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Nebraska 48 – Kansas State 13
A lot of people (namely the creator of this blog…) have wondered my feelings on Nebraska’s domination of the Kansas State Wildcats on Thursday Night, and I must say that I am very impressed. I was very impressed with the defensive display put on especially after the South Dakota State game which I described to a friend as, “The single worst performance in the history of my fandom.” Now, did I go a bit off the deep end with that statement? Yes. Yes I did. I stand by it, though since it was so utterly disappointing I was going into this game with very low expectations and this performance soared above it to a great degree. The defense looked great and actually shut down a pretty solid offense in Kansas State and it gives hope that they can keep doing it against even better offenses coming up.
What I do think we need to keep in perspective though is the fact that this is only Kansas State. This wasn’t Michael Bishop, Darren Sproles or Michael Bishop out there; it was an okay Kansas State team with a really talented running back. As happy as I am that Nebraska is back in National Championship discussion it needs to be remembered that it’s only one game and one game doth not a season make. That goes for individual players as well…
Which brings me to Taylor Martinez, and while I admit he had an amazing night on Thursday. It is also worth noting that he has not played from behind yet, nor has he had to use his arm much at all. While the stats may say he is averaging 17 Yards a completion it is also worth noting that a lot of these are based on YAC yards by the wide receivers. While I don’t want to see him HAVE to play from behind or have to throw 20-25 times in a game, I think that a tad more emphasis needs to be put on the passing game coming up just to see what he can do if called upon to do the above. I will, and forever (because I am stubborn) think that Cody Green was the right call going into this year because of his ability to run and pass, but if T-Magic can put them BOTH together then it was worth the risk. Poor Zac Lee, though…
What can Nebraska do to keep it up? Simple, keep pounding the ball and getting stops. It sounds simple, but against the superior teams in the Big XII who are coming up it is easier said than done. I think the game that can carry the rest of this season is coming up next Saturday, though and that is at home versus Texas. Nebraska has had three heartbreaking losses the past three meetings and hasn’t beaten Texas at home since 1933 and hasn’t beaten them period since the Big XII Championship Game back in 1999 for this season to be successful they simply HAVE to beat them. It sounds obvious to say that, but this is the hurdle that Nebraska has never cleared and knowing that it is the last season in the Big XII nothing would make me and the rest of the Husker fans happier to beat Texas and use it as a springboard to a National Championship run.
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