Twilight Zone

Another Saturday, another poor performance by the Nebraska defense, and another loss. This time it was an embarassing 45-14 loss to Oklahoma State. Which sounds bad enough, but it gets worse. OSU was up 38-0 at the half, when Nebraska fans started leaving in droves. Those 38 points? Well, that was another in a long list of the wrong kinds of records broken under Head Coach Bill Callahan, as it was the most points EVER allowed by Nebraska in one half of football. This was also the Cowboys’ first win in Lincoln in 47 years. OSU ended the day with 551 total yards to go along with their 45 points, bringing the Cornhuskers' averages to 457 yards and 31 points allowed per game.

You know how I said it gets worse? As if all that wasn't bad enough, it got worse for me, because while listening to the game (thank God I didn't order it on pay-per-view because I had a wedding to go to) I couldn't even get infuriated. I had actually lost my passion. Going into the game I thought that Nebraska could win the game, but I didn't believe that they would win it. By the end of the first quarter, after OSU had scored 17 unanswered points, I was still hoping that somehow, some way, they could get it done. But when the Cowboys scored their next touchdown, after Nebraska went for it on 4th and short, I knew the game was over and it wasn't even halftime. I have never felt that way during a Nebraska game. Ever.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one. It was so bad even the announcers on the Husker Sports Network began voicing their disapproval. For anyone who has ever listened to a Husker game on the radio, you know that this is unprecedented. When they start saying things like "embarrassing" and "disgraceful," and most telling, "speechless," you know things have hit rock bottom. And when they hit rock bottom, the rumor mills started churning and Husker football once again entered the Twilight Zone.

The first time Husker football entered the Twilight Zone was on November 29, 2003 when Athletic Director Steve Pederson called a press conference announcing he had fired Frank Solich after the Huskers had gone 9-3. The nail in the coffin for Solich? A 38-9 loss to Kansas State in Lincoln that was, up until then, their worst at home since 1958. Today, after the similarly embarrassing home loss to OSU, Steve Pederson will be the one being shown the door. At 2:15 this afternoon, a press release came out saying from Nebraska's Chancellor Harvey Perlman that Steve Pederson had been asked to resign. A formal press conference announcing this will be held at 4:00 PM.

All I can say is wow. Now, I've been calling for Cosgrove to be fired for years, but THIS? This is just crazy. When I first heard the rumors about a press conference, I thought it would 1 of 2 things: either Pederson would announce his support of the coaching staff through this tough time, or Cosgrove was stepping down. But firing an Athletic Director in the middle of the football season BEFORE any changes were made on the coaching staff? That's just weird. Not only is it weird, but it's very un-Nebraska. That said, you reap what you sow, and Pederson's handling of the whole Solich fiasco probably played a huge part in what is happening to him today.

But that doesn't mean I agree with it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Solich needed to be fired. But he also deserved to be treated better. He should have at least been given the opportunity to coach his team in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan State. He should have been allowed to finish his season. Pederson, too, should have been given at least that much. And, frankly, I'm not sure that he should have been fired at all.

Sure, Pederson comes off as an arrogant ass. Sure, he was the one who fired Solich. Sure, he was the one who hired Bill Callahan. However, Pederson was Athletic Director of the Year at Pittsburgh the year before he came to Nebraska. Not only that, but Pederson bleeds Husker Red. This is a man who worked under Head Coach Tom Osborne. This is a man who was Nebraska’s recruiting coordinator from 1982-86. This is a man who helped revamp Nebraska’s football facilities, including the $40 million expansion of the North Stadium, which expanded Memorial Stadium’s capacity to 81,067. This is a man who helped bring in new recruits with a new locker room, weight room, indoor practice building and training facilities (recruits have been so impressed, by the way, that Nebraska's recruiting class for next year is projected to be #3 in the country). He's also kept the money flowing into the athletic department and their financial base has been called "rock solid." And let's not forget that Nebraska's volleyball, baseball, and soccer programs are doing well under his directorship as well. Hell, Pederson is also the guy who brought Doc Sadler in as the Nebraska Men's Basketball Coach! Anyone, who can help improve Husker basketball deserves some credit, right?

Apparently not. Such is the power of Nebraska football. Such is the "Power of Red." And right now that all Husker football fans are seeing. Red. I hope that there's something more to this than Nebraska football being abysmal, because if not, Pederson got fired for the wrong reason.