The Huskers are preparing for the first road trip in a month Saturday, traveling all the way down to Columbia Missouri to face the undefeated and 17th ranked Tigers in their own den. This is a "Must game" for the Tigers, more so than the Huskers as they are the higher ranked team, they are favorites to win, and are desperate for some Big Time recognition, both in the Big 12, as well as nationally. Since the retirement of Dr. Tom, and the firing of Frank Solich, many of the teams that went 15-20 plus years unable to beat the Huskers are now salivating at the thought of finally getting the monkey off of their backs and paying the Huskers back for all those years of humiliating defeats. Basically there is but one thing wrong with those thoughts. Those players and coaches are no longer there, so it really doe not have the same meaning to the current players and coaches at NU, nor should it. Yes Mizzou is loaded on the offensive side of the ball, with Chase Daniel running basically the same offense that he ran at South Lake Carroll while winning 2 Texas 5A state championships, they without a doubt have the horses capable of beating this years Huskers, the only question is, do the Tigers have the defense capable of stopping the Huskers offense to make this dream of theirs a reality? The one thing that the Huskers will have to do above all other things is to play keep a way with the Missouri offense. Bill Callahan's game plan should be for Sam Keller and company to pound the ball on the ground for 40 plus plays. Sustaining long time consuming 8-10 play drives taking 6 plus minutes each off the clock. DO NOT turn the ball over, DO NOT commit stupid penalties or turnovers. Use Marlon Lucky, Cody Glenn, Quentin Castille and company to pound and pound the ball. Then when a drive does stall, punt the ball deep into the Tigers territory, making them have to drive the ball 70 plus yards each time. On paper this game looks like a "no contest". The Huskers, allowing 408.6 yards per game, have struggled to prevent the big plays on which Mizzou thrives. Five opponents have produced 28 gains (13 rushing, 15 passing) of 20 yards or more against Nebraska. Missouri, meanwhile, uses its fast-paced offense to score 42 points per game and average 544.2 yards, a figure that ranks No. 5 nationally. On the defensive side of the ball Nebraska (4-1, 1-0 Big 12) currently ranks 77th nationally in total defense, Missouri (4-0, 0-0), 93rd. Yet when it is all said and done it will be the defense that is able to make the most stands whose team is going to emerge as the victor this Saturday night in Columbia, in fact because of all the offense and unless the Huskers can control the ball on the ground, it would not surprise this writer in the least if the game actually ends on Sunday morning, what with an 8:15 PM start time. Bottom line, I just don't think that the Huskers can maintain enough consistency on offense to be able to keep the pressure on the Tigers, as hard as it is for me to say, I believe that the game will go the Tigers way 38 to 24. I hope to Hell I am wrong, GBR!