Let's begin with this: It's a shame Oklahoma only rolls into Lincoln every four years. Just the same as Baylor, and half as often as Iowa State. Almost makes you want to stomp on one of those shiny, metal-button Sooner coats Barry Switzer used to wear on the sidelines. Almost.

You know what I'd rather do? I'd rather press Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini – two good friends back Youngstown way – to push for real change in the Big 12 Conference's scheduling practice. Or at least lobby for an exception.

Clearly the athletic directors, Joe Castiglione and Tom Osborne, have gone out of their way to honor Husker and Sooner greats over the last two years. At the very least, they would back their coaches publicly. And the Big 12 isn't thrilled with how league teams have taken that extra non-conference game bestowed upon them by the NCAA a few years ago and chosen to schedule, for the most part, various Taco Bells, shoe stores, and rest homes as opponents. Texas is trying to get a two-game deal with a Grandy's location in Denton.

The league needs - and its fans deserve - a nine-game conference slate complete with permanent division partners. Nebraska and Oklahoma would be the first natural fit.

Unfair, you say, that NU would draw OU and Missouri would, say, draw Baylor? Well, Florida and LSU drew each other in the SEC. Hasn't stopped those schools from winning five of the last 13 national titles, has it? Tennessee and Alabama seemed to have survived, too.

The Huskers would only benefit from playing another elite school every year. As it is, Nebraska doesn't play those teams nearly enough, and not at all in the Big 12 North. Instead of looking at the Sooners as a potential loss, flip the script and realize games against great teams, win or lose, are the best possible barometer of your team's progress.

The ball's in Bo and Bob's respective courts. If they push for change, there's at least a chance of it happening. Do you really think the Big 12 athletic directors would drag their feet so much at the prospect of losing a freebie home game in which the price tag for slaughtered lambs goes up every year, when they'd get, every other year, a fifth home conference game, no strings attached?

Just some food for thought.

Y'all want some keys?

Field position: Nebraska has to win this category. Cody Green can orchestrate 55-yard touchdown drives much easier than it can 85-yard drives. The rule of thumb: Start with good enough position that one 20-plus play puts you on the opponent's side of the field, and one 30-plus play leaves you three simple downs from an Alex Henery field goal. In the 2006 Big 12 Championship game, NU did just that, but didn't have a kicker of Henery's length and skill. Nebraska also fell behind 14-0 and was forever in catch-up mode, which leads us to...

Haymakers: Oklahoma wants to knock opponents out with its no-huddle offense and pressure defense. When the Sooners can't do that, they come down off the high of that initial surge and struggle to make plays. Nebraska must withstand the first quarter barrage and trail by fewer than ten points. A four-quarter game favors the Huskers. But first, they've got to get there.

O-Line litmus test: NU and OU's defensive lines are the proven commodity. Their respective offensive lines, on the other hand, have folded like an elaborate Trapper Keeper in some games. Whichever unit plays smart, limits sacks and tackles for loss and doesn't accumulate dumb penalties goes a long way to determining the game's winner. If ever Marcel and D.J. Jones had a B+ performance in them, Saturday night, vs. Jeremy Beal and Auston English, is the time to bring it out. Line play is so much about good coaching and sheer toughness. Time to see what Barney Cotton's got to give.

Little things that kill: Oklahoma wants to establish a short, screen-based passing game that chews clock and stresses Nebraska's back seven. Not only does it get Landry Jones in a rhythm, it keeps him from getting thrown to the FieldTurf. The Huskers will counter with one of nation's best short passing defenses. Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara, Alfonzo Dennard, Dejon Gomes and Eric Hagg are terrific inside of ten yards, and have been all year. The little success Missouri, Baylor and Texas Tech had in the throwing game were beyond 15 yards or working against linebackers. The Cornhuskers will not give Jones his short passes. That means OU must work over the top, and hope its line holds NU's front four long enough to complete the throws.

Gambles not worth the risk: If there's a distinct difference between coaching staffs, don't expect head coach Bo Pelini to point it out. But here it is: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will take bigger risks than Bo to grab momentum. Sometimes those gambles – trick plays, surprise onside kicks, fourth-down calls – pay off handsomely. Sometimes they backfire. We also know this: Stoops is not a premier gameday coach. He builds a program as well anyone, but he's put his team in tough spots before, his defense in even tougher spots, and doesn't always have the time or the talent to dig out of them.

We'll say what others won't: Pelini and Co. can win the coaching battle on Saturday. It might only be worth a field goal – but that could be an important damn field goal.

See also: 10 Key Players and Commentary: A Big Measuring Stick for Bo and Five Keys: Oklahoma and OU scouting report and video breakdown.

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