Fresno State vs. Nebraska: 5 Keys to Victory for Cornhuskers

The Fresno State Bulldogs are the next team to come to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. If the Cornhuskers overlook Fresno State in preparation for their revenge game next week against Washington, the Cornhuskers will be in a for a dogfight.

Most Nebraska fans see Fresno State on the schedule and automatically place an "X" in the win column for the Cornhuskers.

It is not that easy.

Fresno State has won six of its last 11 games against teams from BCS conferences. Two of those losses came to Wisconsin (one in overtime), one to Cincinnati, one to Mississippi and the latest to California last week. Fresno State is not a team Nebraska can beat by just showing up.

This does not mean I think Nebraska will lose. Nebraska will win the game if it improves on its play from last week.

Here are five keys to victory for the Cornhuskers to beat the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Establish a Running Game

Everyone was excited last week to see Nebraska reveal the new offense. The word out of Lincoln was that the Cornhuskers would play a high-speed option offense. What the fans were treated to were runs into the line of scrimmage for no yards and sloppy pitching of the ball from Taylor Martinez.

Nebraska must be able to establish the run against a Fresno State team that allowed 151 yards rushing to California last week. This means the young Cornhuskers offensive line must get off its blocks quicker and work as a unit. Too many of the offensive linemen looked like individuals last week instead of a synchronized unit. When one lineman misses a block, another man must be able to help out.

The Cornhuskers offensive line did not have as much time to work together because of injuries in summer camp. This week I think the group will work together and Cornhuskers fans will be happy to see wide lanes opened up in the running game. If Nebraska is able to establish the run, Bo Pelini will be able to wear down the opposing offense and let his defense take over the game.

Taylor Martinez Must Show Poise in the Pocket

Taylor Martinez is a great running quarterback. If Nebraska wants to take its offense one step further, Martinez must be able to throw the ball downfield.

Last week Martinez would only allow 1-2 seconds for his receivers to get open before he tucked the ball and tried to run for a first down. Nebraska is said to have many playmakers in its offense this year. It doesn’t matter who the wide receivers are or what skills they have if the quarterback refuses to throw to them.

Was Nebraska running a vanilla offense last week because they did not want to show their new system to opposing teams? Maybe it was a little vanilla, but the 'Huskers did run a halfback pass to the quarterback. You can’t count that as a vanilla play.

I think Nebraska will open up the offense more and Cornhuskers fans will see more passes down the field. The question is: Will Martinez show enough poise in the pocket to allow the plays to develop? We will see on Saturday.

Nebraska Must Find Its Second RB

Rex Burkhead will be the workhorse for the Cornhuskers this year. Nebraska cannot rely on him to carry the load the entire season if it wants him to remain fresh.

Last week Nebraska was unable to establish which freshman running back is to be the go-to guy when Burkhead came out of the game. I think the coaching staff had every intention of establishing a backup, but the offense could not find its rhythm for most of the game.

This week Nebraska will find its backup running back. Freshmen Braylon Heard, Ameer Abdullah and Aaron Green will have their chances Saturday to establish themselves as the Cornhuskers’ No. 2 running back.

This week’s game is important because Nebraska needs to have many of its questions answered before Washington comes to town next week. The Cornhuskers don’t want to be trying to figure things out three games into the season.

Nebraska Must Play Better in Nickel and Dime Formations

The Blackshirts played well last week, but I think most Cornhusker fans expected even more. The front four of Cameron Meredith, Jared Crick, Baker Steinkuhler and Jason Ankrah put pressure on the opposing offense. The secondary for the Blackshirts was the problem.

The absence of cornerback Alfonzo Dennard showed up big-time last week. His replacement, Andrew Green, played well at times but allowed for some big plays to occur.

The biggest problem in the secondary occurred when the Cornhuskers went to their nickel and dime packages. When they brought in five defensive backs, Chattanooga took advantage. The Mocs repeatedly picked on cornerback Justin Blatchford.

I think the problems in the secondary were a one-week occurrence. Once Dennard returns from injury, many of these problems will go away. Some players in the secondary made their presence felt last week. Safety Daimion Stafford was one of the players on the highlight reels after the game.

If Stafford establishes himself at the safety position, the Blackshirts will be closer to becoming the dominant defense that fans expect.

Reduce the Turnovers

The story of the 2010 season was turnovers and penalties. Nebraska continued to fumble the ball last week. While the Cornhuskers only lost one of the fumbles, the three fumbles are a concern for the coaching staff.

Hopefully the sloppy play was a result of first-game jitters. A team as highly ranked as Nebraska playing a team like Chattanooga should not have many jitters.

Nebraska should have been able to protect the ball better during the game. Having multiple turnovers in one game is an accident—having multiple turnovers in back-to-back games is a trend. Hopefully the Cornhuskers do not start a trend like they did in 2010.

Nebraska’s Key to Victory over Fresno State

The game against Fresno State is an important game for the Cornhuskers. It is important that they show they are moving forward as a team and not taking a step backwards.

If Nebraska is able to establish a running game, get better play in the passing game from Taylor Martinez, find its second-string running back, play better in the nickel and dime packages on defense and reduce the turnovers, the game Saturday will be a success.

If Nebraska continues to have the same problems after the Fresno State game, the Cornhuskers may have some problems, as their schedule becomes more difficult.