Players of the game and grades after Nebraska's win over Baylor:

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

OFFENSE: Cody Green. He provided exactly the kind of spark you'd hoped he would. He was poised in the pocket. He didn't waste a lot of time at the line. He scrambled and ran with authority and power. And he was called upon to throw a beauty of a deep ball, he did so with accuracy and perfect placement. The second half wasn't so pretty - but, really, who else deserves it?

DEFENSE: Jared Crick. It was the kind of performance that reminded me of Danny Noonan and John Parrella, a display of power, tenacity, toughness and brute force. Ndamukong Suh made his usual array of plays all over the field; he's still one of a kind. But, on this day, Crick was that tough-nosed local boy that Nebraska used to ride to conference and national championships. Crick's a little nasty, too. We love it.

GRADES

QUARTERBACK: C Cody Green made some solid plays early in the game, and his two scrambles on third down help set up Alex Henery's 45-yard field goal. He also threw a beautiful pass to Niles Paul to set up a touchdown. But his second-half play? Not real pretty. Green has to watch those throws to the sidelines and try not to go airborne on, well, just about any running play, ever. It's a start. Not a perfect one. But a start.

RUNNING BACK: B Given the Huskers' injuries, this bunch did pretty well with the holes they were given. Traye Robinson is a valid option at running back. Roy Helu is hurt. Lester Ward did OK in limited action, but runs too high. Austin Jones didn't have a prayer.

WIDE RECEIVER: C A couple untimely drops were offset by two key catches by Niles Paul, who manned up and made some nice grabs. Cody Green missed a few receivers on top of everything else. The perimeter blocking, especially from Khiry Cooper, could have been better.

TIGHT ENDS/OFFENSIVE LINE: D The shoddy blocking in the second half is unacceptable. When Nebraska needs two yards – the line needs to be able produce those two yards against a team like Baylor. The Huskers were stymied far too often in short yardage situations. Also a costly holding and false penalty when they weren't needed.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A+ Seven sacks warrants a perfect grade in our book. Crick was spectacular. Baylor never got anything on the ground, either. This unit is scary good right now.

LINEBACKERS: A Phillip Dillard and Sean Fisher snuffed out Baylor's junk plays all afternoon, and got after the quarterback when it matter. Nice job by both against the zone read. Fisher, who was running on and off the field all day, adjusted quite well.

SECONDARY: B The Bears busted a couple big throws in the second half, but NU, for the most part, covered well. The Huskers could be a little more aggressive on the short routes, and the safeties could improve on laying out the receiver when there's underneath coverage. Terrific interception by Prince Amukamara; Dejon Gomes' pick was just a bad pass.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A A defensive touchdown, a ton of touchbacks and Alex Henery's key tackle on a wild Baylor punt return – this unit helped save the Huskers bacon.

GAME MANAGEMENT AND PLAYCALLING: B Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson got a little cute in the second half, but, for the most part, he called a tough-minded, simplified game that seemed to suit the Huskers' strengths. His presence on the sideline was helpful, even if it didn't always seem like it with NU's play. On defense, Bo and Carl Pelini kept the gameplan beautifully simple, and let the front four do what it does. No blitz calls on the day? Nice job, gentlemen.

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