OU will defeat Nebraska soundly

Nebraska travels to Norman, Okla. Saturday night for a Big 12 Conference game against its traditional rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners.

The game is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised nationally by ESPN. Oklahoma is 7-1 on the year and is still in the hunt for a national championship. Bob Stoops, the Sooners coach, is a personal friend of Husker coach Bo Pelini, having both grown up together in Youngstown, Ohio. Pelini served as co-defensive coordinator at OU under Stoops when he left Nebraska after the 2003 season.

The Sooners are a dangerous football team on both sides of the ball.

The catalyst to the Sooner offense is quarterback Sam Bradford (6-foot-4, 218 pounds, Sophomore). He is an extremely accurate passer that works behind one of the best offensive lines in all of college football. On the season, Bradford is 183-for-270 (67.8 percent) with 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He averages 347 yards passing per game, but is not a threat as a runner, but his accuracy in picking apart defenses will certainly pose problems for Nebraska.

The running game for the Sooners is under appreciated. As a team, OU averages 178 yards rushing per game. The total offense puts up a staggering 542 yards per contest.

The leader in the running game is DeMarco Murray (6-1, 205, So.), who has the talent to score from anywhere on the field. He averages 78 yards per game and leads the team with nine rushing touchdowns. He also has 18 receptions good for two scores on the season.

Junior Chris Brown (5-11, 210) is the second part of the 1-2 punch for the Sooners on the ground. He averages 72 yards running per game. Oklahoma can keep a defense honest with the running attack, but has a lethal group of receivers.

Four different receivers have at least four touchdowns for the Sooners. The team leader is Juaquin Iglesias (6-0, 204, Sr.), who has 44 catches for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Manuel Johnson (6-0, 183, Sr.) has 33 receptions for 574 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns receiving.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham (6-6, 261, Jr.) is an imposing target in the OU passing game, with 29 grabs and seven touchdowns so far this season. Four receivers average at least 53 yards receiving per game for the Sooners. Ryan Broyles (5-11, 175, Fr.) rounds out this deep group for Oklahoma. The Nebraska secondary will be tested by the Oklahoma receivers the entire game.

The offensive line has tremendous size, depth and quickness. As a group, they have only allowed eight sacks on the season. Keeping Bradford safe in the pocket makes Oklahoma go on offense. Four seniors and a junior lead the way up front. Left tackle Phil Loadholt (6-8, 337, Sr.) dominates at the line of scrimmage. This group averages nearly 6-5 and 311 pounds per man from tackle to tackle. When they play well Oklahoma is as good as any offense in the country.

Defensively, the Sooners use a 4-3 look. and have good speed in all three levels of the defense. As a team, they only allow 105 yards rushing per game and 239 yards passing. In the wide-open Big 12 Conference, this defense is as good as Nebraska will see all season. Nose tackle Gerald McCoy (6-4, 295, So.) leads the team with six sacks. His physical play is a difference-maker for Oklahoma. Defensive end Auston English (6-3, 253, Jr.) is solid providing a pass rush off the edge. He has 4.5 sacks on the season.

Oklahoma has been hurt by the loss of linebacker Ryan Reynolds (6-1, 234, Jr.). His intensity is sorely missed by the OU defense. Linebackers Travis Lewis (6-2, 232, Fr.) and Keenan Clayton (6-2, 220, Jr.) lead the team in tackles. Lewis has a team-high 83 total tackles with three interceptions and Clayton follows with 51 including an impressive 36 solo stops.

The secondary gave up some yards in the win last week over Kansas State. The strength of the Oklahoma pass defense is at the safety spots. Senior strong safety Nic Harris (6-3, 230) has the physical presence to intimidate receivers coming across the middle. Free safety Lendy Holmes (6-1, 201, Sr.) also is tied for the team lead with three interceptions.

Oklahoma has speed in the return game. Ryan Broyles has a punt return for a touchdown, while Murray is always a threat returning kickoffs. The depth of quality speed here really gives Oklahoma an advantage over most teams. Punter Mike Knall (5-10, 190, Sr.) averages under 35 yards per punt in one of the few weaknesses for Oklahoma.

Kicker Jimmy Stevens (5-6, 156, Fr.) is only 3-for-5 on field goals this season. Nebraska will need to play an almost perfect game to stay with Oklahoma.

The Huskers have played well on the road, but this is a tough test indeed. The Sooners average 48 points per game and appear to have one of the strongest offenses in the country.

This is a powerful team that played poorly at times against Kansas State. Indications are they will play better at home. Look for the Huskers to drop a 41-20 decision against the Sooners.

Jim Dolezal is a local Husker football fanatic as well as a part-time sports writer for the Telegram. He will analyze the Huskers’ opposition from a hometown perspective every Thursday throughout the season.