Nebraska Football: Reviewing The Cornhuskers' 49-10 Win Over Western Kentucky

THE GOOD ...

THE LEGEND BEGINS: In a bold move, Bo Pelini announced redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez as his starting quarterback. On his first drive - on his first carry - Martinez slipped the defense and scampered 46 yards for a touchdown. The Sea of Red, already whipped into a frenzy in seeing T-Mart (Shop smart, shop T-Mart!) roared its' approval in seeing such a magical start to his career.

THE OTHER GUY: Martinez got most of the work, but Cody Green also saw significant playing time. Gone was the timid, gun-shy freshman hesitant to make the big decision. Arrived was a confident and poised leader who had, in his own way, as impressive of a display as Martinez.

UNEXPECTED THROWBACKS: Forgive a little uniform dorkiness, but adidas tweaked Nebraska's uniform a little bit this year, including sliding the TV numbers up to the shoulder and moving the stripes on the sleeves up. By doing so, it makes the stripes look a lot like the varsity stripes from the 1970's version of Nebraska uniforms, like the ones worn by Johnny Rogers. They looked REALLY sharp, and were quite a pleasant surprise.

THE BAD ...

299: As in the total yardage surrendered by the Blackshirts. Against Western Kentucky. You know, the team that just lost its' 21st straight football game. And the number used could have been 17, which is what the Hilltoppers should have scored against NU. After a dominant first quarter, NU put on an indifferent and arrogant defensive performance that should be of concern to 'Husker fans. Five times better? Not on that performance.

NILES FLASHBACK: Niles Paul looks very much like a game-changing offensive talent, but had flashes of the struggles we saw last year. His fumble while falling down was eerily reminiscent of Iowa State, and a dropped swing pass that looked like the scoop-and-score from Texas Tech. If Paul is going to be the leader he says he is, mistakes like that have to be a thing of the past.

NUMBER 5 TO NUMBER 3: Last year's starting quarterback, Zac Lee, didn't see the field until fourth quarter mop-up time. Unless there's something dramatic that changes, it looks pretty clear that he's not only lost his starting job, but has fallen all the way to third on the depth chart.

AND THE BUCKET OF COLD WATER.

Take a deep breath, 'Husker Nation. It's Western Kentucky. Yes, T-Mart looked like the second coming of Tommie Frazier, but much of that had to do with the level of competition he was facing. What looks clear is that Pelini has at the very least given Martinez the opportunity to win the job with this game and, likely, next week's matchup against Idaho. But let's not chisel his name on the Heisman until we at least see what he can do in Seattle two weeks from now.

THE BIG PICTURE.

Nebraska's 49-10 win is a little deceptive. In the third quarter, it took a miracle fumble as WKU's tailback was heading into the end zone to prevent the score being 28-17. After a sharp first quarter, Nebraska looked like they quit playing with any intensity and edge. While it is encouraging to see them playing well with that intensity, the disappearance of that edge is more than a little concerning. Pelini's top priority over the course of this week must be to drill any sense of complacency or accomplishment out of his squad. If he's not able exorcise that demon from his team's psyche, Nebraska fans could be in for a disappointing season.

THE NEXT GAME

Idaho @ Nebraska (11:00 a.m., PPV). The Vandals come to Lincoln after beating North Dakota 45-0 and having won a bowl game last year. They will be much closer to Nebraska in terms of athleticism and skill level than Western Kentucky was. NU should have enough of a talent superiority to win this game regardless, but Idaho has enough to keep things close or pull off a shocker if the team is as lackadaisical as it was at times against Western Kentucky. Pelini has a coaching challenge on his hands after the first week of the season.

You can see my pictures from the game here.

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