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September 18th, 2009
Virginia Tech Preview (by Ryan Blase)
Greetings Husker fans. It is time for the competition of the season to ratchet up a few notches. Tomorrow the Cornhuskers will face a talented Virginia Tech ball club in Blacksburg, Virginia. It should be a close game and a good "measuring stick" (although I hate this term) game for Nebraska to gauge how much they have improved under second-year coach Bo Pelini.
What are the keys to victory in Blacksburg? Here are some things that I believe will be pertinent to a Husker victory. I am not claiming to be a great sports analyst and most of these should be rather obvious, but I still believe they are the key to success.
1. Special teams play / Turnovers / Don't get yourself in an early hole.
These three go hand-in-hand as last year the blocked punt for a safety and a costly interception deep in Husker territory gave Virginia Tech a 9-0 lead in Lincoln. This type of start can crush a team (the only start worse than this was against Oklahoma). Nebraska did a great job in battling last year in Lincoln but the 9-0 lead which Nebraska inflicted on itself was too much to overcome.
2. Contain Tyrod Taylor.
I don't think there is much explanation needed for this one. You probably can't say you can stop a guy like Taylor all game long (thoughts come back of 1994 Nebraska vs. Colorado. I don't know how Nebraska shut down Stewart and Salaam all day, but somehow they did), however, Nebraska needs to limit his rushing yards on busted plays. Sound tackling will be needed to accomplish this key.
3. Avoid costly penalties.
Last year in Lincoln a personal foul call on Ndamukong Suh and a subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Pelini (who didn't like the call) doomed any chances the Huskers had of completing their comeback. A wiser Suh wouldn't have jumped on the Virginia Tech player (Tyrod Taylor I believe) and Nebraska may have had a legitimate shot. Another game that comes to mind that killed us with costly penalties was the 1994 Orange Bowl (93 season) against Florida State where Nebraska had two 15-yard penalties on Florida State's final game-winning, field goal drive (although there was a final field goal try for Nebraska which went wide left).
4. Rush the football.
The old cliche talked about by all football coaches but it really is true. If you can run the football and stop the run; more often that not you will win. Nebraska needs a great day out of Roy Helu, Jr. and Rex Burkhead. Burkhead may see limited playing time compared to the first two weeks but when he is in, he needs to get it done. Also look for goal-line situations to be an important facet. Nebraska needs to be able to line up on a 2nd and goal from the 2 and punch it in on one play. This has been a worry for some as Nebraska has had a tough time in short-yardage situations against Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. Hopefully Barney Cotton has really challenged his boys to get a big push up front when in the short-yardage situations.
These are the biggest keys for the game in my opinion. I think the defense will be fine if they contain Taylor. Last year, Virginia Tech was able to turn too many busted plays in to big gains. If the Blackshirts contain Taylor, they will win. If one paid attention to the game against Alabama, Virginia Tech's offense was terrible. Contain Taylor and I think their offense will falter. This is why I believe the biggest keys to the game are numbers 1 and 2. Don't dig an early hole and contain Taylor. If Nebraska is successful in these 2 areas, they will be victorious.
My prediction:
Nebraska 28
Virginia Tech 21
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