Jim Rose Season Analysis, Week 9
MU 41NU 24Now, that wasn't the way it was supposed to go! The Tigers treated theHuskers like a chew toy on Saturday afternoon. And, they (well make ithe---Brad Smith) were very impressive. Mizzou jumped out to a 21-3 leadlargely because the Huskers had no answer for the wizard QB Smith. When theday was over, he loaded up nearly 500 yards of total offense on the proudBlackshirts equally divided between his feet and arm. And creditMissouri's coaching staff for concocting a scheme that had their assistantcoaches telling Smith what to do before each play. That's right fans, evenin football, it takes a village. But the strategy paid off in spades mostof the day.The plucky Big Red roared back with a fury at the end of the half. NUblocked a punt caused a fumble and got two quick scores but that's when theparty ended.The second half was all about dropped passes, turnovers, key breakdowns onthe o-line and sloppy penalties. All of that adds up to loss numero two onthe campaign.This week, it's all about the good ole daze. Oklahoma pulls into townlooking not quite like the bunch which has dominated the last few years.Lots of NFL draftees, a young QB and a poor recruiting class in '03 has madeOU beatable. We can do it. The key is to make sure we are mentally readto go. No breakdowns, silly mistakes and fumbles. We gotta play smart aswe do hard. If so and the home field edge, I like our chances.GBR!.. . (The views expressed herein are those of the writer,and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Nebraska Lottery.)
Published on 10/24/2005