Nebraska Looks to Stay Perfect against Kansas St

October 7, 2010

There are many factors in breaking down this Thursday night Big-12 North conference match-up. Obviously the Nebraska Cornhuskers are the better team as the BCS, college football experts, sportsbooks and NCAA football handicappers have them as the number 7 team in the country and heavy favorites on the road Thursday. However, the new and improved Kansas St Wildcats are hoping to change everyone’s opinion.

In terms of strength of schedule, the Wildcats have played far superior programs than Nebraska thus far. A win over UCLA at the beginning of the year looks even better after the Bruins went on the road and beat Texas a couple of weeks ago. Iowa St and Central Florida may not be BCS caliber teams, but they certainly will make a team work for a win. Missouri St was the only “cup-cake” thrown into the schedule, but that’s 2 less than the Cornhuskers have played so far.

The Cornhuskers have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball (that’s not disputed). However, their choice of early season opponents is less than inspiring. Nebraska’s AD must have thought he was auditioning the team for “Cup Cake Wars” on the food network as they have played the powerhouse Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, the destructive Idaho Vandals and the defensive juggernaut South Dakota St Jackrabbits. Wow, that’s impressive! A solid win against Washington was thrown in the mix as well, but it’s hard to say that they are a good team too. We can all but disregard the Huskies win against the clearly over-rated USC Trojans last week as Washington is as inconsistent as the amount of blueberries in the muffins at the Tangiers in the movie Casino.

Apparently the Vegas oddsmakers aren’t sold on Nebraska’s defense as they have set the total at 51 for this game. The 12 point spread should be concerning for Kansas St fans. A number that large on the road against a 4-0 team is awfully hard to ignore. Perhaps the books are thinking that Nebraska’s offense will bounce back after a 17 point performance against the Jackrabbits. I tend to agree.

Nebraska and Kansas St both have run first offenses, but the Cornhuskers have a huge advantage in that their leading rusher is also their quarterback. Taylor Martinez has already thrown for 532 yards and rushed for 496. He has been involved in 10 touchdowns this season, and should be considered in any conversation about the Heisman. Roy Helu Jr. is the Cornhuskers leading running back, yet he has almost 200 yards less than Martinez through 4 games.

Kansas St will have to put a “spy” on Martinez if they are to have any chance of containing this offense and keeping themselves in the game. The Wildcats are hoping that senior running back Daniel Thomas will carry the load for them on offense. Thomas is 5th in division 1 football in rushing yards this year with 628 yards. This will be bar far his toughest challenge as he takes on a defense that allows just 12.8 points per game.

Generally week day games are between non-BCS conference schools that no one but sports gamblers and alumni care about, but this is truly a heavy-weight fight between 2 of the best teams in the reputable Big-12 conference. Check this one out, you will not be disappointed!

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NCAA Football

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