Glass

His sack against USC was one of my favorite plays of the year so far. Showed some great agility and a lot of strength. More of that, please.

The NFL puts a lot of stock in the 40. Zach Bowman's time, in the 4.3s I believe, made him a possible first-round draft choice. There wouldn't have been that talk if he were in the 4.5s. It wouldn't bother me if all of our linebackers could run 4.5 to 4.6 and the DBs quicker yet. Eric Crouch, I recall, only lost one 100-meter race in high school and it was to a future Husker. Don't remember who beat him. I don't think that 10.95 time quoted was his fastest ever. I'm thinking he ran in the 10.7s.

I think Kenny Wilson ran a 10.2 100 meters and a 21.1 200 meters in high school, both unsurprisingly school records. The 10.2 would have put him up there with the nation's fastest high schoolers in that distance. Glenn's 10.9 100 meters would consistently win that race in most high school track meets in Iowa in Class 1A, Class 2A and Class 3A; but the 4A winning times for the bigger schools are generally a tenth or two faster. Iowa Hawkeye basketball player Adam Haluska, for example, was one of Iowa's all-time fastest school boys, and clocked around a 10.35 100 meters. I think this might be close to Iowa's all-time best as well. Former Hawkeye Tim Dwight who went to high school in Iowa City was also one of Iowa's fastest and I think he ran in the 10.4 range. With that in mind, had Wilson ran his 10.2 in Iowa he would likely be considered the fastest kid to come out of our state. I don't know if any Nebraskan has ever gone under 10.2. It's nearly world-class speed, which is 10 flat and under in the 100.

In Callahanspeak: In a featured package, Kenny Wilson is athletically capable of getting to the edge and finding a seam but can also run with physicality in a horizontal north/south schematic.

I never thought I'd live to see the day where I was looking forward to playing Troy, but that day has come. Can't wait. This game spooks me a little. Somewhat intriguing to see if Callahan's team will bounce back from a tough loss against a team that isn't afraid to play anybody. I see Taylor hitting lots of different receivers and the running backs coming up big. Bring it on!

I wondered if anyone has any thoughts about how tough our secondary is as far as hitting ability. I'm pretty sure Jarrett wasn't afraid to get hit by Grixby or Shanle, and I doubt that big kid Blythe from ISU will be afraid to catch passes over the middle against us. I wish we had a guy like former NU player Mike Brown who could cover and also put the hurt on when he tackled people, make the receiver worry about the D-Backs pounding him play after play. Maybe we do and I just don't know who that player is. Is it too much to ask to get tall, speedy, athletic, intimidating D-Backs? I wish more of the defense had that "punishing" style. You either like to hit or you don't. Maybe I'm missing something about our secondary.

USC has formally complained about ABC announcer Brent Musburger revealing during the NU-USC game that the USC QB uses a "hang loose" gesture to his receivers. The USC coach, in his typical laid-back fashion, said the on-air revelation didn't bother him.

That was a great read. Very insightful. Thanks.

I'm still hoping one of the backs emerges and has a breakout season, much like I.M. Hipp did in the mid-1970s. I recall he had a huge sophomore season, ran for a lot of yards and touchdowns and the media loved him. It didn't hurt he had such a cool name, but man that kid could run. There could be more parallels with the current talented group as back then another great Husker tailback named Rick Berns emerged. I think they even had another excellent ball carrier around that time called Monte Anthony. It'll be interesting to see if which, if any, of the current group will become bigtime Huskers. I'm hoping and praying that happens. The physical abilities seem to be there, but there are so many intagibles that go into becoming a fabled NU I Back. I'd love to see any of them become half as tough as Berns was, or be able to create separation with speed and moves and go the distance like Hipp. Getting into the rhythm of the game could be problematic with wholesale substitutions, but the coaches gave Lucky a chance Saturday to step up but the SC defense wasn't about to let him have a big game.

AZ4NU and Gamecocks, very well stated. I've been thinking those same things, but couldn't quite express it like that. The much-criticized game plan almost worked. I remember while watching the game and the first half was winding down and the score was 7-3. I thought, "hmm, we are in this thing." Like Gamecocks mentioned about it being 21-10 in the second half. I recall thinking this could be like the Michigan game last year. I know things didn't play out like it did in the bowl game, it was kind of working for about half the game or a little longer. We were hanging around. USC got some incredible timely breaks, when even penalties assessed to them bailed them out. How lucky was that? That really pissed me off. USC is an excellent team and outplayed the Huskers, but if a few things had gone a different way we could have been right there and everyone would be calling Callahan a genius. That said, I still was a little perplexed by some of the play calling. It was an odd game all the way around, made even stranger by the unbelievable split-screen on my TV because Omaha was under a frigging tornado warning in mid-September.

I think Lucky has definitely joined Glenn in Callahan's doghouse, and neither will be the starting I back any time soon. You could just feel him fuming when he talked about that fumble early in the second half. I know it's probably not true, but I got the feeling Callahan felt the game was lost on that one play and he blamed Marlon Lucky for it. I know I got kind of hopeless after USC converted. The momentum to make Wilson The Guy gained some serious steam right then and carried over into the postgame discussion, where Callahan said something like "I like that guy, he is my kind of back," referring to Wilson. Lucky probably cringed when he heard those remarks. It was as if Callahan complimented Wilson at the same time he was criticizing Lucky, but maybe I am reading too much into it. I think Callahan can really get down on players when they piss him off. I could see Glenn transferring if he doesn't get to play.

Fans were calling for Osborne's ouster from the early '70s when he took over for Devaney until he won his first title in 1994 by beating Miami in the Orange Bowl. I remember when I was a little kid watching an NU-OU game in 1972 and there were so many fans screaming for Osborne's head. I remember that about as much as I remember how cool it was watching Johnny Rodgers. There was constant chatter over the years saying Osborne couldn't beat Oklahoma, couldn't win a Big Game, got clobbered in too many bowl games, offense was too predictable, couldn't throw the ball, blah, blah, blah. But the '94 National Championship made him untouchable and the repeat in 1995 conferred Saint-like status upon him. The unexpected title in 1997 put him up there next to God in some fan's eyes. I never gave up on Osborne and I'm not going to give up on Callahan. I still think he can bring a few National Championships to Lincoln. I didn't expect one this year so the USC loss doesn't upset me too much. The Trojans are a lot better team than the Huskers. If NU plays up to its potential it should take the Big 12 North and be competitive in the Championship game. I like the progression of the program. It's not perfect but it's so much better than losing 70-10 and struggling against Maine.

Grixby obviously was overmatched against Jarrett, but that guy could get open against about anybody, NFL guys included. Bowman's physical abilities would have allowed him to play Jarrett tighter. The first time Bowman got my attention was in last year's Colorado game when he ran a guy down across the field laterally and nailed the dude at the sideline. I thought "who in the hell on this team has that kind of speed?" USC seemed to have guys all over the place who could really scoot. Very frustrating playing a team like that where the holes, if they open to begin with, close so fast. Even if you slip through some defender(s) are all over you when you think you're in the open. I was hoping for Wilson to bust through the middle and take it the distance, but it wasn't to be. I do believe we'll be seeing some big long gainers against the weaker competition in the Big 12 and I've been waiting for a long, long time for that.

To win, they need to turn them over like the great mid-1990s Husker defenses did so often. I almost expected the defense to score every game back then. When the Steelers put Miami down a week ago in the fourth quarter with the big-time big-play interceptions with the game on the line that reminded me so much of the NU championship teams and how they played. Force a few fumbles, get a few picks, don't let Booty be comfortable. They have the speed on defense now to do some of those things that might allow for the upset.

I saw him (Kirk H) when the Game Day crew was in Kansas City 5 or 6 years ago when Kansas State was playing OU for the Big 12 title. It looked like a pretty good gig then and it probably just keeps getting better over time. Somebody last weekend, I think it was Brent Cheeseburger, said something to him like, "Man, I can't believe your schedule." And Herbstreit had the look of someone with the best job in the world...the "I can't believe I get paid for this" look.

It'd be cool if the games were as hotly contested as they were in the '80s and mid-1990s. There have been some classic ND-Michigan games. College football is so much more fun when Notre Dame is good, and I'd like to see Michigan return to prominence. But I'm a traditionalist. I like it when the old powerhouses have great teams and they play other powerhouses with great teams. It's cool seeing NU make its way back into these conversations. Tons of potentially great matchups tomorrow.

I could see Michigan knocking off ND. The Wolverines have pulled off some big unexpected wins through the ages. Hodge is pretty amazing the way he can pick apart a play.

Great comments Husker4Life. I think you nailed it. I wonder if Musberger will even want to come to Lincoln for the USC re-match next year. He got busted for drinking last time he was in town. I wonder if this will color his view of Big Red in a negative way? He's bugged me since he used to badger Jimmy the Greek on air back in the '70s. He was everywhere on CBS back then. I was disappointed to hear Davie was going to be in the booth as well, but Herbstreit will have some decent comments.

He bugs me before he even speaks. Can't stand him. I suppose the "consultants" might think his adversarial approach makes for engaging and must-watch television, but he gives me the nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling every time he's on. I liked Trev Alberts a lot. He was very good. Lou Holtz has some insightful comments a lot of the time but he is just such a geezer he kind of bugs me as well. Don't get me started on Lee Corso. He was so exhausted and done in after that OSU-Texas game last weekend that he made about 4 mistakes in the last segment in Austin. But more to the point, May does suck ass.

Pre-game comments have about zero bearing on the outcome of any game. If you're a prized athlete as all these youngsters are, you're thinking about your assignments and making plays. You are totally in the moment. Ot the other hand, if Dwayne Jarrett beats Andre Jones deep, as is very possible, he might think for a second or two that he'd kept his mouth shut. My other point is that it's kind of cool to see the kid has a confident attitude, but it'd be best if he stayed quiet and made plays.

Foote, As they say about 10 times on that show every Sunday night: "You bring up a good point."

Glenn is like the Bus Jerome Bettis and with more experience I think he'll become a touchdown machine in the Red Zone in the years ahead.

I wonder if players such as Lucky know the rich tradition of the Coliseum, all of the great backs who have played there, the many wonderful football games that have occurred there over the decades. It's an honor for Nebraska to try to take out the Trojans in that great environment. There were some especially cool games there in the 1970s between USC and Notre Dame. Classic stuff.

We could win at USC, but I think they are the team we are building to be and we're not quite at that level yet. Getting there, though. If we can get some big plays and maybe shock them a bit, we could do some damage. I love how this game is setting up. It's been awhile -- too long -- where there's been this kind of excitement and anticipation going into a game. It's especially gratifying for those of us who have been supportive of the program as it has struggled on its way back to national prominence. A win at USC will give the Huskers the gravitas they once enjoyed on a national level. How huge would a win be at the storied Coliseum?

NU should be in the Top 15. Great QB, great backs, solid defense, excellent coaching. Big Red has a good team and this year's crop of college teams is decidedly down compared to other years. Texas isn't nearly as good. USC is a fine team, but no way they are as good without Lienart, Bush and that other big back they had. Penn State is off and Notre Dame may have even had a better club last year. Ohio State is maybe better than a year ago, maybe. I haven't looked, but Big Red should be close to the top in scoring in the nation. We haven't played anyone yet, but scoring 50 plus points per game isn't a bad thing.