Huskers Chat about Kansas Clash

Lincoln - Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini met with the media on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium to discuss the Huskers' upcoming Big 12 North battle at Kansas on Saturday. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence is set for 2:30 p.m. with regional television coverage provided by ABC.

The Huskers (6-3 overall, 3-2 Big 12) will try to continue their winning ways after back-to-back victories over Big 12 South Division foes No. 20 Oklahoma and Baylor. The Jayhawks (5-4 overall, 1-4 Big 12) will be trying to end a four-game skid while searching for their third straight home win over the Huskers in Lawrence.

Nebraska's defense has been exceptional in recent weeks, holding each of its last three opponents to 10 or fewer points. The Huskers held No. 20 Oklahoma to just three points in Saturday's win over the Sooners in Lincoln.

The success of Nebraska's team defense has also led to individual national honors for a trio of Huskers. Most recently, senior safety Matt O'Hanlon was named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, following his school-record-tying three interceptions and a career-high 12 tackles against Oklahoma.

Sophomore defensive tackle Jared Crick won the award the previous week after his school-record five-sack effort in a win at Baylor, while All-America candidate Ndamukong Suh won the award following Nebraska's win at Missouri and is a two-time Lott Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week this season.

Before Pelini arrived at Nebraska as head coach in 2008, the Huskers ranked 112th nationally in total defense in 2007. This season, the Huskers rank among the top 25 nationally in nearly every major statistical category, including second in scoring defense.

“Scheme always has something to do with it, but I don’t believe it’s what you do, it’s how you do it. In football, it’s about fundamentals, technique, teaching and developing each guy individually," Pelini said. "And also, I think it’s about creating an attitude, a culture, a certain way of going about things, both practice-wise and how you approach it when you take the field. I think all of those things go into it. I think it goes well beyond scheme. The scheme kind of changes, that evolves as you go along, but how you do it and the way you play every single week is something that I think separates somebody playing good defense and somebody not playing good defense.”

While the Blackshirts have stifled opponents, the offense has struggled to put points on the board the past several weeks, and Pelini said he will be looking for more production this weekend at Kansas.

“I expect our offense to play very well this week. We need to play better. I thought we did some good things the other night," Pelini said. "I think the circumstances of the game and the aura of what was going on, it played into us being very conservative. That ended up being the plan. As the game played out, it was the right way to win the football game. We were all on the same page on that, but every week is going to be different. We have to be prepared this week to put points on the board and to do it early and often, because we’re playing a pretty explosive offense with some guys who can hurt you at any time."

For a full transcript of Coach Pelini's session with the media, and quotes from defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick and senior safetey Matt O'Hanlon, click on the links below.

• Head Coach Bo Pelini
• Senior Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
• Sophomore Defensive Tackle Jared Crick
• Senior Safety Matt O'Hanlon