1. What happened to the run game in the second half?

Well, it got put on the back burner. Nebraska ran over the Cowboys and had great success running the ball en route to a 16-0 lead. After Brandon Jackson scored his second touchdown, he didn’t get another carry in the last eight minutes of the first half.

The Huskers managed to get a mere 52 yards rushing in the second half, and offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said the reason they stopped focusing on the ground game was simple.

“We got behind a little bit,” Norvell sad. “We tried to match them and get more big plays.”

However, the Huskers really got away from the ground game before they were behind, and the reason they stopped rushing so effectively in the second half is because they simply stopped pounding the rock, which seemed to be working well.

2. What happened to the defense?

To sum up the defense’s performance, I’ll use a trite, stupid cliche  such as “they really didn’t show up and play today.” Of course, they did physically make the trek to Stillwater, so I think they just had some tackling issues and used their speed against themselves by overpursuing Oklahoma State’s three-headed rushing monster of Dantrell Savage, Bobby Reid and Keith Toston.

The Blackshirts just couldn’t stop the Cowboys, and junior linebacker Corey McKeon said they knew this would be exactly what Oklahoma State would do, so it wasn’t because of a lack of preparation.

“We knew it was coming, but we just weren’t able to stop it today,” McKeon said.

3. What defensive player has a nasty attitude that stands out?

It’s Adam Carriker. His presence alone makes opposing teams cringe. The combination of speed and a 6-foot-6, 295-pound frame causes match-up problems. His ability to shift inside on passing situations adds an additional punch to the Blackshirts’ pass rush. His stats may be down this year, but he still has dominated games and likely will be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft next April. Against the Cowboys, Carriker finally recorded some more sacks, adding two, after recording one in the first eight games. To me, he has a nasty streak that sets the tone of the defense.