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Predicting Nebraska vs. Texas Tech
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Texas Teach coach Mike Leach has reloaded his offense yet again and
currently has the second best passing attack in the country.
Coming off of what many consider the biggest win thus far in the Bo Pelini era, the Huskers will go into Memorial Stadium on Saturday hoping they don't slip up against a very dangerous Texas Tech team. Nebraska proved last Thursday in front of a national audience on ESPN that their defense has the ability to shutdown a pretty powerful offense. In the game that was played in a virtual monsoon, the blackshirt defense held a quick strike Missouri offense to just 134 passing yards. Led by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska gave Mizzou quarterback Blaine Gabbert fits all night long as he only completed 17 out of his 43 passes for two interceptions and one rushing touchdown.
Though the Red Raiders offense somewhat differs from Missouri's, they are also a quick strike team who much prefer to throw the ball rather than run. The 2009 Texas Tech team doesn't quite have the fire power as last year due to the graduation quarterback Graham Harrell and phenom wide receiver Michael Crabtree entering the NFL draft, however the drop off isn't nearly what most experts thought it would be. It appeared to take a little time for the Red Raider offense to click as they dropped back to back heart breakers to Texas and Houston, but last weeks 66-14 pounding of Kansas State proved this team has the ability to win and to win big.
It's unclear if the Huskers will be facing Taylor Potts or Steven Sheffield taking the snaps for Tech, but either quarterback has proven they can run the team's offense with near perfection. Potts was the team's starter for the first five games of the season. After Potts was knocked out of the New Mexico game with an concussion, it was Sheffield's time to shine....and shine he did. In his first career start last weekend in Lubbock against the Wildcats, Sheffield (33-41) tore apart Kansas State's defense for 490 total yards and seven touchdowns. The talented junior would have more than likely had more yards and touchdowns, however once the rout was on head coach Mike Leach pulled Sheffield to offer a bit of mercy to the Wildcats.
I think the key question coming into this game is which team has the bigger issue, Nebraska's inability to score consistently against BCS conference teams, or Tech's inability to stop BCS conference teams from scoring? Personally, I think both the Nebraska offense as well as the Texas Tech defense will look better at times on Saturday than they have in their big games this season. Another issue for the Red Raiders is that if Sheffield gets the start, it will be first game on the road in a hostile environment, whereas Potts has already faced off with the Longhorns in Austin. The one advantage Sheffield would have over Potts is his ability to scramble. Sheffield rolling out to pass rather than staying in the pocket could buy him more time as Nebraska's defensive line will have their ears pinned back and ready to strike.
Much like I said last week, I think Nebraska's success will depend greatly on the run game. Roy Helu appears to be healthy however backup running back Rex Burkehead is not. At this point, the likely favorites to take snaps behind Helu look to bed true freshman Dontrayveous Robinson or redshirt freshman Lester Ward. Tech's run defense isn't exactly stellar so I think fans will see Zac Lee audible less to pass plays and let the backfield do their thing. Then again, at the risk of sounding like a homer, I truly believe the Nebraska offense would have faired much better last week had it been a much dryer atmosphere. After-all, look at what the Husker offense did (thanks in large part to the defense) once the rain all but stopped in the fourth quarter.
I see this game being a close through possibly the first half, however I think the Nebraska defense will simply be too much for the Red Raiders in the end. Nebraska's offense steps up this game and finally puts some points on the board as Zac Lee's fourth quarter performance last week clearly gave him some much needed confidence. Here's to hoping I stay perfect on my predictions for the season.
Prediction: Nebraska 35 Texas Tech 21
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