Scouting the Huskers
by Murray Poole
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Conference: Big Ten
Enrollment: 19,345
Cornhuskers in a thumbnail: Going into the 2012 season, Nebraska returned eight offensive
starters and seven defensive regulars from the 2011 team that went 9-4 including a 30-13 loss
to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl. Now, the Cornhuskers of fourth-year coach Bo Pelini,
the former LSU defensive coordinator, will make their second consecutive appearance in Orlando
sporting a 10-3 season record. Nebraska was riding a six-game winning streak before getting
routed 70-31 by Wisconsin Dec. 1 in the Big Ten championship game. The Huskers’ victories this
fall came over Southern Miss (49-20), Arkansas State (42-13), Idaho State (73-7), Wisconsin in
the regular season matchup (30-27), Northwestern (29-28), Michigan (23-9), Michigan State
(28-24), Penn State (32-23), Minnesota (38-14) and Iowa (13-7). The other two defeats were
by UCLA (36-30) and unbeaten Ohio State (63-38).
A look at the Nebraska offense: The Cornhuskers now run a spread option attack under second-
year coordinator Tim Beck, as opposed to the pure Nebraska option teams of the past, and
the Huskers will take an extremely balanced offense into the matchup with Georgia. Averaging
35.1 points per game, Nebraska leads the Big Ten with a 254 yards-per-game rushing average
(8th in nation) and is also passing for 207 yards per contest. The Huskers are led by junior quarterback
Taylor Martinez (6-1, 200) who has passed for 2,667 yards and 21 touchdowns – with
10 interceptions – while also rushing for 973 yards and 10 more touchdowns. Martinez is the
Huskers’ all-time total offense leader with more than 9,000 yards. Nebraska’s leading rusher is
sophomore I-back Ameer Abdullah (5-9, 185), who has run for 1,089 yards (5.0 avg.) and eight
touchdowns while also rating one of the top kick returners in the country. Senior I-back Rex
Burkhead (5-11, 210) follows Abdullah and Martinez with his 535 yards (7.2 avg.) and four touchdowns
after running for 1,357 and 15 touchdowns in 2011. Sophomore Kenny Bell (6-1, 185) is
Nebraska’s leading receiver with 46 catches for 803 yards and eight scores while junior Quincy
Enuwa (6-2, 215) follows with 40 receptions for 459 yards and one score. The Huskers’ scoring
leader is senior place-kicker Brett Maher, who has tallied 112 points via 19 field goals and 55 PATs.
A look at the Nebraska defense: As you can see, the Cornhuskers’ defensive unit has had
its struggles this season. Being hit by opposing offenses for such point totals as 27, 28, 24, 23,
36, 63 and, finally, the 70 salvo by Wisconsin, Nebraska has surrendered 26.2 points per game.
The Cornhuskers, after being pummeled for more than 500 yards rushing by Wisconsin in the
Big Ten title game, are allowing an average of 195 yards on the ground. Pass defense, they are
somewhat better, giving up just 148 yards per outing, which leads the nation. Senior linebacker
Will Compton (6-2, 230) leads the defense with 101 total tackles while senior safety Daimion
Stafford (6-1, 205) follows with 89 tackles and has four interceptions. Also formidable for the
Huskers are senior end Cameron Meredith (6-4, 260) and senior tackle Baker Steinkuhler (6-6,
290).
What Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini says: “I know Georgia’s going to be athletic. I
know they’re going to be physical and obviously they’re going to be well-coached. I think Coach
Richt does a great job. They’re going to challenge us across the board in every way. They’re a
very talented team. (On Nebraska giving up the 500-plus rushing yards to Wisconsin and Georgia
allowing Alabama to run for 350 yards) First and foremost, you have to be able to stop the
run. If you give up big rushing yards it’s a recipe for disaster. You can’t recover from that. That’s
going to be an area both teams try to shore up and an area both teams will try to exploit.”
Game Prediction: It’s difficult to gauge how these two football teams will snap back from their
conference title game losses. Georgia’s of course was the most agonizing as the Bulldogs ran out
of time on the Alabama 5-yard line in the bitter 32-28 SEC championship game loss, a defeat that
kept Georgia from going to the BCS national championship game. Nebraska, meantime, was getting
blown away by Wisconsin by that 70-31 tally in the Big Ten title game after having whipped
the Badgers in the regular season meeting. But with a month to heal the wounds from those setbacks,
you would think both teams will be out to prove something on Jan. 1 in the Capital One
Bowl in sunny Orlando. Like head coach Mark Richt has said, these Bulldogs – especially the
Georgia seniors – have much to play for: a rare 12-win season, a possible finish in the country’s
top five teams and, yes, a big springboard into the 2013 season when Georgia will be seeking
to go to its third consecutive SEC title game. With the Bulldog offense continuing its late-season
explosiveness and with the Georgia defense reverting to previous form after being jolted for
those 32 points and 350 rushing yards by the Crimson Tide, the Dogs achieve that 12-2 finish
with a 35-21 shucking of the Huskers.
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