5 Things Nebraska Must Improve Before the Wisconsin Game

Nebraska beat Wyoming 38-14 Saturday night, but I don’t believe many fans in Husker Nation are happy with the victory.

Nebraska looked like a bad team defensively. Once again Nebraska’s defense allowed too many yards to another team with a freshman quarterback. Next week Nebraska faces Wisconsin’s senior quarterback, Russell Wilson.

The Nebraska offense shows signs of hope but when they are forced to make a play quarterback Taylor Martinez cannot do it. While the offensive line has improved over the past two weeks, fumbles continue to be a problem.

Nebraska will play their biggest game of the year next week when they travel to Wisconsin. Can Nebraska beat Wisconsin in their home stadium? If Nebraska is to have any shot in this game there are five things Nebraska must improve upon.

Better Play from the Secondary

Nebraska’s All-American defensive back Alfonzo Dennard made his debut Saturday night for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska has had poor play from their young secondary all season. Most fans believed that when Dennard returned the secondary would shoot down the opposing offense. It did not happen!

The addition of Dennard did help. He was able to shut down his side of the field for most of the game, but that allowed Wyoming to focus on the other side of the field and big plays were made against Corey Cooper.

Nebraska is lacking the ball hawking skills that the team has had the past two years. The lost of Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg are still lingering in Nebraska’s secondary. Nebraska has yet to find a safety to intercept errant passes like Gomes and Hagg did last year.

Next week Nebraska will be tasked with shutting down the best wide receiver they will see all year long. Wisconsin’s Nick Toon is a big wide receiver at 6’3” 220 pounds. Nebraska will try to match up their All-American defensive back Alfonzo Dennard on him all night. I look for Wisconsin to use the same game plan as Wyoming and focus on the other side of the field. Nebraska has better play from the corner backs playing opposite Alfonzo Dennard and more intensity from their safety to stay in the game with Wisconsin.

Bo Pelini is a good defensive coach. We will see just how good he is Saturday night. Nebraska’s secondary needs a lot of work in a short period of time. It is a tough task for Pelini and we will soon find out if he is up to it.

Stop the Run

Wisconsin has rushed for 982 yards with 15 touchdowns in only four games. They average 245 yards and 3.75 touchdowns per game.

Nebraska cannot allow Wisconsin to run all over them Saturday night. The Blackshirt defense has not shown any signs of being capable of slowing down opposing teams' running games. Nebraska has been playing a “bend but don’t break” defense. If the Cornhuskers continue that type of defense against Wisconsin’s running backs, Nebraska will find themselves in a hole they cannot get out of.

In the past Nebraska has used run blitzes to slow down opposing teams' running game. Nebraska does not have the secondary to match up one-on-one with Wisconsin allowing Nebraska to blitz all night. The front four of the Cornhuskers must play the game of their lives. All-American defensive tackle Jared Crick sat out the Wyoming game because of an injury. He must be 100 percent in order for the Cornhuskers to have a chance.

Just when you think Nebraska’s defense is doomed the Pelini brothers go to their bag of tricks and pull out a perfect defensive plan to stop a prolific offense. We have seen it two years ago against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game and in the first half of the Oklahoma game last year. Bo and his brother Carl will need to come up with another strong game plan against a Wisconsin team that has very few weaknesses.

Reduce the Fumbles

Nebraska’s offense is one of the scariest offenses to watch in college football. They are not scary because they put up high scores each week. They are scary because fans know each drive is either going to result is a 50-yard run or a fumble.

Nebraska has been living off of the big play and dying off of turnovers. Nebraska needs more consistency from their offense to keep Wisconsin from making the game a rout.

Nebraska has become proficient recovering their own fumbles this year. Nebraska has fumbled the ball nine times this year and recovered five of them. The only time Nebraska did not lose a fumble was in the game against Fresno State.

If Nebraska puts the ball on the ground against Wisconsin and allows their offense to operate with a short field, it will be a long night for Cornhusker Nation. Wisconsin does not need any help putting points on the board.

Find a Passing Game

Nebraska looked impressive Saturday night in the fourth quarter when they lined up in the I-formation and ran the ball right down the field on Wyoming.

Running the ball right at Wyoming and doing it against Wisconsin are two different things. Nebraska will have to find a passing game to beat Wisconsin.

So far this year quarterback Taylor Martinez has been very inaccurate with his passes. His completion percentage is a mediocre 50 percent. Martinez must show more poise in the pocket and more accuracy on his throws.

There is no way Nebraska can expect running back Rex Burkhead to carry the load against Wisconsin. Nebraska has the speed at the wide receiver position to make big plays. They just need someone to get them the ball!

Keep Bo Pelini Calm

Nebraska will be in for a tough game against Wisconsin. If history has taught us anything, it is that Bo Pelini usually loses his cool when the going gets tough.

Coach Pelini must be able to keep his focus during the game, concentrating on how to put points on the board and how to stop Wisconsin’s potent offense. If coach Pelini focuses on the referee or poor play from his quarterback, he will once again find himself being outcoached by the opposing team.

I think coach Pelini has done a much better job at keeping his cool this year. There have been many times when he could have taken Taylor Martinez to the side and screamed at him, as he did last season. So far this season coach Pelini has defended the play of his quarterback and has not made any comments about poor officiating.

This game will test coach Pelini’s patients. Will he blow his top or will he focus on fixing the problem that he is dealt with on Saturday night?

My money is on Bo blowing up on the sidelines.

Nebraska Is in for a Tough Game

Nebraska will be outmatched when they head into Camp Randall to play Wisconsin. The good news is Nebraska has played the underdog before against Texas and Oklahoma and nearly pulled out a victory. The bad news is that the 2011 team is nowhere close to where the 2009 and 2010 teams were defensively.

Nebraska can win this game but the Cornhuskers will need better play from their secondary, be able to stop the run, reduce the turnovers, find a passing game and keep their coach from blowing his top on the sidelines.

This is a lot to ask from a young team, but Nebraska is not going to Wisconsin to lose the game!

Maybe this will be the game Nebraska puts all of the pieces together and pulls out the upset.