CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 12 Ballot

A whole lot of upsets this week cause some massive reshuffling.  After Friday's game, I wasn't planning to vote for the Huskers in this poll.  While the defense is top ten worthy, the offense is something completely different.  But something funny happened as I filled out my ballot:  I found teams that lost games they shouldn't... and I had to penalize them.  And then I struggled with teams to add...so guess what.  In go the Huskers.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama
2	Texas
3	Florida
4	TCU
5	Boise State	2
6	Cincinnati	1
7	Oregon	1
8	Ohio State	1
9	Virginia Tech	2
10	LSU	2
11	Georgia Tech	5
12	Miami (Florida)	3
13	Iowa	3
14	Oregon State	3
15	California	3
16	Stanford	3
17	Pittsburgh	7
18	Penn State	2
19	Brigham Young	2
20	Southern Cal
21	Houston
22	Utah
23	Nebraska
24	Arizona
25	Clemson	11
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma State (#13), Arkansas (#23), Mississippi (#25).

I've taken enough crap for voting for Oklahoma and Arkansas, and while I think I could justify a vote for the Sooners, I'm not going to at this point.  Southern Cal remerges despite running up the score last night, and if I'm going to reward the Trojans, then I've got to put Houston in as well.  The last spot was a toss-up between Clemson and Oklahoma State, and I went with Clemson for now.  Funny thing is that earlier this season I got the award for biggest homer on my ballot, then last week, I got the award for being too straight with my team and downgrading them more than everybody else.  Go figure.


Big XII PowerPoll

1. Texas
2. Texas Tech
3. Nebraska
4. Oklahoma
5. Oklahoma State
6. Missouri
7. Kansas State
8. Texas A&M
9. Iowa State
10. Kansas
11. Colorado
12. Baylor

After K-State, it's almost a tossup.  Kansas probably should be higher talent-wise, but going 1-7 in the conference keeps you low. Funny how Mangino is probably going to be fired this week while Dan Hawkins survives.  Go figure.

Huskers Win Ugly Again

At this point in the season, it's obvious that the 2009 Huskers look ugly. In October, you could dismiss the ugliness on injuries, inexperience, and a bad game or two.  But not anymore; certainly not after Thanksgiving.  It's simply ugly.

It's also 9-3.  And now, two years after dispatching the "Great Raider Flunky" (credit AJ the Huskerk8er) back to the NFL as an offensive line coach (where his true calling is), all this team does is "Just Win Baby."  It's not pretty, but once again, the Huskers pulled out a victory.

Of all of the Nebraska victories this season, this was the worst of the bunch.  Giving up over 400 yards to the Colorado Buffaloes isn't anything to be proud of.  Granted, 56 of that came on a meaningless final play, but there were plenty of things to criticize on both sides of the ball.  For starters, how about not sacking Tyler Hansen ONCE?  Hansen has been sacked 31 times this season despite not playing in the first four games of the season. What about failing to sustain any drives until the fourth quarter? Nebraska had the field position advantage all afternoon, but never could seem to keep the chains moving.

But that's the "glass half-empty" side.  The "glass half-full" side points out that, once again, Nebraska willed it's way to victory in the fourth quarter.  On that clinching touchdown drive, the Huskers just imposed their will on the Buffaloes.  Oh, how this team needed Rex Burkhead today.  He's still a freshman (remember that missed block that resulted in a Zac Lee sack), but he delivered on the ground. The offense desperately needs someone to force defenses to play honest, but after 12 games, we know it's not there for the most part.  Niles Paul does it occasionally, but rather than risk a deep incompletion or worse, Husker fans get a steady diet of smash-mouth grind-it-out football.  But unlike the 1994 Huskers against Kansas State, this isn't a team that can simply force anybody and everybody to "assume the position".

In his post-game comments, Bo Pelini made it clear that he wasn't pleased with the Huskers performance today either.  No Husker fan should be either.  Perhaps this team really was looking ahead to Texas next weekend; certainly Texas could be accused of doing the same last night in College Station.

Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal-Star calls it "Woody Hayes/Jim Tressel" style.  Play great defense and great special teams, and don't screw up on offense. And today, special teams helped ensure Nebraska got off to a good start early.  Between Alex Henery landing punts inside the Buffalo five yard line and Niles Paul's touchdown return, Nebraska owned the special teams play today.  And what about another two missed field goals by the opponent today?  I think it's time to give Ndamukong Suh and the Husker special teams credit for some of these misses.  Opponents have converted only 10 of 20 field goal attempts against the Huskers this season.  Looking over the NCAA's top 100 kickers, most kickers seem to convert about 80% of their field goals, so how can Nebraska's opponents be only converting 50%?  I'll suggest that the mere presence of Mr. Suh disrupts the kicker.  It's like putting a pond next to the putting green on a golf course; the kicker tries to take Suh out of play.

So it's off to Dallas and the Texas Longhorns, who will be prohibitive favorites.  If the Huskers play like this next week, it'll be brutal.  Maybe not as bad as the last time Texas played in the Big XII title game (70-3 bad)...but ugly.  But a perfect game plan, much like what Nebraska engineered a few weeks ago against Oklahoma, will give Nebraska a chance.  Nebraska hasn't played an offense like Texas, but I'm not sure Texas has played a defense like Nebraska's.

Then there's the x-factor of the Big XII Championship game.  Texas started it in 1996, knocking Nebraska out of the Bowl Alliance championship game. Texas A&M dashed Kansas State's dreams of playing in the first BCS title game in 1998.  Don't forget Colorado upsetting Texas in 2001 and Kansas State upsetting Oklahoma in 2003.  Oklahoma ended Missouri's dreams of a BCS berth two years ago.  National championship contenders are only .500 in the Big XII title game.  Anything can happen.

But just to be on the safe side, if you know anybody who's suffering from the flu, suggest that they spend next week in Austin.  Every little bit helps.

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 11 Ballot

I'm finally waiving my white flag over the Oklahoma Sooners.  I could still justify the Sooners after they lost by seven to Nebraska...but four touchdowns to Texas Tech?  Bye bye...  I was wrong, period.

Speaking of Nebraska... I'm not putting them in my Top 25.  One of the best defenses in college football, but the offense still makes way too many mistakes and can't sustain many drives.  I'd like to do it...but still can't do it.  

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama
2	Texas	1
3	Florida	1
4	TCU
5	Cincinnati
6	Georgia Tech
7	Boise State
8	Oregon	1
9	Ohio State	1
10	Pittsburgh	2
11	Virginia Tech	2
12	LSU	4
13	Oklahoma State	1
14	Clemson	1
15	Miami (Florida)	1
16	Iowa	1
17	Oregon State	1
18	California	5
19	Stanford	8
20	Penn State	1
21	Brigham Young	3
22	Utah	3
23	Arkansas	1
24	Arizona	4
25	Mississippi
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma (#21).

Under Consideration:  Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Houston

I'm bumping Texas to #2 not because of anything Florida did or didn't do, but rather based on how Texas has played in recent weeks.  In fact, I think you could argue that in the last three weeks, Texas has been playing better than anybody else in the nation; they're closing the gap on Alabama.

Not sure what to do about Stanford; it was a rivalry game after a huge upset the week before, but still, I think I was overly generous in bumping Stanford so high.

Big XII PowerPoll

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma State
3. Texas Tech 
4. Nebraska
5. Oklahoma
   
6. Missouri
7. Kansas State
8. Kansas
9. Texas A&M
10. Iowa State
11. Colorado
12. Baylor

Oklahoma finally has a loss that I can't excuse, so down they go.  Baylor without Robert Griffin isn't competitive --- unless they're playing in Columbia for some reason.

Huskers Beat K-State and Win the North

It wasn't the prettiest victory in the world, but style points simply don't matter.  Second game in a row in Lincoln not allowing a touchdown; that's championship defense.  Yes, the offense is still inconsistent, but you do see some periodic signs of life.  Here are some positives:

• I think this was Zac Lee's best game of the year, considering the competition.  (By that, I'm throwing out the Sun Belt games.)  Yes, that interception was a pass that shouldn't have been thrown.  But Lee is starting to show better poise in the pocket, and is starting to commit to running the ball when he decides to take off.  In September and October, Lee seemed to be more interested in finding receivers than taking free yards the defense was offering.  Tonight, he ran hard and took the yardage.
• Criticize Lee for underthrowing Niles Paul on the deep route if you will.  But better to underthrow than overthrow the receiver.  I'll take a long completion over an incompletion everytime.
• The offensive line will no doubt take some criticism for their blocking, but my initial take was that the problem was more related to missed blocks on the perimeter.
• Shawn Watson tried to mix together all of his looks tonight.  Sometimes that kept Kansas State from getting in a rhythm; sometimes, that kept Nebraska from staying in much of a rhythm.
• Remember that opening Husker drive?  Who would've thunk that Nebraska could put together a 16 play drive?

Defensively, the biggest weak spot for the Blackshirts was the failure to cover the short crossing route.  That's something that needs to be addressed this week.  If I'm a Wildcat fan, though, I have to be asking where Daniel Thomas was at times tonight.  I understand the desire to mix things up, but K-State seemed to do a better job limiting Thomas than the Blackshirts did.

Big name players come up big in crunch time, and nobody came up bigger than Ndamukong Suh down the stretch with putting pressure on Grant Gregory, whether it was running him down from behind, sacking him, or batting down the pass.  Nice way to wrap up his final game in Lincoln.  Larry Asante had a great game leading the way with 10 tackles, and interception, and perhaps the play of the game by blasting the ball out of Keithen Valentines arms while he was heading for an touchdown.

So while it's an ugly victory (the Wildcats outgained the Huskers today), it's still a victory.  How ironic that this defense has emerged two years removed from the worst defense in Husker history.  Let's put it in perspective:  In 2007, Nebraska gave up 11 touchdowns to Kansas in a single game. In 2009, Nebraska has given up 12 touchdowns in 11 games.  That type of improvement is simply amazing.

I also like the fact that Nebraska didn't overly celebrate a "division" title.  No fireworks, no trophy presentation on the field.  Yes, there were some graphics on the screens and an advertisement on the big screen to let fans know when Big XII Championship Game tickets go on sale to the general public.  (Tuesday morning, if you missed it, at huskers.com)  Yes, winning the North is a good thing, but there still are two games to play.  Plenty of time to celebrate down the line, but with a short week coming up, it's time to stay focused on the tasks at hand.

Husker Mike's PostGame K-State Podcast

Big XII North Champs...exactly where Husker fans thought NU would be even if others didn't...

Husker Mike's PostGame Podcast

Suh Falls to #2 in Fan Voting for Heisman

Husker fans seem to have let up on the gas on the "Suh for Heisman" campaign, allowing Clemson's C.J. Spiller to take over the lead in the fan vote.  Fans are allowed to vote once a day, so there's no excuse for Husker fans to let this slide.

C'mon Husker fans.  Kirk Herbstreit would be disappointed to learn that Husker fans aren't stuffing this ballot box.  Vote now...then remember to vote tomorrow...and the next day...and the day after.

It ain't over yet.  VOTE!

Nebraska vs. Boise State: Scheduling I Can Believe In

Tom Shatel reported today that the Huskers are in talks to play Boise State, though perhaps not in 2011.  Boise State is searching for a BCS conference opponent to visit in 2011 on the condition that the game pay the Broncos $1 million for traveling, but haven't found a taker yet.

In my mind, the only question about playing Boise is the money.  2011 might not be the best fit for Nebraska, as the other non-conference games are Fresno State, Washington, and a road game at Wyoming.  But if 2011 doesn't fit, I don't know when it will.  Here's Nebraska's upcoming schedules:

2010: Western Kentucky, Idaho, @Washington, South Dakota State
2011: TBA, Fresno State, Washington, @Wyoming
2012: Southern Miss, @UCLA, TBA, TBA
2013: Wyoming, @Southern Miss, UCLA, TBA
2014: TBA, TBA, @Fresno State, Miami-Florida
2015: TBA, TBA, @Miami-Florida, Southern Miss
2016: Fresno State, Tennessee, Wyoming, TBA
2017: TBA, @Tennessee, TBA, TBA

Ideally, Nebraska would find a way to drop Idaho or South Dakota State next season to play Boise, but that's probably not going to happen without a complicated agreement can be worked out between four or more schools to swap games.  But if Nebraska is hesitant to play both Boise State and another prominent non-BCS school in the same season, it might not happen until 2017.

Personally, I don't see a huge issue with playing both Boise and either Southern Miss or Fresno State.  Those matchups might have to wait until 2014 and 2015.  Nobody will criticize Nebraska for playing a 1-AA team in those seasons with Fresno, Miami, and Boise filling out the schedule.

Sammy Vegas over at DoubleExtraPoint doesn't want the Huskers playing on the SmurfTurf in Boise for recruiting reasons.  I'm not so concerned about that, though if Nebraska could get a neutral site game in Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, or Chicago, so much the better for fans.  I'm not diminishing the desire to play around the country so that potential players know that they'll be coming to their neck of the woods; I just think that the Huskers shouldn't be afraid to play in Boise.

But with all due respect to the fine folks in Boise, I'd rather play in Boise in September than around New Years.

Bill Belichick Could Have Learned Something From John Mackovic

When New England lined up last night to go for fourth and two against Indianapolis, all I could think about was the Big XII Championship game in 1996.  The national sports media are all over Bill Belichick for his decision, and they have their reasons.  You fail to execute, and you practically give the game to Peyton Manning and the Colts.  Even if you execute, you still may not win the game as it may not be possible to run the clock out without another first down.  And most importantly, the message Belichick sent his defense:  "I don't trust you."

Now, there is an argument to be made that going for it on fourth and two in that situation is actually Smart Football.  The stats do make a solid case for Belichick's decision to go for it.

But here's the bigger problem.  If you are going to go for fourth and two, running a two yard route leaves you zero margin for error.  As painful as it is for Husker fans to recall, here's how John Mackovic handled a similar situation 13 years ago:

If  you are going to make the decision to go for the first down, you can't take a chance on executing the play and still failing to get the first down.  Belichick left himself zero room for error in that situation last night.  If you are going to try to win the game with offense, do it.  It's like a pitcher in a bases loaded situation in a tie game in the bottom of the 9th with a 3 ball count.  You can't afford to try to nip the corner; ball four loses the game.  You've got to throw a strike and hope the batter misses or someone fields the ball.

At least give yourself a chance.  Bill Belichick chose the wrong combination.  If that's the play-call for 4th and 2, you'd better punt because it requires perfection on the part of your team.

CBSsports.com BlogPoll Week 10 Ballott

In what seems to be becoming a regular occurance, I got ripped by BlogPoll Administrator Brian Cook for voting for Oklahoma.  I'm sticking to my guns here; I still think Oklahoma is one of the better teams in the country.  Yes, I know the reason why nobody else is ranking Oklahoma:  4 losses.  But those four losses were by 12 points.  Let's put that in comparison:  USC lost by 34 points alone this week... and is STILL ranked by the writers and coaches.  And Oklahoma did absolutely NOTHING this week to convince me otherwise by blowing out Texas A&M 65-10. (And yes, if the Sooners did lose to Baylor, I would drop them...but they beat Baylor quite handily.)

As always, your feedback welcome as I can change this up until Wednesday morning.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	TCU	1
5	Cincinnati	1
6	Georgia Tech
7	Boise State
8	LSU
9	Oregon	1
10	Ohio State	1
11	Stanford	14
12	Pitt	5
13	Virginia Tech	5
14	Oklahoma State	10
15	Clemson	4
16	Miami (Florida)	7
17	Iowa	4
18	Oregon State
19	Penn State	1
20	Arizona	6
21	Oklahoma
22	Arkansas
23	California
24	Brigham Young
25	Utah	2
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Southern Cal (#12), Houston (#15), Texas Tech (#16).

Teams under consideration: Wisconsin (good won-loss record against nobody), Nebraska (some good wins, a decent loss against VT, and two bad losses), Ole Miss (looking better than earlier this season), and Boston College.

I might be harsh on USC, but that loss was disturbing.  Top 25 teams don't lose that way, so they're out for now.  That loss also dampens the reputation of the entire Big 10, as it makes Ohio State look weaker.  Arizona's loss to Cal also weakens the Big 10's reputation as well.  So I'm looking for that reason to give the Big 10 credit, and the only reason to move the Buckeyes up is that Miami lost.  (Which also weakens Oklahoma's resume...but 65-10 keeps them in the mix.)

Cincinnati gets a slight downgrade after TCU's domination of Utah.  Kind of unfair to the Bearcats playing with their backup quarterback, but the Horned Frogs just look like a stronger team right now.  LSU's struggle with Louisiana Tech would have warranted a downgrade...but nobody was ready to move up.

Big XII PowerPoll

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas Tech
5. Nebraska
6. Missouri
7. Kansas State
8. Kansas
9. Iowa State
10. Texas A&M
11. Baylor
12. Colorado

I'm not 100% convinced the Cowboys are better than the Sooners, but 2 losses versus 4 has to mean something.  The bottom four teams all have something to brag about, but so much more on their resume to be embarrassed about that they can't complain about being at the bottom either.