Is Michigan A "Must Win" Game for Bo Pelini?

CornNation's Jon Johnston calls this year's Nebraska vs. Michigan game the biggest of Bo Pelini's career.  It reminds me of an past conversation with AJ the Huskerh8r and whether this is a "must win" game.  In 2006, Nebraska was muddling through year three of the Bill Callahan experiment; was beating Missouri a "must"?  I didn't think so at that time...though it was getting pretty close.  (And for what it's worth, Nebraska and Callahan did just that in 2006.)

Is this the case in 2012 with Michigan?  I tend to lean towards the same answer, but the circumstances are different.  2012 Michigan is much better than 2006 Missouri.   2012 Nebraska is much better than 2006 Nebraska as well.  But the circumstances do parallel.  The Big XII North wasn't terribly strong in 2006...just like the Big Ten's West division in 2012.  And you do have a fan base that isn't completely sold on the head coach.

Bill Callahan was able to skate through his first few years by merely showing progress each year from his inept first season.  Bo Pelini's fourth season wasn't an improvement on his third, and if Nebraska loses to the Weasels at home, it's going to be impossible to show improvement from 2009 and 2010.  Nevermind that every one of Pelini's teams has been better than any of Bill Callahan's teams; Husker fans aren't satisfied with the current level of the program.  "Better than Bill Callahan" is not necessarily an achievement.

Win this game, and Nebraska is 6-2.  Bowl eligible, and in the driver's seat for a trip to the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.  That's a clear sign of progress IMHO.

Lose, and Nebraska is 5-3.  Almost no chance to make it to Indianapolis, and needing to win out just to have a nine-win season.  Nine wins almost seems like the bare minimum for Husker football; heck, nine wins wasn't enough to save Frank Solich's job.

Can Nebraska beat Michigan?  Absolutely, but the maddening mistakes need to be cleaned up first.  Last week, many of them were, but new ones sprung up in special teams.  Nebraska has the best offense in the Big Ten, and the defense has shown signs of being closer to what Nebraska needs.  (Second half against Wisconsin, first quarter against Ohio State, and most of the Northwestern game.)  Meanwhile, Michigan has been blasted by the good teams they've played and overwhelmed the bad ones.

@mattrhinton @solidverbal Michigan's last five gamesteams ranked 123rd, 73rd, 80th, 115th and 88th in total offense. C'mon man!
— CornNation (@CornNation) October 26, 2012

It's not a guaranteed win.  Nothing is for sure with this Nebraska team.  But it's a game they can win.  More importantly, it's a game they really need to win.  Not quite a must win....but really a need to win game.

A Must Win Game for the Huskers? Or a Must Not Lose Game?

I didn't have the opportunity to watch UCLA's game last week at Rice; we don't get CBS Sports Network on our cable and I wasn't home anyway. I can only base my opinions on the stat sheet and my summer preview of UCLA posted to CornNation.  Needless to say, I was surprised when the betting line for tonight's game opened at just five points.  I was even more surprised by the number of national prognosticators picking UCLA to win outright tonight at the Rose Bowl.

At face level, I don't see it.  Sure, Rex Burkhead is questionable to play, and doubtful to contribute.  I could see Burkhead playing just the opening play to keep his consecutive games streak alive and see how it actually goes.  But even without Burkhead, I still think Nebraska should be favored.  But many disagree.

I'm not going to try to refute that argument.  They very well might be right; UCLA isn't so out-manned that they cannot win. But I think part of the argument for the UCLA upset is past Nebraska failings:  the Capital One Bowl and Wisconsin last season.  Texas A&M and the Big XII Championship game in 2010.

Oh, and the "Pelini Hairballs" where Nebraska inexplicably lost:  Iowa State and Texas Tech in 2009, Washington (Holiday Bowl) in 2010.  Northwestern in 2011.

I think Nebraska should win today, and win fairly comfortably. My CornNation game prediction is NU 38, UCLA 14.  I think I'm alone in thinking that the Blackshirts can hold UCLA to just two scores; I'm on an island here.  But that's what I see.  Rice wasn't much of an opponent; note that Kansas is a 10 point favorite over the Owls today.  They had one of the worst defenses in college football last season, and probably aren't going to be much better this year.

This isn't a game Nebraska must win so much as it is a game that Nebraska must not lose. Tom Osborne once noted that any game you lost suddenly became a big game after the fact. A victory over UCLA won't impress most college football experts (unless the score gets out of hand, which I don't expect)...but a loss to UCLA adds even more traction that the Huskers are not anywhere near the upper echelon of the football world.  Remember that summertime talk that Nebraska might only win eight games this season?  This comes from that perception.

If Nebraska is to break that perception, Nebraska cannot afford a loss tonight in the Rose Bowl. It's a game Nebraska must find a way to win, because failure to win becomes just yet another example of Nebraska's not back.

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A "Must Win" for Callahan?

Local Husker H8ter AJ asked today whether the Iowa State game represented a must win game for Bill Callahan. My take? Nope. Missouri represents the strongest challenger to the Huskers in the Big XII North. Iowa State simply has too tough of a schedule, as they still have to face Oklahoma next week. Even with a loss to the Cyclones, the Huskers still will be in the mix for the championship game. As such, it's simply not a must win game.

However, if you are looking big picture, this is a game that Bill Callahan really needs to win. A lot of kool-aid drinkers are giving the Huskers a pass for last weekend, saying "a win is a win". Just win and advance baby.

Except that's not the situation, as this season isn't so much about wins. After last year's Colorado game, the slogan "Restore the Order" became the buzzword. The Huskers' Tunnel Walk talks about "resurgence". Nebraska entered 2006 with the momentum from the Alamo Bowl victory. With the exception of the USC game, that momentum continued in thrashings of Louisiana Tech, Nicholls State, and Troy. But then the Kansas game happened. Was that a blip? Or were the Huskers exposed?

That is the question that the Huskers need to answer tomorrow. Nebraska doesn't need to blow out the Cyclones, but they need a win to maintain the momentum. A loss to Iowa State reopens a lot of the questions that folks were asking last November after the Kansas game.

If you want to keep web sites such as "FireBillCallahan.com" offline, you need to win these games.

A Must Win for Callahan, Part II?

Before the Iowa State game, HuskerH8ter AJ asked if that game was a must win for Callahan. I said no at that time. In the end, it was a moot point; the Huskers won handily.

So, let's fast forward 4 games. After a victory against Kansas State, Nebraska returns to Memorial Stadium on a 2 game losing streak to face Missouri, with the winner having a 1 game lead and the tiebreaker in the race for the Big XII North.

Is this a must win for Bill Callahan?

My take: No...but it's awfully close.

First, why not: With a loss, Nebraska will be 6-4 which would still be bowl eligible, even if they were to lose out. It's tough to fire a coach who made it to a bowl game (not that it matters to a certain athletic director), and frankly, three years probably isn't enough time to judge a coach. Nebraska certainly doesn't want to hitch a ride on the coaching carousel that sabotaged schools like Kansas State, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa State in the 80's and 90's.

But here's why it's close: With the sorry state of the Big XII North the last 3 years, there is no excuse for not winning a title. Finishing the regular season at 7-5 most likely does not send a strong message that this program is in a resurgence after an 8-4 season in 2005. If a 75% winning percentage wasn't good enough for the Cornhusker football program in 2003, it's hard to accept these results.

Even if it doesn't result in the immediate firing of Callahan, a loss puts an end to all the goodwill gained from the end of the 2005 season. Already the firesteve.com and FireBillCallahan blog are back in action.

Here's another factor: In the Sagarin computer rankings, Nebraska's loss to Oklahoma State dropped the Huskers to #39. That's 5 spots behind Hawaii, 4 spots in front of Navy, and potentially even more problematic to the leadership in Lincoln, only 10 spots ahead of the Ohio Bobcats, a perennial bottom-feeder in the MAC that hasn't been to a bowl game since 1968. That's a comparison that has to be extremely uncomfortable to anyone who made outrageous statements about "gravitating to mediocrity."

The best way to keep this in check is to win on Saturday. Must win? No. But if they don't win, things are going to get rather hot.

2006 Projection Game-by-Game

With the temperature going to soar over 100 degrees, it's time to fire up the 'ol crystal ball next to the air conditioner... Here are my thoughts for 2006 before anything real starts to happen.

Louisiana Tech (85% chance of a Husker win) Anything can happen in a season opener. Remember 1998 when the Troy Edwards and Tim Rattay shredded the Husker secondary (featuring the Mike and Ralph Brown in their senior season)? But the Bulldogs only return 2 starters on defense and have to break in a new quarterback in Memorial Stadium...

Nicholls State (99% chance of win) This game might be more interesting if it were the season opener; then the attraction would be the debut of the new HuskerVision screen.

Southern Cal (20% chance of win) Yes, Nebraska played well against Colorado and Michigan to end 2005, but those teams weren't anywhere close to the quality of USC. Yes, USC is breaking in a new quarterback. But what happened the last time USC replaced a Heisman winning QB? The new sophomore QB went into Auburn and won his first game on the road, and the next year, Matt Leinert won the Heisman trophy himself. And thousands of Husker fans travelling out west didn't help at Arizona State in 1996 or Cal in 1998.

Troy (80% chance of win) Troy has been a growing program since going 1-A, and pulled off an upset of Mizzou 2 years ago. This game could be a trap between USC and Kansas, if the Huskers find themselves in a funk or a celebratory mood....

Kansas (85% chance of win) Kansas wasn't 25 points better than Nebraska in talent last year...they just played 25 points better. This game is in Lincoln, where the Huskers feed off the crowd.

Iowa State (60% chance of win) The 2004 loss at Ames was one of those inexplicable events of 2004. The Cyclones always play the Huskers well in Ames, as they usually grab a few recruits out of Nebraska. If Nick Leaders holds onto the ball in OT, ISU leaves Lincoln with a W. However, they've lost a lot of players from that defense, giving the Huskers a chance to get a road "W".

Kansas State (55% chance of win) This one is a pure guess. Nebraska hasn't won in the Little Apple since 1996. If not for QB Allan Evridge's bum shoulder last season, KSU very well might have won in Lincoln last fall. But, it's a whole new coaching staff for the PuddyTats making everything uncertain. Assuming that the Wildcats struggle with their transition gives the edge to the Huskers in this game. If they adjust to life under Ron Prince fast, look out...

Texas (35% chance of win) This game is in Lincoln, and Vince Young is in the NFL. But Texas still is loaded. Plus, the Bovines seem to find a way to beat Nebraska (5-1 since the formation of the Big XII).

Oklahoma State (60% chance of a win) I've seen a lot of people worry about this game. It's a road game, and the Cowboys will be looking to rebound after a tough transition game. And like the Troy game, it follows an emotional battle.

Missouri (75% chance of a win) Missouri loses Brad Smith, but returns a lot of players. Fortunately, Chase Daniel is not as much of a running threat, which means that pictures of Mizzou quarterbacks running all alone should be nothing but a bad memory.

Texas A&M (60% chance of win) A&M looked to be rising under Franchione 2 years ago, then injuries saw them struggle to 5-6. Now, Franchione is on the hot seat...and if he doesn't get the Aggies to a bowl game, he could be gone. This might be a "must win" game for Franchione and former Husker AD Bill Byrne, which means the emotion level at Kyle Field could go even higher.

Colorado (90% chance of win) Colorado quit down the stretch, getting outscored 136-19 in their last 14 quarters of 2005. The rebuilding process in Boulder is going to take some time...

What do I see here? Optimist says 10-2 (losses to USC and Tejas). Realist says Big XII North champions at 9-3. I've felt that Nebraska has had the best talent in the Big XII North the last 2 season, and this season there can be no excuse. Pessimist? Let's not go there, but with the kool-aid drinkers thinking we'll win at least one game between USC and Tejas, not winning at least 8 games will bring back the turmoil, barring a Zac Taylor season-ending injury. Considering that we add a non-conference game against USC, an 8-4 regular season is still showing improvement.

Do the Huskers REALLY have a chance against the Trojans?

Husker fans are anxiously awaiting this Saturday's battle against Southern Cal. The asking price for tickets is as high as $1000 a piece on Ebay, and between $80 and $969 at StubHub. ESPN's College Gameday is coming to Lincoln. The athletic department and UNL Police are reminding fans to stay off the field after the Huskers win.

Which raises the question... do Husker fans really think the Huskers are going to win?

USC was the clear pre-season favorite to win the national championship this season. John David Booty is a Heisman contender. They return 10 starters from a defense that Pete Carroll called his fastest. Do the Huskers even have a chance?

Of course the Huskers do...that's why they play the game.

We all know the reasons why USC will win. 4-star, 5-star, and 47-star players all over the field. One of the best coaches in college football in Carroll. How does Nebraska counteract all this?

First of all, let's look at what Nebraska can't do.

• First of all, Nebraska can't be predictable. Last year's game plan against USC wasn't bad because it was conservative, it was bad because it was woefully predictable and unimaginative. Even the USC Alumni Association mocked Callahan's game plan by selling t-shirts saying "See Red Run, See Red Run, See Red Run, See Red Punt."
• No mistakes. Nebraska MUST win the turnover battle.

But what CAN Nebraska do?

Well, for starters, let's look at Sam Keller. He's not only played USC, but he even taken a lead into the locker room at halftime. He knows what it will take to beat the Trojans, and won't be intimidated. Keller will need to be efficient by completing short and medium range passes to loosen up the defense. He also knows that he needs to step up in this one.

Nebraska also needs to establish a physical ground game to balance out the passing game. Last year, USC remarked at how physical Nebraska played. We need to do that...plus some. Matt Slauson told the Lincoln Journal-Star about how Oregon State took the legs out from under USC in their upset of the Trojans last season. USC's team speed will negate our ability to run wide; we'll have to run right at them. I look for a lot out of Quentin Castille Saturday night, as I'm not sure Marlon Lucky matches up well here. If Cody Glenn is healthy, that could be a huge advantage as well.

Remember... the key is balance. Run the ball when USC expects us to pass. Pass when USC expects the run. The Huskers must keep USC off balance.

Last year on defense, Nebraska did an ok job of containing USC's explosive wide receivers. They're gone now...meaning that while USC still has talent, they are inexperienced. Conversely, Nebraska's depth in the secondary is better this season. Kevin Cosgrove will need to mix up his defenses, showing USC different looks all night long to keep Booty from getting into a groove.

Fans expect Memorial Stadium to be loud, and hopefully Cosgrove has figured out how the defense can deal with a loud crowd. A loud crowd might also affect USC a little more than usual, as USC will start true freshman Kristofer O'Dowd at center. The center makes the line calls on the offensive line, so while the rest of the USC offensive line is experienced, O'Dowd has likely never ever played in an environment like will exist on Saturday night. (As if lining up opposite Ndamakong Suh won't be tough enough.) How will he respond? Will he make the right calls? At first, I thought USC wouldn't be impacted by the crowd noise on Saturday night, but now, I see a real opening for fans to make a difference early.

A winning strategy? Keep USC's offense off the field as much as possible with a balanced, ball-control attack. When USC's offense does manage to get on the field, the fans and Blackshirts need to unite to be as disruptive as possible. It won't be easy. Nebraska will need to play a perfect game.

But it can be done. Unlike last year, Nebraska must play to win the game. Herm Edwards said it oh so well...you must play to win the game.

Husker Nation Spits Back the Kool-Aid

It's increasingly looking like last Saturday night's 41-6 beatdown by Missouri was the last straw for most Husker fans. Pessimism and dissatisfaction seems to be the order of the day throughout HuskerNation. Even the most pro-Pederson/Callahan sites seem to be resigned to the idea that there are major problems with Husker football. Only the normally clear-headed BigRedNetwork.com folks still seem to like the Huskers chances for the rest of the season. Mathematically, they are correct. Nebraska could win the rest of their games and resurrect their season. However, that perspective really only applies if you look at the conference standings. It certainly denies the problems that we've seen the last five weeks.

Last year, AJ the HuskerH8er asked twice if that week's game was a "must win". I said no both times. I now think the next two games are "must wins"... mostly because if they don't win those games, they must find a way to win three of the final four games to become bowl eligible (@ Texas, @ Kansas, Kansas State, and @ Colorado). Failure to make a bowl game this season should pretty much guarantee pink slips for all, and even making a bowl game won't ensure job security.

My co-worker HuskerDave took issue with my resurrecting the "Fire Steve Pederson" cry, saying that Tom Osborne once said that teams couldn't keep firing people after four years. The difference is that Osborne was talking about coaches, not administrators. Not to mention that Pederson has been athletic director for five years. In any event, I'm not calling for Bill Callahan to be fired yet. (He certainly doesn't deserve the extension he got a month ago...) The sooner Pederson is gone, the sooner the next athletic director can evaluate Callahan and his program. Not to mention, the sooner Husker Nation can fully reunite. The longer Pederson remains, it becomes more likely the entire group (coaches and administrators alike) will be purged if this team doesn't pull out of it's tailspin fairly quickly.

Pederson continues to believe in this staff, for what it's worth. Last night on his so-called "call-in" show (where they haven't taken phone calls in 4 years), he said that he has faith in his decisions from years ago. Denial? Not really. Deep down, Pederson knows that his job depends on the success of the football program. It's too late for apologies, too late to ask for forgiveness. He knows that if this team continues to tank, he's history. So he has no choice but to stand tall and support the coaching staff he brought to Lincoln, even if his words ring hollow (hypocrite?) in light of his actions in 2003.

The heat on Kevin Cosgrove continues to intensify with a few scud missiles fired at him from Columbia, Missouri today:

Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen:

"I was a little bit surprised that they went just about the entire game getting pressure on us with a three-man rush. Obviously, it didn’t work very well. I don’t foresee Oklahoma doing that or at least making a living doing that."

Tiger quarterback Chase Daniel went even further:

"They’re very stubborn. Cosgrove’s a very stubborn guy. It’s always been that way. … That’s just how he is, that’s how they are. They’re a bunch of confident guys in what they do, and they felt they had the best chance doing that, so they stuck with it.

"You can’t just play one defense the whole entire game. That’s like high school stuff that I faced in high school, so it’s nothing new for me."

Oh, by the way, does everybody remember that Oklahoma State also runs a spread offense, as do many of the remaining teams on Nebraska's schedule. That's another reason why many Husker fans are skeptical that this five game slide is going to reverse itself anytime soon. The so-called "easy wins" (Iowa State and Ball State) are already collected, and now it's time to face the music.

Husker 2005 Season Review

Well, with the college football magazines sprouting up at the grocery stores, it's almost time to start thinking of next season... of course, before we can look forward to 2006, let's review 2005.

Last season got off to a less-than spectacular start with a 25-7 win over 1-AA Maine. While the defense looked a bit stronger, the offense looked inept. When Maine scored on a long touchdown pass to pull within 1 score early in the 4th quarter, a nervous hush fell over Memorial Stadium. Fortunately, Bo Ruud soon scored on an interception return a few minutes later to save the victory. The next week, the offense continued to sputter against Wake Forest, but the defense scored 3 times to make the 31-3 final much more respectable.

The night before the Wake Forest games, much of the Husker nation tuned into ESPN2 to catch Frank Solich's Ohio Bobcats take on the next week's opponent, Pitt. The heavily favored Panthers scored on the opening kickoff of the game, but Solich's Bobcats outplayed them the next 58 minutes and led 10-7 until the exhausted Bobcats called a prevent defense. And as frequently happens, the offense drives the field against the prevent, and Pitt kicks a field goal to send the game into overtime. But in overtime, Ohio's Dion Byrum intercepted Pitt quarterback and scored the winning touchdown sending Solich fans in Nebraska into delirium.

That delirium led to a feeling of deja 'vu next week as Pitt again drove the field against a prevent defense...but this time, Pitt twice missed converting a game winning field goal in a 7-6 Husker win. A game that was so painful to watch, Brent Musburger couldn't wait to start drinking, getting busted outside Memorial Stadium for violating Nebraska's open container law. Nebraska was 3-0, but the defense had scored more touchdowns than the offense and quarterback Zac Taylor was making fans reconsider how bad they thought Jammal Lord and Mickey Joseph were passing.

After a bye week, Callahan made several adjustments against Iowa State, the most noticeable being putting Taylor into the shotgun. The result was a more productive Taylor, throwing for 431 yards, though once again they had trouble scoring offensive touchdowns. The Huskers nearly lost this game in the first overtime as Iowa State's Nick Leaders dropped an interception of Taylor, which would have ended the game. The next week, defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove opened with the prevent defense that was so effective in holding Texas Tech to only 49 points in the 2nd half the year before. After the Red Raiders scored their 70th straight point on the Huskers, Cosgrove finally realized what many fans (myself included) realized a year earlier: you must pressure Tech's quarterback. Nebraska came back and took the lead, but Cosgrove reverted to the ill-conceived prevent defense late, allowing Tech to come back for a 34-31 win.

A decent win on the road at Baylor led to the first trouncing of the year at Mizzou. See AJ's photo at the right? See any Huskers on the field? Thanks to another horrific defensive game plan from Kevin Cosgrove, Brad Smith ran up and down the field uncontested in a 41-24 loss that, unlike the 41-24 loss 2 years earlier, wasn't nearly that close.

Against Oklahoma the next week, the effects of the pounding Zac Taylor was taking game after game began to take it's toll. Taylor was missing wide-open receivers as he was worried more about who was going to hit him next. Meanwhile, Bill Callahan was having his annual embarrassing gaffe with his throat slash.

They always say it's darkest just before the dawn...if that's the case, then the 40-15 loss to Kansas will go down as the low-point in the coaching change. It was a horrible, horrible performance that plunged the Callahan era well below mediocrity. The next week, Nebraska and Kansas State played an ugly game in a gale. Harrison Beck burned his redshirt after Zac Taylor finally took one too many hard hits, and proceeded to throw one pass into the West Stadium stands, another into the hands of a K-State defender who nearly returned it for a lead-changing touchdown late in the 4th quarter, and then finally completing a pass to a Husker receiver to set up the game winning field goal. Callahan had another brain-fart of a play-call in calling a swing pass in the end zone (resulting in the second safety of the game), and recruiting-all-American Zack Bowman bit hard on a fake pass route, chasing a KSU receiver down the field and all the way past the Runza at 10th & Cornhusker.

Another bye-week did the Huskers well, as Nebraska finally put a complete game together for the first time in the Bill Callahan era, beating Colorado 30-3. The offense clicked, the defense clicked. And perhaps most importantly, the team chemistry seemed to click. Chris Patrick and Matt Slauson, inserted into the offensive line, gave the line the ability to protect Zac Taylor, and he delivered completion after completion. With the momentum from the Colorado win, Nebraska moved up in the standings to get an Alamo Bowl matchup with Michigoon. And in a poorly officiated game, the Huskers came out on top and with a solid boost in momentum from the gloom and doom of the games against Kansas and Kansas State.

Now, the optimism of the Colorado and Michigoon victories needs to be tempered by the fact that Kansas State, Colorado, and Michigoon all overhauled their coaching staffs after the season, indicating that those programs were having their own serious problems. And while the Huskers should be pleased with the progress at the end of 2005, they must guard against reading too much into those victories. Optimists will claim that Nebraska was just a couple of bounces away from a Big XII North championship, but they also need to remember that they were a couple of bounces (2 missed field goal attempts by Pitt and a dropped interception by Iowa State) away from their second straight losing season.

So what to expect for the upcoming season? That's a subject for another day.

Huskers vs. 'Canes May Be a Must-Not-Lose Game for the Big Ten

Somehow, the Big Ten conference found a way in week three to actually do worse than the conference did in week 2.  In the second week, Michigan State losing to Oregon wasn't so bad, except how the Ducks boat-raced Sparty in the second half.   Ohio State losing to Virginia Tech was bad, and Michigan getting shut out by Notre Dame was awful.  But last week, TCU crushed Minnesota and Indiana somehow found a way to lose to Bowling Green.  Two weeks after losing badly to division 1-AA North Dakota State at home, Iowa State traveled to Iowa City to defeat the Hawkeyes.

How bad is the Big Ten this season?  1-10 in games against Power-5 conference teams.  The only victory is Rutgers beating Mike Leach's awful Washington State squad.  This weekend, there are a few more chances for the Big Ten to mitigate the damage a little.

Iowa travels to Pitt, and considering the Hawkeyes issues, it's tough to see Iowa winning unless they have a huge emotional rebound this week.  Michigan hosts Utah, and it's one of those games a Michigan loss hurts the conference more than a Michigan victory helps.  I suspect that Maryland will beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, but again, a victory won't mean much either.

But the big game of the weekend in the Big Ten is Miami finally coming to Lincoln to play the Huskers after so many Orange Bowl meetings in the 80's and 90's. Neither team is at the level they once were, which means that a Husker victory won't change anybody's opinions of the Big Ten.

But a Nebraska loss is just more evidence that the Big Ten isn't even remotely competitive with the rest of college football....and that makes this a huge game for the Big Ten.  If the Huskers win, they are 4-0 with a Power-5 victory and setting up some hope that if Nebraska can win in East Lansing two weeks later, the Big Ten might have a team that could be considered in the college football playoff discussion.  Sparty's loss to Oregon will no doubt hurt their ability to be selected, but an undefeated Big Ten team probably can't be ignored.

And right now, only Nebraska and Penn State are capable of doing that.  The Big Ten desperately needs to have somebody - ANYBODY - carry the big blue B1G banner this season.  Michigan State is that team currently, but that loss to Oregon makes Sparty an afterthought nationally.  Somebody new has to emerge, and Nebraska might be the Big Ten's best candidate to do it. People will eventually forget the McNeese State escape, because everybody is going to have to have an off week at some point.

But can Nebraska realistically go undefeated?  Yes, I hear you Pellllini haters.  We haven't forgotten about the four losses each season, but that's the past.  Look at the schedule which sets up nicely for the Huskers. Nebraska has shown they can win in East Lansing, and also showed they were better than Sparty last year in Lincoln, except for freshmen holding onto the football.  Iowa has serious issues, meaning that it's likely that the Big Ten west comes down to Nebraska and Wisconsin in Madison.

Yes, Nebraska can easily lose this Saturday to the 'Canes...then to Sparty and Wisconsin.  Or they could win.  And that hope that Nebraska can somehow manage to run the table and win some games has to give Jim Delaney hope that the Big Ten might be able to have one relevant team in January.

Wednesday Night Beer: MMA Proves Omaha an Event Town

I must admit that I'm not a fan of boxing or "ultimate fighting" or MMA or whatever they call it. (When I was a kid, we called it "kill the man"...) But apparently many people in Omaha are, or at least bothered to leave work early to head to the Civic Auditorium for tonight's "UFC Fight Night". A quick channel surf showed the place looked pretty close to full, and judging from the traffic downtown after work, lots of people went early. Kevin and Mike'l on KOZN-1620 AM were even broadcasting from the Civic, and they pointed out that this is yet more evidence that Omaha loves a big event, even if we don't understand the sport. Whether it's UFC or Olympic swimming or college volleyball, we love a big event if we're given a reason to attend.

Which must absolutely frustrate others who try to promote regular sporting events in town, such as the Omaha Royals. Speaking of which, the talk about building a stadium in Chalco and Gretna has completely dried up. Last we heard, Sarpy County officials were awaiting a report on how Sarpy could possibly afford to build a baseball stadium for the Royals. That report was due about four weeks ago, and if feasible, negotiations were to begin after Labor Day. Either the negotiations have gone back underground, or the feasibility study came back rather negative.

Here's another little tidbit from the radio today. CBS SportsLine's Dennis Dodd picks Nebraska as a dark horse candidate to win the entire Big XII this season:

It's clear that coach Bo Pelini is lining things up for Oct. 4 when No. 5 Missouri visits. If the Huskers can take down the Tigers -- Missouri has won three of the last five -- it might be time to reassess the North.

Now, I haven't see much from Nebraska so far to suggest that the Huskers could run the table in the Big XII this season, but that doesn't mean they can't either. It's really hard to draw much of a conclusion from the opening three cupcakes on the schedule.

But if Nebraska continues to improve and gets players like Rickey Thenarse back on the field healthy, you just never know. Nebraska is going to need all of the playmakers they can find when the high powered spread offenses of the Big XII start showing up in October.

Speaking of the cupcakes, it turns out that Nebraska is actually coming out money ahead by having the first three games on pay-per-view. Normal telecasts net Nebraska $275,000 for each game, but executive associate A.D. Marc Boehm estimates that the Huskers will net between $250,000 and $400,000 for each pay-per-view broadcast. In other words, Nebraska will likely clear an extra quarter of a million dollars for playing games suitable only for pay-per-view. Yikes. That's horrible news for folks looking for reasons to improve the schedule. But on the other hand, it helps repair the budget damage from two high-profile dismissals in 2007.

Here's another potential future schedule upgrade. Nebraska is in discussions with Wyoming on a multiple year deal, with one game at Invesco Field in Denver and the others in Lincoln. That's likely a win-win for everybody, especially if they hold this game over Labor Day weekend. (Saturday night or Sunday would make this a nice weekend trip for Husker fans!) Nebraska gets two home games, and Wyoming gets the revenue from 45,000 additional fans than can fit into War Memorial Stadium. And can you imagine Woody Paige's outrage at seeing 50,000 Husker fans roaming through Denver that weekend?

UNO Hockey's Midseason Swoon

Two months ago, the Mavs were flying high in college hockey circles after splitting a memorable series with North Dakota that had the Mavs flying high nationally. At that time, I said that I didn't think a swoon was imminent...and boy was I wrong.  Since that weekend, UNO is just 3-6-1...and reeling after this weekend's series against Bemidji State.  It seems a familiar story: UNO seems to be flying around against a lesser opponent but can't get the puck past the goalie, and they lose.  In fact, it's what I wrote in mid-January of last season. They went on a hot streak and worked their way into national contention with a 7-2-1 run over the next five weeks, complete with a road win over then-#1 Miami a week after sweeping Michigan.

The Mavs hockey team isn't playing the greatest right now, but I get the feeling they're playing better than they were a year ago at this time. They're down one of their better players with Terry Broadhurst still nursing a hand injury. They're facing #2 North Dakota, this time up there in Dean Blais' return to his old stomping grounds. I wouldn't say these are must-win games, but if UNO is going to make another run like last season, they can't wait much longer.

Looking at the Mavs this weekend, I saw a team that flew around the ice, but faced an opponent style that's the exact opposite and creates immense frustration. Best analogy I can think of is Princeton basketball under Pete Carril. UNO came out flying on Saturday night, but UNO's first goal of the game was waived off for some reason.  Breakdowns late in the second period allowed Bemidji State to take the lead, and while UNO was able to make the push to tie the game in the third period, they couldn't get the game winner despite several outstanding opportunities.... then another defensive breakdown led to the game winner in overtime.

Frustrated? Yep.  Disappointed?  Yep.  But not giving up hope.  Not yet.  There's still two months of hockey left to be played, and a lot of things still can happen.

Another Wisconsin Beat-Down

After the results of the last week, the only thing left for Wisconsin to do is annex the state of Nebraska. The Badgers blew out Nebraska 77-46 on Tuesday in basketball, then swept UNO in hockey this weekend. Nobody should have been surprised by the basketball loss, though Huskers fans should have been dismayed by the margin of defeat.

The hockey losses were a most disappointing surprise. Certainly UNO went into it looking for the sweep themselves, but never led all weekend.  (Well, they did briefly take a 2-1 lead on Wisconsin until the call was reversed after a ridiculously long goal review.)  UNO entered the weekend in third place, just one point behind Minnesota. Now they sit precariously in sixth place, one point ahead of Denver.  The top six teams host first round playoff series games in two weeks, and Denver finishes the season with last place Alaska-Anchorage.

UNO has to travel to Minnesota Duluth.  With the presumption that Denver is going to win both games at home, UNO probably needs to get a road sweep to retain home ice.  Or maybe a split of the series, and hope that North Dakota sweeps Minnesota State-Mankato.  There are a few other wacky scenarios that help, but for the most part, UNO is in the same situation they were in last week:  two wins gets you home ice.  The problem is that they failed both times this weekend.

Here's what's more ominous:  UNO has now lost five straight home games (not including the exhibition game loss last weekend).  So frankly, I'm not sure home ice is any sort of advantage for this team.  It's hard to understand, but perhaps without having the distractions of having class and friends around, this team might play better.  Maybe it really would be best for UNO to finish the season on the road.

So what has happened to UNO hockey over the last month or so? Deep down, I think it's the same problem they had last season: they are worn down. All weekend long, we saw sloppy imprecise passes that, when lucky, just failed to reach their target, and sometimes resulted in a turnover.  Add in some questionable goaltending, especially by senior John Faulkner, and you've got a leaky ship.  For much of this season, UNO's defense has been pretty solid, but it's was broken down badly by the Badgers this weekend.  North Dakota had their way with the Mavs three weeks ago as well.

The move to pull the redshirt off of Ryan Massa now looks like a desperation move in hindsight. He's probably UNO's best goaltender at this point of the season, but he's anything but in the form he showed last season.  I'm still not sure why Faulkner didn't get pulled last night in the third period of last night's 6-2 loss.  A goalie change wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it would have given a rusty Massa another opportunity to get some game action.

The officiating crew didn't help things much. The waived-off goal on Friday night didn't take nearly as long as the infamous Michigan "goal" in the 2011 NCAA tournament, but it was the same sour result for UNO.  Did James Polk interfere with Wisconsin's Joel Rumpel? Yes, but only after he got hauled down by the Badger defenseman.  A phantom "embellishment" penalty on Johnnie Searfoss after he was tripped up by Joseph LaBate? It was almost like officials Brian Thul and Craig Welker were auditioning for jobs in the Big Ten next season.

But that's not why UNO lost on Saturday night, and not really why UNO got swept.  UNO isn't playing very good hockey at this point, and that's a very dangerous thing to be doing in March. Up until last season, Dean Blais teams hit their stride in the second half of the season, but injuries and defections seem to have overwhelmed the Mavs the last two seasons.  This season isn't over; UNO still has a chance to regroup and make a run on things.  But they have to turn it around and fast.  Wisconsin has only lost three games since Thanksgiving, so it could be that the Badgers are just playing that well.  But the margin for error is gone now.  UNO must win on the road now to keep the season alive. And any dreams of playing in the NCAA tournament depend solely on winning three games in St. Paul and earning the WCHA's autobid.  And to do that, UNO first has to find a way to get to St. Paul.

And that road just got a whole lot tougher with a lost weekend against Wisconsin. And after the B1G football championship game and all of the other games against the Badgers, I've seen too much heartbreak from watching my teams battle Wisconsin in recent months.

Will This March Be Different For UNO Hockey?

It's hard to believe that UNO's best March of hockey was the first season the Mavs were eligible to play in the post-season. In March 2000, UNO made a bold push in their initial season in the CCHA, winning a best of three first round series on the road against Northern Michigan, setting up an unexpected play-in game two days later.  Unexpected...because the City of Omaha had already melted the ice at the Civic Auditorium for a car show.  So as game three came to a conclusion in Marquette, Michigan, the staff at the Civic fired up the compressors and began a rush job to put down a new ice surface for what is now known as "Tuesday Night."

Tuesday night might be the greatest night of hockey in the city limits of Omaha.  People rearranged their schedules, and there was hardly an empty seat at the Civic that night and the atmosphere was electric, much like it was when North Dakota came to town in January. It was a close defensive battle until Jeff Hoggan scored the game winning goal against Bowling Green late in the third period, sending the Mavs to "the Joe" for the CCHA semifinals.  Three days later, UNO beat the University of Michigan 7-4 in what is remembered as the "St. Patrick's Day Massacre."  Nevermind that UNO lost 6-0 to Michigan State the next night to end the Mavs' Cinderella season.

The future was bright, right?  Just year three, and UNO was right there, on the cusp of national prominence.

But UNO never quite made it back to that same stage.  They played again at Joe Louis Arena a few more times, but never made it past the semifinals.  UNO has even made it to the NCAA tournament twice, losing both times.

Arguably, it's gotten worse under Dean Blais.  UNO moved to the WCHA in 2010 and the NCHC in 2013, and UNO hasn't even made it to Minneapolis for either conference tournament.  The second weekend of March has been awful for UNO hockey historically.

This weekend, it's St. Cloud State up for the Mavs in a best of three series.  The Huskies swept UNO three weeks ago up north, though UNO had their chances up there.  In December, UNO swept St. Cloud State, so the series is tied for the season.  UNO may not need to win this series to advance to the NCAA tournament; they may have done enough to earn a berth at this point.

But if UNO wants to reset the trajectory of the program, this weekend is a must-win.  Post-season wins are too few in number, and this UNO team is by far it's most talented.  It's time to put the past behind and set a new course.

Seniors like goalie Ryan Massa have never played in the conference tournament semifinals, and this is their last chance.  Massa was a late scratch last Saturday night after injuring his knee in warmups, but may be able to go this weekend. A hot goaltender can carry a hockey team far during the postseason, and Massa has been stellar all season long.  No word as to whether senior captain Dominic Zombo will be able to go this weekend either; I suspect he won't, though I imagine that's killing him to not be able to contribute.

I understand the doubts based on the past, but UNO hockey has done things this season nobody expected they would early on.  Will that be enough to get UNO to Minneapolis next weekend?

Thursday Night Beer: Husker Hoops Still on the Bubble

Thanks to a home victory over Missouri this week, Nebraska basketball is on the verge of being "bubblicious", at least according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who has them currently in their "last four out".  So what's it going to take?  Probably three more wins at bare minimum.  Must win at Colorado, then pick up at least one and probably two more in Kansas City at the Big XII tournament.  That's a tall order, since the Huskers haven't played very well outside of Lincoln. Certainly can't afford another hairball like the one the Huskers coughed up in Ames last Saturday afternoon.

Our other NCAA tournament-bound team, the UNO hockey team, really could use a good performance this weekend against #11 Minnesota-Duluth on the road. It's all about the seeding, and second place is still possible as the Mavs sit one point behind second place Denver. Second place is important because the top two seeds don't have to play the Thursday night games at the WCHA Final Five.  Speaking of which, the WCHA uses a "Gopher Rule" when scheduling games:  if Minnesota is scheduled to play that night, they always play in the second game that night so that Gopher fans can make it after work. Not that anybody should be surprised by this. (H/T:  Goon from NoDak)

Turns out Wisconsin blogger Chuck Schwartz seethed a wee-bit at being called out for his ridiculous declaration that Badger head coach Mike Eaves had sewn up a coach of the year award. Especially from a football blogger who crashed the inner sanctum of hockey.  But with the Badgers in a free-fall that began with being swept in Omaha, he finally acknowledged that Eaves won't win the award... though he still should. Oh, he let me know why loud and clear: Wisconsin lost so much from last season's team, it was remarkable that they were ever in contention. True to a point, but programs like Wisconsin usually have a solid stream of talent waiting in the wings - which they do. So while Schwartz and some of his Badger pals were running around patting themselves on the back, most people outside Badgerland took this season for what it is: reloading.  And his whole excuse that "nobody saw the Badgers collapse" pretty much validates my main point: you can't declare the race over at the halfway point of the season.

I see Creighton is starting to promote season tickets for their first season of baseball at TD Ameritrade Park.  First game will be on April 19th...and the opponent is going to be Nebraska. MECA had better be prepared for a huge crowd for opening night downtown; no soft opening for this place.

Illinois Has No Solution for Huskers' I-Backs as Abdullah Tops 200 Once Again

Saturday morning on KZOT radio (1180 AM in Omaha), I caught former Husker offensive lineman Matt Vrzal telling former Husker linebacker Jay Foreman that if Ameer Abdullah rushed for seven or more yards on his first carry, Nebraska would be fine against Illinois.

Abdullah rushed for 21.  And the track meet was on.  Illinois dropped nine men into the box...didn't matter. Abdullah ate the Illini alive.  It wasn't just Abdullah either... Imani Cross rushed for 109 as well.  It shouldn't have been a huge surprise as the Illini struggled in victories against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, and Texas State.  So despite their 3-1 record, my only concern was whether Nebraska would suffer a post-Miami let down (or perhaps glancing ahead to next week's game against Michigan State)...and that didn't happen, for the most part.

The passing game wasn't very good today, though it didn't need to to either. Tommy Armstrong missed his first three passes of the game, including a very ugly interception off the scramble.  He still locks in on his primary target.  But I also see why some people love Armstrong...like that 63 yard perfectly thrown bomb to Kenny Bell midway through the second quarter.  Simply can't throw a football better.  He was fairly effective running the ball as well, though his best run came late in the fourth quarter on a scramble in garbage time.

Defensively, Nebraska had yet another slow start as the opponent drove the field and scored on their opening possession.  Blown assignments and sloppy tackling once again.  After that, the Husker defense was pretty much fine as Randy Gregory (3 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries) and Greg McMullen (1 sack, 3 hurries) were fairly dominant. (Or at least I thought they were... it was really tough to tell who was out there with the adidas Red Rising uniforms so my recollections could very much be wrong.)

Zaire Anderson was the surprise starter in the middle and had a whale of a game; he looked really comfortable at times out there. But for much of the game, Nebraska went with seven defensive backs and no linebackers on the field (unless you want to count Gregory as a 'backer).  But in retrospect, it's tough to take much out of this game.  Illinois was without their starting quarterback, as Wes Lunt sat (apparently due to an injury suffered last week).  But the bottom line is that I've seen nothing this season to suggest that even with Lunt, Illinois is very good in the first three quarters of any game.

Now it's onto East Lansing and Michigan State.  Last time we saw the Spartans, we watched Nebraska outplay Michigan State - if it weren't for five freshmen turnovers.  Michigan State went on to surprise folks by winning the Big Ten title game convincingly and then upset Stanford in the Rose Bowl.  Now the Spartans have been rolling this season against inferior competition, though they did scare Oregon on the road in the first half.

Can Nebraska win in East Lansing?  Well, they did two years ago.  They should have won in Lincoln last year as well.  But what Nebraska can't do is continue to make some of the same mistakes they have been making this season.  Tommy Armstrong must play like he did last week against Miami and less like today's first half or the McNeese State game.  Abdullah isn't likely to rush for 200 for a third straight week, and the Spartans will do a much better job of tackling than the Illini did.

Defensively, Nebraska must break their streak of coming out slow and depending on Pelini to make adjustments to resync the defense. It'll help if Josh Mitchell is able to go and isn't limited by the hip injury that he suffered late in the game.  It'll also help if Randy Gregory and his defensive linemates are able to continue to be as disruptive as they've been as of late.

But Michigan State has improved more than Nebraska has since last November.  The Spartans are a legitimate top ten team; Nebraska hasn't been able to crack the top twenty. But this game is Nebraska's chance to catch the nation's attention. Win, and the Huskers are 6-0 and in the driver's seat for the Big Ten's west division...and maybe more.

Maybe more... maybe much more.  But only if they can find a way to win.

Does a Nebraska Win Mean the Huskers are Relevant Nationally? Or that Michigan State is Overrated?

A lot of people didn't think Nebraska would be 5-0 at this point in the season. I don't know if it's "most" or "some", but a sizable group of people had penciled in losses for the Huskers to either Miami or Fresno State. Not sure exactly why; I wasn't one of those people.  Frankly, I don't think there is a team on Nebraska's schedule they can't beat this season.

Including Michigan State.

No doubt in my mind that the Spartans are the best team Nebraska will face before the end of the regular season.  But I also harken back to last November, where five turnovers by freshmen - most, if not all, unforced by the vaunted Spartan defense -were the difference in the game. Nebraska outplayed Michigan State on offense and on defense.  Did Nebraska give the game away?  Bo Pelini won't say so, but when you go -5 on turnovers, you are going to lose. And lose badly on the scoreboard.  Certainly more than 13 points, if the two teams are otherwise even.

Demornay Pierson-El said #Huskers offense had a meeting yesterday and Tim Beck referred to last yr's #Sparty score as 5-0. 5 Turnovers to 0.
— Mike Welch (@RealMikeWelch) September 29, 2014

Now, Michigan State has been quite impressive offensively. But I have to take those numbers with a grain of salt; when you compare the opponents for both teams, I don't think Michigan State has defeated a team anywhere near as good as Miami.

Or McNeese State, for that matter.

There are elements of Oregon's offense in what Nebraska does, and that clearly gave the Spartans fits in Eugene last month.  But while Nebraska runs the ball MUCH better than Oregon, Marcus Mariota is in a completely different universe than Tommy Armstrong. Michigan State's defense isn't nearly as stout as they were last season, and Nebraska was able to run the ball effectively last year with a banged-up offensive line.

It's less of a question to me whether Nebraska can score on Michigan State than it is whether the Huskers can stop the Spartans on offense.  There are three players Nebraska must concentrate on:

Connor Cook, Jeremy Langford, and Tony Lippett.

Nebraska's defensive line has been pretty good this season, and the setup is perfect for Randy Gregory to have his Ndamukong Suh/Missouri moment.  We've got national television and rainy weather in the forecast. And if you've seen Gregory in action the last two weeks, you know just how dominant he can be.  (Check out some of the photos that CornNation's David McGee took of Gregory being mugged and held by Illinois last week.)

But can Cook get the ball out to Lippett before Gregory sends him to the turf? That's the question, and it'll be incumbent on Josh Mitchell to lock up Lippett to give Gregory time to pressure Cook. Safety help will be important, because I'm less concerned about the other receivers as I am about Lippett making a play.  Cook will force the ball to Lippett, and you want Mitchell to have the freedom to go for the interception.

Last season, Nebraska had problems throwing the ball in the direction of Darqueze Dennard, so Kenny Bell dropped into the slot and ate Kurtis Drummond's lunch the rest of the way.  Dennard is gone, but Drummond is back.  That's another matchup that Nebraska can exploit.

Nobody expects Nebraska to win, except possibly Husker fans. That's fine.  If Nebraska does come away with the win, what does that say?  Husker fans want to view it as win that allows Nebraska to be relevant in the national conversation.  My fear is that some national writers will view it as another failure by the Big Ten.  They are already convinced Nebraska isn't great, so clearly Michigan State was overrated, since they lost to Nebraska.

But it's premature to talk about that much. Doesn't matter what is being said or going to be said...it all comes down to the Huskers winning on Saturday night.

A Wild Seven Days

Whew...what a week. Certainly it sounds like Bo Pelini and Tom Osborne have been busy this past week. I must say I'm still someone concerned that Osborne is still out recruiting, not so much that Osborne is recruiting as much as the idea that Osborne is going to be hands-on with the football program. I'd like to think that Osborne's involvement is merely an attempt to get the transition off to a good start and that his long term plan is to back away once Pelini's staff is in place. Osborne should know what it's like to follow a legend who's sitting in the athletic director's chair; he was hired and worked under Bob Devaney. Folks close to Osborne think that this is just a transitional thing, so I'll take their word for it.

Bo Pelini did one thing his first week that his predecessor never did; take on Jim Rome. Never have been a huge fan of Rome, but one thing I've learned is that it pays to be on his good side. Appear on his show, and "Jungle Karma" helps ensure you get positive vibrations from Rome and his Clones. Refuse to appear, and Rome takes advantage of every opportunity to ridicule you. Bill Callahan became Beau Bridges to the Jungle, and Nebraska was ridiculed throughout the Pederson/Callahan error. A little positive spin can't hurt.

The more interesting items from Pelini's interview were that it appears that Shawn Watson appears in line to become the true offensive coordinator for the Huskers next year. Yeah, he had that title last season, but really, Bill Callahan was in charge. Former offensive line coach Dennis Wagner voiced some frustration with Callahan at the final Big Red Breakfast:

"He is the head coach. If he says this is what you do, this is what you do. If you don't, then you have problems within your group. It isn't always that you want to do it that way, but it's the way you're supposed to do it. That's just part of doing the things you're asked to do by the person who hired you."

And Pelini implies that Watson will put his own "flavor" on the offense...implying that it probably will be "de-Callihanized." Too what extent? Hard to say, except to say that you have to remember that players have been recruited and coached (to some extent) in this offense, so it's probably best to work from what's in place if you want to have any sort of success in 2008. (See 2004 Nebraska as an example of what happens when you try to use square pegs in round holes...)

Pelini definitely intends to try to win in 2008, telling Rome that Nebraska's problems in 2007 may be more of a result of culture and lack of belief in the coaches than in the systems:

“There’s never a quick fix. Things have to be developed and a culture has to be built, but there’s talent here. And we just need to build on that talent and keep recruiting the right way — get the kids buying in and believing again.

You start going through some tough times and people forget what it takes to win and how to win and a bit of doubt starts creeping in their minds. We have to remove that doubt and get believing again.”

“I don’t think (we’re) that far off. I think we’ll be significantly better next year. How that equates in wins and losses, I don’t know yet.”

Strong words? Perhaps. But one thing is clear...if Nebraska could have been remotely average on defense in 2007, they probably could have won two or three more games. Maybe even four. Probably still would have lost to Kansas and Missouri in all likelihood. But that would have put Nebraska in an ok bowl game. And for some reason, I think Bo Pelini and his staff is enough to convert Nebraska into at least an average defensive team by itself.

Haven't talked much about UNO Hockey lately...mostly because I'm still not quite sure where things are going. To be fair, they've had a tough schedule, playing #1 Miami, #3 Michigoon, and #6 Notre Dame in the opening weeks. 0-6 is certainly understandable, and UNO had some chances in those games. In the rest of the games, it's been a mixed bag. A sweep of Ohio State was a high point. Only getting two ties against last place Lake Superior State this weekend might be a low point. Mike Kemp told the World-Herald what a lot of Mav fans have been grumbling about:

"The way we're playing right now is not acceptable. I know we're better than what our stats show, but we need to prove it."

Yep, UNO is playing a lot of freshmen. OK, I get it. But I had hoped that the changes in coaching staff would have addressed the underperforming performances by now. Yes, it's still early in the season. But I'd like to see the Mavs at least over .500 at this point in the season. A positive sign this weekend was some good goaltending from Jerad Kaufman.

Did catch bits and pieces of Doc Sadler's Husker hoops team this past week on TV. A disappointing overtime loss to Western Kentucky (who actually isn't a bad basketball team) and a win today against Rutgers, who'll probably be fighting to stay out of the cellar in the Big East. The big test comes this weekend when 7-1 Oregon comes to Omaha. Will the BrieJay fans continue to be silent about the Huskers playing in "their building"?

Against Fresno State, The Kids are Alright

Nebraska's 42-29 victory over Fresno State was far from a thing of beauty. For the second week in a row, the offense was a muddled mess and this week, the defense sprung a leak. Aside from a couple of long Taylor Martinez runs, the Huskers spent most of the first half in neutral.  And Martinez had his own troubles with two fumbles and a bad interception in that same time frame. But near the end of the first half, Tim Beck finally opened up the offense and threw deep to try and loosen up the Fresno defense...and Nebraska's young receivers came through.  Kenny Bell caught a deep pass late in the first half, and Jamal Turner added a couple of really nice catches in the second half.

But Nebraska couldn't sustain any drives on the ground for the most part today until late in the game. Defenses stacking the box is the problem, but even so, the Husker offensive line needs to open up more holes. And this week, the defensive line struggled. That's something that surprised...and really, really disappointed me. Last week, Fresno's line was a sieve, but tonight, they overpowered the defense - especially in the second half as Fresno's Robbie Rouse was typically three yards downfield before the Blackshirts could lay a hand on him. That's an ominous sign for next month, as I've seen comparisons between Fresno's offensive line and the lines we'll see in October and November. Fortunately in his postgame comments, Bo Pelini expressed his displeasure with the play. He knows his players must play better, and his reaction indicates that they can play much better.

I really couldn't put my finger on the problem tonight except it was all over the field. The secondary let Fresno receivers get deep twice tonight, though the Bulldogs only took advantage once.  Justin Blatchford is no Eric Hagg, and is a liability as the nickel back. Problem is that Sean Fisher is also struggling...meaning that there isn't a real good solution that's apparent on the field right now.  There's hope that when Alfonzo Dennard returns, Ciante Evans could move into that role.  That might be part of the solution, but that leaves Andrew Green on the field, and while I think he played better tonight, he also seems to be a bit of a liability.  With Daimion Stafford taking over at safety, I wonder if Courtney Osborne isn't a better option here.

Knowing Bo Pelini's history, I'm not terribly worried about the defense. He'll get this figured out. I'm becoming more and more concerned about the offense. It's not like there aren't some young playmakers to turbocharge this offense:  Jamal Turner and Kenny Bell made big plays tonight. Ameer Abdullah wowed everybody with his 100 yard kickoff return. And Martinez had some huge runs today.  So why does this offense continue to struggle? I think it comes down again to the offensive line.  This is a young line, with two sophomores and a true freshman starting...but they have to get better and quickly.

Until then, Martinez is going to have to throw more. In the second half, Martinez was much more productive throwing the ball. I wish I knew what happened to Brandon Kinnie. Kinnie developed into a clutch receiver last year, but this season, he's become a liability. It's almost like Ted Gilmore sabotaged him on his way out to USC. If this continues much longer, look for Kinnie to get the Menelik Holt treatment. Quincy Enunwa, Turner, Bell, and even Tim Marlowe are all outplaying Kinnie at this point.  Martinez's arm motion still looks unorthodox, but he delivered in the second half when Nebraska needed it.

One definite positive to take away from tonight's game is how Rex Burkhead ran late in the fourth quarter when we needed to run time off the clock. Fresno knew what was coming, and really couldn't stop it... and in that situation, could get away with stacking the box much more than they could earlier in the game. Maybe the line turned the corner late.

All told, it was a win, but it's not a win that gives you a lot of confidence that this team is ready to compete in the Big Ten in October and November. We saw a few flashes of potential in the second half, but those flashes must become more consistent over the next couple of weeks.

Week 7 Power Poll

Another wild week means some upheaval in the power poll. Some of the Husker Blogpollers are really punishing Oklahoma and Missouri for their losses, but I'm not. Again, the point of the Power Poll is to rate teams as to their relative strength, and which teams I think are better than the others.

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma (Not going to get penalized too much for losing to the Bovines)
5. BYU
6. Utah
7. USC
8. Florida
9. Georgia
10. Oklahoma State

Big XII Power Poll
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Oklahoma State
4. Missouri (Again, still better than Tech.)
5. Texas Tech
6. Kansas
7. (tie) Nebraska
7. (tie) Baylor (Definitely not the old Baylor)
9. Colorado (A must win this week)
10. (tie) Iowa State (That one hurt...badly...)
10. (tie) Kansas State (Beating A&M means absolutely nothing)
12. Texas A&M

Kemp to UNO Athletic Director?

Today, UNO announced five finalists to be the next athletic director: Cliff Dochterman from Cal-Riverside, David Miller formerly of SMU, William Weider formerly of South Florida, Bruce Van De Velde formerly of Iowa State, and UNO hockey coach Mike Kemp. An intriguing group of candidates.

The big name on the list is Van De Velde, who was in charge of the Cyclones for 5 years. He brings not only Division 1 experience, but also experience in a BCS conference.

Miller has a local connection, as he hails from Manning, IA and has a brother-in-law who played football for UNO. Dochterman has experience with several division II schools who have transitioned to division 1.

Kemp is the intriguing "internal" candidate. The timing of the announcement could be better, what with the Mavs on the road at Michigan State for the 2nd round of the CCHA playoffs. They need to win 2 out of 3 games this weekend without Hobey Baker candidate Scott Parse, who left Saturday night's game against Bowling Green in the 1st period with an injury. They probably don't need the "Kemp for AD" distraction this weekend.

Many UNO fans are torn with respect to (and for) Kemp as coach. AJ thinks he must go; Sam wants him to stay. So why consider him for athletic director? Two reasons come to mind: (a) he knows the program, it's wants and needs, and the community and (b) he's very personable and able to sell the program to players and fans. Is he the best business mind? Don't know, but I don't know about the other candidates either. But in this environment where UNO's athletic department has burned bridges with many supporters, Mike Kemp might just be the right guy to come in. Of course, one question is how Kemp is viewed by the other athletic programs. Would they view Kemp as "one of them" --- or the hockey guy firming up his power over the rest of the athletic department?

Now, could Kemp wear both hats? Guys like Barry Alvarez have done it for a period of time. But Kemp told 1620 the Zone today that with the needs at UNO that it would be difficult to wear both hats. In some respects, this might be a win-win situation for UNO by allowing Kemp the opportunity to rebuild UNO athletics and name his successor at the very least. It could be a way to start the healing after UNO's summer of discontent.