22 Jan 11 Nebraska Football: Reviewing the Cornhuskers' 56-21 Win Over Washington

Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesT-Magic: Fine. I give up. Yes, it's a silly nickname. Yes, he gave it to himself, or at least signs his text messages with it. But if Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez can run for 137 yards and three touchdowns, throw 7-for-11 for 150 yards and a touchdown, and read a defense and make adjustments in his first road start, he can call himself the Queen of Belgium for all I care. If there's been a more impressive road opener for a freshman quarterback, I don't know what it was.Locking Down Locker: Remember Jake Locker? The first overall pick in Arizona Cardinals jersey
the NFL Draft and darkhorse Heisman candidate? Yeah, that guy went 4-for-20 for 71 yards and two interceptions, including one on his first pass. Nebraska's secondary, particularly cornerbacks Prince Amukamura and Alfonzo Dennard, gave Locker no place to go and rattled his confidence. Head coach Bo Pelini's defense impressively took away what is likely the most talented quarterback Nebraska will face this season.Hey, Remember Us?: Poor Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead. Both running backs had great days against a BCS opponent on their home field, getting over 100 yards and scoring. And their performance has been completely overshadowed by (sigh) T-Magic and his wizardry. But keep in mind that the threat Helu and Burkhead pose is part of why Martinez is so effective. Without a danger from the tailback, defenses could focus on Martinez and significantly limit his effectiveness. Now, they have to pick their poison.The Bad ...Blue Green: Nebraska backup quarterback Cody Green is, by all accounts, a bright and charming young man with a tremendous amount of physical talent. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson wouldn't continue to get him a series in the first half if he didn't think it was important to get him ready to play. But Green fumbled his first two snaps, setting up a Washington score. As important as it is to have a backup quarterback ready to go, it's hard to see how Green's continued insertion into games is going to continue.Cutback Conundrum: When Washington did have success, it was running right at the Nebraska defense. Much of that success took a page from what Western Kentucky and Idaho did, which was to get the NU defensive line moving laterally and have the tailback hit a gap on the back side. Admittedly, NU's defensive gameplan was focused on Locker and not the running game, Atlanta Falcons jersey
which was part of the reason for their successes on the ground. But NU will be facing sterner, power running teams (see Kansas State) and will have to show they can stop it.Unstretchy: While in the category of a "good problem," Nebraska jumping on Washington early meant they never had to rely on a passing attack to move the ball and score. While Martinez was efficient and effective with most of his throws, NU has yet to put that air attack to a real test. At some point this season, Martinez will have to win a game with his arm, not his legs.... And the Passed TestApparently those guys were ready to go on the road. NU was up 14-0 less than five minutes into the first quarter, and was never in serious danger for the rest of the game. While we have yet to learn exactly how good the win over Washington is, it's clear that Nebraska was ready for the threat posed by the Huskies and able to respond. For the first time in his NU career, Pelini's team won their challenging non-conference game. With that hurdle cleared, the ceiling for this year's season just got raised.The Big PictureWelcome to the bright spotlight of national attention, Nebraska. After lackluster performances by a number of Top 10 teams, Nebraska's annihilation of Washington at home will catapult NU into a short list of teams that can be considered legitimate national title contenders. At times in the past, Pelini's Cornhuskers have not handled success well. From here going forward, Nebraska will have to handle the pressure of being the hunted, rather than the hunters. Pelini's challenge will be to get his team ready for that new role.The Next GameSouth Dakota State at Nebraska (September 25, 6:00 p.m., PPV): The Jackrabbits come to Lincoln bringing a DIvision I-FCS national ranking in a season where FCS teams have won in BCS conference stadiums. Baltimore Ravens jersey
The Jacks will...oh, this isn't kidding anyone.The Jackrabbits are 0-2 coming to Lincoln against a hyper-confident Nebraska team. There is a possibility that NU could overlook South Dakota State in preparation for a trip to Manhattan to face Kansas State, but Nebraska's talent level is so superior that such a result is almost unimaginable. At least Cody Green should get a chance for some redemption.Like this article? Please LIKE the article here and on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter @law_talking_guy to receive updates of new articles and to read my observations during Nebraska games. Thanks for the read!