Vince D'Adamo -- Wine Country Husker

2012 Position Outlook: Linebacker

2012-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at linebacker:

Looking back: Any discussion regarding Nebraska linebackers in 2011, and for that matter the past two seasons, begins and ends with LaVonte David. While Husker fans (well, a significant portion anyhow) have always had aversions to junior college transfers, one cannot deny that without David (a former JUCO transfer) Nebraska very well could have finished 7-6 instead of 9-4.

His forced fumble and subsequent recovery of Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller sparked a 34-27 come-from-behind win over the Buckeyes when the Huskers appeared headed for their second embarrassing loss in as many weeks. David’s numbers speak for themselves as he recorded team highs in total tackles (133), tackles for loss (13) and quarterback sacks (5.5).

Will Compton came alive in the second half of the season and recorded 82 total tackles, seven for lost yardage. Sean Fisher came back after having missed the 2010 season with a leg injury to start four games and record 24 total tackles. However, Alonzo Whaley saw his most significant playing time the last two games of the season and actually moved ahead of Fisher on the depth chart.

Looking ahead: No point sugarcoating matters, David’s incredible skills will be hard to replace. Nebraska has had its share of legendary linebackers such as Tom Novak, Broderick Thomas, Barrett Ruud, Jerry Murtugh, Ed Stewart and Marc Munford. Where David fits in the anals of Husker lore is open for discussion but he certainly belongs in that conversation.

David Santos, who will be a redshirt freshman, might get the first shot at replacing David. While Santos is talented he also young. Plus, going from scout team player to replacing David would be a tall order.

The fact that Compton made it through an entire season mostly injury free, which hadn’t been the case throughout his career before the season, is a good sign. The Huskers will need Compton to take on an even bigger role in 2012. Sophomore Trevor Roach saw action early in the season and can be a capable backup at MIKE linebacker to Compton.

It also bears watching if Whaley stays ahead of Fisher on the depth chart at the BUCK position. Either way, both will be needed when the Huskers go to their goal-line defense.

The player from the 2012 class that will need to contribute immediate is junior college transfer Zaire Anderson. The Huskers have a strong group of recruits but will they be ready to contribute right away?

2012 Position Outlook: Defensive Line

2012-01-28T15:25:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at defensive line:

Looking back: The Nebraska defensive line was dealt a severe blow when defensive tackle Jared Crick, who appeared poised for a breakout season, was shelved after five games because of a torn pectoral muscle. While Crick was not having the breakout season most expected of him, losing him as a presence in the middle of the line was a fate the Huskers were not counting on suffering before the season began.

The Nebraska defense did not stop teams with the same authority as it had in 2009 and to a lesser extent 2010. The Huskers ranked No. 41 nationally in points allowed (22.8) and No. 37 to total yards against (350.7).

Nebraska also allowed opposing quarterbacks too much time to throw, which is significant because head coach Bo Pelini prefers to rely on the front four to generate pressure without blitzing.

While Crick’s season-ending injury hurt the Huskers during the last half of 2011, it helped develop experience for sophomore Chase Rome, who could be Nebraska’s most explosive young lineman. Seniors Bakers Steinkuhler and Cameron Meredith have been steady starters for two years, but their production seems to have reached its ceiling.

Looking ahead: Though the Huskers lose Crick and Terrence Moore, who started seven games at defensive tackle after Crick was put on the shelf, Nebraska should be in good shape at this position because there are plenty of experienced returning players.

Eric Martin and Cameron Meredith are entrenched as starters at defensive end. Senior Baker Steinkuhler should provide a steady presence at defensive tackle with sophomore Chase Rome pushing strongly for a starting job.

Jason Ankrah, Joe Carter and Kevin Williams are touted recruits who have yet to live up to their potential. Thad Randle and Jay Guy are coming off injuries, but seem to have the goods to stop the run. Todd Peat and Williams could also emerge as contributors. Greg McMullen is a talented recruit while Avery Moss may be counted on to rush the passer more.

The biggest change, however, is the addition defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski, who turned out strong units at Iowa for five years. Kaczenski was hired as a result of John Papuchis replacing Carl Pelini as defensive coordinator after getting hired as the Florida Atlantic head coach. Kaczenski assumes a unit that needs a jolt of energy. This unit should be the strength of Nebraska’s defense in 2012 and it needs to be.

Kaczenski has spent the past five years coaching Iowa’s defensive line. Among the players that flourished under his watch were All-Big Ten picks Adrian Clayborn and Mitch King. Clayborn received consensus All-America honors in 2010.

Seven of Kaczenski’s defensive linemen have been drafted or have signed an NFL free-agent contract over the past four seasons.

2012 Position Outlook: Offensive Line

2012-01-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at tight end:

Looking back: Though the Huskers lose center Mike Caputo along tackles Marcel Jones and Yoshi Hardrick to graduation, this unit underwent a youth movement for the first time in recent memory.

Walk-on Spencer Long came out of nowhere to start every game at right guard. Andrew Rodriguez and Seung Hoon Choi took their shots starting at left guard. True freshman Tyler Moore started all four non-conference games at right tackle. Even though Jeremiah Sirles played as a backup this year, he has 14 games as a starter at left tackle in 2010 under his belt.

The 2011 campaign showed that the strength for Nebraska was the offense, as the defense was racked by injuries. The offense was once again focused on the run, but unlike 2010 when quarterback Taylor Martinez was a game-breaker, he was focused more on limiting turnovers (sorry, I hate the term “game manager’). The Huskers sustained their share of injuries on the offensive line which led to the lineup being changed often, and at one point in time, Nebraska would rotate the entire line every so often in the game.

Under first-year offensive coordinator Tim Beck, Nebraska dropped in production from 2010, but to be fair, if Nebraska had 2010's defense, they would have done a lot better this season.

Beck introduced some new formations, like the diamond, and shifted from the shotgun being the base formation to the pistol. He also started to use the fullback, which made all the people who remember Nebraska using a fullback happy.

Looking ahead: There were moments when the group imposed its will and shined. The second half against Ohio State in a 34-27 win over the Buckeyes and the first half of the Capital One Bowl game (a 30-13 loss to South Carolina) were prime examples of what Nebraska could accomplish up front against talented opposition. Entering the bowl game, Nebraska ranked 13th in the country rushing while facing its share of talented defensive lines in the Big Ten.

However, the second half of the loss to South Carolina served as a reminder that this unit still has to improve. In the last 25 minutes, Nebraska had almost as many penalties (8) as offensive yards (12).

With another year under their belts, Sirles and Moore figure to be the early front-runners to start at tackle. Depth, however, needs to be established.

The Huskers have some solid and proven depth at guard with Choi, who made the most of his opportunity after Rodriguez was beset by injuries. Rodriguez is long on potential but can he stay healthy?

Spencer Long, who is a walk-on that started every game a year ago, will be starting somewhere. The question is will it be at guard or center? Replacing Caputo at center is a pressing need considering that he saw the majority of the snaps. Cole Pensick is the early favorite to start though others will get a look as well including Ryne Reeves, Mark Pelini and possibly Long. Brent Qvale, who enters his junior year, will have a chance to contribute as well as Brandon Thompson.

Paterno's legacy a complicated definition

2012-01-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

As we mourn the loss of former Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno, one thought crosses my mind.

OK, hold the tasteless humor for later but serious, we’ve all seen stories of 90-year old couples living out their lives together, and then when one of them passes away, the other one goes within

about six months. It’s almost as if the survivor loses their will to live after their love of 60 years, their constant companion, is gone. Paterno’s love for the last 60 years was Penn State football. When it was taken from him, you wonder how much it affected his will to live. The cause of death is cancer, but I think it may have been hastened by the loss of his love.

Paterno died Sunday at a State College, Pa., hospital, suffering in his final days from lung cancer, broken bones and the fallout of a horrific scandal that not only cost him his job, but also his trademark vigor and a portion of his good name.

The question is, how will the 85-year old Paterno be remembered? For most of his life Paterno conveyed three basic messages (honor, ethics and education) but all of that changed on Nov. 5, 2011, when a grand jury indicted Paterno’s former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, of multiple counts of sexual abuse of children.

Many, including Penn State’s Board of Trustees, believed Paterno could have and should have done more to stop Sandusky, especially after allegations of misconduct arose in 2002. Within days Paterno was fired from the program and school to which he’d become synonymous.

People can say what they want about the scandal but you can’t take away the fact of how many lives he has touched and how important he was to college football. Paterno will be missed and the Penn State sidelines will never be the same.

Though I believe the powers that be at Penn State were justified in dismissing Paterno, I can’t help but feel bad for him on some level. He clearly made a huge mistake in not doing more when he found out about Sandusky and he was clearly negligent but I think overall he was a good man and coach. Sandusky deserves most of the blame and I hope he rots. Sandusky needs to have his ass kicked and fed to the vultures.

I may have rooted against Penn State more often than for them it was more from the understanding that Paterno was going to have his team ready to play. We have lost a true legend of the sport and a truly remarkable human being.

To say he handled the situation poorly would be an understatement; however, his accomplishments will be in the record books without an asterisk by them. Most will forgive him in time just watch. It might be a long time, but it’ll happen.

2012 Position Outlook: Tight End

2012-01-18T22:42:00.001-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at tight end:

Looking back: The Huskers made a return to running the triple option, which means the tight ends were involved quite a bit as blockers. However, when Nebraska ran any variation of the option the tight end was always a significant threat in the passing game.

While Kyler Reed and Ben Cotton occasionally made plays in the passing game, they also went long stretches without being involved. Reed caught 15 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown that did not come until the regular season finale of a 20-7 win over Iowa. Cotton caught 14 balls for 189 yards with nary a touchdown.

Looking ahead: The running game remains the Huskers’ staple but Reed has the speed to get behind defenders that Nebraska wants, and needs, to utilize in the passing game. The Huskers need to do so if for no other reason that for residual effects of opening up more running lanes.

Cotton can be a threat in the passing game but his strength is blocking on the perimeter for the Huskers running game.

With both Reed and Cotton being seniors, the Huskers are in good hands at tight end.

2012 Position Outlook: Wide Receivers

2012-01-16T00:07:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at wide receiver:

Looking back: Brandon Kinnie was expected to be an integral part of the offense but he proved to be a disappointment as he caught just 22 passes for 257 yard and just one touchdown. Those were not the numbers Nebraska had in mind before the season started.

The Huskers also converted Jamal Turner from quarterback to wide receiver and while he caught 15 passes for 243 yards, he was a nonentity in the second half of the season.

Instead, it was Kenny Bell and Quincy Enunwa that made the biggest impact. The former became quarterback Taylor Martinez’s go-to guy as he caught 32 passes for 461 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were team highs. Bell especially came on strong in the second half of the season. Enunwa also showed flashes of brilliance as he caught 21 passes for 293 yards and a pair of scores. Tim Marlowe caught 12 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.

However, dropped passes that did not allow drives to be kept afloat haunted Nebraska throughout the season.

Looking ahead: While Martinez has issues to straighten out as a passer, it is equally true that Nebraska receivers have not done him any favors by dropping catchable passes. The biggest culprit was Kinnie, who will be lost to graduation.

Bell, who will be a sophomore, figures to be the Huskers biggest offensive weapon not named Rex Burkhead. Bell certainly has the speed to get behind defenders. Enunwa, who will be a junior, not only gained confidence as a receiver but is perhaps the Huskers best downfield blocker among the wide receivers. That quality is very significant with any offense that runs a variation of the option. Marlowe might not fill up a bunch of highlight shows but his knowledge of the offense is a huge plus.

The wild card among next year’s group is Turner and Khiry Cooper, especially the former. Turner has the game-breaking speed and how he is used this fall bears watching. Cooper, who will be a senior, did not see a ton of snaps and freshman Taariq Allen shined as a scout team player last year but how that parlays into playing time is another matter.

2012 Position Outlook: Running back

2012-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at running:

Looking back: Let’s start with the obvious, “What more can be said about Rex Burkhead that has not already been said?” Nebraska has had its legendary running backs like Mike Rozier, Johnny Rodgers, I.M. Hipp, and Lawrence Phillips but Burkhead has established his own place in Husker lore.

The junior from Plano, Texas carried 284 times for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2011. He also caught 21 more passes for 177 yards and a pair of scores. At times, Burkhead flat out carried the load for the Huskers and he did it against some pretty stout Big Ten defensive units such as Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State. While I never met Burkhead in person, anyone who has publically spoken about him say he’s an even better person. Suffice it to say, Husker fans are blessed to have him for another year.

With the return of the option, we actually saw the fullback get a few carries but not the amount that will make fans forget Joel Mackovica. Legate had eight carries and four catches (two for touchdowns). The fullback carrying the ball, however, seemed to be more of an attempt to pander to the fans that long for the retro Tom Osborne playbook.

The most puzzling aspect of the 2011 season as it pertained to the running back position was the fact that the Huskers burned redshirts on three players (Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green and Braylon Heard). The threesome combined for just 91 carries and three receptions. Abdullah not redshirting was at least somewhat understandable because he was the primary kickoff and punt returner. However, it was readily apparent by midseason that either Green or Heard, probably the latter, should have redshirted.

Looking ahead: Burkhead is the unquestioned leader not only of this position but the entire offense. The tricky aspect will be getting Burkhead his steady diet of touches while also preserving him for the Big Ten grind.

Though his costly fumble in the Huskers 30-13 Capital Bowl loss played a role in the team unraveling, Abdullah showed enough promise early in the season to be that change of pace runner to compliment Burkhead.

Given that the option has returned as part of the Husker offense, losing Legate might be more of a concern that at first glance. For openers, there’s the role of lead blocking for the running back but also quarterback Taylor Martinez seems better suited on “load option” running plays that involve either a fullback or pulling guard.

2012 Position Outlook: Quarterback

2012-01-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at quarterback:

Looking back: No matter who lines up under center or at shotgun, the Nebraska starting quarterback will always be subject to (how can I put this nicely) public opinion. Current sophomore Taylor Martinez has been subject to plenty of that.

You look at the raw numbers of Martinez’s first two seasons and there appears to be very little difference. In 2010, he completed 107 of 195 (54.8 percent) for 1,631 yards, ten touchdowns and seven interceptions. As a runner, he gained 966 yards 172 carries (5.6 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns. In 2011, Martinez completed 162 of 288 passes (56.3 percent) for 2,076 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. As a runner, he gained 875 yards on 188 carries (4.6 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns.

The vibe, however, was much different as in 2010, when Martinez was a big play waiting to happen the first ten games. He rushed 887 yards on 112 carries and 12 touchdowns. In the passing department, he completed 63 of 119 for 1,161 yards, ten touchdowns and three interceptions. After sustaining an ankle injury, however, Martinez became pretty ordinary as he carried 50 times for 79 yards. In the passing department, he completed 44 of 76 for 470 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.

Nebraska, however, gave up 29 sacks last year but more specifically they gave up 12 sacks in their last 2 games (seven against Oklahoma and five against Washington). The Huskers gave up 21 sacks in 2011.

Martinez made a noticeable improvement this year on moving the chains by making good decisions in the passing game - whether to hit a check-down or scrambling.

He was more of a team leader than as a freshman but will never be confused for a martinet. His running stats are down a bit as some zealots point out the fewer jaw-dropping runs this season but much of Martinez's 2010 running stats came in the first few games against suspect defenses. Great highlights, but not very meaningful numbers. Also, turnovers were down a bit this year. He threw one more interception on 93 more passes.

Looking ahead: Though a segment of Husker fans will clamor for a change whether it’s freshman Brion Carnes, wide receiver Jamal Turner or for that matter incoming freshman Tommy Armstrong, Martinez will be the starter until further notice.

Nebraska appears to have a more-clear cut identity under current offensive coordinator Tim Beck than it did under Shawn Watson. The Huskers run a mixture of zone read, pistol and old school option. The zone read and pistol suit Martinez well but not the old school option, which gets the fans going from a nostalgia standpoint but doesn't suit Martinez's running skill which is a straight ahead burst or nothing.

To execute the option, you need to have a physical guy playing quarterback. Martinez is not that guy. The quarterback needs to step up and into traffic in order to force the edge to commit to him or the running back. Martinez runs back and out instead of into pursuit and outside. He doesn't really force the pursuit to commit as more often than not, Martinez runs towards the running back.

Yours truly defended Martinez more than most people but the fact remains that any improvement the Huskers make offensively has to begin with Martinez. He has started 25 games and it’s time now to take a quantum leap forward as a player and as a leader.

The numbers may bear out that Martinez is a decent passer but for every time he hits a receiver in stride there are two or three other times where he may throw the ball in the same area code of a receiver only he has to make a twisting, mid-air grab. Martinez has to consistently learn how to lead guys on crossing patterns so they can run after the grab as well as throw screens and swing passes better. He also needs to learn how to avoid sacks.

A look ahead to 2012

2012-01-09T00:27:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Nebraska football season is in our rearview mirror. The season-ending 30-13 Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina to close the season leaves a sour taste as the Huskers finish the season in disappointing fashion at 9-4. Nine win seasons at Nebraska are the minimum expectation in a given year so to that end the season was not a failure but when you play it back in real time it was because the four losses (three decisive) hurt more than any of the nine wins felt great.

The ill-fated Bill Callahan era brought a 27-22 mark from 2004-2007 that included two bowl-less seasons. The Bo Pelini era (including his interim coach Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State in 2003) has brought a 39-16 mark. Since Pelini took over in 2008, the Huskers have gone 38-16 with two 9-4 seasons and two 10-4 campaigns. Those four seasons confirmed what I said when Pelini took over. Going from 5-7 in 2007 to 9-4 in 2008 was the easy part. Going from 9-4 to say 11-2 will be the hard part.

While Pelini’s initial impact was great, the Huskers have yet to take the next step. However, those calling for his scalp need to remember two things: a) It took the great Tom Osborne seven years to win a conference title and b) Nebraska fired Frank Solich after a 9-3 campaign in 2003 and that led to the Callahan era. Granted, the Callahan years were an anomaly but if you fire Pelini and get another Callahan-type, you get what you deserve.

However, at some point, Nebraska needs to get returns on its investment from hiring Pelini. That means stop being plague by a sputtering offense and continued mental mistakes. Over the next few weeks, we will have in depth position-by-position breakdowns but for now, here’s a thumbnail sketch for 2012:

Quarterback: Taylor Martinez produced 2,089 yards as a passer and 873 yards as a runner in his sophomore season. While he improved as a leader and is likely to be the starter at the moment, he needs to take a significant step forward now that he is a junior and has 25 starts under his belt. However, it is equally important that Brion Carnes or possible verbal commitment Tommy Armstrong push Martinez.

Running back: Rex Burkhead is nothing short of amazing both as a player and as a person. With 284 carries, Burkhead did the heavy lifting but what was most baffling was that the staff burned redshirts on Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green and Braylon Heard for a combined 91 carries. Burning a redshirt on Abdullah was understandable because he was returning kicks but it was painfully obvious by midseason that Green and/or Heard should have redshirt. Since the Huskers run a variation of the option involving the fullback, losing Tyler Legate will be a more significant loss than at first glance. C.J. Zimmerer and Mike Marrow now have their chance.

Wide receiver: The Huskers lose Brandon Kinnie but given that he dropped as many passes as he caught, that loss is an addition by subtraction. Kenny Bell, however, turned into Martinez’s go-to guy with 32 grabs for 461 yards and three scores. Quincy Enunwa also showed flashes of brilliance but the wild card in the equation is Jamal Turner, who led the team in receptions the first five games but fell out of favor with the coaches. Tim Marlowe also returns and perhaps has the best grasp of the offense.

Tight end: Kyler Reed and Ben Cotton both return as seniors. The former has the downfield speed that has often been under-utilized. For the offense to improve, Reed needs to become more of a weapon.

Offensive line: Despite losing Jermarcus Hardrick and Mike Caputo, this season was a youth movement for the Huskers. The hope is that with an extra year of the system that more cohesion will be developed. Jeremiah Sirles (junior) and Tyler Moore (sophomore) are the probable starting tackles. Juniors Spencer Long and Andrew Rodriguez are likely to start at guard while Cole Pensick will probably get the nod at center

Defensive line: With Cameron Meredith and Eric Martin, the Huskers have two solid starters at end but if they are to establish depth then players like Jason Ankrah and Josh Williams need to perform. At tackle Baker Steinkuhler is a no-brainer to start at one spot but who becomes his sidekick? Chase Rome, Jay Guy, Todd Peat or Kevin Williams? Probably Peat given his potential.

Linebacker: Losing All-American LaVonte David is glaring departure to say the least. It’s hard to say who replaces him at the WILL linebacker spot. Will Compton is the Huskers most experienced linebacker at the MIKE position having started 23 games. Another key question is who starts at BUCK linebacker? Given his late season impact, probably Alonzo Whaley.

Secondary: His Capital One Bowl ejection aside, Alfonzo Dennard will not be easy to replace. Andrew Green and Ciante Evans had their share of peaks and valleys but showed enough promise in the second half of the season to give the Huskers a potentially good pair of corners. However, the wild card is JUCO transfer Mohammed Seisay. You don’t bring in a JUCO transfer unless you intend to start him. With Damion Stafford, the Huskers have a solid starter at one safety but PJ Smith and Courtney Osborne did not seize the opportunity when they had the chance.

Special teams: While it’s hard to forget the incredible talents of Alex Henery, Brett Maher managed to get Husker fans to do just that as both a punter and kicker. As for the return game, Abdullah flashed brilliance early in the season while Marlowe gives you a safe pair of hands.

What lies ahead: The Husker offense should improve given that much of the cast returns from last season and they will be in Year Two of Beck’s system but what does that translate into as far as overall production? On defense, not only do the Huskers lose a talented trio of players in Jared Crick, David and Dennard but the depth has its share of unknowns. Special teams are probably the biggest strength. The Husker margin for error will be even thinner than it was this year. While the Big Ten might not be as strong at the top as other conferences, there are fewer throwaway wins among the middle-tier teams. Nebraska fans are clamoring for a conference title for the first time since 1999 but that will take a lot of doing. That statement is not “lowering the bar,” it’s called reality.

Bad losses happen for a reason, not just because "things snowball"

2012-01-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

Former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan made national headlines in 2003 while coaching the Oakland Raiders. After a 22-8 home loss in 2003 to the Denver Broncos during a season that saw Oakland go from Super Bowl participant in 2002 to a 4-12 disaster the following year, Callahan erupted with, “We’ve got to be the dumbest team in American in terms of playing the game.”

Callahan, who has been an assistant coach with the New York Jets since 2008 after being dismissed by Nebraska, could very well be referring to the Huskers of right now. There were penalties (10), ejections (cornerback Alfonzo Dennard) and just an overall lack of discipline in the Huskers season-ending 30-13 Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina.

Anyone who thinks the team wasn’t playing well because Husker head coach Bo Pelini had to restrain himself need to look no further than Monday. Sorry, you people in the, “You go Bo!” camp every time he blows up at referee or has a tense press conference moment with a media member, you are in serious need of a reality check. He has had three 15-yard penalties in his career, enough said. Say no more. Being fiery is all well and good but at some point it reaches diminishing returns.

You have an offense that can’t get out of its own way thanks to five yard penalty after five yard penalty. Not to mention you have receivers dropping catchable balls. See Tim Marlowe. See Brandon Kinnie. See Kyler Reed. It’s bad enough that quarterback Taylor Martinez has issues throwing the ball but when you add receivers dropping balls, that’s no help either.

Including the bowl loss, the Huskers finished the season 9-4 with three double-digit losses. The optimists characterized those three games the exact same way: The games would have been close but a mistake was made and “things just snowballed.”

Which is a load of BS but before I get into that, those people reason this:

Martinez threw a couple picks against Wisconsin. Nebraska led that game 14-7 early in the second quarter. The Badgers retook the lead 20-14 late in the second quarter but the game turned into a 48-17 route. Otherwise NU was right in there, so the reasoning goes. Nebraska had Michigan pinned deep and roughed the kicker, trailing just 31-17 late in the third quarter on. After that, “things just snowballed. We could have just as easily won,” but lost 45-17. Against South Carolina, Nebraska led 13-9 but Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw throws a Hail Mary touchdown pass to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery as South Carolina takes a 16-13 lead into halftime, “and then things just got away from us. NU was the better team.”

Seriously?

At some point, you just face the fact that quality teams overcome mistakes. They don’t let them “snowball.” The team should not melt down under pressure or let one mental mistake turn into a half dozen.

Though some Husker fans sipped the Kool Aid thinking the team was conference champion material in 2011. I honestly was not surprised at the team’s 9-4 record: New league, first year offensive coordinator, and lots of staff turnover. What I didn’t expect is for mental errors - turnovers, penalties, missed assignments and even an ejection - to continue to bedevil the Huskers.

The fact that one NU mistake is commonly compounded by several more speaks to leadership. Does Pelini’s temperament impact the team? Would it be helpful if he remained more composed on the sideline? Might not be the only reason but it would sure heck help. Lose a hard-fought and well-executed game. Fine. Lose when your seniors are committing stupid penalties and getting ejected from games. Not so fine.

All that said, I think Pelini has done more good than bad in his four years as Nebraska’s head coach. At the core, I think that he cares a great deal about the youngsters who play for him. He wants them to succeed both on and off the field, and I think they will all be better men after four-years in the program. On the field, Pelini is winning games at a clip equal to all but a handful of coaches at this stage in their careers and doing it at a school with some obvious recruiting disadvantages. If he continues to run a clean program, graduate the kids and win nine-plus games per year, he will stay at NU as long as he wants.

In year four of the Pelini era, however, Nebraska fans are left with a disturbing sense of déjà vu. Once again, Nebraska ends the season with four losses, as they have in each of Pelini’s four seasons. In each of the last three seasons, Nebraska’s season has been derailed by an inexplicable home loss to a mediocre team (Iowa State in 2009, Texas in 2010 and Northwestern in 2011).

As someone who lived in Lincoln, NE during the glory years, I did not necessarily expect National Championships by Year No. 4. However, I expected to be flirting with one by being Top Ten material but continued mental mistakes won’t even guarantee Top 25 finishes.

Huskers lack of poise disturbing in Capital One Bowl loss

2012-01-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

Well, where do we begin? For the second time in as many seasons, the Nebraska football team is headed into the offseason with a bowl game loss. This time a 30-13 loss to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl. The Huskers entered the game ranked No. 20 and finished the season 9-4. They may still finish in the Top 25 but it’s not a two-inch putt.

Many Husker fans would look at the 9-4 record and call the season a disappointment then and there. However, a man named Bill Soliday, whom I had the opportunity to get to know while covering the Oakland Raiders as a freelance writer, once strongly suggested to me that you cannot give too much credence simply to records. Soliday is a retired sports reporter from the Oakland Tribune having covered both the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. Soliday understood the late Al Davis (who was the Raiders owner from 1966 to 2011) better than most people I know. Soliday added that Davis added that records are as much a matter of what a team does to achieve their record with what the team had.

Going 9-4 in 2008 felt like a success for the Huskers because it was Bo Pelini’s first season as head coach coming off the Bill Callahan years of going 27-22 and bowl-less in two seasons. The 2011 edition of 9-4, however, would qualify as a disappointment because the team had goals of winning the Big Ten Legends Division if not winning the Big Ten Conference. Losing the Capital One Bowl game that was there to be won in the early going only adds to that disappointment. The Huskers led 13-9 at halftime and were still within striking distance in trailing 16-13 after three quarters.

The game was a prime example of a team lacking discipline and it starts with Pelini. The third quarter was especially inexcusable. After a three and out, Nebraska managed a drive that featured 25 yards in penalties. Then after back to back poor calls by the officials, Pelini lit into the Big East officiating crew. For the entire second half the Huskers gained 64 yards, they lost 58 in penalties. That’s six net yards if you’re scoring at home. Well, gross is more like it.

Then there was the disgraceful behavior of Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, two outstanding players that are potential first-round draft picks. The serious indictment against Nebraska was that the incident took place right in front of its bench and not one time did a player or coaches try to prevent the situation from escalating.

Throw in four drives in South Carolina territory with zero points and you have a Nebraska team that can’t get out of its own way.

When I think of Husker teams with poise, I hearken back to the 1995 Orange Bowl when they beat Miami 24-17. Remember head coach Tom Osborne’s halftime speech when he told the players that the Hurricanes would try to get into their heads but it was important not to retaliate. Nebraska keeping its poise and focus was as big a reason as any why it won that night and the lack of it is why it routinely comes up short in crucial games. Being fiery is all well and good but a team simply cannot lose its poise and expect to execute.

So the question begs, what is the current state of the program? I have no idea after watching this very strange season. The way the Huskers collapsed in several games this year, just makes me believe that something is missing. Not sure what it is.

The optimist in me thinks this year was a combination of being in a new league with a different style combined with a new offensive coordinator and massive losses to the NFL on the defense. The pessimist in me thinks this might be indicative of poor recruiting combined with a coach that can't teach his team to be disciplined.

The current state of the program is that the Huskers consistently are not one of the 25 best teams in the country. Some people are quite satisfied with being at that level. They will tell you how the Huskers are better than we were under Callahan. Yes, they are right about that but the program is not close to being elite and no, I’m not implying that Nebraska should always win the national championship or go 60-3 during each five-year stretch (which happened from 1993-1997). The pessimists think it impossible to ever compete for championships in Lincoln. They are wrong. If it happened before, it can happen again and don’t feed me this nonsense of “different times.”

For Nebraska, 9-10 win seasons have always been the minimum standard. Well, from 1961 forward. If you maintain that level you'll get the occasional year or years where good defense coincides with good offense. I would think if 9-10 win seasons are the minimal standard over the course of decade having those two coincide more often would be logical because success breeds success and that means more success in recruiting.

That said, being a fan of the Huskers today was very frustrating. I should have stayed in bed. Now I am tired and frustrated.

I'm not 100% convinced that Pelini is the guy that will lead us back to a national title game, because I'm no fortune teller. However, I’m not willing to suffer through one or two more Bill Callahans and sit at home in December and January wishing I could watch my Huskers play in a bowl game.

As for the lack of poise, Pelini constantly preaches how important “the process” is but routinely losing poise is a huge reason why this team routinely comes up short in key games. In that respect, the Huskers have become the Dallas Cowboys of college football, great past but not much of a recent one.

Final thoughts before the Capital One Bowl

2011-12-31T17:40:00.000-08:00

The moment of truth is almost here for the Capital One Bowl. It’s either tinkle or get off the pot.

No. 21 Nebraska (9-3) meets No, 10 South Carolina (10-2) in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2. Though it is time for good old fashioned football we still have time for some final thoughts before ringing in the New Year.

Husker fans remember the last time their team took on a squad coached by Steve Spurrier was the 1996 Fiesta Bowl as Nebraska crushed the Spurrier-coached Florida Gators 62-24 for the National Championship. However, that game will zero bearing on the outcome of Jan. 2, 2012. For all of his success as a college head coach (196-75-2 overall record), Spurrier’s teams have had a checkered history in bowl games going 7-10 while Nebraska’s Bo Pelini is 3-1 with the one loss coming in last year’s Holiday Bowl 19-7 to Washington.

The extra time to prepare certainly plays into Pelini’s hands especially since Nebraska is essentially running a new system. That extra preparation will be crucial because if the Huskers young offensive line gets overwhelmed early and has to abandon the running game, it will be a long day. The biggest key to the game and will probably be a requirement for Nebraska to win is to rush for 200 yards. South Carolina is second in the nation in pass defense but 44th against the run (135.9 yards per game). Nebraska averages 223.9 yards per game (good for 13th in the nation).

Defensively, both teams are in the same boat in that they both head into the game having lost their coordinator. Carl Pelini (older brother of Bo) is now the head coach at Florida Atlantis. Defensive line coach John Papuchis has since been elevated to replace Carl Pelini. For South Carolina their defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, Ellis Johnson, has since been hired to become the new head coach at Southern Mississippi. Lorenzo Ward has since replaced Johnson. Ward was the defensive coordinator by title but Johnson actually ran the defense.

However, since Pelini is a defensive oriented coach and Spurrier is offensive oriented, this scenario will seem to affect Nebraska less. The Huskers, however, will have their challenges even though South Carolina lost star running back Marcus Lattimore for the season with a serious knee injury in Game Seven. The Gamecock offensive line has done a serviceable job run blocking, but their pass protection is a question of “what gives” because it has been suspect but so too has the Husker pass rush. Nebraska, however, at least needs to generate enough pressure to make quarterback Connor Shaw throw a fraction of a second too soon.

While in theory special teams is one-third of the game just like offense or defense, this is where the Huskers have an advantage and if they are to become victorious, the edge needs to manifest itself. The Huskers are ranked sixth in kickoff returns, 23rd in net punting and 60th in punt returns. South Carolina is ranked 70th in punt returns, 72nd in kickoff returns and 93rd in net punting. They do not necessarily need returns for touchdowns but a few extra yards on a return or a great punt can be the difference between being within field-goal range or having to kick the ball away on fourth down. Sometimes, it is little things like field position that can give the edge to one team.

The field goal kicking game also falls into Nebraska’s favor as Brett Maher has made 19 of 22 field goals for the Cornhuskers, and his only misses on the season came from 50 yards or further. South Carolina’s Jay Wooten is 7-for-10 with three misses between 40 and 49 yards.

The TV analysts might say that South Carolina has the speed advantage but I’m not as certain. Keep in mind, Pelini has been recruiting speed since he became Nebraska’s head coach in 2008.

I think the Huskers motivation will definitely be better than last year’s bowl game. Could it be worse? Just a matter of do they make the necessary plays to win? As I stated on a previous blog entry, win or lose, I don't look at the season as a huge success but it's about "how do want the season to be defined?" You know as well as I do, you remember your last one the best. What makes college football different from say the NFL is that if you win your bowl game (even you are 8-5 like say Texas) you can still go into the offseason feeling good on some level. Whereas in the NFL, if you go 14-2 and lose in Round One the season suddenly becomes a major failure.

I think it comes down to the type of game - if NU never trails by more than seven, I think they'll be able to wear down South Carolina.

What if the Huskers stayed in the Big XII?

2011-12-29T00:19:00.000-08:00

“What if” – my two most (or least) favorite words in the English language. Put it this way, if I were a foot taller I’d be 6-foot-7, not 5-foot-7. If my Auntie Anna had a different set of equipment she’d be my uncle. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Auntie Anna but not my Uncle Anna.

While yours truly put the Big XII in my rearview mirror long ago, the question somewhat begs, would Nebraska’s record be different had it stayed in the Big XII rather than going to the Big Ten? Keep in mind, the Huskers enter their Capital One Bowl matchup against South Carolina with a 9-3 record and went 10-2 last season excluding the Big XII Title Game 23-20 loss to Oklahoma and a 19-7 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington.

So, based on what happened in the Big XII this season and how the Huskers 2011 season transpired, how would they have done had they and Colorado (which went to the Pac 12) stayed in the Big XII? Remember, this discussion has nothing to do with “did Nebraska make the right decision to leave the Big XII?” As for how would they have done, not an easy answer but the nonconference opponents would have stayed the same. Nebraska beat all four opponents: Tennessee-Chatanooga (40-7), Fresno State (42-29), Washington (51-38) and Wyoming (38-14). I have to think the outcomes of those games would have been the same.

For North Division games, the Huskers would have drawn Kansas State and Iowa State at home and visited Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. As for South division foes, Nebraska would have hosted Texas A&M and Oklahoma State while visiting Texas.

I do not know the order in which the Huskers would have faced those clubs but here is my best guess:

Here is where things get interesting. I couldn't Google the original 2011 schedule from when NU was still in the XII, but there are several things I know for certain:

Kansas State, the “coming home” angles seldom work out but Bill Snyder Part II has been a success. The Wildcats have gone 10-2 in Year 3 of Snyder Part II and are headed to the Cotton Bowl to take on 10-2 Arkansas. The Wildcats would have presented a matchup problem as far as having a mobile quarterback with good skill players around him but with this game in Lincoln, I think Nebraska gets it done.

The Huskers would have visited Texas, which just completed its 8-5 season with a 21-10 Holiday Bowl win over California. Call me a cynic but something screwy always happens when Nebraska plays Texas. In this case it would have been any combination of red zone drives stalling to make Nebraska kick field goals instead of score touchdowns. Then, Texas goes on a game-winning drive kept alive by two questionable defensive penalties. The Longhorns kick the go-ahead field goal as time expires and ABC commentator Brent Musburger masterbates all over himself as the kick sails through the uprights.

Nebraska is 5-1 going into its bye week as it hosts a blazing hot Oklahoma State club that is 11-1 going into its Fiesta Bowl matchup with Stanford. Both clubs have questionable defenses but Okie State’s offense is better equipped to trade punches. I think the Cowboys win by 10-14 points, sending Nebraska to 5-2 into a road matchup at Missouri.

The Tigers finished their season 8-5 after Monday’s 41-24 Independence Bowl win over North Carolina. Missouri could not stop Roy Helu, who rushed for a school-record 307 yards in a 31-17 win in Lincoln in 2010. The Tigers certainly would have no easier of a time stopping Rex Burkhead and as suspect as they are against the pass, even the much-maligned passing of quarterback Taylor Martinez would not have been stopped. I think Nebraska wins by three touchdowns to improve to 6-2 heading into a home game against Iowa State.

The Cyclones went 6-6 and will face Rutgers in the Pinestripe Bowl on Friday. Paul Rhodes has been a headache for the Huskers. His tea came into Lincoln and won 9-7 in 2009 and narrowly lost 31-30 in 2010 in Ames. The Cyclones are a scrappy bunch and would have made the Huskers sweat but I think Nebraska escapes to improve to 7-2 heading into a road game at Kansas.

The Jayhawks went 2-10 and though they gave Nebraska a tussle in 2010 in Lincoln, this would have been a “name the score” type of win to improve Nebraska to 8- heading into a home matchup with Texas A&M.

The Aggies would up with a disappointing 6-6 season that cost head coach Mike Sherman his job. Texas A&M will play Northwestern in the Meineke Car Bowl. Nebraska’s defense was not as stout in 2011 but the Aggies would have had a healthy Taylor Martinez to contend with unlike last season. Nebraska wins by two touchdowns to improve to 9-2 entering the season finale at Colorado.

The Buffs have been a headache for Nebraska on Black Friday before, including the 2001 62-36 blowout win over Nebraska but this Colorado team is a distant third cousin to that team. Nebraska wins going away and just like last year is 10-2 heading into the Big XII title game only this time the Huskers gets a rematch with Oklahoma State.

With the Cowboys playing for the first time I a conference title game and Nebraska having near misses the previous two years, Bo Pelini makes adjustments. The Huskers have a “bend but don’t break” effort defensively and produce enough offense for a 10-point win and an 11-2 record heading into the Fiesta Bowl against Stanford.

If this matchup happens, I don’t like the Huskers undermanned defense’s chances. As great as Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck is, Stanford can beat teams running or throwing. Stanford wins by 7-10 points.

Nebraska ends the 2011 season 11-3

Give me a lunch-pale coach over a CEO anyday

2011-12-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

In Tuesday night’s edition of the Lincoln Journal Star, columnist Steve Sipple chronicled how Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini insists he is not looking elsewhere despite rumors the last two seasons to head coaching jobs at Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

Sipple also addressed the notion of can Pelini continue to grow as a CEO despite always being so heavily involved on the defensive side of the ball.

“I think that's crazy,” he shot back, refuting Sipple’s stance. He noted South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier’s heavy involvement with the Gamecocks’ offense. There obviously is a long list of head coaches who also serve as coordinators.

Even with John Papuchis being hired as defensive coordinator to replace Carl Pelini, who has since become the Florida Atlantic head coach, rest assured that Bo Pelini will continue to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Husker defense. Keep in mind, there is a large segment of Nebraska fans clamoring for Pelini to make a splash hire with dismissed Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. The fact that Pelini hired Papuchis instead of Stoops created a perception that Pelini would prefer to hire a “yes man” rather than someone who is his equal.

Pelini seems to have the respect of his players and coaches, not to mention athletic director Tom Osborne. So, he must be doing something right. Pelini relied too much on now former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson early-on and learned a hard lesson, hire your own people. Now, he has a lucrative contract, has his own staff, and has at least nine wins each of four years. Hopefully, the Huskers can get No. 10 on Monday in the Capital One Bowl against South Carolina.

Pelini hasn’t done himself many favors in dealing with the media, often choosing the approach of secracy and suspicion and that also goes for fan interaction. His horizons are still too narrow in the PR arena.

Overall, he has been a partial success (39-15 in four years as Nebraska’s head coach), even without any championships but, that needs to change for the long haul. A long term contract would still be appropriate in my opinion to cement his effort here. I think that Pelini has his principles and priorities firmly in place. Sometimes, they just don’t coincide with the fans’ need for information. I doubt Pelini will change much there.

If Watson had done his job in the first place, Pelini would have been fine. The offensive failures have pushed Pelini to expand his horizons, which has been good for him and the team.

The idea that Pelini looks to hire “yes” people, however, is somewhat laughable. Where is the proof in that? Are you saying Papuchis never is allowed to have any personal input, and just says “anything you want, coach.” And current offensive coordinator Tim Beck apparently doesn’t really call the plays?

Newsflash. Any head coach will staff his program with assistants who share the head coach’s visions and wishes. When they don’t, you end up with a Watson situation, where the coach has a vision for an offense that differs from the offensive coordinator’s vision.

I’ve seen nothing in Papuchis’ resume to hint that he’s not ready to step up to be the defensive coordinator. Likewise, isn’t Rick Kaczenski an experienced defensive line coach with a proven record of success in the Big 10?

Always something to complain about, I guess.

Pelini was also confronted with making some disciplinary decisions and he “gathered all the facts available” and made some decisions regarding player involvement in bowl activities. This year as well as last year.

The final point I would make is, Osborne doesn’t seem to have any problems or questions with the manner in which Pelini is managing his program. Given that, I have to acquiesce to Osborne’s coaching experience (offensive minded) and decision making.

Besides, the term CEO sort of conjures up this image of a man in a three piece suit too afraid to get it soiled and wrinkled by placing a shoulder into a blocking sled. Rolls eyes and thinks. Heaven forbid that Pelini give up his baseball cap and sweats. I like that lunch pail attitude and work ethic that Pelini brings and is instilling into the team.

Playing Caputo the right call; did not get preferential treatment

2011-12-23T22:37:00.000-08:00

In all of my years of being a Nebraska football fan (dating back to 1986), I must say cases that that of offensive lineman Mike Caputo are a first.

Though Husker football has had its isolated incidents of players running afoul with the law (i.e. Lawrence Phillips, Christian Peter, Scott Baldwin), Nebraska has generally had players display exemplary behavior. Are they perfect? No, it’s called being young and human. We have all done things in our lives we shouldn’t have done, especially from the ages of 16-22.

Husker head coach Bo Pelini confirmed that Caputo will play in the Capital One Bowl Thursday after a legal resolution was reached in regard to a citation Caputo received a couple weeks ago.

Caputo pleaded guilty to reckless driving Thursday and judge ordered him to pay a $100 fine, the maximum fine for a first-time city infraction, after Lincoln police say they found him intoxicated and sleeping in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle on Dec. 11.

Caputo also must also attend a victim impact panel where he and others receiving tickets listen to testimony from those whose lives have been impacted by drunken driving. Pelini said Caputo is also being disciplined within the football program. Caputo was cited Dec. 11 when Lincoln police say they found him sleeping in a vehicle at the U-Stop at 110 West O St. at about 1:10 a.m. after someone called to report a man slumped over the wheel. Caputo's lawyer, Terry Dougherty, said Caputo wasn’t sleeping but had pulled off the road to send a text message.

That assessment would seem to make sense as Caputo’s blood alcohol level was .103 with the legal limit being .08. Let’s face it; a 280-pound man is not going to pass out with a BAC of .103. Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood reaffirmed Thursday that the officer said he saw the driver of the vehicle slumped down, eyes closed and he appeared to be sleeping with a phone in his hand. Caputo was taken to Cornhusker Place detox center and cited on suspicion of driving under the influence. City prosecutors charged him Wednesday with reckless driving, not DUI. City code states that it is illegal for a person to drive, use, operate, park or stop a vehicle in a reckless manner.

If he had been charged with DUI, the least Caputo could have gotten was probation. Caputo has started every game the past two years and has played almost all the snaps at center this year. He was a recognizable enough piece of the Husker offense and was voted second-team All-Big Ten.

Some people might make a blanket statement to the effect of Caputo getting preferential treatment because he is a Nebraska football player. However, Lincoln Public Safety Director, Tom Casady, spoke about this issue on Jack & John in the morning on Lincoln radio station KLIN. Casady added that he has seen numerous cases similar to Caputo’s over the course of his 30 plus years in law enforcement. It is not uncommon for there to be reduced charges under these circumstances. Therefore the idea that Caputo got a sweetheart carries no weight if he received the same punishment that others got under these similar conditions.

While you can argue that Caputo should not have started the vehicle in the first place, the fact that there was no hard evidence that he actually drove it is where the case gets convoluted. I am no lawyer but the truth of the matter is that rightly or wrongly cases are not necessarily decided by is someone guilty? The question then becomes, is there sufficient and indisputable enough evidence to convict someone?

Ideally, they catch someone actually driving who tests over the limit (and no one gets hurt). In that case, it is a slamdunk DUI but cases where the car isn’t moving and is parked on private property are much tougher to get a conviction.

The confounding dynamic here is that in one corner you have reasonable people who see the situation for what it was, and were thankful Caputo was smart enough not to drive in that condition.

The other segments of people who have too much time on their hands want to go on a witch hunt over something pedestrian. At which point, I say, “Join a quilting club.”

The ones that want to pile on Caputo are clueless as to what happened. Again, there is no hard evidence to suggest that he even drove the car at all, yet some people go off with this nonsense trying to pretend like they have the higher ground.

And just because someone pleads to a lesser charge, it does not mean that there was insufficient evidence to get a conviction for the original charge. Speaking for myself if I were in that position, if there aren’t sufficient facts to get a conviction for a DUI, I’m not pleading guilty to a damn thing.

I have no problem with how the District Attorney handled the situation. If he says that’s how he normally charges those cases then so be it. Also, last year I remember two Huskers (Baker Steinkuhler and Rickey Thenarse) getting charged with DUI so I don’t want to hear that NU players got special treatment. I believe the DA punished the crime. I also want to say I have no problem with the DA giving a 21 year old kid a break, as long as the young man learned the lesson. Now me as a grown man with a wife, kids, and a career I should know better. I don’t believe a 21 year old college kid should be held as accountable for his actions as me, especially if he has had a clean history up to this point.

Papuchis, Kazcenski named DC and DLine coaches

2011-12-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

It was probably one of the more anti-climatic moves you will ever see made but John Papuchis was promoted to defensive coordinator at Nebraska on Thursday and Rick Kaczenski of Big Ten division rival Iowa was hired as the new defensive line coach, replacing Papuchis.

Huskers head coach Bo Pelini announced the moves Thursday, more than two weeks after former coordinator Carl Pelini (Bo’s older brother) was hired as head coach at Florida Atlantic.

Both moves had been speculated heavily by the Nebraska fan base and media who covers the team on a daily basis.

Though Papuchis is young at 33, he has been at Nebraska four seasons and is an original member of Bo Pelini’s staff. In addition to coaching the defensive line, he has been special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Kaczenski coached Iowa’s defensive line for five seasons. The 36-year old will coach for No. 21 Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl against No. 10 South Carolina on Jan. 2.

The Nebraska defensive line was hammered with injuries this season but Papuchis coached a front four that ranked among the nation’s best in 2009-10. Ndamukong Suh was Associated Press national player of the year in 2009, and Jared Crick was a two-time all-conference selection before getting hurt this year.

Papuchis also oversaw special teams that included Alex Henery, the most accurate kicker in NCAA history, and Brett Maher, the first player since 2001 to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors as both a place-kicker and punter in the same season.

Kaczenski coached a defensive line that helped Iowa rank sixth nationally in rushing defense and seventh in scoring defense in 2010. The Hawkeyes were in the top 10 in four defensive categories the year before.

Seven of Kaczenski’s defensive linemen have been drafted or signed an NFL free agent contract over the past four seasons.

Thoughts on these hires you ask?

Husker fans were clamoring for Mike Stoops, who was fired by Arizona as the head coach. Papuchis is young, enthusiastic and will spend the entire off season watching film and making the Huskers defense the best it can be next season. There’s no substitute for enthusiasm and he has it in spades. Stoops would have brought experience but let’s face it he would be working after being demoted and while he has experience in the coaching profession I’m not sure he would bring near the fire that Papuchis will bring. Though Papuchis is considered a rising star in the coaching profession, one must wonder if Stoops still has the desire to be a head coach, in which case he might view Nebraska’s defensive coordinator job as a weigh station.

Though the days of coaching staffs staying together for 20 plus years are a thing of the past, the Huskers need staff stability. Though there are no guarantees, the Papuchis/Kaczenski combination is more likely to stay at Nebraska than Stoops.

The big question now becomes, who takes over Papuchis’ role as recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator?

I am of the opinion that Pelini will be very involved in the defense and will, in essence, be doing his own thing. I think at some point he completely turns Papuchis loose, but I don’t think it’s this coming year.

These moves might not appease a Husker fan base that is starving for the glory days but keep in mind, Bob Devaney and tom Osborne picked assistants who were loyal. They weren’t big names nationally. In fact, most of Devaney's assistants were high school coaches. Nothing wrong with young blood.

Pelini rumors par for the course

2011-12-22T00:36:00.000-08:00

The Bo Pelini rumor mill has struck again. Last year it was Miami and later Michigan. This year it is Ohio State and Penn State. The former eventually hired Urban Meyer. As for the latter, Tom Bradley became the interim head coach after the dismissal of legendary head coach Joe Paterno in the wake child sexual abuse charges of long-time assistant Jerry Sandusky.

David Jones of the Harrisburg, Pa., Patriot-News reported that Pelini and Penn State officials spoke recently about the school’s open football job. According to Jones, Pelini is not in the mix. Pelini denied any contact with Penn State on Monday night. Jones has covered Penn State for years. So what exactly does Pelini’s supposed flirtation with Penn State mean?

What’s really troubling about the rumors is that if he really did interview for the job, a lot of fans will see him as disloyal and untrustworthy. Though I’d hate to lose him, the reality of college athletics is that Paterno was the last of a dying breed of coaches staying in one place forever. However, if Pelini DID NOT interview, that kind of lousy reporting is not fair to Pelini or any honest coach whose program suffers as a result.

Where I get great comic relief in reading message boards is how fans are disappointed in the progress of the program yet there are happy or content with Pelini and feel he needs to be kept for many years. Or that at the same time many people are happy with the progress yet can’t stand his brusque demeanor. Or those at the same time people are kind of numb with the progress and think Pelini can do whatever and they could care less. Or that he has done very little for NU and can leave whenever. Or they are forehead deep in Kool-Aid.

Omaha World Herald columnist Dirk Chatelin suggested that, “Many fans are growing tired of the drama. It’s not just the uncertainty of the situation; it’s doubt about whether Pelini is fully invested. Does he believe Nebraska is good enough for him?”

“I know this is a tougher place to recruit than Bo would like. I know the scrutiny — both from fans and media — can be a nuisance. But the positives clearly outweigh the negatives at Nebraska. If Pelini can’t see that, he probably needs to move on.”

“This is the mercenary age of college football. Coaches don’t dream of spending a career at one school. Ten years is a long tenure. I get that.”

“But Pelini needs to recognize his environment. Nebraska fans want a coach who views the job as a destination, not a stepping stone.”

“If Pelini stays, he needs to show Nebraska fans a little more love. Act like he’s appreciative of the citizens’ money, time and interest. Either way, Bo would be wise to win big next year. Because Husker fans don’t forget this kind of stuff.”

I would not be surprised if Nebraska lost Pelini someday but other than what we see in press conferences, none of us know exactly how he feels about the Nebraska job or Nebraska in general. He is not from Nebraska and probably doesn’t have the love for Nebraska the way natives do but that’s understandable.

When these rumors do arise, however, Pelini often does himself no favors by coyly addressing them if he does so at all. Pelini would do himself a big favor if he addressed these reports of journalists conversations with “unnamed sources” associated with schools looking for coaches and call them what they are -- liars.

Then if the journalist is truly reporting something he or she is willing to stand by, let them name their sources, otherwise shut the hell up. In a nutshell, put the onus on the journalist to prove that their reports are true.
Then there’s the whole matter of Pelini supposedly not liking the Nebraska job because of the scrutiny. That aspect is not going away at Penn State. For openers, you follow a legend in Paterno and you inherit a program plagued by scandal and possible NCAA sanctions on the way is unexplainable.

Though I have never met Chatelin, he comes off as a dork that has an axe to grind with Pelini. True, Pelini has his faults but the truth of the matter is most any coach will be rumored for job openings. Though we all know Tom Osborne as the iconic figure he became who was Nebraska’s head coach for 25 years, he interviewed for the Colorado head coaching job in 1978. He was also a rumored candidate for the Houston Oilers head coaching job in 1988. Osborne also considered becoming Michigan State’s head coach in the early 1990s.

I know there’s a segment of Nebraska fans that want to know if Pelini is “truly invested.” There are two problems I have with that argument. No. 1, nobody ever takes a job with any illusions of how long they will be there. None of us know what the future holds. Secondly, while I do not know Pelini personally, is there any reason why he would NOT give his best effort while he is on the job? So why should he come out and publically proclaim his allegiance to Nebraska? Just to satisfy the media and fans?

The guy has come in worked hard, done things the right way, built things soundly in all areas, and has had solid success each year, and is working for more. You can't ask for more than that in my book. Let the guy coach. Do I want him to leave? No but if he feels he needs to leave someday, that’s his business.

Ecomonic times need to be considered in bowl game ticket sales

2011-12-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

According to a Lincoln Journal Star report on Monday morning, the Nebraska athletic department had sold 8,100 Capital One Bowl tickets out of its 12,500-ticket allotment.

The secondary market is probably taking a toll on UNL sales, among other reasons (prices of airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, etc.).

Ticket sales have slowed considerably since the first-day rush. The Husker athletic department sold about 6,500 tickets on Dec. 5; the day after the bowl matchup was announced.

South Carolina has sold about 10,000 tickets from its allotment, according to a school spokesman.

In reading that brief bit of information, I could only hearken back to the only two Husker bowl games I went to in person. For the record, I am a native of Northern California (Napa, CA to be exact), who graduated the University of Nebraska in 1997 with a BA in journalism. I moved back home in 1998 and have been to five Nebraska football games in person (1998 at California, 2000 Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee, 2001 vs. TCU in Lincoln, 2007 Cotton Bowl vs. Auburn and 2008 vs. Western Michigan in Lincoln).

For the first three games, I was single. For the last two, I was married. I went to the Cotton Bowl because at the time I viewed it as my last chance to go to a Husker game in person before my first child was born. Juliette was born in March 2007. Little did I know that the 2007 season would bring the horrendous wreckage of the end of the Bill Callahan years. Fast forward to August 2008 with my wife and me expecting twins (now 3-year old Tommy and Danielle), I decided, “Well, I haven’t been back to Lincoln in seven years and we have the start of the Bo Pelini era. Maybe I’ll buy tickets to see us play Western Michigan. I’ll be a while before I can travel to a Husker game.”

When you factor in game tickets, plane tickets, hotels, food and other entertainment, you’re looking at a trip that gets over one thousand dollars.

You see, us Husker fans are a very self-congratulatory lot about being the classiest and travelling well. However, does going to the game and buying tickets make you any more diehard fan than one who watches the game at home or a watering hole?

Another thing you have to take into account is the present state of the economy. I know that’s an oversimplification but it’s true. We are facing unprecedented lows in the United States, at least anyone of my generation (39 years old). You have people losing their homes, losing their jobs and living on reduced wages. Even if you don’t have these issues, bills are not going away.

I remember the aforementioned Cotton Bowl trip where tickets were $90 a piece and that was on the cheap end. The question then becomes, where do you draw the line? Granted, we are all going to budget some money for entertainment whether we have jobs or families or otherwise.

So before anyone casts aspersions about ticket sales, just remember the times we face.

Pelini right on Twitter ban

2011-12-17T23:30:00.000-08:00

When Nebraska wide receiver Brandon Kinnie told an Omaha based sports radio show (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) on Wednesday that head coach Bo Pelini has banned Nebraska football players from using Twitter in the coming weeks, I could only think of one thing.

When I was a 22-year old college kid at the University of Nebraska, our idea of text messaging or tweeting was passing a note in class or sliding it underneath someone’s door.

That time frame Kinnie is referring to happens to coincide with the two-week break Nebraska has remaining before the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2 against South Carolina.

Pelini’s actions came just a few days after a rough Sunday, Dec. 11 for Nebraska. In a 36-hour span, three Huskers were cited for various crimes.

Junior defensive end Eric Martin and junior fullback Collin McDermott were cited for leaving the scene of an accident in separate offenses. Senior center Mike Caputo was cited on the suspicion of DUI.

Pelini has not made any comments about any of the crimes or the Twitter ban.

While the ban from Twitter will not likely affect the Huskers’ play negatively, it surely will lessen the connection some fans feel with certain players but that can’t be at all bad because it's too easy to say something you shouldn’t have said. Once it's out there it's out there. Teenage kids say a lot of things without thinking them through completely. Heck, there’s plenty of 50-year olds that say things without thinking them through.

The way the world works twitter isn't much different then calling up reporters, a team has enough trouble controlling the message without trying to deal with what players say. As much as I don’t agree with everything as far as how Pelini controls the message I understand, it is how any big time organization works.
This is not a heavy handed move by Pelini, although some may interpret it that way. This is a difficult problem. Twitter is a distraction, and I am 100 percent behind Pelini taking this stance on it. Players’ general awareness about tweeting is absurdly low.

The cynics would say that Pelini is old school in the mold of Woody Hayes or Bear Bryant and that such a move would negatively effect recruiting. Part of that cynicism stems from the at time brusque relationship Pelini has had with members of the local media that covers the team regularly. Keep in mind, another root of the fans angst toward Pelini is that he has yet to name a defensive coordinator in the wake losing older brother Carl Pelini, who was recently named the head coach at Florida Atlantic. Though Bo Pelini has said that he has a pretty good idea of what he’s going to do. I can interperet that message in one of two ways. The first is “name the damn replacement and move on” or “the deal is not done until the ink is on the paper.”

OK, I can do without Pelini’s secrecy on injuries but the twitter ban I completely support. There are so many ways twitter will just make people look bad. Twitter is great for college kids...if you're not under the microscope like that. Unfortunately, they are.

The argument of banning twitter while preparing for a bowl game being a bad move is a very weak argument. Let’s face it, last season Nebraska laid a big, fat egg in its 19-7 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington. They need to be focused.

Plus, if recruits care more about twitter than playing football, there's another program down the road.
Personally I think twitter is a total waste. If you have friends you need to say something to, text or call them. If you don't have anything worth sharing with a specific friend, what makes you think anyone else cares? And if you're following the twitters of people you don't really know, you probably need to get a life.

A more in-depth look at Taylor Martinez's evolution

2011-12-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

Regardless of who takes the snap from center for the Nebraska football team, he is subject to an intense microscope. That pressure intensified to a greater degree after Tommie Frazier led the Huskers to consecutive National Championships in 1994-1995.

The pressure intensified whether it was Scott Frost, Eric Crouch, Jamal Lord, Joe Dailey, Zac Taylor, Sam Keller, Joe Ganz, Zac Lee and now Taylor Martinez.

Frost carved out his place in Husker lore by leading the team to a split National Title with Michigan in 1997. What added to the angst Husker fans initially showed against Frost was the fact that he was a native Nebraskan who decided to go to Stanford initially as he was heavily courted by then Cardinal head coach Bill Walsh, who was also a Hall-of-Fame NFL head coach. Frost then transferred to Nebraska after Walsh retired from coaching.

Crouch won a Heisman Trophy in 2001 but like Martinez had a polarizing career. Keep in mind, for all of the good things Crouch brought, he presided over the two embarrassing losses (62-36 to Colorado and 37-14 to Miami) that contributed to sending the Huskers into a tailspin. Those were Crouch’s last two college football games.

Lord took a ton of heat from fans and justifiably so but even with his athleticism was better suited to being a defensive back. Dailey would have been well suited as an option quarterback but the problem is that Bill Callahan became the Huskers head coach during his sophomore year and in came the West Coast Offense. Taylor was perhaps the saving grace of the Callahan years. Keller was a flop after transferring from Arizona State. Ganz and Lee did some good things but were only starters for one year.

You look at the raw numbers of Martinez’s first two seasons and there appears to be very little difference. In 2010, he completed 107 of 195 (54.8 percent) for 1,631 yards, ten touchdowns and seven interceptions. As a runner, he gained 966 yards 172 carries (5.6 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns. In 2011, Martinez completed 152 of 272 passes (55.9 percent) for 1,973 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. As a runner, he gained 837 yards on 172 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns.

Knowing what we know about Martinez's career up to this point, interpret the stats however you see fit, but don't forget to factor in his injury last year game as well as the offensive coordinator change from Shawn Watson to Tim Beck.

Statistics can convince you of just about anything so sometimes you have to look beyond just the raw numbers.

In the first ten games of 2010, Martinez was a big play waiting to happen. He rushed 887 yards on 112 carries and 12 touchdowns. In the passing department, he completed 63 of 119 for 1,161 yards, ten touchdowns and three interceptions. After sustaining an ankle injury, however, Martinez became pretty ordinary as he carried 50 times for 79 yards. In the passing department, he completed 44 of 76 for 470 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.

Nebraska, however, gave up 29 sacks last year but more specifically they gave up 12 sacks in their last 2 games (seven against Oklahoma and five against Washington). So far they've allowed just 15 sacks this season entering the Capital One Bowl game against South Carolina.
Martinez made a noticeable improvement this year on moving the chains by making good decisions in the passing game - whether to hit a check-down or scrambling.

He was more of a team leader.

His running stats are down a bit as some zealots point out the fewer jaw-dropping runs this season but much of Martinez's 2010 running stats came in the first few games against suspect defenses. Great highlights, but not very meaningful numbers. Also, turnovers are down a bit this year. He threw the same number of interceptions on about 77 more passes.

The cynics would point out that Martinez has not played well in big games. At which point I say, “Let me know when there’s a little one.”

The Huskers 48-17 loss to Wisconsin was the only game he played terrible. The rest of the time he was somewhere between OK and good. In the 28-25 loss to Northwestern he played well but the defense gave the game away and the 45-17 loss to Michigan was a total team failure as was the aforementioned loss to Wisconsin.

The other factor becomes, are the Huskers using him right? Nebraska appears to have a more clear cut identity under Beck than they did under Watson. The Huskers run a mixture of zone read, pistol and old school option. The zone read and pistol suit Martinez well but not the old school option, which gets the fans going from a nostalgia standpoint but doesn't suit Martinez's running skill which is a straight ahead burst or nothing.

To execute the option, you need to have a physical guy playing quarterback. Martinez is not that guy. The quarterback needs to step up and into traffic in order to force the edge to commit to him or the running back. Martinez runs back and out instead of into pursuit and outside. He doesn't really force the pursuit to commit as more often than not, Martinez runs towards the running back.

Some people would argue that coaching staff has hamstrung Martinez by turning him into a game manager. However, it should also be pointed out that the Huskers have faced much better defenses in 2011 than a year ago. This season, Nebraska has faced five teams (Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State) that rank in the Top 25 in total team defense and will be facing a sixth (South Carolina) in the Capital One Bowl. In 2010, the Huskers faced only one defense (Missouri) that ranked in the Top 25 in total team defense. That was the game Martinez got hurt in 31-17 win but in that contest it was running back Roy Helu that did the heavy lifting in rushing for a school record 307 yards.

Does Martinez still need to improve more? Sure, what sophomore doesn’t but he has improved more than the numbers suggest and more than his critics want to acknowledge.

Unlike last year, bowl game motivation not likely an issue

2011-12-14T00:43:00.000-08:00

Much was made about the Nebraska football team’s motivation for last season’s Holiday Bowl. Well, lack thereof would be a better description.

There are many reasons why the Huskers showed a lack of pizzazz in their 19-7 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington: 1) Nebraska was returning to a bowl game it played in one year early in which it blew Arizona’s doors off in a 33-0 whitewash; 2) The Huskers were facing a Washington team that it throttled 56-21 three months earlier; 3) Nebraska had set preseason goals of winning the Big 12 conference, beating Texas and achieving a BCS bowl bid. The Huskers achieved none; and 3) Washington was playing in its first bowl game since 2002 and was getting a rematch against a Husker team that lambasted them three months earlier. In hindsight, all of those things were a recipe for the Huskers lacking motivation and Washington having motivation that was sky high.

So what will be the motivation for South Carolina and Nebraska when they meet in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2? South Carolina certainly won’t lack for motivation as the Gamecocks are 10-2 entering the game and have a chance to record 11 wins for the first time in school history. Considering that South Carolina plays in the shadow of traditional SEC powerhouses like Alabama and most recently LSU and Florida that opportunity is significant.

Nebraska enters the game with a 9-3 record and fell short of its goals of winning the Big Ten Legends Division as well as the Big Ten conference title. For the Huskers, however, this game represents the chance to beat an SEC team. Yes, by virtue of Alabama and LSU playing in the BCS Title Game, the SEC is guaranteed to win its sixth straight crown. While the ESPN talking heads are going to continue to kiss the SEC’s butt, a win over an SEC team certainly looks goods. Plus, after having the humble pie of last year’s Holiday Bowl loss, Nebraska is not likely to want a second straight bowl loss.

Breaking down matchups is not just about who has the position-by-position edge; it is often decided by motivation. Granted, showing up ready to play is something that should be done before every game, not just a bowl game. Some people point to South Carolina’s 10-2 record and their SEC membership as rock solid proof that they’ll beat Nebraska but a close look reveals more.

The Gamecocks had five games decided by less than a touchdown this year; Nebraska had two. And while a 45-42 win against a scrappy Georgia team looks impressive, some too-close wins over Florida and Vanderbilt do not. South Carolina also plays in the comparatively weaker SEC East, and their play against the more dominant SEC West was terrible. They also had a 44-28 loss to Arkansas. They escaped with a 16-13 win over a mediocre 7-5 Auburn teams, and had a 14-12 win over a 6-6 Mississippi State. Absent from the schedule were Alabama and LSU, which would have easily been two more losses.

Looking at the statistical angle, quarterback Stephen Garcia was dismissed from the team and replaced by Connor Shaw, who has completed 65% of his throws and has thrown 12 TD passes. As a unit, South Carolina has rushed for almost 2400 yards (NU: 2700) and passed for another 2100 (NU: 2000).

However, the receiving game has not always clicked for the Gamecocks as they’ve had 15 interceptions stolen against Nebraska’s seven. All things being equal, both teams are putting up similar total numbers on offense. South Carolina is probably split 60/40 towards the pass, while Nebraska is about 60/40 run.
Defensively, the Gamecocks fair well against the pass, but their inability to stop the run has been well documented. If Nebraska can get 100 yards from Burkhead and another 100 from everyone else, the Huskers will be in a great position to close out the game.

Special teams might be the deciding factor in this one, which tips in Nebraska’s favor. If punter Brett Maher can keep the Gamecocks pinned deep, Nebraska will have a good chance at winning this game.
I don’t think this will be a high scoring affair; if I had to pick today, I’d say that the score would look something like 24-17.

Perceived SEC dominance over Big Ten exaggerated

2011-12-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

Just two days before Nebraska defeated Iowa 20-7 in the regular season finale on Black Friday, I addressed how the Huskers needed to finish the season strong.

Keep in mind, five days earlier the Huskers got their doors blown off in a 45-17 loss at Michigan to fall to 8-3. That loss eliminated any chance Nebraska had at winning the Big Ten Legends Division.

In the waning moments of that loss, ESPN commentator/turned Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said something to the effect of “don’t underestimate Nebraska’s ability to finish strong and if they do that it will help recruiting.”

That statement I find somewhat debatable because by the time bowl games come around, a high school kid has generally decided where he’s going. Coaching staff changes might alter a kid’s decision (see Blaine Gabbert in 2007). Gabbert was heavily courted by former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan’s staff. Gabbert verbally committed to Nebraska initially but after Callahan was fired, he went to Missouri instead. That decision set off a vitriol of responses from a segment of Husker fans. Some would argue that a youngster commits “to a program not a coach.” That statement might be true in theory but is also laughable because high school seniors are still at an impressionable age; they develop a rapport with the coaching staff that actively recruits them.

Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steve Sipple wrote a column on Saturday stating the importance of Nebraska beating South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl for a different reason: to help alter the perception that the Southeastern Conference is vastly superior to the Big Ten. I would agree with Sipple that it’s important to finish the season strong, just not necessarily for the reason he suggests.

The SEC is going to win its sixth straight BCS championship given the fact that the game pits LSU against Alabama. Therefore, Nebraska can beat South Carolina by 50 or more points but the influential national media types are still going to kiss the collective rear ends of the SEC.

However, the idea of SEC speed beats Big Ten brawn is overstated. It’s as if the SEC invented football and is the only place in the United States where fast athletes exist.

The SEC is 42-30 all-time in bowl matchups against the Big Ten, which is not the huge edge some would have you believe when you factor in 72 games. Nebraska is 12-5 all-time against the SEC in bowl games. However, those two numbers are irrelevant when trying to extrapolate the outcome of the Capital One Bowl.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the perception of the SEC being vastly superior to the Big Ten is because Ohio State got beat handily in consecutive title games, 41-14 to Florida in 2006 and 38-24 to LSU in 2007. Last season, the SEC went 3-0 against the Big Ten in bowl games (Alabama thumped Michigan State 49-7; Mississippi State hammered Michigan 52-14; Florida defeated Penn State 37-24). However, since the BCS era began, the SEC’s head-to-head advantage in bowl games is only a slight 18-16.

Even beyond the argument of Nebraska playing for a greater cause given that it just finished its first regular season in the Big Ten, finishing strong is very important. Remember the saying, “You’re only as good as your last game?” Think about it for just a moment, the Huskers went 10-4 in both 2009 and 2010 but the perception of those two seasons could not be more opposite.

In 2009, the Huskers were 4-3 at one point but won six of their last seven games including a season-ending 33-0 Holiday Bowl drubbing over Arizona. In 2010, the Huskers started the season 5-0 and were a Top Five team but went 5-4 the rest of the way including a season-ending run of three losses in the final four games. The last game was an uninspired 19-7 loss to Washington.

In 2005 and 2008, Nebraska was 5-4 at one point. In 2005, the Huskers closed the season with three straight wins including a 32-28 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan. That was what most people remember as the high point of the Bill Callahan era. In 2008, which was the first of the Bo Pelini era, Nebraska finished the season with four straight wins including a season-ending 26-21 Gator Bowl win over Clemson.

In 2000 and 2001, Nebraska finished 11-2 but the legacy of those two seasons could not be more opposite. In 2000, the Huskers finished the season with a 66-17 win over Northwestern. In 2001, Nebraska was 11-0 but finished the season with back-to-back embarrassing losses to Colorado (62-36) and Miami (37-14).

Point being, the last game is the one you often remember most. From 1987-1993, Nebraska never had a record that was worse than 9-3. However, every one of those seasons ended with a loss in its bowl game.

Considering that Nebraska entered its maiden voyage in the Big Ten Conference with visions of a conference title, the season will not be viewed as an overwhelming success even if the team wins its last two games and goes 10-3. There was no conference title. Heck, there wasn’t even a Legends Division title.

So for the Huskers, the outcome of the Capital One Bowl is an issue of “how do you want the season to be perceived?” Losing the bowl game and going 9-4 would classify as the minimum of what Nebraska should achieve. However, beating South Carolina and going 10-3, the season could at least be considered a borderline success.

College football is so much different from every other sport. I know the cynics would bemoan the fact that there is no playoff system. However, the benefit of having the current system is that a team can win its bowl game and whether its final record is 12-2 or 8-5 can still, on some level, feel good about its season.

In the NFL, however, it is not uncommon for a team to go 13-3 and lose in the first round of the playoffs. In which case, the season goes from being a success to a colossal failure.

Granted, the NFL is such where only one team is going to end its season victoriously and feel good (the Super Bowl champion) but while 13-3 is an impressive record, a team with that mark should at minimum reach the conference title game.

Point being, if the Huskers want the season to be viewed as even a borderline success, beating South Carolina is important regardless of whether the SEC gets its rear end kissed by the media.

Academic honors a good reward

2011-12-09T23:00:00.001-08:00

Student-athlete. Athlete-student. Despite what the sports atheists might think, the two terms co-exist just like socks and shoes.

Nebraska had 55 student-athletes make Academic All Big Ten, including 27 football players, six volleyball players and nearly half of the women’s soccer team, which had 12 athletes qualify. Nebraska football finished second to Northwestern for most players to make academic all-conference.

While Nebraska has always been among the leaders in academic All-Americans as well as graduation rates, this is yet another example of hoe athletics and academics go hand-in-hand. And memo to those who tell the dorky joke of, “What does the ‘N’ on your helmet stand for? Nowledge.” Do us all a favor, think of something original and while you’re at it, tell me what first grade spelling class you failed.

All kidding aside, I have spent several column inches dissecting the Huskers on the field — and justifiably so. Having followed sports for many years, I get very nauseated with anti-sports people labeling them as “dumb jocks.”

If your interest does not lie in sports, that’s fine, I respect your wishes.

Those people simply show their true colors in that they are so insecure that they feel the need to denigrate others to feel better about themselves.

Are there athletes that are not academically inclined? Sure there are. It’s just that stereotyping all of them in that category is ignorance.

I have also found that there are two kinds of people. There are those who say, “Who cares about sports? School is more important” and there are those who say, “We’ve got to have a strong sports program.”

The truth of the matter is that athletics and academics can indeed co-exist.

There’s no reason they cannot or should not. I know grade-point averages do not tell the full story, because you can argue by saying, “Does this kid or that kid have hard classes?”

That’s a subjective and somewhat elitist question. Granted, I’ll give more credence to a student whose GPA is 3.5 with an AP biology and a calculus class thrown in than the one without. However, if a youngster is getting a 3.0 GPA or above, he or she is at least demonstrating that they understand the importance of mixing academics and athletics.

Point being, athletics and academics belong together.

It’s just a matter of getting them to work in concert with each other.

Peter makes good points but sometime devoid of reality

2011-12-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

As a University of Nebraska alum that blogs, reads the internet stories, listens to podcasts, etc. from 1,500 miles away from Lincoln, NE, I find it mildly amazing and amusing how a segment of fans blindly agree with every bit of analysis on the present state program given by players from the Huskers spectacular run from 1993-1997.

In case you have been living an igloo the last 20 years, the Huskers went 60-3 during that stretch of time, winning of their five National Championships in school history.

Two Huskers from that era that prominently talk in the public domain are former Nebraska All-American defensive tackle Jason Peter and former running back Damon Benning. Before you read any further, this blog has nothing to do with criticizing their contributions during their time as players. So, if you disagree with something I say just remember that statements like, “Who the hell are you, Mr. Blogger. These guys did X, Y and Z as players and the Huskers won National Titles.”

While I think Benning and Peter make more good points than bad, the crux of their message is the same over and over: “We did things different in 1995 and it worked better, now, let me point out everything that’s wrong with the program now.”

Peter recently appeared as a guest on NET’s Big Red Wrapup with Kevin Kugler and Adrian Fiala. Peter addressed a number of things from former Husker offensive lineman Matt Slauson (now a New York Jet) publically criticizing another former Husker Ndamukong Suh (now a Detroit Lions defensive tackle).

Suh has been criticized in the media and by other players for his aggressive style of play and has been fined a total of $42,500 by the league for three violations in the first year-and-a-half of his career. The most recent episode came during the third quarter of the Lions’ Thanksgiving game against Green Bay. Suh pushed Packers’ offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith's head into the ground three times, then stomped on him. All of this took place after the whistle to end the play was blown. Suh was penalized for unnecessary roughness and ejected from the game.

The NFL suspended Suh for two games without pay. In a recent New York Times interview, Slauson said that Suh needs to have a strong message sent to get him under control. Suh wasn’t considered a head case by NFL scouts after a celebrated career at Nebraska that didn’t include any on-field incidents, but Slauson said Suh was a different player in practice while in college.

Slauson said there were at least two ugly incidents involving Suh and other players during practice at Nebraska that Slauson witnessed but that went unreported. Slauson said “I prefer not to say” when asked if those two practice incidents involved Suh stomping on teammates' limbs or similar cheap shots. As a result of those acts and Suh’s generally unpredictable temper, Slauson said Suh wasn’t popular at all with his college teammates.

“He was well-respected for his ability, but everybody kind of knew who he was,” Slauson said. “He wasn’t well-liked.”

Peter went on to refer to Slauson as a “slob” for throwing Suh under the bus for leaking in-house matters in public. Preaching trust and brotherhood is all well and good but it ignores the fact that Suh’s actions have been flat out asinine.

Peter also added that head coach Bo Pelini’s idea of rotating captains is a bad idea that needs to go. That point I could not agree with more. You need vocal leaders among players because eventually the coach preaching the same message becomes stale. Whereas, if a peer preaches the same message as the coach, then the coach’s message carries much more weight. I don’t necessary think it has to be a senior because having four years in the program should guarantee nothing but it should at least be a junior. The point of the matter is that for anyone player to develop into a leader, he needs to be able to settle into that role.

Peter also alluded to the fact that it was time for sophomore quarterback Taylor Martinez to grow up and do things like go to press conferences and actually answer questions. Kugler and Fiala, however, defended Martinez saying that he has improved in that area this year. I see the merits of both because while Martinez has improved, he is not where he needs to be. However, the question begs, with Martinez’s aloof personality, how media savvy will he ever be?

On one hand, I’m all for the wisdom of lending an ear to the 90’s crew. They were a special breed of warrior who could teach today’s lightweights a thing or three about focus, brotherhood, sacrifice, effort and love for the game. It’s pretty hard to dispute the results of the '93-'97 run of a 60-3 record.
Kugler/Fiala and Peter, however, are in two different positions. The former knows they can’t articulate their points like Peter because it’s not their personality and they risk losing their job, thus distancing themselves from the coaching staff. Peter, however, has more latitude because he is a guest host and there are still large factions of fans that remember his contributions as a player. He never has sugar coated anything 15 years ago, so why start now.
What I was really surprised by is Peter advocating for Charlie McBride to come back and coach the defensive line. Peter said that McBride has had his knees done and is willing to come back and “light a fire under the d-line.” I have nothing but respect for McBride’s contributions in his 23 years (18 as a defensive coordinator) on the Nebraska coaching staff but he last coached in 1999.
What the Peters and Bennings of the world need to realize is that we're in a different era in college football now. True, the team that blocks and tackles better wins more often than not but teams can’t give out 500 scholarships and hoard all the good players.
I seem to recall that a certain football coach is now our athletic director, namely. If he thinks the Pelini Regime is so radically inferior to the mid-90's squads, he’d make a move. I’m not saying he’d fire Pelini but he’d probably offer some “strong suggestions.”
Peter and Benning have earned the right as a former player to make comments. However, I also believe that things that happened 15-20 years ago really have no bearing on today. Way too much has changed especially the player them self. No different than when you hear your father say “when I was a kid.” It doesn’t matter if it was your father or your grandfather or his father, times change. You may be hard pressed to find any business that does things the same today as they did 20 years ago.

Husker coaching staff has one less Pelini

2011-12-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

To no surprise, the Nebraska football coaching staff will have one less Pelini entering its Jan. 2 Capital Bowl matchup against South Carolina.
Florida Atlantic’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the hiring of Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini (brother of Husker head coach Bo Pelini) as the Owls next head coach on Monday morning. The 46-year old Pelini was formally introduced at a press conference.
Pelini will be the second football coach in FAU history, taking over for Howard Schnellenberger, who coached the final game of his career on Saturday.
According to OwlAccess.com, Pelini will receive a five-year contract with a base salary of $450,000 with the possibility to make more with incentives, such as: Winning the Sun Belt championship and receiving a BCS bowl game invitation: $50,000.00. Winning the conference championship and receiving a non-BCS bowl game invitation: $20,000.00. Receiving an at-large bowl game invitation: $10,000.00. Earning a Top 10 final college coaches’ poll national ranking $25,000.00 and winning the National Coach of the Year Award: $25,000.00.
The question, of course, becomes who replaces Carl Pelini and how soon? The main candidates that are being publicly bandied about are John Papuchis (current Husker defensive line coach/special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator) along with recently deposed Arizona head coach and long-time Pelini family friend Mike Stoops.
It’s not a given that Bo Pelini will hire either but let’s say for the sake of discussion, do you hire a proven commodity or someone you feel like is a prospect who can grow into the job?
Stoops, who is the brother of Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, comes with a resume having held assistant coaching positions at Iowa, Kansas State and Oklahoma. He went 41-50 in his time as the Wildcats head coach before being fired after a 1-5 start in 2011.
Hiring Stoops would also be a defense mechanism from newly hired Ohio State coach Urban Meyer from hiring Stoops.
Bo Pelini openly backed Stoops after he was fired. Would Bo bring Mike aboard like Bob brought Bo aboard at OU after former Nebraska AD Steve Pederson hired Bill Callahan over Pelini? The Stoops/Pelini family friendship is well-documented but being a good friend does not always equal being a good co-worker. Plus, Stoops is not likely to come cheap and it’s athletic director Tom Osborne (not Bo Pelini) controlling the purse-string. And would Stoops view Nebraska as a weigh station job to eventually become a head coach again?

Papuchis has been a valuable member of Pelini’s staff since 2008 and could potentially grow into the job but the days of coaching staffs staying together for 20 plus years are a thing of the past.
The inexperience aspect would not necessarily be an issue since Papuchis has worn many different hats for Pelini. Plus, Osborne wasn’t born with three national championship rings. Everybody is an up-and-comer at some point in their career.
I think there is a lot of young talent that rises through the coaching ranks. Every big name coach out there was a no name coach at one point. Remember, Kevin Cosgrove was a “proven” defensive coordinator. Bo Pelini when hired by Frank Solich was an “up-and-comer”.
There are no guarantees with any potential hire.
Bo just needs to get the right guy…Anyone who would even get a look from Nebraska is going to be a proven quantity even if he isn’t a media headliner. The big question is do you get a guy who is more recruiter than coach or coach than recruiter?
That’s not an either/or answer. Both are true.