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[This is a write up, coving the process of the hiring of Nebraska's new head coach] The state of Nebraska was rocked on the morning of November 30th when the news of the firing of the Cornhuskers’ head football coach, Bo Pelini, was released. The big question for the university is who will succeed the Bo Pelini regime. Early on, there are a few options for Shawn Eichorst, the Athletic Director at Nebraska, who will be making a career defining decision in the process. After a few days, the early candidates being mentioned, and that Eichorst will want to contact, include Gary Patterson (HC, TCU), Scott Frost (OC, Oregon), Pat Narduzzi (DC, MSU), Justin Fuente (HC, Memphis), Dan Mullen (HC, Miss St), Mark Richt (HC, Georgia), and Greg Schiano (ex Tampa Bay Bucs HC). All of these men are viable options for the head coaching position at Nebraska. Many experts seem to believe that Nebraska wants to head in the direction of an experience head coach, which would point to either Gary Patterson, Justin Fuente, or Dan Mullen. Patterson and Mullen would be home-run hires for Eichorst and Nebraska, but both options seem almost too good to be true. Nebraska, in contrast to Patterson’s TCU and Mullen’s Mississippi State, is a historic program with a tradition of success unlike the others, but it would take a monumentus decision to leave from the great situations that both coaches have created for themselves at their respected positions. It is unlikely that both coaches would consider Nebraska, but it is possible that one could be tempted by Shawn Eichorst to join the Husker Nation. The most recent of rumors is that Mark Richt, the head coach of Georgia who was born in Omaha, but moved to Florida where he graduated high school, would be a great fit for Nebraska, as he has early ties to Nebraska, but brings the southern experience to our football program. He seemingly is the favorite for the hire, and currently, he is under a bit of fire from Bulldogs’ fans as Georgia blew a chance at the SEC championship, none the less, Richt would be a great fit for Nebraska if Eichorst can lure him away from the SEC. Opposed to an experienced head coach, Eichorst could still decide to hire a coordinator, as was Pelini before his stunt at UNL. If Eichorst chose this route, the most viable options would be Scott Frost of Oregon and Pat Narduzzi of Michigan State, but because of how first time head coach Bo Pelini turned out, it seems unlikely that Eichorst would make a similar decision here. With that in mind, keep current head coaches on the radar and in the news. Many reports expect Eichorst already has it narrowed down to two or three options, which is why he fired Bo in a hurry over the weekend and stated that “the decision [to fire Bo] in my mind crystallized Saturday night.” It could be that he got confirmation from either a coach, or confirmation of extreme consideration from a few coaches and decided that an effective replacement would be available for the Huskers. With Eichorst’s narrow list of candidates, we can expect an announcement in a few weeks around mid December.

Jim Delany gave his thoughts on pay-for-play to a small group of reporters. http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/life-in-the-red/bravo-mr-delany/article_cde1c8de-271a-11e3-b308-0019bb2963f4.html Delany goes on to say "if athletes are not comfortable on campus and want to monetize, then let the minor leagues flourish. Or go to IMG. Train at IMG." I've seen compelling arguments on both sides. I tend to lean towards players getting some benefit, specifically because universities (and up until recently, the NCAA and EA) are/were making boat loads of money off of these guys and athletes don't see a cent of it. Long gone are the days of college football being considered amateur. That's my opinion - I know many will disagree. All that said, I completely disagree with what Delany is saying here. The NFL can't and won't up and create a minor league that acts as their sole feeder system. They've tried, and had some success, but it will largely never impact the NFL like the college game does. Same with college basketball. Furthermore, the comment about training at IMG is just ridiculous. A lot of kids can't afford to go to school by themselves let alone pay a trainer to get them ready for the NFL. Both of these ideas are unrealistic and ludicrous, and I'm frankly shocked anybody finds credence in them. I think Delany is a good commissioner, but both of these comments about minor leagues and paying to train for the NFL are dumbfounding. Your thoughts?

Has anyone heard or seen any comments from the Husker players after the game? I'm curious what the players had to say about the game. We can't expect a magic answer that explains it, but still curious.

So far after almost an entire half, Purdue leading 13-7 over Ohio State in Columbus. OSU only has 50 total yards rushing, and Braxton Miller has been held to 6 yards rushing on 5 carries and only 52 yards passing. Clearly, Purdue's defense decided to "execute" today, right Bo? Maybe Bo should be sending his assistants to Purdue University to learn how to stop a running qB?

I didn't see anything on the boards about this yet (sorry if I overlooked), but the Big 10 is rolling out a new ticket reservation system called TeamTix for the Big 10 title game. Big Ten TeamTix Link Apparently you put $10/ticket down as a reservation per seat, and later this season, if you want your seat, you pay the remainder and you know you have a seat. If you don't want it (or you don't think your team will make it), you just forfeit the $10 reservation per seat and the ticket goes back up for sale. This way, you don't have to worry about unloading unwanted tickets or taking a hit when unloading them (save for the $10/seat charge). Wanted to see what you all thought about this. Tickets go on sale tomorrow with this system, btw. I plan on reserving a few for my family, as I'm always the optimist.