Nov

16

New Rules: College Football Edition (November 16th)

Filed Under Bo Pelini, ESPN Sucks, Huskers, Huskers Football, Steve Sipple | 3 Comments

New Rule: should be the new head coach of . He already is the best coach in upstate New York so he ought get the best job in upstate New York.

New Rule: should write something other than ‘this team is making progress but we aren’t quite there yet.’ Yes, we know that. In fact, has met most Huskers expectations in the first year and we should celebrate 7-4.

New Rule: HG proclaims ’s as the best analyst anywhere. The guy has a unbiased insight into that is an increasingly rare trait on the national stage. He gives props where props are due, and criticizes what should be criticized. No regional bias at all.

When praises the Huskers, then you’ll know theyve arrived.

New Rule: getting a Gatorade bath for beating NAVY is pathetic. That’s like a Husker coach getting a Gatorade bath for beating Kansas! You’re supposed to beat Navy, you fools!

They are trying to protect the country first AND win football second. Your only mission is to win football games.

New Rule (Pro Football Edition): Football Night in America makes me long for the days of . A bloated staff, lack of analysis during highlights, ’so serious’ music, pretentious “lights out b/c we are green” and a cast of characters depletes the talented Collinsworth and unspectacular and .

Plus, has branded himself as a firebrand liberal opponent of the Bush administration. That’s fine. He’s allowed to take a stand. But that also means about 46% of the country’s blood pressure rises when they see him. That’s not what sports are about.

New Rule: ’s overtime system is superior to the NFL because of one reason: you get a result.

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Oct

12

Cornhusker glory waits another day…but I got ‘the feeling’ back

Filed Under 2008 Opponents, Big 12, Joe Ganz, Marlon Lucky, Steve Sipple | Leave a Comment

Ouch baby, very ouch.

Nebraska losing to hurts.

This loss really hurts and it’s tough to be positive after a loss but weren’t you surprised by:

  • The Huskers fight
  • The brilliantly executed game plan
  • and the entire coaching staff
  • The pride
  • The coaching staff
  • The fake field goal
  • The heart of the Nebraska Cornhuskers
  • The offensive line
  • The running game

We could go on and on. HG saw a lot of things we haven’t seen in the Huskers in years. I actually got ‘the feeling’ back.

You know what I’m talking about. The feeling that the Huskers are putting it all on the line and are playing to win. That you just knew the Huskers were going to drive down for a touch down in the 4th quarter. The feeling that we were outsmarting one of the best coaches in the . The feeling that we could move the ball at will. The feeling that the coaching staff was a plus. The feeling that the team was improving before our very eyes.

The feeling that we could be competitive in the 4th quarter.

The feeling that even in defeat, that we can all be proud of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Basically, everything you use to feel but haven’t been feeling the past 4 years!

It would of easily of been the biggest win since 2001 win over Oklahoma and may of given the Huskers a chance to enter the Top 25 by the Oklahoma game. Instead, we are just a 3-3 team that hasn’t beaten anyone of substance.

But, let’s take some perspective: during one of the toughest stretches any team will face this year, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went 0-3.

That’s the bottom line. Yes, we may have gotten a ‘moral victory’ in the sense that we were competitive, but sometime you have to cash those moral victories in for a real W.

The good news is they rebounded from a blowout loss from Mizzou with a gutsy effort and a better game plan. Make no mistake about it: the Nebraska Cornhuskers came to with victory on their mind.

Going for it on 4th down, going for 7 points,

For that, we should all be proud.

From here on out, there are no such things as moral victories.

HG expects the Huskers to be competitive in the rest of the games, including Oklahoma.

Moral victories are done. The bar has been raised. We’ve seen enough glimpses of what this team can do and the Huskers have a lot of room for improvement (penalties anyone?).

’s game plan was brilliant in strategy and almost perfect in its execution.

HG will never go back and say ‘we should of won that game,’ especially when we hurt ourselves as much as we did. We lost and we accept that.

But we can’t help but be optimistic that this team is on the path to go bowling.

As Sipple put it today:

2. Bowl ramifications. Remember, nobody was giving Nebraska a chance to beat Tech (6-0, 2-0 ). Iowa State obviously is a different story. But NU needs to roll up its sleeves, as beating the Cyclones isn’t a given, their bad loss Saturday at Baylor notwithstanding. If the Huskers prevail, their bowl chances suddenly would look very promising. And getting to a bowl would be a significant accomplishment after last season’s 5-7 debacle. It would be a tangible sign of progress.

Plus, those 15 bowl practices are crucial for a Nebraska team with 20 freshmen and sophomores on its preseason two-deep.

Let’s say Nebraska manages to win at Iowa State and then does the expected and beats Baylor in Lincoln. That would place the Huskers one win from bowl eligibility with four games to play — road games against Oklahoma (Nov. 1) and Kansas State (Nov. 15) and home games against Kansas (Nov. 8) and Colorado (Nov. 28). You’d have to like NU’s chances to go at least 1-4 in that stretch.

Perhaps Nebraska would be sent to Phoenix for an Insight Bowl matchup against a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team. Dear old NU wins the bowl and everybody in red goes home happy.

Discuss…

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Jul

7

Corn Feed for the Week (Updated)

Filed Under 2008 Preview, Big 12, Big 12 Preview, Classic Videos, Corn Feed, Former Huskers, Husker Ass Whompin's, Ivan Maisel, Player Profiles, Recruiting, Steve Sipple, TV Schedule, Tom Osborne | Leave a Comment

Q:What would you consider to be the lowest point in your career?

OSBORNE: Maybe the Lawrence (Phillips) situation, because we took a lot of pride in doing things the right way here. The NCAA rules of graduation, our players, being consistent in terms of how we enforce discipline. Obviously what Lawrence did was not right, and yet we were labeled as win-at-all-costs, that type of thing. Yet we just disciplined Lawrence in accordance with our discipline policy and code and we thought we did it fairly. So it was a difficult time because we had a great team in 1995, we had great players, undefeated and nobody came close to us that whole year. (It was) painful.
Q: What was the No. 1 thing that separated Pelini from the rest of the coaching candidates during the interview process? What did he have the other candidates didn’t seem to have?

OSBORNE: We needed a lot of help on defense, and I didn’t know of anybody that had better defensive coaching credentials. The other thing he had going for him is [that] he had coached here in 2003 for one year, and had turned our defense around in that year into one of the top defenses in the country from a rather average defense in 2002. So I knew that he understood and could motivate players and communicate with players and (get them) to play with intensity and passion. The other thing that was in Bo’s favor was I was able to talk to a lot of players who played for him in 2003 and a lot of assistant coaches who worked with him on defense. And in his last month, he was named interim coach when (Frank) Solich was fired, so Bo coached the bowl game for about five weeks, [and] he acted as the head coach. All of the comments I got from the former players and former coaches, all of whom I knew well and trusted, were very positive. So I was able to get more information on him. In most other people, you would get information on simply by interviewing them. So that was the main decision on Bo.

Nebraska
Big Win:
Must Win: Kansas State

Last year’s team could score on anybody and be scored on by anybody. In the last three games of the season, a total of 335 points were scored. Thus, enter in Sir Bo Pellini. ’s last hand-picked successor didn’t quite pan out the Husker-faithful had hoped. Lincoln eagerly waits for the revival of the conventional defensive ‘blackshirt’ mentality that is brought to the table by the former LSU defensive coordinator.

comes into for a non-conference game that should prove to be explosive, if anything. The performance will be indicative of the outlook for the rest of the season as the new look defense will take on a solid, but not especially overwhelming Hokie squad. Winning this game would be a big step towards overhauling the team and bringing some relief to the Big Red Nation.

The Huskers will have some competition from unlikely places, and Kansas State is a program that’s not about to willingly backtrack in the North. added a bevy of junior college talent that should shore up defensive issues. Although Nebraska won last year’s game by 42 points, losing to this team on the round would be a serious setback.

  • Spencer Hall assess for damaged college football properties (including Nebraska) and their chances for them to be ‘flipped.’ Final assessment:

    • Perhaps less than a year from move-in: The Huskers could be, with some touch-ups, looking ready for market by the end of the season. Big qualifying if: IF the defense gets its majestic malevolence back, something Pelini happens to specialize in…

  • 7 Huskers will be inducted in the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
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Jun

25

UPDATED: Corn Feed for Wednesday, June 25

Filed Under 2008 Preview, Bo Pelini, Corn Feed, Marlon Lucky, Memorial Stadium, Steve Sipple, TV Schedule | 1 Comment

The Nebraska “brand” has lost enough luster in the past six seasons that the ’s TV partners (ABC, , Fox Sports Net and Versus) are unwilling to overlook a pillowy soft opponent on a given week. What’s more, improved balance in the has given the TV folks plenty of other intriguing options.

if incoming freshman Darrell Scott — the nation’s top-rated running back recruit last winter — lives up to the hype, he will give Hawkins exactly the type of elite skill player he’s been missing…coach finally feels confident enough in his personnel to go to a no-huddle offense…we may start to see more of the unconventional plays that marked his tenure at Boise State. The bigger question may be the defense, which absolutely tanked at the end of last season and lost its most important player, All-America LB Jordon Dizon’

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Jun

18

Corn Feed for Wednesday June 18

Filed Under 2008 Preview, Big 12 Preview, Corn Feed, Former Huskers, Marlon Lucky, NFL Prospects, Steve Sipple | 1 Comment

“I like a couple things about Nebraska this year. First of all, Pelini coming in. You know you’re going to have a stronger defense. I like the talent level they have on defense. I know they didn’t achieve very well last year but I think they’re going to have the most improved defense in the country. The offense, they brought back their offensive coordinator. They can’t pass the ball as much as they did last year but I think they’re going to run it more, which is going to keep the defense off the field.”

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Jun

10

Nebraska Picked 4th by Lindy’s and Athlon

Filed Under 2008 Preview, Big 12, Big 12 Preview, Bo Pelini, Corn Feed, Defense, Steve Sipple, The Callahan Error | Leave a Comment

You can’t really steal content that has already been stolen.

Plus the JournalStar server has been very unreliable this week.

So I give you Steve Sipple, the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winner for his heartbreaking commentary about the darkest days of the Callahan Error, giving you his summery of Lindy’s and Athlon predictions for the Huskers.

Thanks Steve. We owe you.

NU fourth in North in Lindy’s, Athlon

Just picked up three shiny preseason magazines.

A quick rundown:

Lindy’s predicted order of finish in the :

North Division: 1. Missouri; 2. Kansas; 3. Colorado; 4. Nebraska; 5. Kansas State; 6. Iowa State.

South Division: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Texas; 3. ; 4. Texas A&M; 5. Oklahoma State; 6. Baylor.

Lindy’s comments: “Veteran o-line offers QB and RB room to go. Inexperience and outright holes could make defensive improvement slow. has work cut out for him in head coaching debut.

Athlon’s predictions:

North: 1. Missouri; 2. Kansas; 3. Colorado; 4. Nebraska; 5. Kansas State; 6. Iowa State.

South: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Texas; 3. ; 4. Oklahoma State; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Baylor.

Athlon comments: “Nebraska could be much-improved under . . . Pelini’s biggest task is bringing the swagger back to a defense that was downright embarrassing in 2007. Helping the situation will be the presence of quarterback , who performed well after taking over for an injured Sam Keller at the end of last season.”

predictions:

North: 1. Missouri; 2. Nebraska; 3. Kansas; 4. Kansas State; 5. Colorado; 6. Iowa State.

South: 1. Oklahoma; 2. Texas; 3. ; 4. Oklahoma State; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Baylor.

Steele comments: “To put Nebraska #2 in the North ahead of Kansas is a little scary. The Huskers were just 2-6 in the last year and were outgained by 55.6 yards per game. Their 11 returning starters are tied for second fewest in the . Those factors should have me considering them at the bottom of the but I felt the Huskers underperformed last year . . . The more run-based offense will help the ‘D’ and I list the Huskers’ o-line and d-line each in the top four of the , which is a good thing to have your strength up front. I know Kansas fans won’t appreciate this, as they are a top 10 team and waxed Nebraska 76-39 last year, but I’ll call for the Huskers to be one of the surprise teams in the this season.”

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