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Complicated simplicity Miami to face tough challenge from Nebraska's optionPosted: Monday December 31, 2001 6:10 PMUpdated: Tuesday January 01, 2002 2:45 AM
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com LOS ANGELES -- By the time Thursday’s Rose Bowl rolls around, Miami will have had nearly four weeks to prepare for Nebraska’s option offense. Considering they’d only have a week, maybe two, during the regular season, it would seem the ‘Canes should have the Huskers down cold. But then, Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas have had roughly a 30-year head start. Look where it’s gotten them. There’s no secret as to what the Huskers are going to do offensively each and every time they take the football field. They’re going to run at you, then they’re going to do it again. But just because you know it’s coming doesn’t mean you can stop it. “It’s not a mystery, we’re not going to come out and try to trick you,” said quarterback Eric Crouch. “What we do that’s special is run the football. [Defenses] know what we’re going to do, nothing fancy, we’re just going to run right at them, play physical football. Teams that don’t get a chance to play us year after year may struggle with it.”
While Nebraska faces a variety of offenses in the Big 12, Miami does not play any Big East team that runs primarily the option. And the world’s greatest scout team quarterback isn’t going to come close to replicating Crouch. The Huskers feel that gives them a significant advantage. In fact, several players this week have cited the Hurricanes’ last game, against Virginia Tech, in which the Hokies mixed in the option in the second half, with great success. Running back Kevin Jones broke gains of 55 and 39 yards as Tech rallied to within 26-24 before falling short. “They ran the option 10, 12 times that game, got 130 yards, two huge plays,” said Miami defensive tackle Matt Walters. “If I was an opposing team, one that runs the option a lot, it’s something to probably gets excited about. But when we played those teams, we had maybe two days in pads to prepare for the option, and we worked on it maybe 10 times. For this game, we’ve had a whole month, probably did it 7,000 times.” What makes the Huskers’ option so unique is just how many options they have. Head coach Frank Solich designed NU’s present offense around the running abilities of Crouch, who carried 203 times for 1,115 yards this season. I-back Dahrran Diedrick led the Big 12 with 1,299 yards on 233 carries, and backup Thunder Collins added 647. But lest you think the playbook reads, “run left, run center, run right,” the Huskers’ offense is actually quite complicated. “We’re going to run option football, using a lot of different angles, different blocking schemes,” said Crouch. “It’s really all about timing -- a lot of reps working with the I-backs and fullbacks.” “What they can do well is run one play five different ways,” said Walters. “Yeah, their blocking schemes can confuse you, but when you’ve had a month to prepare for it you can watch it on film. Sometimes they make a mistake.” But the Huskers feel they have another advantage. They feel they’ll be able to wear down Miami’s defense physically. No question the ‘Canes are gifted athletically up front, but it’s safe to say they’ve never been pounded as relentlessly as they will be Thursday night. The Huskers rarely deviate from their bread and butter, banking on the assumption those 1 and 2-yard first-quarter runs will become 6- and 7-yard gains come the fourth quarter, when the ‘Canes will presumably wear down. “They’ve played a lot of teams that run the football but have been down in the game so early they had to rely on other means than running the football [to catch up],” said Diedrick. “We have to stay out there, keep the defense off the field.” Finally, as if stopping the option isn’t enough of a chore, Miami must still be ready at any moment to defend the pass. It’s an area where the ‘Canes normally excel, what with the nation’s most talented group of defensive backs. But this game, they’ll find themselves out of the play on most occasions, unless they creep up to help stop the run -- which is exactly what the Huskers want them to do. “Miami all year has been playing their safeties 15-20 yards deep, been able to stuff the run with just the seven guys in the box,” said Crouch’s favorite target on the play-action, tight end Tracey Wistrom. “We hope we can change that, bring their safeties up. That will open it up for some passes.” “We’ve got to play the pass first,” said Miami cornerback Phillip Buchanon. “The coaches keep saying, ‘Play pass, play pass. Don’t worry about the run.’ If they pass, we’re ready for it.” The ‘Canes are ready for the run, too. At least they say so. But for all the film study and practice work, they won’t really know what they’re in for until they see it for themselves. Most likely, Miami’s defense is in for a supreme test, the kind that merits a national championship if they can rise to the occasion. The Huskers are acting awfully confident for a team that lost 62-36 the last time they stepped on the field, partially because they know their defense won’t get burned that bad again, but mostly because not even Colorado could bottle up their offense. The challenge has been issued. Nebraska’s coming right at you, ‘Canes. Are you ready? “Bring it,” said a grinning Walters. “Our team is really relaxed, we have been all year.” “If they want to think we can be run on, let them try,” said linebacker Jonathan Vilma. “A lot of teams tried for five weeks there [before Virginia Tech], the games ended up being blowouts.”
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