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Each week, the Two-Minute Drill provides an in-depth breakdown on all the key matchups that will decide a winner in the Huskers' game. Here's what Oklahoma and Nebraska bring to the showdown.
Bryan Applewhite is the current leader for Husker assistant coach of the year, given the acquisition and subsequent production of Anthony Grant and Ajay Allen.
That duo provided a nice 1-2 punch for the Huskers against North Dakota and Georgia Southern, especially in their ability to take a short gain and make it a longer one. Grant, at 428 yards, ranks second in the Big Ten, while Allen’s 6.41 yards per carry ranks 12th in the league.
NU may have to shuffle its offensive line a bit — remember, Teddy Prochazka missed snaps against Georgia Southern — but there was no discernible letdown last week when Prochazka headed to the bench.
Oklahoma coach (and chief defensive mind) Brent Venables likes to bring pressure on early downs from a variety of places. His interior line — anchored by Reggie Grimes and Isaiah Coe — is active, but the blitzes will at times leave OU vulnerable to getting gashed.
Nebraska has to get a couple gashers.
If Nebraska nets 150 yards, call it a win.
Husker quarterback Casey Thompson knows OU’s personnel well; he faced the Sooners last season as a part of Texas’ program.
Thompson carved up Oklahoma for 388 yards and five touchdowns in 2021, and he’ll look to do the same Saturday.
Can NU’s O-line — not as good as the Texas bunch — protect Thompson against an aggressive interior line and frequent blitzes?
You can bet Nebraska offensive coordinator Mark Whipple will have some answers built into the gameplan.
The Sooners’ defense has so far bent a little bit but generally been stingy in allowing big passing plays. Nebraska is averaging nearly five passing plays of 20 yards or more through three games, with transfers Trey Palmer (231 yards) and Marcus Washington (181) as top targets.
Thompson and Co. will have success if No. 11 gets time in the pocket.
Nebraska didn’t sign anyone in free agency or off waivers last week, so the run defense — even if Nick Henrich returns to action wearing a cast — can only be so effective without taking major risks.
NU is a little undersized up front and the Husker safeties — now coached by defensive coordinator Erik Chinander — remain in a growth period.
OU wants to run the ball; coordinator Jeff Lebby did a lot of it at Mississippi, which averaged more than 200 yards per game in the two years Lebby ran that offense. Eric Gray and Marcus Major both have some shimmy to them — Major seems destined to be the No. 1 back by season’s end — and Sooner quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who played for Lebby at Central Florida, can operate the zone read.
Nebraska has one of the nation’s worst run defenses. It may get better eventually, but in the short term? Hard to see.
The son-in-law of Art Briles, Lebby runs a system similar to that of the disgraced former Baylor coach.
Oklahoma goes very fast — as fast as Georgia Southern did — and has many of the same concepts as the Air Raid system the Eagles used.
Lebby will use playaction fakes a little more, and try to sneak OU receivers behind the defense for a long pass.
The RPO packaged with a backside slant — which Nebraska never seems to be able to handle when Minnesota does it — is part of Lebby’s repertoire, too.
Gabriel, no taller than Thompson, throws a tight spiral and a nice fastball. Oklahoma will move him out of the pocket, too, on designed run-pass options.
Marvin Mims (244 receiving yards) Theo Wease and Drake Stoops are top targets. Tight ends Brayden Willis and Daniel Parker are tough covers, too.
Nebraska may, again, get Henrich back, but NU’s pass rush is mediocre at best. Usually is when you can’t stop the run.
Nebraska has missed three field goals so far this season — two from longer than 50 yards — and struggles to execute in return situations.
Punter Brian Buschini has NU ranked eighth nationally and first in the Big Ten in net punting at 45.75 yards per boot — that’s impressive — and he’ll have to keep up that trend, as Mims is one of the better punt returners in the Big 12.
This could be a wash, or not, but Nebraska seems like a slightly less of a threat in the return game.
Nebraska has already experienced a season’s worth of emotions in three weeks.
A bowl-like trip that ended in a loss. Boos in the home opener. More boos — and a stunning loss — to Georgia Southern. The firing of Scott Frost, the hiring of Mickey Joseph as the interim, lost Blackshirts, more physicality in practice — you name it, NU has experienced it.
The Huskers now play a top ten team in front of a home crowd who may be a little tired of close losses.
Memorial Stadium should bring the heat, though, and Oklahoma, three games into the Venables era, will find a tough environment.
We like Nebraska’s potential to catch OU a little off guard, even if Venables will have his guys wary of a trap.
Oklahoma’s offensive skill players against Nebraska’s defenders in space.
The Sooners will press the issue in the open field, with Gabriel getting the ball out quickly to his skill guys, or running backs Gray and Major jump-cutting into the clear.
How Nebraska plays in the open field may determine whether it allows, say, 24 points or 48 points. And while the Huskers may have made adjustments this week, practice can only resolve so much.
NU defenders need consistent experience in struggle before it turns into success.
Gabriel may get loose, too.
Nebraska could have been — should have been — 3-0 heading into this game. How much fun might that have been, weighing the stakes?
But NU is 1-2, already on a new coach and desperately ready to turn the page.
If only it were a team other than OU, which may not quite be the No. 6 squad in the land, but possesses all the strengths of Georgia Southern, plus a better defense.
The Huskers play better on defense — how could they play worse? — but experience, a quarter into the season, a defense with some real teeth.
Joseph’s tenure starts with some fight, but not quite a bang.
What NU does in its bye week and beyond will help shape its play in the Big Ten.
As for Saturday, the old rival snags a win in Memorial.
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Sam McKewon and Amie Just discuss how many wins interim head coach Mickey Joseph will need to get in order to have the "interim" removed from …
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