EbylHusker

I don't think anyone is questioning that turnovers hurt us and have been a continuing problem. The point is that Nunn didn't do anything wrong and Texas still caused a fumble. The play call was good, the execution was good, and he wasn't stretching with the ball or anything stupid. Sometimes you can do everything right and STILL lose the ball. Did he fumble? Yeah. Did he do anything wrong to personally cause that fumble? No. Did Texas make a nice hit to dislodge the ball? Yes. Texas is ranked so high in forced turnovers for a reason, folks. Turnovers is an issue that needs to be addressed. To blame the loss on that play is just laughable and probably doesn't even deserve a real response, but there you have it anyway.

As was already stated, a fumble can occur just as easily on a run play. When you run into a pack, you'll have people stand you up and then others try to rip the ball out. On one hand it's easier to get both arms around the ball then, but it's also easier for the other team to make a real effort to strip it. I didn't see a thing wrong with the play call or Nunn's performance. Texas made a nice play to knock the ball loose and then jump on it right away. The bottom line is this... If we had run the ball, the chances were good we'd be punting. After they recovered the fumble, Texas showed us they were capable of driving down the field into kick range. I think it's very likely they could have mustered a drive if we had punted. Then everyone would be saying we should have passed to get a first down. Is throwing it more of a risk? Yep, because it could be intercepted or incomplete and then the clock stops for free. However, that was a high percentage pass play that WORKED until we caught a bad break on a great play from Texas. You don't win big games without taking some risks. Callahan made the right call and the play was executed perfectly. Then Texas made a big play to show why they are so good at forcing turnovers.

Nice post! I have to say, I also hope we don't get a rematch with Michigan this year (but for different reasons). You guys have a scary team. As impressed as I was with Nebraska, though, I was just as impressed with Texas. They have a damn good team, better than I gave them credit for. And as sick as people might be of hearing about Colt, his performance was probably the most impressive thing in the whole game. This game showed me that Nebraska is where I thought we were at. One or two steps away from having a complete team that can compete on a regular basis with top 10 teams. I can't ask for more after 2 and a half seasons.

Right on, Longhorn2000! I'm glad Texas fans had a good time. Hopefully we'll see you guys in the Big XII Championship game!

My own opinion is that people's expectations have been WAY too high lately. It's just backlash from a tough loss and the realization that people have expectations that were a bit unrealistic. Sadly it's going to fall on Nunn as the player who sticks out in people's minds (and makes the highlight reel) until everyone calms down and returns to being rational, classy Nebraska fans.

Agreed. People forget a lot of other things contributed to the loss, not the least of which is Texas being a better team. It was a good call and a perfect hit to knock the ball out. We played great and lost a heartbreaker to a better team. Tons of other stuff contributed to the loss...when people settle down and go back to look at the game again they'll see that.

My thoughts on the game... Texas is a better team and it showed. Despite the fact that we hung in there and kept ourselves in the game, Texas put up a dominating performance for a good chunk of it. It was one of those games where you watch it and say, "How is this team not winning by more?" That being said, we played well and did everything we needed to for an upset. We just caught some bad breaks, but then again, so did Texas. You can "coulda shoulda woulda" all day long, but when you go back and watch the game, both Texas and Nebraska made some critical mistakes and caught some bad and good breaks. I am beyond impressed with our team, even though the loss was painful. But to me it was obvious Texas was the superior team, but Nebraska made a statement that we're capable of playing with the big teams, even if we're probably not at the level where we can be expected to win the majority of those games.

I would just like to say that even though we've had our share of problem players in the past, at least we're not Thug U.

Like others have said, there are always people out there selling their tickets. Don't forget that you should be willing to haggle a little to see if you can get a slightly better price. And as already stated, big games mean people will sell them for more, and waiting til very close to game time usually means those left trying to sell their tickets will be willing to let them go for less (since getting something for them is better than getting nothing at all).

You know, my personal take on the whole Callahan situation is that he's a great coach and the change was necessary for the program. What I didn't like was how the change was handled (Solich was cut before our bowl game that year, right?). I just felt the change was right, but handled in poor taste by the powers that be. I think everyone will come around in the next year or two, especially now that the west coast offense is proving itself. I remember when TO retired and I was quite sad to see him go. Even though I knew he was going to retire at some point in the near future, it was still a shock. In case anyone wants more details on my TO encounter, I was a senior in high school. Some of the details are a little fuzzy because this was a while back. The gist of it is a group of us seniors were heading to an awards deal on the east coast and somehow our flight got messed up or cancelled. Anyway we were kinda stuck. I guess they were flying to the same city or in the same direction and had a chartered Leer type jet, I think. So we managed to hitch a ride! I wish I could say he sat with us all flight and chatted away, but he didn't. Don't get me wrong, he spent time talking with us and was very amicable, but he had some serious things to discuss with a few others on the plane, so they spent the majority of their time discussing business or whatever was on the agenda. Still, he was an engaging person and definitely made a good impression on us all. His wife sat with us the whole time, though, and she was absolutely wonderful. Just an amazing couple of people all around!

I'm sure it was meant as a motivational speech for his team and fans, but yikes... First of all, it's incredibly tasteless to say something like that in any kind of a public setting. Using that as a speech in the lockers is one thing, but there? All that does is show what kind of low quality person Colorado just hired to take over their program. And the last thing that program needs is another pile of dung added to the heap that represents their football program and fanbase. Secondly, his team was 0-5 at the time of that speech it seems. 0-5 with a loss to a I-AA team. To be in public and criticize one of the top teams in the conference when your team is the joke of the conference is beyond stupid. Sadly, it appears Colorado and their fans will continue to be the cesspool of the Big XII. Every time I think of their program and fans I'm honestly embarassed to even be in the same conference with them.

I got to ride in a private jet once with him and his wife! Husker heaven!!

Welcome! Don't let the Mizzou fans worry you too much, they will get their reality check against Nebraska soon enough.

It didn't look like a showboat dive to me. It looked like he felt himself start to get tripped up and dove to ensure he made it into the endzone. And that's pretty much consistent with how AP has played football...he just goes and goes and doesn't quit. From our angle it definitely looked like he didn't need to dive to get in, but it doesn't always look or feel the same when you're running full speed and someone starts to cut your legs out from under you.

Sorry, but I can't agree that we're as good as Cal. I think Cal is at least as good as USC right now, if not better. And I'm pretty sure we're not as good as USC.

Interestingly, I went to abc.com and looked up some local stations. The one I checked in California didn't have college football listed for Saturday, but the one in Florida did. So you can always go check that way!

My friend in California said it looked like to him ABC was going to carry the Texas - Nebraska game. He didn't sound too sure, though, but that's what he said. Edit - Just wanted to add that the reason I posted that is because I was under the impression it was only regional coverage on ABC, too. And if California is really going to carry it, they may very well further east too.

I do believe it can go either way, but that's more of an "any given sunday" type deal (or saturday for college football) when two good teams are playing. We'll probably be seeing most analysts picking Texas to win, and imo for very good reason. I just think right now Texas is a better team. We've got a decent chance to win, especially if we keep the crowd in it. But it's not enough of a factor to completely close the gap, or at least the gap I see. So that still leaves me at the point of saying Texas should probably win more times than they lose for this game. Once you say that, then you get to the intangibles that are at the heart of upsets...one team playing below their normal level, one team playing exceptionally well, etc. But I can't really count those intangibles as reasons why we should win. All I can do is hope we keep the crowd in it and we get an intangible or two going our way to pull off the upset. Still, things are close enough that I would say the danger of pulling off an upset is quite real. But calling it a toss up would still be too far for me. If I was going with percentages I'd have to say 66:34 perhaps, in favor of Texas. That would mean one out of three times we pull off the upset, which for some reason feels about right to me. But here's hoping we manage that 34%!

I don't think I'd go so far as to say a toss up. We've got a good team this year, but I don't think we're at Texas' level yet. Don't get me wrong, I hope we win, hehe. But I think Nebraska is still at a disadvantage, even with the home field advantage. I do think it will be a good game, though, no matter what.

Not looking at anything else, balance on offense is what will be required to win. ISU and KSU can be beaten with a mostly run attack. Texas is a completely different beast. I think we'll see Nebraska return to the more balanced look simply because we'll have to. Texas is too good for us to just shove the ball down their throat and expect to win. The west coast offense is built around the concept of being flexible. You can fully adapt your gameplan to each and every team you play. And we'll need to be threatening with both run and pass to beat Texas. Their defense will need to be guessing so we can put up enough points to keep with them. I don't think Callahan is stupid though...he knows we'll need balance to play with Texas. I think what we've been seeing in the last couple weeks is Callahan proving the west coast offense really can be run dominant if it needs to be. Personally, after two weeks of hard-nose running, I'd like to see us throw a twist at Texas and open up with a mostly pass offense, then shove it down their throat with the run. By the time they adjust, we can settle into a balanced offense and they'll have to start guessing.

I would really like to see us win the North division, but I think the season will still be successful even if we don't. Despite Missouri's loss last week, I think our teams are pretty much evenly matched as far as chances to win that game. I would love to see us win and I think we have a good chance at it, but to me it will still be a successful season even if we don't. Missouri is a very dangerous team. Texas is a better team than us, there is no doubt in my mind. We've got a chance to beat them, but it's an outside chance in my opinion. The crowd will need to be in the game from the first play and it'll need to stay in the game. If Texas manages to quiet down the stadium our chances are slim to none. I'm hoping to see us play them tough and make it a respectable game, but I don't expect a win. Even losing to both teams, I think the season will still be highly successful. The team has shown drastic improvement and despite what the ultra-hopeful think, we're still very much in a rebuilding year. To make a complete 180 of a program and return to this level of play in the 3rd season is outstanding. Beyond that, I think we should win the remainder of our games, and losses to any of the other teams will be a harder blow. But for me, only winning 2/5 games will still make it a successful season, once everything is taken into account. The growth the program has showed is without a doubt the most important factor since this is only our 3rd season under what amounts to a totally alien system.

Sorry, took me a while to find it again. It's a link off huskerpedia.com I guess. http://admin.xosn.com//pdf4/44960.pdf It's down on page 3 under the heading, "2006 Nebraska-Kansas Statistical Comparison". Anyway, that's the stat which really jumps out at me. It's not like it's a huge number of sacks per game, but you have to consider the opponents KU has had and who they are about to play. That's why I think Kansas' offensive line will be overmatched and their QB is will be at least flushed out a good amount.

Sorry, but having an offensive front ranking 76th in the country for sacks against per game is not a good sign at all. It's even worse when you consider who KU has played so far and how much better NU's front 7 are than any of them. They are going to to need to really step it up if they want to keep their QB from scampering for his life all night. It's not going to matter how depleted NU's secondary is if the Kansas QB is eating turf for most of the game, which he very well could be. And hey, they certainly could step it up and hold back Nebraska's front 7. But considering KU's performance in the early games, I see that as a slim chance at best.

I'm a Husker fan, but I make it a point to watch Kansas football every chance I get. I had friends attend KU and I think Mangino a good coach. He's doing well with the program and I think KU is going places in the next five years or so. That being said, Kansas just isn't at Nebraska's current level yet. There's just not much logical argument against that, so what you're left with is hopeful fans. There's nothing wrong with that, but one has to keep in mind hopeful fans aren't realistic. Our offensive line is bigger and stronger than KU's defensive line, and we'll be able to get good push whenever we need to for the run. Kansas highlights their own offensive line, but if memory serves they are about 76th in the nation in terms of sacks per game against their QB's. That's not a good sign for them considering who KU has played. Prior to the game against South Florida, Kansas was tied for second worst in I-A as far as turnover margin. I don't know where they are after the last game, but Nebraska is tied for 14th and KU isn't even in the top 50. The stats just go on and on in the Huskers' favor, with only a couple going KU's way. I like KU, but they only have an outside chance of coming here and beating us. Comparing this Nebraska team to the one that played KU last year isn't a good idea. This year's Nebraska team is already far, far better. Comparing this year's team to the one two years ago is simply beyond ignorant and almost boggles the mind. Thinking the Huskers will overlook Kansas is also a misjudgement. We have a lot of recruits visiting this weekend who would like to see a good showing for Nebraska and that's not lost on the football program here. But beyond that, the attitude this year seems focused on taking it one game at a time and going out to prove themselves for each game. And they do have a lot to prove, because our state is used to nothing less than football excellence and the Huskers are still rebuilding and growing. So it's safe to say no team is going to get overlooked this year. Nebraska will come out looking for blood each and every game. Nebraska should be ranked right where it is, but we're in no way overrated. I would say we are technically underrated and are probably sitting somewhere around 15th in the country. But like I said, we're ranked where we should be til we get a few more wins under our belt (even if we're a little better than our current rank). The biggest question for me this year is will Nebraska be able to consistently play at the level they have been? Inconsistency was a problem last year and is something only time can solve, but my own personal opinion is we have that problem licked this season. And that means we're a dangerous team now. I'm sure all the KU fans will be treated with respect when they come to watch the game on Saturday. I think KU will keep it close for the first quarter and a half, but we'll see Nebraska grind them down right from the start, then begin to steadily pull away. As I said at the top, KU just isn't at the level Nebraska is. It's the same for Nebraska and USC...Nebraska just isn't there yet. My prediction is 35-10, Nebraska. Kansas will make it respectable for a while, but we'll wear them down and work our way out to a good lead. If KU gets disheartened it could turn into a real blowout, but I think they'll keep it together.