Right after Bo Pelini was hired to coach Nebraska in 2007, a good helping of Cornhusker fans, well-versed in both modern and historical college football, pointed to this upcoming week as an early mid-term, if you will, on NU's progress under Pelini.

A home game vs. Oklahoma, the standard-bearer of the Big 12 in the 21st Century, coached by Pelini's old buddy, Bob Stoops. If Pelini had a grace period of, say, 20 games – he's coached 21 thus far – OU, with its balance, talent, speed and reputation, would be an apt measuring stick for how far the Huskers had come – and how far, still, they had to go.

As we stand here now, with both fighters bruised and frustrated, it's harder to see that stick in the mist of injuries, offensive woes and close, painful losses.

But it's still there. And all of Nebraska's goals are still there, too. The Huskers control their destiny. Win out and punch a ticket to Dallas and the Big 12 Championship vs. Texas. Win out, and NU, with its fan base and classy reputation, is guaranteed no worse than the Holiday Bowl to tangle with another of Pelini's mentors, Pete Carroll and his USC Trojans.

Yes – win out, and a fairly cool prize awaits at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box.

NU's 20-10 victory over Baylor isn't the kind you love to relive, aside from one particular performance. We'll do it anyway, with an eye on the big stick that Nebraska would very much like to carry into the final quarter of its season – after measuring up to it, of course.

Five Players We Loved

Defensive tackle Jared Crick: Opponents pay so much attention to Ndamukong Suh that Crick feasts on the single-blocker approach. But Saturday, he tossed those blockers aside and chased Baylor quarterback Nick Florence like a wolfman. Thirteen tackles? Absurd. Crick's small-town persona only adds to the appeal.

Linebacker Eric Martin: He's been threatening to make a big special teams play all year; Saturday, he finally made it by setting up a blocked punt that was returned by Justin Blatchford for the Huskers' first touchdown. If Martin is able to make the leap defensive back Alfonzo Dennard made from his freshman to sophomore season, watch out.

Quarterback Cody Green: Warts and all, Green ran hard, competed bravely and generally seemed in command. He's got some work to do, particularly on timing routes, but he's finally a position to do something about it on the field.

Punter/kicker Alex Henery: Nailed two important field goals – Baylor's Ben Parks missed a chip shot of his own – and made a touchdown-saving tackle on a wild BU punt return right at the end of the game. Athlete first. Kicker second.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara: One terrific interceptions with three more pass breakups to boot. Amukamara rebounded from a so-so game vs. Texas Tech with a strong performance here.

Three Concerns We Have

No Daylight: Nebraska ran the ball 19 times in the second half for 61 yards. How many teams is that going to beat? The beefy offensive line has to earn its keep.

Going Horizontal: Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson laid off the sideways passes for the first half. Then, with a seemingly comfy 20-0 lead, he started getting cute again, trying to burn Baylor for loading the box by throwing 20 yards sideways, in the hopes of creating one-on-one situations on the perimeter. You all know what eventually happened. If Watson wants to go horizontal, here's a thought: Run wide receiver sweeps.

Shaky coverage: Baylor was close on a couple kick and punt returns to busting one open for a touchdown. The Huskers have to keep lane discipline and learn to break down and tackle better, instead of searching for the killshot.

Reviewing The Five Keys

Play to win, not to dominate: Nebraska did just that with a modest offensive gameplan and a defensive strategy that called for maximum coverage and zero blitzes. The result? Seven sacks and three turnovers on defense. Safe to say the plan worked.

Match up and move it: Dejon Gomes, Lance Thorell and Sean Fisher probably were exhausted by game's end, running in and out of the game as NU mixed and matched nickel, dime and dollar coverages, but the Huskers were rarely out of position, and almost always had double coverage on the deep receiver, which led to Gomes' interception. The Huskers were lucky that Florence wasn't more accurate on that skinny slant pattern to Kendall Wright, though.

Neutralize the earth-movers: Baylor couldn't do anything against Crick and Suh, while Nebraska had initial success against the Bears' front four, with that success waning by the second half.

Traye and Jay: Dontrayevous Robinson looked like Nebraska's best running option until he got hurt in the fourth quarter; Robinson, like Green, competes hard on every play. BU's Jay Finley was not a factor.

Bo vs. Briles: Baylor head coach Art Briles threw the kitchen sink at Nebraska, and the Brothers Pelini dodged nearly every bullet and landed some haymakers of their own. NU won this coaching chess match with a big dose of help from Crick and Suh.

Three Questions We Still Have

Is Roy Helu anywhere near getting healthy? Why did he play Saturday? Repeat: Why? If Nebraska couldn't beat Baylor without Helu – and, just for the record, the Huskers pretty much did – then Nebraska had no business winning, period. Helu should have stayed home and nursed his injured shoulder.

Where in the world is Mike McNeill, and how does Watson get him involved in the offense again? McNeill's too good to be wasted on well-covered tight end routes. Give the kid a chance to work on the edge and use his size advantage. He's a mismatch waiting to happen. Isn't Watson all about that?

Can the Nebraska crowd find some inner resolve? And create a nightmarish atmosphere for Oklahoma this week? Memorial Stadium needs to be the toughest environment that OU quarterback Landry Jones has ever played in.

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There are no quick fixes, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini likes to say. There are probably no instant leaders, either.

But after two lackluster performances, NU's offense stand to get a few more..

The consensus, really, is that Huskers' O has one who's up front, center Jacob Hickman, and two supporting players behind him. We'll get to them in a minute.

“Hick's the guy who really captains all of our calls,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. “He's a real leader.”

It's not necessarily common for a center to fill that role, although Dom Raiola and John Garrison did that years ago. But Hickman - a senior who's sampled nearly every offensive line position and thus knows the scheme as well as anyone – has been up to it.

A cerebral type, mature, already married, Hickman's a certain kind of leader, a strong, thoughtful hub of the Husker community. Ndamukong Suh happens to be that guy, too. Suh calls himself a “silent killer.” The phrase fits Hickman, to some extent, too, even if he's talking quite a bit during the game, calling out defensive line shifts.

But Hickman is not a red rump. I'd use another choice word, but we're still, you know, read by families and stuff. At any rate, he's not going to crawl down your skin. He's the good cop, the “calm down” guy.

“I get more annoyed when people yell at me than anything else, so I'd feel hypocritical if I got too riled up,” Hickman said.

But sometimes, he said, it's been necessary. Hickman stepped on the emotional gas pedal at Missouri, he said, getting the intended response in the fourth quarter. He did it again vs. Texas Tech, to no particular avail.

“I got a little frustrated,” Hickman said. “I got a little talkative.”

Who else?

“I don't really think we've had anyone stepping up and say “I'm the one taking control of this offense,'” tight end Mike McNeill said. “Hickman's done a good job, but I don't think we've had one guy who just stands out and says 'this is my offense, and I'm running it right now.'”

Said Hickman: “It really helps sometimes to have a guy get riled up like that.”

You already know Nebraska had that in 2008 with quarterback Joe Ganz.

“Nobody was quite as vocal as Joey,” Hickman said.

But the Huskers had Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Matt Slauson, too. None of them had Ganz's swagger and personality, but each of them carried authority and experience.

Is the latter of those two traits always necessary for leadership? Not for head coaches, right? There are tons of first-timers, - Pelini included – who just have the “it” factor when it comes to commanding a group of men. They don't need to prove it at every level of football before they arrive in college.

With players, though – that's a leopard with different spots. For every Peyton Manning and Tommie Frazier, who just walks with an air of authority and confidence, there are thousands of guys who haven't properly paid their dues yet.

At a top five program, that's probably how it should be. For Nebraska, which aspires to get there again, a transformative leader wouldn't hurt. No matter what class they're in.

Besides Hickman, two names popped up from several sources for co-leaders: Roy Helu and Niles Paul. Paul does it, Hickman and Watson said, with his work ethic in practice. Helu's leadership skills are evident when you visit practice and talk to his teammates, but the junior, publicly modest, deflects all attention. Nebraska's best offensive player – the best Husker running back in a decade, from this vantage point – is thoughtful, lighthearted and sometimes deadly serious in the span of three minutes.

Is he healthy enough to put the team on his back?

“Roy's been hurt lately, which is tough,” Hickman said. “It's hard to be really in the forefront of leading when you've been hurt.”

Of course, Hickman was sick and a little hurt, too. Maybe not as much as Helu, but this season hasn't been sundaes and rose petals for No. 67.

Zac Lee was also establishing himself, Hickman said, but he's in the midst of a quarterback competition again.

“It's tough when you don't have many seniors out there,” Hickman said. “It's the nature of the game sometimes.”

Tougher still when you don't have many red rumps.

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Quarterbacks and boos and media and questions and turnovers and rankings and sound bytes and fans and -

Oh, yeah. Breakfast with Iowa State.

The Cyclones are playing with house money. Free as the bird that serves as their mascot. At 4-3, ISU doesn't have much to lose other than the health of its two best offensive skill players, quarterback Austen Arnaud and running back Alexander Robinson.

Iowa State can pull out the stops, or play it cool to keep it reasonably close.

Nebraska, meanwhile, needs to win, and look good doing it.

Head coach Bo Pelini preaches high standards. That's good. He's not satisfied with nine-win seasons. He asks for perfection because, in his words, “you get what you ask for.” He coaches a tenacious, active game in search of execution and mental toughness. And he's good after a loss - better, maybe, than after a win.

The man was in his element this week. He's got his team buying into an us-against-the-world mentality. Bo served as point guard on Monday with his “buck stops here” comments, and as bookend on Thursday with a similar statement. Fans may perceive Pelini as angry. Not precisely. He's trying to use a difficult loss – a stunning loss, really – as a rallying point to quickly reverse course.

Pelini doesn't believe in a panic button. It doesn't mean he isn't pushing some other buttons.

On to the keys.

Playing Harder and Smarter: Nebraska's offense has been a little too cute over the last two weeks. Power football out of a shotgun spread, four-wide set? Oh, sure, you can do it. But defenses have to respect the quarterback and the receivers. And, right now, that's not happening. Both Texas Tech and Missouri left linebackers on the field to cover NU's wideouts, confident that quarterback Zac Lee either couldn't or wouldn't find open guys.

That hunch was right. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson often talks about taking what a defense gives. But what Tech gave wasn't a schematic advantage. It was an athletic challenge. And the Huskers weren't up to it.

Watson's gameplan was in the right place. But the troops couldn't execute it. Which means – find something they can.

Maybe that's straight power stuff. Maybe that's the zone read with Cody Green. Nebraska can't stray too far from its original design, but it may need to shed a few play pounds to get to the core of its success.

And the offensive line? Well, you already know – don't you? So do they.

Steep incline: If Big 12 defenses were a treadmill, ISU is about to hit a massive elevation change. The Cyclones have not faced a defense as complete as Nebraska's since the Iowa game, and the Hawkeyes' front four is a notch below the Huskers. Throw in a motivated Memorial Stadium crowd – they'll be back Saturday, with a vengeance – and this is toughest game that Iowa State has had this year. If NU can pounce early, ISU won't put up too much of a fight.

Wounded Clones: Arnaud and Robinson won't be 100 percent on Saturday, and how the game progresses may determine the length of time they're in the game. Again – that's why the quick start is so important. ISU coach Paul Rhoads isn't going to worsen Robinson's groin injury by running him while down 21 points.

Arnaud will test that throwing hand early. He's not a great passer to begin with, and his backup, Jerome Tiller, is more of a big-play runner than he is passer.

Where's Mike? Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill has played roughly 50 percent of the snaps in each of the two previous games, and most of those were in the second half. McNeill wants to win more than anything – but he'll never turn down the ball.

“I've ran pretty good routes this year and I'm moving pretty well,” McNeill said. “I think I'm open sometimes. But I'm not always in the quarterback's progression, or maybe he's got another throw he's got to make. It's not like I'm running down the field and no one sees me.”

It's just that Lee hasn't been throwing him the ball very much.

Ditto for the rest of the tight ends. What's happened here over the last several weeks? NU tries to throw the ball to Kyler Reed two times a game, and calls it good. Ben Cotton, Dreu Young and Ryan Hill – all pretty capable receiving options – rarely get their names called. McNeill catches just about everything in the vicinity, but it's like he's one of the fallow parks on the edge of the Lincoln city limits. What gives?

The Specials: Iowa State has some return and kicking weapons that could account for field position and/or a touchdown. Nebraska has to find the vibe it had going before the Missouri game. Even punter/kicker Alex Henery's been a little off.

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Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill isn’t getting Facebook messages anymore telling him how much better Missouri’s Chase Coffman is. So there’s that.

Of course, Coffman graduated, having finished 3-1 in his career vs. NU.

And McNeill? The junior from Kirkwood, Mo., is still looking for victory No. 1 against the Tigers. He’d sure love one, especially in Columbia, in front 70,000 gold-clad crazies who cursed out his parents in 2007.

“It’d be big, obviously,” McNeill said. “I can’t lie and say it wouldn’t. The last two years, they’ve really stuck it to us. So that’s been really tough, going home the last two years, having to hear about that. It’d be nice.”

Maybe then the have-you-talked-with-Jeremy Maclin questions can die down. Or the Blaine Gabbert queries. Yes, McNeill is buddies with MU’s starting quarterback, too. Hosted him on his recruiting trip to Nebraska, in fact. Went to a baseball game with him this summer.

This week, the Missouri connection is a big story, and McNeill, always a smiling, reliable quote, is right in the center of it. He trudged over reporters Monday in the press box, wearing a smirk that said “here we go.”

“Well, it’s the Missouri game now,” one reporter said.

“I guess,” McNeill said, not exactly enjoying his role as “official Missouri correspondent.”

Said senior receiver Chris Brooks, who’s from St. Louis: “We just want to win. Whether it’s by one point or 30 points, a win is a win. Playing Missouri – most people, when it comes around, look at me and say ‘You’ve got a chip on your shoulder.’ But I try to approach the game like that each and every day.”

McNeill and Brooks are two of four players from Missouri who could start in Thursday’s 8:15 p.m. game. Junior left guard Keith Williams is from Florissant in the St. Louis metro. Redshirt freshman Will Compton lives about an hour away, in Bonne Terre.

“I’d like to play in Columbia every year,” Compton said. “I’d like to play in front of everybody I know.”

Every one of them, not surprisingly, has some connection to the Missouri roster.

Brooks is friends with Mizzou defenders Jaron Baston and Hardy Ricks, and expects to “chop it up” before the game with some good-natured trash talk.

Compton is another of Gabbert’s friends; they committed around the same time in 2007 to NU, in fact, and were in competition to see who could help lure more players to Nebraska.

“We’d hang out, spend time with each other’s families, and, at the time, talk about Husker football,” Compton said.

Gabbert pulled his commitment when it became clear that Bill Callahan was going to be fired. But Compton stuck with Nebraska.

“He knew I’d make the right decision and do what I wanted to do,” Compton said. “I needed to have that patience. I committed here. Nebraska deserved patience like that. I just needed to wait to see who came in here and give them the chance.”

Days before Bo Pelini was hired, Compton said, athletic director Tom Osborne told the kid he would like who Nebraska was about to select. Roughly two months after that conversation, Compton stuck with his original decision despite a full-court press from Missouri and Illinois.

But it didn’t mean he severed ties with Gabbert, who didn’t pressure Compton to change his mind. After Mizzou hammered Illinois in its season-opener, Compton texted him. Good game. Gabbert texted back the same.

One might think Gabbert’s decommitment from NU would be a sore point with the Huskers. But emotions seem defused now that he’s Missouri’s quarterback, and not Chase Daniel, who relished needling the Huskers with his arm and his mouth.

For his part, Brooks isn’t too worried about any ill feelings –or lack thereof.

“At the end of the day, who really cares?” Brooks said. “Chase Daniel, Blaine Gabbert, whoever’s under center – it really doesn’t matter. We’ve still got to come out and make plays. Whether someone’s talking or not talking, I don’t think that makes a difference because they have to get between those white lines and back it up.”

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Two years ago, Mike McNeill’s parents thought they might get a hometown discount in the bleachers of Faurot Field.

Sure, McNeill was a Nebraska tight end traveling into a hostile Missouri den. But he was also a native son, a friend and former teammate of Mizzou receiver Jeremy Maclin. McNeill even hosted current Mizzou quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

“My parents got a rude awakening,” McNeill said. They were called names and heckled.

They called it the “Zou” for a reason. It certainly played a role in the Tigers’ 41-6 victory in 2007, when NU quarterback Sam Keller seemed rattled from the opening snap, and the Cornhuskers’ defense walked around in a fog, casting a net so wide that Missouri frequently – and happily – attacked the middle of the field.

“They were jacked up,” McNeill recalled. “They had their special uniforms for our game. And extra seats. I’m sure the fans will be pretty rowdy.”

A record crowd is expected for Thursday night’s ESPN-televised game. The Tigers are 32-7 at home since 2003 - 17-6 vs. the Big 12 - and has won nine straight games over Big 12 North opponent, including three straight over Nebraska. Because of the 8:00 p.m. start – tip your cap to the start of the baseball playoffs for that – Mizzou partisans will have the bulk of the day to, ahem, prepare, while NU bangs around their hotel.

“We’ll probably play a lot of Playstation,” senior wide receiver Chris Brooks said. “A lot of Nebraska vs. Missouri.”

Brooks is arguably most excited Husker for the trip. He’ll get to see his 5-year-old son, Chris Brooks, Jr., who lives in St. Louis, where Brooks starred in high school. It’ll be a late bedtime for Junior that night.

He’s also trying to wrangle up enough tickets for family members. Missouri is enjoying a rare sellout for Thursday.

“Cousins that I didn’t know I had,” Brooks joked, “and uncles. But it’ll all get worked out.”

Brooks’ prediction for the atmosphere of gold-clad Tiger fans?

“Real crazy,” he said. “I think we need to answer the bell, compete and match their intensity from the opening kickoff. I think if we do that, we’ll be in good shape.”

Head coach Bo Pelini pointed to NU’s experience at Virginia Tech as useful prep for Missouri. Though Nebraska’s offense pulled a grilled-cheese meltdown late in the third quarter, the Huskers generally kept their pose in Blacksburg, and snuffed out the Hokies’ early momentum after a long kickoff return.

“All your experiences help you,” Pelini said. “Both good and bad.”

Running back Roy Helu said the Tech game – plus Pelini’s love-it-on-the-road approach – converted him into a guy who wouldn’t mind playing “12 games on the road.”

“Never really bought into that ‘road mentality’ stuff until we went to Virginia Tech,” said Helu, who gained 169 yards in Blacksburg. “The best football experience of my life. The environment. They were loud, they were jingling their keys. We were loving it on offense. The louder they got, the more focused they got.”

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Quarterback controversy? Not around here.

By the time Nebraska’s defense started to bend Saturday against Arkansas State, NU junior Zac Lee’s right arm had already broken the Red Wolves with series of deep, accurate strikes in the heart of their secondary.

Lee completed 8 of his first 9 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns to help stake NU to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. From that point forward, the run-oriented Arkansas State couldn’t muster enough momentum to get much closer in a 38-9 Nebraska win.

“I really liked the way we came out,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “We attacked. I thought we played really well offensively. To start the game, I loved the energy we came out with.”

While Lee had a fair debut in a 49-3 win over Florida Atlantic, his play was overshadowed, to some extent, by a single 49-yard run from true freshman Cody Green.

No such dilemma on Saturday. Lee completed 27-of-35 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns. He personally found 11 different receivers, and made every throw in the book – including a couple nifty shovel passes.

“It was a good day,” Lee understated. “Hopefully it’s that way every week. That’s kind of my goal.”

Lee and his teammates have a much stiffer test at Virginia Tech next Saturday. But for one game, he couldn’t have been much more efficient.

Said NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson: “I loved everything that happened. Zac was just lights out. That’s a great performance.”

A crowd of 85,035 at Memorial Stadium sat thrilled and dazzled by Lee’s first-quarter performance. On Nebraska’s opening drive, he converted an early third down with an 11-yard pass to Mike McNeill, scrambled for 11 yards and threw a perfect 46-yard lob to receiver Curenski Gilleylen before finishing the drive with a three-yard flip to fullback Tyler Legate to cap the 80-yard touchdown march.

On the second drive, Lee hit all five passes for 54 yards, the last of which was another perfectly thrown lob to tight end Mike McNeill for a 13-yard touchdown.

“We had guys get open,” Lee said. “It’s easy to throw to open guys.”

Niles Paul then scored on a 30-yard reverse one minute into the second quarter for a 21-0 lead. Paul took the pitch from Lee and ran back toward NU’s sideline, toeing the chalk for the last ten yards.

“We had it on our script,” Paul said, “and I just blew it off like ‘we’re not going to run that, we have it on script every week since last year. But we finally ran it. And I was happy.”

Those first 16 minutes were NU’s best in recent memory, dating back, possibly, to 2006. Pelini said he challenged his team throughout the week, after another sluggish start vs. Florida Atlantic, to hit the ground running vs. ASU.

Mission accomplished. The Huskers outgained the Red Wolves 206-39 in that span, and left a run-based with little chance for a comeback.

“We came out of the gates well,” center Jacob Hickman said. “That’s something we wanted to make sure we did, to set the tempo of the game.”

Arkansas State then scored on a 32-yard touchdown drive after an NU punt and a 15-yard facemack penalty on safety Rickey Thenarse. The Red Wolves missed the extra point. The Huskers tacked on a 29-yard field goal from Alex Henery right before halftime.

In the second half, Nebraska scored quickly after an ASU punt, as Lee hit McNeill again, this time on a 32-yard fade route for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he found Paul for a two-yard score, setting up the touchdown with a 27-yard pass to tight end Dreu Young.

Nebraska had 494 total yards, the 16th time in 20 games, NU went over the 400-yard mark.

“They played a whole lot faster than we did overall,” ASU coach Steve Roberts said. “I think that was a big difference in the game, their speed advantage.”

The Red Wolves (1-1) averaged more than four yards per carry and amassed total yards, but only converted 2 of 10 third down attempts in the first three quarters.

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More speed. More weapons. A clearer vision. All the coaches on the same page. And a tight end corps that every team in the Big 12 not named Oklahoma would die for.

If Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson can simply find a consistent, dependable right guard – and junior Ricky Henry will be given every chance to be that guy – NU’s offense could hum even more than it did in 2008 when, over the last eight games, Watson’s crew was an excellent balance of run and pass, explosiveness and possession.

“They’re a great looking bunch,” Watson said of this 2009 version. “More explosive and faster than they’ve ever been.”

You already the story of last year, of how Watson reassessed his offensive line and skill players practically in the middle of a 52-17 loss to Missouri, found that a simplified running game, based more on zone read principles, should be the Huskers’ identity, and promptly made adjustments before the Texas Tech game. It took about a quarter in Lubbock for the plan to click, but when it did, Nebraska kept the Red Raiders’ terrific offense off the field for most of the game.

NU still lost in overtime, 38-31, but head coach Bo Pelini remembered that contest at the Big 12 Media Days as his favorite of 2008, the one where Nebraska began to forge its identity.

In 2009, the plan will be, at times, more ambitious, taking advantage of an infusion of speed at the wide receiver position, and quarterback Zac Lee’s legitimate 70-yard arm. Wide receiver Menelik Holt talked about tempo, and the efficiency of Nebraska’s two-minute offense.

Might we see some no-huddle in the middle of the second quarter? We might. The Huskers, physically, are in terrific condition. And Watson has talented enough tight ends – Mike McNeill, Ben Cotton, Kyler Reed – to operate as Oklahoma does, alternating power sets and spread sets in the same drive, with the same 11 players.

OU’s no-huddle was so dynamic because it was equally explosive and punishing; opposing defenses couldn’t just run a nickel or dime against it, they had to keep linebackers on the field to stop the downhill running game. Those same defenses were then more vulnerable to covering a guy like tight end Jermaine Gresham, who habitually burned linebackers down the seam. Sub out a linebacker for a nickel corner, and Gresham would catch passes in front of the coverage. And OU’s running backs would make a killing on the outside zone play.

Yes, Sam Bradford operated the no-huddle like Nicola Benedetti plays a Stradivarius, but it was Gresham – and that terrific offensive line – that routinely presented the overwhelming mismatches.

Nebraska has McNeill, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior who had 32 catches for 442 yards and six touchdowns in 2008. And Cotton and Reed, who looks and runs like Gresham does. Reed has the fastest 10-yard dash time for a tight end in the history of the program. But all Husker fans needed to see was his catch and dash in the Red/White Spring Game.

McNeill confirmed he’d line up occasionally as a wide receiver, or as tight end in a “flex” set, out of which a lot – toss plays, bunch routes, play action stuff – can be run.

“As much as (Watson) wants to throw on us, at me, the better,” Lee said. “The more ways we can attack people, the better.”

And then you throw in NU’s young-but-fast receivers. Marcus Mendoza. Antonio Bell. Niles Paul. Brandon Kinnie. Khiry Cooper, who’s already “flashed” in the first couple days, Watson said Sunday.

Summer’s 7-on-7 drills were packed with big plays and daring tries from Lee for the deep ball.

“With Zac’s arm strength and the speed of the receivers we’ve got? I can’t wait,” Paul said.

But, simultaneously, the offense could be more old-fashioned, leaning on a experienced left side of the line – tackle Mike Smith and guard Keith Williams both return as starters – and two road-tested junior running backs – Roy Helu and Quentin Castille - north of 215 pounds.

“Taking the pressure off Zac would be amazing,” Smith said. “If we run the ball, it takes so much pressure off him. People don’t think he needs to make every single play and throw the ball for 300-plus yards every game, so if we can start the year off running the ball, it’d be a big plus.”

Smith stopped short of assuming Nebraska would emphasize the run, however. Last year, the Huskers seemed committed to trying, and it didn’t really work. Watson then stuck Joe Ganz in the shotgun more often, kicked the zone read into gear, and the offense took off.

“We’re going to attack people the way they allow us to attack,” Lee added. “Not worry about experience or inexperience or anything like that.”

That was a common theme among Husker offensive players. Watson’s more about strengths and weaknesses instead of time served.

Whereas Missouri coach Gary Pinkel more or less declared the Tigers are returning to their 2006 offense to accommodate new quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Watson has divulged virtually nothing – in the spring game or in any of his comments – about how the plan might look in 2009. He hints at Lee’s “arm talent.” He likes his receivers. He likes the competition between Helu and Castille, but wants two more running backs ready to go.

You hear comments like that, and think maybe Watson wants to head back to 2001 Colorado, when the Buffaloes shoved the ball down the collective throats of the Big 12. Some in the press corps seem to think that’s an option.

I’m not so sure. The heavy sets didn’t work last year. And they often didn’t work when Bill Callahan, Watson’s mentor, tried them either. You recall the 2006 Big 12 Championship, when counter after counter, zone play after zone play, was stoned by Oklahoma’s defensive line. NU’s Zac Taylor was stuck out on an island that night, without much to help him beyond screen passes and the same medium-rare routes that hampered the Huskers through much of the Callahan era.

In 2009, it’s a new Zac Attack, and although Lee may not be as efficient or savvy as Taylor once was, don’t expect the offense to slow down or regress in terms of sophistication. Instead, Lee will have to learn to live and adjust where Watson now gameplans: On the cutting edge.

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So let’s say you spent your summer vacation - if you had one in this economy - eating hot dogs, watching movies, moving into a new house, getting back home to see family and splashing around in the backyard pool with your kid.

Well, Nebraska football players did a little of that, too.

But they also had hours of fierce competition in the weight room and on the field for summer workouts. And when head coach Bo Pelini said two weeks ago at Big 12 Media Days that he envisioned a tougher, more accountable football team than the one he inherited in 2008, he wasn’t kidding.

In a word, tight end Mike McNeill said, the summer was “intense.”

“The other word we used all the time was “dominate,” McNeill said. “And we did a good job of dominating our tasks this summer.”

The mindset flowed from Pelini’s parting words in the spring. More than that, it came from strength and conditioning coach James Dobson, whom McNeill described as “full-go all the time.”

“He pushed us to the max,” McNeill said. “Really hard workouts.”

One of them was called “GPP,” a series of quick-twitch, agility exercises. Husker players would, in total, pull prowlers, push sleds, do sit-ups and push-ups for three straight minutes and perform speed and agility drills with weighted vests.

“It’s a combination of intense things,” McNeill said.

Another is “County Fair,” a series of agility and running drills inside rings and cones, all to be completed within a certain time.

The Huskers had accountability for poor effort or tardiness, too. Senior safety Larry Asante said players who fell short of expectations, or were late, had to admit those mistakes in front of the whole team.

Then the team would decide a punishment for the player. It was the kind of player accountability, Asante and wide receiver Menelik Holt agreed, that members of NU’s national championship teams in the 1990s had talked to them about in the spring.

“Sometimes we’d make them stand there and watch us run,” said Asante, a member of the 2009 Unity Council. “It was kind of a mental thing, to make them sit on the side and watch us run. Because we are a team.”

Holt, also on the Unity Council, said Pelini stressed that each Husker “learn how to be a man.”

“Part of being a man is being accountable for your actions,” Holt said. “We hear that all the time. Pelini’s always teaching us about those characteristics like a father would. And I think you’ve seen our team change in our leaders and how they act. You saw the team also change. We hear that from the 95 team when those guys come in.

Yes, Holt said, it’s a change from the Bill Callahan era.

“His motto was, ‘I shouldn’t have to tell you how to be a man,’” Holt said. “He expected that of you already.”

But, sometimes, 18-to-22-year-olds need a “Turkish Get Up” to remind them how.

That’s the name of the punishment Dobson devised for any player being late to anything – a lift, a meeting, a workout. It involved a player lying on his back with a 45-pound plate, rocking to standing position, and pressing up above his head.

“That’s 1,” Asante said. “Then you lay all the way back down and do it again. You do that about 15 times, and your back is about ready to give out.”

Except the punishment is to do 100 of them. McNeill saw one player, unnamed, do 150 of them. It took him an hour to lift the equivalent of 6,750 pounds, in 45-pound increments.

“It happened twice, I think,” Asante said. “And it never happened again. Guys seen other guys doing it, and said “Oh no, I don’t want to be doing that.”

Once, McNeill said, Dobson inflicted the punishment after the offense lost a mini-competition to the defense.

“But he just made us do one,” McNeill said, smiling. “It was a just a trick."

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College football fantasy enthusiasts are starting to crop up all over America. While smaller conferences with awful defenses, such as WAC and the Sun Belt, are often loaded with players picked (along with the three Heisman Trophy contenders, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow) for picks, we decided to look at some potential value of Nebraska players.

We examine presuming that a fantasy league starts one quarterback, two running backs, two-three wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker and a defense.

QB Zac Lee: Hard to say at this point. Lee is unlikely to produce the same number of yards as predecessor Joe Ganz, especially with a tougher schedule in the Big 12 North. But, given Lee’s running ability, he might match the touchdown count.

Fantasy Verdict: It’s no shot to Lee, really, but there are better stat options out there. He might be a guy you pick up on a flyer vs. Iowa State or something.

Best QB (overall): Tebow. Gotta be. Yeah, Bradford threw for a truckload of TDs last year, but Tebow is a threat to score 10-15 rushing touchdowns. You know, week in and week out, he’ll get the scores.

Sleeper QB: Case Keenum, Houston. Threw for 5,011 yards and 44 touchdowns in 2008.

RB Roy Helu: Because he’ll split carries with Quentin Castille, Helu isn’t going to gain as many yards and score as many touchdowns as, say, Oklahoma State’s Kendall Hunter. But he’s not a bad choice if your fantasy league has two or three slots for running back, or if it awards points for yards per carry.

Fantasy Verdict: Roll the dice and spend a late pick on Helu.

RB Quentin Castille: See Helu, although Castille may get more carries in the red zone, and thus may have a better shot at scoring touchdowns. Castille tends to get more carries in short yardage situations, where the goal is three or four yards, so his yardage count is bound to be a little lower than Helu’s.

Fantasy Verdict: You may get touchdowns, but not as many yards. Castille is a gamble.

Best RB (overall): Hunter. He rushed for 1,555 yards and 16 TDs last year.

Sleeper RB: Charles Scott, LSU. Gained 1,174 yards but, more importantly the big man (5-11, 235) scored 18 TDs. He’s the Tigers’ short-yardage man.

WR Niles Paul: We anticipate Paul having more total receptions than any other receiver on NU’s team, plus he gets the added value of kickoff and possibly punt returns. He could be a keeper as a No. 3 receiver, but nothing more.

Fantasy Verdict: Not enough production at this time to take the plunge. Ditto for any other NU receivers.

Best WR (overall): Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State. Yards and TD machine. He may be the first non-QB taken in most leagues.

Sleeper WR: DeAndre Brown, Southern Mississippi. The spectacular freshman WR (1,117 yards, 12 TDs) who broke his leg late last season will not probably be drafted before the season. But what a midseason pick-me-up he could be.

TE Mike McNeill: Excellent value pick here if the top Big 12 guy, Jermaine Gresham, isn’t available. There is good potential that McNeill will lead the team in yards, receptions and touchdowns. If your league has a tight end slot, McNeill is a great pick.

Fantasy verdict: A top ten TE. Somebody in your league will get him; if the timing is right, go for it.

Best TE (overall): Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma. He won’t catch the most passes as a tight end - that’ll be BYU’s Dennis Pitta – but we’re guessing he catches the most touchdowns.

Sleeper TE: Rob Gronkowski, Arizona. Caught 10 TDs last year. Nice player.

K Alex Henery: As good of a pick as there may be at this position. Not only because of his accuracy, but, if your league offers extra points for field goals over 50 yards (and it should) then Henery is your man.

Fantasy verdict: The top returning pick, statistically, whenever you want to draft a kicker.

Best K (overall): Henery

Sleeper K: Oklahoma State’s Dan Bailey made 15 of 19 field goals, and you know he’ll kick a lot of extra points on that team.

Defense: Nebraska has a potential for sacks, which most leagues tend to track. The turnover situation wasn’t so pretty. The Huskers failed to come through in a number of circumstances to cause fumbles and get interceptions. But NU did OK with the defensive touchdowns – thanks to Ndamukong Suh. Your call here.

Fantasy verdict: Not in our top 20, but that may change after a few games.

Best defense (overall): For sheer points, it has to be Oklahoma, which was +23 in turnover margin last year and recorded 42 sacks. Both numbers may go up in 2009.

Sleeper defense: Virginia Tech. Three returner starters in the secondary and along the line for a bunch that was pretty darn good in 2008 with a +14 TO margin and 35 sacks.

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It was the second straight season that zero Nebraska players were taken on the first day of the NFL Draft and only three were taken overall. It served as a death rattle for the Bill Callahan era.

Will the trend change in future years? We look at the potential Draft prospects of current Huskers:

2010 Draft

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: If Suh stays healthy and continues to improve his technique – whether or not his statistics are comparable to 2008 – he’s a sure-fire first-round pick, and possibly a top-ten or top-five pick, depending on team need. At 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, Suh probably isn’t a 3-4 nose guard – those guys are usually squatter and, well, fatter – but he fits into a 4-3 scheme as a 1, 2 or 3 technique, depending on how a defense chooses to play him. He already makes the flashy plays behind the line of scrimmage, and has since his sophomore year.

Defensive end Barry Turner: Teams will look over Turner’s broken leg injury, and since we’re not doctors or insurance specialists, we couldn’t say whether that would prevent Turner from getting selected. As an end, Turner has a good first step and can beat slower linemen to the corner. He’s not as adept at swim and rip moves as he should be. On the flip side, Turner’s received average coaching at best from John Blake. He’s got room to grow.

Center Jacob Hickman: He’ll be helped by his versatility to play either guard spot or center. Hickman, 6-4 and 290, is agile when pulling and skilled at getting to the second level. Probably not the nastiest guy on the planet, but he’s smart, and he knows a number of positions. You could see some team taking him with a late-round pick and developing him as a valuable reserve.

Strong safety Larry Asante: Depending on whether some NFL team thought they could put 20-30 pounds on Asante, he could play linebacker at the next level. Asante hits hard, and he’s generally decent in run support. Where’s he’s struggled is in the passing game. As a safety, we’d see him as a free agent; Clemson’s Michael Hamlin, a much better college player, lasted until well into the second day in the 2009 Draft.

Wide receiver Menelik Holt: Longshot here, but one never knows. Holt has the speed, and he’s a good enough blocker. Nobody knows if he can catch balls and get open consistently, however. He’ll get only one year to prove it and he’d better have big-time numbers. Otherwise, he’ll be a free agent, if that.

For now, we don’t consider middle linebackers Phillip Dillard and Colton Koehler, free safeties Rickey Thenarse and Matt O’Hanlon or receiver Chris Brooks as likely selections, although they may sign as free agents.

2011

Left guard Keith Williams: At 6-5, 305, Williams has the size and strength to become a very good NFL guard. He needs to get more consistent, and cut out wasteful penalties. He’s quicker than recent draftee Matt Slauson and he’ll get two more years of coaching under Barney Cotton. Too hard to project a specific round right now, but Williams would be in the Draft.

Safety Eric Hagg: Could be a quality safety for some NFL team; his size and anticipatory skills are a good fit. Nebraska coaches finally seem set on putting Hagg at safety and letting him blossom there. Two years of good development puts him right in the crosshairs of being drafted. Sometimes, though, it seems like Hagg isn’t aware of how good he could be.

Running back Roy Helu: We fully expect Helu to play four years at NU, if he stays healthy. As a pure runner, Helu is instinctive, quick and hard to bring down. He’s a decent pass-catcher and should improve his blocking. If you were projecting way out, you could see Helu getting picked in the 3rd-4th rounds, maybe even the first day.

Tight end Mike McNeill: We could definitely see a guy like McNeill taking that Dallas Clark role with the Indianapolis Colts. McNeill is sure-handed and athletic, and pretty fast for a tight end. His best skill is open-field running. In two years, he’s a 4th-6th-round selection, and better if he improves his blocking.

Defensive end Pierre Allen: Very good sophomore campaign could lead to big things in 2009 and 2010. Allen needs to keep grinding away as a pass rusher so that he can fit into a 4-3 system, which requires good pass-rushing skills out of its ends. He’d need to gain 20-30 pounds to play end in a 3-4.

Kicker/punter Alex Henery: If he continues to kick like he did in 2008, he’ll be one of a handful of kickers selected in the Draft. Henery’s punting skills may also help him make a roster. The kid’s a bit of a kicking savant; many of his field goal tries are perfectly shaped into the middle of the goalposts, looking like a Phil Mickelson wedge shot.

Running back Quentin Castille: Credit where it’s due: Castille has lost enough weight to be a viable player in a one-back, one-cut outside zone NFL system. No the lead guy, necessarily, but a bruiser type. He gets downhill quickly, strides nicely for a big guy, and seems more comfortable in the open field than he does traffic. Blocks and catches pretty well. Hasn’t shown himself to be a great short-yardage back, but he could develop into one. Castille isn’t a fullback, and NFL teams will quickly notice that watching him on film. The right team with the right need could draft him.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara: If this kid picks up the red the courtesy phone and figures out the position, he’s as intriguing a prospect as any on NU’s team. Naturally gifted, huge vertical leap, tall and fast, not afraid to tackle. Amukamara’s stumbling block isn’t physical stuff. But can he play, drive after drive, without mental errors?

Cornerback Anthony West: Steadier than Amukamara, not quite as gifted, and not quite as big. Gambled and lost a couple times in 2008. Needs to close better and be more aggressive to the ball, as his allowed touchdown in the Red/White Spring Game showed.

Wide receiver Niles Paul: Needs to play more often, and more consistently. Paul would be a slot receiver in the NFL, so route-running, savvy and elusiveness would be important to develop.

Guard Ricky Henry: Strictly a project right now, but the clay is there to be molded. We’ll see.

Cornerback Dejon Gomes: See Ricky Henry.

Quarterback Zac Lee: Too early to tell. The skillset and height suggests he’ll fit into the Joe Ganz category.

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As part of our season in review, we're recapping the best offensive, defensive and special teams plays of the year. Now up: Best passing plays.



It's hard narrowing down the best pass plays for Nebraska in 2008. Joe Ganz and his stockade of backs and receivers provided more memories than, well, any group in NU history. Still, we tried to pick what we thought were the most representative of the year - Nate Swift as a big-play artist, Todd Peterson in the clutch and Mike McNeill as an emerging threat - and tossed in one trick play for good measure. Enjoy!



Joe Ganz-to-Nate Swift, 53-yard touchdown, vs. Baylor. The sluggo route called at just the right time by offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. With a 24-20 lead, Swift ran a short slant, Ganz pump faked, BU’s cornerback bit, and Swift bolted past the Bear. Ganz hit the wide open receiver, who scored easily.



Lucky-to-Ganz, 20-yard touchdown, vs. New Mexico State. A wonderfully executed throwback play in which Lucky took the toss, drifted to his right, and flipped the ball back to a wide-open Ganz, who waltzed into the end zone.



Ganz-to-Mike McNeill, 35-yard touchdown, vs. New Mexico State. Off of a playaction fake, Ganz tosses a short pass to McNeill, who weaves his way through several Aggies – thanks to some terrific downfield blocking - and, while leaping into the end zone, got flipped upside down. An awesome play in a season of many.



Ganz-to-Swift, 61-yard touchdown, vs. Western Michigan. The first of many great Ganz plays, as he caught WMU in a blitz, rolled hard to his right and floated a perfect pass to Swift, who caught the ball, stumbled, regained his balance, and outran the defender to the end zone.



Ganz-to-Todd Peterson, 17-yard touchdown, vs. Texas Tech. The best catch of Peterson’s career will always be that grab he made on fourth-and-a-prayer against in that 28-27 win over Texas A&M in 2006. But Peterson’s best overall drive was NU’s final one in regulation against Tech, when he caught three passes, the final of which was the game-tying touchdown. Peterson caught the ball, inside the five, fell into the end zone, got up and pointed at the crowd. A cool moment before the tough loss.


Best opponent pass: There were…so many…but the winner is actually easy: Kansas’ Todd Reesing’s second-quarter 28-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Meier. Reesing was hammered by NU defensive back Eric Hagg, but he regained his balance and tossed the ball to a wide-open Meier. Just another play in the Reesing highlight reel. Maybe his best.



See also: The 11 Best Defensive Plays

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