bethelbacker

The students can go nuts. I don't care. The idea that the whole stadium would wear black is dumb IMO. My thoughts exactly. I support a student section B******.......not the whole stadium.......

Until we actually have proof that this is going to happen (like someone actually getting the tshirt and it not being red), let's not start the usual conniption fit that goes with a B****** thread. At least once a month this is suggested, and every time you'd think that there was an on-coming apocalypse. Until there is some credible source or proof that this might happen, let's just take a chill pill and find something else to freak out about. And by the way, I support student-section blackouts. I still don't know why everyone has a damn heart attack if the kids want to have some fun. I don't hear anyone bitching and moaning that people wear white to the SEA OF RED........if you're going to be upset about people not wearing red, make sure you're directing it at all parties involved...... Anyways, let's just have some patience and let this play out.......these debates get us nowhere.......

Drove me nuts when Crouch would have 3 defenders hanging on him and still wouldn't pitch it to Diedrick.....

You're right...Mussolini was like that too... Of course, when Mussolini failed, he was murdered and his corpse was drug through the street. I am not sure BC was there yet, but he and Cosgrove were on the path (mostly joking, but BR fans were PISSED). If I were Callahan, I would not say much. A team with Nebraska's talanet should not win 5 games 4 years into the mission. He only won 5 games in year one and they stuck with him (I was bitter, but I loved old school Husker Option football combined with hard nose defense, so I felt vinidicated in my bitterness). Anyway, Ironically, he never matched the 10 win season that Solich got fired for. I think, in Hindsight, Solich's firing was a bigger error than the Callahan hiring in a lot of ways. Solich getting canned after winning 10 had to scare a lot of the other options off... Pederson deserved his canning every bit as much, if not more, than BC and Cosgrvoe (OK, maybe not more than Cosgrove). IS there ANY chance the option wil come back? I have ranted on this message board before, I think it would stil work. THe wishbone may not, but the Big Red won pretty recently with that system and it matched well with the talent the could reliably get.... That is a lot of titles and title games to be dismissing it.... The option worked pretty well for Illinois last year (of course that was against the high school teams that call themselves the Big 10) so there's really no reason that it shouldn't work for Nebraska if we have a QB that can run it right. Actually, the way almost all defenses are geared to pursuit, you would probably have a monster offense just running the fullback up the middle the majority of the time with a quick pitch now and then to keep em honest. I think it's been so long since anyone ran the option well and defenses are so used to the spread and WCO, that an option offense with some play action passing thrown in would blow most teams up...at least that's the way it looked during most Illinois games. if navy can do it with the athletes they have then nebraska can do it with bigger athletes. though lets be honest pitt should have beat navy but the stashe doesn't know how to call a game. The thing is, top-flight recruits aren't going to want to run the option like Navy runs it......the only way to make this plausible to attract top recruits is to run a version of West Virginia's (more Rich Rodriguez's) spread option that would have more passing game elements in it. Yea, we could get top running back recruits if we were a strict running team, but no top-flight QBs or WRs will want to go to a school where you run it 75% of the time unless they are content with the fact they won't go to the NFL. And as much as it sucks, that's the number 1 goal of high school kids now, not loyalty to a program. If you can find a QB who doesn't mind having only 15 passing attempts a game and knows going in that his job is to run, as well as receivers whose main job is to block, then you'll be OK.

10 Questions going into Spring Ball 8) Can Bo Pelini save Nebraska? For longtime Nebraskans, this could have been the longest winter of their lives. In a state where Huskers football is a way of life, how does one fight off the depression that comes with enduring a horrifically embarrassing 5-7 season that saw one opponent score 76 points, another 65, and resulted in the dismissal of both a coach (Bill Callahan) and athletic director (Steve Pederson). Legendary coach Tom Osborne was brought back to hire the new coach, and Pelini, the defensive coordinator for last year's national champion, LSU, and a highly popular figure in the state based off his season as Nebraska's coordinator (2003), was his hand-picked choice. Now, the 40-year-old begins the unenviable task of cleaning up the mess left behind by his disastrous predecessor -- and, hopefully, putting some smiles back on peoples' faces. Nothing we haven't heard a thousand times already, but hey, figured why not post it.

I disagree with the decision, but considering I never went to UNL, I can't really bitch and moan about the move. But I will say this: when I've gone to Nebraska games, I stand the entire time. Its never been in the student section, so needless to say, I get chirped at to sit down. It was demoralizing, because I was up cheering, while everyone around was sitting around doing the polite applause thing. Now, let me make this clear: I don't think you have to stand to be a good fan. You can be a passionate Husker fan on your ass or your feet, and I respect all fellow Husker fans, especially my elders. But I've been to other college games in different venues where we stood the entire time, and the energy level was AT LEAST 10 times greater than the sitting crowd in Lincoln. I know that someday, my youth will fade, and my back (which has already gone to s*it at 24) will tell me to sit my ass down. But until then, I'm gonna be standing, every damn play, because I've found that if you're up on your feet and getting into it, whether you realize it or not, you DO cheer louder. Your lungs are opened up more than when you're sitting down, enabling you to yell louder and longer. So if you're sitting behind me, well, that's too bad. You'll be able to see the field in between quarters and at halftime. That's nothing against anyone, and I'm not trying to be an ass. That's just the way I show my support.

That was so asinine......I've seen the game several times on Classic and every time I get pissed off, even if it has been over a decade since that b.s. call.

And that's the way it SHOULD be. I take pride in being a Nebraska fan because of how respectful we are. Anyways, I guess the lesson here is that I should keep my mouth shut till I see a game of some relevance and we are actually good----I'm pretty much putting aside money already for the OU/NU game in '09 when we are both undefeated and Gameday is in town.

I wasn't advocating drunken stupidity or being disrespectful. I'm not saying I want us to turn into a bunch of Colorado fans, and I'm sorry if it came off that way. And I have to admit, I've never been to a game when we were good, so that definitely plays into it, and I should reserve judgment until I do. But I just wish I could see the fervor that you see every Saturday in places like Baton Rouge or Gainesville. And to be honest, I just have never seen it in Memorial Stadium. Hopefully Bo can change that. Point is, I never intended to imply that being drunk makes you a better fan.

The whole thing about polite applause in the article isn't restricted to basketball: I think the crowd at our football games could loosen up a bit more and be loud as well. I'm not saying all fans at Husker games are tame, but it seems like a good percentage of fans (mainly the ones carrying an AARP card) are content to just sit there and be relatively quiet. I'm not saying it makes them any less of a fan, people support their team in different ways. But I wish we had more drunken 20-45 year old guys who would strain their vocal cords than we do. I need to start buying student section tickets when I go to our games.

TUFF AS RAIN! Make sure to stop by now and then Tuff, we always need more to talk about on here.

Perhaps because Sweed is a receiver and Octo is a linebacker..........

Octavien is seen as a "riser" due to his good combine performance, according to SI.com. LINK

Zach ran a 4.38? That's great news, that'll boost his stock significantly. I was worried he'd be around a 4.5.

Pelini Humbled to be NU coach By Terry Douglass terry.douglass@theindependent.com Bo Pelini was happy at LSU. Serving as the Tigers' defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, Pelini was one of the highest-paid assistants in the country. And while he certainly had aspirations of one day becoming a head coach, Pelini wasn't going to leave a good gig in Baton Rouge, La., for just any job. Then, Tom Osborne came calling. The legendary, former Nebraska head coach turned athletics director made Pelini an offer he couldn't refuse. "When Coach Osborne presented this opportunity to me and we talked about it, it became obvious that this was where I needed to be and this was where my family needed to be," Pelini said. "Because what I've learned over the years that I've been coaching is this: It's about the people." Pelini knew exactly what he would be getting into if he rejoined the pressure-filled atmosphere in Husker Nation. He was the defensive coordinator for Nebraska during the tumultuous 2003 season when Frank Solich was fired after a 9-3 regular season. But after Osborne's offer, Pelini said he couldn't imagine himself anywhere else. Never mind that expectations at Nebraska are almost always lofty. "They should be," Pelini said. "When you have the support that's sitting here throughout the whole state of Nebraska, to me, the sky's the limit." Pelini was in Grand Island Thursday afternoon for the Central Nebraska Big Red Luncheon at the Heartland Events Center. Along with Osborne, Pelini was joined by his entire coaching staff at the event, which drew an estimated crowd of 1,100. Pelini told the gathering that he was humbled by the opportunity to be the head coach at Nebraska. The 40-year-old native of Youngstown, Ohio, added that he considers his job a tremendous responsibility and that he's here to serve the football program, his players and the people of this state. Osborne, who fired former coach Bill Callahan after Nebraska's 5-7 season in 2007, said the fiery Pelini and his strong defensive resume simply seemed like the right man at the right time for the program. In talking with coaches and players who had worked with Pelini in the past, Osborne said he failed to find anyone with a negative opinion of Pelini. A winner of 255 games and three national titles during his 25-year head coaching career, Osborne said he liked Pelini's ability to communicate, motivate and the fact that Pelini's defenses have had a knack for creating turnovers. The low-key Osborne also said he likes Pelini's passion. "That was a problem throughout my coaching career," Osborne said. "I was presumed to be too bland, too nice and wouldn't be able to win the big one, but we've got a guy now who won't be too bland and too nice. "We have rectified that problem." New Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler, who worked with Pelini at LSU, said he has no doubt that the Husker players will soon take on the personality of their new head coach. "There's not a more fierce competitor in the sport," Ekeler said. "You want to talk about somebody who hates to lose, hate isn't the right word. That man despises it." With Nebraska having suffered through two losing seasons in the past four years under Callahan, Pelini said he wants the program to return to its roots. "I heard somebody talking about the new tradition, and I don't believe that," Pelini said. "I believe it's back to THE tradition that's the old tradition. There's nothing new that I'm bringing here. I want to lean on what this place has been built on for a long time." Pelini stressed that rebuilding Nebraska's football program is going to be a process. "Things don't happen overnight and there are no quick fixes in life," Pelini said. "You have to build a foundation, you have to do things the right way, you have to get everybody on the same page, you have to develop relationships, you have to build trust, you have to develop accountability in all areas and that takes time." However, Pelini said he's encouraged that things are already headed in the right direction. He said he's been impressed with the players the Huskers already have in the program and is excited about the program's new recruiting class, which will include 30 walk-on players. "It's a tremendous group of young men with high character and a lot of talent," Pelini said. "Our job is to develop that talent." And Pelini said he thinks he has the coaching staff to do just that. "They're not only good football coaches we're going to be on the cutting edge X- and O-wise but they have men of great character, they're great communicators and great teachers," Pelini said. "At the end of the day, our players are going to know that we care about them." Since taking over full time at Nebraska after helping LSU capture a national championship, Pelini and his staff have started work on building a culture he hopes to instill at Lincoln. The chief concept for his players: Do things the right way in every aspect of life and be accountable for everything, from the minute they wake up in the morning until they go to sleep each night. "Everything counts," Pelini said. "You can't let one part of your life slip and expect to make up for it later in the day. We're not just preparing them to win on Saturday afternoon, we're preparing them for life after football as well because it all goes hand in hand." As for next season, Pelini said he's not one to make predictions in terms of wins and losses. However, he did offer one promise for 2008. "When our team takes the field, you're going to have a group of men out there who will go out there and play with their hearts and they're going to play with passion," Pelini said. "That's what football is all about and how that translates into (wins) and (losses), that will take care of itself." Everything this guy says further convinces me that he's the man for the job. I'm officially beer-bonging the Pelini Kool-Aid. MODS: Sorry for the double post, just delete one of the threads. My bad!

If he runs a 4.55 or below, his stock will go up significantly. People see him as a Mike Williams (USC/Detroit) type player, so he has to prove he has NFL speed to get his shot.......Good luck 'Mo, we're rooting for ya.

I'd say we'll be top 40, but not too high. The thing I really look for is a significant increase in turnover differential. Defensive rankings are based off of total yardage allowed, and while that will go down, I see the main change being a ball-hawking mentality that will result in more INTs and fumbles off of backside blitzes.

Things he did? You mean, like, nothing? Every time the camera would pan to him on the sidelines, I felt like I was driving a semi and he was bambi in the headlights. Never seen a guy look more lost, more completely dumbfounded than Cos during some of those defensive meltdowns. But hey, this thread is about THE FUTURE, so let's not worry about him.

Good call. If the receivers step up, I think we can have another top 15 offense. Couple that with a defense that finishes in the top 50 instead of the bottom 10, and you have a pretty damn good team. I do think we have the talent to be conference champs this year (particularly with OU losing some great players on D), it's just a question as to how well the team meshes and if guys pick up the defensive philosophy quick enough.

I think we will have a harder go of it than Stoops did. When he came to OU, Texas was just getting into the Mack Brown era, meaning the Big 12 South wasn't as powerful as it is now. In addition to that, the North was just beginning it's slide into irrelevance (that was the end of the days when CU, KSU, and NU were all pretty powerful teams). So I think that contributed to the near-instant success of Stoops. Pelini on the other hand has to deal with a resurgent North division and annual title contenders in OU and Texas. I'm not taking anything away from Stoops, he's an incredible coach obviously, just stating my opinion. I don't think Pelini will win a national title in his first 3 years, but I do think we will win the Big 12 in 2009 and go from there.

I am with you brother!!! This will be the demise of Brewster if he hires him on his staff. Their defense has sucked for the last 4 or more years and this is taking a step backward. The people up here think the Gophers are going to be great since they brought in some good recruits and Brewster is the next coming of Christ. He was 1-11 last year after being a rah-rah guy withe media saying they are going to be Big 10 champs and going to Rose Bowls. This will never happen with Coz on staff. Where are you located Bethel.....do you go to Sensors in Bloomington??? I go to sensers in rosedale Yup, I usually go to the Bloomington Sensors (as long as there is a place to sit). I think it's hilarious how much people are talking about this recruiting class of his. There's never a shortage of optimism with Brewster's team, just a shortage of wins.

Others will be more qualified to fill you in, but from my experience, Lincoln isn't a tailgating mecca. It is more geared towards the bar scene, as the tailgating lots are spaced out around Lincoln, which takes away from the experience. It's my least-favorite thing about gamedays in Lincoln. I'm not saying there is no tailgating, just that it is spread out too far.

Well, the Gophers did finish dead-last (119th) in defense last year. If this hiring were to happen, they'd be getting the guy in charge of the 112th-ranked D, so I guess this could qualify as an improvement for them.

Being a Husker fan stranded in MN, nothing would brighten my day more than seeing Cos brought in as the Goph's DC. I can't stand listening to the media and fans up here talk about such a pathetic team and conference, and having Cosgrove on the sidelines would ensure that the U is out of the Big 10 race before the season even begins. I really hope this happens!

Good call.