The great thing about college football is that each week a team has a shot at redemption. Whether or not this year’s Huskers are capable of that yet is anybody’s guess.

This week I’ll just mention a few things:

• Missouri’s offense is great and seems like an unstoppable juggernaut. Their defense, however, is another story.

• The Tigers gave up 42 points and 532 total yards to Illinois in a game played on a neutral field. Missouri's passing D has been a particular problem.

• They were only up 27-21 in their game with Buffalo until late into the 3rd quarter.

• They haven’t won in Lincoln since the Carter Administration.

• In past years, even with Solich and Callahan’s struggling teams, the Huskers have always come up big at home against Missouri.

These are not reasons why we “will” win, but some hope that we can.

There has been much discussion in the past few days about whether or not Helu or Lucky will start at running back for the Huskers. Helu seems to be the better choice. Regardless, I think he’ll be on the field a lot Saturday night. It also should be interesting to see if the O-line tinkering by the coaches makes any difference in the game.

Winning the turnover battle against the #4 ranked team in the country will be important. We cannot afford to give up two turnovers and get none in return like we did against Virginia Tech. Special teams could be another huge factor in the game.

Daniel and the Missouri offense will move the ball. The key will be what happens when they are not on the field. If the Huskers can win more of those battles than not, we have a chance.

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The voice of the Scarlet Commentary is Jeffrey Leever, a Nebraska native who now writes for an advertising agency in Kansas City. He is a 1994 graduate of the University of Nebraska (Kearney) and author of the suspense novels Dark Friday and Even in Darkness. He has been known to include a tribute to Tommie Frazier and other Nebraska references in his novels. His website is www.jeffreyleever.com. Contact Jeff here.