Cornuskers and Demon Deacons meet in Winston-Salem

Sep 5, 2007, 16:12 GMT

Winston-Salem, NC - The 16th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers will attempt to keep the momentum going this weekend, as they travel to Winston-Salem for a non-conference showdown with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Nebraska was impressive in its season debut last week against Nevada, blowing out the Wolf Pack by a score of 52-10. It extended the nation's longest streak for consecutive season-opening wins to 22. The week continues to get better for Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, who accepted a new five-year contract on Tuesday, keeping him in Lincoln through the 2012 season. Callahan's troops will face a different challenge this week than the one last week, as the Demon Deacons are in desperate need of a victory after dropping a 38-28 decision to Boston College in the season-opener in Chestnut Hill. After winning the ACC a year ago, Jim Grobe's troops were hoping for a better start to their 2007 campaign. This is the third-all-time meeting between these two teams, with Nebraska winning the previous two matchups, including a 31-3 rout in 2005.

The Cornhuskers couldn't have envisioned a better start to their 2007 season on offense, as they erupted for a whopping 625 total yards against Nevada. In all, NU rolled up an eye-popping 413 yards on the ground and amassed 35 first downs. It was the most total yards on offense for the Cornhuskers since 2001. Tailback Marlon Lucky was phenomenal, as the junior rushed for a career-high 233 yards on 30 carries. Lucky found the end zone four times, including three TDs on the ground. The Huskers were an efficient 7-of-8 inside the red zone, with the lone miss being at the end of the game, when the team took a knee inside the five-yard line to run out the clock. Nebraska controlled the clock to perfection, holding the ball for nearly 41 minutes. QB Sam Keller didn't need to do much in terms of throwing the ball, completing 14-of-25 passes, for 193 yards and one TD. Eleven different players caught a pass in the game, with Lucky's three receptions leading the way.

Defensively, the Cornhuskers had just as much success, holding Nevada to a mere 185 total yards of offense, including a meager 108 yards passing. In his second career start, senior LB Sam Octavien led the way with five total tackles, including two TFLs. The team recorded six TFLs in all and finished with one sack and one interception. Other defensive players to keep an eye on week-in and week-out are senior linebacker Bo Ruud, who was a First-Team All- Big 12 selection in 2006 and senior cornerback Cortney Grixby, who has started 27 straight games in the secondary for Nebraska. Senior Tierre Green is another player with plenty of experience. He has started 25 games in his career and has shown great versatility, playing I-back, cornerback, strong safety and free safety during that time.

It was a shootout in Chestnut Hill last weekend and unfortunately for Wake Forest, it came out on the losing end, dropping a 10-point decision. The team was able to throw for an impressive 366 yards in the game, but the once potent ground attack for Wake Forest was nonexistent, amassing a mere two yards in the game against BC. Sophomore QB Riley Skinner was 28-of-37 passing, for 236 yards, but threw for just one TD against three interceptions. To make matters worse, he left the game with a slightly separated shoulder and is listed as doubtful this weekend. Taking his place this week is likely to be Brett Hodges, who was 17-of-23 against Boston College. Senior wideout Kenneth Moore was outstanding in defeat, hauling in 15 balls, for 126 yards and one TD. Look for Hodges and Moore to attempt to continue the good chemistry this week against Nebraska.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons were torched by Preseason ACC Player of the Year Matt Ryan, who completed 32-of-52 passes, for 408 yards and an impressive five TDs. The good news is that because of Nebraska's success running the ball, Wake may not see the ball in the air often in this game. Wake handled BC's dynamic backfield duo of L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callendar, holding the pair to a combined 68 yards and the team as a whole to a mere 54 yards rushing. Of course, that is little consolation when giving up over 400 yards passing. Still, a similar effort up front could give the Demon Deacons a fighting chance in this game. Wake's Aaron Curry (junior LB) led the way with 11 total tackles, including seven solo stops. Jeremy Thompson (senior DE) had a strong game as well, with six stops, including two sacks.

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