Previewing Nebraska vs. Southern Mississippi

Aug 31, 2013; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Ameer Abdullah (8) rushes against the Wyoming Cowboys in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA enters a bye week with the intent of focusing on and preparing to head into Lincoln, Nebraska – a city with one of the best fan bases in college football. Taking that same initiative, let’s focus on Nebraska this week as they take on Southern Miss. If you’re interested in what to watch for, you can read up on it here.

Nebraska recently came off a less-than-impressive win against a mediocre Wyoming team – a game decided by a grand total of 3 points. The Husker’s quarterback in Taylor Martinez took a blow to his shoulder, but don’t worry. He’s a tough and athletic QB that’ll stick it out or move past his injury like it never happened. Assuming he plays 100% on Saturday, here’s how we can expect the game to go.

Martinez and Co. are prepped to come flying out of the gates with the intent of striking early; they’ll do just that. While nearly giving away the game to Wyoming was quite the scare to their fan base, it was probably good for them in the sense that they know what’s at stake now; they got a reality check, and most teams have to wait a little longer to get that, so if you are a Husker fan, be happy for what’s to come. That being said, the team does have issues to consider. With a defense that has given up over 1,800 yards of offense in its last three games, Bo Pelini has got to figure some things out – and who better to try it against than a team that has lost 13 straight? Nebraska is going to get a great shot to stuff a weak running team that gained only 23 yards on the ground in their season opening loss.

The passing game is another story though. The Huskers watched the pigskin sail over their heads time and time again for 383 yards last Saturday, and it wasn’t pretty. Southern Miss passed for only 6 yards less than that in their opening game – so it’s evident that Nebraska cannot play another game like that again.

Again, though, this is a perfect opportunity for Nebraska to give new things a try, because even if the Golden Eagles pass for 377 again, their defense won’t be a match for Huskers’ strong running game. More importantly though, it allows Nebraska a little time to prep for their battle with the Bruins at home. UCLA, with one of the most potent passing games in college football today, distributed the ball to 12 different recivers in their matchup against Nevada – and for Nebraska to keep up, they are going to have to remember that even if they shut down the Bruin passing game, Jordon James rushed for 155 yards in opening game. In other words, they have to focus all over the field.

While Nebraska may score in excess of 40 points against Southern Miss, their defense is going to let up in an attempt to try new things; respectively so. It’s looking like Nebraska’s going to finish the week at 2-0, after defeating Southen Miss 45- 24.