran for 1,268 yards and 15 touchdowns. Nebraska is 11-0 over the last three years when he hits the 100-yard mark.

If you’re an NFL team right now, which South Carolina defensive end would you want first as a hybrid 3-4 outside linebacker/4-3 end? 6-2, 276-pound senior Melvin Ingram might be a late first rounder this year with tremendous closing speed for his size and an elite burst off the ball with 42 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 13.5 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, 6-7, 260-pound junior Devin Taylor might not be a third-rounder right now, but has limitless upside with the potential to add another 15 pounds to his frame to work in a variety of roles at the next level. He came up with 37 tackles with five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. And then there’s everyone’s No. 1 recruit of 2011, Jadeveon Clowney, who was as good as advertised in a backup role with a disruptive 32 tackles, ten tackles for loss, six sacks, and five forced fumbles including game-changing plays against Mississippi State, Georgia, and Florida.

If the two defenses control the game as expected, field position will be a huge part of the equation and Nebraska has a weapon to win the special teams battle in Brett Maher, who averages close to 45 yards per punt putting 24 inside the 20 so far. With a huge leg, he nailed a 41-yard field goal against Michigan and has connected on 11 of his last 12 field goal attempts. 19-of-22 on the year, his three misses came from 50, 50, and 51 yards away. On the flip side, South Carolina is 93rd in the nation in punting and has a good field goal kicker in Jay Wooten, but not an elite one.

What Will Happen: South Carolina has too much talent on defense lose, but past Gamecock teams were superior and gacked in bowl games they were supposed to win. The last three bowl performances have been so awful and so bad, with the “this year things will change” call coming time and again. This year, things will change. The USC offense won’t do much, but the defense will tilt the field and Connor Shaw will find Alshon Jeffery on two short touchdown passes to come up with the win.

CFN Prediction: South Carolina 27 … Nebraska 16
- Click For Latest Line From ATS: South Carolina -1 O/U: 48
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South Carolina has the better team and the defense is loaded to shut down the Nebraska two-man attack, but the Gamecocks defy all reason and logic in bowl games under Steve Spurrier, losing four of the last five and needing everything in the bag to beat Houston. No way, no how does Bo Pelini’s team come in soft after getting drilled by Washington in last year’s Holiday Bowl.

By Richard Cirminiello
It’ll take more than one dimension, namely the Huskers’ ground game, to solve the assertive Gamecocks D.

By Matt Zemek
This is one of the worst Cap One Bowl matchups I can remember. Nebraska’s defense will determine this game’s outcome – it will either smother the undermanned Gamecocks or allow Connor Shaw to run wild.

By: Barrett Sallee
Follow me on Twitter: @BarrettSallee
Two disappointed fan bases looking for some momentum. Connor Shaw was awesome against Clemson, so expect him to torch the Nebraska defense.

By Russ Mitchell
The Blackshirt run defense is ranked 66th in the nation. We hope that’s embarrassing for Pelini. Still, the Huskers have only lost three times: on the road to both Whisky and Michigan, and something about a Northwestern team in Lincoln. But he’ll have to do it without his brother Carl, who accepted the HC job at FIU this week.

By Terry Johnson
How will Nebraska’s Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez match up against a Gamecock defense that ranks fourth in total defense, and allows only 3.7 yards per carry?

By Phil Harrison
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHarrisonCFN
Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska where you get to play a top ten SEC team in a non-BCS game.

Best Bowl Moment

Best Husker Bowl Moment: Nebraska’s massive bowl resume includes an unheard of 30 New Year’s Day appearances. You can go in so many directions with this question, such as pasting No. 2 Alabama in the 1972 Orange Bowl; pounding Notre Dame 40-6 in the 1973 Orange Bowl in Bob Devaney’s final game; or winning the national title with a win over Miami in the 1995 Orange Bowl. However, no game stands out more than the 62-24 demolition of Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. In a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2, the Huskers rushed for a bowl-record 524 yards, putting forth one of the most dominant big game performances the sport has ever witnessed.

Best Gamecock Bowl Moment: South Carolina hasn’t been particularly impressive in its most recent string of bowl appearances, but in the 2002 Outback Bowl, the Gamecocks got the job done. They allowed Ohio State to rally from a 28-point deficit before Daniel Weaver booted a game-winning 42-yard field goal for a sigh-of-relief victory. It was South Carolina’s second straight win over the Buckeyes in Tampa and a symbol of just how far the program had progressed under then-coach Lou Holtz.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=205352598

Orlando, Fla. – The Nebraska football team conducted a two-hour practice in full pads on Wednesday morning, continuing preparations for the Capital One Bowl with its matchup with South Carolina less than a week away.

Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck, who earned his degree from Central Florida in Orlando, met with the media following practice and said he’s been encouraged by the team’s effort and focus.

“It went good,” Beck said of Wednesday’s practice. “Our guys are practicing really hard and our retention’s been good, our tempo’s been good. I’ve been pleased. Obviously, we have a couple more days to shore up some of the finer details of the game, but I like where we’re at right now.”

Beck also talked about the challenge of facing South Carolina’s stout defensive line, led by All-American defensive end Melvin Ingram. The Gamecocks rank fourth nationally in total defense and are second against the pass.

“They’re good,” Beck said. “They’re great pass rushers. They make plays. Those guys do a good job and when they’re not making plays, it’s because they’re eating up blocks and their linebackers and safeties are making plays. They’re well coached and they do a really good job within their scheme.”

More than 100 area high school coaches watched Wednesday’s practice. Following practice, Nebraska hosted a free coaches clinic. Beck said the coaches enjoy the opportunity to visit with the coaches and make them familiar with the Husker program.

“I appreciate all these guys coming out, it’s a great crowd, a great turnout. It’s an opportunity to share some ideas and give them a chance to see what we’re all about.”

After wrapping up their second practice in Florida, the Huskers were scheduled to spend the afternoon at Universal Studios. The team will continue its preparations for the Capital One Bowl with another practice on Thursday morning.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205331024&DB_OEM_ID=100

Nebraska continues a difficult stretch run in Big Ten Conference play this Saturday when the Huskers travel to Penn State for a matchup with the Big Ten’s only unbeaten team in league play. Game time for the meeting between two of college football’s traditional powers is set for Noon ET at Beaver Stadium, with ESPN providing the television coverage.

Nebraska dropped to 3-2 in the Big Ten and 7-2 overall with a 28-25 loss to Northwestern last Saturday in Lincoln. The loss dropped Nebraska one game behind Legends Division leader Michigan State with three weeks of conference action remaining. Following this week’s trip to No. 12 Penn State, the Huskers travel to 22nd-ranked Michigan on Nov. 19 and close out the regular season on Nov. 25 against Iowa. The loss to Northwestern ended Nebraska’s eight-game home winning streak and dropped the Huskers to 19th in the AP Poll, No. 17 in the Coaches Poll and 19th in the latest BCS rankings.

Penn State has won seven straight games since a loss to No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 10. The 8-1 Nittany Lions are 5-0 in Big Ten play and can clinch a spot in the Big Ten title game by winning two of their final three games, but Penn State also faces a difficult road. After the visit from Nebraska, the Nittany Lions finish with road games at Ohio State and Wisconsin. Penn State is ranked 12th in both the AP and Coaches Poll, and also 12th in the BCS rankings.

The matchup with Penn State will be Nebraska’s second game of the 2011 season between two programs with 800 all-time wins, following a meeting earlier this fall with Ohio State. Nebraska’s sixth such game in school history will come with another 800-win meeting at Michigan on Nov. 19.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=205327467

Pelini Post Practice

The No. 9 Nebraska football team took the practice field for the final time this week on Thursday before its clash with the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday. The Huskers practiced for a little under two hours in helmets inside the Hawks Championship Center and outside on the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice fields.

Head Coach Bo Pelini addressed the media after Thursday’s workout, and said he liked the way his team prepared throughout the week.

“We finished up well,” Pelini said. “We have a few things we need to clean up from today, but I thought the week was good. I thought the energy was good. Now it’s time to get ready to play. It’s going to be a heck of a football game.”

Pelini said the Huskers have had a good focus throughout the week and haven’t let their 24-3 victory over No. 9 Michigan State last weekend affect their preparations this week.

“We’ve talked about it,” Pelini said. “Anybody that wants to talk about last week – that isn’t being talked about around here. That’s a heck of a football team that’s coming in here to play us, and it comes down to our preparation and getting ready to go.”

Northwestern will bring a high-octane offense into Memorial Stadium, which is averaging just over 430 yards per game and more than 30 points per contest. One player that keys the Wildcat offense is senior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert. Ebert has 45 catches on the season for 569 yards and has caught seven touchdowns. Pelini knows the Blackshirts will have to be mindful of Ebert come Saturday.

“He’s a good football player,” Pelini said “He makes a lot of plays down the field. I think the quarterback has a lot of confidence in him. He’s a good player.”

The Huskers and Wildcats are set to kick off from Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Check back to Huskers.com for continued coverage of the Nebraska football team.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=11&SPID=23&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205326389&DB_OEM_ID=100

No. 2 Nebraska vs. No. 23 Michigan • Friday, Nov. 4 • NU Coliseum • 7 p.m.

Web Video: BTN.com (subscription)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: huskers.com

No. 2 Nebraska vs. Michigan State • Saturday, Nov. 5 • NU Coliseum • 7:30 p.m.
Web Video: BTN.com (subscription)
Radio: Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Live Stats: huskers.com

The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team returns home this weekend to take on the No. 23 Michigan Wolverines on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. and the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The Huskers’ matches with both Michigan and Michigan State will be available on BTN.com (subscription).

The Huskers (18-2, 11-1) went 1-1 over the weekend, topping No. 23 Ohio State 3-1, but falling 3-1 at No. 8 Penn State.

Michigan and Nebraska have met five times and Nebraska leads the all-time series 4-1. The last time the two programs met was on Oct. 1, 2011. The Huskers swept the Wolverines, 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-16).

Michigan State and Nebraska have met 11 times, with Nebraska leading the series 9-0-2. The last time the two programs met was on Sept. 30, 2011. The Huskers beat the Spartans, 3-2 (27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14).

Fans can listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the state will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=205322403

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.

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=1&SPID=22&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205323458&DB_OEM_ID=100

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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