Reviewing the Nebraska Cornhuskers' 48-13 Win Over Kansas State

THE GOOD...

- DENARD WHO? Redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez ran for 241 yards and four touchdowns,and threw for 128 yards and another score. In doing so, Martinez set a record for total offense acquired by a freshman. And he made everyone forget about the less-than-stellar performance at home against the Jackrabbits. He also reminded everyone of his dynamic ability to threaten a score from any place on the field, at any time.

- PLANNING THE MAGIC: Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson was far from going to a "here ya go, Taylor" offensive plan. He opened the game with a heavy dose of running backs Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, establishing some physicality before unleashing the deadly speed Nebraska's offense now possesses.

- A CLASH OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS: One of the key matchups in this game was K-State's DANIEL Thomas against NU's defense, led by linebacker LaVonte DAVID. (See where we're going with this one?) Whatever sputtering hopes of a heisman challenge Thomas might have made were shattered with his 63-yard performance against David and the Blackshirts.

THE BAD...

- SLIPPERY FINGERS: Nebraska fumbled twice against K-State, raising their season total to 18 fumbles in five games. The number could very easily have been nineteen without a fortuitous whistle saving another drop on the statistic sheet. The Purples didn't have the athletes to make Nebraska pay for their casualness with the pigskin but, rest assured, other teams on the schedule do. If NU continues to fumble at this pace, it will cost them a game before the end of the season.

- SUSTAINABILITY: Lost in the shuffle of Nebraska's magical quick-strike offense is the fact that NU has not shown the capability to grind out a long drive for a score. Admittedly, one of the reasons for that "failure" is that they've scored so quickly.

But—much like South Dakota State did—there will be games where the big play is taken away from NU and scoring will require a long, patient drive. Nebraska has not yet shown the ability to do so on a consistent basis.

- PURPLE FLASH: Kansas State had quite a bit of success in the kickoff return game, setting them up with solid field position time after time. One could argue all the practice the Purples got in kickoff returns was a sign of good things, which is true, but it is a little disconcerting to see NU's return coverage unit get regularly gashed.

...AND THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

It wasn't until after the game that the reality of conference realignment really began to sink in. This would be Nebraska's last trip to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This would be the last in a 99-year series of meetings between the Cornhuskers and the Wildcats.

Next year, the reference to the Purples will be about Northwestern, and the difference between a small, private school in Chicago, IL, and an agricultural school in Manhattan, KS, is fairly vast.

Whatever venom has been spat between the two fan bases (and, although everyone in purple was very nice to me personally on Thursday, there's plenty of venom that's been exchanged), there should at least be a recognition and a sadness that circumstances have forced the end of a rivalry one year south of a century. And, speaking of those "circumstances"...

THE NEXT GAME: Texas @ Nebraska, Oct. 16. Remember this one? The whole good-versus-evil armageddon game that has been circled in highlighter since the Longhorn brass put an all-in bluff to Nebraska in June and got called? The game that head coach Bo Pelini, um, emphatically explained about the second being added to the clock in the Big XII Championship game as "that's why they made that call!"

The Red Out Around The World arrives a bit underwhelmingly, as Texas limps in a 3-2 with an embarrassing loss to UCLA and a loss to Oklahoma that was a lot worse than the score indicated. Shockingly, many NU fans (and many Texas fans as well) see a Nebraska win as a given, with the only unknown being the margin of victory.

Sound at all familiar? It is almost inconceivable that Nebraska could enter their armageddon game against Texas flat and overconfident, as they did against South Dakota State. But Pelini's teams have shown a tendency to struggle with success, and even at 3-2 the Longhorns will still field the best athletes of any opponent on NU's schedule to date.

Don't book your hotel rooms in Dallas just yet, 'Husker fans. If nothing else, we saw what horrible karma NU got just from a front page full of cupcakes.

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