OU Game Day Thoughts

1 comment so far November 1, 2008 by Darren K. Carlson

Before the melee in Norman begins, here are some of the thoughts I had last night and earlier today while thinking about and talking about the game tonight with friends. Just some things to consider.

This is Great
First, just let me say how thankful I am that Oklahoma is on the schedule this year, win or lose. It's a special thing when the Huskers and Sooners get together. It's extremely cool that they are commemorating the Game of the Century tonight in Norman. And, I think the credibility of the rivalry and series is illustrated by the fact that ESPN picked up the game for national coverage. This is the game we were raised on, so lets relish its renewal no matter what happens tonight.

Just Play Well
Now, on to the game. At BRN, we have analyzed this game six ways from Sunday. You might have notices a ton of posts this week. But there is still one overarching thought that hasn't been touched on. I have a saying - a mentality - when the Huskers are playing against an extremely tough team. I just hope they play well. The notion was born from a plane ride discussion with my Dad when we were heading out to the Rose Bowl game to watch NU play a juggernaut Miami team.

Since that very Rose Bowl game, I don't think I've seen come out and really play well against the top level competition. It's simple really. OU is a great team. And great teams do what they do. If you are thinking that NU can win because OU is somehow bad, you are kidding yourself. Bradford and company are going to make plays and get theirs. It is what great teams do. It is just incumbent on the Huskers to play well in their own right, especially early in the game.

If the Huskers come out and tackle well and execute on offense, they can make it four quarter game like we saw against Texas Tech. Then, it is a matter of making the few very key plays down the stretch or hoping for an OU miscue. But, we've seen this Husker squad come up very small in big spots already this season. For three quarters against Virginia Tech, NU got absolutely worked. Against Missouri, NU played as poorly as I've ever seen them - penalties, mistakes, turnovers...ugly football. Bottom line, I'll be watching the kids in Scarlet more than the kids in Crimson tonight. We pretty much know OU has the goods. Can the Huskers rise to it?

Something Out of the Ordinary?
One other thought crept in to my head this morning over coffee. I would not be shocked if Pelini threw a big curve ball on defense to start the game. I mean, he could do something that NU has not shown on film before, like possibly going man-to-man everywhere on the field, or switching to a 5-man defensive line or something.

I've seen him do this before. In 2003, he knew he was pretty well outmanned by Kansas State. So, in the first quarter he came out in a 5-man defensive line, and confused the wildcats. When they came out for their third series, he went back to his 4-man front and forced KSU to re-configure their blocking again. It bought NU a half in a game they would eventually lose.

So, knowing he's out gunned tonight, I have this gut feeling he may try something like a man-to-man look versus his standard Cover 2 zone, just to try and get any sort of early mistake from the very good Oklahoma quarterback. Just a guess...

Keep Fighting
The last thought I have for today is that NU must simply keep fighting. Down big to Virginia Tech, the fought their way back in to the game. While getting humiliated by Missouri, they managed to discover their offensive identity in the fourth quarter. This all happened because NU kept playing full tilt football. I hope to goodness that the Huskers don't have to find their guts to keep from being embarrassed. I'd much rather their reason to keep fighting is because they have a legit chance to win the game. That is really all we can ask for as fans.

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