LINCOLN — Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson says he isn't sure that the low-risk, ground-oriented attack he went with in the win over Oklahoma is the right blueprint for victory from here on out.

“That was that week's plan,” he said. “Every week's a little bit different. That's certainly not the deal this week.”

Watson's normal focus is on being unpredictable and attacking defenses where they're weakest. Yet despite the line-stacking, run-stopping methods that Oklahoma used defensively Saturday, the Huskers ran the ball 43 times, finishing with a run-pass ratio of roughly 3 to 1. They were hardly deceptive in doing it, putting the quarterback under center and inserting a fullback into the lineup nearly half the game.

Their plan was to avoid fumbles, produce clean, well-executed punt play and let the defense win the game. It proved to be a critical aspect of Nebraska's 10-3, mostly mistake-free win over the Sooners.

“I told my wife, that's the most courage I've ever had because it takes a lot of guts to call that kind of game,” Watson said. “I kept reminding myself about how well our defense was playing and the plan that we put together to win. It made it easier because we kind of all knew what we had to do.”

Of the 14 Nebraska pass attempts Saturday, seven came on third down when the Huskers needed an average of 10.9 yards for the first. Those weren't incredibly risky passes, either — just a myriad of shovel passes, long heaves and short sideline routes.

The Huskers converted just 1 of their 14 third downs, and that one was quarterback Zac Lee's 2-yard sneak. They went three-and-out nine times.

Watson said those ugly numbers are meaningless if the team gets the desired outcome.

“Don't apologize for it,” he said, “because it won us the game.”

For NU to win at Kansas this week, Watson said he thinks the offense has to be more productive. The play-calling can't be as conservative.

Coach Bo Pelini on Tuesday said the same thing.

“We have to be prepared this week to put points on the board, and do it early and often,” Pelini said. “(Oklahoma) never really forced us to be more wide-open. We didn't need to be. It was the right formula for that day. This week we've got to be ready to open it up and ready to come after them and score some points.”

Led by its stingy defense, though, Nebraska seems best suited to adapt some form of Saturday's smash-mouth approach.

Nebraska totaled 91 percent of its offensive yards when the quarterback was operating under center. The Huskers managed to hold the ball for 1:42 longer than Oklahoma despite running 30 fewer plays. They were one poorly executed option pitch away from finishing their first full game turnover-free since Sept. 26.

But if there's no threat to pass, Pelini said, the NU offense can't be successful. He said the Huskers have to build off the things they did well Saturday night.

“If (defenses) don't feel like you can throw the football, you're going to be running the ball against eight-, nine-, 10-man fronts,” Pelini said. “I don't care how good you are, it's hard to do that consistently. You have to have both.”

Contact the writer:

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

« Sports - Big Red Today

Share