The most impressive thing about Saturday's 56-0 win over Troy was how sharp the Huskers really were. Sure, it looked like Troy was a tired team after playing Florida State and Georgia Tech, but the focus we saw from Bill Callahan's team coming off the loss at Southern Cal was impressive. The Huskers looked like a Top 10 team against the Trojans from Troy. Now we'll see if they can turn around and do it again against a team that beat them 40-15 a year ago.

It had to be hard for NU volleyball coach John Cook to find much wrong with his team through the first six matches. The Huskers swept all six before beating Minnesota 3-1 on Sunday. Although Nebraska had dominated up until that match, be began to see where the Huskers need improvement.

Sarah Pavan and Jordan Larson have been spectacular despite being double blocked. Rachel Holloway has shown how good she can be at setter while Dani Busboom has embraced her new role as libero.

We knew Tracy Stalls would be outstanding in the M1 spot. The M2 and the other outside spot with Dani Mancuso were the question marks and they still are. Mancuso came on strong late in the Minneota match, but NU got little from Amanda Gates and Kori Cooper at the M2 position. Cook is looking for Mancuso and either Gates or Cooper to step up and produce in order to take the pressure off Stalls, Pavan and Larson.

That will probably be the key to the season. Mancuso is a very good player, just not at the same level as Pavan, Larson and Stalls. The Huskers really need either Gates or Cooper to pump up their play and take it to the next level.

Nebraska's 56-7 win over Nicholls State couldn't have surprised too many people. The Huskers totally outclassed their opponent on Saturday. What remains impressive is how sharp the offense looks with Zac Taylor at the controls. The Huskers had minimum penalties and only one turnover, and that came when the ball took a funny hop on a punt and hit Todd Peterson so that's not the same as the offense turning it over.

Is NU ready for USC? We'll find out on Saturday night.

Not a bad start at all for the Husker football team. We got to see that Zac Taylor does indeed have a great grasp of Bill Callahan's offense. If not for a handful of drops, his statistics would have been even more outstanding. It was interesting to see all those tight ends catching balls. Where was that last year? Callahan has an interesting way of calling plays. Yes, in the end it may be a balanced offense, but it seems as if one drive will be all runs, then the next all passes. That happened more than once on Saturday, not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's just different than you generally see.
The four I-backs all ran well. Brandon Jackson's TD run in the fourth quarter was particularly exciting, although it did come against a tired La. Tech defense. We only saw Kenny Wilson's burst of speed once on a TD run in the first quarter that was called back because of a penalty, but it was enough to see that when he gets in the open, look out.
The offensive line looks to be much improved. Slausen and Nicks are real men in there. Those guys are going to have a real impact this season.
The defensive front looked pretty good as expected. The backfield ... now there's a question mark, especially with Grisby and Fluellen getting dinged up on Saturday. We'll see where that goes. Anytime you have recently converted receivers in the d-backfield like Fluellen, it's got to be a concern for the coaching staff.

Thank God the Husker opener is almost here. The players need a game, the coaches need a game, the fans need a game and the media needs a game. I don't think there's much left to write or talk about. We've been doing that for most of the past month. Now it's time to tee it up and see what happens. My prediction for what it's worth: 10-4 after a loss in the Big 12 championship game and a win in a bowl game.