|
|
|
|
 Friday, December 13, 2002
Iowa State aiming for big win over Huskers
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
LINCOLN, Neb. -- When the Nebraska Cornhuskers roll into Ames, Iowa, this weekend to play the Iowa State Cyclones, there won't be an empty seat in Jack Trice Stadium. It is a "must game" for both.
No one would blame the Huskers if they're a bit happier than usual on the road. The two-week layoff since their loss to Penn State in Happy Valley has sent the Nebraska nation into a tailspin. Talk radio and newspapers have stormed the Nebraska football squad the same way that the villagers stormed Frankenstein's castle.
|  | | Jammal Lord and the Huskers are hoping a week off will help them forget their 40-7 loss to Penn State. |
Nebraskans take their football seriously. They expect -- no, they demand -- that their Big Red Machine will always be in the national title hunt, especially in September. But Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions pasted NU 40-7 and a bye week let the shock and disappointment simmer until it boiled over in print and on the airwaves.
An Omaha paper groused that the Penn State loss meant that Nebraska needs to whip Iowa State to prove its manhood. Talk show hosts second-guessed Frank Solich and Craig Bohl demanding that they win or start printing their resumes.
Nebraska's storm clouds hovered around the gridiron squad, but based upon what I saw when I visited the Lincoln campus, the storm has not rained on the players. The Huskers know their honor is on the line. The players are focused and out to prove that they deserve the red N that is on the side of their helmets.
Quarterback Jammal Lord looks at this game as his opportunity to deliver a performance that will open the door for him to where some of Nebraska's great signal callers reside.
"I haven't done anything to deserve a place next to guys like Eric Crouch, Tommie Frazier and Scott Frost," said the Brooklyn native who played high school football in Bayonne, N.J. "After this Iowa State game, I think I will be able to at least start thinking about putting the name Lord up there with them."
Lord's coaches want to help him succeed. Solich has modified his offense for this game to "make better use of Jammal's talents and put him in a position to succeed by accentuating his talents."
That means you should see a reduction in the pass/run ratio. Lord loves to carry the ball, and is a threat in NU's multiple offense.
"I'll do whatever the coaches want me to do. Run it. Throw it. Heck if they want me to kick it, I'll do that too," Lord said.
Simplicity will be the operative word for Nebraska's defense.
"That's right," says cornerback DeJuan Groce. "It's back to swarming to the ball."
Solich's teams have a trademark of rebounding from losses. In fact, they are 8-1 in games following a loss since he took over for Tom Osborne in 1998.
They hold a nine-game winning streak over Iowa State since being upset in Ames back in 1992. This time around, Cyclone coach Dan McCarney has a weapon in Heisman hopeful Seneca Wallace.
Wallace is a mix of Antwaan Randle El, Michael Vick and Major Applewhite. He can throw on the run, throw from the pocket and is equally lethal when a play breaks down.
Nebraska's Blackshirts will have their hands full trying to contain Seneca Wallace. Just ask Florida State.
The Cyclones took Florida State right to the final gun in their season opener. There are legions of fans in Ames that insist that their team got jobbed by game officials at the end of that game. A win over Nebraska would erase that quickly and vault Iowa State into the Big 12 hunt -- at least for a few days.
Iowa State's schedule only gets tougher as the season progresses, but right now all the Cyclones can think about is the chance to end their coach's 0-7 record against Nebraska. It will take a "Heisman" day from Wallace for them to accomplish that.
The "X" factor for the Cyclones will be their running game. If NU stops their run attack, the shift to a one-dimensional offense will make it difficult for ISU to outmuscle a bigger, stronger opponent.
But don't tell the Cyclone players that. They see this game as an opportunity to show the world that "Big Time Football" has arrived in Ames.
|
|
|
|
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2001 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
|
 |
 Penn State stuns Nebraska 40-7 in a major upset for the Nittany Lions.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
|
