Jason White
Jason White has shown that he is a little more athletic than Nate Hybl with the options and some of the other things that OU might do to take some of the pressure of how defenses are stopping Quentin Griffin. Griffin is a game-breaker and teams have decided to take him away because he is the easy throw in this offense. White has given the offense another option, so that teams can't zero in on the only player that can make plays quickly.
I was very impressed with how prepared he was when he came in for Hybl against Texas. It's a trick in itself -- to keep your mind right, not to get down on the coaches, the players, the guys around you when you get beat out for the starting spot. When he came in, he took advantage of his opportunity. I always tell people, you never know when you are going to get a chance, but you can control the fact that you are ready to take advantage of your chance when you get it. That's what Jason has done.
Oklahoma has had a problem protecting the quarterback. They gave up eight sacks to Baylor last week. The bigger problem is that the quarterback is getting hit a lot. They don't use a tight end -- he is usually split out -- and they don't use a fullback. As a result, the QBs have been taking shots after they throw the ball.
Hybl took a beating against Kansas State. He got hit about 15 times in that game. That has worn him down. It shows how good Josh Heupel was at avoiding those hits. Hybl doesn't have the experience yet where he knows when to get rid of the ball and not get killed.
Nebraska has an advantage entering this game after playing a similar offense from Texas Tech last week. Oklahoma will say that it got good film study out of it, but Nebraska had a lot of mental reps for its defensive backs for how to line up, where to align and how to bluff its blitzes. You will see a much bigger package this week.
Oklahoma can't beat Nebraska by playing safe. The Sooners have to go after them and continue to press with their receivers. Nebraska likes to play the zone blitz. You will likely see a lot of overload rushes to one side, where they will send four to one side, hoping the line is sliding the other way, where they have an overload to one side and then drop into their zone blitz positions. Tight end Trent Smith will be key to stopping this. He will be matched up against linebackers or defensive linemen throughout the game.
White handled Texas' pressure. There is no reason to think he won't be able to handle the pressure from the Huskers.
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Eric Crouch
Eric Crouch knows this system as good as any quarterback that ever played at Nebraska. And the system fits what Eric does better than any quarterback that Nebraska has ever had. Think about that. He fits the system and understands the system and the system has proven that it works. There is no weakness there.
You have to stop the quarterback to play Nebraska. That is almost impossible to do because the Huskers have become more intricate in the different ways that they can keep the ball in the quarterback's hands. If you really sell out to tackling him, you leave yourself wide open for other obvious runs that distort your defense.
Nebraska makes yards off the power I, but the big plays come off Crouch on the option or Crouch scrambling. Since you can't keep it out of his hands, you have to hit him. You have to wear him down like a fighter. You force him to take hit after hit after hit. You hope, by the end of the football game, that it is a cumulative thing, and you can get him to make a couple of mistakes with the football.
I always thought Eric was a decent thrower, but he is healthier this year. The schedule has helped build up his statistics, and he has improved his ability to get his ball to dangerous receivers. The most dangerous receiver is tight end Tracey Wistrom. That's the pressure matchup. Both tight ends will tell a lot how this game goes.
If Roy Williams is on Wistrom, that will be a lot of fun to watch. You might not see that very much because Williams will be in the linebacker spot a lot. Sometimes, it will be a linebacker covering Wistrom, other times it will be a free safety.
Oklahoma's two safeties were turned loose against Air Force and they completely shut down the Flying Falcons' option game. It's a much more complex system from Nebraska. It will be important for the safeties to read when to stay with the tight end and when to help get the quarterback. It will not be as simple as when the Sooners played Air Force.
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