c-husker

Any coaches on the board that will be atending this? Eric the Red! How the heck are ya? Yeah, I think I'll be going down for that one.

Getting back to the original point, I totally agree with this post. I'm not sure you could say it any better. To it I would add this: I think it's time for a lot of fans to start trusting Dr. Osborne. I hear so many comments in the neighborhood of "Well, Tom would never act like this..." "If Tom were still coach, we wouldn't see this on the sideline..." All of these comments are certainly true. Different guys. Different styles. But if we're all such admirers of Tom Osborne (as I think we all probably should be) then let's trust him to do his job. He knows what none of us do: The pressure of coaching the Huskers. If Dr. Osborne sees something that he can't live with, he's going to deal with it. I think people should trust that. This thread is titled "The Trial of Mark 'Bo' Pelini" and I'm encouraging you to keep your judgments to yourselves. We are not his peers. We're in no position to judge. We can have expectations. We can disagree. We can feel ashamed of Bo's behavior. But I still think it's important that the players and coaches have our support, and that we trust that our Chancellor and our AD will do what needs to be done. Go Big Red. Let's finish this thing the right way.

This is all crazy talk in my opinion. Coach Pelini's allegiance is to his players. Does he ever chew them out? Yeah, when they make a mistake that they should know better than to make. But let me ask you this: If you walked up to the average Husker player and asked him whether or not he believed that Coach Pelini had his back, what do you think you would hear? These kids would die for this coach, because they know he is doing everything for them. Think about Bo's interaction with our defensive players when he came back as the Oklahoma D-coordinator. Think about the loyalty and love our kids showed him after only one year in that situation. This guy doesn't need to be anyone's version of "nice" except his own in order to show respect. I think you're confusing being politically correct with being classy or respectful. How many times has Bo disrespected or been classless toward another coach? Snyder, maybe? In terms of media interaction, if Dr. Osborne thinks that Coach Pelini's interaction with the media is inappropriate, he will take steps to rectify the situation. The media is what it is. Will they turn on him if he starts losing? Yeah, you bet they will, but that is the same of any coach, regardless of his disposition. The media wasn't the nicest to Coach Osborne in the late '80's / early '90's when we were losing bowl game after bowl game. Call it what you want, but I'll take it. And if some of you posters don't think that teaching kids to be accountable and not screw up is not preparing them for life down the road, please don't send your sons to the University of Nebraska.

Let me ask this another way. Bo's quote on Tuesday was that he didn't want to announce the starting QB yet, because he didn't want it to be a "circus." The speculation (or question) that Steven Sipple of the Journal Star had was, if Zac Lee is the starter, what "circus" would there be? Does the circus comment lead anybody else to believe that Martinez will be the guy?

I have to wonder if the college vs. NFL argument is precisely the argument that should be made, though. It is well documented that Coach Callahan is one of the best OL minds in the game, and that his attention to detail is legendary. However, wouldn't it be a lot easier to install all of that detail with professional athletes who make their living playing football, and in a league where there are no restrictions on how much contact you can have with your players? Professional linement aren't trying to pass 12 credit hours per semester. And hell, some linemen play for 13 years. That's a lot of time to get good at what you do. I always sort of felt that a big part of Callahan's problem was that he wasn't able to pass along all he knew given the time constraints and practice restrictions put forth by the NCAA. He's a great pro position coach. Head College Coach, not so much.

I totally agree with you. For example, in the SI Big XII Preview issue, we only had one player on the all-conference second team, and no players on the first team. Of course, pre-season all-conference teams are mostly guesses, but does anybody else think that our talent doesn't match up with our expectations and our hype?

I like your style, Jayhawk. Your questions deserve answers, here are my thoughts. 1. Since Bo has already arrived at Nebraska, I think it's fair to say that if peace in the middle east is achieved at any time from now until eternity, the only fair-minded, clear-thinking, logical conclusion is that it is a direct result of Coach Pelini coming back to Nebraska. Bo's return has already precipitated some unforeseen, unprecedented events, such as Bill Self doing what Roy Williams couldn't. You're welcome, by the way. 2. This is a difficult thing to foresee. I'm having a hard time determining whether this question is a shot at the ineptitude of our men's b-ball team, or a dig at the overly-high esteem with which we all hold Dr. Osborne. Or perhaps a clever double entendre (that's like a two-for-one, for all of you reading this in Manhattan). As many of you old-school Husker fans know, though, the addition of a teammate, even if it was Mr. Pelini, would have little effect on this fantasy basketball game, as Dr. Osborne has a 25-year history of not passing the ball. 3. Point well taken, sir. Certainly it is annoying when we midwestern states with little else going for us lionize our college sports leaders and continually overstate their importance and effect on our pathetic little lives. Right, Phog Allen? Dr. Naismith, anyone? 4. I'm no virologist, but I believe an excess of passion of any kind has contributed to the SPREAD of AIDS, not to deter it. You make an interesting point about dressing as a Husker player as part of the cure. I can't see that working, but keeping your clothes on (whatever type of clothing it might be) certainly should help slow the spread. In terms of malaria, black shirts might help, especially if they are long-sleeved. 5. Another stumper. The thing about Herbie the Husker is that he's kind of like the Ultimate Warrior. Our current Herbie isn't the original Herbie. There have been several versions. Our current one is unlikely to defeat any one of the mascots in the Big XII, even a fictional blue chicken. In a gayness contest, Current Herbie may give the flamboyant Red Raider from Texas Tech a run for his money. In terms of fighting mascots, I would also have to rank Li'l Red as the worst, as I once personally witnessed him getting his ASS handed to him by Chip in Boulder. Go Big Red

Despite all of the uncertainty of what our record might be this year, and what our team might look like, you have to get behind two things Coach Pelini said in the article: "There is not a team on our schedule that we can't compete with." Competition, what a concept. I know it's easy to pile on the previous coaching staff now that they're gone, but it wasn't the losses that were so disheartening, it was the fact that we didn't compete in several (most) of those losses. "You will see a team that will play with passion." You can't ask more of college kids than that IMO. Go Big Red

You're missing the point, junior. This poster is right. The fans can complain all day long (I know I do)about our current situation, but if we fans become mediocre, then we are no better than the coaches and AD's we despise. Plus, ask yourself this question: If you're so sure that it's the coaches that are screwing up these 20-year-old boys, then why would you ever consider booing them? Is it really their fault? Just go to the games and cheer your a$$es off, and live up to they hype of being the best fans in the world. Our athletes deserve at least that (God know they've been lied to about everything else by their inept coaches).

I don't know if I buy this "Bo Pelini was God" bullsh1t. I'll admit, before I even get started, that from what I have seen from LSU, they are amazing. Their defense is stellar, they've obviously got it clicking, and Pelini is doing a great job there. But I actually remember the 2003 season, and it seems like few people do. We only played four teams from our conference with winning records. We were 1-3 against them. Oklahoma State (9-4) was our lone win, and it was the first game of the year. They had no idea what we were going to do, and we took advantage of that. Other than that, Missouri (8-4) handed it to us 41-24 (where were your adjustments there?), Texas (10-3) beat us 31-7 (not much more than speedbumps on defense there either), and K-State (11-4) pounded us 38-9 (another great defensive showing). Now, I know where you're going to go with this. You're going to tell me that we had poor athletes then because of poor recruiting, and that we have better athletes now, and if Bo were here, we'd be dominating and contending for a National Championship. I'll concede this: maybe. But let's just make sure that we're being honest with ourselves: Bo Pelini came in with some fire and some pretty good ideas, and our kids responded positively to him. We amassed a 10-3 record by beating 3 teams with winning records. There's just too much maybe to automatically assume that Pelini is the panacea. That being said, I think Cosgrove has been given a fair shot, and I'd like to see someone else give it a try next year. But this is this year. Go Big Red. Big XII North Champions 2007.

I realize that I'm nobody, and I know nothing. These guys that we have coaching at Nebraska know more about football than any of us will ever understand, despite what we all may think of ourselves. That being said, I did feel tonight, and I do continue to feel, that our inability to adjust on defense is going to keep us from being an elite team. Several of you have pointed this out already. Look, for example, at the play where USC ran a guy in motion across the formation and then gave it to the lone setback in the B-gap. That play should not have worked in the 2nd half in my opinion. They torched us with it in the first, but we should have adjusted. I have yet to see that adjustment from Cosgrove. One other point needs to be made, though. If you line up every starter from NU and USC by position, and you had some sort of fantasy draft, who would you draft from NU ahead of a USC player at the same position? You can blame the coaching staff if you want for this, but USC is better than we are. Time to move on, get a win next week, get a conference title and go from there.

Yeah, that ASU win was HOT HOT HOT. (Don't believe me? Check it out on YouTube -- Appalachian State Hot Hot Hot)

I read on ABCNews.com where a Colorado elementary school banned tag from its playgrounds. The reasoning (which should be obvious) was that it was cruel to make students be "it" if they don't want to be "it," and that the game promoted chasing and unnecessary physical contact. Running is still allowed on the playground, as long as there is no chasing involved. Well, I say it's about time somebody came to their senses! This barbaric game has been around for centuries, and it's about time that we put a stop to it. While we're at it, I have a bone to pick with a couple of other games as well (for the record, I'm against the phrase "bone to pick" as I find it unnecessarily violent). Duck Duck Goose This game needs to go. It promotes name-calling and the aforementioned chasing. Oh, and unnecessary physical contact, to the head, no less. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the trauma of being called "goose" in front of all you peers, then being forced to stand and chase the name caller around a circle of children sitting Indian Style. This teaches retribution. I've been in therapy for 12 years, and I think duck, duck, goose is at the root of it. I think a sensible alternative would be duck, duck, duck, where the children sit in a circle as one child walks around, shaking hands with the other children saying either "duck" or "peace be with you" to all of them. At the end, all students would stand, hold hands, and cavort around in a circle singing Kum Ba Ya. Saying Indian Style This is offensive to Native Americans. I suggest Criss Cross Applesauce, or They Were Here First Sitting. Pin the Tail on the Donkey Have we learned nothing from Michael Vick? This game promotes senseless violence toward tail-less animals. 100% of the donkeys who live in the Hundred Acre Wood agree with me on this. Plus, blindfolding children and giving them sharp objects should be grounds for losing custody of your children. I suggest "Padding the Donkey" where all children are given cotton balls which they then put on the ground to make sitting for the afflicted donkey more comfortable. I'm also against pinatas of any kind. Hide and Seek This game promotes dishonesty, covert actions, and engenders a feeling of hopelessness for kids as they experience the dissatisfaction of not being able to find what they're looking for. It also promotes high speed chases and running from authority. I suggest Hug and Seek, where the children hug each other and then seek someone else to hug. Hugging This is unnecessarily physical, and borderline sexual harassment. I suggest walking up to the person you wish to hug and telling them "I'm hugging you now." The person would then respond with "I accept your affirmation" and may choose to "hug" the person back if they feel comfortable with it. Tether Ball Because this game is just dumb. Swings Placing people at the end of chains and physically assaulting them and causing them to swing back and forth is obviously an ugly reminder of a horrible period in US History when Lynching was in vogue. I think the sooner that we can teach our kids to just sit and do nothing until the world starts to revolve around them, the better. Sincerely, The Modern Day Parent.

Nevada has such a unique attack (the "pistol" offense) that it's hard to say. Do you think that we have five to six DB's that we'd feel comfortable throwing out there? There's been a lot of discussion about our 3-4 set, which gives us a ton of coverage options. I wouldn't be too surprised to see us blitz from a lot of different places in the 3-4 to confuse their protection and create an uncomfortable experience for their QB (as if playing in Memorial Stadium isn't uncomfortable enough!) I'm looking forward to seeing the Wolfpack offense though. Something a little different.

Two things: first, we've already hit it on the head: Missouri is often the trendy pick, but they always find a way to lose a couple of games that they shouldn't. That's why they're Missouri. My prediction is that the NU/MU game won't even be for the North title, because they'll be out of it before we get there. second, you gotta love the Missouri fan's quote. "Those Nebraska fans think they're entitled to be great just because they were once great." That's classic. Hey, a$$hole, what about teams that were never great? You know, like you guys. You kill me, Tiger fans. Keep up the good work. c-husker