Texas Longhorns-Nebraska Cornhuskers: Game Preview

The 3-2 Texas Longhorns, coming off of a bye week will travel to Lincoln to take on No. 5 Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers beat the Kansas State Wildcats 48-13 last week and are hot right now.  Texas, last playing two weeks ago, was beaten soundly by the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry 28-20.

With the Cornhuskers playing solid football and the Longhorns struggling on offense, it doesn’t look like Texas has the horses to compete with this team at this time.  They struggle too much on offense and with that, their defense is left to defend against unfavorable field position and therefore they end up losing games.

Can the Longhorns turn things around and beat the Cornhuskers?  What do they have to do to win this game (if they can win it)?  What can they do to stop Nebraska?  Let’s find out.

When the Longhorns have the Ball

This season has been a tough one for Texas on offense.  They have had problems at the quarterback position where first-year starter Garrett Gilbert has struggled at times and made some bad mistakes.  So if the Longhorns are going to win this game, they have to get a solid and mistake-free effort out of Gilbert.

Through five games this season, Gilbert has thrown 180 passes completing 114 for a total of 1,151 yards and four touchdowns.  His current passer rating is 118.82.  You will notice that there is one number (remember we are through five games) that really sticks out and that’s the fact that he has only four touchdown passes.  That isn’t going to cut it in today’s game.

The Longhorns have to provide Gilbert with opportunities to throw the ball and get him into situations where he can be effective.  Through the first five games, he hasn’t been given too many chances to excel so getting him some opportunities will be important.  If Texas wants any chance of winning this game, they have to do that.

The leading wide receiver for the Longhorns this season is James Kirkendoll with 23 catches for 288 yards and a touchdown.  All together, the Longhorns have four total receiving touchdowns, which isn’t going to cut it especially against Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers are allowing a total of 128 yards passing per game.  

That’s not going to get anyone in the win column much less the Longhorns.  They have to find a way to complete some passes against the Cornhuskers in this game.

Texas could turn to the running game to help them out.  So far this season, the Longhorns are averaging around 129 yards per game, which isn’t good by any means.  Their leading rusher is Fozzy Whitaker who has rushed 47 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns.  As a group, the running backs have had nine touchdowns between them and have been the most productive part of the offense at times.

The Cornhuskers are allowing opponents an average of 183 yards per game on the ground.  This might be something that the Longhorns look to do more often against the Cornhuskers so that they can keep the ball in their possession and not allow Nebraska so many opportunities to score.

The Nebraska defense is a good one and Texas will have its work cut out for them that’s for sure.  If the Longhorns can control the ball and the clock for a greater period of time in this game, it’s possible that they could win.  Let’s just hope that their offense is up to the challenge.

When Nebraska Has the Ball

The Cornhuskers don’t have as great of an offense as one might think but they are still very effective.  This year’s offense is led by quarterback Taylor Martinez.  Martinez has thrown 64 passes completing 39 of those passes for 660 yards and three touchdowns (to go with three interceptions).  Nebraska is certainly not a powerhouse when it comes to quarterbacking as we can see.

The Longhorns are allowing around 230 yards per game so something has to give.  Since Texas does have a good defense (they have sacked opposing quarterbacks 17 times so far this season) it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to keep Nebraska from passing the ball on them with great effect.

The Cornhuskers are averaging around 337 yards of rushing per game and this is the strength of their offense.  Their leading rusher is Martinez and he has rushed 68 times for 737 yards with 12 touchdowns.  That’s outstanding for a guy that’s only played five games so far this season.

So how do the Longhorns contain Martinez?  Right now, Texas is allowing opponents to rush for around 104 yards per game so this will be a great matchup to watch and see if the run-happy Cornhuskers can outlast the Longhorns' staunch run defense.  This is where the game may be made.

The Cornhuskers passing game isn’t that receiver-friendly but they do have a guy who has caught 17 passes for 215 yards this season.  That guy is Brandon Kinnie and he has helped Nebraska’s passing offense move the ball down the field when they can move it through the air.  He doesn’t have any touchdowns through the air but his counterparts, Niles Paul and Mike McNeil, each have one touchdown while Kyler Reed has two.  

Analysis

This game looks pretty even on paper except for the rushing game of the Cornhuskers.  Nebraska has been tearing teams apart on the ground and no one has been able to stop them yet.  The Texas defense has been tough this season but they have suffered breakdowns at critical moments (including penalties at the wrong time) and these breakdowns have lead to their losses this season.

Nebraska is a better football team and has been playing very well but they can be beaten and if there is a team that can do it, Texas can.  They would have to overcome several factors going against them (before they even get to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers) in order to win this game.

So what can they do to beat the Cornhuskers?  Stopping the run is the first step.  They can do this by controlling the ball on the ground and using short, controlled passes to help keep possession and not allow the Cornhuskers to have the ball for long periods of time.  If Nebraska gets a hold of the ball often in this game, it could be a long and unsuccessful day for the Longhorns.

Another thing that Texas has to do in this game is limit their mistakes.  We all know that teams that turn the ball over or get penalties at critical times don’t win football games and this is exactly what has happened to the Longhorns in their losses this season.  They make mistakes at critical times and they end up losing the game.

On defense, this team has to stop the Cornhuskers rushing attack and in particular, they have to stop Martinez.  Martinez is single-handedly taking over games for the Cornhuskers and has pretty much been a one-man show back there helping keep the Cornhuskers move the ball down the field.  It’s as simple as stopping Martinez and seeing what else the Cornhuskers have.

But no one has been able to stop Martinez and the Cornhuskers so far.  Will Texas be the team to do it?

Prediction

In the end, the deck is stacked against the Longhorns in this game.  The game is an away game in one of the most difficult places to play in the Big 12.  The Longhorns are coming off of a bye week so they will be well rested and healed up for this game but still weak in certain areas especially on offense.  The Longhorns defense needs to step up and stop the run but if they can’t, it’s going to be a long game and a loss for the Longhorns.

Nebraska 28, Texas 17