Nebraska Football: Previewing the Fresno State game

Nebraska’s season opener is in the books and it is time to look forward to the next opponent on the Cornhuskers’ schedule.

This Saturday the Fresno State Bulldogs come to Memorial Stadium with hopes of beating the Cornhuskers. 

Fresno State has become the team known as saying: “We will play anyone, anytime, anywhere.” While Fresno State is not afraid to play any team, the Bulldogs are also not good enough to beat any team. Fresno State once again loaded up their schedule in 2011 with difficult teams.

The Bulldogs opened with California, have Nebraska this week, and play Mississippi the first week of October. Fresno State is staying true to their word of playing anyone, anytime, anywhere. After a loss to California last week, the Bulldogs are also keeping the tradition going of losing to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

We will see if the tradition continues this week in Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska Offense vs. Fresno State Defense

Nebraska looked rusty last week against Tennessee-Chattanooga. Quarterback Taylor Martinez was a one-man show. Martinez needs more help from his teammates to get by an average Fresno State defense.

Look for the Cornhuskers to continue to try and work out the kinks for the new Tom Beck offense. Last week the Cornhuskers could not get the offense rolling against the Mocs. In order to become an elite offense the Cornhuskers must get more consistency moving the ball down the field. Nebraska can not afford to live off of two or three big plays each game. The Cornhuskers of the past wore out teams by consistently getting five or six yards per play.

The Cornhuskers should be able to move the ball on the Bulldogs defense. Last season, Fresno State was ranked 66^th nationally against the run, and it doesn’t look as if they will be any better in 2011. Last week California was able to rush for 147 yards and two touchdowns. If Nebraska is able to shore up its offensive line, the Cornhuskers will able to move the ball on the ground against the Bulldogs.  

Players to Watch on Fresno State Defense

Fresno State returns six starters from their defense in 2010. The Bulldogs best defender is defensive tackle Logan Harrell. Last season Harrell recorded 10.5 sacks which placed him 15^th in the country.

Harrell will be lined up against the Cornhuskers best offensive lineman, Mike Caputo. Look for the Cornhuskers to try to block Harrell one-on-one with Caputo allowing other lineman to go down field to block their linebackers.  If Caputo is unable to handle the job, Nebraska will double team Harrell, eliminating their best player from the Bulldog’s defense.

Two of the three linebackers from 2010 return to the Fresno State program. Linebackers Kyle Knox and Travis Brown are trying to turn around the poor Fresno State run defense. Both will need to have big days on Saturday if they have any hope of upsetting the Cornhuskers.

Fresno State Offense vs. Nebraska Defense

The story with the Nebraska team has become: if the Cornhuskers want to win, they must have a big day from the Blackshirts defense.

It would be nice if Nebraska did not have to rely on its defense week in and week out. The game Saturday against Fresno State will be the same as any other: if the Cornhuskers are to win, the Blackshirts must carry the team.

While Fresno State brings a much better offense to Lincoln than Chattanooga did last week, I see no reason why the Blackshirts can’t shut down the Fresno State offense.

Fresno State starts a quarterback with a big name with little experience. Quarterback Derek Carr is the younger brother of former Fresno State quarterback and NFL No. 1 overall draft pick David Carr. Last week against California, Carr completed 21 -33 passes for 142 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was also sacked four times.

The young quarterback will be lining up against a much better defense this week. It is hard to imagine Fresno State improving their offense against the Nebraska defense, so this matchup favors the Blackshirts.

Fresno State Offensive Players to Watch

Fresno State running back Robbie Rouse is one of the best in the Western Athletic Conference. Last season Rouse rushed for 1,129 yards and eight touchdowns. He was bothered by an ankle injury for part of the season. In 2010, Rouse had four consecutive 100 yard games including back-to-back 200 yards performances. Rouse comes into the game Saturday healthy after rushing for 78 yards and one touchdown against California.

The other player to watch for the Bulldogs is running back Milton Knox. Knox transferred from UCLA and is a former California high school player of the year. Knox's playing time will increase if an injury to Rouse were to occur.

The Bulldogs will try to utilize their best weapons against Nebraska, but running the ball on the Blackshirts has been no easy task. If Fresno State wants to put up some points, a combination of runs and passes will be needed.

Special Teams

One of the highlights last week for the Cornhuskers was the play of the special teams. Many questions needed to be answered heading into the Chattanooga game: Who would be the kicker? Who would return kickoffs and punts?

Nebraska kicker Brett Maher converted all four of his field goals attempts on Saturday including a 50-yarder into a stiff wind. Concerns about replacing All-American Alex Henery have been simmered. Maher not only excelled in the place kicking duties, he also excelled in his punting duties. Maher averaged 52 yards per punt and had Cornhuskers fans asking, Alex who?

Freshman Ameer Abdullah handled the kickoffs and punt return duties last week. He was close to returning a punt back for a touchdown before he ran into his own blocker. Abdullah looks like a capable weapon for the Cornhuskers in 2011 in the return game.

Fresno State has a senior as their placekicker. Kevin Goessling converted 21 of his 26 field goals in 2010. He will be a weapon for the Bulldogs in 2011 but Fresno State will need touchdowns not field goals to beat the Cornhuskers on Saturday.

Isaiah Bruce will handle the kick return duties for Fresno State. Bruce was a bright spot for the Bulldogs in their game last week against California. He returned six kicks for 122 yards providing the Bulldogs with good field position.

Maher produced three touchbacks in Saturday’s game against Chattanooga. He will need to produce some more against Fresno State to eliminate their return specialists from providing the Bulldogs much needed field position.

Prediction

Most coaches say that the biggest improvement in a team’s play occurs between week one and week two. I hope that is the case for the Cornhuskers. While the Cornhuskers played well at times against Chattanooga, the sloppy play of 2010 returned. Nebraska must perform better offensively to prove they are one of the top teams in college football.

Fresno State will put up points on the Blackshirts defense but not nearly enough to make this a game. The Cornhuskers’ offense will find a little more rhythm in week two allowing for another week of big plays.

My prediction for this week: Nebraska 38 – Fresno State 17