South Dakota State @ Nebraska preview
Memorial Stadium
Freshman phenom Taylor Martinez looks to run wild again this weekend as No. 7 Nebraska welcomes South Dakota State to Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Martinez has been nothing short of remarkable this season. The redshirt freshman first wrestled the starting quarterback job away from two upperclassmen - one of which was the team’s returning starter.
After wowing Cornhuskers fans in the first two games of the season against sub-par opponents, Martinez introduced himself to the nation by running for 137 yards and passing for 150 more in a 56-21 road drubbing of Washington.
Husky Stadium is never friendly for opposing quarterbacks, but Martinez accounted for four scores in the game, including an 80-yard touchdown run.
It looks like Nebraska may finally be back on the national scene for the first time in nearly a decade. The speedy Martinez has revitalized an offense that most left for dead last year.
The Huskers suddenly find themselves with the fourth-best rushing offense in the country. Running backs Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead are both averaging over eight yards per carry and Nebraska is averaging almost 48 points a game.
Pair that with a pass defense that ranks second in takeaways and you get a team that can strike fear in just about any team not named Alabama.
Of course, this is terrible news for the visiting Jackrabbits. Although a Top 10 preseason pick in the Football Championship Subdivision, they dropped to 0-2 after taking a solid beating from Illinois State last week.
South Dakota State fans have had precious little to cheer about in 2010, and playing Nebraska at home only promises to make a bad situation worse.
The Huskers do have some issues still to work out. The offense fumbled an incredible 10 times in Week 2 against Idaho and the defense has struggled against the run at times.
Still, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was gracious in his assessment of the game during his Tuesday press conference.
“You look across the board, and 1-AA football is pretty good,” Pelini said. “Those kids are out to prove they belong in one of these programs. I see it every day that guys on the scout team make plays against the starters and challenge them. You have to be ready to play and have respect for the game or it will creep up and bite you.”
There likely won’t be much bite in Saturday’s matchup, but it will be Nebraska’s final chance to work out any kinks before facing a better-than-expected Kansas State team on Oct. 7.