Glass

One upset victory does not make a coach. I cannot agree with Harbaugh. Wouldn't mind seeing Dan McCarney in Lincoln in an assistant role. Still driving me crazy the D Backs aren't athletic enough or have good enough hips and speed to ever turn and play the ball instead of always having their backs to the QB, ignorant of where the play or ball is heading. Can't get any picks when the ball hits ya in the back of the helmet or into the receiver's hands. No one can convince me NU's technique works. Don't know who should be the next coach, but there absolutely has to be one. After trying to support this thing for nearly 4 years, the Callahan Experiment is over for me. I'm done hopin' and wishin' this thing is going to work.

I don't think we are that many plays or players away from getting to the next level. Even this year, a play here and a play there with playmakers getting the job done and NU has a much better record. NU is frustratingly close to being really good.

They need to hit and wrap, they forget the wrap part too much.

Callahan is amazingly creative and it's a great testament to him and his players that they have pulled off so many of these unorthodox plays so frequently. Great offensive mind at work. I also liked his comment that he goes with these plays on "feel and instinct." He's been pretty clued in thus far.

OU has more talent and speed than NU, but I think we have a chance of to beat them. Containing their excellent running backs will be key. We're doomed if they break free a lot and run wild in our secondary. I can't imagine more of a mismatch in college football than Shanle trying to tackle Adrian Peterson in the open field. OU's other two tailbacks are plenty tough and fast that we need to consistently stop them at the line of scrimmage. I think we can turn them over on defense and perhaps get a pick or two against their QB Thompson. I hope our players can maintain their poise. OU's players have played in a ton of big games and definitely have the edge in that respect. NU needs to play under control. The mental part of a championship game is important and often underestimated. NU will make some big plays but likely will struggle to grind it out against a very stubborn and talented Sooner defense. The offense can make things happen and will do so Saturday in KC. Should be a fun, crazy game. We can pull it off.

Oklahoma...rematches in college football bug me and I always love a great NU-OU matchup.

I hear he is doing the Ohio State-Michigan game with Davie and Herbstreit

It's so hard to get a handle on this club. Consistent inconsistency continues. I kept getting the feeling most of the day that the players just weren't into it, would rather be doing anything except playing football and couldn't wait to get back to Lincoln so they could attend some wild Halloween parties. The mental part of the game was sorely lacking across the board -- constant breakdowns and low intensity. I think the season-long pattern of big highs (leading Texas late, for instance) and big lows (losing to Texas late) wears on everyone involved in the program. I'm not mad at the players or anyone and am just stating some observations. I also think they'll bounce back nicely, regain their focus and intensity and have a great game against Missouri.

Many of the ideas in this thread were the things crossing my mind during the game. We seemed very slow and worn down compared to the speedy and inspired Okies. I wondered several times during the game about our conditioning. OSU was super quick and athletic. Maybe at this point in the season the team has some "tired" legs. I know they are young and strong but they seemed dead on their feet most of the day. Need to improve a ton for Missouri.

I loved how the defense played yesterday, but it still and always will drive me crazy that the defensive backs don't know where the ball is and get burned because of that. There were several plays yesterday, including the long TD pass, where the secondary got beat because they didn't know the ball was coming. It'd be tough to convince me the NU technique is the best way to play man-to-man pass defense. I'd be interested to hear what others say.

Whenever it looks like it'd be easy to tag the blame on one player, I'm reminded of what Coach John Wooden once said to a dejected Lew Alcindor after a rare loss for the UCLA basketball team. Alcindor told his coach that it was his fault that the team had lost, but Wooden said if Alcindor was going to take all the blame for the loss then he'd have to take all the credit for every win as well.

In spite of feeling like I got punched in the gut by Adam Carriker, one really cool thing for me about today was to be on national TV and being Right There in a Big Game against a great team. Sorta like the "good old days," so to speak. It's been awhile since I've gotten so wound up during a ball game. The loss sucks but there's some good stuff going on and definitely a sign of great things to come down the road.

BigRedIowan...I also was wondering whether Texas thought we'd be that good. After a couple of huge hits on them, I also wondered if they were thinking that we were pretty darn big and strong as well...I believe USC and another team have commented on our size and strength this year.

McCoy had an excellent game but the constant fawning and incessant lovefest by Davie and Musburger really got old. BTW, is his dad a coach?

I agree with the post that said what Jackson did on the TD run was almost unbelievable. I was thinking it looked kind of impossible what he did. Love to see big plays on the rise this season. Waited a long time for that.

I'm in near cardiac-arrest, screaming at the TV after Lucky's great pass and all my wife has to say is how hot Callahan is and easy to look at!

Interesting post and thread. That Crosby kid from Colorado might be the only kicker in the country who'd have a decent shot at making that one under the circumstances.

Callahan can be brilliant at times. I think he is really, really smart.

I think most reasonable and knowledgeable football fans would agree that Texas has more overall talent and speed than NU. So, then, how could the Huskers play the No. 5 Longhorns so close today? Besides the fellas playing their hearts out with tons of poise and courage, I believe one has to give a ton of credit to an amazing job of coaching. Husker fans also showed why Memorial Stadium remains one of the toughest places to play in America. This one hurts to the point of almost making me physically ill and in spite of an agonizing loss, it's still a good day to be a proud Husker fan.

He's an exciting player...good to see him have a great game.

The end of the Auburn-Florida game last night was the loudest stadium I've heard (on TV) in some time. Quite impressive. Hope NU fans can match that this Saturday. Rose will be gone soon.

Watching the D Backs not looking back and not knowing where the ball is has always driven me crazy. I wish they would go to the school of thought that's used in basketball to always know where your man is and where the ball is at all times. Cagey receivers, just like cagey basketball players can always burn a defender who doesn't know where the ball is. One trick is to simply act like the ball isn't coming until the very last second and when the ball sails over the fooled defender you reach out and grab the ball. ISU's last touchdown last night is the perfect example of why the way NU coaches that technique doesn't work.

Loved the big plays, but the only thing that is consistent about Callahan teams so far is their inconsistency. Very worrisome going forward. Peeing away a big lead and then not closing the deal after Hardy made that great catch and run is very troubling. Thank God they made the two-point conversion!

Grixby's excellent vertical leap isn't helping him much because the bigger, equally athletic receivers can so easily body up on him, gain position and negate his jumping ability. And someone needs to tell the D Backs and linebackers to quit tipping the ball UP near the goal line if they can't pick it off. I saw McKeown do it and it happened again in the end zone on another play.

Crouch definitely was unreal fast in pads. The only time I remember anyone running him down from behind was when Miami clocked us in that Rose Bowl. I said, "Uh, oh" when I saw that happen a couple of times because it was just unheard of. I thought Marlon Lucky showed a bit of the old Johnny Rodgers hip and leg action last night, especially on his second touchdown. Some guys will juke and they stand still and get clobbered, but Lucky, like Rodgers, had some great moves and kept moving forward, increasing speed as he headed upfield. Rodgers also did some cool stuff with his shoulders to make people miss and Lucky maybe even had some of that going on last night as well.