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The last time Texas and Nebraska met in Austin, UT coaches pulled one of the greatest game plan surprises of the Mack Brown era.

On Nov. 1, 2003, offensive coordinator Greg Davis unveiled a shotgun option offense featuring a play called the zone read with Vince Young and Cedric Benson. It was a difficult decision for the coaches because Texas still had receivers Roy Williams (the school's all-time leader), B.J. Johnson and Sloan Thomas and tight end Bo Scaife on the roster.

But the results were memorable.

Benson ran 28 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Young ran 14 times for 163 yards, including a 65-yard TD run, as Texas buried the Cornhuskers, 31-7. UT finished with 353 yards rushing against Bo Pellini's defense, which was gasping for breath in the second half on an unseasonably hot day.

A forgotten sidenote: It was Benson's first game back from a one-game suspension for kicking in an apartment door while looking for a plasma television that he said had been stolen from him. After the game, Benson said he felt he needed a big day to redeem himself in the eyes of Texas fans.

It was also began to explain why Benson owes half of his signing bonus with the Bears to VY. Though Benson was every bit as tough as Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell, he was nowhere near as gifted as those two. But with Young paralyzing defenses with his ability to run outside, ***s opened up for Benson as never before.

Remember, in 2002, with an offense featuring Chris Simms throwing to all the above-mentioned receivers, Texas averaged only 3.4 yards per carry. Benson had the lowest rushing average of his college career (4.2 yards). But that all changed thanks to Young. Benson averaged 5.3 yards per carry in 2003 and 6.5 yards in 2004, when he ran for 1,834 yards and VY ran for 1,079.

I bring all this up because Nebraska's team this year would have given up 500 yards rushing to that 2003 Texas team. Consider this: Of 119 teams in Division I-A, Nebraska is 115th in run defense, giving up 227.4 yards per game. We're talking about the famed Blackshirt defense (which has turned in its black shirts, by the way).

We'll see if this year's Texas team can exploit Nebraska's weakness with an inconsistent running game behind an inconsistent offensive line. On to the questions ...

Q: It sounded like some kind of sea change this week with everyone talking about the running game needing to cut back on negative plays and trying to find a role for Jamaal Charles. What's going on with my Longhorns?

Micheal R., London

BROWN: Mack Brown and Greg Davis both came out this week saying they were tired of the negative running plays – the 1- and 2-yard gains. The guy with those kinds of plays last Saturday was Charles, who had six second-half carries against Baylor for 2 yards. Brown said Vondrell McGee would get more carries. "We don't want to take away from Jamaal, but we do think Vondrell is a powerful young back and we want to find out how good he is," Brown said, adding that Charles "is not carrying it as much right now, but he's doing fine." Charles wasn't made available to the media, so we weren't able to ask him. Colt McCoy said coaches need to have Charles run more "quick-hitters up inside" and not "sideways." "We've got to play to Jamaal's strengths," McCoy said. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say there's an identity crisis going on with the Texas running game.

Q: This is from an untrained eye. There's a lot of talk about the running game – or the lack there of. But it seems to me that there is a different approach between the linemen, comparing starters to the freshman/redshirt unit. The starters look to be pass blocking on every play while the freshman/redshirt unit attacks the defensive line. Am I missing something?

Bob

BROWN: That freshman and redshirt freshman group, "The Storm," does nothing but run. So the line does fire off – as much as you can with zone blocking. The starters are primarily passing on first down, so you see them in pass protection much more.

Q: I've listened to Mack Brown say some comical and entertaining things at his press conferences. The most recent exhibit is the "we may be trying too hard" reasoning when the team cannot run the ball, cover kicks, defend the pass or whatever the flavor of the week is. Would you or someone else in the press ask him exactly what this means the next time he tries this? I mean, we know Mack is without equal when it comes to spinning things, but at some point even his excuses become beyond laughable.

Brian

BROWN: That is Mack Brown's way of protecting his players from criticism. He has always said he is going to take care of them and protect them as much as he can from media scrutiny. That's his way of doing it.

Q: In 2005, Texas played a quality football team prior to the OU game and won both the game and a national championship. Coach Brown annually has no idea how good his team is until it plays OU. It is time to quit cheating his team, the school and the alumni and play at least one nonconference game with a big-time BCS team.

Tom

BROWN: Texas has Arkansas in 2008 and 2009, UCLA in 2010 and 2011 and Ole Miss in 2012 and 2013. Who knows how good those teams will be when Texas gets them (right now, none is looking very good). But those are your BCS teams on the nonconference schedule in the near future.

Q: Jamaal Charles spends too much time giving everyone one of his swivel-hipped jukes instead of attacking the hole and going north and south. Put in Chris Ogbannaya and Vondrell McGee. They hit the holes with power and explosion. Ogbannaya is a big back with speed. No, these two guys are not world-class speed runners like Charles.

Charlie G.

BROWN: Charles is a lot like Priest Holmes in this regard: Both are patient runners who like to set up blocks, and this offensive line demands that runs be quick-hitters because the holes don't last very long – if there are any holes at all. I'd like to see Jamaal run the ball more out of the two-tight end, one-back set, just to see if that makes a difference. (The I-formation is a lost cause this season because the team has no fullback because of injuries to Luke Tiemann and Antwan Cobb). If Charles can't run out of the shotgun this week against Nebraska, the smart thing may be to do what McCoy suggested and treat Charles like Reggie Bush. Line him up out wide, move him around, do anything to get him the ball in space. Even that may not work. But Charles is talented, I know that. The coaches have to find a way to make him productive. Charles averaged 7.4 yards per carry as a freshman – yes, with Vince Young creating ***s for him. But 7.4 per carry is 7.4 per carry.

Q: Jamaal Charles was running well early in the season, especially in the second half of games, when he opened with three straight 100-yard games. You've been talking about how Texas makes most of its rushing yards in the second half, after Colt McCoy has softened up the defense with his passing. So what's going on now?

***, Houston

BROWN: Part of it is Charles' patient, hunt-and-peck running style. Part of it has to be his confidence. After fumbling on the goal line at the most critical part of the Oklahoma game (when UT had a chance to take the lead to open the second half), he may be struggling with his confidence, too. He's a sensitive kid at a time when he needs to be rock-headed with determination. He hit bottom in the second half against Baylor, which ranks 11th in the Big 12 in rush defense. If you can't make yards in the second half against Baylor, when McCoy is going 11-of-14 passing, there's something seriously wrong.

Q: It was good to see Drew Kelson on the field against Baylor when the team had six defensive backs on the field. Is that what it takes to get him out there? My God, he was one of the nation's top recruits and one of our best playmakers in 2005.

Robert, Houston

BROWN: Kelson got 36 snaps against Baylor, and co-defensive coordinator Duane Akina said Kelson will probably get more time this week against Nebraska (and against Texas Tech) in the team's dime package, when six DBs are on the field. Akina places such importance on all of his defensive backs being able to cover receivers that he's hesitant to have any safety out there who can't cover the slot. Reading between the lines, Akina doesn't think Kelson's backpedal, hips and cover skills are quite back after two years at linebacker. So Kelson has been relegated to special teams this season. But Akina said Kelson has shown flashes of being able to cover the slot, so he's gaining Akina's trust more and more. Kelson was a Parade All-American at Houston Lamar who made huge plays during the national title run in 2005 (think Ohio State and USC). "If anyone has reasons to complain about anything, it would be Drew," Akina said. "But he's been the ultimate teammate. There's an opportunity with the dime package to play him a little bit."

Q: It sounds like Colt McCoy is starting to get a little defensive about the interceptions he's thrown and pressure he's been under. Is he throwing the offensive line under the bus?

Mitchell, Arlington

BROWN: I think McCoy is trying to lead. There is definitely some frustration. McCoy had two interceptions and was part of a fumbled option pitch on the Baylor goal line. And even though he was 11 of 14 passing in the second half against the Bears, he was sacked three times in the game. For the season, he has 15 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions after throwing for an NCAA freshman record-tying 29 TDs with seven interceptions last season. Here's what McCoy said after the Baylor game: "We just have to be more consistent up front. Even though they do some things we don't expect, even though they twist and turn, we have to be more consistent up front. But I give our guys credit: We learned from it and kept competing and kept fighting, and I was able to stay in the pocket at the end and make some big throws that got us down the field." Look, McCoy was playing behind three NFL interior linemen last year. Now, he's not, and he's already had a concussion this season. Center Dallas Griffin acknowledged this week the O-line needs to be more consistent. He's not saying anything his line hasn't heard.

Q: Can you talk about the success Brandon Foster and Ryan Palmer are having this season and if they can keep it up against teams with talented receivers like Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech?

Nicholas, Carrollton

BROWN: Foster and Palmer are two of the best stories on this team. Foster has set a school record for defensive returns for touchdowns this season (two interceptions and a fumble). Palmer is leading the team in tackles and pass breakups. Teams are throwing at Palmer less and less. That they have been best friends since high school, where they played together on lousy teams at Arlington Bowie, and overcame the odds to be starters at Texas makes it an even better story. Can they hold up against Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech? That's a great question. I'll say yes to Nebraska, but the entire defense is going to have issues with Oklahoma State because the Cowboys run and pass so well, and playing Tech is all about getting to the quarterback before he can throw it (see Tech's loss to Missouri). No one can hold up in coverage play after play against Tech without some pressure on the quarterback.

Q: How do you see Saturday's game playing out?

Lance, Austin

BROWN: I'm surprised I'm still getting this question in some form or fashion every week because I obviously have no feel for which Texas team will show up from week to week. I said they'd lose to TCU and beat Kansas State. Said they'd roll Arkansas State and Baylor and get rolled by Oklahoma. So your guess is as good as mine. For some reason, I think Nebraska will focus better on the road than at home because of all the distractions and naysayers back in Lincoln. So I think Nebraska keeps it close for a while before Texas pulls away for a 23-13 win (so obviously, it will be Texas 41-10). I can't tell you how bad the Cornhuskers' defense is, though. I mean, I have no idea how to explain how a defense can be this bad with linebackers like Bo Ruud, Corey McKeon and Steve Octavien playing. Wait, I do. The Big Red defensive line is so bad, the linebackers have no chance. This Nebraska team is the Texas team of 1997. So maybe the Big Red have already quit for the season. The Huskers lost leaders Zac Taylor, Jay Moore and Adam Carriker from last year, just as Texas lost James Brown after 1996, and the glue of the team left and players realized how much they didn't like playing for their coach. Callahan and Mackovic are also both obsessed with offense and do a poor job of taking ownership of the defense. I think defensive players can sense it and feel like second-rate citizens. If you're going to be obsessed with offense as a head coach, you'd better hire a defensive coordinator like Bob Stoops as Steve Spurrier did at Florida (where they won a national title together in 1996). Thanks for the questions. Keep them coming.