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LINCOLN — A five-game overview of Nebraska's offensive identity is so convoluted that any attempt to label the unit based on preferred tendencies is somewhat pointless.

The Huskers aren't just tweaking their attack plan every week, they're overhauling it.

Plays that seem like indicators of an offensive philosophy in one game are nonexistent as soon as the opponent changes. Players who show glimpses of developing into reliable contributors one week are often buried deep within the stat sheet their next time out.

What defines this NU offense? Through five games, it seems like nothing does. But that's the way offensive coordinator Shawn Watson likes it.

Watson wants his unit to execute every aspect of its playbook. That way, when defenses craft their scheme around one concept, Nebraska can pinpoint the exposed weaknesses and capitalize.

The Huskers' objective revolves around this overused expression: They take what the defense gives them. But it's as simple as that, Watson says.

“You can sit there and bounce your head against the wall and run up against an unblocked player if you want,” Watson said. “I don't think that's good football. You do what it takes to win football games.”

Thus, the varying methods of ball movement for NU through five games.

Take the Arkansas State game. The Red Wolves loaded the line of scrimmage, so quarterback Zac Lee took advantage of openings down the field, passing the football 35 times for 340 yards and four touchdowns.

A week later, Virginia Tech's normally stout defense was apparently susceptible to the run, so I-back Roy Helu carried the ball 28 times and gained 169 yards.

Missouri made every attempt to fill running lanes with its defenders last week, creating obvious perimeter mismatches in favor of the NU skill players. So Lee threw all but three of his 33 passes toward the sideline.

So what's in store this week, when Nebraska faces a well-schooled Texas Tech defense that doesn't take many risks? You can bet the offensive strategy will change drastically again.

But that doesn't bother the team's first-year starting quarterback.

“That's just how our offense is,” Lee said. “That's how we've been brought up in the offense as quarterbacks ... to just be able to adapt and take advantage of what's given.”

Lee liked the game plan for Thursday's matchup with Missouri. Actually, he said, if the players had executed properly, it would have worked.

Before Helu's 41-yard run late in the game, Nebraska had averaged just 2.1 yards on 24 first-down plays. Sixteen of those plays were runs that netted an average of 2.5 yards.

As a result, the Huskers found themselves in third-and-long situations far too often. They never converted when they needed 9 yards or more. Conversely, when it was third-and-8 or shorter, Nebraska went 8 for 8.

“No matter what plays they call, we've got to execute them,” Lee said. “That's what it boils down to, really.”

And since it doesn't appear that the Huskers will have a stable of plays to rely on every time out, they have to prepare it all. You never know what a defense might show.

In a broad sense, that approach seems dangerously reactive in nature. The Huskers are waiting and observing, prodding defenses for holes.

But Lee said he and his teammates on offense are confident they can eventually impose their will on anyone.

“I think that's how we feel,” Lee said. “As an offense, we're good at a lot of things.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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