Cornhuskers can’t overlook road-tested Troy

By Nathan Walters  |   Thursday, September 21, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Nebraska returns home to Lincoln this weekend to play the Trojans. Wait, didn't they just get done playing the Trojans? Yes, but that was the University of Southern California, and the Huskers' road test is now behind them.

On the heels of a disappointing loss to USC, Nebraska now sets its targets on the Troy Trojans, hailing from Alabama. Troy is the Colorado of its conference, scheduling tough teams to start off almost every season. And, like Colorado, the Trojans have fallen to those teams each time this year (0-2 against BCS schools).

Troy led both Florida State and Georgia Tech in the fourth quarter before eventually falling due to lack of depth. But now the Trojans are going to be facing a Cornhusker team with redemption on their mind. Nebraska's offense was ineffective against a good USC defense, and senior quarterback Zac Taylor, known for his accuracy from the pocket, was held without a touchdown pass for the first time in 11 games.

The Cornhuskers return home to face a Trojan defense that gave up 500 yards against Georgia Tech last weekend, with 320 of those yards coming on the ground. And, to a Husker team that still likes to run the football, that is music to their ears.

Nebraska is ranked 24th in the nation in rushing, piling up almost 200 yards per game. And, after a dismal rushing performance against USC, there will be chances for redemption against the smaller Troy defense. Nebraska capitalized against foes Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State early in the season because of its height and weight advantage on the offensive, and that will not be any different this Saturday in Lincoln.

Nebraska averages just over 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds on the offensive line, and Troy's defensive front averages 6-1 and is below 290.

However, this isn't the power running game Cornhusker fans grew up watching. Zac Taylor looks to pick apart a Troy secondary that also gave up 336 yards passing to Florida State a week earlier in Tallahassee.

After being held to only 211 yards against USC, the Cornhuskers are hoping to show the nation their offense won't continue to stumble.

"The matchups are different, the problems are different, the schematics are different," Callahan said. "It's different every game. It'll be different this week. Believe me, it will be different this week."

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