STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, November 3, 2006 6:00 pm
Adam Carriker’s displays of strength have become almost legendary with his teammates.
Perhaps you’ve heard of his ability to casually launch a football 80-plus yards (no kidding)?
Or his penchant for tossing around offensive linemen?
“On one play in the last game, the tight end came out and blocked him, and he just threw the guy off of him,” says Nebraska linebacker Lance Brandenburgh. “Then a tackle came to block him on the same play, and he just threw him off, too. Then he made the tackle. I was like, ‘Wow.’ ”
Wow.
That is precisely the word that bounces through Carriker’s cranium as he considers an utterly preposterous fact, one surely nobody anticipated 11 years ago during the Big 12 Conference’s infancy: Nebraska has gone six years without reaching the conference title game. Six years.
“Wow,” says Carriker, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound defensive end, who today will call upon every last fiber of muscle in his menacing frame as he tries to lift Nebraska from its current precarious position into the driver’s seat for the Big 12 North Division crown.
Because football is such a complex sport, it can be reckless to deem one area of a game as the most important factor in an outcome. Make no mistake, however, Nebraska understands the absolute necessity of generating a strong pass rush today lest Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel be allowed to stand comfortably in the pocket and effectively ruin the Huskers’ afternoon, if not their entire season.
With a loss today, Nebraska’s absurd Big 12 title-game drought almost certainly continues, as the winner will take a one-game lead — plus the tiebreaker advantage — in the division race with two games to play.
“This is a must-win, a huge game for us,” says Jay Moore, a 6-4, 280-pound senior defensive end who starts opposite Carriker. “I’m just trying to get my mind right, and trying to get the other guys ready.”
The ends of Nebraska’s defensive line — a pair of no-nonsense, lead-by-example veterans — figure to play key roles today as the Huskers try to make a major push toward their foremost objective of playing the South Division champion in the Dec. 2 conference title game in Kansas City, Mo.
Moore leads Nebraska with four sacks this season, and Carriker is third with three. Sacks are nice, but in this case they represent only part of the story, because Daniel — like so many other quarterbacks — often releases the ball in fewer than two seconds. That means disruption becomes the main objective on defense.
For instance, Carriker, who usually lines up as a tackle in obvious passing situations, will try to consistently push offensive linemen backward into the pocket. All of Nebraska’s defensive linemen will try to bat down passes. The Huskers will try to disguise coverages to confuse Daniel. The Blackshirts will try to chase him down all game long.
“Daniel is very quick, very strong, very active, very poised,” says Nebraska defensive line coach John Blake. “And he has a lot of weapons to throw to. We just have to keep the pressure on, keep chasing him, and try to corral him.”
In some ways, it sounds so simple.
To be sure, life has become relatively simple for Carriker, the bell cow of the Blackshirts, the unit’s most intimidating presence and highly regarded player. He rises in the morning these days with two primary thoughts: Put the finishing touches on his bachelor’s degree in business administration and earn a ring.
A Big 12 championship ring.
“I watched Nebraska growing up,” says Carriker, who was born in Hastings and moved to Kennewick, Wash., at age 3. “When you come here, winning Big 12 championships is your expectation level. So it’s been frustrating. But it’s not like we’re out of chances.”
They’re most likely down to one — today.
“If we don’t win this one, then who knows?” says Moore, of Elkhorn, his thoughts momentarily flashing toward a fate he would rather not ponder.
Carriker and Moore, roommates on road trips this season, stand tall among 18 Nebraska seniors for whom the end of the line approaches. Perhaps a sense of urgency explains Carriker and Moore’s strong play of late.
Moore played his best game of the season two weeks ago against Texas, recording three tackles for losses, including a sack.
“It looked a couple times like he was offsides, but when you put the (video) frame in slow motion, he was just getting off the ball that quickly,” says Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove.
Moore likens the work at Carriker’s “base” end position to that of a grunt mare, because it is heavy, tiring and often devoid of fun. You see, Carriker constantly battles double-team blocking and is expected to occupy two gaps. Nevertheless, he shook loose often enough last week at Oklahoma State to make six tackles, including two sacks. In short, he was everywhere.
Statistically, it was his most impressive day of the season.
However, “The only difference from the rest of the games was they weren’t getting rid of the ball in two seconds,” Carriker says. “I’ve been back there (in the pocket) all season. People just get rid of the ball so quickly. I mean, people were asking me after the game, ‘Did you do anything different?’ Honestly, I didn’t.”
He’ll try to wreak havoc again today, the kind of suspense-filled day clutch players dream about.
Moore, in fact, often dreams at night about football. Having dreams tells him his mind is getting prepared for game day, he says. In those weeks he doesn’t dream about football, he notices he doesn’t play quite as well.
He’s dreaming about football this week, he says. Dreaming about things that make him smile. Things like returning to the Big 12 championship game. How sweet would that be for Nebraska?
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.