The 11-hour drive to Waco goes through Dallas. The road to Dallas, home of the Big 12 Championship game (Arlington if you prefer, at the Cowboys Stadium) goes first through Waco. And then OU, Lawrence, Kansas State and Boulder. One foot in front of the other.

The talk this week has been of quarterbacks and big offensive changes. As it should be. But the game itself, to quote Al Davis (who doesn't know much about the mantra lately) boils down to this: Just win, baby.

The keys.

Play to win, not to dominate: Saturday isn't about style points. It's about putting one foot in front of the other, grinding out a win against a lesser team, and doing it with as little fuss as possible. It's about trusting the defense and taking field goals if you're range instead of taking unnecessary chances toward the goal line. On kickoff and punt coverage, NU has to be safe before it's sorry. It doesn't mean NU should play not to lose. Rather, it should trust its advantages along the offensive and defensive lines and ride its trench soldiers to a victory. Saturday is not about the quarterback. We think it'll be Cody Green, as it should be, but he just has to get Nebraska's motor running. He doesn't have to shoot for the moon.

Match up and move it: Baylor's one real chance on offense is to attack Nebraska's secondary with long passes to its swift receivers. Given busts in the Virginia Tech and Iowa State game – it's a risk worth taking. NU's defensive backs need to locate BU's biggest threats before the snap, lock up and cover their tails off. The interceptions will be there for the taking; that's for sure.

Neutralize the earth-movers: For Baylor to have any chance of running the ball – which would help set up those long passes head coach Art Briles like so much – it has to account for Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick. Quick hitting plays used by Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic (remember those days?) work better than long developing zone read plays. As for Nebraska – center Jacob Hickman and guard Ricky Henry and Keith Williams will have the task of trying to unseat giant Phil Taylor (6-foot-4, 355 pounds) from his position. Taylor isn't as good as Terrence Cody – yet. But he could be a real impediment to any power game Nebraska would like to establish.

Traye and Jay: Two very key players in the game will be NU true freshman Dontrayevous Robinson and Baylor's Jay Finley, who should be recovered from an early-season injury. Robinson will likely get the bulk of the carries if Roy Helu is too hurt to contribute; after last week, we won't be surprised if Nebraska is a little more cautious with Helu. Finley, meanwhile, leads the Big 12 in yards per carry. Granted, he did that while having quarterback Robert Griffin as a terrific decoy, but the point still stands – he can break a long one or two.

Bo vs. Briles: Excellent match-up here, as Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini – who also calls the Huskers' defenses – will pit himself against Briles, one of the most innovative, tricky playcallers in the Big 12. Briles likes to sneak wide receivers and running backs onto the field at the last second, he freely calls trick plays, and he likes misdirection and playaction. Pelini will have to match those tactics with a smart game plan that keeps his players disciplined and their assignments based on athleticism instead of cuteness.

See also: Guess The Score NU-BU!

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