Hope Is A Four-Letter Word
So, the Huskers lost again on Saturday. And once again, the loss was a painful one to watch. This time, however, the pain came in a different form from the previous losses this season. This time instead of coming from seeing my favorite team get embarrassed on the football field, the pain came from the Huskers completely owning #17 Texas for three quarters, only to come up short in the final 15 minutes.What the hell? Seriously, no one, and I mean no one saw this coming. The Huskers were up 10-3 at the half, then came out on the opening drive of the third quarter and punched Texas in the mouth with a 5 play, 80 yard-touchdown drive that took just 2 minutes and 28 second! They were beating Texas 17-3! WTF?!? Up until that point, I was purposely not letting myself start believing that they could win, but that did it. I started to believe. Which was a mistake, because what happened next became all the more painful to watch as reality finally set in and Texas scored 25 straight points in the final 20 minutes and went on to win 28-25.
How did Texas pull this off? Well, for starters, they pulled their collective head out of their collective ass and finally went to the zone read which Missouri and Texas A&M used so successfully against the Nebraska defense. And guess what? It worked just as well for Texas as it did for them. Texas Running Back Jamaal Charles rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. One guy, 216 yards, in one quarter. Which brings me to the second reason Texas was able to come back and win. You see, while Texas made adjustments, once again Nebraska didn't. And once again, their inability to make adjustments lost them the game.
Sigh.
I wish that I could say that this game made me feel better about this Nebraska squad. After all, the defense looked completely different for most of the game. They were blitzing and playing with a fire and enthusiasm that I haven't seen all season, not to mention the fact that they kept Texas out of the endzone for three quarters. Marlon Lucky looked great running the football for the first time since Nebraska played Nevada, and against Texas no less. Sam Keller went 23 of 35 for 298 yards with 2 TD's with no interceptions. Hell, even the offensive line looked good for once, blocking and creating huge lanes for Marlon Lucky. There was plenty to be impressed by. But like I said, this game did not make me feel any better for my Huskers, if anything it made me feel worse.
Some may wonder why I would take no pleasure in a close loss to a ranked opponent. Well, for starters, they still lost. Second, despite an inspired defensive performance, they still gave up 545 yards. Third, it was week 9 people! Week 9! If Nebraska played Texas to open Big XII play and played like this, I would have had a totally different reaction, but this game just added to another loss in a four game slide. The first 4 game slide Nebraska has had in 46 years, by the way, since the Huskers went 3-6-1 under head coach Bill Jennings in 1961. Yay! Another record broken!
And speaking of broken records, the Nebraska needs to keep the average yards given up to opponents to under 288 yards in their next three games, or they will break the NCAA record for most yards allowed by a team in one season. In other words, they're just 863 yards away from breaking that record. And with a defense that's on average giving up 467.1 yards per game and is ranked 119th out of 119 Division I teams against the run, that record is almost certainly a forgone conclusion.
The only good news for Husker fans, really, is that Nebraska has talent. There have been those out there saying that the reason why Nebraska has been so bad this year is that their players just weren't that good. Well, guess what? They matched up pretty freakin' well against Texas, arguably one of the best teams in country as far as raw, physical talent is concerned. The bad news? Well, Husker fans are going to have to wait until next year to see what a new coaching staff can do with that talent.
That's right, a new coaching staff. After Saturday's loss, there is no way Callahan and Company are sticking around next year. No way. Even if they win out. This season has been ugly and embarrassing, and after the Colorado game, Athletic Director Tom Osborne will finally, mercifully, pull the plug. Unfortunately, there's still 3, maybe 4 games left this season. And I, for one, can not wait for the end of what has quite possibly become the longest season of college football ever.
At least, as Cubs fans are fond of saying, there's always next year.
posted by Christian at 1:33 PM
6 Comments:
4 games left, you have to be smoken some of that good stuff you grew in you neighbors back yard to believe that there is any chance that Nebraska will be playing a fourth game. I am a huge Husker fan but even I don't want them to win enough games let alone think they are going to win enough games to play in a bowl.
When the clock hits 0:00 in Colorado I want the season to be over. I don't want to have to take off work on a Thursday to see the Huskers play LA Tech at 2:30 in the afternoon in the Enron.com Bowl. I would like to take what little dignity that is left in the program and save it for the new coach.
Last weeks game I agree was interesting to watch for the first three quarters. I at no time really felt like we were going to pull it out but I did get a warm fuzzy in my stomache but then again that could have been the chili I spilled on myself.
One thing you didn't mention about the lose was the way our defense looked in the forth quarter endurance wise. It looked like they had spent everything the first three quarters and where running around in concrete shoes. For a moment there I thought the Crimson and Cream had changed the school colors to Rust and Caulk the way at least one defense looked on the field. I have this image ingrained in my brain of the Huskers looking like they were 30 feet tall and the other team looking like scared little goats knowing that they were the next scrafice when the forth quarter came around. I guess endurance/strength training is just one more thing that the Almighty C didn't think was important.
I would like to leave with this quote (Sorry Thom it came from the other channel)
"That will depend somewhat on the new coaching staff, because they'll have to implement, and I can't coach from the athletic director's position."
Mike-
Finally decided to use a pseudonym that was little more obvious, eh? I appreciate that. It's a much better one than "Last Night you and Your Mom did..."
Anyhow, how can you say for sure that they won't play 4 more games? Look, they only have to win 2 more games to be bowl- eligible, and I think Nebraska can definitely win each of their next 3 games. Do you really think that KU, K State, or CU are better than Texas? Granted, Nebraska has only looked good against 2 teams this year, Nevada and Texas (and against Texas it was only for 3 quarters), but I'm not writing all 3 of those games off just yet.
As far as the team having any dignity goes, I gave up on that a long time ago, so I could really care less as to how attractive the bowl game is should they actually get to one. They really don't deserve to go after they way they played this season, but I really hope that they do for the sake of the seniors on the team. After all, they've had to endure a lot for the last 4 years under Billy C. They're already destined to be considered one of the worst Nebraska teams since Bill Jennings coached here, but winning a couple more games could at least keep them from being the worst.
You also brought up the Husker's conditioning and, for once, you and I are in total agreement. Former players have been saying for years now that the Huskers look poorly conditioned. Former Husker Rob Zatechka asked earlier this year if the new weight room and training facilities were built just to look nice and recruit players, or if players actually used them. And, you might want to take this with a grain of salt, but according to KMTV Sports Director Travis Justice, an un-named strength and conditioning coach at an un-named Divison I school, said that Dave Kennedy and his program at NU are the worst in Division I. On top of that, the first team defense doesn't scrimmage against the first team offense, and they never even practive in full pads. And people wonder why this team doesn't look like Nebraska any more!
I have a hard time feeling to bad for the players. I think 98% of the blame for the season rest on the coaching staff but the players are the ones out there running the plays, getting stupid personal penalties, and not tackeling.
Regardless if they win out lose out or meet someplace in the middle this team is going to be remembered as the worst team ever for a very long time. Yes I know there have been worst NE teams but those games were played long before you and me and close to before our parents cared about football.
The longer we keep playing the longer Billy C is head coach. The sooner the season is over the sooner a new group of coaches is hired. By doing this sooner then later we might be able to save the recruiting class and maybe depending on who the coach is bring the ones that have backed out back in.
NU 17 KU 35
NU 24 KS 27
NU 35 CO 17
There are my predictions for the year. I am willing to put up a nice cold case of Stella you in.
Mike-
First of all, I don't blame these kids at all for not knowing how to tackle, because that's the job of the coaching staff to make sure they do. I'm sorry, but if you never even practice hitting guys at full steam in full pads, odds are you're not going to be able to do it in a real game. These players come in from high school and are coached into forgetting how to tackle. Seriously, look at a guy like Ricky Thenarse. He plays all out and really puts the wood to guys when he hits them. You know why? Because he's only a sophomore and he hasn't had it coached out of him yet.
Second, I never said Nebraska would win their next 3 games, just that I'm not willing to write them off yet. And, consciously or not, apparently neither are you, since you have the Huskers picked to beat Colorado in Boulder.
Listen, even if (and that's a big IF, believe me) Nebraska wins out, Callahan is gone after Colorado. I know that Osborne said he's wait until the end of the year to decide that, but he can easily say that the year ended at CU, bowl game or not. There is no way after the CU game that Billy C coaches another game for Nebraska. So, in my mind, winning at least 2 more games would lead to the best possible outcome at this point in the season: not having a losing record, seeing our players get to go to a bowl, and most importantly, getting rid of Callahan and his staff.
And finally, I'm not sure what you actually want to bet, especially since I don't recall making any predictions. But, if you're betting me a 6 pack of Stellas that Nebraska will only win 1 out of their next 3 games, I'll take that bet. I'm pencilling in the K State game as a W for the Huskers, and I think they have a shot at both KU and CU, so I think they win at least 2 more.
Deal?
This weekends game sure made a great case for reasons why we don't want to go to a bowl game.
Week 1
Mike 1
Thom 0
I can already taste the prize.
If you are still confident that NE is going to win the next two games I would like to up the stakes to include a bottle of Pims.
You In????
Hells no, I don't want to up the stakes!
Again, maybe you should re-read my postings, because I never said I was confident about anything as far as Nebraska is concerned. I have been using words like "maybe" and "could" since the Ball St. game.
I took the bet, because anything is possible. After all ISU lost to KSU on Saturday. I still think that one's a win for the Huskers.
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