| Each week during the season, Joel Buchsbaum highlights key college games.
In this issue, Buchsbaum previews Oklahoma vs. Nebraska and UCLA vs. Stanford. He breaks
down each team, provides a scout’s perspective on key players and picks a final
score.
| Oklahoma vs.
Nebraska |
Saturday, Oct. 27
at Lincoln, Neb. |
 |
Cornhuskers QB
Eric Crouch
|
Nebraska has the home field and revenge on its mind. Oklahoma is the defending national
champion and is even more talented than it was last year, when the Sooners beat a favored
Nebraska team badly despite a shaky start. Both teams have speedy defenses, but on
offense, Oklahoma has more speed and more weapons. And on defense, the Sooners have five
potential All-Americans, while Nebraska has one in CB Keyou Craver, who may not even be
able to play as a result of an ankle injury suffered vs. Texas Tech.
Quarterbacks — Nebraska’s Eric Crouch is very fast and
athletic, but his passing is just average. His strength is his ability to run with the
ball. Oklahoma will go with Jason White, who completed 32-of-44 passes for 341 yards and a
touchdown last week vs. Baylor. However, it should be noted that Baylor was playing eight
and even nine men in the box to keep Oklahoma from running the ball and sacked White eight
times.
Running backs — Nebraska has lots of good backs but no great
ones. Oklahoma features fireplug Quentin Griffin, who is a very good runner and a quality
receiver.
Receivers — Both Nebraska’s Tracey Wistrom and
Oklahoma’s Trent Smith are good receivers who lack the bulk to be power blockers.
However, Wistrom has a bum knee and did not play last week. Outside, Oklahoma is loaded,
while Nebraska has a big, good-looking target in split end Wilson Thomas but no real
gamebreaker.
Offensive linemen — Nebraska is not as big or talented as it
normally is and may be without two starters (Dave Volk and Dan Waldrop) who were hurt last
week, but OLG Toniu Fonoti has awesome size and strength and All-America potential.
Oklahoma has a smaller, more athletic line, led by OTs Frank Romero and Howard Duncan.
Defensive linemen — Oklahoma’s freshman Tommie Harris is a
potential superstar who already may be the Sooners’ best defensive lineman. The
Huskers are not as strong as they have normally been inside.
Linebackers — Oklahoma’s Rocky Calmus is an All-American
with great instincts and intangibles. MLB Teddy Lehman has tremendous speed, and OLB
Brandon Moore is really coming on and is pretty athletic. Nebraska probably needs to get
better in this area.
Defensive backs — Oklahoma could have the best secondary in the
country. Roy Williams is a great strong safety who generally plays up in the box and is a
tremendous force vs. the run. He is a linebacker vs. the run but can also cover like a
good defensive back and blitz. Derrick Stait is an outstanding second-year corner, and it
appears that WR-CB Andre Woolfolk will be a full-time corner because young Antonio Perkins
struggled earlier this year. Perkins will be a deep safety on passing downs because he is
very fast and athletic. Nebraska has a top cornerback in Keyuo Craver, who can generally
shut down a top receiver, but he was injured last week and is questionable for this game.
Special teams — Oklahoma has more experienced kickers and more
explosive returners and also is very good at blocking kicks and making big plays in this
area. However, Sooners PK Tim Duncan has had a very tough year and almost cost the Sooners
the Texas game.
Prediction: Oklahoma 27, Nebraska 20
| UCLA vs. Stanford |
Saturday, Oct. 27
at Palo Alto, Calif. |
UCLA learned the hard way that if you can’t play defense, the best you can hope to
do is finish in the middle of the pack in a very well-balanced Pacific-10 Conference. This
year the Bruins may have the most improved defense in the conference and are making a run
at the Pac-10 crown. Stanford has a very experienced, senior-dominated team that remained
in the running for the Pac-10 title with last week’s stunning upset of Oregon.
Quarterbacks — Stanford may have to start Chris Lewis, who
replaced an injured Randy Fasani last week. After a very shaky start, Lewis helped the
Cardinal come from behind to beat Oregon. Both Fasani and Lewis are very athletic players.
Fasani is the better player, but Lewis is the better leader. UCLA’s Cory Paus is one
of the better throwing quarterbacks in the country and has generally played well this
year. Paus has done an excellent job of avoiding interceptions and costly mistakes and has
yet to be intercepted this year.
Running backs — Stanford will rotate the quicker Brian Allen and
the more powerful Kerry Carter, while UCLA’s horse is DeShaun Foster, a big, powerful
yet swift runner who can be his own blocker. As a result, he makes a lot of yards after
contact. The knock on Foster is that he will fumble the ball, but most of his fumbles come
when he is fighting for extra yardage. He had a great game against Washington, when he
rushed for over 300 yards and came out of the game as a legitimate Heisman Trophy
candidate. California played eight in the box last week, and Foster still gained 117 yards
on the ground and caught a TD pass.
Receivers — TE Bryan Fletcher has emerged as a pass-catching
threat for the Bruins and also is a decent position blocker, but so-called go-to WR Brian
Poli-Dixon has had way too many key drops. However, he still is a threat because of his
great size and deceptive gait.
Offensive linemen — Stanford has a tremendous line, led by senior
OG Eric Heitmann, who is worthy of All-America consideration, and young OT Kwame Harris.
The only senior on UCLA’s line is C Troy Danoff, and while Danoff is a good line
leader, he may be the Bruins’ least-gifted blocker.
Defensive linemen — For UCLA, DE Kenyon Coleman gets the most ink
and has the most ability, but his production does not match his ability level despite the
fact he plays hard. Thanks to a good deal of depth, the Bruins can do a lot of rotating at
this position. Stanford has five or six seniors with some experience, but the Cardinal
must look to its younger players for big plays.
Linebackers — Last year UCLA’s Robert Thomas was an
undersized middle linebacker who did not make many plays as a result of injuries, which
really slowed him down. This year, he is a legitimate playmaker who flies all over the
field, but his size is still a problem at the point of attack. Stanford’s Coy Wire is
even smaller than Thomas, but he is a terrific college player with great instincts and
toughness and very good range. He is often compared to Adam Archuleta but is not that fast
or athletic.
Defensive backs — Stanford’s Tank Williams looks like the
prototype NFL safety and will flash some play-making ability at times, but he is not a
dominating player in the John Lynch mold and does not play to his timed speed. UCLA’s
Marques Anderson is a better safety than corner and is having his best year inside, but he
still can be inconsistent. Ricky Manning is an excellent cover corner and a top baseball
player.
Special teams — UCLA probably has the better kicking game, but
Stanford’s special teams were the difference in last week’s huge upset of
Oregon. Little Luke Powell is one of the best return men in the country.
Prediction: UCLA 34, Stanford 21 |
