Tommy Armstrong – Quarterback – Cibolo, TX

Aaron Curry – Defensive Tackle – Keller, TX

LeRoy Alexander – Running Back / Cornerback – Toledo, OH

Thomas Brown – Linebacker – Gardena, CA

Alonzo Moore – Defensive Back / Wide Receiver / Quarterback – Winnfield, LA

Mohammed Seisay – Cornerback – Eastern Arizona Junior College (Transfer)

Michael Rose – Linebacker – Kansas City, MO

Greg McMullen – Defensive End – Akron, OH

Zaire Anderson – Linebacker – Riverside Community College (Transfer)

Jared Afalava – Linebacker – South Jordan, UT

Imani Cross – Running Back – Gainesville, GA

Avery Moss – Defensive End – Tempe, AZ

Sam Cotton – Tight End – Lincoln, NE

Jordan Westerkamp – Wide Receiver – Lombard, IL

Corey Whitaker – Offensive Lineman – Murrieta, CA

Paul Thurston – Offensive Tackle – Arvada, CO

Sipple recounts a day in October 2006 in Stillwater, when there were a significant number of empty seats in Boone Pickens Stadium just before kickoff. Sipple asked a veteran writer on the OSU beat about the empties. “It’s just (expletive) Nebraska,” he said with a wry smile.

Here’s more from Sipple on the problem at hand:

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has done well to produce records of 9-4, 10-4, 10-4 and 9-4 after inheriting a program that was 5-7 in 2007 under Bill Callahan. Still, Pelini feels a negative vibe from a fan base arguably spoiled by Osborne’s amazing success. In his final five seasons (1993-97), Nebraska was 60-3.

The program’s glory years are starting to fade. It’s Pelini’s job to make sure our dominance is more than a memory, but he’s not getting it done. Maybe he will get it done someday, but he’s not getting it done today.

Looking over the comments about Pelini on this site, I see one fan has taken to calling the coach Bo Callahanini. That is harsh, but it reveals how slippery the slope is. I couldn’t stand Loserhan’s professional demeanor on the sideline, but Callahanini’s is also bad in a completely opposite way.

It’s weird to feel as ambivalent as I do about Nebraska football right now. We’re looking at two more years of Taylor Martinez at QB, for starters. That’s hard to fathom, frankly. He might be a good kid, or a cocky brat from California — I don’t know. But he’s not a QB in any classic sense. Practically every team we played in 2011 had a better player at the position.

We also need to face facts about the relative strength of recruiting at this time in Pelini’s tenure–Nebraska’s 2012 class is currently ranked 35th by Rivals.com. We are being out-recruited by Vandy, Baylor, Purdue and Louisville right now. Without horses to pull the wagon, the team will continue to be stuck in a rut.

Maybe Pelini has a surprise season in store for us next fall. Let’s hope so, because 10-2 or better can’t come too soon.

Bo Pelini’s comments in the post-game presser centered around that the way the Huskers played today wasn’t the way they were coached. To which I asked rhetorically on Twitter that if the players didn’t do what they were coached to do, can you call that coaching?

In the last 29 minutes of the game, the Huskers managed exactly 1 yard of offense. Did this stem completely from not doing what the players were coached to do?

Today’s game, and in fact many this season, have been riddled with undisciplined play. I firmly believe that the team leadership either exemplifies discipline, or they shun it. There isn’t a middle ground where discipline is expected by the players, but the coaching staff gets a pass. Bo Pelini has exactly zero discipline to control his anger on the sidelines. I have two kids under 8 and I know that when my actions don’t match my words, the lesson is lost on my kids.

Many will counter that by saying my 5 and 7 year old aren’t 20 year old athletes, but I’ve seen the same action in the workplace – the CEO who says earnings are down in a morning meeting, and is picking up a new BMW in the afternoon. The culture and morale are killed instantly, I don’t care what the ages involved. If the team, coaches and players together, are not united, there are problems.

Nebraska replaced Shawn Watson because of an ineffective offese – deservedly so, I’m not questioning that decision – only to replace him with Tim Beck who’s simplified schemes were designed to get the most out of the personnel on the field. The first half of the season sputtered from learning the system. The second half sputtered because of poor execution and head-scratching play calling.

Today’s Capital One Bowl in Orlando started strong, everything was clicking on the offensive side of the ball, and then? Nebraska quit going to the plays that were working. Penalties – I don’t blame the refs, they call what they see and they are human, and a part of the game – undisciplined play, fundamentals that were nowhere to be found and to me, it looked like the team quit halfway through the 3rd quarter.

Is Bo Pelini serving himself and this team well as being head coach? Frankly, with the talent I’m seeing in the program, I think his recruiting needs some help and his antics on the sidelines likely aren’t helping the situation. Head coach? I think he’s lost his edge for the position and either needs to step up as the CEO of the team and play that role in a disciplined manner and hire the staff that makes him better, or he isn’t much longer for this job.

Fire Bo Pelini?
I give him another year. His defense numbers – after peaking with players he inherited – are on a slight decline. His offense has never showed much punch – talented, possibly, with the occasional playmaker. But his management of the young talent is bordering on ridiculous. Freshmen who burn their redshirts for a couple early plays that are never rarely seen again. Things obviously change with the departure of Carl Pelini, but how much was he in charge of the defense? I doubt much given Bo’s control on that side of the team.

Things need to change and the 2012-13 season is a defining moment.

After his team played a sloppy mess of a bowl game today, Pelini — who clearly loathes the press and the fact that his job demands he speak to them — said Nebraska was the better team. That’s just one in a long line of miscalculations he’s made as coach, and in this case, he comes across as petty, bitter and out of touch with reality.

The Gamecocks were clearly the better team today, and all season. Yet, somehow that’s not clear to Pelini. Is the guy delusional? Watch and listen to this train wreck of a post-game presser and judge for yourself:

I’ve written before about how important it is for the university to get Pelini some media training, and perhaps some anger management help, as well. I doubt that T.O. will be the tough boss here and demand a remedy, but it would be helpful to Pelini and the football program.

What would be even more helpful is to admit that the Huskers are over-rated and have been all year. Without an honest assessment, how can you make the necessary adjustments?

On the way into the locker room at the half today, Pelini insisted in his on air interview that “we will be okay, we will be okay” as he fled from the camera. But he was wrong. And he can say the players didn’t execute his grand plans until he’s blue in the face, that doesn’t explain what’s wrong with this team, or why Husker Nation was treated to yet another mediocre season.

Smart money was on an internal promotion, and that is what the Huskers did with the promotion of John Papuchis to Defensive Coordinator. Papuchis has been with Pelini since his stint at LSU, and by all accounts, has been groomed for the job for quite a while. Trust, integrity and family being a strong theme running through the Husker coaching staff.

Another staff change announced today was the hiring of Rick Kaczenski as defensive line coach. Kaczenski comes by way of the Iowa Hawkeye’s where his seven year coaching experience has focused on the defensive line for the last five.

The Omaha World Herald has further information.

Carl Pelini is now the head coach at Florida Atlantic University. His brother, Bo Pelini, is now searching for his replacement.

Lavonte David is an All-American, the 96th first-team All-American in Huskers history.

The Huskers are playing in a January 2nd bowl game against Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks.

On the bowl game, Samuel McKewon of the Omaha World Herald has this to report:

Steve Spurrier. South Carolina’s stingy defense. And that vaunted SEC speed.

That’s what awaits Nebraska’s football team in the Jan. 2 Capital One Bowl. The 10-2 Gamecocks, No. 9 in the final BCS standings, will play the 9-3 and No. 21 Huskers at noon CST in Orlando, Fla.

Played in the 65,438-seat Citrus Bowl and televised on ESPN, it’s one of five Jan. 2 games involving Big Ten teams. It’s Nebraska’s highest-ranked bowl opponent since No. 9 Auburn in the 2007 Cotton Bowl. And its $4.6 million payout is the highest of any non-BCS game.

This matchup against the other USC is the exact opposite of last year’s Holiday Bowl. This time, we’re playing the team with a better record and higher ranking. Will this team respond to the underdog role and hand the ‘Cocks their jocks?

First Down: Lavonte David, Team MVP - Outside of Mike Rozier, what other junior college transfer has had an impact like Lavonte David as a Husker? (And even then, Rozier only played one season at the junior college level.) He broke the single season tackles record last season, and then this season played at an All-American level. A Butkus Award finalist, you saw his excellence throughout the game. One play summed up him up. He’s in coverage, and an Iowa WR pushes off on him. Lavonte falls to the ground, and the Iowa WR makes the catch. Lavonte chases him down, forces a fumble and recovers it. He does all this on a play where the Iowa WR is called for offensive pass interference against him. Again, on a play where the WR pushed him to the ground, Lavonte recovers and forces a turnover. He was a difference maker in a number of critical games this year.

Second Down: Rex Burkhead, Offensive MVP - The offensive gameplan was another steady diet of Rex, and he delivered. 38 carries? Crazy, but it worked. His play today showed why he has endeared himself to a number of Husker fans. He, along with the offensive line, wore down Iowa’s defense in the second and third quarters. He just keep plugging away, gaining yards after contact and earning first downs. I don’t know if he’ll make First Team All-Big Ten, but I don’t think I’d trade him for any other RB in the conference. And, Superman showed how he could fly as well. The Huskers were driving for a touchdown to go up 20-0, and he leaped over an Iowa defensive player for a first down. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive…

Third Down: Alfonzo Dennard, shutdown corner - He started the season slow, due to injuries, but once he rounded into form he was great. He shut down highly regarded WR’s throughout the season, which freed up the rest of the defense. Iowa’s QB was statistically the best in the Big Ten, but Dennard locked up whoever he was on when the game mattered. Iowa had no chance on offense with Dennard, and Lavonte David, playing at an NFL-caliber level.

Fourth Down: Finished strong - A solid performance all-around by the Huskers gets them to the standard of 9 wins. While I don’t like it being an excuse at times (because every team has to battle some of this stuff), the team performed well considering injuries, tough schedule, new offensive system and adjustment to a new conference. After last week’s embarrassing loss to Michigan, the coachers and players were on top of things today with the victory over Iowa. Another 9 win season, Coach Bo Pelini’s fourth straight in his four years on the job. The last time that happened at Nebraska? 1998-2001.

Looking Ahead: With today’s win, and a number of upsets around college football, it looks like Nebraska will be playing in a January bowl game again. I think a chance at 10 wins depends on whether or not the opponent has a mobile QB. Right now, it would appear the Huskers would be playing someone from the SEC. Bring it on. Outside of the triumvirate of LSU-Alabama-Arkansas, I think Nebraska can play with whoever else.

For Bo, no championship equals a failed season and that reality is already written.

Angry Dad also has a slough of head-spinning stats to consider. For instance:

• In NU’s three losses the Huskers gave up 121 points and were outscored by 62 points
• In the last three games, NU was 19 of 46 on third down conversions, possessed the ball for only 73 out of 180 minutes, and had 17 fewer first downs than their opponents
• The offense has fallen from 35th last year to 58th nationally, under new OC Tim Beck

I know it is Beck’s first year, and this team’s problems sadly extend to the Blackshirts and to special teams. Yet, a coordinator needs to perform right away at a program like Nebraska.

Whether you’re the patient and forgiving type or not, the fact is Nebraska is now 12 seasons away from its last conference championship. And the way things are going there’s little reason to believe the team’s next conference championship is right around the corner.

Be that as it may, I hope we see a different team on the field today. 5-3 in conference is by definition a winning season, whereas 4-4 is not. At 4-4 we have to accept that the Huskers are a mediocre and highly over-rated team. At 5-3 in conference, plus a great showing in our bowl game, we can recover a bit of swagger, win over key recruits and work hard in the off-season so we’re much better in 2012 and beyond.

Go Big Red.