Nebraska Cornhusker Football vs. Iowa

[KUGLER] Good evening, welcome to "Big Red Wrap-Up," I'm Kevin Kugler. In 1968 Lyndon Baines Johnson was President of the United States, man was still a year away from setting foot on the moon, and Kansas State beat Nebraska in Lincoln 12-0. Now, 31 years later, Bill Clinton is the sixth President since Johnson, man's sights are now on Mars, and Kansas State hasn't beaten Nebraska in Lincoln again. Nothing changed this past weekend as the Huskers continued to dominate the Wildcats in Memorial Stadium winning 41-15. In fact, not since that shutout in 1968 has Nebraska scored less than 35 points against the Wildcats in Lincoln. Nebraska's defense made sure on Saturday that the offense wouldn't need 35 points. Picking up where they left off after the 37-0 win over A&M, the Blackshirts harassed the K-State offense all day long and helped Frank Solich pick up his biggest win as head coach. It was a great game in a terrific atmosphere on Saturday, as we have all the highlights for you. That win didn't hurt the Huskers' chances in the national picture as well. With the victory, Nebraska is officially back in contention for a national title. We'll take a look at the latest BCS poll plus the AP and Coaches' polls. We'll also touch on Nebraska's last game of the regular season in Boulder against those Colorado Buffaloes. Nebraska needs that win to clinch a trip to the Big 12 title game in San Antonio. But before we get to all that, I need to introduce my guests. First from the Pinnacle Sports Network, the color voice of the Huskers, Mr. Adrian Fiala. Have you come down from Saturday's excitement?

[ADRIAN FIALA] I have. Although you just reminded me about a bad night in 1968 with Kansas State. I thought we had that out of my system. The only thing that has not come down from Saturday is my voice. What a great night.

[KUGLER] And from "Huskers Illustrated," writer and author Mike Babcock. Give us a call in Lincoln at 472-1212 or toll free at 1-800-676-5446. You can also contact us over the internet at sports@unl.edu. Tell our operators your name, where you are calling from and your question or comment. We turn our thoughts to the 41-15 win over Kansas State. Adrian, a beauty to behold if you are a Nebraska fan.

[FIALA] It really was. As Mike said, what a great day. I don't think it gets better in terms of the significance of the game. Everybody is aiming for us, we're aiming for them. The opportunity to move on the rest of the season and go and then just personal things. There's always a few personal things involved in Nebraska-Kansas State. All of it on the line. Probably, at least as I see it, kind of a pivotal move in Frank's career.

[KUGLER] Adrian says it doesn't get any better than that. Can Nebraska get any better than that for the final games of the season?

[MIKE BABCOCK] Yeah, I think they can by not fumbling the ball. That's a step of improvement. One of the things earlier in the season was that Nebraska was Penalized an unusual number of times and they only had one penalty in for 10 yards in that game. The fumble thing, I think I shared a consensus of opinion if Nebraska put the ball on the ground they will have a difficult time beating Kansas State but they set a record by fumbling 10 times and having quite the score.

[KUGLER] I don't know if I have seen a football team where a team fumbles 10 times and win with no doubt.

[FIALA] Normally you would say that's the case. We fumbled 10 and only gave it away three times. There's the redemption. If you keep doing that, there's a point in time in the ball game where the 10 fumble and three loss goes to a 10 fumble and 7 loss. Then you have a problem.

[KUGLER] How does Nebraska not fumble it 10 times because maybe Colorado, maybe Texas, whoever is in the bowl game won't be as for giving as on Saturday?

[BABCOCK] The way to correct it is figure out a way to keep people from thinking about it constantly and that's not going to happen because it's a topic of conversation. The more you talk about it, the more you think about it, the more you try to avoid it and the more it is likely to happen. Guys are thinking about it too much and they're trying to do things to correct it and it aggravates the problem.

[FIALA] You had a comment about the column today on the elephants. You combine that with murphy's law and you have a trouble with your hands.

[KUGLER] The last two weeks have been about as good a defense as you can play. Mike, you have followed the team for a long time, how good is this Nebraska defense? Is it one of the best?

[BABCOCK] One time Tom Osborne said on television he thought it had the Potential to be one of the best defenses ever. Then they lost to Texas. I think that obviously if you are comparing this to other defenses and Adrian played defense so he has perspective on this, too. On a number one ranked defense. I think they played well on defense and probably are in a position to be considered for that depending on the last couple of games.

[FIALA] I think in terms of responsibility, speed, and being able to intimidate offenses. I think everybody was expecting a tough defensive battle and I was, too, quite Frankly. I saw in the film of the teams able to rattle their quarterback, Jonathan Beasley, if we could do that, the game might turn into a blowout. That's what happened. Our guys got after him big time and he got the happy feet back there and Steve Martin would have been proud of him.

[KUGLER] This is a quarterback that has had problems all year long. He has been yanked from games. A difference from last year with Michael Bishop being the man in college football.

[FIALA] Last year Bishop coughed it up three times and we got all three of those. Michael was hot and cold. He is a great player, don't misunderstand me. Consistency is the key there. He just wasn't consistent. That's one thing Eric has been. He is extremely consistent all year.

[KUGLER] What about the play of Eric Crouch, mining? He has been in the midst of controversy. Would he start, would he not start? That seems like a distant memory. I can't hardly remember the quarterback controversy now.

[BABCOCK] If you want to oversimplify a little bit, Nebraska's success down the stretch and the fact they're in a position it is right now is a result of outstanding defensive play and the development of Eric Crouch. I think his maturing as a quarterback made a big difference in the offense. A lot of the criticisms from early on, you don't hear now.

[FIALA] Some of the players said after the game that there were times when they had it hemmed in, when they thought they would make the play on him and he was able to get away and they made the play like on to Wistrom. The guy really has tremendous and uncanny ability to make plays. I started watching Eric play when he was a quarterback at Millard North. We did high school games back then with a radio station in town, KLIN. I saw him develop as a youngster. I saw that kid play and I said he is a special player. When it started the way it did this year, I was disappointed but I knew Eric has a big heart and is a courageous young guy. He has come on and gotten the job done.

[BABCOCK] The athleticism on that pass play you were talking about, remember when Tommie Frazier was a senior and in Colorado, he got the pass off. That kind of athleticism is what it distinguishes quarterbacks. Eric Crouch showed it on that play. It might not have been a significant play in the outcome of the game but gives you an idea of what he is capable of doing. Gives the offense a lot of confidence. Even when things break down, he can make something out of it.

[KUGLER] I-back a spotlight position as well. We have a lot of questions about I-backs. Here is our first trivia question. Be the first correct caller and you will receive one of our Nebraska ETV mugs. Only one winner per household this season. The Sears National Championship trophy was in Lincoln on Saturday. It is part of a nationwide tour before it's awarded January 4th. Nebraska played 10 games with the trophy present. They have won eight of those games. Our first trivia question is what are the only two teams to beat Nebraska when the sears trophy was present? Be the first correct caller and you will receive the ETV mug. Do you have the answer to this one, guys?

[FIALA] I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about, Kevin.

[KUGLER] You are not eligible to win.

[FIALA] We can't divulge whether we know the answer.

[KUGLER] We will assume you both win. I-backs are getting a lot of publicity. Dan Alexander and Correll Buckhalter had trouble holding onto the ball along with almost everyone touching the ball. Do you think Dahrran Diedrick will start against Colorado? Who wants to jump into this one first?

[FIALA] Well, I will go. We had a pre-studio discussion prior to the show. I think I understand how Frank feels about it and he understands the feelings that Alexander and Buckhalter have. I think with what is on the line here, I think perhaps Diedrick may get the nod a week from Friday.

[BABCOCK] I would think the opposite for the same reason. I think because of the situation at this point in the season, what is on the line, there may be a hesitancy to start a freshman. As we talked earlier, I certainly would expect him in the game early but I would guess more likely that one of the other two guys will get the opportunity to start the game.

[KUGLER] I-back is a high profile position. Now quarterback gets a lot of the attention. Is this a change at Nebraska or is it a change in college football In general that the quarterback shoulders more of the rushing load than the I-backs?

[FIALA] I think it's a matter of personnel. Eric Crouch has the ability to do it. You have to capitalize on that ability, fit that ability into your game plan. I think that is why you see it happening. Like Tommie Frazier when he was here. He and Lawrence Phillips shouldered that responsibility and did obviously a great job at it. I think strictly because Eric can run the football, he can stay healthy, and he has great speed and it just so happens it works that way.

[KUGLER] We have a winner in the first trivia question. I didn't see either one of you sneak to your cell phone so it must be someone else. We have Howard in Omaha on the phone. How are you?

[HOWARD] I'm doing great. Hello to Kevin, Adrian, and Mike. Everyone is talking about the Bowl Championship series and what ifs. We have to focus on going up to Boulder with a full head of steam because Colorado is an improved ball club. Everything is mute unless we take the bad boys from Colorado out in order to get to San Antonio. How are we going to get ready for Colorado first and let the chips fall where they may?

[KUGLER] I think Colorado could give Nebraska problems on the road coming off the off week.

[FIALA] Colorado last time out against Baylor and Baylor not one of the powerhouses. They shut out Baylor the last time out. They limited Baylor and Kansas State to just right over 300 yards combined in total offense. Their defense is playing well right now. What does that mean to us? I think our offense sees that and accepts it as a challenge. You want to keep in mind a couple of years we were favored and Colorado was not playing well at that time and it was a ball game. They made it a ball game the last five minutes of the game. Howard is exactly right. This talk of are we going to creep up here and do this and that, if we don't take care of business at Colorado, it doesn't make a difference. We have to play very well to beat that team.

[BABCOCK] Colorado plays with a lot of emotion. I think Gary Barnett, the attitude is he can prepare the team. There were things that happened early in the season that may have been embarrassing to Colorado. The loss to Colorado State and to Washington. I think that now they're playing better and he think he will have them emotionally ready to play the game. I think Nebraska does the game of taking it one game at a time. Obviously after losing to Texas, it's a long way back to where you are right now. I don't think they would have gotten where they are now without that approach. I think they will be prepared and give the best effort but it won't be easy.

[FIALA] Colorado's defense is giving up some points. If our offense is on track, it will be tough for them to stop us. Their quarterback, Mike Moschetti, an excellent player. Plays hurt. Throws a good short pass and medium pass. Doesn't throw very long.

[KUGLER] We will look at Colorado highlights later on and talk more about the buffs and Huskers. First, a look back at a terrific day at Memorial Stadium. Look at that weather. A full house. Frank Solich being at home, that's normal. Really Frank has had criticism. 17-5 over all coming into the game. Nothing wrong with that record. Stuff wrong with bill Snyder's record against the Huskers. A fumble. Only carry of the day and had a strained hamstring on that play. No action for him the rest of the day. After the fumble, Vanden Bosch blocking the field block attempt. Three field goal blocks in the last two weeks. Eric Crouch makes the Wildcats pay a couple of plays later. Breaking free on the option. Crouch in. Huskers 7-0 at this point midway through the first quarter. Special teams comes through again. Randy stella with great speed. Their punter takes longer to get the punt off. Stella in with the second special teams block of the day. A safety. 9-0 Nebraska. Huskers after the free kick coming back to work again. Tracey Wistrom downfield. Wide open. Four catches on the day for Wistrom for 68 yards. A couple of plays later, Eric Crouch breaking through the middle of the line. 18 yards. The jets at the end get him into the end zone. Crouch with 158 yards rushing. His second touchdown of the day. Jonathan Beasley touchdown run making it 16-6. Nebraska in the lead. Huskers coming back. Dahrran Diedrick with a nine-yard shovel pass. Willie Miller into the end zone to cap a 14-play, 62-yard drive. The K-State defense stunned. They trail 23-6 in the second quarter. They're about to be more stunned as Frankie London goes into the end zone. Good to see him getting into the end zone. Did the little flip. 24-9. Mike Brown, defensive player of the week again. An interception, six tackles. What a job by Mike Brown. He has been terrific over the last couple of weeks. One play later, Dahrran Diedrick breaking free. Some good speed shown on the outside as Diedrick goes 46 yards for the touchdown. 14 carries and 93 yards for Dahrran Diedrick, the freshman. He had a good day. 34-9 Huskers. Helm gets the Wildcats on the board. The Husker defense puts the exclamation mark on this one. Nebraska with five sacks. Johnson with the defensive score. The Kansas State players didn't think it was a fumble. They stop on the play. They're just standing there wondering what's going on. Eric Johnson into the end zone for the touchdown. The Huskers score and go onto win a huge victory for the blackshirts, for the Huskers, for Eric Crouch, and for Frank Solich. 41-15 Nebraska over Kansas State. An exciting one at Memorial Stadium. What a fun afternoon into early evening. Bill Snyder and Frank Solich with words at the end. Bill Snyder saying we beat you last year but I'm still 1-10 against the Huskers. Can't figure out how to beat you guys in Lincoln. Maybe that's not what he said. 92 yards rushing for the Wildcats. 10 fumbles. That stands out. Adrian, you mentioned it, five turnovers for Kansas State to three for Nebraska made a difference in the game.

[FIALA] When you can stay on the plus side which Nebraska did. They had five and we had three. That's huge. When you have plus two against a team like the Wildcats of Kansas State, that works to your advantage. If it's the other way around, maybe the outcome isn't what it was. With that sort of margin that we had, maybe giving them two wouldn't have been that significant.

[BABCOCK] That last play on the highlights there we saw where Adam Helm brought back the pass, it looked like no one blocked Vanden Bosch. It's a tough day to play. There aren't too many things you can do to rectify that.

[FIALA] You said it looked like they thought the play was over. They thought it was over before it started.

[KUGLER] I think so.

[FIALA] Those guys aren't going to catch Johnson going the other way.

[BABCOCK] Not that you can't see Kyle Vanden Bosch.

[KUGLER] He is hard to miss, exactly. Janet in Sydney, could Nebraska have done better on the fumbling if they didn't wear gloves? Do the gloves play a roll in the fumbling?

[BABCOCK] I think they have used them for a considerable amount of time. I don't think it's necessarily been a problem in seasons where they didn't fumble a lot. I don't think they have a big effect. They have these things now that are tight enough on the hands and receivers wear them.

[FIALA] I have seen the gloves. They're tacky and have nubs on them. In the old days, we had guys with firm grip up here. You would hit them and you would stick to them. I'm glad they did away with that.

[KUGLER] Maybe they need to find that for the Colorado game.

[FIALA] Not a bad idea. Firm grips are outlawed now.

[KUGLER] Sneak it onto the field. Who keeps track of that anymore. Mike Barry of Lincoln, Nebraska knew the answer to this Big Red trivia question. Who are the only two teams to beat Nebraska when the sears trophy was present? Adrian didn't know this one but Mike did. Florida State and Kansas State. Florida State in the Orange Bowl and Kansas State last year. The Sears Trophy was somewhere around the stadium in both those games. Nebraska is second in games played with the trophy present.

[BABCOCK] I think Adrian actually whispered that to me when he was off-camera.

[KUGLER] I saw you sneak behind a camera there to make a phone call to Mike. Brandon in Saddle Creek, what happened to Judd Davies? This kid is going to be a player. He is a big time fullback.

[FIALA] Will be a great player for us.

[KUGLER] Can Nebraska pass Virginia Tech with a victory over Colorado and number six Texas? It comes into strength of schedule. We had questions about this last week. Strength of schedule is not factored in until the team plays that team. So, for example, Nebraska's strength of schedule can improve each week. Can they move ahead of them?

[FIALA] It's happened already. That's what happened to the Florida case. We went ahead of them because of strength of schedule. They dropped out and we went up. I think if Nebraska goes to Colorado and we explode on Colorado and then do the same thing-- these are ifs. I don't like to talk about this stuff. Two big explosions against Colorado and Texas, it might happen.

[BABCOCK] The one question I have and somebody may have answered this and I didn't see it. It's speculative as well. Assume that Florida wins against Florida State on Saturday in Gainesville. Close game down to the wire. Florida State loses. It seems to me just looking at Florida State's ranking in the BCS which is extremely low. Everyone seems to make the assumption if Florida wins the game, Florida State will drop out of contention. It looks like their ranking is low enough in terms of strength of schedule and that will not hurt them losing to Florida which is a top four team. There are enough factors that Florida State could be a factor in this thing.

[FIALA] I think they could. I think they're pretty golden right now. I figure they'll be at the top of the heap and it is between Virginia Tech and us and whoever else.

[KUGLER] Bud wants to get into the conversation. How are you tonight?

[BUD] I'm doing fine.

[KUGLER] What's on your mind?

[BUD] My question is in the past when we got in the red zone, we have had a fullback take care of the blocking, schlesinger and makovicka. I think we are lacking in that respect this year. What do the pros say?

[KUGLER] Let's turn to the pros. You may want to renegotiate on the pro side.

[FIALA] I think it was addressed to you.

[KUGLER] Wasn't addressed to me.

[FIALA] In years past we had an I-back that could get it done in great shape. It's no secret. We had people like Lawrence Phillips and Ahman Green and Calvin Jones. I'm not sure any of these players get to that level right now. That accounts for some of the reasons you see some of the things happening. Eric is handling the ball more. I think the fact that maybe the I-back isn't quite at that level accounts for some of the answer. I'm not sure what the real answer is quite frankly. But I think that is part of it, the I-back talent.

[KUGLER] Mike, these are addressed to you. Shawn in Norfolk wants to know with Thunder Collins coming and current redshirts, what is the I-back situation going to be?

[BABCOCK] I think it will be competitive obviously with the players coming back and Thunder Collins coming in. I think for the long range plan, I think you need to look at another I-back in recruiting, maybe get a freshman player to come in to be in the mix. There are several players in addition to those coming back. Deantae Grixby has not had an opportunity to do much because he has been hurt. He will be in the mix. Robin Miller may be in the mix. He is redshirted. They may use Josh Davis at I-back. It will be competitive but I think you can never have enough quality I-backs competing for the job. There is a possibility they might recruit another one yet. Certainly Thunder Collins ought to be in the mix. Junior college numbers have been remarkable. You never quite know until a junior college player gets here how it will work out. I think there's a wealth of potential but it will depend on the Competition in the spring. Thunder Collins will be here in the spring and the guys coming back. I think it will be up for grabs.

[FIALA] I think the fact Thunder redshirted so he could come here tells you something about this young man. Hopefully it will work for him once he is here. I always say you got to go out and recruit these people but a lot can happen in between times and once they get here. Sometimes a great player-- there are other factors at play that it doesn't work out. Anybody named Thunder. We had a Thunder a few years ago.

[BABCOCK] Like Adrian said, it's a positive for a junior college player to Come in and go through spring practice. That will put him that much more ahead than if he waited until fall. He will make strides in the spring that will maybe give him an opportunity to play quicker. [FIALA] For all practical purposes he is eight months ahead of everybody.

[BABCOCK] I bet you make a dramatic improvement in those eight months.

[KUGLER] Most of us did in our first eight months of our lives. Does Texas have the magic over Nebraska that Oklahoma had in the 1970's and 1980's? Maybe early on they do. Texas doesn't seem to have the Barry Switzer mystique? I think three years is insufficient to draw the conclusion. As one of the players-- I forget who made the statement but before the first Texas game this year, assuming there's a second one, one of the players said yeah, they have our number right now because we haven't beaten them in the last two tries. Three losses doesn't necessarily mean a trend here.

[FIALA] I would agree. The only thing they have right now is a Mack Jack. They have Mack Brown.

[KUGLER] How many times has Nebraska fumbled inside the five yard line this season? More than any fan would like.

[FIALA] How about inside the one.

[KUGLER] Red zone has been a problem this year.

[FIALA] In a couple of situations, it looked like the player was trying get extra. You want a guy to do that but with certain reservations on how you accomplish that. It's been frustrating.

[KUGLER] A unique comment and question. Why don't the players try hypnotism to stop fumbling.

[FIALA] Actually that happened years ago. A player had a 60-70 yard run into the south end zone and as he came off the field, he walked up to one of the trainers-- I was standing there with the microphone and he said I hypnotized them on the run. It's been tried and it works so maybe we ought to do it again.

[KUGLER] More BCS questions. A lot of BCS questions. Has a team with one loss won or split a Championship? There have been several teams with one loss that won National Championships.

[FIALA] In the 1993 season when Nebraska played Florida State in the orange bowl, Florida State lost once that year. There was the question why Nebraska was not matched with Virginia because they were undefeated. It's not that uncommon.

[FIALA] There was an undefeated team that won a national Championship in 1984, BYU, that created controversy because it was somewhat of a Virginia Tech situation. If they went on strength of schedule on that year, there was an undefeated team that won the title that probably wouldn't have today. One loss, no loss, hey.

[KUGLER] Is there a good chance a 10-1 Seminole team would remain ahead of Nebraska?

[BABCOCK] I think that's a possibility. In the traditional way of determining a National Champion with a poll, the common wisdom was if you lose early in the season, that's what you want to do because you can come back from that. There is so many other factors included in the Bowl Championship Series that theoretically, the way I understand it, is whether you lose early or late in the season doesn't have as much of an impact except in the polls which are involved in a quarter of the ranking. The other factors would still seem to be in Florida State's favor. To me that is probably the one unknown factor here if Florida State loses and it's a fairly close game which it very well could be. In Gainesville it's a tough place to play. Why would you say a loss to Florida or a loss to Texas is worse?

[FIALA] The key is if it's a close game.

[BABCOCK] People have talked about how a margin of victory is not that big of a deal but I think at this point it is because you are splitting hairs and it does matter which is kind of unfortunate but that is how it will be sorted out. Really right now you are looking at four teams in a situation where any two of the four could probably be in that game.

[KUGLER] We have to get to our second trivia question. Before we do, we need to wipe egg off our face from last week. We had an error in our trivia question. What NU point holds the record for the lowest rushing yards Produced against the blackshirts, what year was it, and what was their rushing total? Lots of callers said our answer was wrong. They were right. However, we found a good-- a good crew tracked down the person with the correct answer. We had 1997 and that wasn't right. John Smith of Fremont was the first to call us and tell us we were wrong. John wins the prize from last week. Thanks to all of you that called in. Here is tonight's second, hopefully accurate, Big Red trivia question. Be the first correct caller and you will win the year 2000 16 -month calendar. Erich Crouch became the first quarterback in 17 games to avoid Being intercepted by the Kansas State defense. Name the last quarterback to go a full game without being Intercepted by the Wildcats' defense and what team he played for. Be the first correct caller an you win the Big Red calendar. Dan wants to know how many Big 12 teams are up for bowl bids this year? There are six I believe that have reached that status now. Texas Tech if they win over Oklahoma will become a seventh. That about covers it. There is six Big 12 bowl tie-ins. Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, insight.com bowl.

[FIALA] I was pulling for Dan Mccarney and his team to come up. I think you pretty well covered it.

[KUGLER] A couple of other folks called in with this as well. What do other coaches and teams and players think of the new turf? It didn't get the cold weather test. Everybody waited for it to get the cold weather test. It didn't get the test.

[BABCOCK] We're still wondering about that. I can't speak too well to that. I didn't see any other players or coaches complain about it afterward. The thing I thought was interesting, a couple of teams including Kansas State didn't go through walk-throughs on it before playing Nebraska. Either they had confidence in the quality of it or whatever. I didn't see any comments from anybody that complained about it. There is so many other factors included in the bowl Championship series that theoretically, the way I understand it, is whether you lose early or late in the season doesn't have as much of an impact except in the polls which are involved in a quarter of the ranking. The other factors would still seem to be in Florida State's favor. To me that is probably the one unknown factor here if Florida State loses and it's a fairly close game which it very well could be. In Gainesville it's a tough place to play. Why would you say a loss to Florida or a loss to Texas is worse?

[KUGLER] It certainly seems to have cut down on injuries. I don't know if you can take one year. This year the injuries haven't been there and not as severe. No severe knee injuries or ankle sprains that last for weeks and weeks. I don't know if it has to do with the turf but why not. Let's look at the polls as we look at where Nebraska sorted everything out. Huskers fourth in the coaches' poll. Florida State, Virginia Tech, Florida. Wisconsin at number five. A few things happen, maybe wisconsin gets into the national title picture. Kansas State at nine. Michigan at number 10. Marshall still unbeaten at 10-0 on the season. Number 11 for them. A&M at 20. East Carolina at 21. Purdue at 25 with a 6-4 record. Now the A.P. poll. Florida State, Virginia Tech, Florida, and Nebraska. Michigan at 10. Marshall at 11. Purdue ranked and tied for 19th in the A.P. poll despite a 6-4 record. Minnesota at 17. Georgia Tech at 14. Georgia, Arkansas, East Carolina and A&M and Boston College. A lot of Boston College fans around here these days. BCS, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Nebraska. Nebraska with a margin over Florida. Not a substantial margin. Tennessee pretty much out of it at 6.5 points behind Florida. Florida's win over Florida State could put them above Nebraska. Then you wonder what happens to Florida State. Do they fall below Nebraska? There's so many factors in the BCS you get a headache thinking about it.

[BABCOCK] 2.64 Florida State. You wonder how far it will drop with a loss to Florida. That's the thing that really complicates this whole situation is that there is so much focus on what will happen to Virginia Tech and Florida needs to beat Florida State to get them out of there and lose in the Southeastern Conference Championship game. I'm not sure Florida State will go anywhere unless that game is a total blowout.

[KUGLER] They would have to lose a lot of footing in the computer polls because those seem to fluctuate the most. Computer polls tend to fluctuate more than the coaches' and A.P.

[FIALA] That could get better. If we have two resounding wins. The other thing I want to point out about the polls is Nebraska was fourth and Wisconsin fifth and we're talking about Frank Solich and Barry Alvarez. Two former teammates at Nebraska being head coaches at individual universities and in the top 10 of the collegiate bowl. That's neat. By the way, Barry, hope the surgery went well.

[KUGLER] If Barry is watching, that will be something else, too.

[FIALA] Wisconsin, congratulations to Ron Dayne for breaking the rushing record. Doesn't matter who they play with Ron Dayne on their side and that offensive line. They look like a team that will roll.

[BABCOCK] You never know.

[KUGLER] One game at a time.

[BABCOCK] You never know what's going to happen.

[KUGLER] Let's look at Nebraska's possible road to the BCS game. Huskers win the rest of the games. Virginia Tech loses to temple or Boston College and Florida State beats Florida. Nebraska would play Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the title. Can you count on Virginia Tech losing to either temple or boston college or if you are a Husker fan, do you hope Boston College Loses this week and loses strength of schedule and beats Virginia Tech? There is so many variables, you don't know who to root for.

[BABCOCK] I think one thing-- and I know Nebraska fans want to look at this situation and be as optimistic as you can, but it seems to me even though Virginia Tech's schedule doesn't rank with the other programs, there is a couple of times I have seen them on television, I'm impressed with that team. I think anybody that would suggest that maybe Virginia Tech doesn't deserve consideration in this thing is being unfair. I think they have an outstanding team. They showed it with Miami which was an impressive win. That's going to be difficult, too. I don't know that playing the toughest of the two games which is Boston College is reason for optimism by people that want to see them lose. You never know. They could not play well at temple.

[FIALA] Temple is 2-7 on the year. I don't know if we can expect much out of that game. The team that has the chance is Boston College. I don't think it makes a difference if they win or lose in between times. If they lose that game, then it works. That's a big, big if.

[KUGLER] If Nebraska is shut out of the Sugar Bowl, you look to the Texas game and that is the thing that keeps them out. Right now Nebraska is number two in every poll including the BCS and is looking good for a Sugar Bowl bid. Even after that loss, Frank Solich I don't think would be disappointed with a conference Championship and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

[FIALA] Back in our day that's what we played for. Today it is a different mind set. I think the coaches are playing for the Conference Championship and what comes from that. If we win the Big 12 and it doesn't work out in the BCS, that's the Way the whole thing works and they will be happy with the fiesta bowl and play there.

[KUGLER] Tempe not a bad place. We have a winner in the second trivia question. Will the off week affect Nebraska like it did against Texas?

[BABCOCK] I guess we look at it in retrospect. I'm not sure that was the reason Nebraska lost. Texas had an off week in the same situation. I think Colorado will be in the same situation with an off week. If it's a negative for Nebraska, it's a negative for Colorado. It just depends on how you want to look at it. I don't think that will be a factor. I think you are going to play well or you are not. Whether you have the week off to heal bumps and bruises might be a positive but otherwise I don't think there will be an effect.

[FIALA] When a team that runs the option play, when you are on a roll week to week and the timing is there, and you have a break, sometimes the timing suffers a bit. I agree with Mike for the most part. I think it's pretty irrelevant across the board except for that portion of the option game and the timing factor.

[KUGLER] Might make them fumble more is what you're saying.

[BABCOCK] You can hope Colorado defends some of the option game the way Kansas State did. It looked sometimes like they had never seen the option game. It looked like they were not prepared for it.

[FIALA] They run it with Adam Helm quite a bit. They know the fundamentals. I think our execution was so perfect on so many of the plays it didn't make a difference.

[KUGLER] Mike of Council Bluffs, Iowa knew the answer to this question. Name the last quarterback to go a full game without being intercepted by the Wildcats' defense and what team did he play for? It was Mike Moschetti. That was last year in the Wildcats' 16-9 win over Colorado. Steve in Beatrice, if Colorado can dominate Eric Crouch like Texas did, who would be the play maker Nebraska would look to? If Eric Crouch is shut down, who can Nebraska get to?

[BABCOCK] If they take him out of it, that takes away the play action pass to Tracey Wistrom. So much of what Nebraska does is predicated on him whether running the ball or throwing the ball. I think that is one of the things you will have to rely on. If they're able to contain him in any significant way, I think we will probably all be looking to see who will step up and make the plays they need to make.

[FIALA] If they stop Eric Crouch, they'll have to load it up in the middle and contain on the ends. What that means to me is all of a sudden Bobby Newcombe with the fakes become a big factor. I think Bobby takes over from there.

[KUGLER] Larry in Omaha wants to know if Colorado beats Nebraska and Missouri upsets Kansas State, who is the Big 12 North Champion? I believe it's Colorado. There's a whole complicated system of tie-breakers.

[FIALA] They do. I think that's right.

[KUGLER] The Buffs with an opportunity to go there. Jim in North Platte with a comment. Can you imagine what would happen there?

[FIALA] They get spanked on their first game. Ricky takes care of them. Wow, that would be incredible.

[KUGLER] Jim in North Platte, we need to focus on Colorado and the game there. First things first. I think that is what the team is doing now. I think this is rhetoric for us to talk about and for fans to get excited about. I don't think Frank Solich will be walking around saying we win this game and Texas awaits.

[BABCOCK] I don't think we could have asked Frank to be here and drawn him into the discussion.

[KUGLER] Which is why we don't invite him.

[FIALA] Believe me, they're not watching Texas film today.

[KUGLER] I'm sure not. John in North Platte, who do you think the best Colorado player is and John wants to know if you could say hi to Dick in North Platte. His dad is a fan of yours.

[FIALA] Hi, Dick. Good to have you with us. I hope everything is going well for you. Go Big Red. No problem.

[KUGLER] Who is the best Colorado player? Mike Moschetti.

[BABCOCK] I think Mike Moschetti is the key of the game. He has to play well. If Colorado has a hope of doing well, I think he has to play well. He didn't play particularly well against Kansas State. That's one of the reasons he was pulled out of the game at one point. I think he has to play well. Whether he is the best player or not, I couldn't address that. But I know he is a key. If their defense is playing well, he has to play well on offense. You know, that's going to be a big factor in the game.

[FIALA] Mike Moschetti had a good characterization of his abilities. He is a 5'4" quarterback with bad ribs. He is a Doug Flutie type quarterback. He gets it done and wins. Two of the top receivers in the Big 12 conference that are good. They have Ben Kelly who is an excellent defensive back and a kick returner. Those four people would be the people to watch for.

[KUGLER] More of your questions in a moment. Let's look at the Big 12 standings after this last week yen. First the scores. Colorado shut out baylor 37-0. 45-13 Oklahoma State over Kansas. Oklahoma continuing to roll. They're 6-3 this year and looking at a decent bowl. Bob Stoops' first year. Fun to see them back in the mix. A&M over Missouri. Missouri has no offense. That's just in. Texas over Texas Tech. Nebraska over Kansas State 41-15. You look at the standings in the North, Nebraska in control. Kansas State hoping for a Nebraska stumble at Colorado. In the South division, the Huskers' opponent is Texas if we win against Colorado. Texas clinched the Big 12 South division title. Oklahoma and Texas could end up tied but Texas has the head to head with a 38-28 win over Oklahoma. Baylor still 0-7 in the conference. 1-9 over all. Patrick in Lincoln via e-mail, is it possible Nebraska is having more fumbles because the players are moving so fast? Thinking back to Oklahoma and the wishbone, their fastest players seemed to fumble a lot due to ball exchanges at a high rate of speed.

[BABCOCK] Seems like usually the player has the ball and it's not in the exchange. Frank brought that up. He talked about that. He said in the option you do a lot of the handling of the ball but that doesn't seem to be the main problem of why Nebraska is fumbling so often. Yeah, those Oklahoma wishbones, they would bounce it around pretty good. In many cases they had the speed to run away from mistakes because they could offset that.

[FIALA] One guy told me the other day about the fumbles talking about Dan Alexander. He said I think his biceps are too big. When he cradles the football, it doesn't cradle it. That's how far this thing is going. I don't think it has anything to do with that as far as the exchanges. It's the hitting and holding that has caused these things.

[BABCOCK] How many suggestions do you think Frank Solich has gotten in the last few weeks?

[KUGLER] Like getting rid of the hiccups.

[FIALA] His new web site is probably full of suggestions.

[KUGLER] Ron in Verdigre.

[RON] I noticed for years that 95% of the time Nebraska runs the option to the narrow side of the field. To me that seems tough because you have the defensive sideline to help you cut men off and you don't have room to run. I don't understand why they don't run to the wide side more?

[FIALA] Basically what happens on that when you run short side or weak side, the strong side of the formation is to where the tight end is and the wide side of the field. Most defenses slant that direction so they're slanting away from the weak side of the field and a lot of times you will have the split guy on that side and you will see teams go that direction. There are a number of times when you can take advantage of that positioning by the defense and get to that short side and go. If you have a team that flows quickly and is very fast and has the speed to get there, sometimes they can shut it out with that. You have a man advantage on the weak side or short side. I know a lot of people ask that question. That's why. Defensive sliding to the wide side over the strong side of the formation. You have a man advantage on the short side, sometimes. You will see a lot of times the quarterback will check to an audible to run to the short side. That accounts for some of what you are talking about.

[BABCOCK] If you have an extremely fast defense even going to the wide side of the field, the defense will push it out and it will go farther.

[FIALA] Great point, Mike. If you have great speed on defense, the further you string it out, all of a sudden the sideline is the 12th man.

[KUGLER] One more trivia question to sneak in. Our third Big Red trivia question. Be the first correct caller and you will receive a VHS copy of "Coach Osborne: More Than Winning" produced here at Nebraska public television. One winner per household this season. The Colorado Buffaloes have gone 131 games without being shut out. It's the second longest streak in the Big 12 conference. Name the last team to blank the buffs and what was the final shutout score? Be the first correct caller and you will receive a VHS copy of "Coach Osborne: More Than Winning." Let's jump into the highlights before we talk more about Colorado of what we have seen Colorado do this year. You see Ralphie except at Memorial Stadium. The game is in Colorado so he will be there. Mike Moschetti in action. Mike Moschetti you will see in the highlights, they throw an awful lot. This is a game against Oklahoma. Colorado won 38-24. Mike Moschetti is the guy that has a strong but not powerful arm. He does some things that used to make Rick Neuheisel pull out his blond hair. Has Mike Moschetti been more consistent?

[BABCOCK] I think he has. Last year he was knocked out of about four games with injuries. He is a tough guy that gets the job done. I think he has been a little more consistent. The Kansas State game he was inconsistent enough that they pulled him out of the game and he came back at the end to throw a couple of long touchdown passes. I think Colorado's offense has not been as consistent as gary barnett would have liked as indicated by the problems early in the season. Even though Gary Barnett is the coach, Colorado has not established a consistent running game. Until they do that, they will have the inconsistency problems.

[KUGLER] We have a winner in the third trivia question. We may have to wait until the next show to get to the winner. There is javon green with a touchdown pass. We will see highlights of Ben Kelly in this game against Oklahoma. Defensively, what will we see from Colorado?

[FIALA] They have always been tough and hard nosed. I think they try to be that way this year, too, Kevin. Quite honestly I haven't seen film on them this year so I can't answer a lot of questions about their defense. I know their defense over the years, they come at you pretty tough and eyes ablazing so that's all I can tell you right now about this bunch. They will get after us. I'm sure they'll get after us. They'll see situations where they think they can take advantage of what we do. Mike moschetti, by the way, leading the Big 12 conference in passing.

[BABCOCK] There's the guy that was leading the Big 12 in passing. You can see a couple of interceptions in the highlights. They were stingy that day.

[FIALA] They will get after you. They will try to create opportunities. Colorado has always been that way. Try to play a real tough, hard hitting brand of football. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

[KUGLER] Colorado at 6-4. That underlines the point perfectly, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I want to remind you that the time warner cable classic is this week friday live at 8:00 p.m. and the Championship game on sunday at 3:00 p.m. Plus, State high school football Championships on ETV this year Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Not all games are live so consult the local television listings. Adrian and Steve and I will be there. We are out of time on "Big Red Wrap-Up." For our guests, thank you for watching, I'm Kevin Kugler. See you in two weeks as we wrap up the Colorado game. Good night, everyone.