MIZZOU-NEBRASKA MATCHUP

[IE]

WHEN MISSOURI PASSES

Sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert is fourth in the nation in passing efficiency and has 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions in 131 attempts. Senior receivers Danario Alexander and Jared Perry are each in the top five in the Big 12 in receptions and yards per game while sophomore Wes Kemp is second in the league in yards per catch (21.9 on 10 receptions). Nebraska leads the nation in scoring defense (7.0 points a game) and is allowing just 170 yards a game in the air.

WHEN MISSOURI RUNS

Tailback Derrick Washington rushed for 120 yards against Bowling Green and had a key 42-yard burst against Nevada. Entering conference play last year, Washington was averaging 6.8 yards a carry on his way to a 5.9-yard final average. This year, it's 4.4 yards a tote so far for Washington as MU is just 60th in the nation with 143 yards a game. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, with 26 tackles, leads a Nebraska defense permitting just 116 ground yards a game. Over its bye week, MU has been tinkering with its blocking schemes.

WHEN NEBRASKA PASSES

First-year starter Zac Lee has thrown for seven touchdowns and three interceptions and is averaging 13.6 yards per completion to a variety of targets. Leading the way with 11 receptions apiece are running back Roy Helu Jr. and tight end Mike McNeill (Kirkwood). MU has given up just three touchdown passes to date. But the Tigers are still surrendering 218 yards a game through the air, allowing opponents to complete 61.2 percent of their throws.

WHEN NEBRASKA RUNS

Helu leads the Big 12 in rushing with 116 yards a game and is atop the conference in yards per carry, 6.4, for a team that has run (130 times) about the same as it has passed (122). Although allowing opponents to run for 134 yards a game (61st in the nation), MU's defense has allowed just one run of more than 20 yards and is permitting just 3.7 a carry.

 

[IE]

Are the Nebraska Cornhuskers behind '08 ball?


? In theory, anyway, Mizzou's 52-17 trouncing of Nebraska last season has no bearing on Thursday night's nationally televised rematch at Faurot Field. Every team is different, every game has its own organic dynamic.

"That was last year," Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said in a teleconference Monday. "And we're going to keep it there."

Conventional logic and protestations from the adversaries aside, though, the 2008 game will loom large in different ways for No. 24 Mizzou (4-0) and No. 21 Nebraska (3-1).

For Mizzou, the moment was a psychological breakthrough, both its first win in Lincoln since 1978 and the worst abuse heaped on Nebraska at home since 1955. While MU coach Gary Pinkel has circumspectly avoided talking about that game this week, he articulated it well after the breakthrough spectacle in which MU never even had to punt.


"This is not just about the 2008 team," he said. "It kind of closes things up a bit for the players (and fans) behind them."

The victory was the final stake driven through a 24-game Nebraska winning streak in the series that ended in 2003. No longer could the Tigers' three straight wins over the Huskers in Columbia be seen as a mere function of home-field advantage.

If it wasn't quite the establishment of a new order in the relationship, it at least was the pouring of a new baseline. The Tigers appeared faster and more athletic across the board and into the depth charts. And despite the fact they've lost Jeremy Maclin and 23 seniors from that team, they might still be.

"I don't think they've really missed a beat," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said Monday.

Nebraska, meanwhile, apparently prospered from a game that seemed to ultimately change the trajectory of its season.

Instead of yelping and sulking, the Cornhuskers were reinvigorated by Pelini's willingness to assume the blame, a sobering staff meeting the next day to recalibrate where a program in the embryonic stages of a new staff really was, and subsequent tweaks in schemes."The reasons why I believe (Nebraska improved from it), it doesn't really matter," Pelini said Monday. "It's hard to benefit from getting your butt whooped like that.

"(But) we were at a certain stage at that time. It was eye-opening. We didn't do a lot of things. I thought that eventually it was a bit of a turning point.

"Everybody points at the Texas Tech game (a week later in Lubbock, Nebraska took the seventh-ranked Red Raiders to overtime before falling 37-31). That was part of it. But how we responded after that Missouri game helped us find ourselves a little bit. ... We'll find out Thursday how far we've come."

Since the MU game, Nebraska is 9-3 and is one coverage breakdown from being undefeated this season. The Huskers lost in the final seconds at Virginia Tech, now ranked fifth, and enter the game with the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation (7.0 points a game).

To what degree that reflects its true potency and to what degree it reflects scheduling Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette also will be more evident Thursday against an MU attack highlighted by sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert, fourth in the nation in passing efficiency.

Gabbert and MU also are apparent beneficiaries of scheduling, playing one FCS team (Furman) and three FBS teams whose cumulative FBS record is 2-10.

Another lingering and potentially meaningful implication of last season's game is Nebraska's presumed desire for atonement, if not revenge.

Pelini and most of his players dismissed that so swiftly that it seemed choreographed for media consumption. Whatever the case, Nebraska must find a way to straddle the thin line between heightened intensity and recklessness that it wasn't able to in 2008 when it committed a school-record-tying 14 penalties, including two personal fouls.

"The key is how do you harness that energy and direct it in the right direction," said Pelini, a man susceptible to his emotions on the sidelines. "Believe me, I've learned that more than anybody."

If revenge was a motive against Mizzou last year, when the Huskers were coming off a 41-6 loss to Missouri, it backfired.

"I think we let emotions run a little too hot last year, and it didn't really work out for us as planned," Nebraska center Jacob Hickman said. "It's definitely in the back of your mind; you want to win this game for more than just the fact that it's the opening of the Big 12 season.

"But you can't let it get to the point where you're real emotional about it, because that's how you end up overwhelming yourself and not playing up to par."

Emotions particularly can be a factor on the road, where Nebraska is just 9-15 since Frank Solich was fired as coach after the 2003 season. MU has won 22 of its last 24 at Faurot Field.

And, naturally, the Mizzou throng, expected to be some 70,000 strong, will be seeking to rattle the Cornhuskers, whether by conventional rowdiness or possible unfortunate extracurriculars.

"It's a pretty cool deal," Hickman said, laughing and adding, "I remember a full beer got dumped on me last time, so I kind of stunk like beer the rest of the game. ... It's the kind of place you want to play. If you can shut up that kind of crowd, it's definitely a fun thing to do."

Regardless of what happened last year ... and yet not.

"This is a different point in time. Different players, different scenario," Pelini said, adding, "What happened last year isn't going to have any correlation to what happens this year ... unless we let it."

 

[IE]

Sizing up the storylines: Missouri


1. The Blaine game

Once committed to Nebraska, now he tries to take them down. Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert has a big arm and fast-enough feet to keep defensive coaches up at night. He hasn?t seen a defense like Nebraska?s this year. And Nebraska hasn?t seen a quarterback like Gabbert. Virginia Tech?s Tyrod Taylor had a cannon but you never knew where the ball was going when it left his hand. Gabbert has better aim. He leads the Big 12 in pass efficiency and ranks fourth nationally. His stats after halftime this year: 33-of-43 for 547 yards, six TDs, zero interceptions. But this is just his fifth college start. A few meetings with Ndamukong Suh can rattle even the best talents. Missouri likes to nickel-and-dime defenses with short passes. Expect Nebraska defensive backs to press the receivers tight and dare Gabbert to beat them deep.

2. Zac attack

We know this about Zac Lee: He would probably be Offensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference. He?s owned the little guys. Now can he be a rock star when the lights shine the brightest? There?s some concern from Husker fans about Lee?s last showing in such a setting. He was 11-of-30 against Virginia Tech. Lee said he wasn?t nervous. Just too jacked up. He wants to just slow things down Thursday night. Lee will need to put all his smarts on display. This game, which might be played in the rain, could hinge on which quarterback makes the best decisions.

3. Helu?s health

All sorts of rumors were floating. A flu bug was said to be spreading through the Husker football team. That was news to Bo Pelini, who tried to lighten the mood on Wednesday with a Twitter post: ?Got the flu so I am gonna sit this one out along with a bunch of other guys!!!!!? Still, it?s worth noting that I-back Roy Helu wasn?t feeling well and sat out Tuesday?s practice. Pelini said it?s no big deal. Helu is fine. Nebraska needs Helu to be fine. The I-back had 202 total yards at Virginia Tech. He is the Huskers? greatest offensive weapon. And the Tigers are coming off a game in which they gave up 218 rushing yards to Nevada. Rumor or not, plenty of eyes will be on Helu to see how he responds.

4. Statement time

The media loves chronicling a train wreck like we saw in this program during the Bill Callahan years. But what do they enjoy just as much as a program?s fall? That program?s comeback. And so you can be assured people will be very attentive to this Husker game Thursday night. After the showing at Virginia Tech, there seems a sense Nebraska?s on the rise. Yet no one is ready to declare Nebraska?s back, and no one should. Not yet. But Thursday night could sure get people buzzing. National TV audience. Hostile crowd. Undefeated foe. Here?s a chance to make a statement. Look at the schedule after Thursday night?s game. Texas Tech, Iowa State and Baylor come next. Win Thursday night, and a 7-1 record going into the Oklahoma game seems very likely. Win Thursday night, and Nebraska has the lead step in the Big 12 North race. Win Thursday night, and you?ll start to hear outsiders talk about the Huskers in more than a whisper.

 

[pd1]

The forecast isn't pretty, and its raining like hell here now.



Forecast at a Glance
Today

Heavy Rain Chance for Measurable Precipitation 100%
Heavy
Rain
Hi 58 ?F Tonight

Heavy Rain Chance for Measurable Precipitation 90%
Heavy
Rain
Lo 45 ?F Friday



Detailed text forecast
Hazardous weather condition(s):

Flash Flood Warning
Flash Flood Watch
Hazardous Weather Outlook

Today: Occasional showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 58. North wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Tonight: Occasional showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 45. North wind between 7 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

 

[LT21]

If it's raining, it favors Nebraska. Nebraska will roll.