Brian Christopherson of Lincoln Journal Star says tomorrow’s game against Sparty is “man’s work.”

I couldn’t agree more. We’re gonna have to man up and keep Jerel Worthy and company out of our backfield.

Michigan State’s defensive line is a menacing bunch…the Spartans are ranked eighth in the country in run defense, giving up 89 yards a game. On the other side of the fence, Nebraska is ninth in the country in run offense, averaging 261 a game. Strength on strength. Man’s work here. Whichever side wins this scrum is probably singing the victory chorus after this game.

Christopherson is also looking for Nebraska’s defensive line to play its best game of the season.

“Cameron Meredith, Baker Steinkuhler, Chase Rome, Terrence Moore, Jason Ankrah. They’re going to have be disrupters.”

Nebraska won big today in a road game against a seriously out-manned opponent.

I’m happy that there was never a question about who was in control of this one–it reminded me of how things used to be when we rolled in to Lawrence, Ames and other college towns. Over before it ever started.

There were also some outstanding plays in this game…

Nebraska’s Kenny Bell, scampered for a 82-yard touchdown run on a reverse early in the second quarter to put the Huskers up 17-0.

Brandon Kinnie hauled in a career-long 61-yard reception midway through the second quarter to set up Nebraska’s fourth offensive score of the day.

Senior safety Austin Cassidy provided Nebraska’s scooped up a second-quarter fumble by Minnesota quarterback MarQuies Gray and plunged into the end zone for his second career touchdown.

Yet, it wasn’t all good. The Golden Gophers managed to outscore the Huskers 14-7 in the second half. We can pretend it doesn’t matter, but when there’s a BCS computer tallying every move the team makes, it does matter.

Tad Stryker says, “The Cornhusker defense played very gingerly at times. There is almost no reckless abandon among Carl Pelini’s charges – no jumped pass routes, only one takeaway, even against one of the nation’s worst offenses. There is no hint yet of a killer instinct.”

Be that as it may, the team is highly ranked and headed for glory or something less than that. With Michigan State coming to town next Saturday, we will need that absent killer instinct and much more to notch a “W”.

Huskers roll in to Minnesota and will be heading home with a 41-14 victory in a game that may have been more lopsided than the final score suggests.

We’ll have recap coverage soon.

When Ohio State was pummeling Nebraska on prime time TV, some boos reigned down on the field. It was hard for me to see, because the camera cut away, but it appeared that Bo Pelini made a gesture to the crowd to express his displeasure. No, he didn’t give fans the finger, but he waved them off, as if their concerns did not matter. And support him or not, that’s a problem.

According to the Omaha World Herald, Pelini believes Memorial Stadium is no places for boos.

We have loyal, passionate fans that have invested a lot in this program. I have great respect for this fan base, the support they give, how they travel, all the things that they do. … I know they want to win badly, but I’ve just got to remind them all that we want to win just as bad. Bottom line is, I just simply don’t believe that there’s any place for booing in a college stadium. Some fans may disagree with that, but that’s something I feel strongly about.

I’m a fan who disagrees with that. How would the coach like us to voice our displeasure? Perhaps in an email?

If it was Tom Osborne saying he didn’t think there was a place for booing, I would also disagree but at least it would be consistent with who the man is. Pelini is a hot head, and the fact that he is leaves him zero room to effectively state his concerns on this matter. In other words, the guy who yells and loses his cool, has no ground to stand on here.

Nebraska fans often like the Chiefs, Vikings or Broncos on Sunday. But I’m liking the 3-2 Washington Redskins on Sunday now. Because that’s where Roy Helu, Jr., Niles Paul and DeJon Gomes play.

According to The Washington Post, Coach Mike Shanahan is a big Helu fan.

Once you have to teach a running back how to run, you have the wrong running back. When you get a guy like Helu, you don’t know why guys make plays, but the great ones do. I think Helu is giving people the idea that he does have some skills…Hopefully, he just continues to grow.

Helu left Nebraska fourth on the school’s all-time rushing list. At the NFL Combine, he posted top-10 marks in six of his seven drills, including the best times among running backs in both the 20-yard dash and the 60-yard shuttle drill.

During the NFL draft, when Helu’s name hadn’t been called through the first three rounds, the Redskins jumped, trading their way to the 105th pick. Helu is currently averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Bo Pelini is a hot head in need of some cooling.

After a critical article by Omaha World-Herald reporter Dirk Chatelain appeared in the paper last week, Pelini freaked. And his freak out continued into the post-game press conference on Saturday night, much to his own detriment and by extension to the university’s detriment.

Jump ahead to 4:45 to see Pelini at his worst:

Omaha World Herald reporter Lee Barfknecht responded in Sunday’s paper:

The World-Herald is by far the state’s largest news enterprise. As long as there is football at Nebraska, we will cover the actions of the football coach, whether it is Bo Pelini or Bo Diddley. And we’ll do it every day without fear, favor or malice.

Indeed. Pelini’s act is getting hard to stomach. Nebraska doesn’t need a punk at QB anymore than it needs a punk in the head coach’s office. Tough, yes. Demanding, yes. Punk, no.