3 and Out

1. Remember that Scherff knee thing — It seems as though it was forever ago, but senior offensive tackle Brandon Scherff did have arthroscopic knee surgery on the Monday before the Iowa State game. That was Sept. 8. It also was an injury that could've and should've put him on the shelf for two or maybe four weeks.

Scherff was never in any danger of further injury. The UI doctors and training staff told him if he felt like he could play to go ahead and play. He didn't run through anyone saying no. He even practiced on that Thursday.

'I didn't think it'd be that fast, but I woke up that Wednesday or Thursday and said, 'Man, my knee feels pretty good,'' Scherff said. 'I talked to the doctor and he said, yeah, go ahead.'

When he came out of surgery that Monday, the game that weekend wasn't in his thoughts.

'The doctor said two weeks or maybe three,' said Scherff, who was named an Outland Trophy finalist this week. 'I got to the trainer, started doing some treatment and it felt pretty good.'

How does this happen? There is the strength factor, but the football industry standard for an arthroscopic knee surgery is two weeks of rest.

'I have no idea. I literally got out of the hospital bed and walked home,' Scherff said. 'Well, I didn't walk home, but didn't use crutches.'

2. Scherff vs. Gregory — This is the matchup you could see quite a bit. Gregory is an all-American caliber defensive end for the Huskers. The 6-6, 245-pounder is tied for fifth in the conference with 7.0 sacks and is Nebraska's leader with 8.5 tackles for loss.

Ding, ding, let's do this. Oh wait, it probably won't happen all that much.

Nebraska moves Gregory around quite a bit, trying to find the best possible matchup. He's played on both ends and has lined up in the middle. Last season when Iowa and Nebraska faced off, Scherff and Gregory saw each other only a few times.

'They have a couple of different ways to package him to take advantage of his unique abilities and skills,' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'First of all, you got to know where he is, what he's doing. Secondly, you have to be at your best fundamentally to counter his skills.'

Gregory, who's been battling an illness the last few weeks, is a junior and faces the same decision that Scherff faced at the end of last season — NFL draft or one more year in school?

'He's one of those gifted guys who could line up and play outside linebacker, not just a 3-4 outside linebacker,' Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. 'He has really multiple skill sets and is very instinctive for the game. You get some defensive linemen who maybe aren't quite as instinctive. He has a tremendous feel for the game.'

Scherff doesn't regret returning for his senior year. He can't believe the five years went by so quickly and that his senior day walk onto the Kinnick Stadium field to meet his parents is here.

'I wouldn't change this for anything,' Scherff said. 'I think we've gotten better as a team. I think I've become a better player.'

3. Winner of the biggest eater is

... — This is Thanksgiving week and so the 'biggest eater' question does carry some relevance.

The winner of that for the Hawkeyes, by unanimous decision, was defensive tackle Carl Davis.

Quarterback Jake Rudock was asked if he could out-eat Davis.

'Depends,' Rudock said without missing a beat, 'did he just eat? If he had just eaten and eaten a lot and I'm starving, I might be able to beat him.'

Linebacker Quinton Alston has been to dinner with Davis more than a few times. As it turns out, sushi night with Davis, a 6-5, 315-pounder, is kind of wild and kind of expensive.

'Watching him eat sushi and how many rolls it takes to get him full, it's the craziest thing ever,' Alston said.

How many?

'You can't count it on one hand,' Alston said. 'Probably six or seven maybe, if he's really hungry that day. Yeah, it's not cheap.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com