JJ Husker

Hey, at least the refs made the call. This one in 98 wasn't even called and it wasn't at the bottom of a pile.

They should probably take an appropriate amount of time to "investigate" and then possibly some action next week (after the MSU-Wiscy contest). But seriously, those were a couple very cheap shots. The punch to the throat/face was bad but the helmet twist on DR could be considered an "attempt to injure" in hockey lingo. Does this dufus really think a camera will not pick this stuff up when he plays at a place like MSU?

Maybe the disparity can be explained by the fact that many of those voters that don't want their school to switch conferences are not sharing a conference with Texas. Gotta believe that situation would get it back in line with 65%+ wanting to switch.

Chippy? Isn't that terminology reserved for hockey? Anyway I know what you mean. Some matchups, over the course of time, develope these tendencies to get in some extracurriculars. I'd hate to see anyone get injured ala Bertuzzi but a cheap shot here and there can make the game more interesting as a spectator.

I've got no specific look-a-like to post but wanted to share the typical mortified disbelief look found on the face of any Gopher fan.

Ryan Wynn & Jonah Hill

Ed Lochrie Head Football Trainer & Rod Blagojevich

NU 52 Minn 17 Pass 171 Rush 306

This is a common fallacy of rankings; they do not indicate that a higher ranked team is necessarily better than a lower ranked team. KSU deserves to be ranked ahead of us right now but I don't feel they are better nor do I think they would beat us. I know I sure would rather have to play them than MSU or Michigan. I think KSU is more on par with Northwestern, Iowa, or PSU.

That. Plus any other game we play could go either way. Who woulda thunk Minny would be such a pivotal game for us. I don't think winning is in any doubt but this has to be a complete blowout or we will struggle the remainder of this season. If Pelini and company did not successfully address the glaring defensive deficiencies with the extra week we could easily see another 3-4 losses.

LOL. Thanks, I loves me a good chuckle.

I understand just enough about defense to make me dangerous but the thing I know for sure is; whatever they have been doing isn't working for diddly squat. There are a few things we've been told repeatedly that I am just not seeing. One of those being that the B1G would have no answer for our team speed especially on defense. Well, the B1G and our non-con's are either a whole lot faster than anyone suspected or our guys suddenly got a bunch slower. And, the 2 gap system sounds fine and dandy on paper but I have no explanation why it seemed to work much better last year than it has so far this year. The conference change could only help explain the last 2 games but the first 4 were not B1G teams or even B1G style teams. The real key would appear to be mobile QB's but the Big 12 had some of those as well. IMO the biggest problem by far has been our lack of pressure against the pass. I've seen Domino's Pizza delivery take less time than opposing QB's have had to throw the ball. Even when our guys do get past the line, and it is seldom they ever do it with only 4 rushing, it looks like they're dragging a boat anchor chasing the QB. And then there is the matter of losing containment. It's a real head scratcher. I hate bye weeks but an extra week to help figure this stuff out was desperately needed.

Yes. It is amazing that there are all these threads and media coverage of the offense and Martinez in particular. I guess an ugly throwing motion and some questionable play calling in bad situations will generate talk but it has been painfully obvious to me and many other posters here that the defense is 98% of our serious problems. As bad offensively as the game at wiscy was, if anyone expects us to outscore 48 pts against a team of that caliber they are delusional. The D has been horrendous with only a handful of intermittent individual bright spots ala Lavonte. The fundementals are bad and I am really beginning to suspect the overall theory and scheme may need to change to make allowances for our youthful secondary, lack of size, confusing lack of speed, and glaring inability to get any kind of pass rush. Luckily the things I don't doubt are our players skill and desire and the ability of our coaches to recognize the issues. I just don't understand what is taking them so long to make more changes than simply a body here or there.

Andrew Green

I don't feel Tom "slammed" their fans or gave them a "low blow". Sure his comments were directed at Wisconsin but telling it like it is in an understated and truthful manner should not be misconstrued as a slam. Not that I think the students at Wiscy give 2 craps about what Osborne says but maybe they and their administrators should. It really only takes a visiting fan 1 or 2 or 3 instances of witnessing this type of behavior to tarnish their perception of the overall fanbase for a long time. It may not be right or accurate to then stereotype all Wiscy fans as classless, foul-mouthed, etc. but that is exactly what happens for anyone that has been exposed to the behavior. This is exactly why it is so amazing and impressive that Husker fans have been able to maintain such a good reputation. I am sure there are some classless, foul-mouthed, abusive fans donning the Husker Red but they are so few and far between that not many witness it. I know I've never personally witnessed or heard about anything at NU similar to what I have experienced at CU or Auburn or the stories coming out of Camp Randall. The letter and Tom's comments are a sign that something is terribly wrong. Unfortunately they will need to take more forceful action if they really want it to change. It doesn't matter if it is just students. As long as they allow it to continue it might as well be University policy. It says a lot about the admins position if all they have to fall back on is "well, we sent out a letter".

The difference is that Minnesota is, as stated before, bad. They pure and simply just aren't good. ISU in the last decade has never been as bad as Minnesota. Minnesota is littered with young players, and if you were checking out ESPN today, there's an article about how Minnesota is tracking 63 players because of poor grades, making sure they attend classes. There is absolutely no reason and no similarity that I see between Minnesota and ISU. We have little recent history and they're reeling. Nebraska wins this by three touchdowns. I won't be surprised if Minnesota puts up a couple of scores, but our offense is going to destroy their defense more than likely. If we only beat Minn by 21, I will be very disappointed. Considering how bad they are and the fact that we have an extra week to prepare, if we are going to blow anybody out this season, this is the game. We already blew total rout chances against UTChat, Fresno, and Wyoming. Sorry but a 33 point margin against UTChat doesn't impress me. I happen to agree with your 3 TD assessment. Until our D proves otherwise, I think we'll make them look like an offensive powerhouse before squeeking out another lack luster win. It's time for Carl and Co. to prove me wrong. I would like nothing more than for them to make me look like a fool for ever doubting them.

Every team we have faced this year has put more points on us than anyone anticipated. I see no indication the Minn game will be any different. Our D will find a way to make them look like a viable offense for at least 1/2 game. But in the end we will beat them by a relatively comfortable margin that should be about 21-28 points larger than it ends up.

Brian Thorson & the Beav's besty Larry Mondello

Jim Halpert & Baker Steinkuhler or is it the other way around.

Derek Foster & Keanu Reeves Was thinking more Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Keanu but the long hair threw it off.

Going with the theme of the topic title; Our offense has improved significantly from the past few years and continues to improve week to week and even series to series and is showing signs of possibly being able to achieve greatness. And our defense..........well my mother taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say........ Yeah, I know, I routinely ignore her advice. Honestly though, there are a few bright spots on the D side here and there but they are still being overshadowed by the numerous opportunities. One thing is for sure, if anyone can fix our defense, I sure am glad we've got Bo and Carl working on it. It is nice to be able to have hope and optimism. If we were in the same boat with Callahan & Cosgrove.....need I say more.

That totally sucks for this defense and especially for Mr. Crick. There is no questioning that he gave it everything he had and always left it all out on the field and represented the Huskers with class and dignity. He will be sorely missed and I'll be praying for his complete recovery. We have not seen the last of him- he will be playing on Sundays.

I will have to re-watch the 2nd half before I can totally agree but sans the review I am sure you are correct. The fullback position is often over looked and it stands to reason with the gapping holes we had the 4th quarter that Legate was more than likely blowing up defenders. On top of that I am just real impressed with this Legate kid. He seems to be from the same mold as some of our great FB's. I would like to see them get him the ball more on those quick hit first options. Historically those plays have treated us extremely well and also help loosen up later options. I was more dialed in to what our line was doing and I am still somewhat confused about that. Holes started opening no doubt but I still didn't see much surge coming off the line. That tells me that the play calling was excellent and the line was executing very well. O line does not have to push defenders backwards but simply use leverage and the defenders own inertia to steer them where they want and then of course get down field and engage the next level of D. No doubt well called and executed O by everyone including Legate.

I too am excited about what I see developing in our offense. The play calling and adjustments are light years ahead of the past couple years and it seems to keep improving week by week this year. Unquestionably we have a ton of talent and potential in the skill positions- quarterback, recievers, and running backs. And the O-line appears to be getting better all the time. Having said that, I think it is very premature to refer to this offense as "unstoppable" or to say the verdict is in on Beck. What I have seen on the field is 4 games of mediocre offensive productivity and execution, 1 1/2 games I would totally like to forget and never see repeated ever again, and 1/2 a game of excellent play calling and execution against a good defense that I can't help but feel suffered from a lack of confidence in their replacement QB. Is the future bright? Yes it is. Have we arrived at that future yet? We'll have to wait and see.

Call me old fashioned but I preferred the days when it was just a given that Husker fans didn't boo their own team. I sure never experienced it in the 4-5 years I was at UNL. I see no reason why we have to be like all other fans and accept it. I won't say it makes a person any less of a fan but I do believe it would give our general fanbase a better and unique rep if we didn't do it. It doesn't help the team. Booing is all about a person showing their personal dissatisfaction. I won't say you can't do it but last I checked the game on the field wasn't about you. Some of the same people complaining about the lack of noise in the stadium are the same ones saying there is nothing wrong with booing your own team. Why do we want to be loud? To make it tougher on the other team. Why would we want to boo our own team? That sure doesn't help our team or hinder the other team. It seems kind of childish and selfish to me. And yes I will come on this forum and rip elements of our play and yes I will scream at my TV and cus players & coaches. But when a fan is in the stadium part of the job is supporting your team and hindering the other team. If you're doing the opposite, it might be time to leave.