Bowl Championship Series - Players to Watch - No. 1 Nebraska at No. 2 Oklahoma

Friday, December 13, 2002
Players to Watch - No. 1 Nebraska at No. 2 Oklahoma
By Will Weiss
BCSfootball.com

KEYUO CRAVER	TROY WATCHORN	JOE WALKER	ERWIN SWINEY
Nebraska	Nebraska	Nebraska	Nebraska
Junior	Senior	Senior	Junior
Cornerback	Free Safety	Rover	Cornerback
5-10, 190	5-11, 200	5-10, 195	6-0, 185
Harleton, Texas	Columbus, Neb.	Arlington, Texas	Lincoln, Neb.

2000 stats	G	Tackles	TFL-yards	Int.-yards
Craver	7	31	4-15	0-0
Watchorn	7	8	0-0	4-64
Walker	7	25	1-1	2-24
Swiney	7	10	0-0	0-0

Nebraska's pass defense faces its most difficult task of the season in the high-powered spread offense of Oklahoma. The Sooners will show three-wide, four-wide, even five-wide receiver sets on Saturday, forcing the secondary to shuffle frequently.


	Keyuo Craver will be tested in man-to-man coverage.

Corners Keyuo Craver and Erwin Swiney are two of the best man-on-man cover guys you'll find. They'll match up against Andre Woolfolk and Antwone Savage, who torched two of the best secondaries in the country, in Texas and Kansas State. Both receivers run solid routes and are deep threats, so it is imperative for the two corners to stay with them and take Heupel's two main options away.

In free safety Troy Watchorn and rover Joe Walker, Nebraska has extra support in pass coverage, and also a man to fill behind the linebackers and ballhawk. Since Heupel is so skilled at making adjustments and reading coverage schemes, Watchorn and Walker must be careful not to anticipate too early, or they will get burned, and Heupel, with his quick release and radar-like accuracy, can burn them.

As deep as Oklahoma is in the receiver department, Nebraska is equally as deep with its defensive backs. Don't be surprised to see Clint Finley, Dion Booker and DeJuan Groce get more playing time than they're accustomed to.

With that said, personnel shouldn't be too much of an issue. The bottom line for the unit is to stay patient and be aggressive when warranted. With the emotion and significance of this type of a game, it's easy to lose focus. But, many of the players on this defense have played in games similar to this, and relish the opportunity to prove why Nebraska is the No. 1 team in the country right now.

ROGER STEFFEN	ROCKY CALMUS	TORRANCE MARSHALL
Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
Senior	Junior	Senior
Outside linebacker	Inside linebacker	Outside linebacker
6-1, 230	6-3, 240	6-2, 252
El Reno, Okla.	Jenks, Okla.	Miami, Fla.

2000 stats	G	Tackles	TFL-yards	Sacks-yards	INT-yards	FF-FR
Steffen	6	23	1-1	0-0	0-0	0-0
Calmus	6	49	8-30	2-19	1-41	1-3
Marshall	6	47	6-13	2-9	0-0	0-0

The trio of Roger Steffen, Rocky Calmus and Torrance Marshall may be one of the more underrated linebacking corps in the country. All three are big, fast, quick to react to the ball, and they can hit.


	Rocky Calmus leads OU with 8 tackles for loss this season.

Calmus and Marshall are the team's top tacklers, with 49 and 47, respectively, and Calmus is chasing Brian Bosworth's mark of career tackles-for-loss. Both have had standout seasons to this point, but Saturday, facing Nebraska's devastating No. 1 rushing attack will prove their mettle.

The Huskers essentially have three backs, with Dan Alexander, Correll Buckhalter and Eric Crouch. Nebraska will pound and pound, and try to wear down OU's front seven. Since the defensive line is at a two-inch, 49-pound size disadvantage, there is more pressure on the linebackers to pick up the slack. It has rained all week, and there are storms in the forecast for Saturday, so footing will be a problem. If Nebraska's O-line does its job, and Calmus, Marshall and Steffen aren't there to recover, it could be a long day at Owen Field.

Like Nebraska's secondary, the trio must not get too overanxious. They did a fine job against Kansas State's option attack, but OU also gained a big lead early in the game, and forced K-State to air it out.

The priority for Oklahoma's linebackers Saturday is containment. The only team that contained Nebraska was Notre Dame, and the Huskers still came back. Look for Steffen, Calmus and Marshall to be aggressive and provide a spark for the defense. The better they do their job, the quicker the ball gets back into the hands of Josh Heupel -- exactly where they want it to be.

Will Weiss is the assistant editor of BCSfootball.com

ALSO SEE

Dell Game Preview: No. 1 Nebraska at No. 2 Oklahoma

5 things to watch

Sooner LBs make defense special

Fowler: New look to old rivalry

Corso: Not So Fast, My Friends

Big 12 notebook

Arute: Black day in Blacksburg

AUDIO/VIDEO

Oklahoma's Seth Littrell knows that past will not rule the present come game day.
wav: 97 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Oklahoma's Josh Norman comments on his teams attitude heading into Saturday's game against Nebraska.
wav: 72 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Oklahoma's Andre Woolfolk doesn't want lose this Saturday to Nebraska.
wav: 105 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Bob Stoops has confidence leading up to the Nebraska game.
wav: 154 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Frank Solich will be looking to control the Sooner offense.
wav: 139 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Eric Crouch is expecting a physical game with Oklahoma.
wav: 134 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

Josh Heupel knows how dangerous Nebraska can be.
wav: 105 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

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