Washington vs. Nebraska: 3 Second-Half Adjustments the Huskers Need to Make

Looks like we're in for another tight one.

Nebraska is in for another battle with those pesky Washington Huskies. The Blackshirts would be happy to see Jake Locker back behind center, as new Washington QB Keith Price is picking apart the secondary. On the bright side, T-Mart is matching Price throw-for-throw, proving to the nation he can compete with his arm as well has his legs.

Here are three things the Huskers will need to do in the second half if they want to avenge last year's Holiday Bowl loss.  

Hold on to the Ball

The Huskers are having some of the same problems in this game that they had in last year’s embarrassing Holiday Bowl loss when they turned the ball over and committed 12 penalties. 

So far, Ameer Abdullah has muffed a punt and Taylor Martinez has made a bad pitch on an option. The Huskers are the better team in this game, but if they want to win they’re going to have to stop giving points away. 

Give the Blackshirts a Break

Nebraska’s first three scoring drives took a COMBINED 3:44 off the clock. As a result, the Blackshirts are having to stay on the field for a long time. 

I don’t care how good your defense is, if they don’t get a chance to catch their breath once in a while, they are going to get beat eventually. One way to fix this problem is to start running the football. 

Everybody and their mother knows Taylor Martinez is a run-first QB, so why is Bo Pelini asking him to win the game with his arm?

Return to the Ground and Pound

Nebraska moved to the Big Ten for a reason (other than money). The Huskers are a classic Big Ten football team, as they pride themselves on physical defense and a solid running attack. 

Those first two touchdown drives were nice for style points, but they need to remember who they are.   This is a team who put up almost 400 yards rushing against the Huskies last year.

They would be best served to return to their roots and punish the Huskies defense on the ground.