A week after facing the second-best offense in the country in terms of scoring average, Nebraska's defense gets to try its hand at stopping the nation's No. 1 passing offense this Saturday against Texas Tech.
Oh, and by the way, the Red Raiders also rank No. 2 nationally in total offense (583.4 yards per game) and fifth in scoring offense (48.2 points per game). Such is life these days in the high-scoring Big 12 Conference.
"You want to play against good competition. Texas Tech is obviously good competition," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "That's who you've got to measure yourself against defensively -- the best out there.
"It's going to be a heck of a test for our football team."
While both Missouri and No. 7-ranked Texas Tech (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) operate out of the spread, Pelini said the two offenses aren't the same. That means more adjustments than one might have originally thought for the Cornhuskers (3-2, 0-1) for Saturday's 2 p.m. (FSN) game.
"Different running game, a different throwing game," Pelini said of Texas Tech. "It's a different style -- a lot different."
Texas Tech appears to place slightly less emphasis on the running game, rushing a league-low 129 times. However, the Red Raiders are third in the Big 12 in yards per rush (5.6). Shannon Woods has rushed for 346 yards and seven touchdowns, while Baron Batch has 307 yards and three TDs, averaging 7.3 yards per rush.
Understandably, rushing stats don't get a whole lot of publicity in coach Mike Leach's pass-heavy scheme. Tech's nation-leading passing attack features a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
Harrell averages 405.4 passing yards per game, completing 158 of 237 pass attempts (66.7 percent) for 2,027 yards in just five games. The senior has 18 TD passes with just three interceptions.
Pelini said Harrell is another in a long line of "well-schooled" quarterbacks at Texas Tech.
"He makes good decisions, they protect him well, they give him outlets (and) they make sure he doesn't get hit a lot," Harrell said. "He's a good player, a good decision-maker, can make the throws and understands the offense."
While Red Raider quarterbacks traditionally put up gaudy passing numbers, Pelini said he doesn't necessarily agree with the notion that Tech's success stories at the position are merely a product of the system.
"You have to have a guy who can execute the system," Pelini said. "I think sometimes that sells players short. Obviously, Coach Leach's system is proven and it works. You can't just put anybody in there.
"Obviously, he picks his guys well and finds a guy who can execute the system. Graham has done a nice job of doing that over a long period of time now."
With a sizeable starting offensive line that averages 323 pounds per man, Texas Tech has allowed just one sack in 262 pass attempts this season. As was the case with Chase Daniel last week -- the Huskers failed to sack the Missouri quarterback -- opponents have had difficulty getting pressure on Harrell.
"It's hard. Chase Daniel set up so deep in the shotgun and Graham Harrell is the same way," Nebraska defensive end Zach Potter said. "It's like starting out with a seven-step drop. Their linemen have wide splits. A lot of guys say that you can just get in the gaps and rush them, but if you want to play a defense, you stay in your gaps.
"You have to run some different line games up front or bring a blitzer off the side. It's hard to get pressure on these guys."
If Harrell has time to throw, Crabtree tops the list of dangerous targets. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound sophomore has a team-high 38 receptions for 564 yards and eight TDs.
Besides Crabtree, the Red Raiders have five players with 11 or more receptions on the season.
"You've got to pay attention to (Crabtree), but they have a lot of other guys that can hurt you, so you can't just spend all of your time trying to stop him," Pelini said. "You've got to be well-balanced, but you've got to pay (Crabtree) the necessary attention and give the guy respect because he's a good player."
Beating Texas Tech typically requires winning in shootout fashion. That's not as easy as it once was for opposing teams as the Red Raiders are No. 33 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 18.4 points per game.
Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz said he and his offensive teammates can't get caught up in trying to keep pace with Texas Tech's offense.
"You don't really look at the scoreboard, you just go out there swinging," Ganz said. "You keep fighting and doing everything in your will to score. It doesn't matter what their offense does because we're going against their defense, and there's no point in looking at what their offense will do.
"You're just out there kind of rooting for your defense and whatever happens, happens. You can't let that affect the way you go out and play."
