Nebraska-Oklahoma State Football : Analysis of No. 16 Huskers vs. No. 14 Pokes

Just last week, the Huskers National Championship hopes hit a brick wall with their uninspiring loss to their decade long 'daddy' Texas Longhorns.

Can the Huskers regroup and tame the undefeated Cowboys in Stillwater?  Something they have never done in Big 12 conference play?

Darn good question.

No other way to put it, the Huskers were handed their lunch by the Longhorns just last week.  While there are cries that the Huskers didn't 'execute' up to par, that tends to happen against solid teams with solid talent playing with a purpose.

Now the Huskers are left to pick up the pieces and try to take on the Big 12's biggest surprise thus far in the 2010 season.

So how do these teams stack up with one another?

OKLAHOMA STATE OFFENSE:

QB:  The loss of three-year starter Zac Robinson was supposed to be an issue for Okie State this year.  Many questioned the 'Pokes from being able to find a capable starter to replace the heady Robinson with a 26-year old (now 27) baseball fall-out, or with true freshman Johnny Deaton, or red shirt freshman Clint Chelf.   

(Oddly enough, the injury that Brandon sustained as a major league baseball pitching prospect has not affected his throwing of a football as much as it did his 95 MPH fastball.)

Even with the naming of Brandon Weeden as the starter early in the process, it wasn't exactly a 'secured' position by any stretch of the imagination even leading into the Cowboys first regular season game.

Since then?

Brandon Weeden has gone on to be the 12th ranked pass efficiency rated QB in the country, and is throwing the ball around the yard for the nations 2nd best ranking of 327.67 yards per game.

Needless to say, the thoughts about missing Zac Robinson have left the Stillwater faithful rather quickly this year, and they are on the verge of a magical season.

However, Mr. Weeden now faces one of the nation's best secondaries in the country geared to stop their uptempo spread offense.  Can Dan Halvorson (ex-Houston OC) create enough chaos in the Husker secondary to open up their vaunted passing attack?

Look for some give and take in this one, as Weeden will be facing his real first test against a secondary loaded with three or four future NFL players.  He made some rather poor decisions in a contest with Texas A&M earlier this year that likely should have cost them that game.  The Huskers can exploit Weeden in pre-snap decisions that he hasn't shown the ability to recognize as of yet.  Weeden's lack of experience in reading coverages and defensive schemes could play a large part in this game.

RB:  You gotta love stories like this.  Kendall Hunter went down with an ankle injury early in the Cowboys season last year opening up the avenue for Keith Toston to have a memorable senior season.  Now, Kendall is back, and maybe as good as he has ever been.  So much so, that he is now ranked 5th in the nation with 138.33 rushing yards per contest.

While not big in stature (5'8" and 197 pounds), Kendall is a slashing runner with some deceiving power despite his shortness in height.  While it is an obvious stretch, he is somewhat comparable to the legendary ex-Poke in Barry Sanders. 

While Kendall will never be anything like Barry Sanders in his pure explosiveness, cutting ability, and outright flair for the impossible, he is as good a RB as you'll find in the country.

If the Huskers are to beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, they will need to keep the clamps on Hunter so as not to allow Weeden an unprotected secondary to throw against.  Kendall gets anything around or over 100 yards, and that task will become exceedingly more difficult.

WR:  Just last year, Okie State was expecting a huge season out of Dez Bryant.  The current Dallas Cowboy was looking to have a monster campaign before rolling off to the NFL.  However, some dealings with an agent cut his career woefully short.

With the loss of Bryant last year, Okie State struggled to find a replacement.  Hubert Anyiam supplied some needed receiving talent for Robinson, but was never anything close to that of Bryant.

On the back end last year, a little known Justin Blackmon chipped in with a reasonable 20 catches for 250 yards and 2 TD's.  Decent enough but.....

Wow!  What a difference a year makes.  Justin Blackmon is now leading the entire country in averaging an eye-popping 159.17 receiving yards per game.  Tag on top of that 12 TD receptions, and it is hard to argue that Justin Blackmon has been the biggest surprise in the entire Big 12.

Standing at 6'1" and 207 pounds, Blackmon plays much bigger than his listed size.  He also has big hands that grab just about anything and everything thrown his way.  He may not be the most precise route runner, but his pure athletic ability makes up for that in a big way. 

If the Huskers cannot limit Blackmon in his play-making abilities, this one could get ugly for the Huskers well-respected secondary.  And if Blackmon can't do the duty, then the aforementioned Anyiam could chip in along with the steady and tough play of Josh Cooper.  Either way you put it, the Husker secondary will be tested to their limits in slowing down the high-octane Cowboy receivers.

OL:  Pretty much an afterthought is the Cowboys OL.  With all of the specialty talent on the Okie State offense, the OL gets little to no credit for their surge towards the tops of the NCAA offensive rankings.  While there is not a Russell Okung among this group, they have been able to create enough gaps for the shifty Hunter while giving Weeden enough time to find the electric Blackmon.

If the Huskers are willing to sit back in their now tradition four man rush looks, this line will likely be more than effective in creating holes for Hunter as well as giving a reasonably mobile Weeden enough time to find his solid WR crew in the passing game. 

This crew is young, and inexperienced, but they do have a decent amount of size to give the Husker front four some fits.  Each starter weighs in at 290 pounds or more, and have only allowed a Husker equalling eight sacks this year in an offense that chucks it around a lot more than Nebraska.

The Huskers have to take advantage of the youth on this Cowboy offensive line, or they'll struggle mightily to hold Okie State under 30, if not more.

OKLAHOMA STATE DEFENSE:

DL: Ugo Chinasa at DE is a play-maker.  At 6'5" and 252 pounds, he has the length, speed, and motor to create problems up front for the Huskers.  After that?  Not much.   

Oklahoma State is only giving up 124.5 rushing yards per game, but that number is rather deceiving in that they have yet to face an offense willing to truly run the football at them.  Let alone having the explosiveness of the Husker rushing attack with Martinez, Helu, and Burkhead.

LB:  The 'Pokes are undoubtedly led on defense by their inspirational linebacker Orie Lemon.  Lemon  is responding off a 2009 season that resulted in a season-ending injury.  He is currently the third leading tackler in the Big 12, and in reality is the only real solid play-maker amongst the 'Pokes young and inexperienced LB crew.

There is some talent amongst them with up-and-coming Shaun Lewis, but it is untested and unproven.  Toss in the average DL play, and this crew can be exposed by a solid run game.

DB:  Oklahoma State is the No. 114 ranked passing defense in the country in giving up 280 yards per contest.  While that is alarming, it is countered by the fact that again they have played a bunch of teams who earn their worth via the air.

With that said, it is hard to find a single DB on the Cowboys squad that really scares anybody.  Be it in coverage or in run support.  Markelle Martin and Brandon Brown are serviceable, but they aren't great by any stretch of the imagination. 

The real question however, is if the Huskers can actually take advantage of such a porous secondary?  Anyone watching the Texas debacle, is likely laughing about the probability.  However, in this contest, Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie aren't being defended by Aaron Williams or Curtis Brown, and will find the field in the 'Pokes secondary to much more friendly to being open without blanket type coverage.

NEBRASKA OFFENSE:

QB:  The T-Magic Heisman story is all but over.  Getting benched in the second half of two of his last three starts is going to be tough to overcome.

However, this time around Taylor Martinez is not facing the supreme talents of a Texas defense loaded with future NFL players.  This time around, Taylor will be facing a defense that gives up yards and points like they are going out of style.

While there are some who say that Texas gave the "blueprint" on how to stop the Husker offense, they'll be hard-pressed to come up with the players and athletes that roam around on the Texas defense in the same right.  Only a few select teams have the defensive talent, size, and speed that Texas has defensively, and quite simply, Oklahoma State isn't one of those handful. 

Look for Taylor to find some new-found love with the Zone Read, and look for him to step right into his comfort level just like he enjoyed against Kansas State just two weeks ago.  While it may not result in 241 yards rushing, we should fully expect at least a 100 out of Taylor and likely more.

And if Taylor can't get the job done, then the cagey veteran in Zac Lee should be able to exploit a very suspect Cowboy secondary in his own right.

RB:  This very well could be a huge coming out party for Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead as the Huskers look to revive their huge ground game against a relatively average front seven from Okie State.  Don't be surprised if one or both go for over 100 yards as Okie State tries to limit Taylor Martinez's effectiveness in the Husker rushing attack.  They simply don't have enough 'studs' like Texas to keep all three in check.

WR:  Drops?  Sure the Huskers had some...okay, quite a few.  Keep in mind, that was against NFL-caliber DB's from Texas.  This time around, it will be against, yet again, average Big 12 talent in the 'Poke secondary.  Look for screens, deep routes, and anything and everything in-between to be much easier for this crew in Stillwater. 

If Okie State is gearing up to stop the vaunted Husker rushing attack, the WR's can be a huge factor in this one for the Huskers.  And if there is anything this crew wants to do more, it is to make a healthy recovery from an abysmal showing last week.  They will likely get every chance to do so.

OL:  Once again, we have a lighter, slower, and less challenging defensive front from Okie State than the Huskers saw just last week.  I hate to sound like a beating drum, but that is reality and why the Texas defense was so respected.

If the Huskers can keep Ugo Chinasa in check, they should enjoy a very solid day full of pancakes and high grades from the Husker coaching staff.  If this unit is not up to par, we could be witnessing the true weakness of this Husker offense.

NEBRASKA DEFENSE:

DL:  Make no mistake about it, the respected Husker front four got quite a bit of humbling last week against Texas.  They provided zero push, and were slow and late in getting off of blocks all game.  That led to the Husker LB's from being effective whatsoever, and allowed for Texas to chew up clock and be held to very few three-and-outs.

No excuses this time around, as they face a young and inexperienced OL that if they are 'that' good they should simply dominate. 

Of all the units harassed in practice this week by the Husker coaching staff, it would be hard to argue that this group likely got the lion's share of tough and hard coaching. 

LB:  Hard to be critical of this unit last week for the Huskers.  In trying to stop the Texas run game, they often times had their DL in their face while trying to evade oncoming Longhorn blockers all at the same time. 

Lavonte David's sideline to sideline play-making abilities were limited due to having to dodge Texas lineman and fellow Husker DL all at the same time. 

That won't happen against Okie State.  Look for David and whoever the Husker coaches feel comfortable to put out there alongside him to make a lot of plays in the run game and passing game as well.  David will be a key cog in limiting Hunter as well as dropping into coverage against a lot of underneath stuff Okie State likes to do.

DB:  This crew played lights out against Texas last week.  Gilbert only threw for 62 yards on 4/16 passing against the Husker secondary.  Not only that, but DeJon Gomes and PJ Smith were the leading tacklers on defense for the Huskers last week as well.  (Keep in mind though, that Gomes played a lot of snaps alongside David as the 2nd backer for the Huskers last week.)

When your safety is a leading tackler for your team, and the opponent only throws for 62 yards, that is an early tell that the guys up front aren't doing their job. 

Either way, the Husker secondary was as good as advertised.  Now they'll get a true challenge against Blackmon and the 'Pokes set of quality receivers.

Look for this unit to shine again, but pay particular attention to the matchup of Blackmon and Amukamara or Dennard as it should be a dandy.

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Henery is the 'solid' at K/P for the Huskers.  Adi Kunalic's booming kicks into the end zone on kickoffs should not be dismissed either in giving Okie State poor field position all day.

Both teams have some work to do on returns and coverage in the kicking game, and thus again, this could prove to have a huge impact on the game at hand if a team is able to earn an advantage in this critical portion of the contest.

Dan Bailey, K, for Okie State has more than displayed his worth this year if the game were to come down to a crucial kick for the Cowboys as well.

X-FACTORS:  Joseph Randle, RB. Oklahoma State.  A more than serviceable backup to Hunter that can also split out in the slot as a viable pass-catching threat.   The Huskers will have to pay special attention to this guy anytime he steps onto the field as he has game-breaking abilities at a  variety of positions.

Kyler Reed, TE, Nebraska.  His utilization in the Husker offense is getting ramped up more and more often.  He has the speed and size to create mismatches with the Okie State LB's. 

SUMMARY:

Practice this week in Lincoln, NE had to be less than friendly after the humbling defeat to the Longhorns...once again.

However, as stated earlier, the Huskers have never won in Stillwater since the inception of the Big 12.

With everything stated above, I look for a supremely focused effort out of the Huskers this week as they have shown a tremendous ability to play tough on the road.

Okie State sets up well for the Huskers offensively and defensively for what the Huskers like to do on both sides of the ball.  Look for the defensive schemes, speed, and overall defensive talent for Nebraska to treat Weeden rather unkindly.  Weeden will get his yards, but he'll also be baited into some poor decisions and throws as well.  Look for Nebraska to start another interception per game streak, and likely nab a couple (or more) with one going for a TD.

On offense, the Huskers should find some easier going with the lesser talented Okie State defense, and look for the Husker run game to get into high power once again.

While it is always tough to beat an undefeated team, especially at their house, look for Nebraska to do just that and quite comfortably as well.  As long as the Huskers don't become turnover-happy, look for Nebraska to win this one in solid fashion.

Nebraska 37  Oklahoma State  24