Lincoln – Practicing in full pads inside Memorial Stadium, the Nebraska football team continued preparations for the 2-1 Ball State Cardinals with a 2 1/2-hour workout Wednesday afternoon.

The Husker coaching staff is closely monitoring the offensive line as Nebraska is forced to replace the services of junior offensive lineman Andy Christensen, who will miss the rest of the season after injuring his left knee against USC.

“We’ve watched a lot of guys, especially up front with Andy Christensen being out,” head coach Bill Callahan said. “We’ve looked at a lot of different combinations and a lot of different guys. Right now they’re all competing for spots for Saturday.”

On the defensive side, Callahan has been impressed by the work ethic of the entire defensive unit.

“All those guys practice hard,” Callahan said of the Husker defense. “I think they continue to do an excellent job and our secondary worked very hard at every aspect of their play.

“Our safeties have picked it up. They seem to have a sense of urgency getting to the ball and being physical at the point of contact. Overall, I like our demeanor and attitude. Those are all great things to say but we’ve got to do it on Saturday on the field of performance. That’s the key.”

The Blackshirts will not only be faced with containing sophomore quarterback Nate Davis, but also the current Mid-American Conference Player of the Week in running back MiQuale Lewis. The junior totaled 178 all-purpose yards in the Cardinals’ 34-31 win at Navy last Saturday.

Lewis is just one of Ball State’s MAC Players of the Week, joining sophomore defensive end Brandon Crawford, who earned the defensive conference honor after blocking Navy’s game-winning field goal attempt as time expired in regulation on Saturday.

The Huskers will have their final full practice of the week Thursday afternoon before Friday’s walk-thru for the Cardinals. The Ball State game will be televised by Fox Sports Net on a pay-per-view basis.

Callahan said junior defensive end Zach Potter is expected to play, but his progress is listed day-to-day.