Nebraska Football: Previewing the Minnesota Game

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota -- 3:30 PM Eastern

TV Coverage: ABC/ESPN

Nebraska travels to Minneapolis this week to take on a struggling Minnesota team. Minnesota is the team from the Big Ten Conference that Nebraska is most familiar with. Nebraska and Minnesota have played each other 51 times, with Nebraska holding the edge in the series 29-20 (there were two ties). Since 1960, Nebraska is 14-0 against Minnesota.

Both teams are coming off bye weeks. Nebraska received some bad news during their bye when it was revealed that the Cornhuskers had lost their All-American defensive tackle Jared Crick for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle.

The lost of Crick is a huge blow to a Blackshirts defense that has been struggling in 2011. Nebraska will look to defensive tackles Chase Rome, Thaddeus Randle and Josh Williams to replace the injured Crick.

Nebraska comes into the game off their largest comeback in school history with their 34-27 victory over the Ohio State University.

Minnesota is 1-5 with three straight losses. The Gophers only victory this season came against Miami, Ohio. Minnesota won this game in a close battle 29-23. Minnesota is a 25-point underdog in this game and it will take a complete meltdown by the Cornhuskers for Minnesota to come away with a victory.

Here is a how I see this game breaking down…...

Nebraska’s Offense vs. Minnesota’s Defense

Nebraska Total Offense Ranking: 49

Minnesota Total Defense Ranking: 92

Nebraska’s offense has been playing much better of late. Quarterback Taylor Martinez was criticized in the press after the Wisconsin game, but he bounced back with a solid effort against Ohio State. Meanwhile, running back Rex Burkhead has played solid football all season.

With two weeks to fine tune their offense, I look for Nebraska to put up huge numbers against Minnesota. Look for Nebraska to establish the run out of the pistol formation and Martinez and Burkhead to make some huge plays for Nebraska’s offense.

Minnesota is giving up an average of 35 points per game. Minnesota has two problems on defense: Stopping the run and stopping the pass. Minnesota is ranked 74 in the country against the run and 91 against the pass. The Gophers will need to improve upon these numbers if they plan on slowing down the Cornhuskers’ explosive offense.

Edge

Nebraska has a huge edge in this matchup. Nebraska’s offensive line will blow Minnesota defenders off the ball allowing Nebraska’s playmakers to make huge plays on offense. Nebraska should be able to get some of their backup players some much needed playing time in this game.

Nebraska’s Defense vs. Minnesota’s Offense

Nebraska Total Defense Rank: 58

Minnesota Total Offense Rank: 110

Coming into the 2011 season, most Cornhuskers fans believed the 2011 Blackshirts would be one of the best defenses in the country.

After six games, the Blackshirts have not lived up to expectations. Nebraska received just what they needed to jumpstart their defense, though: A bye week followed by a game against Minnesota and their poor offense.

Again, Nebraska will be playing without their preseason All-American defensive lineman Jared Crick, however. Crick also sat out the Wyoming game and the players who filled in for him played well. I do not think the Cornhuskers will miss Crick this week, but they will in the weeks ahead.

Nebraska is coming off a sloppy defensive game against Ohio State. The one thing that Nebraska may have come out of the Ohio State game is the answer to the question: Who will start opposite All-American cornerback Alfonso Dennard?

Nebraska used Stanley Jean-Baptiste at cornerback in the second half of the Ohio State game. Jean-Baptiste made an interception and helped shut down the Ohio State wide receivers; after only playing cornerback for three weeks.

He began the season as a wide receiver. With the extra week of practice, the Blackshirts may have found a third playmaker in their secondary to go with Dennard and safety Graham Stoddard.

Minnesota has been horrible on offense this season. Minnesota does have a dynamic wide receiver on their team in MarQueis Gray. The problem is that Gray is no longer playing wide receiver; he is the starting quarterback for Minnesota.

The good news for Minnesota is that Gray can make plays with his legs. The bad news is that he is not too good at passing the ball. Gray has completed 47-97 passes for 625 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. Gray will need to have a big day running the ball if Minnesota is to have any chance against the Cornhuskers.

Edge

Nebraska has the edge in this matchup. Nebraska has been playing poorly on defense this year, but I look for the Blackshirts to turn it around against Minnesota. Nebraska has had problems stopping mobile quarterbacks this year and Minnesota has a quarterback that can make plays with his legs.

I do not think Nebraska will give Gray the opportunity. Nebraska will shut down Minnesota and their No. 110 ranked offense.

Special Teams

As bad as Nebraska’s offense and defense has looked at times this year, the one unit that has been reliable is their special teams.

Coming into the 2011 season Nebraska had questions about how they would replace their All-American kicker, Alex Henery. The answer has been Brett Maher. Maher has taken over place kicking and punter duties for the Cornhuskers and performed well at both.

In a close game Nebraska knows that they can rely on Maher to kick a game winning field goal.

Nebraska also has one of the best kick-returners in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska ranks No. 2 in the country in kick returns thanks to freshman Ameer Abdullah. Teams have figured out that Nebraska has a great returner in Abdullah so many teams have kicked away from him. I look for Minnesota to try and do the same.

Minnesota will need to be disciplined in their kick coverage this week. So far this year, Minnesota is ranked No. 38 in the country in covering kicks. If they cannot help their defense out by pinning Nebraska deep into their own side of the field, it could be a long day for Minnesota.

Edge

Nebraska has a huge edge in special teams. I can see Adbullah bringing back at least one kickoff or punt for a touchdown in this game.

Prediction

Nebraska should have no trouble in this game. Nebraska is 15-3 in the second half of the season since Bo Pelini became head coach at Nebraska. Pelini’s teams tend to get better as they get deeper into their schedule.

Some of that has to do with the fact that they usually had Iowa State, Kansas and Colorado on their second half schedule, but it is still an impressive stat.  

There is a slight chance Minnesota could keep this game closer than the people in Las Vegas think. Minnesota was able to play a close game with USC—losing 19-17 in their season opener—and Minnesota has a mobile quarterback. Nebraska has had a lot of problems with mobile quarterbacks this year.

Nebraska is better than USC and the Cornhuskers are looking to make a statement in this game. While Nebraska has had trouble with mobile quarterbacks, they will shut down Minnesota’s quarterback because they have no respect for his passing game.

Nebraska wins this game in a laugher: 49-10