This is a tough game to get a read on. From what I've seen of OU's offense, they shouldn't be able to score much on Nebraska - with or without Peterson. Even with the pass defense terrible last season, the Blackshirts shut Peterson down (15 att. 58 yards, if I'm not mistaken). OU's been held to less than 100 yards rushing 3 times already this season (TCU, Texas, and Kansas). Besides, as strange as it sounds, Peterson is not the type of back who will normally hurt Nebraska. The Blackshirts have proven very effective against big backs that run straight at you (although A.D. is the best of the bunch, obviously). The type of RB that scares me is actually Jones, a cut-back runner who can take advantage of Nebraska's hard pursuit. A decent example is Baylor: their big back got nothing, but Whitaker, Baylor's little cutback runner, had a few decent runs on us. I can't see Bomar beating us with the pass; OU has passed for less than 210 yards in 4 games, including two games under 100 yards passing. If Coz doesn't do anything stupid, the Blackshirts should be fine.

The other side of the ball is where I'm worried. OU's defense is possibly the most talented Nebraska has faced. OU is excellent against the run; they've given up more than 98 yards rushing only once all season...against Texas. OU's pass defense, however, has been suspect; they've given up less than 226 yards passing only once all season (to Kansas, so that barely counts)! I believe the key is to exploit OU's secondary while keeping the pressure off Taylor. I'd like to see an offensive gameplan featuring short, quick passes...similar to against ISU.

I really hope Callahan and Coz don't outsmart themselves in this one. It looks pretty simple: make Bomar beat you with his arm and attack the OU secondary. My fear is that the coaches will decide they need to "outsmart" Stoops and display their "genius" by going against logic and trying to run the ball 50 times against the Sooners or play extremely soft or aggressive on defense. If the coaches simply install a logical gameplan and stay out of the players' way, Nebraska should win a low-scoring game. I think the coaches will do just that.

NU 20
OU 16