• Photo Showcase: NU-KSU (fans)
• Photo Showcase: NU-KSU (game action).
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MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Husker coaches were certain Kansas State's talented running back, Daniel Thomas, was going to be the focal point of the offense in a manner that hadn't appeared on game film.
They just didn't know exactly which new tactics would be utilized Thursday night.
So the plan was to survive a presumably hectic first quarter, which would feature reactionary play calls and mid-game strategy tweaks. As the game dragged on, Husker coaches hoped, the defense would settle in.
Turns out, the Blackshirts took control sooner than anticipated.
Nebraska had an answer for every unfamiliar formation that it saw, nullifying the Wildcats' primary offensive threat. The Huskers left Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a 48-13 win, with a stout first-half NU defensive performance setting the tone.
“I'm proud of our guys,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “We made a lot of adjustments on the fly, and they picked them up. Things that they maybe got us for early, we fixed the problem and were able to execute the next time.”
Thomas, a 6-foot-2, 228-pounder, touched the ball on 14 of Kansas State's first 19 plays. He ran downhill after traditional handoffs. He took a couple direct snaps in the Wildcat formation. He caught a swing pass and hauled in another after releasing off a block.
The third Kansas State possession began on the NU 48-yard line. Thomas ran the ball on five of the six plays — but he was taken down short of the first-down marker on an option play, which forced a field-goal attempt.
Thomas, the nation's fifth-ranked rusher coming in, finished with 63 rushing yards on 22 carries. Only twice in his K-State career has the former junior college transfer finished with fewer yards than he did Thursday.
“Obviously, he was a guy that we were focused on trying to limit,” head coach Bo Pelini said.
Of course, the question coming in centered on whether Nebraska could get that done.
In NU's opener, Western Kentucky's Bobby Rainey ran the ball 30 times for 155 yards, the fifth-best day by an opposing running back in Memorial Stadium history.
South Dakota State's Kyle Minett ran for 112 yards on 28 attempts.
The Huskers allowed just two 100-yard rushers all of last season.
But Bo Pelini said earlier this week that he and the defensive staff were experimenting with certain schematic elements during the first few weeks, trying to teach various lessons to the unit. They were holding some things back, which is why the players were never concerned, sophomore defensive end Cameron Meredith said.
“We knew we were going to get better every week,” Meredith said. “There's always things to fix every game.”
That's the idea, Pelini said. His defenses get better as the season progresses, he says. Last season, NU gave up 112 rushing yards to Florida Atlantic. Then Arkansas State gained 143. Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams ran for 107 yards in the third NU contest. But after that, the Huskers started performing better. NU ended the year as the nation's ninth-best run defense (93.1 yards per game). The steady improvement seems to be happening again this year.
On Thursday night, Thomas' longest run went for 13 yards. He caught eight passes for 36 yards.
And as the game progressed into the fourth quarter, one sequence was especially telling. It was first and goal, just 1 yard from the goal line. Both teams had their heavy personnel on the field. With Thomas lined up in the backfield, the play seemed destined for the end zone.
But Nebraska's line stuffed Thomas. Two plays later, DeJon Gomes leveled Thomas as he took an option pitch and tried to stretch it to the pylon. K-State scored on fourth down, but Thomas was on the sideline. At 45-13, the game was out of hand by then.
“We knew they were going to come out and run the ball,” Meredith said. “That was our mind-set going into the game. If we could stop the run, we could beat them.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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• Video: Bo Pelini after the NU-KSU game:
• Video: Taylor Martinez after the NU-KSU game:
• Video: NU-KSU postgame analysis:
• Video: NU-KSU highlight reel:
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