Then this past Saturday Iowa State beat Oklahoma in Norman and one of their players grabbed a flag and planted it at the 50 yard line.

The Big 12 needs to get control off this as does the NCAA.  At some point players are going to see the opposing team doing that to their home field and a massive fight is going to breakout.

I was seriously underwhelmed by the apology that Mayfield gave the days after the OSU game.  The good news for Oklahoma is that they don’t have to play OSU in the foreseeable future.  The bad news for Iowa State, well OU will be coming to Ames next year and Iowa State has to play OU every year for the foreseeable future.  I personally expect OU to put 70 on ISU next year.  Maybe by halftime if they can.

This is a terrible president and one that seems to be spreading in the Big 12.

See what happens next weekend in the Red River Rivalry and if any flags get planted and then if any players take exception?

Once again however showing Nebraska made the right decision by leaving the classless Big 12.

I watch the Wisconsin game last night and man we are a long way from anything close to the ’97 team.  While I love a bunch of the guys on the defensive line, we just don’t have the bad attitude or physicality in the depth chart to play with a team like Wisconsin.  The defense is much improved since the Oregon game, but depth on the defensive line especially is killing us.

The offensive line played its best game of the season but they pale in comparison to Wisconsin’s line.  Talk about imposing your will.  We need some guys that are out there to beat the guy on the other side of the ball into the turf.

But this is my biggest issue with our offense.  Back in 80’s and 90’s if we got down big we could rarely come back if ever because we couldn’t throw the ball effectively.  Now supposedly we can throw the ball but we still seem to have the same issue.

Honestly the West Coast offense is a failure.  If Callahan didn’t prove that then Riley is.

Here is my theory on College Football offense.  First if you have the best athletes in the country to can run whatever offense you want.  Nebraska does not have the absolute best.  It is improving and Riley and his staff are doing a great job recruiting.  But if you play Spread which the Huskers tried to do under Pelini and every other school in college football is playing some kind of spread, more than not.  The kids playing defense have 1 week sometimes 2 to prepare to play the offense the next week.  So if you play the same offense everybody else does, you are helping that defense out.  God knows the Husker offensive coordinators under Bo had NO imagination.

A great example of a team that plays an offense that no one else does and defenses have to practice like crazy for in 1 week is Georgia Tech.  Not saying Nebraska should go back to the option, but GT wins a lot of games with athletes that aren’t the cream of the crop because teams have a lot to practice in 1 week.  When this fails though, as all Nebraskans know that watched the Huskers in the 80’s and early 90’s is when you play a team with great speed.

Playing the West Coast offense requires the QB to be able to read the defense.  That is a problem in college football.  First off each team has a few guys that are NFL worthy.  So if you get a stud defensive lineman on the other team and 3 other guys that are pretty good, with the line Nebraska has right now…  Your QB is going to get blasted.

So what is my answer?  Well I am no college football coach, but the pro style offense that Alabama and Michigan play seems like a great fit for Nebraska.  Line up in the I, run 4 wide with the QB under center and a back behind him, run a little shotgun and get a big line and some stud wideouts.  Then the Huskers need a play caller that has some imagination.  If we have a QB with some athletic ability you could run option once in awhile.  Saban is constantly looking for new offensive minds because he knows you have to keep showing teams and defensive coordinators new things.

Nebraska has to find a way to put points up and keep defenses on their heels.  The West Coast offense is not the answer and I don’t believe the spread is either.

First the good.  The first quarter the Huskers looked good, played well on offense and defense against a very good Wisconsin team.  The o-line were moving people off the ball and pretty much doing what they wanted to.  It was good to see Brandon Kennie make some grabs and block a couple of guys so far into the bench I was worried there were flags coming.  Jared Crick played a really good first half with a blocked extra point.  Also what can I saw about Rex.  He is playing great this season and not getting nearly enough carries!

That about sums that up.

The bad….  Lets start with the play calling.  The offensive play calling was terrible.  I’ll give Taylor 1 interception but you come right back the next series and do it again???  Huskers went from in control to out of the game in all of 5 or 6 offensive plays from the 2nd to 3rd quarter.  I also have to knock Taylor for how he acted after each int.  I hate beating on one guy but Taylor get to shoulder the blame here.  Also the coaches HAVE TO fix his throwing motion if he is going to continue to throw the ball.

Honestly I want to see Brion Carnes get in and play.  Taylor just doesn’t seem to have what it takes to win the tough game.

Listen I am not making excuses for the Huskers.  Wisconsin won that game.  The Huskers made way to many mistakes to beat a team of the Badgers caliber.  3 turnovers turned into 21 points, that is hard to overcome.

The Husker defense didn’t play great but I’ll give them a little slack, they were on the field forever and as soon as they got off the field the offense would turn it right back over and they were back on the field.

The blackshirts have not done well getting off the field on 3rd down.  But there were times that Russell Wilson stood in the pocket with no one open and because of his athletic ability turned it into a positive play.  The Huskers D needs to play with a little more anger in my opinion.  There were a few times I know Crick was pissed and they just couldn’t block him.  I want to see more of that in both the offensive line and defensive line.

In the end the Huskers came to play the first quarter and a half but just couldn’t pull it back together after a turnover.  They were playing a very good team.  To win this game the Huskers had to be ready for a war.  We weren’t.  We made to many mistakes and you just can’t do that against a team like Wisconsin.

Last night on twitter the players were apologizing to the fans.  There is no need for that.  True Husker fans don’t need an apology.  You want to apologize to me?  Get out there and kick the crap out of Ohio State next week.  No apologies are needed.

The players need to remember that feeling they had last night each and every day before practice.  Use that beating as motivation for the rest of the season.  If they do that we will see Wisconsin again this year.

This is not the end it is just a new beginning for this very young team.  They will suck it up and get better.  This was not how the Huskers play football.  They guys all know that and will fix it.

GO BIG RED!!!

I am not going to review the game down by down.  I am going to say that it was a good win for the Huskers and a great punch in the face.  Exactly what this team needed in week 2.  The offense still didn’t have any fluidity in the first half but then magically seemed to gel in the second.  The Blackshirts, which definitely were not awarded after this game, played at what seemed to be half speed with a couple of exceptions.  We need to find a guy on the edge that scares other teams.  Right now they can double Crick and it doesn’t open anybody else up as it should.  Also don’t forget Dennard has yet to play this season.  His presence in the defensive backfield is missed from a leadership and experience standpoint.

The offensive line seemed to start to get a push in the second half.  Great to see.  We are going to need to run the ball downhill this season and the push I started seeing was a great sign.

This team needed this game.  They needed to trail a team that they feel they should dominate.  I hope the guys are ready for some tough practices.

Husker fans, the sky is not falling because Fresno came in and gave us a game.  The sky is actually brightening because our team fought back and showed some toughness and heart.  And the offense showed it can fight through adversity and score point.  I expected Taylor to get frustrated and fall into his shell but he kept going.  Maybe he is the leader this team needs on offense.

I am not forgetting Ameer Abdullah!  That kid is a stud.

Final thought, this team is going to be fine.  It still has a shot at the Big Ten.  They just have to start playing with some bad intentions and getting after the ball.

What puzzles me is that people are picking Texas to go to the PAC-12??  I don’t think the PAC-12 will have them with the UT Network.  I don’t think anybody will have them with that.  I expect UT to go independant and the rest of the league scrambling to find a home.

Missouri to the SEC or would the BIG TEN try and scoop them up?  Oklahoma State will follow OU where ever they go.  The rest of the teams will be lucky to go anywhere.

Also watch for ESPN to sue the crap out of all the teams currently in the Big 12.

I am pretty sure Dan Beebe is curled up in the fetal position sucking his thumb tonight.

They should really change the name of the conference to Texas and the other 9.  The Big 12 is proving to be more and more dysfunctional.  Texas A&M says it regrets not leaving for the SEC while the getting was good and now the SEC says it is fine right where it is.

Personally I think the SEC just wants Texas A&M to do whatever they have to do to get out of the Big 12 before they accept A&M into the SEC.  That is my opinion.

Texas says the Big 12 will live on with or without A&M, but replacing a school like A&M with Houston doesn’t really sound like a 1 for 1 switch.  It also sounds like the Big 12 will be the schools left over from the Southwestern Conference and the Big 8 when all is said and done.

In the next five years I see Oklahoma and  Oklahoma State  moving to the Pac 12 or SEC together.  I also expect A&M to finally make the move to the SEC.  The question is where does Missouri fall?  Do they finally make the move to the Big Ten or do they run to the SEC as has been reported lately?  That will be interesting to see.

I think it would be interesting to see Kansas and Kansas State go to the Big East for basketball and couldn’t hurt the Big East as far as football goes.

The rest of the schools are pretty much slaves to Texas’s will.  Those schools have to feel like they are backed into a corner with no way out.

I really think that it is funny that when asked this time the Missouri AD said they had no plans to leave the Big 12.  After all that is what started it last year.  Missouri said they were leaving for the Big Ten.  This time it is A&M.  Funny how history repeats itself.

Nebraska and Colorado have to feel like they made the right move even with the money they had to pay Texas to get out.

Games I most look forward to? First conference game right off the bat.  Wisconsin, Alvarez played linebacker at NU and was an assistant there.  NU and Wisconsin have a lot in common; great fans, tough place to play and we both like to run the ball and play defense.  Gonna be a great game.

I look forward to the Ohio State game as well, mainly because I have a lot of friend that are OSU fans.  Could be a trap game though, usually when the Huskers see OSU on the schedule it meant buy week except in the more recent years.

I can’t wait for @Penn State to beat up on Joe Pa like we used to do, @Michigan just to play in the Big House and then Iowa for the trophy game.  Need a new trophy to sit next to the Nebraska/Missouri bell that will be at NU for the foreseeable future.

Gonna be a long year.  Rather young Husker team in a lot of key areas.  I can’t wait!

I almost forgot, NO MORE PPV!!

I have to say this is so funny.  It will leave UT on the outside looking in.  They will either be in a nothing conference or an independent.  It also screws Missouri who really started all this.

Also interestingly there is talk of Nebraska playing a Big 12 team in a non-conference game at Arrowhead Stadium each season.  OU vs NU to replace the Red River Rivalry for OU if it leaves?

Reggie Bush should be extremely proud of himself.  He is the only player to ever have his Heisman stripped and not USC is the only team to have its football National Championship stripped.

This pretty much makes it clear that if Pete Carrol didn’t know what was going on he is stupid.  The coaches should be held financially responsible.  Maybe not their base pay but any bonuses paid should be subject to repayment if games or championships are vacated

Get ready this won’t be the last.  I don’t think that Ohio State will have the title it won under Tressel taken away but I do think that Auburn will have theirs stripped if it is proven that Cam Newton was paid to choose Auburn which I think he was..

Schools better take note.  The next step is suing the schools for the bowl money they win.  That will change college football over night.

Schools are now on the hook.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the future.

Oh yeah this also makes the Cornhuskers the last team to win back to back national titles

I have a question, if a guy keeps showing up in a new car every few months don’t you think that someone at the school would notice.

I guess that the Maurice Clarett deal a few years ago didn’t do enough to scare OSU straight.

This is going to get really ugly before it is over.

The Big Ten is going to get a huge black eye from this.  Letting these guys play in the bowl will turn out to be a giant mistake.

My guess is that what ever is coming is going to be just as big if not bigger than what happened at USC.  The coach knew, there were a bunch of star players involved.  Question is how many and were players from other sports doing it as well.

The fact that the coach knew and let it go on is going to make it so much worse.  The OSU compliance department apparently is a joke.  How this could go on for as long as it has and gone “undetected” is amazing.

So OSU fans what are you left with.  Your coach that won a National Title and 7 Big Ten championships will most likely cost you a couple of years of probation and a few season of losses to Michigan and no bowls.

How about recruiting?  This season is shot.  No permanent  coach, no idea who the next coach will be.  Who wants to go play somewhere with so many unknowns?

Jim Tressel left a mark on Ohio State.  He won a lot of game, a National Title and while all of that is good for the school.  He is also leaving it with a ton of damage that will most likely get worse before it gets better.

Chris Speilman said today that it was a honorable thing that Jim Tressel did today by resigning.  It is about time he did something honorable for the school.

I am really curious to see what the investigations show.  There must be something pretty big coming to force Tressel out.  OSU has stuck behind him through all this so for them to “accept” his resignation something must have changed.

I’ll have more on this later.  What it will do to recruiting and so on but for now…

Jim Tressel leaves OSU with 1 National Title and 7 Big Ten titles in 11 years; oh and one big scar in the history of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Cody played in 17 games starting 4.  He was a huge asset to the Huskers.  If Taylor Martinez struggled or got hurt it was nice to have a guy with the talent of Cody ready to jump in and get after it.

I am not surprised by Cody’s wanting to transfer.  It is hard to keep a guy with Cody’s talent on the sideline and happy being there.  I think he realized that the new offense is being tailored to Taylor’s game which is more run first as opposed to Cody who tends to be a little more of a pass first kinda guy.  Not that Cody can’t run.  I personally just thought that at some point one of these 2 guys would move on.  Between Cody and Taylor the Huskers had two guys that could start for most other teams.

I am very sad to see Cody go.  I liked where his head was at most of the time in games.  I think that with a few more reps in practice he would have been an All Big 12/Big Ten guy and possibly with the talent on that offense he had a shot at All American.

Where ever he goes to play he will be a huge asset to that team and I wish him well.

Sorry to see you go Cody!

RIP Austin Box!

If John Cooper had made these same errors he would have been out by now.  Fired and no looking back.

I wonder how many more apologies Coach Tressel will need to make before all this is over?

Tressel has shown he can’t be trusted by his school to do anything but cheat and win.  It seems that OSU is ok with the methods that have been used over the years by Coach Tressel to lose a lot of national championship games and win one.

You know that this is not all that is going to come out.  The Ohio State put its trust in a coach and turned a blind eye as that coach did whatever it took to win.  In the end I think it is going to cost the University a lot more than last years bowl game and the 5 games next season.

Tennessee has a similar issue with their basketball coach.  I am guessing he is going to get the ax in the next couple weeks.

Jim Tressel should at a minimum be suspended for the entirety of next season.  The NCAA can’t fire the coach and can’t force OSU to do so.  But they should definitely make an example of him.

What he did was worse than what his kids did.  He is supposed to be teaching these young men the difference between right and wrong.  His is a role model by definition as a head coach, let alone the head coach at a major football university.  He lied for player and let their actions go on right under his noses with his knowledge.

With all the stuff that has gone on in that program over the past 10 years the NCAA needs to put its foot down and put it down now.  I am not condoning the death penalty or anything but a strong statement is needed here.  Not just a 5 game suspension but Tressel can still coach practice.

If the NCAA lets this ride they really have no control over college football and should just pack it in.

The Huskers played some inspired ball in the first quarter but things stopped clicking after that.  The Blackshirts played a great game against a very tough Sooner offense.  They were put in bad position after bad position time after time by turn overs by the offense.

Taylor Martinez just never looked fluid in the game.  Not sure if it was lack of practice, the OU D or if it was just freshman jitters that he couldn’t get past.  He didn’t show the poise he showed in the Okie State game throwing the ball and couldn’t get off on the run.  Overall he is a young kid who is only going to get better.  He made some freshman mistakes but that is to be expected at some point.  He really did try to do to much by himself at times.  But like I said he only has upside.

The thing that killed the Huskers were turnovers once again.  4 of them for the game leading to I think it was 13 points.  The interception in the endzone seemed to be the killer and what changed the game.  That also might have been what got to Taylor.  The turnover were the key to the game.  You can’t turn the ball over against a team like OU and give them extra offensive snaps.

I also think that Niles Paul was missed on offense.  I got on him after the Texas game but he has played really well since.  Not having a kid of his caliber and with his experience on the field hurt in my opinion.  Hope he is well for the bowl.  He deserves to play in the bowl for the final time as a Husker!

Jared Crick played a great game as did the entire Blackshirt D.  They did break down once or twice but give credit to OU for causing that.  Lavonte David is just sick, 130 tackles coming into that game.  It will be interesting to see what they do with him next year against more traditional offenses in the Big 10.

Anyway, it was a great game, Huskers on the wrong end of it but great game none the less.  I am sad to think that Nebraska and OU won’t meet every 2 years and in conference championships anymore, that the 105 year streak of playing Kansas is coming to an end but I am excited to go to the Big 10 and play some football.

See ya Big 12.  Go Big Red!

If this all has to come to an end, I am extremely happy it is doing so again Oklahoma.  There have been so many great games between these two schools.  I grew up hating the Sooners.  Over the years I had learned to respect them for the great team and traditions they have and have had over the years.

As a kid there was no game I looked forward to more during football season and no game and I feared more.  They were such great games.  My heart would pound and in victory I would feel so great and in defeat it was like someone stepped on my heart.

When the Big 12 started and the Huskers and Sooners no longer played it was heart breaking.  Playing a CU team that we had owned for the most part wasn’t even close to a replacement for the OU vs NU games.  There was just something special about those games for me.

So as it comes to a close and the Huskers move to the Big 10 it is fitting that it ends against the Oklahoma Sooners.  Come Saturday I will feel like that little kid growing up in western Nebraska again.  I will live and die with my team and most likely not be able to talk after the the game.

One last shot at OU in the same conference.  It will be a great game.

GO BIG RED!!

Dan Beebe said he has received threats via email and phone and because of that he didn’t feel safe going to Lincoln or sending anybody from the Big 12 office to hand the trophy to the Huskers after the game.  He said that he didn’t feel there was enough security.

Really???  The hated Longhorns came to Lincoln and left without incident.  Can’t think of a single time over the years that anyone has been attacked on the field.  Sure there have been a fight here or there between fans but that happens after a long day of tail gating.

What this sounds like is another cop out by the Big 12 and Dan Beebe.  Beebe doesn’t want to hand a trophy of  any kind to the Huskers.  He is sitting in his office pouting that the Huskers are leaving and that his job as the Big 12 commissioner is likely over within the next 5 years.

If Dan Beebe had any class at all he would have been in Lincoln on Friday and handed the trophy to Bo and the team.  Taken what ever boo’s there would be like a man and moved on.  He should have shown the crack pot fans that may have threatened him that it is just a game and that even as the Huskers move on he is man enough to be there to recognize the hard work of the Husker players.

If Dan did get a bunch of threats, he should call the FBI.  That is what they are there for.

I do have to admit sending 2 email to Dan Beebe after the Eric Martin suspension.  I in no way threatened him, just ask that he be fair in what he is doing and if he is going to suspend players he needs to suspend a couple of others for similar actions.  I then forwarded him some pictures from the weeks games.

In the end Dan Beebe is butt hurt that the Huskers are leaving and he just keeps proving it over and over again.  His actions just make it look more and more like the Big 12 is guilty of trying to keep the Huskers out of a Big 12 North title and a bigger BCS bowl if they win the Big 12.

Dan Beebe needs to grow up and he needs to start running the Big 12 with a little class and dignity.  He just seems more and more like a scared little man in his office crying in his blanket about how Nebraska is messing up his play thing.

Dan grow up and learn to be a man!  It isn’t about you, it is about the kids!

I guess that Bevo might have been the team that put to much emphasis on the Nebraska game. That must have been their bowl game this year.

In the Huskers final year in the Big 12 I would have loved to have beaten the Horns but watching them struggle game after game and sit at home for the holidays that is the next best thing.

Bevo fans, how does it feel to have coaches that can’t motivate one of the most talented young teams in the NCAA and a bunch of under achieving football players!  Can’t wait to watch Bevo suck next year on the UT network!

Oh and a shout out to all those bandwagon Bevo fans that decided to stay home rather than support their team.   We now no that UT needs to recruit better players and better fans!

Personally I love it.  Go Big Red!

Go Big Red!

Her family is from Kearney.  They are living with friends in Omaha where Cate is getting ready to undergo 6 months of chemotherapy.  Her parents insurance has already denied some claims and are having a hard time.

These days everybody is having a hard time but a 2 year old child going through something like this is a terrible thing.

Some friends of the family has setup a website and a fund to try and help with the medical costs and help the family during this extremely tough time.  Please visit the site linked below and guy a Team Cate shirt or donate some money.  A little bit will go a long way toward helping this little girl out.

Help Cate and her family.

Those are some HUGE recruits.  Aaron Green is a great commit to go with the Huskers offense that they have been playing this season.  A fast, strong back that fits the mold of Husker backs of old.  He is going to be a stud!  I am super excited to see him playing in scarlet and cream.

Jackson and Mitchel will be great with the Pelini system.  Good to have some new blackshirts with skills in the wings to replay Prince and Alfonzo Dennard.  Love to see a couple of good DB’s come in and provide more talent and competition.

Jamal Turner is a good dual threat QB that just adds to the depth at the position.

UT, well they already have their recruiting class wrapped up.  All but two from the state of Texas.  I hope they got some guys that can help them win a home game next year.

The Huskers are recruiting the heck out of Texas, it is great to see and I hope they keep it up and get some more quality young men from the status of Texas and all over the nation.

With the TV network and 12 million a year from ESPN what does Bevo need the other schools in the Big 12 for?  They can now go independent working on a lighter schedule and not share any of their $$ with the rest of the Big 12.

UT wasn’t going to go to the PAC-10.  They were using the threat of the move to the PAC-10 as leverage to try and keep the other schools around till they could get their house in order and get the TV Network launched.

In my opinion all the “loyalty” that the schools in the Big 12 showed UT will not be repaid.  I see Bevo going independent in the next 5 years leaving schools like Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and the rest of the Big 12 scrambling if not dead in the water.

What should the other schools do?  First they should try and add 2 new schools to the league.  I would look at TCU and maybe Colorado State, Houston or Wyoming.  TCU would be a great add to the league.  Colorado State would add that Colorado market back to the Big 12.  Wyoming is in that area and Texas already likes to beat up on them.  Houston is up and coming.  SMU might be another option.

Adding two Texas schools would setup the state of  Texas vs the rest of the Big 12.

Other than that?  As I have said before the smaller schools need to look around and jump at first opportunity they can find.

As I have said before Texas isn’t going to do the other schools any favors.  OU should look at the SEC as should A&M.

In the next 2 to 5 years the Big 12 will no longer resemble what it will next week if it exists at all.  I hate to see the old Big 8 schools get jacked by Bevo but it is what is happening.  The presidents of all the Big 12 schools should keep an eye out.  Bevo is about to hook ’em right in the back!

Really??  Exactly what did he do?  Texas never really wanted to go to the PAC-10 it was just a ploy to get the other schools that remained to let Bevo have it’s own TV station.  Which oddly enough today ESPN announced it would pay UT 12 million a year to carry the Bevo Network.

Odd how that all worked out on the same day.  I guess UT has enough money now to give Beebe an extension and thanks for blackmailing the rest of the schools in the Big 12 into letting them do it.

Look for Bevo to announce it is going independent in the next 5 years.

These schools have to face the facts much as Colorado did, none of the other Big 12 schools care about them.  Texas definitely isn’t going to do them any favors and if Bevo gets a chance they will go independent or what ever gets them the biggest payday.

Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State none of them showed any loyalty to Kansas, Missouri or K-State.  No reason they should show any back.  Don’t think that those schools staying and not going to the PAC-10 was a show of loyalty for the other schools.  It was a pure money and recruiting decision.

If I were the president of any of those schools I would be checking it out and making a move sooner than later.

Here is the major issue if the Big 12 does suspend Courtney.  They are saying that their officials blew the call on the field and that they also below it on instant replay.

The short version of it is that the officials ruled that Gabbert’s forward progress had stopped there for there was no fumble.  In that ruling it makes it that Blaine was a ball carrier running forward.  Gabbert was clearly not engaged by another Husker or Missouri player, so Gabbert was ruled a ball carrier.  With that ruling on the field you can use your helmet.  You can go helmet to helmet with any player that is not defenseless and that is not a QB dropping back.  Once the QB starts running forward you can hit helmet to helmet.  The ruling on the field was that Gabbert was going forward and was a ball carrier.

Now is this what was really going on, HELL no.  Gabbert was dropping back and was either still going backward or just stopped when Osborne hit him.  Osborne also didn’t use the crown of his helmet.  He hit him with his facemask, which is what you are taught to do.  See what you hit.  Gabbert also did duck a bit before getting hit.

In the end if the Big 12 suspends Osborne they are saying that the officials calling the game blew the call on the field and during review.  The hit was not malicious.  Osborne saw what he hit and tried to hit him clean.  Gabbert ducked a little and it is probably a good thing or Osborne would have probably slid up under his chin as the hit was completed.

If the Big 12 does suspend Osborne they should also suspend the crew that called the game.

Blaine fumbled the ball on the play and it was run back for a touchdown by Pierre Allen.  The ref’s blew it dead and said that Blaine’s forward progress was stopped and therefore there was no fumble.  The ball was dead where the hit took place.

Honestly the refs blew the call, should have been a penalty on Osborne or a sack, fumble, TD and Courtney gets suspended.

But the good news out of all of it?  They called Blaine a ball carrier and his forward progress was stopped.  Helmet to helmet hits are legal on ball carriers.  So Courtney can not be suspended because according to the refs on the field he was a ball carrier when hit.

If Dan Beebe suspends Courtney then he also needs to suspend the refs that made the call.  You can’t have it both ways.  Either a sack, fumble, touchdown and suspension or a 15 yard penalty and a suspension or as called.

Can’t suspend a kid when the call on the field was that the QB was a ball carrier.  The hit was legal in the refs eyes.

They missed Kyler Reed making a catch against Texas to convert a third down when he clearly on replay got a foot down in bounds.  They missed a fumble by Blaine Gabbert that was returned for a touchdown by Pierre Allen in Saturday’s game.  They called his forward progress stopped on a sack.  If that is the case then the helmet to helmet hit by Courtney Osborne should not be reviewed by the league and Courtney should not be suspended, which I am sure he will be.

But none the less there have been play after play after play that the ref miss and with each play that is supposed to be reviewed in college football that should almost be impossible to miss so many.

I only have a couple of examples right now that I can think of but I know after watching a larger number of Big 12 games this season there have been more.  I don’t see these kinds of constant mistakes in the Big Ten, SEC, PAC-10 or even the few WAC games I have seen.

Not sure what the issue is, but the Big 12 needs to review their refs and start suspending them if they can’t make the correct calls.

I had to add a little update here.

So the refs in the Missouri game called Blaine Gabbert a runner and called his forward progress dead.  This kept the Huskers from getting a fumble and another touchdown.  There is no way I can see that Blaine was even close to a runner on that play.  He clearly dropped back to pass, was sacked and fumbled.  Courtney Osborne hit him high and if Blaine was not a runner he should have been flagged.

Seems to me that the refs were trying to keep Missouri in the game some how with that call.  I don’t see any other reason they would call it that way.  If they just blew the helmet to helmet call, then they should have let it go as a touchdown and let Osborne be suspended for the Iowa State game.  As it turns out the Huskers still won the game and now Osborne can’t be suspended because some how Gabbert was a ball carrier.

There is some real questionable refereeing going on in the Big 12.

This guy has never posted a winning season at CU.  His best mark is 6 and 7.   Right now CU is 3 and 4 after a close loss to a mediocre Texas Tech team.

How is this guy still employed?  This guy is a joke of a coach.  He brought his son in to play QB, which really was a great thing for the opposing team.  Hawkins has not proven he can recruit at all at CU.

You would think that they would just fire the guy but the geniuses at CU gave him a contract with a buyout that is larger than what they would have to pay him to finish out the season.  Add that amount to what it will cost to get out of the Big 12 and CU just can’t afford it so they throw away another season of football.

Hawkins for his part doesn’t really care about the team.  He told the press that he would be having lighter practices because his teams were worn out over the past seasons.  He would limit tackling and hitting.  No, he just wants that buyout.

CU should have thought about it a little more before offering up that sweetheart contract.

Hate the Buffalo’s but it is a lot more fun to roll them when they are a decent team.

Suh\’s First Touchdown

I was told that the Missouri staff were not really doing this in a polite manner.  Long story short the Nebraska staff and security were moving people off when the Missouri players decided to run some drills to the area of the field where people were being moved.  A Missouri player ran over one of the security people while running a route.

The Missouri players on the field were seen laughing after the situation that could have seriously hurt a man doing his job.

All in all it was something that the Tiger’s staff could have asked for before coming on the field.  They shouldn’t have tried to do it themselves.  They should also learn some manors.  The Missouri staff is supposed to be teaching these kids how to do things the right way.

Maybe this is why they keep kicking kids off the team each year….  Lead by example.  Maybe it isn’t that the kids are bad seeds but the coaches and staff are teaching how to be a poor human beings down there.

Whatever the reason.  There was no need to try and injure a guy doing his job.  The Missouri program should be ashamed of the way their staff and players acted in this situation.

The big story of the day was Roy Helu’s monster rushing day.  He ran for a Husker single game record with 304 rushing yard and 3 touchdowns on 28 carries.  Helu had touch down runs of 66 and 73 in the first quarter and 53 in the third.  Roy passed Calvin Jones for the single game record.

Missouri had one of the better defenses and made Oklahoma’s offense and DeMarco Murray look somewhat ordinary.  Missouri in the Oklahoma and Nebraska games showed off their tackling ability.  They might be the best tackling team in the nation.

Blaine Gabbert was harassed all day by the Blackshirt defense. He was sacked 6 times in the game.  He had been sacked only 7 times coming into the game.  He looked uncomfortable the entire game, rolling out when there wasn’t a lot of pressure and throwing the ball away due to the Husker’s coverage down field.

The Huskers started two new safeties this week because Rickey Thenarse has shown over the past two games (Texas and Oklahoma State) that he can’t tackle.  Courtney Osborne played a great game at safety as did Austin Cassidy.  Courtney came on a great blitz call and knocked the ball loose from Gabbert.  Pierre Allen picked the ball up and scored with it.  For some odd reason that I will never understand Gabbert was called down because his forward progress has stopped.  That honestly was the worst and most blatant call I have ever seen by a ref.  The play was reviewed and upheld.  I have never seen that ever.  The unfortunate thing about that play was the Gabbert ducked when he saw Osborne coming and the hit ended up being helmet to helmet.

Dan Beebe being the biased piece of sh*t he is will most likely suspend Osborne for the Iowa State game now.  That will be another post however.

Taylor Martinez was hurt in the second quarter with an apparent ankle sprain but should be fine for the ISU game.

So now for the Good and the Bad.

Good

The Huskers did what it took to win this game.  It wasn’t a great passing performance but they ran the ball extremely well.  The offensive line was dominate.  Roy Helu was just one cut and go all day.  Great performance.

The defense started the game with 2 three and outs and had a third one but the downs were reset on a holding call.  Crick, Allen, Meredith and the entire defensive line played a great game.  I saw a lot more tackles at the line and they were on Gabbert all day.  Missouri has a very good line that kept OU from recording a sack last week.

The goal line stand in the 3rd quarter was huge and a great series of plays.

I can’t forget Lavonte David, this kid is great!  He is a tackling machine that can cover.  Ciante Evans played a great game as well.  This kid is going to be a star at Nebraska.  He came in when Alfonzo Dennard when down with a concussion.  He had some big shoes to fill and he did an amazing job.  Makes me feel good about the future of the Husker’s secondary to have this kid on the roster.

Of course on the good list is always Alex Henery and Adi Kunalic.

The Bad

The Huskers had a terrible time on third down.  They ended 2 of 11.  Missouri does have a great defense so that is really a testament to how good they really are.  But those numbers aren’t going to win many games.

That is really the only bad I can think of.

It was a great win over a less than classy Missouri school.  More on that and the pregame BS that the Missouri staff pulled later.

The Husker keep the Missouri-Nebraska bell for the foreseeable future.  Great win and great way to beat Missouri one final time!

It was Missouri; actually the Governor of Missouri that came out before the Big 12 meetings and said that the University of Missouri was leaving for the Big Ten.  Unfortunately the Big Ten didn’t want Missouri.  However no one knew that.

As it turned out this caused pretty much all of the schools in the Big 12 to start looking around.  CU started looking very seriously at the PAC-10 on their own, knowing that no one was going to look out for them unless they did it themselves.  Texas A&M started looking at the SEC, which I think would have been a great move for them.  Texas and Oklahoma started trying to make a deal to go to the PAC-10 with a few of the other schools.

Texas however did not want to include Baylor and the PAC-10 did not want Baylor.  The Texas state legislature told UT that they had to include Baylor which left Colorado on the outside looking in, or so everybody thought.

Nebraska started talking to the Big Ten.  This was not the first time the Huskers talked to the Big Ten over the years.  Bob Devaney wanted to join the Big Ten when he was coach, the Big Ten said no at that time.  Then when the Big 12 started to form Nebraska looked around but decided to stick with the old Big 8 teams and join the Big 12.

This time the Huskers pulled the trigger and the Big Ten was happy to have a Husker team on the upswing.

Unfortunately for Misery, I mean Missouri, was shunned by the Big Ten.  This really left Missouri out in the cold.  Missouri was not one of the teams that Texas was looking to include in the PAC-10 move.

Oklahoma in the mean time got an offer from the SEC, which they will regret not taking.

CU accepted an invitation for the PAC-10.  Later that week the Huskers accepted an invitation to the Big Ten.

Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas State got lucky and offered to pay Bevo to keep the remaining schools in the Big 12 together.

The best part about all this was that Missouri almost shot themselves in the foot by announcing they were moving to the Big Ten without an invitation and caused the rest of the teams to start looking around.  Now Missouri has to play Oklahoma and Texas each year instead of one, for two years and the other the next two years.

The Huskers are getting the bad wrap for something that Missouri started.  Moral of the story, don’t invite yourself to a party you aren’t invited to, you might be on the outside looking in when it is all said and done.

Auburn is getting a ton however and maybe deservedly so.  They beat an over rated but yet undefeated LSU team on Saturday.  Their QB Cam Newton is a monster playing QB.  He ran for 200 and 2 TD’s.  Threw for another 86.

Oregon and Boise still 2 and 3 respectively.

If Auburn can remain undefeated till they play Alabama on Nov 26th it sets up nicely for number 2 and 3.  If Alabama can beat Auburn, the game is at Bama then it throws the polls into a tail spin.  Would Bama get enough points in the polls to be #1?

Depending on how far Boise has fallen by then it could setup nicely for them.

If Auburn can keep it up and make the run, then they deserve to be there.  And the Auburn fans owe Gene Chizik a HUGE apology.  They actually do right now as it stands.  Been a while since Auburn has been number 1.

I agree that Auburn deserves the number 1 spot, not sure what games the AP and coaches were watching.  Oregon is getting little respect from the computers but then they really haven’t played anybody and the PAC-10 isn’t very good.  It would be really interesting to see Auburn vs Oregon for the championship.

Auburn goes to Ole Miss this week, see if another #1 will fall on the road for a 4th straight week.

Amazing how U of A can beat Washington and jump 3 spots while the Huskers beat an undefeated Oklahoma State team and go up 2.  A Washington team that Nebraska crushed in week 3.

Huskers have #6 Missouri coming in this week.  Big game that should help in the polls if they can win it.  Huskers are a underdog at home.

Crazy times.  BCS and the polls suck.  But what can we do?

The big thing is that Niles came through.  He made catches when it counted.  Although he finished without a receiving touchdown he played extremely well.

I hope he can keep it up.  Next week against Missouri is going to be a tough game and he will need to make some big plays.

Good job Niles!

I was looking around to see how far Bevo is out but couldn’t find the info.  I am going to bet they won’t make it any time soon.  Notre Dame is something like 500 points away and the way they are playing right now that could take a decade to achieve.

Congrats to the Huskers for joining this elite club.

Too bad the Huskers didn’t get to play Bevo in Austin this year.  The Longhorns just can’t win at home.

Also, the announcers on TV said it was another sell out at DRK.  Odd, it looked like a quarter of the stadium was empty.  Guess that Longhorn fans have enough money in this economy to just throw away the cost a ticket.  Got to love the fair weather Bevo fans.

In the end it was great to see Iowa State get their second monster win in two years, last years win at NU was the first.  Maybe Iowa State can take the Huskers spot in the Big 12 and own all the north teams.  That would be great!

Taylor Martinez played his butt off. He showed the nation that he can not only run the ball but can throw it as well. He finished the game 23 of 35 for 323 and 5 TD’s as well as 112 yards rushing. Pretty impressive stats for the freshman. I am still having a hard time figuring out how there were no rushing TD’s by the Huskers seem odd some how.

The real story of the game though wasn’t Taylor and his stats.  He really should have had some similar stats last week against Texas.  The story was the wide receivers.  They caught the ball.  There were a couple of drops but when it really counted they came up with the plays.  Brandon Kinnie got his first, second and third touchdowns as a Huskers.  Pretty solid game.  And Niles Paul stepped his game up and finished with 9 receptions for 131.  Not to mention a 101 yard kick off return for a touchdown!  Niles really put together a great game.

For all the good on offense there wasn’t a lot of it on defense.  The defense did have their moments and got 3 and outs toward the end of the game.  But they gave up a ton of yards in the first half.  Kendall Hunter finished the game with 201 yards rushing.  I think he had something like 146 in the first half.  Poor tackling was the main issue.  Rickey Thenarse can not tackle to save his butt.  I see another hit without wrapping up and I am going to lose it.  Rickey has shown the past 2 weeks he just can’t tackle.

Prince Amukamara played well.  He got burnt a couple of times but he was playing against one of the best WR in the nation.  The DB is going to lose that battle few times during the game.

After the half the defense came out and played better.  But things need to get shored up before we host Missouri this weekend.

On special teams there were some really good things.  Alex Henery is just a stud.  52 yard field goals are just another field goal for this guy.  Not to mention his punting, he averaged 50.2 yards per punt.  That is sick!  Man I almost for got the fake punt!  Not sure what I was thinking, but to have a punter that can take a fake punt and run for 23 yards.  That is huge.  Like I said Alex is a stud of a punter.

Don’t forget Nile’s kick return.  Also the heat seeking missile that wears number 46 named Eric Martin.  He did have a hit that was helmet to helmet on the Niles Paul kick return but it is a violent sport.  Other than that he was money on tackles on special teams.  That kid is a tackling machine.

There were a lot of good things in this game.  The Huskers showed they can throw the ball and hang in a shoot out.  The rest of the Big 12 should be very scared.

Good to finish a series that we have owned over the years but that Okie State had been running for the past few.  Always good to ruin a perfect season for a Big 12 team as well as we finish up our final season in the Big 12.  Not to mention kicking the crap out of Boone Pickens’s team after all the smack he was talking before the season.

Go Big Red!

This is obviously to get the team that is the highest in the polls from the PAC-12 into the BCS bowl, preferable the BCS Championship game.  This is huge for the home team.

College football might have the biggest home field advantage of any sport.  What other sport can you fill a stadium with 95% home fans?

In the Big 12 in 2003 you have had a 15 ranked Kansas State go the to Big 12 title game and beat the number 1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.  That game was in Kansas City which for the most part was a neutral field, Oklahoma travels really well and the tickets were split.  If the Big 12 played that game in Norman as the PAC-12 would because the Sooners had a much better record, I seriously doubt that K-State wins that game.

Same thing with the 1996 Big 12 championship between Nebraska and Texas.  NU was coming off 2 consecutive national titles and it was a close game with NU leading most of the way.  Texas ended up winning.  In Lincoln that might have been a different story.

1998 K-State and Texas A&M go to OT.  At a home field that is probably won by the home team.  2007 number 1 Missouri was beat by number 9 Oklahoma.  Last years Big 12 title game between Nebraska and Texas, if played in Austin you have to think that Texas doesn’t need an extra second to win.

Depending on the home field it can be worth a touchdown or two.  Lets say this year the PAC-10 had a title game.  Looks right now like Oregon would be hosting that game.  That is a tough place to win.  It is loud and that time of year who knows what the weather will be like.  How about if CU has the best record and a team has to go to Boulder with the altitude to play that and CU does a pretty good job of packing that stadium for big games and making the other team feel unwelcome.

It will be interesting after 5 years of the PAC-12 title game to see what the records look like.  I would not be surprised to see that the home team has won each game.

Having the game at a neutral site might not be good for a team to make the BCS title game but I happen to like it, it brings that drama to the game.  You could argue the other side that having the game at home is the right way to reward the team that has won the most games during the season and I am not sure I disagree.

We will all see how this works out.  It could end up being the way of the future for conference championship games.

You know that saying “put up or shut up”, well Nile Paul had his chance to put up during the Texas game as did Brandon Kennie.  I hate to bag on players, but Niles has been talking a lot in the press.  I guess he thinks he is making millions in the NFL and is a proven commodity.  Unfortunately he is still at NU and hasn’t really done much to prove he is the big game receiver he thinks he is.

“It kind of frustrates me a little bit,” Paul said. “Obviously, there’s more that goes into it. There’s a scheme. And we’re running the ball. But if you put the ball up and let me go get it, I’m going to go get it.”

I borrowed that quote from the post below.  Man that has to be the worst quote especially after dropping 2 TD passes that hit him in the hands during the Texas game.  I am by no means putting the entire loss on him but one of those two catches and no one cares that he was talking himself up, win or lose.

Niles had to know just like everybody else that Texas was coming in to stop Taylor and the Huskers from running the ball.  He had to know that as fast as the Texas defense is they were probably going to be somewhat successful.

So Niles had just what he wanted, a game where he was going to be needed, a big game that he could step up and win but what happened?  Niles ended with 6 catches for 66 yards and no TD’s.  The Huskers settled for 3 points instead of 6 each time.

What would I like to see?  I want to see Nile out on the field blocking and catching anything the even gets close to him.  I don’t want to see him in the papers anymore.  Take a page from Taylor Martinez and just don’t talk to the press.  Do your job, go to school and catch the ball.  When you are in the NFL, if you can catch and make the plays you say you can, then you can get out in the press and talk all you want.

Until then don’t drop the ball!

Husker Guy – Shut Up Niles

Amazing.  Easy for a guy like Eric Hagg to out run a bunch of offensive linemen.

First off that loss was not as bad as it seemed.  The offense was stagnate yes but the QB’s both showed they can make throws that could have won the game.  The receivers and running backs need to work on catching it.  But the quarterbacks put it where it needed to be more often than not.  Opposing coaches will see that and will know that the receivers will catch them next time.  It adds to the threat the offense already has.  Opposing teams will still try and force the Huskers to throw the ball and the entire team has to get better at the passing game.

Right here I have to call out Nile Paul.  You can’t run your mouth about getting the ball more and then not come up with the plays.  I think that what is so disappointing is that we all know Paul has those plays in him.  He needs to take this game personal and get better because of it.  I hope he will.

We all knew that the Huskers would have a much harder time running the ball against the better defenses in the Big 12.  Texas punched the offense in the mouth, the offense took a couple of swings but just never connected.

They will get better because of this.  Bo won’t let them live that down.

The Blackshirts played well but got exposed when the QB tucks and runs.  That was a scheme thing that did actually get better during the game, but after Garrett Gilbert gets 70+ yards doing it I will promise it won’t be the last time the Huskers see it.  Oklahoma State has a pretty mobile QB, better watch out this week.

Over all the Blackshirts played well and were given a short field to defend twice.  Against a team like Texas you can’t have that and really that isn’t the D’s fault.  They have some work to do and the Pelini brothers will get it worked out.

Overall the game was not as bad as it seemed.  It seems much worse because we wanted them to beat Texas and felt sure it would happen.  So it really was more of an emotional loss for the fans.

The team has to get over it and so do the fans.  We have a big game next week at Okie State.  Win it and we are back on track for the Big 12 championship game.

Go Big Red!

The problem?  Taylor is a young QB.  He ran at times when he should have dumped the ball off.  Texas played to make him win with his arm and not his legs.  They did that extremely well.  Problem is that Taylor made most of the throws, his WR’s and RB’s let him down.

If two of those passes were caught and 14 points were scored instead of 6 he is still in the race.

But in the end they were not.

I hate the Heisman talk this early really.  I hate that there are polls before the season actually.

Taylor will get better.  He will learn.  He still has the rest of the season to improve and I think this game could be a turning point in a great career.

He will get better and we will see in the next year or two if he has what it takes.  I am glad he is our QB of the future!

Bevo came out and forced NU into mistakes right away.  Huskers turned the ball over early spotting Bevo a 10 point lead and then Bevo drove the ball down the field to get another 7.

The Huskers did exactly what I said they couldn’t do, turn the ball over.  The defense didn’t tackle and Bevo forced NU to throw the ball.

Bevo’s D keyed on the run and force NU into the passing game.  There were a few poor throws by Taylor but the drops were what killed the Huskers.  Burkhead was wide open into the endzone, Nile dropped 2 touchdowns and Kennie dropped one.  Amazing.

Bevo did what they had to do to win, but I can’t help but feel that the NU dropped the game literally.

I personally am in shock.  I don’t really put this one on the D.

The bonehead call of the year has to go to Mack Brown for that pouch kick however.  The onside that followed was a bad call in my opinion.

Big 12 ref’s suck as well. How that catch by Kyler Reed was not called right or reviewed?  As well as some of the calls on one team but not the other.  Amazing.

But in the end Bevo won, did enough to beat the Huskers again. I know a lot of Husker fans will be glad this series is over, but I personally would like another shot at Bevo.

I forgot one thing.  I do blame the Nebraska coaches a lot for this loss.  The offensive coaches just didn’t come in ready for a defense like Texas.

Hard loss to take, but more football on the schedule this year.  Big 12 title is not out of sight.  Just need to get back to work and get much better.

The Huskers are doing exactly what I said they couldn’t do.  Fumble and not tackle. One thing I didn’t see what Gilbert running the ball as he has.

Huskers just off on a couple of big plays in the first half that could have changed things, but just couldn’t make the plays.

Huskers still in it but Bevo gets the ball to start the second half.

Halftime adjustments definitely needed.

Offense needs to get out and play some physical football.

This is the game that for a lot of fans will make or break the season.  Not that a loss today would be the end of the season for the Huskers but some fans, especially right after the game, will feel it is.

Well the good news is that on paper Nebraska should win.  Nebraska’s D is putting up better numbers, the offense is putting up better numbers but the game isn’t played on paper, if it was then Texas would have won the UCLA game by 20.

Here are my keys to the game.

The Blackshirts have to get off.  They have to force Garrett Gilbert to try and win the game.  Stop the run and make UT one dimensional.  Shouldn’t be to hard, UT hasn’t run the ball well at all.  The Blackshirts can’t let Bevo’s recievers get behind them and just need to play sound ball.  Bevo is going to come out with some new wrinkles.  Got to be in position and play smart D.

Special teams has to play well and I am not talking about the kickers.  The coverage units have to cover well.  Field position will be huge in this game.

The Husker offense just needs to be patient.  I really feel that if they line up and run right at them, Bevo won’t be able to handle it.  Take the pressure off Taylor to make the big plays right off the bat.  A couple zone read play action passes could be extremely effective early in this game.  I really think Texas is going to try and key on Taylor running the ball.

Huskers have to get 6 on their drives.  Settling for 3 will keep Bevo in it and let them believe.

The Huskers have to hang onto the ball as well.  No more fumbles.  UT’s D is way to good to be putting the ball on the ground.  The Huskers have to win the turnover battle.

Basically the Huskers have to play sound football, tackle and just play ball like they know how and they should win this one.

I’ll be grilling up some Bevo steaks before the game, hope the Huskers will be doing the same during the game.

GO BIG RED!