Have Taylor Martinez and The Nebraska Offense Found Their Magic?

Sep 1, 2012; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Taylor Martinez (3) throws against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

Saturday’s trip to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl — the first of what the Cornhuskers hope will be two trips out that way — will go a long way toward revealing if the the magic has returned to the Nebraska offense.

You’ll have to excuse the devoted Cornhusker faithful who drew in a collective breath when preseason Heisman candidate and Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead went down on Saturday with an injury. See, the Husker offense has largely flown through his powerful rushing style each of the last two seasons, barring a notable one-month stretch. Said strech was quarterback Taylor Martinez’s debut at Nebraska in 2010, when the true freshman was registering Herculean numbers and garnering Heisman attention. His peak was a Thursday night thrashing of Kansas State: four passing touchdowns, one rushing and a total of 369 yards. His low was a 9-6 loss at Texas A&M marred by a sideline shouting match with Bo Pelini.

His 2011 was an overall improvement from the second half of 2010, but not at all approaching that amazing start. His brief Heisman candidacy became an almost laughable afterthought, particularly when typing “Taylor Martinez th…” into Google and the suggestion finishes with “..rows like a girl.” YouTube videos dedicated to mocking Martinez’s passing are plentiful.

In the spring after Aaron Green transferred to TCU so he could be closer to his San Antonio home, I wrote the Cornhuskers needed dramatic change in Martinez’s game to compete for the Big Ten title. While I’m sure Pelini, offensive coordinator Tim Beck and anyone else associated with Nebraska would love to have Green available with Burkhead questionable for Saturday, Martinez is at least showing signs of becoming the star his 2010 start suggested he would be.

Martinez decimated the Southern Miss defense in Week 1 for 354 yards and five touchdowns through the air, making effective use of his receiving corps in spreading it around to six different Huskers at least twice. Quincy Enunwa was targeted six times, almost one-third of his 2011 reception total.

The apparent metamorphosis can be attributed to old fashioned work. Martinez spent his off-season working with Steve Calhoun, and attending Manning Passing Academy.

So is this new-found passing touch changing the face of the Cornhusker offense? Martinez only carried for 10 yards against Southern Miss, prompting former Husker quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch to say on Thursday’s “Petros & Money Show” he wanted to see the playbook design more QB carries. After all, Nebraska’s glory years were built on the option.

Moreover in UCLA, Nebraska faces a defense that ranked N0. 96 against the rush a season ago. The 174 surrendered to Rice weren’t much better for the Bruins. Martinez is likely to command a less pass-oriented attack on Saturday, but the added weapon makes Nebraska a whole lot more dangerous.