November 17, 2009

Well again blogging after a win is always fun....I can only get 2 up this week as I head for good ole New Orleans this weekend for the weekend.

THE HOT LIST:

1. Nebraska/Kansas Grade Outs
2. New Top 25
3. Big 12 Rankings

1. Well you knew going into this game last Saturday that you'd be getting KU's best shot...they didn't disappoint. Nebraska did something it hadn't done since Louisiana Lafayette...win with offense. It was nice to see, and I think we as Husker fans can start to sleep a bit better each night knowing that the team is actually getting better each week. Nebraska looked good again this week...and did show a little bit of rust from Oklahoma. To the Grade Outs:

Offense: A
Defense: B+

Offense: What can be said about this offense other than it receives a higher rating for the first time in nearly 2 months. Nebraska used a solid balance offense to wear out the Jayhawks last Saturday. Roy Helu rushed the ball 28 times for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. The noticeable thing that I liked seeing was Zac's composure in the pocket, many times he sat back and waited for guys to come open and made some nice passes to Niles Paul, Brandon Kinnie, and Dreu Young. The offense receives a nice A this week because they did what they had to do in the second half when the game was tied...control the clock. Rushing the ball with authority like they did on Saturday allowed Nebraska to keep the ball most of the third quarter and seal the game away when they got the ball with 7:32 left to go. Keeping that potent KU offense off the field was key and Nebraska did a great job keeping them off the field, driving the ball, and scoring TD's late in the game to seal a win.

Defense: Ok, so it wasn't flashy by any means. Suh and company struggled in the second quarter containing the very mobile Todd Reesing and getting pressure to him. You could see that the gameplan in the second half was to just contain Todd in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. Clearly they lost so he didn't do that. Another thing we as fans have to look at is that this is the first experienced senior quarterback that Nebraska's defense has faced all season. Every other opponent put a first year starter on the field when they played against Nebraska, or handed the ball off to a freshman. It clear that experienced quarterbacks in this league could give Nebraska fits, especially in the Big 12 title game...(yes I'm already calling a W this Saturday). Nebraska didn't look bad, they held a very very good KU offense under a 100 yards below its season average and only allowed KU to score 17 points after they hung 35 in Lincoln last season. They do have some work to do an d will have taken valuable learned lessons from this game. No matter how you look at it, it was an all around solid win for Nebraska.

2. New Top 25 (Week 12)

1. Florida (1)
2. Alabama (2)
3. Texas (3)
4. TCU (4)
5. Georgia Tech (5)
6. Cincinnati (6)
7. Ohio State (7)
8. Pittsburgh (8)
9. LSU (9)
10. Oklahoma State (11)
11. Oregon (13)
12. Stanford (21)
13. Wisconsin (15)
14. South Carolina (17)
15. Clemson (18)
16. BYU (20)
17. Miami (19)
18. Nebraska (23)
19. Penn State (25)
20. Boise State (22)
21. West Virginia (24)
22. Houston (12)
23. North Carolina (UR)
24. Oregon State (UR)
25. Rutgers (UR)

It's a weird week when most of the top 10 remains the same from last week. One through nice stay the same. Big losers this week were Arizona, USC both out...Iowa is still not back in my ratings. Like to see Stanford rise to 12 after thumping USC...and Houston is a big faller losing to Central Florida last weekend. New teams in this week are North Carolina, Oregon State, and Rutgers.

3. Big 12 Rankings (Week 12)

1. Texas (10-0) (6-0)
The Longhorns are simply in cruise control till their last two games that could derail them to the National Title game. Remember in '96 when a better Nebraska team came into the title game simply to win and play for the National title and unranked Texas beat them...anything can happen when the roles are reversed.

2. Oklahoma State (8-2) (5-1)
A gutty grinding win over Texas Tech looked good on national tv last weekend. Losing Zac Robinson for an extended period of time is the pressing concern but playing Colorado this week is nice if you need to sit him for the week. His health will determine OSU's at large BCS hopes.

3. Nebraska (7-3) (4-2)
Great defense, and an offense slowly improving could spell Nebraska's first BCS bowl game since 2001. Must take care of business against K-State this weekend on Senior Day to get that shot. Nebraska is slowly looking like a contender in that game in December.

4. Oklahoma (6-4) (4-2)
OU wishes they could just play all their games at home as Landry Jones just knifes opponents in Norman. Unfortunately the Sooners must travel to Lubbock on Saturday afternoon. Tech has played them tough, but you got to like OU's stout defense that keeps them in every game they've played this season.

5. Texas Tech (6-4) (3-3)
The Red Raiders lost a crucial opportunity to get back into the upper half up the Big 12 South. Losing to OU this weekend can all but assure that they'll finish 4th or 5th in the South. Not exactly what these seniors had in mind this season.

6. Texas A&M (5-5) (2-4)
This the Aggies last chance to get bowl eligible against Baylor this week. Don't want to chance it against Texas on Thanksgiving night. A&M must find a way to stay in games they are overmatched in...instead of getting blown out like they did against OU on Saturday. Which Aggie team shows up this week?

7. Missouri (6-4) (2-4)
The Tigers took some wind out of K-State's sails on Saturday thumping that vulnerable secondary. Missouri needs to finish 8-4 to get their hands on a decent bowl berth, losing to either Iowa State this week or KU next week would be the icing on the cake to a very disappointing season for the tiger faithful.

8. Kansas State (6-5) (4-3)
The Wildcats had a chance to come to Lincoln riding a huge wave of momentum, instead they dropped an egg and got thumped by a very poor Missouri team (who just last week lost to Baylor). It's simple to complete Synder's masterful turn-around you must win at Nebraska to get to a bowl game and to the Big 12 Title game....I guess when he loses he'll reconsider scheduling two I-AA opponents in the same season. Idiot.

9. Iowa State (6-5) (3-4)
The Cyclones are officially bowl eligible, but with a conference that may have 8 to 9 teams eligible, Iowa State needs to beat Missouri on Saturday to get in for sure. Lose and the likelihood of missing that bowl game is very very likely. I guess all that jumping around, celebrating by Paul Rhoads on Saturday may have been for nothing.

10. Kansas (5-5) (1-5)
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Jayhawks. Kansas got dominated in the second half by Nebraska and now rumors are surfacing about players being unhappy with Mangino at the helm. That doesn't bode well for a team needing to win either at Texas or against Missouri to be bowl eligible, but like Iowa State that still may not be enough this year. The high points this program had all but two years ago are now gone, and regression and rebuilding look imminent now.

11. Baylor (4-6) (1-5)
Baylor just didn't have enough to hang with Texas last Saturday....Getting Texas A&M this week who gave up 65 points to OU looks appealing for Art Briles. Baylor must beat A&M and Texas Tech to make a bowl game this year. Do that and this season could look brighter than it did a few weeks ago when Robert Griffin went down for the year with a torn ACL.

12. Colorado (3-7) (2-4)
The Buffs close out this awful season with Oklahoma State this week on the road, and Nebraska at home next week. 3-9 looks very very likely with Dan Hawkins needing to make serious changes at Colorado. He'll keep his job simply because the school can not afford to buy him out this season. So much for 10 wins....whatta laughable prediction.

Coming back tomorrow.....