Zac Lee

Age: 22

Class: Junior

Height, weight: 6-2, 215

Hometown: San Francisco

2009 stats

Passing: 98-of-160 (61.2 percent), 1,213 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rushing: 37 rushes for 68 yards and no touchdowns.

Strengths

Lee still has a strong arm, though he's not shown it lately, and good mobility. He also has the experience and moxie to rebound from a bad situation. He knows the NU offense and has worked with the veteran offensive players since 2007.

Weaknesses

Confidence looks like an issue after back-to-back poor outings. His running ability, as the Huskers use him, does not pose a major threat. And Lee's apparent unwillingness to make a mistake has affected his big-play ability and turned the NU offense into a predictable unit.

He might start if

The Huskers refuse to present the image of a panicked team, based primarily on one bad game by Lee, and believe that his investment at NU warrants at least another chance to fix the recent problems.

Cody Green

Age: 18

Class: Freshman

Height, weight: 6-4, 220

Hometown: Dayton, Texas

2009 stats

Passing: 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Rushing: 10 rushes for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

Strengths

Green possesses superior running ability and a live arm. He's shown impressive poise, considering his lack of experience. And Green would figure to provide a spark simply because of the excitement that would accompany the first start by a true freshman NU quarterback since Tommie Frazier in 1992.

Weaknesses

With inexperience comes the tendency to make more mistakes. Green has yet to master the NU offense, and he appears to have some difficulty recognizing coverages. Regardless of his skills, the Huskers would have to simplify some aspects of the offense and expect a few rough moments with Green in control.

He might start if

Nebraska senses the urgency to jolt its offense with a big change, choosing the quarterback with a higher ceiling who could usher in the future sooner than originally expected.

Bo Pelini

Bo Pelini is getting plenty of coaching advice this week about the Nebraska quarterbacks. It started Saturday as fans at Memorial Stadium booed the NU offense and chanted for Cody Green to play as Zac Lee took snaps in the second half.

“Fans can say anything they want,” Pelini said Monday. “When they're under the title of head coach, then they can make the decisions. Until then, I'll make the decisions around here, along with coach (Shawn) Watson and the rest of this coaching staff.

“They can boo me. They can say whatever the heck they want. ... But we're going to do what we feel is necessary to win football games. Period. End of story. I don't get influenced by what the fans, or the media, or what anybody else thinks.

“When they want to come in here and watch the film, and they earn the title, earn the respect of being a head coach, then they can start making decisions. Until then, the buck stops here.”