Entering the season, prevailing wisdom pointed to senior Zac Taylor and junior Bret Meyer as the Big 12 North’s top two quarterbacks, though Missouri’s Chase Daniel has since thrown his helmet into the ring.

At any rate, we can all agree that without Taylor and Meyer, Nebraska and Iowa State would be in a heap of trouble — especially the Cyclones. In last week’s 28-27 home win against Division I-AA Northern Iowa, Meyer either ran the ball or passed it on every play in the second half. Every single play.

Like Taylor, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Meyer gives his team steady leadership and gutsy playmaking skills. Both young men seem mature beyond their years, which helps make them special. Meyer is more gifted athletically, but it’s hard to argue with Taylor’s performance so far this season — his pass efficiency rating of 180.35 ranks fourth nationally.

Sack attack wanes: Uh, oh. The Big Red’s boss had a request for the Blackshirts this week: More sacks, please.

“That will be a key emphasis,” Bill Callahan said. “You’ve got to put pressure on this guy.” Meyer has been sacked 14 times in five games this season. He was sacked seven times in Iowa State’s only Big 12 game to date, a 37-14 loss at Texas.

Last season, Nebraska sacked Meyer six times, and the Huskers finished the season with a nation-leading 50 (4.17 per game). This year, Nebraska is tied for 92nd nationally with seven sacks in five games (1.4). Last week, KU’s Adam Barmann threw 54 passes and wasn’t sacked once.

“One thing that’s really frustrating is I don’t know how many times I’ve hit the quarterback as he was throwing the ball,” defensive end Adam Carriker said. “It’s like, ‘Can’t you just hold on to it another 10th of a second?’”

Shhhhhhh!! Let’s face it, a lack of sacks was just one of many problems Nebraska’s defense experienced against Kansas.

“We didn’t play very well,” Carriker said in something of an understatement. “We want to come out and show that that wasn’t the real Blackshirt defense. We definitely want to play a lot better.”

Iowa State ranks in the bottom half of the Big 12 in most every offensive category. Then again, so did Kansas, and the Jayhawks managed a mere 574 yards and two long fourth-quarter scoring drives.

NU defenders cited communication errors as being a significant problem last week, as players blew assignments amid the nighttime din of Memorial Stadium. Good news for Nebraska!! Since this game is being played in Ames, the pro-Iowa State crowd likely will be quiet when the Cyclone offense prepares for the snap. Hey, that’s one Husker problem solved.

Pressure already? Those who thought Nebraska was a clear-cut favorite to capture the Big 12 North (myself included) probably began to wonder about that prediction during the fourth quarter last week as Kansas befuddled the backpedaling Blackshirts.

Although the North race likely will go to the wire, the Huskers could re-establish themselves as top dogs with a win tonight to improve to 2-0 in league play. Iowa State, with its rugged schedule against South Division teams, would become a longshot to capture the North by falling to 0-2. Kansas and Missouri will be in the hunt. The Jayhawks have by far the easiest South schedule of the leading contenders. And the Tigers supposedly possess the best combination of offense and defense in the same season since Warren Powers was in charge in the early 1980s. Fasten your seat belts, this ride will be wild.