The Trojans of Troy Have a Date with the Huskers

Troy at Nebraska

Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln

When: 11:00 am

TV: BTN

Spread: Nebraska -10

 

Troy heads to Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2006. The Trojans scored first in this series, but the Huskers have scored 86 unanswered points after pitching shutouts the last two times the teams met.

Over a decade later, the circumstances are a little bit different.

Troy is coming off its two most successful seasons in its FBS history while Nebraska has started a new era after finishing with its worst record since the late 1950’s under William Jennings.

This contest will be strength vs strength as Scott Frost’s run-heavy offense lines up opposite Vic Koenning’s run stifling front seven.

Nebraska played its first game of the season last week against Colorado following its cancelled game against Akron.

Despite the 33-28 loss, the Huskers quickly established its new identity as it carved up the Buffalo defense with a true freshman guiding the option offense.

That true freshman, Adrian Martinez, went down late in the game and has been deemed day-to-day with a leg injury.

Martinez has not practiced this week and Frost told reporters the decision may come just minutes before kick off.

Martinez is an 18-year old who didn’t play his senior season in high school due to an injury, yet he showed promise last week. Martinez, an elusive runner who throws well on the run, is built for Frost’s offense. He’s also accurate from short to intermediate range.

If he doesn’t play, walk-on Andrew Bunch will take the field. Bunch was four for nine in his first career action last week and is not nearly the ground threat that Martinez is.

Regardless of who the quarterback is, Nebraska has plenty of talent at the skill positions and an impressive offensive line to run behind. While Martinez himself had 117 rushing yards last week, the running back group had 198 rushing yards among three players.

Greg Bell and Devine Ozigbo are the primary backs and combined for 164 rushing yards on 6.1 yards per carry.

Neither back is going to blow you away with speed, both both have quick feet and great vision behind the line of scrimmage.

The Huskers aren’t limited to their backfield, though. Nebraska has a pair of wide receivers in Stanley Morgan and JD Spielman who have game-breaking potential.

Morgan set the school record for receiving yards in a season last year and is a dangerous weapon over the middle. Spielman is an athletic player that Frost will try to get in space in a variety of ways.

On the other side of the ball, Nebraska is big and fierce up front. Colorado only registered 44 rushing yards on 35 carries and the Huskers brought down the quarterback seven times.

While the front four is highly impressive, the secondary is a work in progress. The Husker defense struggles in space and doesn’t win many one-on-one battles.

Neal Brown’s offense is designed to put playmakers in space, a plus for Troy. However, not having Jamarius Henderson or Traveon Samuel hurts as both are highly skilled in the open field.

If the offensive line can protect quarterback Kaleb Barker, the Trojans can work the secondary underneath with Deondre Douglas and stretch the Huskers deep with Damion Willis.

That’s a big if. This game is going to be a battle on the line of scrimmage and whoever controls the game up front will likely come out on top.

Prediction

With Martinez on the field, the Husker offense was able to get down the field in a number of ways. The Huskers should’ve had at least 35 points last week, too, but Morgan dropped a dime of a throw from Martinez at the end of the third quarter.

With Bunch on the field, the offense relies more on its running backs and is less consistent through the air. I think the game will be much closer with Bunch starting but the only difference it’ll make is Troy covering. I say Bunch starts, Troy keeps it close but the talent on the edge will be too much for the Trojans. 37-31, Nebraska