No shuffling; go with the youngster

What signal does Bo Pelini send his true freshman quarterback when the coach removes him from his first big challenge on a national stage ...

After one quarter and 15 snaps ...

After the Blackshirts have just given him the ball on the Oklahoma 1-yard line in a scoreless game ...

When the primary offensive strategy is merely to hand off to Roy Helu?

Quarterback consistency has eluded Pelini and Shawn Watson, but their decision to yank Cody Green muddles an already murky matter.

Yes, Nebraska beat Oklahoma. Yes, NU is the team to beat in the North.

But the offense continues to slump. And shuffling quarterbacks isn't helping.

On the 29 plays in which Nebraska's quarterback either rushed himself or passed against OU, Cody Green was in for 11 snaps, Zac Lee for 18.

Green's 11 snaps produced 12 yards, 1.1 per play. Lee's 18 produced 33 yards, 1.8 per play.

Green dropped to pass five times. Those plays gained 4 yards. Lee dropped to pass 11 times. Those plays gained 24 yards.

Neither QB played well; Lee just happened to be on the field for a few Helu bursts. So what to do?

Commit to one guy. Shuffling Green and Lee only raises further questions about offensive leadership and direction. How do you build an offensive identity when you can't choose between two QBs with very different skill sets?

How does either player thrive when one mistake could mean a demotion?

So the options are a struggling junior and a struggling freshman.

Invest in the freshman every time.

Green has physical skills and intangibles capable of leading this program in ways Lee can't. But the kid has to grow into the job. Give him chances. Have patience.

It won't just pay off in 2010 or 2011 or 2012, it might pay off against Kansas State, or at Colorado, or in the bowl game.

And if Green stumbles in November, what have you really lost? A North title and a trip to the Alamo Bowl?

Bigger games are coming the next few years, and Nebraska can only win those games with a threat at quarterback.

Green is that potential threat. Interrupt his development and Pelini risks derailing the future.

— Dirk Chatelain

* * *
Go with the hot hand

For a month now since Nebraska struggled through three quarters in the rain at Missouri, we've begged the Huskers to think outside the box offensively.

Show some imagination. Try something, anything for a spark.

So when Bo Pelini and Shawn Watson took a leap Saturday and played two quarterbacks in the first half against Oklahoma, who are we to
say it was the wrong move?

Zac Lee replaced Cody Green and managed a solid game. The Huskers won 10-3.

Maybe NU found the answer to its quarterback question. Maybe until one QB distinguishes himself, Nebraska ought to give both a chance in the first half and go with the hot hand after halftime. Maybe it would win the Big 12 North.

Tom Osborne once operated like that, albeit under different and more high-pressure circumstances. It won him a national championship.
This method can work if the dynamic is right. It looks OK here, primarily because neither quarterback means more to this team than its defense.

Still, a two-quarterback system goes against what Pelini and Watson preach. But with a championship-caliber defense and a pedestrian offense, why treat the QB differently than wide receiver?

Football logic says if you've got two quarterbacks, you've got none.

These Huskers defy logic.

Green earned the start against Baylor. But his second-half drives produced six punts and two turnovers. Then in the first quarter Saturday, NU failed to get a first down. Additionally, Lee was the safer choice, less likely to make a game-changing error.

Bottom line, this is Pelini's team. And he's not a patient man — not with Ndamukong Suh and Phillip Dillard and Larry Asante and Barry Turner and Matt O'Hanlon putting their guts on the line in their final seasons.

Pelini won't sacrifice a shot at wins to think about 2010.

“It's one game ... one season,” his predecessor said five years ago after a November collapse.

Nebraskans admire Pelini because he would never say that. The coach wants to win and win now. Should it matter if it takes two quarterbacks to give the Huskers their best shot?

— Mitch Sherman

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