HuskerBob4

There is a problem on a number of fronts: 1 - Families...obvious, like pointed out earlier, by the ever increasing divorce rate 2 - Coaches...they come and go as they please, long term contract or not. It's not fair for players to go to a school and have 3 coaches in their 5 years because they were moving to bigger and better things. 3 - Have any of you ever experienced the recruiting process? I have, and let me say that coaches will say or do just about anything to get you to their schools. As an 17 or 18 year old, you have no true sense of reality, you love shiny things (or great programs) even if you won't fit in. It's amazing how this always turns on the athlete, when in reality, they are the young, impressionable minds that are being taken advantage of. Until coaches or schools are held accountable for coaches opting out of contracts whenever they please, this situation will always be bad...

As a former college student-athlete, I agree players should receive more money than they receive now. Here is the typical day in the student-athletes shoes: 5:30 Wake up 6:00 Morning Weights 7:30 Breakfast 8:00-1:00 Class 1:30 Lunch 2:30 Practice 6:00 Conditioning 7:00 Dinner 8:00 Study Hall 10:30 Home/Sleep As you can see, there is hardly anytime for other things, and absolutely no time to make money at a job (unless you are Rhett Bomar) I do think living expenses should be included in the equation because it is unfair for student-athletes to use student loans or credit cards to pay for regular, everyday items. Fortunately, my parents helped pay most of my bills that I couldn't cover with financial aid and I had some spending money but not much...BUT, many of my friends and teammates were pinching pennies just to pay for toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, basic neccessities...even with the monthly stipend which is maxed out at $650 (Rent in most apartments is at least half of that)

HSKRPWR down here in the Lone Star State!!!

There is plenty to learn from playing Nichols St....like basic tackling!!! (See: Andrew Shanle, oh wait, he never learned!) I think the 12th game being so weak for everyone was due to time constraints, availability of quality opponents and ease of negotiating with I-AA teams. The 12th game is going to become crucial in strength of schedule equations and many conferences will soon play 9 or 10 conference games, which will be awesome!

WOW talk about optimism..... We will not beat USC....period. As much as I love Nebraska, USC will more than likely be ranked in the top 3 and just return way too much talent. Plus they will not all be intimiated by Memorial Stadium. At night, at midnight at 4 in the morning it doesn't matter, they will not be scared. But other than USC, I think every game we have a legit shot at winning.... Being behind enemy lines down here in Austin, I have to tell "y'all" to relax because our situation is strikingly similar to the rise of Mack Brown. I remember very well when he went 9-5 in his second season and ALMOST everyone said he needed to go. The next year he went 9-3, with a 2nd place finish in the South and still people wanted him gone. Then came 6 straight 10+ win seasons. The ways this situations are similar are simple... #1 - Had some good talent, but no real depth, which is what forces guys to become stars. Competition on a day in, day out basis is the only way to get the most of someone's talent. As with Texas back in '99, I feel we are now at that stage. We have talent, and we are adding depth... #2 - People forget that a season can go from nearly great to a "bad" season with a loss in the Conference Championship and then a tough bowl matchup. The Horns fell to us in the Alamodome then to Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Realize that our 5 losses were to Top 15 teams (minus Okie St) just like Texas did (replace Okie St with NC St). #3 - If people relax and quit freaking out, they WILL be rewarded with a breakthrough win, and a breakthrough season! I am not giving a free pass to Callahan, but if you really watch the games and understand what is going on, BC tries to hide weaknesses that are usually exposed just before or after the half! Hence the second half struggles...go back and watch the game films if you have them, and you will see what I am talking about. Also, the lack of aggressiveness in play calling comes from the instability of the secondary. If you get a lead or are in a tight ball game, as a coach, you want to put your team in position to win late when you are the lesser of two teams, like we were in 4 of our 5 losses!!! Look at Boise State's play calling after getting the big lead, the play book shrunk considerably until the last 2 drives! I see the Huskers at 9-3 with losses to USC, Okie St or A&M, then Texas...we will then face Okie St or A&M (whichever beats us in the Regular Season) in the Big XII Championship where we will redeem ourselves and head to the Desert for a showdown with Boise St and a tough run game, which we will absolutely shut down! Huskers finish at 11-3, FIESTA BOWL AND BIG XII CHAMPS!!!! *NOTE* I think the Big XII South will be a 4 way tie between OU, Okie St, Texas and A&M, with the tiebreaker going to Okie St. PS - Can't wait to see what our D can do with Bowman, Murillo, Thenarse, Culbert and minus SHANLE!!! OH YEAH....FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE THAT THOUGHT CALLAHAN BLEW THE FAKE PUNT, ASK CHARLIE WEIS WHY HE FAKED ON THE FIRST DRIVE!!! (The only thing that kills me is why we wouldn't toss the reverse to Thenarse instead of Stone Hands/Slow Footed/Running Scared Shanle!!!)

The reason the top talent is turning away the chance to play at Nebraska is simple....... Have you ever been to LA, Miami or down here in Austin in the winter??? Why would you leave Texas, Cali or Florida to play in Lincoln??? I'm not trying to be an A-Hole, just pointing out the fact that like many of my relatives back home (midwest), alot of people on here forget there are other places to live than Iowa and Nebraska, that have much nicer weather!

This game just showed that we are still amongst the "have-nots" of college football. The reason those looked like Offensive PI (and a couple probably were) is because our DB's are undersized. As much as I hate to say it, Grixby played pretty damn good in the press coverage we haven't used much, if at all, all year...he is just undersized! Anyways, I'm not going to be the guy that comes on here after a loss and continually tells us all our shortcomings....I like our chances in the Cotton Bowl and especially next season!!! I just hope Keller is up to the task and that we get a great high school QB recruit, because Zach unfortunately reminded us all last night how crucial the QB role is in the WCO!!! Hope everyone can make it down here to sunny Texas for the Cotton Bowl, because us Texans for the Huskers will be out in full force... GO BIG RED!!!

I'm at home scanning E-Bay for Fiesta Bowl tickets here in Austin, sipping on some "Purify Punch" (Everclear concoction!!!) waiting to roll OU with about 10 of my closest friends....ALL HUSKERS OF COURSE!!!

Sorry for the harsh reality....BUT.... The words "Shanle" and "sure tackle" don't go together!!! A wise man once told me, "A leopard doesn't change his spots"... We haven't been a good tackling all year long, so for those of you who are hoping that is how we win, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in order for our Huskers to win, we need to go to Mo early and put up some points and make OU chase us. In order for us to win, we need to score at least 30 points.... AND I have the faith.... GOOD GUYS 34 Evil Empire 24 GO BIG RED!!!

As a former college athlete, I'm not big into calling out student-athletes...BUT, I do reserve the right to make an exception! Shanle, is the biggest reason we need alot of breaks to fall our way to beat the Sooners. He is perhaps one of the worst tacklers I have seen since Deion Sanders. But what really gets my blood boiling is how he is the only safety in the country that is afraid to deliver a knockout blow or clean up a pile that is just standing around...and although we have no proven backups behind him, I'll take my chances with athletes like Thenarse and Major, rather than keep watching McGee slip through a dive at his ankles or Shanle getting into his coverage area too late. Outside of that, the problems I see on our defense is how ineffective the tackling is in the second level of the defense. The front four is fine and usually does a great job, but the LB's have also had their struggles containing the power run game. Now, for the positives, Zac, Mo, Bjack and Hollywood to name a few. I like that we will be balanced unlike OU, but I think to be most effective we will need to go vertical early and often to neutralize Rufus Alexander and Lattimer's playmaking abilities. Also, I like that we showed all kinds of trick plays just so they have to spend time watching film and preparing for them (and if you think Billy C doesn't have at least 20-30 more trick plays drawn up you'd be crazy, because he is obviously enjoying calling those plays he never had an opportunity to call in the League). Anyways, I like our chances if we get going early and get some big breaks, because like it or not, they are still more talented and deeper than we are, with Peterson or not.... BUT, if you are wondering, I am already arranging my travel arrangements to the Desert. New Years in Tempe will be AWESOME...Hope to see everyone there.... GO BIG RED!!!!