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According to several news outlets, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne bumped the base salary for head coach Bo Pelini again on Monday - and sweetened the pot for NU’s assistants - particularly defensive coordinator Carl Pelini.

Effective Feb. 1, 2010, Bo Pelini will make 2.1 million per year. Last year, he made $1.851 million as a base, although incentives pushed him over $2 million.

Carl Pelini gets $375,000, while offensive coordinator Shawn Watson gets a small raise to $380,000. Secondary coach Marvin Sanders now becomes the highest-paid non-coordinator, making $250,000 per year. Ted Gilmore, Tim Beck, Ron Brown, and Barney Cotton will make $220,000. Previously, all five, plus Carl Pelini, made $208,360. Watson made $375,000 last year.

Mike Ekeler and John Papuchis were bumped from $150,000 to $175,000.

Bo Pelini is now the fifth-highest paid coach in the Big 12, inching just ahead of Kansas’ Turner Gill, who will make $2 million at KU. Bo is just behind Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s $2.2 million base salary. Like OSU, NU and Osborne has chosen to focus more dollars toward the assistant coaching staff than most programs in the Big 12.

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A Pick Six Takes:

*Ndamukong Suh tearfully accepted his Outland Trophy Thursday night in Omaha - Suh was particularly touching when he thanked defensive line coach Carl Pelini - and made the ESPN tour on Saturday. You can see video of both events here. The awards and media circuit, as its known, is almost complete.

Now - prepare for the scrutiny, the negative press, and the doubts from so-called mock draft “experts.” Suh, almost a consensus No. 1 pick for April’s NFL Draft, will have to suffer many of the same slings and arrows other top picks, from Peyton Manning to Ricky Williams to Julius Peppers to Aaron Rodgers to Adrian Peterson to Warren Sapp to Reggie Bush.

He’ll be the leader in the clubhouse for a stunningly long time by April. And, just to stir the pot, some idiot will insist the St. Louis Rams draft Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen with that first pick.

Who knows? Maybe that idiot will work for the Rams.

Suh won’t drop below No. 2, where the Detroit Lions have lined up 300 rosaries in their front office to pray for the Rams’ insanity. But the Rams have so many holes - and quarterback is certainly one of them - that you could envision them wasting the pick on a shot-in-the-dark, rather than sticking Suh at defensive tackle for the next decade.

Even if the Rams stand pat and do the obvious, “Suh fatigue” will set in, especially at ESPN, which practically withers to death without some bit of conjured-up speculation to chew on. Suh’s body of work stands for itself, but some wonk will raise questions about his size, or his technique, or his knee injury from three years ago. Clausen, being from Notre Dame, will be a darling. ESPN’s Todd McShay will toot Eric Berry’s horn a little more.

It’s all part of the spotlight. Suh just has to ignore the messenger. Nebraska fans should do the same - but I know some Husker fans. Never miss an opportunity to grind the axe. You hope, as NU makes a bid for top ten next year, some of that grinding stops.

*Watch the walk-on list for Nebraska’s 2010 recruiting class over the next month. It’s not as heralded as the scholarship players, but it’s reasonably important for depth purposes. A handful of starters generally arise from the walk-on mold - center Mike Caputo and fullback Tyler Legate will fit that bill in 2010, and don’t count out Austin Cassidy for Matt O’Hanlon’s old spot - and, of course, there’s also an intrinsic value to their presence, too.

But they’ll be harder to land as the cost of college rises. What’s more - high school coaches pay attention. Not all of them like it when the State U breezes in for the can’t-miss kid, but didn’t have a scholarship for the ham-and-egger. This doesn’t burn NU as much as it does other schools, but, in this era, it’s something to consider.

Now, of course, recruitniks hate hearing such warnings, but they view football in a vacuum of stars and hypotheticals anyhow. Great recruiting -at any level - is more about relationships than it is cherry-picking, and a college coach has to sell loyalty to the high school coach as much he sells playing time to the kid. Especially when more and more of these kids live with single mothers. Coaches, parents, handlers, uncles, cousins, guardians - they’re more savvy than they used to be.

Turner Gill will be making annual trips to Omaha from this point forward. And he’ll have a pretty good message. Just sayin.

*I made a point of watching two women’s basketball games this weekend. One of them, of course, was No. 11 Nebraska’s ugly-but-so-pretty 65-56 win at No. 9 Baylor. Everything good about Connie Yori’s team - the depth, the timely shooting, the willingness of star Kelsey Griffin to do other things on an off shooting night - was on display Sunday afternoon. Great teams win the scrums as often as they win the gems. The Huskers just won, on consecutive weekends, their two toughest Big 12 road games at Iowa State and Baylor. It’s time to think seriously about 30 wins. And even more seriously about a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Which is why, on Saturday, I checked out the nation’s No. 1 team, period: Connecticut, which beat Notre Dame 70-46. The Huskies look like a semipro team, and play almost recklessly - up and down, quick passes, layups, three and four offensive rebounds. The relentless pace broke Notre Dame down, forced the Irish into the same kinds of shots and risks. Except ND couldn’t pull it off.

UNLV in 1991. That’s the apt comparison. The game proved the notion: Recruiting is power. At least when you’re talented as Connecticut appears to be.

If only Nebraska got one shot at that team and struck Goliath between the eyes…

Dare to dream that one.

*Ugly 56-53 loss for Doc and Gang Saturday night at the Bob. The crowd - which included a smattering of Iowa State fans - was pretty vocal, too. You wonder how many bites of the apple the Huskers get with that kind of noise if they keep blowing winnable games with gaffes of all varieties.

You’ll see the woodwork now ripple with calls for Doc’s job, but he’s going to get two years with this crew of young players, and that’s what he deserves. But the Huskers continue to get thumped on the boards - losing rebounding margins of 12, 13 and 9 in the first three Big 12 games - and they’re no longer a bizarre matchup for league opponents. Sadler’s refusal to play forward Quincy Hankins-Cole - NU’s best rebounder per 30 minutes of playing time - seems tied to Hankins-Cole’s poor practice habits. This bye week would be a good time for the both of them to get on the same page.

Even at 0-3, Nebraska’s not out of postseason contention. The NCAA berth doesn’t matter right now. Doc needs to put that talk away. Just push for 18 wins - the Huskers stand at 12-6 right now - and a shot at the NIT or CBI.

*My late take on Lane Kiffin: I can’t help but root for him. He’s working for a tinpot dictator in USC’s Mike Garrett, he’s got his dad coaching the defense, some gumbo-voiced used car salesman as his recruiting coordinator, and a team of mercenaries who carry themselves like pro athletes and have the proverbial key to Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, or y’know, wherever in the Southland. I like dramatic couplings. Especially when one half gets run out of town on a couple burning mattresses.

Sixty years ago, Kiffin and Co. are trapped somewhere in Flannery O’Connor’s “Wise Blood,” stumbling around the South, peddling faith not being sold before the established storefronts of Florida and Alabama. Now here they are back in SoCal, the head coach without pedigree, under an athletic director that gives Robert Duvall’s character in “Sling Blade” a run for his money on matters of credulity.

Football as gothic grotesque. There’s a ring to it. (What? You wanted me to call it trainwreck?)

On a note that you may appreciate: As a reporter, I should be cynical and hope Kiffin bumbles this unearned opportunity to lead the Men of Troy. But I’m not sure what that would profit me, college football, or even Nebraska, which, I’m sure, prefers to measure itself against a strong USC vs. a weak one. I foretold the Trojans’ struggles in 2009, and won’t be surprised if a trend begins; if you think you can simply keep turning over talent for 25 straight years, only two teams have since 1970 - Nebraska and Florida State - and even they went ashes to ashes.

But here’s to a wild run with guy just a little older than me. His suits don’t fit and you get the sense that happiness, to him, is a day on a grass field in a long-sleeve t-shirt. I think we can relate.

*Got a couple emails from readers who attended the Outland Trophy dinner, and weren’t too thrilled with the post-banquet autograph session, where a 30-minute time limit meant some in the back of the line - including kids - didn’t get their gear in front of Suh, Phillip Dillard and Matt O’Hanlon, although O’Hanlon stayed behind to sign beyond the deadline. Apparently, the front of the line - as fronts of lines are wont to do - hogged the time nabbing photos and multiple signatures.

Well, anyway, that’s one side of the story, although I heard it from more than one source. If you have another side, post it in the comment section and shoot me an email at sam@ne.statepaper.com.

My rules for stuff like this is simple: Kids first, youngest to 18. And, no, clever parents, that doesn’t include sleeping infants and toddlers with grubby fingers. (Don’t worry, I have one, she just had a bath, so lay off). The kid’s gotta walk up there and wait without doing the pee-pee dance or holding your hand.

After those kids, OK, the infants and the toddlers.

Then, if time remains, conversation with the kids.

The adults get a handshake, a Coke and a smile. If they're really lucky, it's a RC Cola.

See also: The 10 Best and Worst Fan Bases in College Sports.

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Air Raid. Spread. No huddle. Zone read. Fly sweep. Wildcat.

After years of offensive fads in the Big 12, get ready for a defensive one: The Match Read Zone. The name that’s been given to Bo Pelini’s spread-killing defense. A system that’s not easy to get down but - much like a match-up zone defense in basketball - can be hard to crack.

You can be plenty sure league defensive coordinators have been paying attention to Pelini since he arrived in the Big 12. You can also be sure they took notes as Bo dismantled Texas and Colt McCoy with it.

Why does it work? Because it’s zone, masquerading as man, taking away the simplest throws for a quarterback. Because it’s aggressive against bubble and tunnel screens. Because Nebraska has the back seven personnel - and the four-man pass rush - to pull it off.

It’s a perfect storm of sorts that met the two perfectly vulnerable - though normally productive - spread offenses - Texas and Arizona - at the end of the season.

Bo’s the new fad of the Big 12. With two of the offensive gurus - Mike Leach and Mark Mangino - floating away on rafts made of their own egos, the problem to solve for 2010 won’t be how to stop their passing games. But how to crack Bo Vinci Code.

Two-tight end formations - which forces Nebraska to replace corners with linebackers - might be part of the solution. Straight power football might be another. With a full season of tape to view, offensive coordinators will begin to chip away at the few weaknesses the Blackshirts possessed in 2010. Washington, armed with a good quarterback (Jake Locker) and even better playcaller (head coach Steve Sarikisian) will pit its West Coast principles vs. Match Read excellence.

Much like he declared the Huskers back for good after the Holiday Bowl, Pelini has set the bar for his defense, at, oh, only “five times better” than it was this year. Statistically, trust us, it’s basically impossible. So we can presume Pelini is talking experience, expertise and playmaking ability.

Nebraska looks to have the nation’s best secondary in 2010. Credit Pelini and position coach Marvin Sanders for just about all of it, as Prince Amukamara and Eric Hagg were merely raw prospects in spring 2008, and Alfonzo Dennard, Dejon Gomes and P.J. Smith - all projected starters - weren’t yet on campus. Is it on par with the 2003 unit, Pelini’s first college secondary, that featured three future NFL starters in Fabian Washington, Josh Bullocks and Daniel Bullocks, and led the nation in interceptions? Potentially.

The front four loses Ndamukong Suh. He will be sorely missed - and don’t let pundits or even the Brothers Pelini attempt to sweep his departure under the rug. Suh was arguably most valuable on screens, draws, shovel passes and backside running plays. A stat nobody kept track of: How many first downs Suh - and Suh alone - saved by peeling back to make downfield tackles. And you can’t teach his instincts for pass defense and finding the ball. What’s left is pretty good. But Suh made that unit dynamic and versatile.

The warning flags appear to be at linebacker. It was telling that, in the last half of the season, Gomes and Hagg were serving as de facto linebackers on key downs, as opposed to Will Compton and Sean Fisher. Spread passing teams carry light cargo, and allow Nebraska to get away it. But almost half of NU’s opponents in 2010 can and will go heavy. And if Pelini found it necessary to pick up JUCO linebacker LaVonte David, it speaks, potentially, to the health and inexperience of some of the guys behind Compton and Fisher. Eric Martin is a exciting playmaker as a sophomore, but he won’t see the field until he knows the defense.

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Can NU keep its defensive staff intact for one more season? After 2010, all bets are off, because Carl Pelini, Marvin Sanders, John Papuchis and Mike Ekeler could easily be headed for head coach/coordinator roles somewhere. Can Bo Pelini convince them to see through one more potentially championship-winning season? We’ll know for sure in the next two weeks.

How does Bo adjust to life without Suh? No. 93 can’t be replaced, so that option is out. But the remaining pieces on the defensive line - Jared Crick is chief among them - are pretty solid. Of course NU retains a base four-man look, with Crick at his spot, Terrence Moore plugging the nose, and Pierre Allen and Cameron Meredith crashing on the ends.

Do Sean Fisher and Will Compton keep developing? We have no reason to think they won’t - but, with at least five offenses on the 2010 schedule requiring a nickel-or-base defense - Washington, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Kansas State fit that bill - NU needs two - not just one - of Mike Ekeler’s guys to perform at the level Phillip Dillard reached in 2009. And it doesn’t appear JUCO linebacker LaVonte David will hit the scene until fall.

How do Mathew May and Matt Holt fit back into the defense? Both injured in 2009 - May played mostly on special teams, Holt didn’t play while recovering from a torn ACL - these two walk-on breakout players of 2008 will have to fight for time in what’s become one of the nation’s defenses. They’ll get a look, because they have the size - and speed - to stay on the field in a dime set as a hybrid linebacker/safety.

What defensive wrinkles get unfurled in 2010? One option just to chew on: A three-man line that kicks Crick out to a hybrid tackle/end, uses a heftier Meredith at the other end, and sticks Moore - or maybe true freshman Jay Guy at that true nose tackle spot. We suspect Bo and Carl get creative with the players on hand.

Does Eric Hagg stay at nickel, or rotate back to free safety? And, if the latter, does Rickey Thenarse shift down into Hagg’s role? Thenarse is a wild card best used 10-15 times per game then he left on the field for 60 minutes. The rest of the secondary - Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard at the corners, Dejon Gomes at slot corner, P.J. Smith at strong safety, Austin Cassidy, Lance Thorell and Anthony West as priority backups - seems pretty set. Our take: Keep Hagg where he is, pick your spots with Thenarse, and give Cassidy a long look at Matt O’Hanlon’s starting job.

Who is this year’s Dejon Gomes? Thad Randle? Alonzo Whaley? Courtney Osborne? Smith? Cassidy? Andrew Green? Jason Ankrah? That’s what’s fun about prognosticating, isn’t it?

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The defining image of Nebraska's 2009 defense, if you want to get right down to it, isn't brute, spectacular play of Ndamukong Suh.

He's the best player in college football, deserving of the Heisman. But his interception for a touchdown in last year's Colorado game – and subsequent violent celebration – was the image of 2008. Suh elevated his game in 2009, but that alone didn't make NU's defense one of the most potent in the nation.

Rather, I think of the Oklahoma game. A crucial fourth down as the Cornhuskers clung to a 10-3 lead. OU quarterback Landry Jones tried to sneak a quick out pass to Ryan Broyles, but Broyles was swamped with Nebraska defenders. So Jones searched the middle of the field.

Jared Crick tipped his subsequent pass. Phillip Dillard grabbed it for NU's fourth interception of the game. And then Dillard, as he arrived on the sidelines, received a massive bear hug from Carl Pelini.

That hug, nine months ago, would have seemed inconceivable.

Dillard was overweight heading into 2009 spring camp, his diet consisting in part, he admitted later, of rocky road ice cream. And Dillard was mad about his non-existent playing time in the Gator Bowl. That first day of spring ball, he was fourth in the middle linebacker line. Fourth.

I won't lie: It seemed like a stunt. And it seemed like a stunt in fall camp, when Dillard, having lost the necessary weight, languished on the depth chart. Even more so when he didn't play in the season's first two games despite reports of significant progress.

Then, suddenly, Dillard was switched to weakside linebacker for the Virginia Tech game. Early in the Missouri game, Pelini inserted him as the dime linebacker in a 27-12 win. After Will Compton blew an early assignment in the Texas Tech game, Dillard spelled him again, and never relinquished the job again.

And so that night vs. Oklahoma – Dillard's home state team. The program his half-brother he attends. The program Dillard himself spurned. Early in the game, a sack. Another excellent play on a screen pass. Finally – the interception. And the bear hug.

The 10-3 win is better remembered for Matt O'Hanlon's three-interception redemption. But Dillard, the ultimate lost cause, was located by Pelini, and embraced. And Dillard hugged him back. A pigskin prodigal son story, if there ever was one.

That was Nebraska's defense in 2009. A leap in skill, conditioning, speed, smarts – and faith. Bo and Carl Pelini trusted an oft-burned secondary to change its ways; after a massive meltdown vs. Virginia Tech, it did just that. They asked for Barry Turner to get bigger and transform his game into that of a burly, physical end, and he did it. They asked Jared Crick to fill Ty Steinkuhler's shoes, and Crick busted the seams. They asked cornerback Dejon Gomes to learn on the fly and save Nebraska's hide with timely plays in several games, and the junior-college transfer did the trick.

Talent + teaching = development. The Brothers Pelini worked that formula like a M.I.T professor.

Their summary statement was a resounding performance in the Big 12 title game, well beyond any effort that I could have imagined. NU's defense was jaw-droppingly excellent. Its secondary was in lockdown mode. Dillard pursued and tackled with energy. And Suh, well, you saw the performance. Amazing.

Here's the highlights – and the few lowlights – of the 2009 season defense.

Player of the Year: Ndamukong Suh. He's the defensive player of the decade at Nebraska. Best defender ever? Let the debate begin. And he hasn't reached his ceiling as a player yet. Wait until Suh learns some NFL tricks – especially a more effective rip move.

Most Improved: Phillip Dillard. Transformed himself from a Cosgrove casualty into a guy who will get a strong look from the NFL. Always played with heart, passion and toughness; in 2009, Dillard played faster and smarter, too.

Newcomer of the Year: Dejon Gomes. Other than Suh, he's my favorite player on the defense. Doesn't say much. Doesn't strut or draw penalties. Just covers his tail off. He really knows how to strip the ball, too – his interception in the Texas game was as much a fumble recovery as it was a pick.

Freshman of the Year: Cameron Meredith. Compton probably played more, but, with Meredith, there was no dropoff when he subbed for Barry Turner at defensive end. Size, speed, and a little nasty. Get used to his name and face. In two years..

Best Game: Texas. In a hostile atmosphere, NU did everything but send UT quarterback Colt McCoy back to high school. Nine sacks, three picks, too many hurries to count. It was a defensive coordinator's dream.

Worst Game: Texas Tech. The Brothers Pelini gambled early on some blitzes, and got burned by quarterback Steven Sheffield. Mike Leach had Nebraska off balance all day. If you need any evidence of Leach's game-planning prowess, here you go.

Best Single Performance: Ndamukong Suh, Texas. Suh's play at Missouri and O'Hanlon's work vs. Oklahoma are the runners up. But nothing beats Suh in Dallas. Fathers will tell their kids about it one day.

Biggest Plus in 2010: Secondary. The best in the nation – yes, even with new safeties. Expect nickel corner Eric Hagg to move O'Hanlon's spot, while P.J. Smith transitions to Larry Asante's role more smoothly than you might imagine.

Biggest Question Mark: Defensive Line Depth. Meredith and Pierre Allen need backups to emerge at the end spots. Carl Pelini must decide if Terrence Moore can handle the nose, or Baker Steinkuhler, who's a little too lanky for the position, mans it instead.

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See also: Big 12 Postseason Awards, 10 Unforgettable NU-UT Moments, Big 12 Rankings, Bowl Watch, Onward to DFW, Huskers Giving Back and A Dangerous Qwest

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If Nebraska's football team had any intent of scaling back its practices this week, head coach Bo Pelini wasn't tipping his hand to that effect Monday.

“We’re not going to lighten much up,” Pelini said. “We know how to take care of their legs, but we need to get our work done this time of year.”

NU did cut its workout time in the Hawks Center by 20 minutes Monday, practicing in half-pads. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini hinted after the Cornhuskers' 31-17 win over Kansas that the Blackshirts were leg-weary after a grueling month of football.

His brother brushed off that notion Monday.

“Everybody is tired this time of year,” Bo Pelini said. “It’s something you have to deal with. It’s something you have to overcome. It’s more mental than it is physical. Our guys are in good shape. They are ready to go.”

Indeed, this may not be the week for Nebraska to gear down. The Big 12 North championship is on the line, as is a date with Texas in the Big 12 title game. Kansas State, NU's foe, relies on the run more than any team in the league, and has running back Daniel Thomas, who leads the Big 12 with 1,166 yards rushing.

“They play smashmouth football,” NU safety Larry Asante said. “And (Thomas) is a real good tailback. They run the ball. They're going to come in here to run physical.”

That suits Asante, who's third on the team in tackles with 54 and whose forte is run support, just fine.

“I'm in the box in this game,” he said. “I can't wait. I feel like this is my strength.”

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It was, as they'd say in the basement of some mafia den, with stacks of money and stolen cigarettes all over the room, a beautiful thing.

The Blackshirts, that is. The pass rush. The aggressive coverage. The hitting. The tackling. The blitzes who seemed to know just where OU quarterback Landry Jones would look first – and where the Sooners' protection would not be. A beautiful, brutal thing to behold. A 10-3 win that goes above the fireplace. How many times have you watched the game by the time you read this? Be honest. You'll savor it more, too.

Feels good, doesn't it? After nearly ten years of stump speeches about pressing forward, never surrendering, mediocrity, offense, quarterbacks, recruiting and all the things that go with the new wave of college football, wasn't it nice to witness four hours of the Blackshirts kicking the rump of an opposing quarterback all over the field? Are you noticing the changes in college football this year? The spread ain't dead, but it's not taking seconds at the buffet line anymore. Teams are figuring it out.

Bo Pelini especially. He played the Sooners like a Stradivarius, didn't he?

“It's ain't about me,” he said.

He's modest. And wrong. Bo was hired for this moment, for he and his brother Carl to stand toe-to-toe with Oklahoma's defensive braintrust, Bob Stoops and Brent Venables, and win the chess match. And he won it. You cannot deny that. Bob and Brent are about pressure. Bo is about a four-man pass rush, and a dizzying, frustrating coverage strategy that put his guys in the right positions and quarterback on a bus to confusion.

He will call a blitz – and he did Saturday night, often at the right times – but he wants turnovers even more. And blitzes don't always produce turnovers. You've got to devise other ways to get them.

And Bo was like a shark in the water against the Sooners. Jones was the chum.

Jones - that poor kid, starting just a handful of games, asked to throw nearly 60 mind-boggling passes against a solid four-man pass rush and a seven-man coverage scheme?

Sam Bradford might have been up to the task. Jones wasn't. How could he have been?

Nebraska coaxed OU to reveal just about every route they've got stored in their schooner – especially all the short stuff that NU excels at taking away – and then the Huskers delivered on the clutch downs. You may think Jones simply overthrew a couple passes – he wasn't that accurate – but he was baited into bad throws, forced to play Peyton Manning, to stick the ball into a tiny four-yard window. Constantly, he thought the Huskers were offering the middle of the field – and they weren't. NU is almost always “middle closed.” Jones didn't see it. Why?

Pelini. He had Jones and Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson snookered all night. Spooked, too. The Sooners, never trailing by more than seven, played as if in a shootout. They abandoned the run. Stopped thinking about the field position battle. Starting taking big shots down the middle of the field – again, hasn't been open for business all year – and duly paid for it with three picks from Matt O'Hanlon.

“We kind of disguised our coverages so he didn't really get a feel for who was in a run fit, or what of coverages we were running,” strong safety Larry Asante said. “It just kind of threw them off a little bit, which cause them to throw some ill-advised passes."

And remember – Jones essentially takes his marching orders from the sideline 15-20 seconds before the play. When NU is supposedly showing its hand to the offense, and OU is adjusting accordingly.

Oklahoma racked up yards, but schemed sloppy. Three times, Wilson put his kicker, Tress Way – who had kicked all of one field goal all year - on the sharp hook hash. No wonder he missed two of three. He constantly sent Sooner running backs wide even though Nebraska was successfully spiking its cornerbacks and O'Hanlon was filling run support like a beast. NU's scared to death of deep fade routes along the sideline, but OU rarely took the chance. Nebraska's fairly maniacal about the deep middle, and the Sooners kept testing it.

If it sounds like a broken record, well, look: It's coaching. You saw a master class of it Saturday night. Nebraska doesn't have Oklahoma's athletes. And Jones, despite his numbers, is a better quarterback than either Zac Lee or Cody Green right now. Through scheme, effort, guts and a terrific front four, NU simply checkmated the Sooners.

Nebraska's offense? I'm not going to put lipstick on the pig here. It's not real pretty. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson wisely kept it vanilla once NU grabbed a 7-0 lead. Green, apparently, isn't the answer. Watson certainly wasn't interested in finding out tonight.

Which, for this game, is OK. Roy Helu surprisingly returned to the player we saw nearly two months ago at Virginia Tech. The offensive line actually got some push on a few power plays. Aside from a mind-numbing fumble on an option play, NU protected the ball. For his part, Lee never threw a dumb pass, never fumbled and gained a yard or two on the option. He still looks about as comfortable as a candyman in the dentist's chair.

“We just wanted to keep pounding it and running the football,” Pelini said. “We were going to be fairly conservative, try and keep them from blitzing and some of the things that they did. We stuck with it. We were able to get the lead, which was huge. It allowed us to play to our defense.”

Now Bo's got it. The offense is NU's defense. The defense is NU's offense. The former should serve the latter so the latter can set the table for the former.

What a night for the program. The Memorial Stadium atmosphere was electric. Like old times. Fans tailgated and milled around for hours before the game. The Heisman Trophy winners were gracious and smiling at the Husker Nation Pavillion. Barry Switzer got off a bus and 100 Husker fans nearly lost their heads. A Sasquatch – with a giant red N painted on its belly - was seen on the premises. NU and OU fans talked and mingled, old friends. There was a sense of investment from the fans Saturday night – and not a sense of entitlement. Of course, the Huskers' defense gave them plenty to cheer about.

It all had a big-game feel. It was a big-game crowd. And it's been too damn long since there was a big home win to go along with the vibe.

Pelini delivered it. He did what Bill Callahan never could – he beat Oklahoma. A shame we won't see the Sooners for another years in these parts. Can we savor it that long?

You'd better believe it.

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When Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin last year darted around the end of Nebraska's front four on a fourth-and-short play, then accelerated past all of the Cornhusker defenders for a 47-yard touchdown run, a low murmur went up in the Memorial Stadium press box. And at least some of that murmur was formed by the words “Vince Young.” That No. 10 never took a snap in Lincoln. But Griffin, wearing the same number, seemed to be an heir apparent.

That's a threat NU doesn't have to worry about in 2009. Griffin underwent season-ending knee surgery after tearing ligaments in a blowout win over Northwestern State. With the quarterback's injury likely went the Bears' bowl hopes; since starting Big 12 play, they haven't been particularly competitive, especially in the running game where Baylor, now 3-4, has gained just 138 yards on 57 carries in three games.

BU coach Art Briles isn't exactly holding his breath on establishing a running game against Nebraska's front four, which he called the best in the Big 12.

“It's important,” Briles said. “It's more important to make first downs and put points on the board. We'll have to take what they give us and be productive with it. They're good up front, without a doubt. Doesn't mean we can't run the ball. Just means we're going to have to be precise in our execution and intelligent in our schemes.”

So an offense that once posed more of a balanced threat to Nebraska's Blackshirts is now, primarily, a passing attack led by strong-armed true freshman Nick Florence, who's filling in for Blake Szymanski, still nursing a shoulder injury from the same game that sent Griffin to the shelf.

One-dimensional as it may be, it still has Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini plenty concerned.

Why? One word.

“Speed,” Pelini said. “Big speed. They've got speed all over the place. They've got receivers who can fly, running backs who can fly.”

Because of that, Pelini said, Baylor will try to spread out NU's defense and “take shots” downfield five or six times a game. One-on-one. Man-on-man. And the Bears will mix and match their skill players in various formations and positions to create mismatches.

BU's most dangerous receiver, sophomore Kendall Wright, will occasionally line up in the backfield, motion to a wide receiver position, and try to match up on linebackers – presuming they're still in the game. Baylor's tight ends are faster than most, Pelini said, so Briles, who also serves as offensive coordinator, will try to test defenses that way. Running backs Jay Finley and Jarred Salubi are home-run hitters who need only a crease to break a big play.

It's a “risk/reward” strategy, Pelini said, that keeps a defense on its toes – even if the Bears aren't scoring many points.

“Probably more than any team we face this year, they're willing to take those deep shots downfield,” Pelini said. “So you always have to be accountable for that...they complete 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 of them per game and they're always big plays for them. They've done a nice job recruiting offensive speed.”

Baylor tries to switch its “big” and “little” personnel right before the snap, Pelini said, to catch an opposing defense in base or nickel defenses when they're prefer to switch to dime or dollar coverages. Nebraska tries to match up coverage more than most Big 12 teams – dime/nickel backs Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg never stray too far from Pelini's side – so it needs to match BU's personnel.

NU struggled with it in last year's 32-20 win, especially in the first half, when officials weren't giving Carl and Bo Pelini enough time to counter Baylor's formation. Carl Pelini said the issue was addressed in the offseason, and the Big 12 has designed the rules to give the Huskers time to adjust before the ball is put in play.

“That's what the rule states,” said Pelini, wary anyway. “How each group of officials interprets it, it's going to be a little bit different. So we just have to get handle on that early in the game, and then adapt to it. We'll be fine.”

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It stung. Then it swelled. Then it went stiff.

Yeah, Austen Arnaud's throwing hand was in a bad spot during Iowa State's 24-10 win over Baylor last week. The junior quarterback thwacked his hand on the helmet of a Bear defensive lineman on the fourth play of the game. He played through the second quarter.

“Then the cold got to it,” Arnaud said. “And it started to stiffen up. It got to the point where I couldn't get a grip on the ball.”

The inconsistent-yet-athletic straw that stirs the Cyclones' drink should be fine for Saturday's 11:30 a.m. game with Nebraska, in part because he sat out the fourth quarter with a rare condition, at least in Ames: Iowa State was actually comfortably ahead. Alexander Robinson, the Big 12's leading rusher who fights a chronic groin injury every game, took a seat, too.

The two of them – along with dynamic backup quarterback Jerome Tiller – help power an ISU running attack that averages 213 yards per game – and only has one senior on the offensive line. Robinson - an undersized (5-9, 187) slasher whose cutback style fits Iowa State's new zone blocking scheme to a T - has 737 yards. Arnaud has rushed for 434, almost three times the amount of any other quarterback in the Big 12.

“You've got to stop the run to beat these guys,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “They're very committed to it. They're very patient with it.”

The Cyclones – a surprising 4-3 when most observers expected three wins for the whole season – balance that spread rushing offense with a play action passing game that's equally potent, Pelini said.

“You've got to shift from that run-stop mentality on the fly,” Pelini said.

Part of what's tricky, Pelini said, about ISU no-huddle approach is how it's using Arnaud in a variety of run packages. He'll run power plays through the middle, or designed sweeps toward the sidelines. Sometimes Iowa State replaces its wide receivers with tight ends for a power spread formation. Other times, the Cyclones will empty the backfield and throw on rhythm.

Robinson compliments that approach by being one tough cookie. He's battled through the groin injury much of the season, still enjoying a 152-yard game vs. Kansas and 100 yards vs. Iowa's stingy run defense. It was Robinson who accounted for ISU's only big play of NU's 35-7 win in Ames last season: A 67-yard touchdown run right through the heart of the Husker defense. His relative absence in a 24-23 loss to Kansas State – Robinson carried just four times, but gained 47 yards – was one of the reasons the Cyclones lost.

“He's been playing with a bad wheel for awhile now and he's still gaining yards for us,” Arnaud said.

Robinson said he evaluates his pain level pretty much every day. ISU coach Paul Rhoads joked that the staff has to hide Robinson's helmet to keep him from re-entering games.

“I'm just being smart about it,” Robinson said. “And they're helping me be smart about it. Sometimes I feel it, sometimes I don't.”

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Ndamukong Suh didn't smile much during his time with the media during Tuesday's press conference. During the week after a loss, Nebraska's football team tends to shift into shoulder chip mode.

But the do-everything defensive tackle busted out a grin when asked about one of his favorite subjects: sophomore linemate Jared Crick, who had a sack and three more quarterback hurries in the 31-10 setback to Texas Tech.

“Jared is a helluva player,” Suh said. “I'm excited to see how much more he can grow. He's just a young pup. He's got a tremendous amount of potential.”

And that talent is coming into view, a train driving closer to the station. Look at the last four games, Suh said, and Crick's improved with each one. Last Saturday, he frequently beat his offensive blocker, including Tech guard Brandon Carter, a preseason All-Big 12 candidate. The Red Raiders were not able to double-team Suh nearly as much because Crick – and defensive ends Barry Turner and Pierre Allen – were winning their one-on-one matchups.

It reminded Suh of the end of last year, when Ty Steinkuhler and Suh formed a formidable pass-rushing duo during a four-game winning streak. Like Stein – and Suh - Crick channels his fire inward.

“He's kind of a silent killer,” Suh said. “He celebrates but he's not too over-excited. He keeps himself in perspective.”

An example: Crick said Tuesday NU probably had its best pass-rushing game of the season – we constantly had pressure all day,” he said – but Tech's ability to run the ball in the fourth quarter, and near the goal-line, gnawed at him.

“Some of it we weren't expecting,” Crick said. “And down by the goal line, they beat us up front. Can't really say much more about that.”

A handful of plays aside, Crick said, the front four's confidence is higher than ever, especially against the pass. Don't want the blitz. Don't need it.

“We know we have the talent level to get to the passer without any blitz,” Crick said.

Now, Suh said, throw in a turnover. NU's All-American candidate would have gladly handed back all of Nebraska's five sacks on Tech quarterback Steven Sheffield for just one of them.

“We got after the quarterback pretty well, but we were just tackling him,” Suh said. “We can obviously strip the ball, get some turnovers. A turnover in that game would have been huge. It would have sparked us...it allows things to snowball in a good way.”

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Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini called senior Philip Dillard’s sudden move from MIKE to WILL linebacker on Tuesday “just creating competition.”

“Fresh legs, healthy guy, give him a shot,” Pelini said after Wednesday’s nearly three-hour workout inside Memorial Stadium. “See what he can do.”

Considering that Dillard was working with the first-team base defense Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for Saturday’s game at Virginia Tech – and considering teammates were openly, vocally supportive of the move - it seemed like more than that.

“He was very excited,” Pelini said of Dillard. “He was up here early and spent all day going over the gameplan, going over the schemes and adjustments… it’ll take all the calls off his plate and just let him kind of play football. MIKE and WILL are so similar. It’s nothing to make that move.”

The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder hasn’t played in a game since last October, when he hurt his ankle vs. Baylor. Dillard was healthy for the Gator Bowl, but didn’t play. He arrived at spring camp 15 pounds overweight, and landed at the bottom of the depth chart.

Though he lost that weight over the summer, and seemed in a battle for the starting MIKE job midway through fall camp, Dillard fell to third behind Will Compton and Colton Koehler. He saw no game action vs. Florida Atlantic or Arkansas State.

“We have a depth chart,” Pelini said. “And we stick to it.”

But Dillard handled not playing as well as could be expected.

“He’s busted his tail at practice every day and has earned the opportunity,” Pelini said. “His leadership has been evident to our defense from the start of fall camp. That has never been an issue. He’s a great kid. He’s a great leader.”

Pelini said Dillard, junior Blake Lawrence and sophomore Mathew May, who won the starting job in fall camp, should play vs. the Hokies. May’s been battling a back injury. Lawrence tweaked his ankle.

Meanwhile, backup defensive tackle Terrence Moore continues to fight through a painful turf toe injury.

“It’s not going to get worse,” Pelini said. “He’s just got to push through the pain. As much as he can handle.”

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Not every game is a good bowl game.

The Big 12 seems ready to ink a deal to play in the 2010 Yankee Bowl - that's in the Bronx, Yankee Stadium - against a Big East opponent.

What stands out about a potental Yankee Bowl berth? Let us count the attributes:

*Played in frigid weather
*With implanted sod in the infield
*Against an irrelevant conference
*That probably would invite Rutgers, Cuse and UConn anyway
*In a stadium not outfitted for football
*With insanely expensive seats
*In one of the world's most expensive cities.
*That doesn't like college football

Oh well. Carl Pelini could take the Huskers a tour of his old stomping grounds at Columbia. And there's usually a show of "Cats" playing, isn't there?

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